Методические указания по развитию навыков чтения на английском языке для студентов 1-2 курсов ОЗО филологического факультета

Министерство образования Российской Федерации Ростовский государственный университет

МЕТОДИЧЕСКИЕ УКАЗАНИЯ по развитию навыков чтения на английском языке для студентов 1-2 курсов ОЗО филологического факультета (часть I)

Ростов-на-Дону 1999

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Методические указания обсуждены и утверждены на заседании кафедры английского языка гуманитарных факультетов РГУ Протокол № 10 от 28.05.1999 г. Составители - ст. преп. Бар Т.Н., ст. преп. Баркова С.Л.

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Методическая записка Настоящие методические указания для студентов 1-2 курсов филологического факультета ОЗО предназначены для того, чтобы научить студентов извлекать полезную информацию через чтение на иностранном языке научно-популярной литературы и периодики по специальности. Учебный материал и система упражнений данных методических указаний направлены на развитие навыков как перевода, так и чтения с охватом общего содержания прочитанного и с выходом на устное реферирование текстов по широкому профилю филологического факультета. Они могут быть рекомендованы как для студентов отделения русского языка и литературы, так и отделения журналистики. Методические указания состоят из 20 уроков и текстов для дополнительного чтения. Первые 5 уроков рекомендуются для работы в 1 семестре, уроки 6-10 - во 2 семестре, 11-15 - в 3 семестре и 16-20 - в 4 семестре. Каждый урок состоит из одного предтекстового упражнения, целью которого является снятие трудностей в произношении, самого текста и ряда послетекстовых заданий, направленных на выработку навыка извлечения и переработки информации. Тексты для дополнительного чтения могут быть использованы как для изучающего, так и для ознакомительного чтения с выходом на беседу. Их можно использовать как задание для самостоятельной работы студентов в течение семестра.

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УРОК 1 •

Задание 1. Прочитайте 2-3 раза и запомните чтение следующих слов: literature ['lit rit ] ceremony ['ser m ni] competition [k mpi'ti n] wear [w ], official [ 'fi l] crown [kraun] language ['l ngwid ] honour [' :n ] tongue [t ] choral [k :r l] awarded [ 'wo:did] choir [kwai ] colourful ['k l ful].

• Задание 2. Прочитайте и переведите текст: THE WELSH FESTIVAL 1. The great national festival of Wales is devoted to music, literature and art. The festival is a competition held once a year in the first week of August. Welsh is the official language of the festival: the Welsh try to use the festival to keep alive the ancient Welsh tongue. Prizes are awarded for music, prose and poetry, art and drama. 2. The prize is awarded to the best poet in a very colourful ceremony. When the poet's name is called, he comes forward to the platform. There he is given a purple robe to wear and a crown of golden oakleaves is placed on his head. He is given very little money for his poem - only about twenty pounds - but he is treated with the highest honour and respect the whole year: he is the king of the poets.

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3. Another outstanding event of the festival is the choral singing. The country's best choirs prepare all year; they sing the country's ancient songs and everybody joins in the singing. • Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, соответствующие русским выражениям: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

... посвящается музыке. ... конкурс, который проводится один раз в год. Призы присуждаются за музыку ... … очень красивая церемония. ... красная мантия.

• Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие английским выражениям: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

... he comes forward to the platform... ... he is given a purple robe to wear... ... a crown ... is placed on his head. He is given very little money. ... he is treated with the highest honour and respect... Another outstanding event... ...the choral singing... ... the country's ancient songs... ... everybody joins in the singing.

• Задание 5. Определите тему каждого абзаца и найдите ключевое предложение в каждом абзаце. • Задание 6. Передайте содержание текста, используя ключевые слова: 1. The text reports on ... 2. It gives the reader some information on ... 3. It is pointed out that ...

