1.27 Прочитайте и выучите наизусть один из диалогов

1 Parliamentary Monarchy

Student: As far as I know Britain is a parliamentary monarchy. How’s

that?

Teacher: It’s simple: there is the King, or the Queen, and there is a parliament enjoying the right to pass laws and elect the government.

Student: I see. And speaking about the British Parliament how many

chambers are there in it?

Teacher: There are two of them – the House of Lords and the House of

commons?

2 Are the Seats Hereditary?

Student: The seats in the Parliament are hereditary, aren’t they?

Teacher: Not exactly. The seats are hereditary in the House of Lords, but as to the members of the House of Lords, but as to the members of the House of the Commons, they are elected every five years.

Student: Which chamber is more important and how many members are there in each of them?

Teacher: The House of the Commons is surely considered more important. As to the members, it’s like this. There are 635 MPs (MP – Member of Parliament) in the House of the Commons (as far as I remember). But the number of peers is considerably greater.

1.28 Работа с диалогами. Прочтите и переведите следующий диалог Tell me about British Writers, Please

1. Who are the most popular writers in Great Britain at present?

2. It’s a difficult question. Tastes differ, you know. I’d say the most popular fiction writers are Graham Greene, Iris Murdock, and Alan Sillitoe, to name only a few.

3. As the Graham Greene, Iris Murdock and Alan Sillitoe I’ve read some of their books in translation. They impressed me greatly. I especially liked Graham Greene’s novels “The Comedians” and “The Honorary Consul”. I wonder whether John Galsworthy, Bernard Shaw, Somerset Maugham and Arnold Bennett are as popular as they used to be.

4. I don’t think so though many of their books are republished. Galsworthy is my favorite writer: He’s a classic. I hear most of Galsworthy’s novels were translated into Russian.

5. Oh, yes. I think I’ve read all the books that were translated.

6. I’m surprised at you, Russians. You seem to know English literature better than we do.

Word list

fiction [ ] художественная литература, беллетристика

in translation в переводе

impressed

especially [ ] особенно

“The Comedians” “Комедианты”

“The Honorary Consul” [ ] “Почётный консул”

wonder желать знать, удивляться, интересоваться

(be as popular) as they как были раньше

used to be (как бывали)

2 Unit 2. The usa

Прочтите текст 1“США”. Составьте план

USA

The United States of America (USA) is situated in the southern half of North America. The area of the USA is 7.839.000 kms without Alaska. The area of the United States is much larger than that of Europe, but almost three times smaller than that of Russia. The population of the USA is 246.8 (1989) million people.

The United States of America is a federation of states (now there are 50 states) which was established by the Constitution in 1787. Each state has its own government and its own capital city and within each state there are smaller subdivisions, of local government such as countries, townships, cities and villages. The capital of the USA is the city of Washington in the District of Columbia.

Stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, the USA borders on Canada in the north and on Mexico in the south.

The territory of the United States may be divided into three main parts: the Appalachian Mountain system in the east; the Cordillera system – in the west and the Central Plain between them.

The Great Lakes, situated on the US-Canada border, are the world’s largest fresh water basin. They are five in number, namely: Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario.

The biggest river of the United States is the Mississippi with its tributaries – the Ohio, the Missouri, and the Arkansas Rivers.

The territory of the United States is rich in natural resources. The reserves of coal, oil and metals in the USA are very large. The main iron ore deposits are concentrated near Lake Superior.

The main cities of the United States are New York, which together with its suburbs has a population of 12 million people, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Detroit.

Прочтите текст 1(b). Составьте схему федерального управления

The federal government of the United States is divided in to three main branches: the legislative, the executive and the judicial. The legislative branch of the government is the Congress. It is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The term of the Congress is for two years.

The US Senate has 100 members – two from each of the 50 states. Each Senator is chosen by a majority of voters in the entire state, and his job is to represent the whole state. Members of the Senate are elected to six – year terms.

The Constitution says that a Senator must be at least 30 years old, a citizen of the U.S. for nine years, and a resident of the state from which he is elected.

