Н.Н. Курпешко Методические указания для обучения устной речи на английском языке (практическое пособие для студентов-магистров)

I. Read and translate. Mind international words.

to formulate a binomial theorem, gravitation, a systems engineer, database systems, management and control methods, to design machines, database metrics and interface technology, informatics, business computing area, civil engineering, architect, cooperation, function, structure, a complex project, colleagues, fundamental, expedition, basis, gasification, analytical, ventilation, resources, transformation, reconstruction, substance.

II. Find the synonyms

a)scientific adviser, obtain, associated with, research, establish, advance, famous, deliver lectures, in collaboration with, be recognized, be devoted, turn attention, determine, occur, solve the problem.

b)found, in connection, get, supervisor, connected, receive, be designed to, define, consider the problem, investigation, put forward, outstanding, take place, propose, be distinguished, give lectures.

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III. Read the text and name the main facts from Newton’s biography.

Isaac Newton (1643-1727)

Isaac Newton is one of the greatest men in the history of science. He was born in a small village of Woolsthorpe in England. At school Newton studied well and made his first scientific experiments. After he left school Newton studied at Cambridge University.

In autumn of 1660, Cambridge University was closed. The Great Plague (чума) spread in England and Newton had to return to his village and stay there for eighteen months. At home he went on with his studies. When he was twenty-one Newton formulated the binomial theorem.

After graduating Newton lectured on mathematics at Cambridge University. Newton's greatest discovery is the law of gravitation.

In 1703 his countrymen elected Newton President of the Royal Society. On February 18, 1727 he attended his last meeting of the Royal Society. On March 20, 1727 he died and was buried in Westminster Abbey. There is a monument to Newton in Trinity College at Cambridge with the inscription: Newton, who Surpassed All Men of Science.

IV. Read and train minidialogues. Make up your own dialogues on the topics.

I

-When and where were you born?

-I was born in Kemerovo in 1988.

-What are your parents?

-My father is an engineer and my mother is a doctor.

-Have you got any other relatives?

-Many of them, but they don’t live in Kuzbass.

II

-Where did you attend school?

-In Kemerovo, school No. 54.

-What subjects were you interested in while at school?

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- While at school I was especially interested in physics and mathematics.

III

-When did you take your entrance examinations?

-Just after leaving school. I read much for the exams, so I passed them successfully.

-What faculty were you admitted to?

-To Mining Engineering faculty.

IV

-Did you join a student’s scientific society while in your first or second year of study?

-Second. I studied then under Prof. N. and he encouraged me to join it.

-Do you carry on research in collaboration with your colleagues?

-Well, I work in a team, so we do research together.

V. Insert the missing words and expressions.

1. He lives ... from the University.

2.The laboratory ... a small building to the left of the institute.

3.The research center ... in a large building in the Volkov square.

4.Our University ... in 1993 on the ... of the Mining Institute.

5.The research laboratory ... by a famous scientist.

6.The University ... after the scientist of international recognition.

7.There ... several laboratories in our research center.

8.The chair I study under is “…" .

9.This chair is situated in … which is one of the oldest … of the

Kuzbas State Technical University. 10. It is headed by … .

11. The staff of the … consists of instructors, …, … . 12. There … a Scientific Board at our University. 13. The scientific secretary of it is … .

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VI. Tell your biography using the expressions given below.

To be born in ...; to attend school; while at school I got interested in ...; to leave school; to take entrance examinations; to read much (hard) for the examinations; to be admitted to ...; to enter the University; while in one’s first (second, etc.) year; to join a students’ scientific (learned) society; to do physics (economics, etc.); to study at the ... faculty; to read a paper; to attend lectures in (on)...; to study under (Prof. N.); to graduate from the Institute (University); to begin (to start) working at...; to get an appointment as (a position of) a teacher (engineer, junior/senior research worker, laboratory assistant); to join a laboratory; to read for one’s thesis; to collect and to arrange data (facts, observations); to check one’s results; to do (to carry on/ to carry out) experiments on (with)...; to do theoretical work; to do research in (into, of)...; to make calculations (observations); to take readings of...