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УРОК 2 • Задание 1. Прочитайте следующих слов:

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column ['kol m] either ['a: ] Trafalgar [tr 'f lg ] although [o:l' ou] Pharaoh ['f rou] hewed [hju:d] syenite ['saiinait] Egypt ['i:dzipt] presented [pri'zentid] Viceroy ['vaisr i] Mediterranean [ medit 'reinj n] tow [tou]. • Задание 2. Прочитайте и переведите текст: CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE 1. Cleopatra's Needle is a tapered column of stone with a sphinx on either side. This obelisk is the oldest monument in London , far older than the Tower. In comparison with it, Nelson Column and Trafalgar Square are very young. Although it bears Cleopatra's name, it had been made 1,500 years before she was born. 2. By the orders of a Pharaoh, almost 3,500 years ago, slaves hewed an obelisk of red syenite rock and erected it in Heliopolis (City of the Sun) near the Nile delta in Egypt. Fifteen hundred years later when the city of Heliopolis was almost forgotten the monument was taken to Cleopatra's capital, Alexandria, and erected there. 3. 2,000 more years passed. The monument which had lain for centuries in the sands was presented to the British nation by the Viceroy of Egypt. The transportation being too expensive, the British Government did not think it worth while bringing the

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obelisk to England. Sir Erasmus Wilson had it brought to England at his own expense. 4. The monument enclosed in a steel cylinder was towed through the Mediterranean around the Spanish coast. All went well until a terrible storm blew up in the Bay of Biscay. The steel cylinder with the obelisk inside it was lost. However, 60 days later it was washed by the tide into Vigo Bay and from there again towed through the Bay of Biscay. Finally it arrived in England and was erected on the embankment in 1878. • Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, соответствующие русским выражениям: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

. ...заостренная колонна со сфинксами с каждой стороны. . ... намного старше, чем Тауэр. . По сравнению с ней ... . ... за 1500 лет до её рождения. . ... рабы высекли обелиск из камня красного сиенита.

• Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие английским выражениям: 1. By the orders of a Pharaoh... 2. The monument ... was presented ... 3. ... the Viceroy of Egypt ... 4. The transportation being too expensive ... 5. ... at his own expense ... 6. The monument ... was towed ... 7. ... through the Mediterranean ... 8. ... around the Spanish coast. 9. ... in the Bay of Biscay. 10. ... it was washed by the tide ... • Задание 5. Ответьте на следующие вопросы: 1. How old is Cleopatra's Needle? 2. Where was it erected 3,500 years ago?

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3. 4. 5. 6.

Why was it taken to Alexandria? Who presented it to the British nation? How was it transported to Great Britain? When was it erected on the embankment of the Thames in London?

• Задание 6. Перескажите кратко текст на английском языке. УРОК 3 • Задание 1. Прочитайте 2-3 раза и запомните следующих слов:

чтение

society [s 'sai ti] admirer [ d'mai r ] statue ['st tju:] regard [ri'ga:d] national ['n nl] policeman [p 'li:sm n] dialect ['dai l kt] humour ['hju:m ] lyric ['lirik] heart [ha:t]. • Задание 2. Прочитайте и переведите текст: BURNS NIGHT 1. Small societies of admirers often honour great writers by putting up monuments and statues in their birthplaces or in cities like London. But Robert Burns (1759-1796) is regarded by the whole Scottish people as their national poet. His birthday is celebrated every year in cities, towns and villages by all kinds of clubs and associations. The main event at these celebrations is a "Burns Supper", opening with the traditional toast, "To the Immortal Memory of Robert Burns". 2. Literary critics are not the only people in Scotland with a profound and broad knowledge of the poet's life and work. The speakers at

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the supper may include a farmer (as was Burns himself), a shopkeeper, a doctor or a policeman. All are equally eloquent in expressing their love and admiration. 3. Burns' poems and songs, written in a dialect often very unlike English, combine tenderness and rich humour with unusual lyric beauty. He wrote from his own experience as a village inhabitant: his love of nature, together with his independence and love of freedom, have won him the foremost place in Scottish hearts. • Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, соответствующие русским выражениям: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

.… воздвигая памятники и статуи… …в таких городах, как Лондон. …различные клубы и общества… За бессмертную память "Роберта Бернса". …глубокие знания о жизни и работе поэта.

• Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие английским выражениям: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

…the traditional toast… …a shopkeeper. …love and admiration… …combine tenderness and rich humour… …unusual lyric beauty… …independence and love of freedom… …have won him the foremost place.

• Задание 5 .Ответьте на вопросы: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

In what way do small societies of admirers honour great writers? When did Robert Burns live? Why is his birthday so widely celebrated in many places? What is the main event at these celebrations? Who are the speakers at such events?

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• Задание 6 .Составьте план текста и кратко перескажите его содержание по-английски.

УРОК 4 •

Задание 1. Прочитайте 2-3 раза и запомните чтение следующих слов: method ['me d] customer ['k st m ] successful [s k'sesful] mainstay ['meinstei] through [ ru:] evidently ['evidentli] widow ['widou] charming ['t a:min] laugh [la:f].

• Задание 2. Прочтите и переведите текст: FOR A GOOD BUSINESS 1. Mr. Sellyer was manager of the biggest bookstore in the town. He was an up-to-date manager and had his own methods with his real customers. The methods were so successful that all the publishing houses considered him one of the mainstays of literature in America. One day while I was looking through some new books in the store I saw something of his methods. A lady with a pale face and in a deep mourning entered the store. Evidently she was a widow. Mr. Sellyer was standing near his desk. 2. "Do you want something new in fiction?" he said. "Oh, yes." "Here is a charming thing, a sweet story Golden Dreams. The critics are saying it is a wonderful book in this year." "Is it really good?" said the lady. I understood that customers often asked this.

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"A charming book," said the manager. "It's a love story, very simple, sweet and sad. My wife was reading it last night. She was weeping the whole night." 3. The lady bought Golden Dreams and went out. "Have you any good light reading for vacation time?" asked the next customer loudly. "Yes," said Mr. Sellyer and his face almost broke into a laugh as he was answering, "here is an excellent thing Golden Dreams, the most humorous book of the season. My wife was reading it yesterday. She was laughing all the time." "What's the price, one dollar? All right. I'll take it." 4. After that customers came and went one after another. There were very many books in the store, thousands of them, but Mr. Sellyer was only selling Golden Dreams. One lady bought Golden Dreams for a holiday reading, another as a book to read after the holiday, another bought it as a book for a rainy day and a fourth as the right book for a fine day. In the evening when the store was empty and Mr. Sellyer was shutting the door I asked him: "Did your wife really like this book?" Mr. Sellyer smiled. "Oh, I am not married yet, sir. It is only for a good business." After St. Leacock • Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, соответствующие русским выражениям:

1. …крупнейший книжный магазин… 2. …современный управляющий 3. Эти методы были настолько успешны, что … 4. Очевидно, она была вдовой. 5. … очаровательная вещь, милый рассказ. • Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответсвтующие английским выражениям: 1. his real customers… 2. I saw something of his methods…

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3. 4. 5. 6.

… something new in fiction… … last night… … the most humorous book of the season. ... the right book for a fine day.

• Задание 5. Ответьте на вопросы: 1. What was Mr. Sellyer? 2. Did he use any methods in his work? 3. Why did all the publishing houses in America consider him one of the mainstays of literature? 4. What book was he selling to everyone? 5. Was he married? • Задание 6. Составьте план текста и передайте кратко его содержание по-русски.

УРОК 5 • Задание 1. Прочитайте следующих слов: remind [ri'maind] candidate ['k ndidit] promise ['pr mis] whether ['we ] behave [bi'heiv] arrive [ ' raiv] hotel [hou'tel] chimney ['t imni] brilliant ['bril nt] balmy ['ba:mi] delicious [di'li s].

