Situations for Spontaneous Monologues State Exam 2011-2012

1. Terrorism is considered to be a global menace now. Every victim of terrorism is a unique human being with a unique story to tell. The greatest terror acts altered all peoples’ worldview completely. These tragedies influenced nations and their mentality. The modern society as a whole and our world will never be the same.

(Т.С. Самохина, Е.М. Дианова Text pp.29-33).

I. (terrorists’ values, aims) We can not say that the terrorists, the Nazis and the Mafia have no values whatsoever, they have within their context. The problem is that the boundary won’t to extend beyond their own brotherhood. That’s why they think to be allowed to treat other people as ordinary\common objects. So the terrorist attacks are directed against civilians and things which the other group values. Why various groups have decided to use terrorism as a means for reaching their goal? Terrorists probably want something to change. Traditional terrorist attacks have as their goal a very specific political action. In the case of Russia it was independence for Chechnya. But the attack in the USA (September 11, 2011) did not have a specific political goal, rather it was an action that truly was intended to create fear and disruption for Americans.

II. (Americans reaction; most important symbols) Americans reacted with shock and horror at the terrorist attacks on Setember 11, 2011.Since that day millions of Americans have asked themselves and one another, why?

American most important symbols as a nation are the symbols of their economic (the World Trade Center) and military (the Pentagon) power. But for Americans the USA stand for more than that. There is a sense of humanity, a sense of grace and a sense of caring for those less privileged, a sense of human rights. All these kinds of things are powerful symbols for Americans, but they are not the kinds of symbols that stand out in the minds of those overseas.

III. (ignorance) The USA is one of the global leader in many sorts of ways, but at the same time Americans are ignorant of the affairs [ə'feə] that go on in other countries. The broad masses of the American public don’t speak languages, they don’t travel abroad. They recognize that sometimes their nation acted with arrogance and ignorance towards other societies. At times Americans have pursued misguided and unjust policies ['pɔləsɪ].

IV. (normalcy & sense of security) Americans take care of their normalcy. Under this normalcy every American understands primarily a sense of security that so many of them took for granted. This sense of protection from world’s evils was for many immigrants the thrill of this country. And when the first tower of the World Trade Center was attacked, Americans thought that this was an accident. After this sense of security was challenged another world began that day.

V. (twin towers) Americans looked on the twin towers of the world trade center as some of the most distinctive symbols of all that the nation could and had achieved. The terrorists, by contrast, looked at them the end of their own ways of life, their own values, and their effective autonomy.

VI. (shoulder to shoulder) We understand that every victim of terrorism, whether American, Russian or other nationality, is a unique human being with a unique story to tell. We remember and grieve for victims of all terrorist attacks around the world. In this sense, the American people stand “shoulder to shoulder” with Russian people in the fight against global terror. As events in Russia have shown, the terrorism has become a global menace. No nation can escape and no nation will be able to solve on its own. Both countries have improved their mechanisms to share information and develop specific areas of cooperation to forestall attacks. Our governments are stepping up their cooperative efforts against drug trafficking, a major source of terrorist financing.

Terrorism=the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce,especially for political purposes.

Origin: late 18th century: from French terroriste, from Latin terror (see terror). The word was originally applied to supporters of the Jacobins in the French Revolution, who advocated repression and violence in pursuit of the principles of democracy and equality

2. Many people think that the USA as a state is rather young to have its own traditions, customs and beliefs. But we can’t deny the fact that such notions as “American Dream” and “American Way of Life” do exist. The pride of being American is easily observed everywhere in the US. But the American patriotism does not mean the identification with the land, but the identification with a certain body of ideals.

(Т.С. Самохина, Е.М. Дианова Text pp.39-42).

1. (aim of earliest settlers) The earliest settlers in North American continent were motivated by the desire to escape the control. They were seeking relief from oppression and poverty. They were ready to make a fresh start. And there is freedom at the center of all that Americans value and hold dear. All in all they wanted to obtain freedom and give everyone an equal chance to succeed, because they held Europe’s firmly established class hierarchy in contempt.