The US House of Representatives has 455 members. The member of Representatives which each state sends to the House depends on its population. The Constitution says that each state, no matter how small in population, must have at least one Representative. A Representative must be at least 25, a US citizen for seven years, and live in the state from which he is elected.

The business of Congress is to make laws. The US Constitution also gives Congress the power to:

Raise money by means of taxes or borrowing. Make rules for trade with foreign countries and between states. Set up post offices and federal courts below the US Supreme Court Organize the Armed forces.

Declare war.

Congressmen do work long and hard. But most of their work is done in committee meetings. Here bills are studied, exports heard, and recommendations are made to the whole House or Senate. There are very many Senate and House Standing Committees such as:

1 Aeronautical, Space, Science.

2 Agriculture and Forestry.

3 Armed Service.

4 Foreign Affairs.

5 Rules and Administration and others.

Joint Committees consist of Congressmen from both the Senate and the House.

These may be permanent or temporary, depending on the specific purpose of the committee.

Прочтите текст 1(c). Расскажите о Вашингтоне, используя следующие модели

… is situated on (in) …

The population of … is …

The historical places in … are … was founded in …

Washington is a center of …

Washington, D. C. – Capital of the USA

Washington was created to be the seat of government of the USA. You know that the flag of the USA, the Stars and Stripes, has fifty stars on a blue background. Each of these stars represents one of the fifty states. But the City of Washington is not in any of these states. It occupies the District of Columbia, abbreviated into D. C. and the name of the capital always goes with this abbreviation not to be mixed up with another Washington, which is a state on the Pacific Coast. The District of Columbia is between the states of Virginia and Maryland, on the Potomac River not far from the Atlantic Ocean.

It is one hundred square miles. This area is not a state and is not municipality, but Federal land. President Washington in whose honour the city was named took an active part in selecting the area of the District of Columbia. He called upon a famous French engineer named Pierra Charles L’Enfant. The population of Washington, D. C., is about 756.000 and together with the Suburbs its population is over 2.800.000.

Washington is like no other city of the USA. New York is a centre finance, of shipping, of fun; New Orleans deals in Cotton; Chicago will sell you wheat and a hundred heads of cattle. But Washington’s only industry is government. The White House here the US President lives and works, the Capitol, the home of the US Congress, and the Supreme Court are all in Washington, D. C. Washington’s street seems at first to be complicated, but it is not so bad as it seems and, in fact, is quite orderly and logical once a few basic rules have been learned.

The first is that the Capitol Building is the city’s central point. From this centre the City is divided into four sections or quadrants: North West, North East, South West and South East which are usually abbreviated N.W, N.E., S.W. and S.E. The Capitol is also the point from which the city’s streets are numbered or lettered. The streets east and west of the Capitol are numbered 1^st Street, 2^nd Street and so on. Similarly the Streets to the north and the south are named for letters of the alphabet. G Street, K Street, etc.

This simple plan of numbered and lettered streets is made somewhat more complicated by a handful of broad avenues, all named after the original thirteen American States.

Прослушайте текст и передайте содержание каждого абзаца на русском языке

Текст 1 (d). Sightseeing in Washington D. C. (Places of Interest in Washington)

Almost every public building, art gallery or government office you want to see is in the North West quadrant.

The Capitol. Seat of the US Congress. Its building was begun in 1793. The Capital consists of a central building crowned by a great dome and connected at each end by galleries with a large wing, one of which contains the Senate Chamber, and the other – the Hall of Representatives. Beneath the dome is a monumental hall called the Rotunda, adorned with works of art relating to American history.

The White House. Official residence of the presidents of the USA located at 1600, Pennsylvania Avenue. Every President except Washington has lived there.

The Library of Congress (the biggest existing library). You are told – contains more than 13 million books in various languages, more than 19 million manuscripts and many other items, such as maps, prints, recordings and musical scores.

The Washington Monument. From miles around can be seen this tall structure on the hill behind the White House. The Monument is 500 feet (about 152 rr) high.