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Задание 2. Прочтите и переведите текст: THE WEATHER AND THE SEASONS 1. The weather in Washington reminds me of a winning candidate who promises everything, but you never know just when to expect it or whether to expect it at all. 2. Sometimes it's April in January, and March often behaves like December or May. 3. Or as Mark Twain found it here, "When you arrived (at the station at night) it was snowing. When you reached the hotel it was sleeting. When you went to bed it was raining. During the night it froze hard. And the wind blew some chimneys down. When you got up in the morning, it was foggy. When you finished your breakfast at ten o'clock and went out, the sunshine was brilliant, the weather balmy and delicious, and the mud and slush deep and allpervading. You will like the climate - when you get used to it." 4. If you care to follow Mark Twain's advice, take an umbrella, an overcoat, and a fan, and go forth. 5. My advice on what to expect, season by season, regarding the weather is: 6. Spring - it's a wonderful, most attractive, liveliest time of the year. Mild weather usually arrives earlier than it does in most northern cities (prepare for possible 80 degrees in March), flowers burst into bloom starting with magnolia, then followed by cherry blossoms, azalea and pansies. 7. Summer - it can be hot, humid, sticky. Men wear tropical outfits. 8. Autumn - the best season except for spring: in some ways the best of all. The climate is dry, mild. If you are driving, the colour in the mountains is beautiful. 9. Winter - unpredictable, some years raw, cold, soggy; others short and mild. You don't have to bring your umbrella and galoshes, but come prepared to buy them. (From "Washington. A Modern Guide to the Nation's Capital" by M. Frome.)

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• Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, соответствующие русским выражениям: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

…кандидат, который обещает все. …от ветра слетело несколько труб … …погода приятная и замечательная … …когда вы привыкните к нему … …лучшее время года, за исключением осени.

• Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие английским выражениям : 1. …when to expect it or to expect it at all … 2. March often behaves like December or May. 3. …as Mark Twin found it here … 4. …it was sleeting …. 5. … the mud and flush deep and all-pervading… 6. If you care to follow Mark Twain's advice… 7. …hot, humid, sticky… 8. Men wear tropical outfits … 9. …unpredictable… 10. You don't have to bring … 11. …come prepared to buy them. • Задание 5. Ответьте на вопросы: 1. What does the weather in Washington remind of? 2. What did Mark Twain say about it? 3. What should you take if you care to follow his advice? • Задание 6. Передайте кратко содержание текста, используя следующие фразы: 1. The text deals with… 2. It provides the readers with some facts about … 3. It reads that …

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УРОК 6 • Задание 1. Прочитайте следующих слов:

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anniversary [ ni'v :s ri] Washington ['w : i t n] author ['o: ] Europe ['ju r p ] extremely [iks'tri:mli] evidenced ['evid nst] appeared [ 'pi d ] monthly ['m n li] legend ['led nd] oriental [' :ri' ntl] mosque [' m sk ]. • Задание 2. Прочтите и переведите текст: FIRST AMERICAN MAN OF LETTERS 1. April 3 saw the anniversary of the birth of Washington Irving (1783-1859), sometimes called the "Father of American literature", the first American author to become well known in Europe. 2. Washington Irving was extremely popular with Russian readers in the first third of the 19th century, as evidenced by the large number of translations that appeared in periodicals like Moskovsky Telegraf, Syn Otechestva, Vestnik Yevropy and others. Irving's The Alhambra was read in Russia soon after it was first published,thanks to the French translation which appeared in Paris in 1832. The first Russian translations from The Alhambra were presented in the Teleskop monthly in September 1832. 3. The Alhambra is a collection of tales and legends about Spain, which became the writer's second home. It was from The Alhambra, as colourful as an oriental rug, and as elaborate as a

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4.

5.

6.

7.

