Listening Basics PartIII

4.a. an old tradition

b.a way to make trees healthier

c.how to use old shoes

d.couples who have many children

5.a. disapprove of you

b.give you special treatment

c.help your business

d.arrest you

Part IV. Expanding the Topic

1. The Two Smiles

A. Words

Make sure you know the following words from the article:

grumpy

phony

scowl

surly

to make fun of

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B. One of the most famous smiles is the Mona Lisa Smile. But what kind of smile is it? Finish the following sentences in different ways….

She‘s smiling as if…

She‘s smiling as though…

C. In what ways are Russians and Americans different? Think of clothes, behavior, attitude, and physical appearance. In a group of three, make a list like the one below. A few examples have been given to get you started. Be specific. You have 2 minutes to generate a list.

D.Compare and discuss your lists as entire class. Try to explain why such cultural differences exist.

E.Listen to the article and give several examples of failed communication:

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communication

F. Comment on the following statements given in the article. Do you

mostly agree or disagree with them? Explain your point of view.

-Russians think that Americans smiles are sometimes insincere.

-Americans smile because they want to be pleasant. They want to show they are willing to communicate.

-Americans think that Russians are rude and surly.

-Russians smile when they mean it, when joy makes them want to smile.

2.A Trivia Quiz

A. A popular party game in the United States is called Trivial Pursuit. This game tests people's knowledge of detailed facts ("trivia") in a wide variety of categories, such as world geography, movies, computers, and many more. Many Americans enjoy playing trivia games or taking trivia quizzes in magazines and newspapers.

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1.Have you ever played a trivia game? With whom did you play? Did you enjoy the game? Did you win?

2.Do you know anyone who is a "trivia expert"? Describe this person.

3.Is there any topic or area in which you are an expert? How did you acquire your knowledge or skill?

B. In the following conversation, Georgie reads a trivia quiz to

her friend Kevin. As she asks the questions, circle your answers in the chart. Then listen to the next part of the conversation, and you will hear the correct answer.

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3. What Does Pektopah Mean?

Listen to the song by Kevin McCaughey based on the real American experience in Russia. What happened? What was the reason of this miscommunication? Can you recall any suchlike situations in a foreign country?

4. Russian-born American Ingenuity: Google

A. Listen to the article and mark the following statements as true or false:

___________ Google was developed by an American and a Russian.

___________ Sergey is worth about 30 billion dollars.

___________ His father works at NASA.

___________ His mother works at an American university.

___________ Mr. Brin often eats at Russian restaurants in San Francisco.

___________ Google will soon open a software office in Moscow.

B. Answer the following questions about Mr. Brin:

Sergey is a brilliant guy. Does his brilliance derive from his

Russian birth, his parents‘ Soviet education, or his own American education?

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4.The odds were against US cuisine. The ____________ American cuisine.

5.U.S. food was terribly misunderstood. American food was

____________ misunderstood.

6.One cook tries to do better than another. One cook tries to

____________ the other.

____________ for his culinary arts.

8.She has good tastes in food. She has developed _________ tastes.

9.Salt can increase a food‘s flavor. Salt can ____________ flavor.

10.Hamburgers represent U.S. food tastes. Burgers are __________

of U.S. foods.

B. Listen to the article and answer the questions:

1.What were the major influences that affected American cuisine?

2.What were the two reasons for the slow development of national food at an early stage?

3.Why is American cooking today is one of the most vital cuisines in the world?

4.In what way was building a national American cuisine different from building European, e.g. French national cuisine?

5.How did the royalty motivate national cuisine in certain cultures?

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7. How Many Languages are Spoken in the USA?

A.How many languages are spoken at home in your country? In groups, brainstorm as many as you can in one minute. See which group can list the most.

B.Take this quiz to test your knowledge about languages in the US.

You‘ll need to guess of course, but don‘t be afraid. There are nine correct answers possible, and Americans who took the test averaged 5.2 correct.

1.What is the official language of the United States?

2.What is the most common second language in the United States? Hint: More than 28 million people speak it at home.

3.How many in the US speak Russian at home, according to the 2000 U.S. census?

4.According to the 2000 US census, at least one million people speak one of six languages at home. English and Spanish are not included. Hint: three are European and three are Asian. Write down your six answers/guesses. (One point for each correct).

C. Listen to the text about the languages spoken in the USA

and complete the statistics.

1.________________________ languages are spoken in the U.S.

2.Of __________________ million people over the age of five,

_____________________ spoke only English at home.

3.________________________ people speak Spanish at home.

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4.________________________ people speak Chinese.

5.________________________ people speak French.

6._______________________ people speak German.

7._______________________ people speak each Italian, Tagalog and Vietnamese.

8.________________________ people speak Arabic, Korean, Polish, Portuguese or Russian.

9._______________________ people speak Japanese at home.

10.__________________ people speak African languages.

11.__________________ people speak each Persian and Hindi.

12.__________________ people speak Urdu.

13.__________________ people speak Native American languages at home.

14.There are ___________________ languages still spoken by American Indians.

D.Here are some common words in English that come from Amerindian words—from indigenous American languages—north, south, and central. Can you identify the English word derived from this Amerindian word? Some of these words have even made it into Russian.

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