The Lincoln Memorial is a big temple in Greek style with 36 marble columns to represent the states in the union at Lincoln’s death.

The Thomas Jefferson Memorial. This is a memorial to the third President of the United States (1743-1826). He is considered the founder of the Democratic Party, and Jefferson’s birthday, April 13, is a legal holiday in Alabama, Missouri and Virginia and is celebrated by Democratic Party groups.

The Smithsonian Institute. It is almost everything: scientific institutes, art galleries, zoos – all the result of a capricious gift from an Englishman who never saw America in his life – man named James Smithson who died in 1829 and left all his fortune (half a million dollars – a very large sum in those days) to the United States to found “an institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men”.

The Pentagon. Headquarters of the Department of Defense (the world’s largest office building). Its shape is five-sided (hence the name Pentagon). The Pentagon is of ten as a symbolic reference for the armed forces high command. It is the heart of the US military – industrial complex.

Downtown. Residents of Washington shop in a downtown area, much like that of any other American city.

Georgetown. A residential section of the City of Washington D. C. It contains the homes of many government officials. In Georgetown is located Georgetown University, the oldest Catholic college in the US, known for its Foreign Service school.

The Arlington National Cemetery. It is the site of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In it are also buried the bodies of American Soldiers from every war since the Civil War. President John F. Kennedy was also buried there.

John F. Kennedy Center for Performing arts is the sole official memorial to President Kennedy in the Capital, opened in 1971on the Potomac. Financed by both government and private funds, the marble building houses a 2.200 seat opera hall, a 2.700 seat concert hall, a 1.100 seat theater and other facilities.

Прочтите текст и ответьте на вопросы

Текст 1(e). Education in the USA

1 When do American children begin to go to school?

2 What is the first school called?

3 What kinds of secondary schools are there in the USA?

4 At what age do boys and girls finish secondary school?

American Children go to school for twelve years. There are different schools in the USA: public and private, co-educational¹ and for boys and girls alone. When the children are five years old they go to kindergarten. After kindergarten from the age of six years old they go to elementary school². They study there eight years.

Then the American children can go to high schcool³. They study there four years more. There are two kinds of secondary or high schools: Junior High schools are for children from 12 to 15 years of age; Senior High schools are for students of 15 to 18 years of age. In all secondary schools the schoolchildren are called “students” not pupils.

In American High schools there are two compulsory subjects for all students, that is all students must learn them. These subjects are English, physical education, and social science. But there are also elective subjects. There are the subjects which some students learn and other do not learn, if they do not like them, or think that they do not need them. Among elective subjects are mathematics, physics, chemistry, foreign languages, history and many others. American children finish school without any examination.

Higher education is given in colleges, technical institutes and universities. A college is like a university. The difference is that a university has several colleges. The students study at college four years. The must pay for their education.

¹ – совместный

² – начальная школа

³ – средняя школа

Расскажите о системе образования в США, используя данную ниже схему.

The System of Education in the USA.

Higher Education College or University (from 18 years or later)

Secondary Education

Senior High (from 15 – 18 years of age) High school (from 12 – 18 years

Junior High (from 12 –18 years of age) of age).

Elementary Education

Elementary or Grade School (from 6 – 12, 14 years of age)

Прочтите текст и найдите ответы на следующие вопросы

Текст 1(f). American English

1. Когда первые англичане появились на американском континенте?

2. Претерпел ли английский язык в США? Если да, то найдите в тексте подтверждения этому.

3. Языки, каких народов обогатили английский язык в США?

English may be said to have traveled to North America with the ship “Mayflower”¹ in 1620. The earliest English colonists in the New World were speaking Elizabethan English, the language of Shakespeare, Lyly, Marlowe, when they came to America. This is important and necessary for our understanding of some of the distinctive features which American English was to develop later on.