Moorish mosque, that Pushkin borrowed the plot for his Golden Cockerel. In Pushkin's library the volume of The Alhambra stood next to the works of Lord Byron and Cervantes. Among other Russian translations that followed was P.V. Kireyevsky's Mahomet and His Successors (1857). V.P.Botkin made references to Irving's work in his Letters about Spain, and one of A.K. Tolstoy's comic poems is also associated with the American writer's name. While in Madrid, Washington Irving met and became friendly with the Russian diplomat Dmitry Dolgorukov, an attache with the Russian Embassy, the son of the Russian poet I.M.Dolgorukov, and himself the author of a number of poems. Later, fragments from The Alhambra were published in A.Bobovich's and I.Gershenzon's translations (the latter adapted for children). Another full translation of the book was made by V.Muravyov. All in all, works by Washington Irving have been published in our country 13 times in a total print of 734,000 copies, in the Russian, Uzbek, Chuvash and Komi languages.

• Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, соответствующие русским выражениям: 1. …первый американский автор, ставший хорошо известным в Европе. 2. …о чем свидетельствует целый ряд переводов, появившихся в периодической печати… 3. Именно из "Альхамбры" …Пушкин заимствовал сюжет для своего "Золотого Петушка". 4. …и одна из комических поэм А.К. Толстого также связана с именем американского писателя. • Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие английским выражениям: 1. …saw the anniversary… 2. … in the first third of the 19th century.

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3. … periodicals … 4. …a collection of tales and legends… 5. … the writer's second home… 6. …Pushkin borrowed the plot… 7. … the volume … stood next to … 8. While in Madrid … 9. … became friendly. 10. … the latter adapted for children. 11. All in all … 12. … 13 times in a total print… • Задание 5. Определите основную мысль каждого абзаца и ключевые предложения • Задание 6. Передайте кратко содержание текста, используя ключевые предложения.

УРОК 7 • Задание 1. Прочитайте следующих слов: magazine [m g 'zi:n] movable ['mu:v bl] identical [ai'dentik l] improvement [im'pru:vm nt] machine [m ' i:n] meant ['ment] technical ['teknik l] advance [ d'va:ns] image ['imid ].

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• Задание 2. Прочтите и переведите текст: THE PRINTING PROGRESS 1. Today millions and millions of words are printed every day in books, newspapers, magazines and leaflets. But we sometimes forget that the progress of printing started with an invention made by one man in the 15th century. His name was Johann Gensfleish zum Gutenberg; his invention was movable type. 2. Before Gutenberg's time books were printed, but this was done from wooden blocks which were made by hand. This was a very slow way of working. All other documents were made by scribes. The scribes copied everything out by hand. Movable type put an end to the work of the scribes. Gutenberg, who was trained as a goldsmith, used his knowledge of metalwork and woodwork to develop a new process. He made a large number of single letters which could be put together in any way. Now a printer could produce a page of text, which was quick and easy to correct. Once the text was corrected, the printer could make as many identical copies as he liked. This process was the foundation of the whole publishing industry. Publishing is only possible when you can produce a large number of copies within a short time. The basic principles of Gutenberg's process remained largely unchanged for three centuries. 3. Scientific discoveries led to improvements in printing. Scientists were able to produce better paper and ink. Printing machines became more complicated and could now print at much faster speeds. This meant that they could make copies more cheaply. 4. In recent years great technical advances have been made. For instance, printers now use photographic processes. The introduction of electronics has brought many changes. Some people have found ways of using laser beams to create an image on specially prepared paper! • Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, соответствующие следующим русским выражениям:

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1. … миллионы и миллионы слов печатаются ежедневно … 2. Все другие документы выполнялись переписчиками. 3. … использовал свои знания работы по металлу и дереву, чтобы разработать новый процесс. 4. … Печатник мог сделать столько идентичных копий, сколько ему было нужно. 5. . Научные открытия привели к усовершенствованию печатного дела. • Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие следующим английским выражениям: 1. The progress of printing started with an invention … 2. He developed a new process … 3. He made a large number of single letters … 4. Once the text was corrected … 5. The foundation of the whole publishing industry… 6. … produce a large number of copies. 7. … within a short time… 8. … largely unchanged. 9. … better paper and ink. 10. … print at much faster speeds. 11. … great technical advances … 12. … to find ways of using laser beams … 13. … to create an image. • Задание 5. Найдите в тексте ключевые предложения для каждой логической части • Задание 6. Суммируйте основное содержание текста, используя ключевые предложения и следующие клише: 1. 2. 3. 4.