(instruments); to consult one’s scientific adviser; to come to the conclusion; to agree; to be through with the experimental part of...; to succeed in obtaining reliable results (data); to work independently/in a team; to overcome difficulties; to be particularly interested in.../ to take (no) interest in . . .; to be outside the scope of one’s work.

VII. Read the text and name as many directions of Norman Revell’s activity as you can.

Professor Norman Revell (DSc)

Norman Revell is Professor of Informatics, the head of the Computing Science chair at Middlesex University. After graduating from Oxford with a first class honours degree in Physics in 1968, Professor Revell began working as a systems engineer specialising in large scale systems applications, mainly in the process industry and the services sector. He joined City University in 1973 and was involved in development of new courses in the Business Computing area which subsequently led to the establishment of the Department of Business Computing - one of the first such departments in the world.

Professor Revell's research interests have been mainly involved with the areas of database systems, with an emphasis on management and design. He has over 50 published papers in this area and has been

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involved in a number of externally funded research projects. He has supervised a number of students in this field; they are currently working in the area of database metrics and interface technology. Some of the database benchmarks (контрольная задача) developed by his team have been adopted by a number of large database users both in the UK and elsewhere. He is currently working with a number of European universities and IT (Information Theory) firms.

Professor Revell took part in conferences and seminars held in the UK, Continental Europe, the USA, Australia and South East Asia. He was a visiting professor at the University of Florida (1989-1990) and a consultant to organisations at home and abroad.

Research in computing science is exciting and growing fast. The main areas of research are databases, human-computer interaction and multimedia. There is also a strong interest in computer-aided learning methods using networks and multimedia. The latter raises many design issues that are deep computing problems, and major contributions are being made to the improvement of the design and evaluation of systems.

In 1991 Professor Revell worked in Hanoi, Vietnam on a UNESCO-funded development project. In 1994 he was appointed the first head of Computing Science at Middlesex.

VIII. Speak on your scientific adviser using the expressions given below:

to be a well-known (distinguished, prominent, outstanding, famous) scientist; to be known (famous) for...; to be engaged in (different activities); to be appointed (elected, made) a director (head, manager, professor) of...; to hold the position of a director (head, professor, etc.); to be at the head of an Institute (laboratory, research team); to hold seminars; to give lectures (a course of lectures) in physics (geology, mining, etc.); to go on an expedition (tour, business trip); to contribute (to make a contribution) to...; to do important (outstanding, interesting) research in (into, of)...; to make a thorough (complete, detailed, accurate) study of...; to advance (to propose, to develop, to put forward, to suggest) an idea (a hypothesis, an approach, a theory); to work out an approach (method, explanation); to search for (to adopt, to [make] use of) a new approach (technique, method); to be

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generally recognized; to win general recognition; to win (to receive, to

be awarded) a prize (award) for...

UNIT III

PAPER AND THESIS WRITING

I. Read and translate international words and word-combinations. Ask your partner to translate them from Russian into English.

Dissertation, original idea, to organize information and data, to criticize ideas and information, hypothesis and experiments, objective, style, methods and techniques, to start, to direct, to collect facts, apparatus, final analysis, to interpret, tables and diagrams, practical tests, alphabetically, separately, modern, effective, objective, to reflect, an opponent, to sum, adequate data, illustrations, bibliography.

II. Read the text and speak on the technique of paper writing

Some Hints on Paper Writing

Use an outline. By the time you decide to write a report or paper you know in general what you want to say, but a written list of your ideas can help you get started. Try to make some kind of outline; many writers have found this plan useful.

An outline can take any form, from а list of words to a summary with major heading, subheadings, the first sentence of each paragraph. Instead of a formal outline, you can prepare something like a scheme to

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keep your paper on a straight course (or at least a planned one). If you have an excellent memory, you don't need an outline, but thoughts can occur in such a jumble (беспорядок) that some kind of a written plan usually helps. Then you can insert a new thought at the point in your outline where it fits best. You can work on it later.