2. (Constitution, Bill of Rights, freedom) In their Constitution Americans separated church and state, they forbade titles of nobility. The concept of individual freedom began to be associated with the US, because of their Bill of Rights. It assures [ə'ʃuə] гарантировать both freedom of speech and freedom of press and religion. The desire to be free of controls attracts immigrants from all over the world.

3. (individualism & self-reliance) Americans’ notion of freedom focused on the individual and individualism. Thomas Jefferson believed that a free individual’s identity should be sacred and the dignity of an individual should never be violated. In accordance with Protestant theology individualism is both self-reliance and economic self-sufficiency. And belief in them is the basic aspect of the American character. Americans never rely too much on the support of anybody in comparison with Russians, which often have relied on “Mother Russia”.

4. (opportunity & capitalism) With the help of capitalist ideology [ˌaɪdɪ'ɔləʤɪ] America became “the land of opportunity”. But capitalism has some undemocratic consequences, because only a relatively small number of people can reach the pinnacle of success. Just only a few could discipline themselves and work hardest, while other people are lazy. Americans believed that hard work is a road to personal success and material well-being. Students and children work part-time to gain valuable experience and become independent.

5. (American dream) There is one more notion of “American dream”. It’s associated with the phrase “to go from rags to riches”. If we compare America and Russia (2 most powerful countries in the world), Russia is the vast [vɑːst] land rich in natural resources, America isn’t. But it’s regarded as “a land of plenty (abundance)”. Most of the immigrants don’t become rich overnight, but they’ve got a chance to improve their former standards of living.

6. (practicality and productivity) Material wealth and possessions are one of the top priorities. That’s why practicality and productivity are more important than spiritual discovery, inner questioning. There is a lot of “how-to” books. And that’s the reason why American culture is viewed as anti-intellectual and hostile враждебно настроенный to the life of the mind.

7. (American patriotism & worldview) Americans are very proud of themselves. Foreign visitors can notice the prevalence ['prevləns] of patriotic symbols everywhere: flying flags, playing anthem ['ænθəm], patriotic slogans proclaiming love for America, statue of Liberty. American patriotism is identified with American worldview, “American way of life”. The conviction убеждение of their own uniqueness is viewed by other nations as nationalism with an aggressive and missionary tone.

8. Americans don’t have ancient traditions like Russia for Example. Russian patriotism is deeply rooted in love for the land, its beauty, folklore and culture heritage. In spite of this Americans think they need to prove their loyalty to a set of abstract ideals.

3. Russia, more than any other country, has always been a challenge for philosophers and historians who tried to provide a logical description of Russia’s national identity and national character. Russia is beset with contradictions and its binary character gave birth to the famous saying: “No matter what you say about Russia, the opposite might be true”.

(Т.С. Самохина, Е.М. Дианова Text pp.42-44).

 1. (uniqueness and complexity) To describe a country from every point is not an easy task, especially when it concerns Russia. Russia, more than any other country, has always been a challenge for philosophers and historians who tried to provide a logical description of Russia’s national identity and national character. There are some reasons behind this uniqueness and complexity.

2. (contradictions) First of all it is dramatically changeable history of Russia from Kievan Rus to today’s Russia with Free Market Economy. Russia is beset with contradictions. On the one hand Russia is yearning сильное желание for freedom and at the same time it has submissiveness to power, the lack of nationalism and the messianic spirit get along so well.

3. (common features) The vast territory of Russia comes [a] next Russia is a vast country, situated on the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Geography made Russia vulnerable to wars. It caused the isolation of some places situated far from the center. The cold climate caused the inertia of Russians. The vast land is rich in natural resources. Russian patriotism is deeply rooted in love for the land, its beauty, folklore and cultural heritage.

4. (communalism) A big role is given to the community-spirit. Communalism brought such ideas as dependence on each other’s help, mutual support and trust. Russians rely on a close network of family and friends.

5. (top traditional values coming from religion) Among the top Russian values there are: equality – the idea that everyone has the same set of rights. Preference of spiritual over material – it comes from the religion – to make money is sinful. Love – close relations among friends - and Beauty – beauty of the land. There is one more feature -messianic spirit – the hope that everyone will come and safe everybody from trouble.