The article is concerned with all aspects of … The author discusses … He estimates … The stress falls on …

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5. Attention is concentrated on … 6. In conclusion it is pointed out that …

УРОК 8 • Задание 1. Прочитайте 2-3 раза и запомните чтение следующих слов: rule [ru:l] even [i:vn] believe [bi'li:v] should [ ud] marriage ['m ridz] ordinary [' :din ri] complain [k m'plein] group [gru:p] neighbour ['neib ] exhibition [eksi'bi n]. • Задание 2. Прочтите текст: FREE SCHOOL 1. School Rules - O.K.? You mustn't smoke or wear make-up. You must do your homework on time. You mustn't fight in the playground. Even if you like school, it seems that someone is always telling you what to do. 2. This is why a lot of children don't like school. And now a few teachers believe this is why some kids don't learn. People learn better and faster when they have more choice in what they learn, and when and how they learn it. 3. At White Lion Street Free School, people believe that school should teach what the children need and want to learn. School should help a child to think for himself or herself. After all, when you leave school, you have to make important decisions - about jobs, marriage and leaving home - by yourself.

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4. There is no punishment for missing school. But many kids spend more time here than other children spend in ordinary schools. This school is open at evenings and some week-ends. The kids complain if holidays last longer than two weeks. 5. There are no compulsory lessons. Each child has one adult who follows his progress through the school. Together they decide what he needs to learn next, and the child does this in his own time. Sometimes kids work on their own, sometimes with an adult, sometimes in a group. 6. A lot happens outside school. They believe you can't learn everything in one building. They visit local factories, markets, shops, fire and police stations. They talk to people about their jobs, ask strikers why they're on strike, ask their neighbours what they want the local government to do for them. They visit exhibitions, go roller-skating and horse-riding, make trips to the country or the sea and go camping. Last year a Danish Free School invited them to visit their families in Denmark. They hope to go again. 7. It's not a very big school - only 50 kids, between the ages of 3 and 17 - or a rich school. There are very few Free schools in England. 8. Special subjects like photography, metalwork, pottery, etc. are organized by working adults, sometimes their parents, who volunteer to come in a few times a week. There is a dark room where they develop photos. Practical skills like painting and repairing a house are all done as part of the maintenance of the school itself, or old people's flats nearby. 9. Afternoons are for a great variety of things. Adults "advertise" on the notice board what they're doing in their rooms on certain days. The kids choose which group to join. There are no special times when they must start a lesson. Each day there is a list of activities they can choose between. • Задание 3. Найдите в тексте эквиваленты, соответствующие русским выражениям: 1. … школьные правила … 2. … вот почему некоторые дети не любят учиться. 3. … вам приходится принимать важные решения …

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4. Здесь нет обязательных уроков… 5. … один взрослый, который следит за успехами в школе. • Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие английским выражениям: 1. Sometimes kids work on their own … 2. … outside school … 3. … fire and police stations… 4. … ask strikers why they're on strike. 5. … local government … 6. … go roller-skating … go camping… 7. … develop photos … 8. … maintenance of the school … 9. … the notice boards … 10. … a list of activities. • Задание 5. Составьте план текста на английском языке. • Задание 6. Передайте кратко содержание текста, используя следующие фразы: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

The text is titled … It reads about … It provides the reader with information about … It is stressed that … I should like to note that … It is pointed out that … In conclusion it is pointed out that … УРОК 9

• Задание 1. Прочитайте 2-3 раза и запомните чтение следующих слов: Wadsworth [w :dzw : ] Maine [mein]

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industrious [in'd stri s] age [eidz] eminence ['emin ns] law [l :] remain [ri'mein] professor [pr 'f s ]. • Задание2. Прочтите и переведите текст: 1.

