Active vocabulary

to be mixed and separated	быть вместе и по отдельности
certain features	определенные черты
practicality	практичность
slaughter [ˈslɔ:tə]	кровопролитие, резня
to be for sure	должно быть несомненно
survival in the wildness	выживание в дикой местности
settlers	поселенцы
to face	сталкиваться
robust [rəˈbʌst] individuals	сильные, крепкие люди
the spiritual one	зд. духовные ценности
strong roots	сильные корни
cultural peculiarity	культурная особенность
self-reliance	самонадеянность
self-sufficiency	самодостаточность
self-assurance	самоуверенность
to persist	сохраняться
capital letter	заглавная буква
to long for / to desire	страстно желать, жаждать
a typical [tɪpɪkəl] personality	обычная личность
straightforwardness [straitf’ɔ:vədnəs]	прямолинейность
trying to avoid	пытаясь избежать
to be open-minded person	быть открытым к познанию
sincere [sɪnˈsɪə]	искренний, чистосердечный
they cannot stand wasting time	они не могут тратить время попусту
immense [ɪˈmens]	громадный, огромный
symbols of success and prosperity	символы успеха и процветания
crucial [ˈkruːſjəl]	решающий (от опыте)
according to his abilities and achievement	в соответствии с его способностями и достижениями
faith [feɪθ]	вера, верность, честность
to encourage [ɪnˈkʌrɪdʒ] to display	поощрять, проявлять что-то
who dream of entering	которые мечтают о въезде в страну

Answer the questions.

1. How is the USA now called?

2. What does “salad”?

3. How do the Americans consider the society they live in ?

4. What do they proudly say about their country?

5. What is for sure one of the most significant components of the American national character?

6. Why do materialistic values seem to be more important for the Americans?

7. What does individualism mean?

8. Why do the Americans always write “I” with the capital letter?

9. What is straightforwardness?

10. What other features of the American character do you know?

11. Are they active or passive? What do they prefer doing on holidays?

12. What does sport mean for the Americans?

13. Who are the symbols of nation sports?

14. What is “American Dream”?

Exercise 1. Choose the necessary words from the box and put it in the sentences below.

freedom, the freest, self-help, straightforwardly, economic, nation, self-reliance, encourage, long for, open-mined, individualism, American smile, self-sufficiency, practicality

1. The symbol of the American Dream if the … … .

2. The Americans usually speak frankly and … .

3. Are they seem to be extremely … and sincere .

4. What does every American citizen … … .

5. Capital letter “I” is the symbol of … .

6. What does even large corporation … to display?

7. Individualism means …, …, … .

8. … is the next characteristic feature of the American … .

9. The right for … is the first right, mentioned in the U.S Constitution.

10. The Americans consider their society to be … and the best in the world.

Exercise 2. Are the following sentences true or false? Give your arguments.

1. The U.S.A. is English - speaking country.

2. The national American character is very complicated.

3. The major value for the Americans is their national flag.

4. The right for freedom is not essential in the U.S.A.

5. Wars and struggle didn’t give any results for the Americans.

6. There are thousands of immigrants who dream of entering to the U.S.A.

7. The Americans are alike the English.

8. The U.S.A. is considered to be the best place for living for everybody.

9. There is no difference between a “melting pot” and a “salad bowl”.

10. The spiritual values are the most important for the Americans.

Exercise 3. Translate the following sentences and put some special questions to them.

1. Sports have an immense popularity in America.

2. Even huge corporation encourage their staff to display initiative.

3. The Americans proudly state that even nowadays there thousands of people want to obtain “the green card”.

4. It means that the value for freedom if for sure one of the most significant components of the American national character.

5. Let’s try to determine certain features of this mysterious character.

Exercise 4. Use these expressions for making dialogues with your partner in English.

to be mixed and separated	the American dream
to dream of entering	individualism means
the most important feature	to be prefer active holidays
symbol of success and prosperity	to be impossible without competition
practicality is one of them	time is money
robust individuals	self-sufficiency

Exercise 5. Translate the sentences from Russian into English.

1. Символ американской мечты широко известен во сем мире – это американская улыбка.

2. Спорт в Америке – это бизнес и развлечение одновременно.

3. Американец постарается избежать не нужного предисловия, что бы сообщить вам информацию.

4. Кажется, что американское общество основано на соревновании; американцы испытывают удовольствие, соревнуясь в борьбе за то, чтобы быть лучшим во всем.