6. (renewed values) With the advent of the market economy nowadays it may seem that many traditional values will change dramatically. But Russians today are showing renewed interest to the Church and their cultural traditions. Traditional values are still strong – self-sacrifice, sense of duty, compassion, the importance of family, courage and moral strength.

What values do you share as a native Russian?

Preference of spiritual over material, patriotism and Christian faith.

4. Globalization opened doors for people of different cultures to get together in different spheres from the UN to small joint ventures. But there are still cross-cultural differences in doing business. Interpersonal relations constitute составлять another area of them. Fons Trompenaars in his “Riding the Waves of Culture” describes the so-called specific and diffuse cultures. It is useless to argue what type is “better” or more productive. The first thing to understand is that they are just different.(Т.С. Самохина, Е.М. Дианова Texts pp.46-48).

1. (globalization for foreign languages specialist) Globalization opened the door for people of different cultures to work together. Especially if you are a foreign language specialist, you are doomed to operate across cultures. And it’s no matter what career you are going to follow. Language is not merely ['mɪəlɪ] a system of symbols, it is also the reflection of the nation’s culture and heritage.

2. (cultural peculiarities) No matter how much you learn about other cultural peculiarities, there is one thing which you should remember first of all. If you will become a productive citizen of the global village, you should have awareness about your own cultural as it may be perceived by people of other nationalities. Before thinking how unusually our foreign partners or customers behave, we are to try and understand our own assumptions and values which underlie our judgments and opinions. The thing is that cultures differ by the way they treat the basic material and moral values.

3. (Interpersonal relations & specific and diffuse cultures) Interpersonal relations in business constitute another area of cross-cultural differences. Fons Trompenaar in his “Riding the Waves Culture” describes the so-called specific and diffuse cultures. These cultures differ in the way people treat their personal and public space. Within the specific type of culture, personal and public spaces are separated from each other. Thus a manager belonging to the culture of this type performs absolutely differently in the capacity of a boss, friend, husband and father. Within the diffuse culture, personal space assumes colossal dimensions while public space is really thin. A manager within the diffuse culture can hardly separate being a boss from being a friend.

The personal element prevails преобладать in companies belonging to the diffuse culture. Employees in this company value understanding, support, trust and family atmosphere. In companies employees consider that a good boss is the one who is understanding and helps them to solve their personal problems. Within the specific type of culture employees see a good team as a group of people who share the same goal and are able to cooperate to achieve this goal.

4. (conflict) For people working in companies which belong to the specific type of culture, conflict is an indispensable part of development. Conflict can be creative and is to be managed. Conflict is avoided by members of the diffuse type of culture. Criticism is taken very personally: if you criticize my performance on the job, you hurt me personally.

It’s useless to argue what type is better, the main thing is to understand that they are just different.

Have you got any personal job experience? If yes, say a few word about your boss and colleagues.

No, I haven’t. *the way of thinking

Globalization = worldwide integration and development

5. Everything we do, or don’t do, is a choice that can affect the course of our lives and the lives of others. What basic ethical principles we should follow as the members of the global society? What can you say about three ethics guides? (Т.С. Самохина, Е.М. Дианова Texts pp.23-28 ).

There are several reasons why our modern society needs a universal ethics: all people are in one community now, and it is a global community. All are responsible; our problems aren’t limited by the borders. We should pay attention to what we do and how we do it.

Everyone lives by the moral creed he/she has developed. All of us have different beliefs, religions, and moral values learned from the people around us, our parents and institutions. Each of us taught somewhere what is “right” and what is “wrong” in polite society. As we go through life we take moral decisions daily based upon our moral ethics and beliefs. And we draw our ethics from past experience. We may not think about morality or beliefs when we decide whether to let an elderly person have one’s seat or to sit pretending like you notice nothing, but the values we have been taught affect that decision.

 It’s a difficult task to find out a core set of universal values on which everyone should agree. There is a continuing belief that a universal set of values can be formulated for the global community, possibly elaborated in the form of hierarchy ['haɪərɑːkɪ]. This search has been a constant feature of our historical past. The similar concern was expressed by the sacred texts of the Vedas, the Gita, Bible, Koran. Nowadays peaceful coexistence in the “global village” is impossible without communication, which requires establishing a set of models to be shared. Values, such as collective human survival, the privacy and protection of human life, the preservation of the nature and the dignity of mankind [ˌmæn'kaɪnd], justice, freedom and equality, already form the nucleus of universally accepted values.

