Phonetic exercises

Exercise I. Pronounce the words correctly. Pay attention to the way of pronunciation of stressed vowels.

/α:/ - art, craft, cast, marble, drama, march, draftsman

/eı/ - creation, renaissance, collaboration, chamber, bass

/æ/ - plastic, canvas, camera, jazz, band, clarinet, allegory, ballet

/ıə/ - surrealist

/αı/ - intertitle, icon

/αıə/ - satire, fire

/e/ - aesthetic, repertoire, impress, epic,

/ı:/ - technique, medium, elite, beat, reeded, sequel

/ı/ - symphony, lyrics, synthesis

/ə:/ - verse, circle

/כu/ - mold, composer, oboe, novel, prose, vocal, folk

/ɔ/ - horror, waltz, bandoneon, evolve

/ɔ:/ - performance, stall, audience, orchestra, cornet, chords

/u:/ - cartoons, tool, blues, flute, bassoon

/Λ/ - brush, repulsive, country, percussion, trumpet

/ju:/ - producer, studio, tuba

Exercise II. Pronounce the words correctly. Pay attention to the way of pronunciation of consonants.

/k/ - sequel, accordion, chords, orchestra, technique, camera

/ʃ/ - social, short, brush, fiction, musician, percussion

/ʧ/ - French horn, march, chamber

/ʤ/ - jazz, stage

/ɵ/ - synthesis, aesthetic

/w/ - sequel, repertoire

Lexical exercises

Exercise 1. Read and translate these sentences. Pay attention to active words and word combinations.

1. A new novel scored a great success. 2. As the performance ended the audience began to applaud. 3. This surrealistic film didn’t impress me much. 4. If there performs a folk orchestra we’ll attend this concert. 5. Mr. Brown wants his son to become a professional artist. 6. His technique impressed me greatly. 7. Surrealism is rather a sophisticated genre in art and not all people may understand it. 8. Both his poetry and his prose are full of aesthetic and humanistic ideas. 9. I don’t watch horror films, I prefer romantic melodramas. 10. Romanticism of Mozart and Beethoven evolved from Bach’s Baroque creativity. 11. The annual international competition and parade of military bands are held in St. Petersburg. 12. I like to attend different exhibitions of craft objects, where one can see a lot of things made of different materials – textile, beads, marble, metal, wood, leather. 13. Several years ago one could hear old waltzes performed by brass orchestras in parks and recreation centers. 14. Soviet animated films always have always had some philosophical implication.

Exercise 2. Make up sentences using these tables and translate them

a)

The performance of the violin player	impressed	me	much
His vocal		us
The sequel of “The Pirates of Caribbean”	didn’t impress	him
Turner’s canvases		her

b)

His critics	influenced	his decision
His mother		her opinion

c)

Bandoneon (a reed musical instrument)	evolved from	accordion
Great poems		his naïve ideas

Exercise 3. Insert the words given below instead of their synonyms in the sentences.

1. The play of the drummer was repulsive. 2. Whose verses are used in the song? 3. In arts different means of creating an object exist. 4. Judging by the repertoire of this band we may say that their style is the combination of jazz and folk. 5. This film impressed me so much that I couldn’t fall asleep. 6. I don’t like Japanese cartoons. 7. Cinema is a kind of art that has developed from theatre in some way but exists due to the achievements of scientific technical progress.

Synthesis, animated film, lyrics, movie, evolved, performance, medium.

Exercise 4. Choose one word for each of the following definitions. Consult the Vocabulary

1. The most powerful, rich, gifted, or educated members of a group, community, etc

2. A group of musicians playing either brass and percussion instruments only or brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments.

3. The period of European history marking the waning of the Middle Ages and the rise of the modern world: usually considered as beginning in Italy in the 14th century.

4. Any ornate or heavily ornamented style.

5. An occupation or trade requiring special skill.

6. Art produced chiefly for it’s aesthetic value.

7. Art that incorporate design and creative ideals to objects of utility, such as a cup, magazine or decorative park bench.

Exercise 5. Read the text and do the exercises.

a) Insert articles where it is necessary.

Notes: adult ['ad/\lt] взрослый

legend ['ledʒәnd] легенда

negotiate [ni'gou∫ieit] вести переговоры

Text 1 Sergei Obraztsov is ... founder of the State Central Puppet Theatre. ... theatre was founded in 1931. In ... fifty years of its existence ... theatre produced over sixty plays.

When ... theatre was opened it was intended for ... children. But time showed that ... adults* became interested in ... puppet theatre, too. .... first show produced for ... adults in 1940 was called "Aladdin's Lamp". It became ... hit. "... Unusual Concert", another show for ... adults, has been ... tremendous success for many years now.

Text 2. Galina Ulanova, prima ballerina of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre Ballet, is ... most exciting theatrical personality of ... 20th century.

Her name has been ... legend** here for years and those interested in ... arts listened eagerly to ... tales of ... travellers from Moscow who had been lucky enough to see her dance at... Bolshoi Theatre. Ever since ... war London Royal Opera has been negotiating*** for ... Bolshoi Theatre Ballet to appear in London and we all hoped that Ulanova would head ... company in some of-her most famous parts.

b) Answer the following questions.

Text 1: 1. How old is the State Puppet Theatre? 2. Who was the founder of the State Puppet Theatre? 3. What is the audience of the Theatre? 4. What are the most famous plays for adults staged in this theatre?

Text 2: 1. Where did Ulanova work? 2. When did she live? 3. What new information have you got about the ballerina? 4. What else do you know about her?

Exercise 6. Translate into English. Consult the Vocabulary.

1. Чарли Чаплин – культовый комический актер немого кино. 2. Мне очень нравится ходить на парады и слушать, как духовой оркестр играет военные марши. 3. В наши дни не так легко найти литературу, предназначенную для людей с тонким вкусом, в магазинах больше дешевых популярных книг, рассчитанных на массы. 4. Из репертуара этого певца мне нравится только одна песня. И вокал его меня тоже не очень впечатляет. 5. Балет я не люблю, мой любимый жанр – опера, синтез видов искусств. 6. Пьеса, которую мы с сыном видели на прошлой неделе, еще больше повлияла на его решение стать драматургом. 7. Я люблю выступления нашего камерного оркестра, в котором играют струнно-смычковые, рояль, флейта и иногда ударные инструменты. 8. Моя подруга – писатель, но поэзия ее мне нравится больше, чем рассказы.

Text 1

Exercise 1. Read and translate the text