5. Стилистика американского языка, отражая дух и принцип индивидуализма, использует только заглавную букву для местоимения “Я”.

6. Американцы полагают, что их общество самое свободное и лучшее в мире.

7. Получение “green card” дает официальное право на работу и проживание в США.

8. Понятие “американская мечта” означает, что каждый человек может жить лучше, богаче и полнее этой стране

9. Каждый американский гражданин страстно желает достижения финансового успеха.

10. Свободолюбие, практицизм и индивидуализм, также как прямолинейность, открытость и искренность – всего лишь некоторые черты непостижимого американского характера.

11. “Green card” – это документ, полное название которого Карта постоянного проживающего на территории Соединенных Штатов.

12. Человек, имеющий “green card” не является гражданином США, но ему предоставляется право на трудоустройство.

Exercise 6. Mach the words and phrases:

говорить прямо	strong roots
выживать в дикой местности	to be based on it
сильные индивидуалы	to speak straightforwardly
соревноваться с удовольствием	US Permanent Resident Card
главная ценность – это свобода	certain features
определенные черты	to survive in the wildness
сильные корни	to prefer active holidays
быть основанным на чем-либо	robust individuals
предпочитать активный отпуск	to enjoy competitions
взаимодействовать, не будучи обезличенным	the major value is freedom
вид на жительство на территории США без предоставления гражданства	to be mixed and separated

Exercise 7. Give the English equivalents for:

время-деньги	обычный американец
личный успех – особая черта индивидуализма	формировать национальный характер
казаться особенно открытым ко всему новому	иметь шанс начать новую, лучшую жизнь
достичь мечты	быть весьма сложным
способности и достижения	страстно желать успеха
получить официальное право на работу без гражданства	духовные ценности

Exercise 8. Discuss the following problems in the group.

1. Green Card is desirable for thousands of new-comers. Why so?

2. Americans’ attitude to church and religion as an integral part of the culture.

3. American society seems to be much more informal than the British.

Exercise 9. Speak on the topic “American Character”.

Exercise 10. Learn the following words and word combinations and use them in your dialogues.

to make a long story short, I prefer seeing westerns to reading …	короче говоря, я предпочитаю просмотр вестернов чтению книг …
there is nothing like reading	ничто не может сравниться с чтением.
it's much more absorbing than the abridged screen versions	оно куда более увлекательно, чем сокращенные киноверсии
is restricted neither by	не ограничено
horse riding skills	верховая езда
manliness	мужественность
lack intelligence	нехватка интеллекта
prime	чопорный
taciturn	молчаливый
hospitable	гостеприимный
in spite of	несмотря на
values and beliefs	ценности и убеждения
open-hearted	открытые
straightforward	прямолинейность
beloved character	любимый герой
rugged guy	грубый парень
this idea is not groundless	это представление не беспочвенно
main traits of	основные черты
obey no one	никому не подчиняться
equality and prosperity	равенство и благополучие
to respect the ability to win	уважать способность побеждать
to value the ability to invent	ценить способность изобретать
tough	зд. стойкий / выносливый

Exercise 11. Read, translate and dramatize the dialogues.

Dialogue 1

N: To make a long story short, I prefer seeing westerns to reading about Indians.

B: No way! That’s just not true. There is nothing like reading. It's much more absorbing than the abridged screen versions. While reading, your imagination is restricted neither by actors’ appearances nor by their way of doing things. I'm virtually never satisfied with the screen versions.

N: I see your point, but you can't deny that westerns are far more dynamic and thrilling. They show your male strength in fist fights, gun fighting, and horse riding skills, hardiness and courage, real manhood, a true American, in a word.

B: Oh, that's your ideal of manliness and your idea of a true American, is it? Why, your hero seems to lack intelligence and moral sensitivity, doesn't he? As for a true American, we'd better ask Mr. Warner and David.

N: Sure. Hey, Dave, I've been arguing with Mary about true American character. You see, the English are said to be prime, the French are considered full of life, the Finnish are believed to be taciturn, the Spanish are known to be proud, the German-pedantic, the Russian - hospitable and so on and so forth.

Mr. W: That's true. There certainly exist features common to all Americans in spite of their personal differences. They are our common national values and beliefs, and those wishing to become. Americans have to accept them.

N: But a certain stereotype does exist. Many think Americans are open-hearted, straightforward, cheerful, relaxed and tough.

D: It seems to come from the westerns idealizing "macho-men". A macho-man is a physically tough and rugged guy standing alone. He can meet all the dangers of life and is strong enough to protect not only himself. And this beloved character lives on in detective films, thrillers and melodramas.