Some researches qualify 3 spheres of universal values: the public sector, the market sphere (business and knowledge sector) and the civic sector. The first sector includes the values and the institutions whose goal is to provide peace, order, security and social justice. All commercial and intellectual values and institutions belong to the market sphere. These 2 spheres are nestled ['nesl] within the third, civic sphere. The last sector consists of such values like hospitality, resilience [rɪ'zɪlɪən(t)s], reciprocity [ˌresɪ'prɔsətɪ], trust, civility, tolerance, forgiveness, respect, courage, love.

The first thing which we should remember I think is called “a golden rule”. It mainly concerns the dilemma whether we are you treating others as you would like to be treated. I believe if all people follow this rule, we all will be happy.

6. There is a statement that the value of human life is viewed differently by different cultures and at different periods of the nation’s history. But death is a subject in which everyone has a personal interest. Medical progress has pushed us to new and more personal ethical horizons and now we face such phenomenon as euthanasia. But there is an opinion that Life and Death are not in the person’s hands.(Т.С. Самохина, Е.М. Дианова Texts pp.54, 60-62, The Obituary: Jack Kevorkian).

Death is a subject in which everyone has a personal interest. What we believe about life and death has enormous importance on our daily life. Through different cultures with different demographics and divergent [daɪ'vɜːʤənt] concerns, the value of the human life is reflected in the nation’s attitude towards the voluntary taking of human life.

The word euthanasia [ˌjuːθə'neɪʒɪə] is derived from two Greek words: eu which means “good”, and thanatos – “death”. Thus in reality the word euthanasia means “good death” and refers to the process ['prəuses] by which people’s deaths are intentionally brought about by themselves or other people, with the desire to relieve освобождать pain or suffering.

Euthanasia can be active and passive. We say “active”, when someone makes an effort to terminate his own or somebody else’s life. Passive euthanasia means death by withholding приостановка available medical treatment or care that could enable the person to live longer. In any way, euthanasia deals with voluntary murder and gives a human being the right to make decisions in matters of life and death.

This physician-assisted suicide has become one of the most emotional and serious issues that society faces today.

The main argument of those who support euthanasia in any form is respect for autonomy. They say “it is my life and I can terminate it as I wish”. For many people it is the means to die with dignity. The fear of losing control of their life and their body motivates people to make a decision when they are still in control.

So, there are also many reasons why people decide to take their lives. It may be unbearable [ʌn'beərəbl] emotional or physical pain coupled with the feeling of isolation [ˌaɪs(ə)'leɪʃ(ə)n] and loneliness. It may be also caused by depression which robs people of self-worth and self-esteem. Many sad events can trigger suicide attempts like loss of a loved one, public humiliation, illness or physical infirmity.

The concept of “the right to die” which is especially propagated by ardent advocates of human rights is contrasted with the concept of the “obligation to live”. Many people advocate the need to re-examine [ɪg'zæmɪn] medical ethics. E.g. D.Kevorkian was a proponent of assisted suicide. He was a strong believer that religion and medicine should be completely divorced. This opinion is strongly contradicted by physicians working on new ways of effective pain management. Effective pain management is combined with psychological support or hospice care. All in all it can help a person pass through the most difficult times of his life.

Religious people view life as a gift from God. It’s not entirely [ɪn'taɪəlɪ] our own, and death which is imposed over humanity as a consequence of our sin can never be good.

What’s your personal attitude towards euthanasia?

Do you share the opinion that life and death are not in the person’s hands?

7. A happy marriage can be one of the greatest joys in life. Most couples start their marriage with that happiness as a goal. There are many reasons why some marriages succeed and others fail. One of the tips concerning happy family life is to marry the right person. That might sound pretty simple but still there is a great number of unhappy families and broken homes. (Total English. Advanced).

