Английский язык. Лопатина Т.Я

Become proficient

Phrases and Idioms for Relationships

Ted and I get on well with each other (have a good relationship). Andrew and Mary don’t see eye to eye (often argue/ disagree). I’ve fallen out with my parents again (had arguments).

Tony and Jane have broken up / split up (ended their relationship).

Helen is having an affair with her boss (a sexual relationship, usually secret). Children should respect their elders (adults / parents, etc).

Let’s try and make it up (be friends again after a row).

The two girls were making eyes at the handsome lifeguard (to gaze at smb flirtatiously).

Quiz Yourself

Some of the phrases and idioms are mixed up with one another. Correct them.

1.Jo and Phil don’t get on eye to eye with each other.

2.I fell up with my parents last night. It wasn’t my fault.

3.We had a quarrel, but now we’ve made it well.

4.Do you think Jim and Nora are making an affair? – I do.

5.I see very well with all my colleagues at work.

6.She should learn to respect her elders.

7.I am sure they will break out very soon.

Joke Time

-My wife has the worst memory I’ve ever heard of.

-Forgets everything, eh?

-No, remembers everything!

Boy – Do you know, Dad, my teacher says that in some parts of Africa a man does not know his wife until he marries her.

Dad – Why single out Africa?

“I’m always very careful”, said Mrs Robinson, “to send the children out of the house before I have a quarrel with my husband.”

“How wonderful!” said Mrs Jones, “They look so healthy spending so much time in the open air.”

Mr Wicks (to a young man) – You say you will not marry my daughter. But it was you who told me a few months ago that you dreamed only of her.

Young man (apologetically) – So, I did, sir. Now I am wide awake.

Husband (angrily) – What ? No supper ready? This is the limit! I’m going to a restaurant!

Wife – Wait just five minutes. Husband – Will it be ready then? Wife – No, but then I’ll go with you.

Smile Awhile

Say what you mean!

Very often people pay us compliments which are not really compliments at all. They seem like compliments and in fact they are insults, for example:

- Your wife is nice and sensible!

Meaning – Your wife is the most unexciting, unimaginative woman I’ve ever met!

- You’re still a career girl then, aren’t you?

MeaningSo you still haven’t found anyone to marry you?

Guesswork

What is the swiftest means of communication? - Telegraph, telephone and … tell a woman.

What is a secret?

- A woman’s idea of keeping a secret is refusing to say who told it.

TOPIC: UNIVERSITY

Now you are first –year students. You passed your entrance exams thanks to the knowledge you gained at school or college. Speak on the educational establishment you studied at before entering the university. Present information on:

1.the type of school you studied at;

2.the place it is situated;

3.the age you began to attend it;

4.compulsory and optional courses provided by your school;

5.your favourite subjects

Active Vocabulary

1.to welcome – радушно приветствовать

2.applicant for entry – абитуриент

3.invariably – неизменно

4.tough competition – жесткий (сильный) конкурс

5.extra-mural department – заочное отделение

6.to combine work and study – совмещать работу с учебой

7.to provide training – осуществлять подготовку

7.highly qualified specialist – высококвалифицированный специалист

8.curriculum(singular) – curricula (plural) – учебная программа

9.to form a basis for future career plans – обеспечивать основу для предполагаемой карьеры

10.the core subjects – основные предметы

11.to be at the forefront of (many) developments – владеть (многими)

передовыми разработками

12.intellectual – умственный, интеллектуальный

13.vocational – профессиональный

14.the study is conducted through lectures, tutorials and laboratory works –

обучение обеспечивается проведением лекций, семинаров и лабораторных работ

15.to be involved in absorbing activities – вовлекаться в интересные задания,

приглашаться к участию в увлекательной работе

16.to provide a stimulating learning environment – обеспечивать благоприятную учебную обстановку

17.academic staff – профессорско-преподавательский состав

18.to set exacting standards for smb – предъявлять высокие требования к к.-л

19.to try one’s best – делать все возможное

20.to arouse interest in – вызывать интерес к

21.confident – уверенный

22.to conduct – проводить что-то (напр. занятия)

23.facilities – возможности, благоприятные условия, оборудование

24.to gain in intellectual development – интеллектуально развиваться

25.to be equipped for – 1. .. быть оснащенным для ч.-л.