In the formation of American English there were added to the seventeenth century form of English many words derived from the languages of different peoples with whom the English – speaking colonists were brought into contact. First in importance come the words derived from the speech of various Indian tribes. From the Indians were borrowed not only the many geographical names of rivers, mountains, and names of implements and food preparations of a new kind (such words as canoe, moccasin, wigwam, tomahawk).

Besides the various Indian influences American English reflects the other non-English cultures. In the westward expansion of their territory, the English speaking colonists soon came into contact with the French, From the French in America were derived a considerable number of words, such as prairie, rapids.

Spanish words were adopted at two different periods. In the old colonial days, American received Creole, mulatto. Then, after the Mexican War (1846 – 1848) contact with Spanish-speaking inhabitants of Texas and the Spanish West resulted in the acquisition of such words as canyon, ranch, sombrero.

The Dutch settlers of New York contributed to American the following words: boss, Santa Claus, cookie.

We ought just to notice that in American English there is an increasing tendency to employ a simplified spelling. This tendency is the use of – or in all words that in English contain – our: thus Americans write honor and honorable for honour and honourable. Many Americans write thru for through.

Is there a difference between the English language as it is spoken by the English and by the Americans not only with reference to the pronunciation?

Well, just listen to me for a few minutes and you will see.

When you arrive in America and want to continue your journey by railroad (not railway as you are used to call it), you won’t take your tickets at

the booking – office but at the ticket – window, and the man who hands it to you is no longer the booking – clerk, but the ticket – agent.

You walk out on the platform, oh, I beg your pardon, it is here called track.

The train is already waiting and you quickly get into a car which in England you would call a carriage. If you want to fix an appointment with a friend, it will be best to call-him up. You are quite right in guessing that this is the same as to ring him up. He will tell you how to get to his hotel, whether you have to go by subway by which the underground railway is understood, or whether you had better take the trolley car, he may also call it street car, or even surface car.

Your friend will probably be expecting you in the lobby, in England you call it lounge. Then you will both get into the elevator (must I tell you that this is the lift). Which will take you up to your friend’s room. Your friend will probably take you out for a walk to have a look at the shops or stores as they call them in America. And then, I suppose, you will drop into one of numerous movies. I hope you will not mind the “cinema” being called movies here.

¹ – корабль “Мэйфлауэр”, привёзший в Америку первых английских колонистов.

Прочтите текст и перечислите национальные праздники США

Текст 1(g). Holidays in the United States

New Year’s Day – January 1 – a legal holiday in all states and the District Columbia. The largest New Year’s Eve party is a tradition in Times Square (New York), where people gather to watch the clock on the Times tower herald another year.

Memorial Day – May 30 – also known as Decoration Day. Memorial Day is a legal holiday in most of the states and in the territories and is also observed by the armed forces. In 1868, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic issued an order designating the day as one in which the graves of soldiers would be decorated. The holiday was originally devoted to honoring the memory of the dead of all wars.

Independence day – July 4 – the day of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, is celebrated in all states and territories.

Labor Day – is observed the first Monday in September in all states and territories. Labor Day was first celebrated in New York in 1882 under the sponsorship of the Central Labor Union.

Thanksgiving – is observed nationally on the fourth Thursday in November, the first national proclamation having been issue by President Lincoln in 1863. Most Americans believe that the holiday dates back to the day

of thanks in New England in 1961 but scholar’s point out that day of thanks stem ancient times.

Christmas – December 35 – the most widely celebrated holiday. Christmas customs are centuries old. Comparatively recent is the Christmas tree. Colonial Manhattan islanders introduced the name Santa Claus.

Прослушайте песню и постарайтесь запомнить её

We shall overcome.

We shall overcome (3)

Some day.

Refrain:

Deep in my heart

I do believe

We stall overcome

Some day.

We’ll walk hand in hand (3)

Some day.

Refrain.

We shall live in peace (3)

Some day.

Refrain.

The whole wide world around (3)

Some day.

Refrain.

We are not afraid (3)

Hurray!

Refrain:

We shall overcome (3)

Some day.

Refrain.

Do you know that

• Harvard College was founded in 1636? It is the most famous of the American Universities.