1. (What is a happy marriage?) A happy marriage is just like a healthy plant. If you give the plant water, sun and air, it blossoms. A marriage requires an equal amount of nurturing ['nɜːʧə] if it is to blossom. The excitement and joy that newly-wed couples often experience tend to wear off within the first year of marriage and so, if you want to celebrate your 50th anniversary with your partner one day, you both need to make a conscious decision to work on your relationship. For any relationship to be happy, first each partner must learn how to be happy individually.

2. (psychologists point of view) On the one hand psychologists recommend to all couples to create and then share a list of 50 things that make each one of them happy. It is quite incredible to see just how surprised most of them are when they read their partner's list. Many of the items on the list usually are simple, cheap and even free. Life is easier when you know the things that make you and your partner happy. I think we should try to remember the list with things which make your spouse happy.

3. (some advice to a HM & key) On the other hand there are many pieces of advice which you can follow to have a happy marriage. There are some main things, like keep asking yourselves “what can we do to have a happy, loving atmosphere in our house?” or “What approving things can I say and do to put my (husband or wife) in a positive emotional state?”. Your relations will be better and deeper if you focus on giving, rather than taking. It’s significant to keep doing and saying things that will give your spouse a sense of importance.

The key to good relations is compromise ['kɔmprəmaɪz]. You really should be willing to do something you would rather not do in return for similar behavior from your spouse.

4. (concentration on positive traits and the present) You can also write a list of ways that you have benefited from being married to your spouse and keep adding to the list and reread it frequently. I have written a list of my boyfriend positive traits and qualities. And I always remember our finest moments. In spite of these we should live in the present. What went wrong in the past is the past, because we create the present and future with our thoughts, words, and actions right now.

5. (my opinion) In my opinion the very simple secret to a happy marriage is to remember the following: firstly, you should spend quality time alone together. A long-lasting, happy marriage is about knowing your partner, being supportive, and being nice. A happy marriage is based on deep friendship, knowing each other well, having mutual respect, knowing when it is sensible to try to work out an issue, to share your opinions.

Another important point to a happy marriage is to learn to separate gender differences, not compete [kəm'piːt] with them. The secret to a happy marriage is selflessness, putting the needs of your spouse ahead of your own needs. We should be tactful, understanding, friendly with each other, sincere, generous (material and emotional), and sometimes be ready to give in.

*There are many reasons, why people divorce: infidelity, conflict of interest, children or material causes. But most of reasons are rooted in unwillingness to discuss the problem.

8. The question of balancing children and career is always posed to women, but men can have children too, and so it’s an issue for men as well. Nowadays one can observe some kind of changing roles in modern family. Of course, there is a strong feeling that a traditional nuclear family is the basic unit of the society. But nobody will challenge the statement that a family is a reflection of its society and social and economic developments bring about alterations in the households.

(Т.С. Самохина, е.М. Дианова Texts pp.92-97, 103).

Traditionally, a woman will give up some or all of her career when she is ready to start a family. But many women nowadays take the lead over men in higher education degrees, they have high flying careers, and don’t want to give them up. New American mothers and fathers are increasingly torn between the demands [dɪ'mɑːnd] of their busy careers and the responsibilities of parenthood. That family structure has profoundly changed, replaced in large part by dual-career couples.

So being a parent and a career woman isn’t easy. Working mothers everywhere have a “conflict of interests”. A demanding job leaves half of parents too tired to do things with their children. Many women confess that they have to put work ahead of family at least some of the time. But overworked employees [ˌɪmplɔɪ'iː] feel less successful in relationships with spouses, children and friends. They are more likely to lose sleep and feel stress, and are less able to cope with everyday events. Parents, who don’t foster life balance, are most likely to suffer negative spillover.

Many family psychologists believe that “how” work affects us has more of an effect on kids then “whether” we work. Many divorced and unmarried mothers really want to spend all day and night with their children, but it’s impossible because they are the single breadwinning. They feel they need to apologize, and try to make up. But the child abandoned to a nanny, a care-giver, or a baby-sitter may be smothered ['smʌðə] with the wrong kind of attention when collected. Women are born free and grow up guilty. Besides, there is a great social pressure on women to behave well. Guilt is a powerful form of control. Working mothers are caught between perceived duty and private desire.