2. .. быть подготовленным к ч.-л.

26.timetable – расписание

27.make demands on smb – предъявлять требования к к.-л.

28.nevertheless – однако, тем не менее

29.experience – опыт (приобретенный)

30.to attach importance to smth – уделять внимание ч.-л.

31.practical skills – практические навыки

32.would-be engineers – будущие инженеры

33.to gain skills – приобрести навыки

Text

The Ural State University for Railway Transport (USURT)

Every summer Ekaterinburg’s universities welcome new applicants for entry. The Ural State University for Railway Transport (USURT) invariably attracts a great number of applicants for entry, that’s why the competition is very tough.

The University houses six faculties, they are: Mechanical, Electromechanical, Electrotechnical, Operation of Transportation Processes, Building and Economics and Management. There is also an extra – mural department, and its students can combine their work with studies.

The University provides training of highly qualified engineers and specialists for Russian railways. Its curricula form an excellent basis for future career plans, further study or research. The core subjects taught there are at the forefront of many intellectual and vocational developments. The study is conducted through lectures, tutorials and laboratory work. In their classrooms students are involved in absorbing activities which serve to the purpose of providing a stimulating learning environment.

The academic staff set exacting standards for students and try their best to arouse interest in their studies. The staff are confident that this helps students gain in their intellectual development and be better equipped for a rapidly changing society.

The USURT students find each term intensively timetabled. The professional and personal demands made on students are really high, but students nevertheless find the experience satisfying and enjoyable. Each term they are to take examinations and defend several course papers. At the end of their studies, the students take final examinations and defend their diploma projects.

At the University great importance has always been attached to practical skills of students as would-be railway engineers and specialists. During the last years of study students are to spend a lot of time with railway facilities to gain the necessary practical skills.

Vocabulary Drill

1. Match the words with the same meaning. Start with the left-hand column.

2. Arrange pairs of words and word-combinations having the opposite meaning:

physical; to provide a stimulating learning environment; to ignore smth; uncertain; amateur (любительский); dull, not interesting; to arouse interest; entry; to grow tired of (наскучить); confident; intellectual; absorbing; to attach importance to smth; vocational; graduation; to create bad conditions for studies.

3.Fill in prepositions if necessary:

1.It is not easy nowadays to enter … university.

2.The staff of the Medical Academy are … the forefront of subjects’ developments.

3.Many educational establishments provide … a wide choice … subjects.

4.Every year a lot of applicants … compete in order to enter … universities.

5.A variety … optional subjects is invariably offered.

6.If you want to gain … intellectual development you should read a lot.

7. You won’t succeed unless you form … a basis … future career plans.

This exercise can be done after some revision of Indirect Speech (questions): 4. Practice asking questions. Convert indirect questions into direct ones.

Ask your friend:

1.when applicants for entry take entrance exams and what subjects they go in for.

2.if the competition is usually tough.

3.what department she/he studies at.

4.if she/he is a part-time or a full-time student.

5.what year she/he is in.

6.if she/he finds Mathematics difficult.

7.what her/his weak point is.

8.if she/he has made progress in Mathematics since she/he became a student.

9.what subjects she/he will be trained in.

10.if the timetable suits her/him.

11.if she/he copes with all the tasks.

12.what her/his core subjects are in the first year.

13.if professional and personal demands made on USURT students are really high.

5. Read the text. Try to compare the systems of higher education in the UK and in Russia.

Higher Education in the UK

(an additional text)

Today there are 47 universities in Britain. They fall into 4 broad categories: the ancient English foundations, the ancient Scottish ones, the “redbrick” universities, and the “plate-glass” ones. They are all private institutions, receiving direct grants from the central government.

Oxford and Cambridge, founded in the 13th and 14th centuries respectively, are easily the most famous of Britain’s universities. Today, “Oxbridge”, as the two together are known, educate less than one tenth of Britain’s total university student population. But they continue to attract many of the best brains, partly on account of their prestige but also on account of the seductive beauty of many of their buildings and surroundings.

Scotland boasts 4 ancient universities: Glasgow, Edinburgh, St. Andrews and Aberdeen, all founded in the 15th and 16th centuries. These universities were created with strong links with the ancient universities of continental Europe, and followed their longer and broader course of studies.