Mr. W: This idea is not groundless. It stems from the early stages of American history when the first immigrants stepped on American soil. They came with the aim of becoming free, independent and happy. They wanted to obey no one, neither government nor church. They sought individual freedom, equality and prosperity for everyone regardless of background and birth. But first they had to settle in the unexplored land, develop it by conquering the wilderness which had many dangers and surprises in store, including the hostile Indians. It was only natural that in those conditions people respected the ability to win, to be energetic, and valued what a person can do in the here and now by himself, not the kind of family he had come from. They also valued the ability to invent and experiment while overcoming difficult obstacles, with no tools at hand, the only tools being one's head and hands. This is where the main traits of the American national character, values, and beliefs come from.

N: So it was values that made character. Sometimes it's not easy to understand what values stand for. We are glad you are telling us, Mr. Warner.

Dialogue 2

H: Jocelyn, how is your family, your kids?

J: Thank you Helena it`s ok. We have only one problem –Feoby, my old lovely dog, you know.

H: Yes, I know she is rather old about 13 years old.

J: You are right. She is 14; it’s very old for dogs. We have one problem – she is blind, you know it’s a great stress for her moving anywhere.

H: Are you going to the U.S. at Christmas?

J: Of course we’d like to, but we are very worried about Feoby. Such a long flight won’t be good for her.

H: And what about holidays pets shelter? I know there are some in our town.

J: Not a bad idea, but not for Feoby. It will be too much stressful for her. Changing the place and living without us, I mean without voices she knows, will be too dangerous for her. Helena, can you do me a favour?

H: Of course I will.

J: I know, your son Alex is a very kind-hearted guy. He and Feoby are real friends. She knows his voice, his steps. She likes him petting her. May I ask you to permit Alex to live at my place while we are out?

H: Let me see, how long are you going to stay in the US?

J: For 2 weeks, as we are planning now.

H: I think he will be able to live at your place and I also can visit him in the evening to have a talk with him and Feoby. I hope you can rely on us. We’ll take care about her, don’t worry.

J: Thank you very much! You know she has her own room with good furniture: a sofa, an arm-chair, a blanket, toys. I hope you’ll get along well.

H: Don’t worry! Have a nice trip! Everything will be OK!

Exercise 12. Translate from Russian into English the dialogue of two class-mates, one of them got married to an American and now she is living in Texas, USA.

Dialogue 1

A: Представь, тут никто не хамит, не грубит, все очень дружелюбны и всегда готовы подсказать, например дорогу.

B: Ну, это ты пока еще просто не нарвалась. То ли еще будет. Они наверняка в лицо улыбаются, а на самом деле думают о тебе что-то плохое.

A: Нет-нет. Я раньше тоже думала, что американцы неглубокие и неискренние хохочут громко, постоянно улыбаются во весь рот, много болтают о всякой легкомысленной чепухе, не философствуют, как русские. А теперь я обнаружила, что за этим часто скрываются очень глубокие чувства.

B: Даже и не подумала бы, что за их лицами скрывается что-то большее. Живут се6е в больших дорогих домах, имеют по две машины, на тебя и не посмотрят.

A: Понимаешь, Саша, жить так их норма. Такое уж воспитание. И чего они должны на тебя смотреть, когда у них совершенно другие ценности. Мужья смотрят на жен, жены на мужей, а вместе они следят за детьми.

B: Вот кстати о семье. Как у них с этим обстоят дела?

Для американцев любовь раз и навсегда и брак до конца жизни - это в порядке вещей.

A: Ага, вот у тебя двое детей. Сама воспитываешь?

B: Вместе с мужем. Он тоже о детях заботится, играет с ними, кормит, спать укладывает. Представляешь, даже стирать помогает.

A: Какой молодец!

B: И представь, так у них практически в каждой семье.

A: Ох, Марина, как де тебе повезло! Пусть всё у вас будет хорошо! Удачи вам!

B: Спасибо.

Exercise 13. Make your own dialogue using the following proverbs and expressions.

• The Americans is the nation of “teens” enjoying all types of activities.

• The American smile is the symbol of prosperity.

sport have on immense popularity	to be really proud to be Americans
fundamental part	to be physically fit
to be a national hero	to be blessed by God
to be inspired by winding rather than by the game itself	to be associated with vanity pride and expensive self-esteem
to embody the American Dream	American patriotism
cultural peculiarity has deep historical roots	to enjoy competitions