So there are two ways to balance career and children. The first is that we have to believe in ourselves and we have to know that we can make it work. And the second is love. We are going to have ooze it from every pore. We are going to have to love our work passionately, to love our husband, to have desire to comfort him and finally to love our child very much. It means we should not just hear its needs, but feel its needs and never let the child feels that anything is more important to mother in the whole [həul] world. It’s really very hard because the day hasn’t more than 24 hours. But we owe it to ourselves to try for it. We may be disappointed if we fail, but we are doomed if we don’t give a try.

What is your attitude towards a traditional family?

Do you think a woman’s role is at home? I think every woman has right to decide herself whether she wants to devote her life family or career or she wants to try to find balance between work and children. It is essential to strike a balance between work and family. Working mothers are caught between perceived duty and private desire. A woman should have the right to either be at home and take care of her family or go out and work.

I suppose one of the biggest advantages is never being aware of the common stereotype that women are second-class citizens and chained to the kitchen. Woman should have the right to choose the way she would like to live her life.

In my opinion women must not abandon their families. They must be able to combine excellence in their career and profession with their home management ability. The home front needs them most. Their ability to combine the two fronts effectively will give them leverage (рычаги влияния на) over women in other places.

9. Being a parent is a real challenge. Trying to find the right balance between encouraging поощрять your kids and not pushing them too hard isn’t always easy. Some parents end up with children blaming порицание them for the lack of support others for interference into their private life. (Total English. Unit 1 p.12, p.145)

Of all the jobs in the world, being a parent may be the trickiest. Children are often hard to understand. They seem impossible to control. Sometimes, no matter how hard they try, it seems that everything they do is wrong. No one can make parenting easy. But by learning more about children and their needs and by talking to other parents can help you find ways to be more effective.

As your child grows you realize how society plays a role in your parenting. Positive and negative influence is everywhere. You wonder how you can instill your beliefs into your child when you feel suffocated by the pressures and influence of modern life.

Parenting is a bigger challenge than ever. There seem to be so many “do’s and don’ts”, “rights and wrongs”. You want to do your best but sometimes you find yourself questioning everything! As your children older through elementary, middle and high school, more challenges will be knocking at your door.

There are some main rules by being a parent like showing interest in what your children are doing, or giving hugs, even if they push you away. You should always remember that kids need to talk. Sometimes you can just listen and don’t comment. If you make your home a comfortable, clean and relaxing place to live, it can make your relations closer and the atmosphere can influence their wish to spend more time at home with the family. You shouldn’t forget you are an adult, because sometimes the word “NO” is all you need to say.

But above all being a parent really means that you are there for your child. Because in the future, your child will remember all the times that you were there and all the times you were not. For me, my children, while part of me, do not belong to me. My job (as a mum) is to provide them with love and security while ultimately bring them up and show them how to be responsible adults who can look after themselves when they eventually leave home.

Being a parent is one of the most fulfilling experiences a person can have. The most important thing a parent can give their child, however, is a sense of being loved. And the key to being a good parent is to remember we are a mirror to our children. Our actions reflect who we are and our children will mimic us because we are their most important teachers!

10. In recent times women have chosen to be free from age-old traditions, beliefs and sentiments which have inhibited their self-expression and have been a barrier to their possibilities and their will. Truly, the trend is a healthy one. No gender can make a claim to monopoly of abilities and capabilities [ˌkeɪpə'bɪlətɪ]. We need a healthy environment where all, irrespective of gender, social class, ethnic group or professional belonging will contribute their best for our collective progress. (Т.С. Самохина, Е.М. Дианова Text pp.84-87).(Т.С. Самохина, Е.М. Дианова Text pp.92-94).

It is good that women are taking up important positions in political, social and economic spheres of life. The trend must be encouraged. The new world of our dream is one where excellence will be our general philosophy, because social change requires efforts from both sides. Women must strive to excel and be counted among the best and brightest, because they have equally great capacities for great achievements.

Dramatic changes have taken place in all areas of women’s lives since Napoleon era. Centuries of discrimination against women bore their fruit. The twentieth century experienced a dramatic increase in civic-rights and feminism movements that was never seen before.

