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ПОСОБИЕ ПО АНГЛИЙСКОМУ ЯЗЫКУ ДЛЯ СТУДЕНТОВ ГУМАНИТАРНЫХ ВУЗОВ

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"Jargon" consists of words that are known almost exclusively to insiders. Some examples: A "four on the floor" is a four-speed hand-shifted automobile transmission. A "no show" is a person who fails to use a ticket for an event or a trip.

Gobbledygook and jargon are often seen in news releases about high-tech prod­ucts, giving the uninitiated reader a baffling message.

□ Words and word-combinations

1. error — ошибка

2. credibility — правдоподобие, вероятность

3. draft — набросок, план, проект

4. ponderous — громоздкий, тяжеловесный

5. to obscure — делать неясным

1. insider — член общества или организации; "свой человек"; лицо, имею­щее доступ к конфиденциальной информации

6. a baffing message — сбивающая с толку информация

7. gobbledygook — (si.) воляпюк, абракадабра

B

Poor Sentence Structure

The subject and the words that modify it often become separated in a sentence, causing some confusion as to what exactly is being discussed. Here are some examples from actual news releases:

The proposed budget provides salary increases for faculty and staff performing at a satisfactory level of two percent.

The New Mexico Women's Correctional Facility in Grants is scheduling a Christ­mas party for children and grandchildren of inmates under 15.

Wrong Words

A good dictionary serves not only to check spelling but also to verify the meaning of a word.

An Associated Press (AP) story once told about a man who had inherited a small scenic railroad from his "descendants", who had started it in the nineteenth century. The writer meant "ancestors" but used the wrong word. A government publication also used the wrong word when it reported, "Colonel Kit Carson's military campaign result­ed in the interment of 9,000 Navajo and Apache Indians". "Interment" means burial; the writer probably meant to say "internment", which means detention or confinement.

More common mistakes involve the usage of "it's" and "its", "effect" and "affect", "there" and "their", and "presume" and "assume". Other frequently confused words are listed in the next section. When in doubt, take the time to use the dictionary. It will save you embarrassment later.

□ Words and word-combinations

1. poor sentence structure — неправильное построение фразы

2. to cause confusion — стать причиной путаницы, неразберихи

3. to verify the meaning — проверить значение (слова)

4. it'll save you... — это избавит вас от...