• The college of William and Mary (1693) was the second institution of higher learning established in the colonies?

• Yankee did not become general until late in the eighteenth century? This term was at first applied to the inhabitants of the Dutch colonies in North America. Now Jan Kees is a nick-name still applied in Flandres to people from Holland. Jan of course is the common Dutch name corresponding to the English John, and Kess may be either the usual perform of the name Cornelis, another name typical of the Dutch,

• or else a dialectal variation of kaas, cheese. Jankees became Jankees where the s was taken as the plural ending, and Jankee became the designation of any inhabitant of New England, and even sometimes of the whole of the United States.

Do you know that New York’s tallest buildings are

Empire State Building – 102 storeys – 1.250 ft

Chryster Building – 77 storeys – 1.046 ft

Rockfeller Building – 70 storeys – 850 ft

Do you know that U.S. Cabinet members are

Secretary of State

Secretary of Defense

Attorney General

Secretary of the Interior

Secretary of agriculture

Secretary of Commerce

Secretary of Labour

Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare

A Cabinet member is appointed by the President, subject to the confirmation of the Senate; and as his term is not fixed, he may be replaced at any time by the President.

Do you know that about 11 million people in the United States can neither read nor write?

ADDITIONAL TEXTS

Прочтите текст 1

Используйте информацию, изложенную в тексте, для бесед о Великобритании

A Few Words about Britain

The official name for the country whose language we study is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In every day use, however, the word “Britain” is quite possible.

The United Kingdom, populated by 56 Million men and women, consists of the followings parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The first 3 parts make Great Britain. There are also several small islands which are subject to the Crown, such as the Isle of Man (in the Irish Sea), Guernsey (in the English Channel) and others.

The state system of the country may be defined as a constitutional monarchy, though Britain has not any written constitution as one act and the monarchy is a mere formality English kings reign but do not rule. The supreme legislative authority in Britain is Parliament consisting of two chambers the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The normal life of parliament is fixed at five years. It sits for 160 days a year. About 900 peers sit in the House of Lords. Voters do not elect them. Their seats in the chamber are, as a rule, hereditary. The House of Commons is an elected assembly, and is considered more important. There are four main political parties in Britain: the Labour, Conservative, Liberal and Communist parties. The party, which wins the majority of seats at a General Election, forms the cabinet.

The leader of the majority party is appointed by Prime Minister.

Britain is a highly developed industrial country. Its main industries are coal mining, machinery, textiles and clothing, shipbuilding, vehicles, metal manufacture, electronics, chemicals.

Commerce and transport are as follows: London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Liverpool and others. English agriculture is also a highly developed industry, but because of lack of cultivated lands, it cannot supply the country with sufficient food products. Britain has to import grain, meat, wine, fruit and other foodstuffs.

Britain heads the so-called British Commonwealth of Nations, whose members, among others, are Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Ответьте на вопросы

1. What’s the official name for the main country of the English language?

2. What parts does the United Kingdom consist of?

3. What other countries – members of the British Commonwealth of Nations – do you know where English is spoken?

4. What’s the population of the United Kingdom?

5. What can you say about the institute of monarchy in England?

6. What is the supreme legislative authority in Britain?

7. What chambers does the British Parliament consist of?

8. Are seats in Parliament hereditary or elected?

9. What are the main political parties in Britain and how are they represented in Parliament?

10. What party has the majority of seats in the House of Commons today?

11. What can you say about London, the capital of Britain?

12. What would you advise me to see in London in the first place?

13. What’s the Tower (Westminster, Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park, etc) famous for?

Прочтите и переведите текст 2 “Stratford – Upon – Avon” с помощью словаря

Stratford – Upon – Avon lies at the very heart of England. This part of the country is notable for its quiet, rich scenery: beautiful woods, green fields, the winding Avon, riverside parks and orchards. There are some scenes of great beauty here.

Stratford – Upon – Avon is an old town. Its streets, its lovely half – timbered Houses, black and white with thatched roofs, breathe the spirit of the past.