There is a tendency in the latest years that women passed men in numbers of university degrees awarded. Women have also made considerable progress over the past generations in jobs. Today they are more interested in finding solutions to the problems that confront them than concentrating only on the problems themselves.

If we compare 3 different generations - our, the generation of our mother and grandmothers, we will see how strong the family and work structure was changed for women.

Our grandmothers quitted work after getting married or having child. They had no ambition to climb the top of a career ladder. They stayed at home and raised kids. Women belonging to the next generation, generation of other mothers, have another notion about life. They could get a divorce or choose singleness as options to marriage. Women got better paid work, even if she was married or was a mother. So these women broke the glass ceiling and got into positions of political power. The society made it acceptable for women to delay or space with birth control, or even not to have children at all. The discrimination and harassment against working-class women in our country still existed.

Women have many opportunities today and seize them. They usually have a lot of ambitions. They get well paid work, so they can support themselves and a family. They can afford to become mothers, because they are able to earn enough money.

However women have made enormous progress over the past generation, but still glaring inequities persist. In the modern society there is a set of measures, which are taken to overcome a sex discrimination like gender-free language. There have appeared a lot of “gender neutral” words in the English language, e.g. “chairman” is substituted by “chairperson or chair”, “home maker” is used instead of traditional variant “housewife” etc.

11. One must confess, Russian history offers few positive images of women. There was codified their submissive position and intellectual inferiority to men. Now women in Russia actively participate in social and political affairs, but the discrimination still exists, they say. One can follow the way of a woman in Russia from a “weaker sex” to an “equal member of society” and the others affirm we haven’t achieved this goal yet. (Т.С. Самохина, Е.М. Дианова Text pp.88-90).

Russia has often been considered a sexist society and its history offers few positive images of women. A document called the “Domostroy” or “Law of the Home” codified the submissive position of women and their separation from family property ['prɔpətɪ] rights. For several centuries, the phrase “the wife shall fear her husband” was an axiom.

Such a legacy left an indelible [ɪn'deləbl] mark on the female psyche ['saɪkɪ]. Many of the Russian women are intelligent, insightful (perceptive), ambitious, but they view themselves in a negative light. They don’t really understand what self-esteem is.

After the second World War especially Russian women were transformed into modern hunter-gatherers and evolved a sense of their own capability and resilience [rɪ'zɪlɪən(t)s]. The idea that being female is a liability [ˌlaɪə'bɪlətɪ] is so carefully cultivated in Russia that women quickly learn to criticize themselves more relentlessly than the men around them do.

Russian attention to the status of women is three hundred years old. Women’s emancipation in Russia goes back to the times of Peter the Great. Peter made mandatory the presence of noblemen’s wives and daughters at court social occasions. Only later Catherina the Great opened the first school for young ladies of the nobility. At the same time Ekaterina Dashkova became the first woman-president of the Russian Academy of Science.

There are some extraordinary women of 19-20^th centuries whose names are inseparably linked with women’s emancipation in Russia. They are Tzvetaeva, Akhmatova, Teffy in literature, Serebrykova, Goncharova, Popova in fine arts, Kovalevskaya in science.

The Soviet Union’s constitution already guaranteed equal rights for men and women. Discrimination against women was outlawed and women secured a share of political posts. But soviet “state women” represented not the interests of ordinary women, whose lives were very difficult in Soviet times, but the interests of the nomenclature and the ruling party.

While life became more difficult every day, it was paid more attention to feminist ideas. And nowadays we can surely say that all that women fought for was for a reason. It wasn't just in vain. Now we, women, have a lot of rights and possibilities. Of course there're some negative sides of feminism movement - because woman has to be like a super hero to do everything in this life, and some men leave it to her to "carry heavy men's job", but in general everything that women in our country have achieved is very useful for our generation.

12. Most, both men and women would say that the most difficult task almost everybody faces is “finding balance”. What balance? No doubt, we all strive for some balance to achieve wellness. As for women, first of all, they try to combine family and work, but being a mother and a career woman has never been easy. (Т.С. Самохина, Е.М. Дианова Text pp.95-98).

The most difficult task for both men and women is “finding balance”. Under the notion of “finding balance” we can understand the balance between family and work, balance between spouse and children, between “I must” and “I’d like to”.