Make an introduction concise and interesting. The introduction is the most important part of your paper. A clear, concise introduction should let the reader decide whether to read your report or paper or to use his time for something else. You can't control the reader's mood (настроение) when he first sees your paper. But you can describe your subject in a way that let him learn a little about it quickly.

To make a good first impression you must try to be even more concise and interesting than in the rest of your paper. If your paper contains new facts or new interpretations of old facts, say so in the introduction. Words and phrases like "new", "important development", "how to cut costs" attract the reader’s attention. But if you use such words be sure that you keep your promise (обещание). A good introduction often includes a sentence starting: "The purpose of this paper is...". Such a statement is concise and quickly understood. But to write it you must know your subject well.

Remember that your readers are all volunteers: they read because they want to, not because they are directed to. So you must persuade (убеждать) them to read your paper.

III. Read the text and speak on the technique of thesis writing based on one’s original research work.

Thesis Writing

A thesis is a long piece of writing, based on your own ideas and research, that you do as a part of a university degree. A thesis is based on original research which you do in libraries, laboratories, in mines and at enterprises. A thesis requires much time for a research, an organization of information and final writing. An adviser helps you choose the topic for your dissertation and make an outline, gives directions for your research.

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While working at one’s thesis one should use some technique of research:

•First comes the thought or idea that starts the research.

•The second step is collecting facts. Graduates study papers of other scientists, work in libraries, in laboratories or at enterprises. They make measurements, record the data, carry out observations, take readings of the apparatus.

•Then graduates process the data obtained and sum up them into tables and diagrams.

•The next step is putting forward a hypothesis.

•A practical test of the hypothesis is followed.

•Then comes organizing the facts.

•The final step is writing the thesis. A successful researcher is to consolidate information from various sources into his thesis and draw his own conclusions.

IV. Read and train minidialogues. Make up your own dialogues on the topics.

I

-How many chapters does your thesis consist of?

-It consists of three chapters.

-How is the subject-matter in your thesis arranged?

-Besides the three chapters there is an introduction and a conclusion.

-What problems are the chapters devoted to?

-In the first chapter I analyze different facts and ideas on the anchor bolt problem. In the second one I describe the experiment and its data or results. And in the third one I organize the facts and interpret them.

-Do you make any conclusions in the third chapter?- Sure, I do.

II

-I haven’t seen you lately. What have you been doing?

-I’ve been working hard, you know. I’m through with writing my thesis.

-That’s great! Congratulations.

-Thank you. There is still some work to be done. I’m to arrange all the references alphabetically.

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-Are there any tables and diagrams in your thesis?

-Yes, there are some. And they should be given separately at the end of the thesis.

V.Agree or disagree. Give your reasons.

•A dissertation is a long essay that graduates do as a part of a degree.

•The aim of a thesis is to describe the facts of nature.

•Modern ideas are often difficult to imagine.

•Scientific imagination is sometimes useless and even harmful.

•Scientific imagination should be based upon the laws of physics.

•Communication is important for scientific research. The results of research become scientific when they are published.

•The aim of a scientist is to create and criticize ideas and information.

•It is impossible to prove a hypothesis without making an experiment.

•A thesis should be objective and the style should prove this objectivity.

•One method or an experiment can’t be considered as final.

VI. Describe the structure of your thesis. Make use of the following points as a guide for your talk:

-the subject-matter of your research work;

-the headline of your thesis;

-the purpose of an introductory part;

-the number of chapters in the thesis;

-the title of each chapter;

-the problem(s) each chapter is devoted to;

-the aim of the conclusion;

-illustrations, tables, diagrams;

-references.

VII. Characterize one of the publications you have just read. Use some of the following speech patterns.

1. The book (handbook, text-book, article, essay) to be discussed is … The discussed book (volume, etc.) is . . .