In the 19th century many more redbrick universities were established to respond to the greatly increased demand for educated people as a result of the Industrial Revolution and the expansion of Britain’s overseas empire. Many of

these were located in the industrial centres, for example Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Newcastle, Liverpool and Bristol.

With the expansion of higher education in the 1960s many more plate-glass universities were established, some named after countries or regions rather than old cities, for example Sussex, Kent, East Anglia, Strathclyde. After some initial enthusiasm for them, they had become less popular by the 1980s than the older institutions.

There is also a highly successful Open University, which provides every person in Britain with the opportunity to study for a degree, without leaving their home. It is particularly designed for adults who regret missed opportunities. It conducts learning through correspondence, radio and television, and also through local study centres.

(“Britain in close-up” David McDowall)

•Redbrick – a redbrick university is one of the British universities built in the late 19th or early 20th century to educate students in industrial regions often partially supported by government funds lacking the prestige of Oxford and Cambridge.

•Plate-glass universities – built of big pieces of glass made in large thick sheets for use especially in shop windows.

•Victorian – built in the reign of Queen Victoria (1837 – 1901)

6.Discussion Points Modern Exams

1) Read the text and do the assignments coming after it.

a) while reading, pay special attention to the underlined words and wordcombinations, translate them into Russian.

In ancient times the most important examinations were spoken, not written. In the schools of ancient Greece and Rome, testing usually consisted of saying poetry aloud or giving speeches.

Modern examinations, however, are written. Two types of tests are commonly used in modern schools. The first type is sometimes called an “objective” test. It is meant to deal with facts, not personal opinions. To make up an objective test the teacher writes a series of questions, each of which has only one correct answer. Along with each question the teacher writes the correct answer and also three statements that look like answers to students who have not learned the material properly.

For testing students’ memory of facts and details, the objective test has advantages. It can be scored very quickly by the teacher or even by a machine. In a short time the teacher can find out a great deal about the student’s range of knowledge.

1.What exams are more effective: written or spoken? Give your reasons.

2.Ways of assessment – exams or continuous assessment. Their pros and cons.

3.Is there any way to test a student’s knowledge?

7.Time for Fun

Teacher: What’s wrong in the sentence “Ann didn’t go to the library yesterday as she had had a birthday?”

Student: If the sentence which had “had had” had had “had”, it would have been correct.

Professor: Can you tell me anything about the great chemists of the 17th century? Student: Yes, sir, they are all dead, sir.

Uncle: Let us see whether you are smart at arithmetic, Charlie! I have 20 shillings and borrow 50 from your aunt and 30 from your dad. What does that make? Charlie: Debts, uncle!

The chemistry professor wrote the formula HNO3 on the blackboard. Then he pointed a finger at the inattentive student and said: “Identify that formula, please.” “Just a moment,” answered the student, “I’ve got it right on the tip of my tongue, sir!”

“Then,” said the professor softly, “you’d better spit it out. It is nitric acid.”

TOPIC: EKATERINBURG

Study the active vocabulary:

historic – important in history, having influence on history; a historic battle, meeting, building

historical – connected with history as a study, based on events in the past; historical research, society, play, novel

enterprise – предприятие lively – живой, оживленный

a wide variety – широкий выбор sidewalk = pavement (Am./Br)

to crowd – тесниться, толпиться, набиваться битком shopper – покупатель

to escape smth – сбежать, избавиться, отделаться rush hours – часы пик

undoubtedly – несомненно

to be within a few minutes’ walk from … - быть в нескольких минутах ходьбы от ......

majestic – величественный in the distance – вдали solemn – торжественный

to unveil – торжественно открывать, снимать покрывало

to own its origin to – быть обязанным своим происхождением under supervision of smb – под руководством к.-л.

to substitute – заменять

gem – драгоценный камень, самоцвет

precious/ semiprecious stones – драгоценные\ полудрагоценные камни to esteem – оценить, чтить

pig iron – чугун

to bring about smth – вызывать, осуществлять to witness – быть очевидцем, видеть

to suffer – испытывать, страдать, вытерпеть to damage – повредить, наносить ущерб mansion – особняк

estate – имение, поместье

to pull down – сносить

to survive – уцелеть, выжить