We all strive for some balance to achieve wellness. And before “striving for balance” we should understand what we are looking for. What are the ingredients of this wellness? Some psychologies believe that there are 6 dimensions of wellness: physical, intellectual, vocational, social, spiritual and emotional.

Under physical di[aɪ']mension they understand all issues pertaining to our body. There are daily exercise, diet, medical care, the use and abuse of tobacco, drugs and alcohol.

Intellectual part of our life involves creative, stimulating mental activities. Intellectual stimulation is a form of growth. And it’s important to continue to learn, because it’s crucial (for?)to maintaining intellectual health.

Vocational dimension is connected with our work. It’s growth and happiness in one’s work. A vocationally well person seeks jobs that give personal satisfaction and enrichment.

One of the most important parts of our life is social life. Contributing to the human community and physical environment develops healthy ways of person to interact, react and live with other people.

We are always in quest of meaning and purpose in life. That’s why psychologists qualify such dimension as spiritual. A spiritually well person develops, evolves and practices his religious, political, personal beliefs.

There is one more dimension of wellness mentioned above – emotional. It is awareness and acceptance of our feelings. As an emotionally well person, we maintain quality relationships with others and feel positive about our own life. Also we should work to decrease levels of stress.

The most important thing is realizing that we are all different. Each individual will place emphasis on the things that make us good. Firstly we should realize the importance we place on each aspect of our life and the relative amount of energy we would like to spend on each. That’s the main rule of “finding balance”. If someone is able to convert their priorities into life changes he will live a happier, more energetic life.

I’ve made a research of my own dimensions of wellness. The results were a little surprising. As far as I’m a student the intellectual dimension is the most important for me right now. The second place is occupied by the physical dimension. I think about my health more now than in my childhood. Because I fully realize its importance and I think I should take care of it. This dimension requires constant attention in all periods of our life. Health is above wealth. The third place belongs to social dimension. I like to communicate with people who share my interests and to meet new people. That’s why social life is also very significant.

Generally I’m very satisfied with my life at the moment, though I think my graduation will be a turning point. Let's wait and see! Today I’m trying to find balance between my studies

13. In a short period of time you’ll become the graduates. Hope, you have already identified the area in which you see yourself upon graduation. Now, you have a chance to compare your motives a number of years ago to enter the university and the motives of your future occupation’s choice. Many graduates have their own ideas about, so called, dream job and believe they can achieve everything they want. (Т.С. Самохина, Е.М. Дианова Text 2 pp.116-118).

A good job means different things to different people. Workaholics like working the whole week, including weekend, but there are such people who like doing nothing and get paid. The job-satisfaction depends on different things, such as pay, promotion opportunities, management, people you work with and working conditions.

The pay is recognized to be a significant factor in job satisfaction. Besides the salary being a major way to attain the basic needs, it is also viewed by many people as a reflection of a value attributes to their work. But material incentives are not always number one: in all cultures there are people who would prefer status, the reputation of the company they work for.

The other important factor is promotion. There are certain jobs and certain companies in which you reach your ceiling pretty fast. In many multinational companies it’s difficult to get a promotion, unless you’re on a profit-making line.

Most people view management as an important part of their jobs that may increase or decrease their job satisfaction. As we know there are two types of leading business – Western and Eastern. In the Western model there’re distant relations between the coworkers, and in the eastern on the contrary they’re very close.

The nature of the people you work with is another important factor in job satisfaction. The work group may vary in age, social status and educational background. The same is true about the customers with whom you work.

Working conditions effect our job satisfaction. If they’re good, and we work in attractive, clean surroundings, we find it easier to carry out our job. On the other hand, if working conditions are poor we find it more difficult to get things done.

Just as you don’t marry the first man or woman you meet, you don’t take the first job offered. And if we’ll make a mistake, we shouldn’t regret – we always can make a change!

What factor would you take into account while finding a job? What’s least important thing for you?

14. If you haven’t started your job hunt, it’s high time. It’s not sufficient just to know what you’d like to do, it’s necessary to collect your resources, focus your energy and launch an effective job-search campaign.