But Stratford – Upon – Avon is known to thousands of people not for its beauty, but for the fact that it is believed that William Shakespeare, the great dramatic genius, was born and died here.

There is a lovely garden behind the house where all the flowers, trees and plants that are mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays, can be seen growing.

The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre stands majestically on the banks of the Avon. Shakespeare’s plays are performed for eight months each year and thousands of people from all parts of the word come to see them. In 1964 the people all over the world celebrate Shakespeare’s 400^th birthday.

Прочтите текст 3 “Shakespeare”, найдите ответы на следующие вопросы

1 At what theatre were many of Shakespeare’s plays stages?

2 What are his well-known comedies and tragedies?

3 Where was Shakespeare buried?

4 Have you read Shakespeare’s comedies and tragedies? What tragedies (comedies) have you read?

The 23^rd of April is William Shakespeare’s birthday. He was born in the heart of England in the country town of Stratford – Upon – Avon. (Stratford is the town and Avon is the river, which runs through the town).

In Stratford there is a big modern theatre, called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre. There you can see the plays of Shakespeare every year from April to November. Lots of people from all over the world go to this theatre to see the plays.

William Shakespeare was born in 1564. We don’t know about his education, but his works show that he was familiar with Latin books taught at grammar school. At twenty-eight we find Shakespeare well known in London as an actor. A few years later he became well known as a dramatist. Many of his plays were staged at a London theatre called “The Globe”.

Shakespeare is known as a writer of comedies, historical dramas and tragedies. Among his comedies are: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, “Comedy of Errors”. His tragedies are: “Otello”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “Hamlet”, etc.

Shakespeare died in 1616. He was buried in Stratford Church.

Word list

he was familiar - он был знаком,

were staged - ставились на сцене,

was buried - был похоронен,

church - церковь.

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A Red, Red Rose

By Robert Burns

O my Luve’s¹ like a red, red rose,

That ‘s newly sprung in June,

O my Luve’s like the melodie²,

That’s sweetly play’d³ in tune.

As fair art thou⁴, my bonnie lass⁵,

So deep in luve am I:

And I rill luve thee still⁶, my dear,

Till a’ the seas gang dry⁷;

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,

And the rocks melt wi⁸ the sun;

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

While the sands O’ life shall run⁹.

And fare thee weel¹⁰, my only Luve

And fare thee weel a while¹¹

And I will come again, my Luve,

Tho’¹² it were ten thousand mile

¹O my Luve’s – O my Love is

² the melodie – the melody

³play’d – played

⁴As fair art thou - As fair thou art (art [ ] – уст. 2^е л. ед. ч. настоящего времени;

to be; thou [ ] – уст. поэт, ты

⁵Bonnie – (bonny) lass – красивая девушка

⁶The still (thee – уст. поэт, тебя; still – до сих пор

⁷Till a (= all) the seas gang dry – пока не высохнут все моря

⁸Wi – with

⁹While the sands o’life (= of life) shall run – пока будет протекать жизнь

¹⁰Fare the weel (well) – до свидания

¹¹A while – пока /на время/

¹²Tho’ – though

Прочтите стихотворение.Сравните английский текст с русским переводом

Ogden Nash

(1902-1971)

To keep your friendship brimming.

With love in the loving cup,

Whenever you’re wrong, admit it:

Whenever you’re right, shut up.

Чтобы тени и сомнения

Дружбу врозь не развели,

В чём ошибся – признавайся;

В чём ошиблись – не кори.

Прочтите стихотворение

No Enemies

By Charles Mackey

You have no enemies, you say?

Alas, my friend, the boast is poor.

He who has mingles in the fray

Of duty, that the brave endure

Must have made foes. If you have none,

Small is the work that you have done.

You’ve hit no traitor on the hip;

You’ve dashed no cup from perjured lip.

You’ve never turned the wrong to right,

You’ve been a coward in the fight.

Ниже дан построчный перевод стихотворения Чарльза Маккея. Попробуйте сделать литературный перевод этого стихотворения