2. 3.

4.

5.

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ranks among the greatest of our American poets. He was born in Portland, Maine, the twentyseventh day of February, 1807. Henry, as a boy, was very industrious and fond of reading. At the age of fourteen he entered Bowdoin College. During his college days he gave brilliant promise of his future eminence as a poet by writing some poems for the Literary Gazette of Boston. Upon graduating from college, he entered his father's law office, but remained there only a short time. He was offered a professorship of modern languages and literature at Bowdoin. He went to Europe for three years' study before he entered upon his duties as professor. He remained at Bowdoin College until he was appointed professor of modern languages at Harvard. He went abroad again for two years' study before he entered the professorship at Harvard. During those years of his professorship and travel, he wrote several of his beautiful poems. Longfellow moved to the famous Craige House in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which became his dwelling place the remainder of his life. The Craige House was built in the early days of provincial Boston, and is famous as the headquarters of General Washington during the siege of Boston. The poet's exquisite tenderness and sympathy for humanity enabled him to find his way readily into the human heart. Longfellow devoted the later part of his life exclusively to literary work. His writings constantly increased in popularity and were read with great delight in Europe as well as in this country. Longfellow

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was known as "The People's Poet". He died at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the twenty-fourth day of March, 1884. (Famous Historical Places in the USA by H.Waller) • Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, соответствующие русским выражениям: 1. Г. У. Лонгфелло считается одним из величайших поэтов Америки. 2. … был очень трудолюбивым и любил читать. 3. Во время учебы в колледже … 4. … он подавал блестящие надежды. 5. Ему предложили должность профессора … • Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие английским выражениям: 1. … future eminence as a poet … 2. … his dwelling place the remainder of his life … 3. … in the early days … 4. … is famous as the headquarters … 5. … during the siege of Boston … 6. … exquisite tenderness and sympathy 7. … readily into the human heart. 8. … the later part of his life. 9. … exclusively to literary work. 10. … with great delight … 11. …as well as in this country. • Задание 5. Определите основную мысль каждого абзаца. • Задание 6. Ответьте на вопросы: 1. What was little Henry fond of? 2. How old was he when he entered College? 3. Where did he work after College? 4. What did he go to Europe for? 5. Who lived in the Craige House before him?

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6. How did he treat humanity? 7. Was he popular only in America? УРОК 10 • Задание 1. Прочитайте 2-3 раза и запомните чтение следующих слов: twice [twais] falling ['f :lin] attraction [ `tr k∫n] ocean ['ou∫n] influence ['influ ns ] therefore [' :] tidal ['taidl] highest ['haiist] Devonshire ['devn∫i ] wreck [rek] earthquake [' kweik]. • Задание 2. Прочтите и переведите текст: THE TIDES 1. Every day the tide comes in twice and goes out twice, or, as we sometimes say, it rises and falls. The cause of this rising and falling is the attraction of the sun and moon on the oceans of the world. The inland seas, being smaller masses of water, are not much influenced by this attraction, so that the Mediterranean Sea is almost tideless. But in many parts of the world, for example round the coasts of England, the water rises several feet between low tide and high tide. 2. The tides go up the rivers and are therefore of great help to ships. These tidal rivers, as they are called, which flow across low land before they reach the sea, are usually very important waterways. 3. On the shore you can see a line of little stones , shells, and bits of wood which show the highest point reached by the tide before it turns. Sometimes very interesting things can be picked up at this high-water mark, things that have been thrown or lost overboard, or that have been washed up from ships that have been wrecked. 4. In some places, such as the bays in Devonshire, the tide may come up the sands very quickly, and if people are picnicking among the

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rocks, or on the sands at the foot of a cliff, they may not notice that they are being surrounded by the sea. If they are cut off by the tide in this way, they may be able to run through the water before it gets too deep, or climb the cliff behind them, or get to some place of safety on higher ground. But every summer we hear of people for whom there has been no way of escape and who have been drowned. 5. Sometimes we hear of a "tidal wave", a great wave which comes up on the land far beyond high-water mark, destroying everything in its path. Such waves, however, are not caused by the tides, but by earthquakes somewhere under the sea. • Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, соответствующие русским выражениям: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Причина этого подъема и падения … … притяжение солнца и луны … … не очень подвержены этому притяжению. … в Средиземном море почти не бывает приливов и отливов. … как их иногда называют.

• Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие английским выражениям: 1. … a line of little stones, shells, and bits of wood… 2. …at this high-water mark… 3. …thrown or lost overboard… 4. … ships that have been wrecked… 5. … people are picnicking among the rocks … 6. … on the sands at the foot of a cliff … 7. … in this way … 8. … some place of safely on higher ground… 9. …earthquakes somewhere under the sea. • Задание 5. Определите основную мысль каждого абзаца. • Задание 6. Составьте план текста.

Министерство образования Российской Федерации Ростовский государственный университет

МЕТОДИЧЕСКИЕ УКАЗАНИЯ по развитию навыков чтения на английском языке для студентов 1-2 курсов ОЗО филологического факультета (часть II)

Ростов-на-Дону 1999

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Методические указания обсуждены и утверждены на заседании кафедры английского языка гуманитарных факультетов РГУ Протокол № 10 от 28.05.1999 г. Составители - ст. преп. Бар Т.Н., ст. преп. Баркова С.Л.

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Методическая записка Настоящие методические указания для студентов 1-2 курсов филологического факультета ОЗО предназначены для того, чтобы научить студентов извлекать полезную информацию через чтение на иностранном языке научно-популярной литературы и периодики по специальности. Учебный материал и система упражнений данных методических указаний направлены на развитие навыков как перевода, так и чтения с охватом общего содержания прочитанного и с выходом на устное реферирование текстов по широкому профилю филологического факультета. Они могут быть рекомендованы как для студентов отделения русского языка и литературы, так и отделения журналистики. Методические указания состоят из 20 уроков и текстов для дополнительного чтения. Первые 5 уроков рекомендуются для работы в 1 семестре, уроки 6-10 - во 2 семестре, 11-15 - в 3 семестре и 16-20 - в 4 семестре. Каждый урок состоит из одного предтекстового упражнения, целью которого является снятие трудностей в произношении, самого текста и ряда послетекстовых заданий, направленных на выработку навыка извлечения и переработки информации. Тексты для дополнительного чтения могут быть использованы как для изучающего, так и для ознакомительного чтения с выходом на беседу. Их можно использовать как задание для самостоятельной работы студентов в течение семестра.

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УРОК 10 • Задание 1. Прочитайте 2-3 раза и запомните чтение следующих слов: twice [twais], falling ['f :lin], attraction [ `tr k∫n], ocean ['ou∫n], influence ['influ ns ], therefore [' :], tidal ['taidl], highest ['haiist], Devonshire ['devn∫i ], wreck [rek], earthquake [' kweik]. • Задание 2. Прочтите и переведите текст: THE TIDES 1. Every day the tide comes in twice and goes out twice, or, as we sometimes say, it rises and falls. The cause of this rising and falling is the attraction of the sun and moon on the oceans of the world. The inland seas, being smaller masses of water, are not much influenced by this attraction, so that the Mediterranean Sea is almost tideless. But in many parts of the world, for example round the coasts of England, the water rises several feet between low tide and high tide. 2. The tides go up the rivers and are therefore of great help to ships. These tidal rivers, as they are called, which flow across low land before they reach the sea, are usually very important waterways. 3. On the shore you can see a line of little stones , shells, and bits of wood which show the highest point reached by the tide before it turns. Sometimes very interesting things can be picked up at this high-water mark, things that have been thrown or lost overboard, or that have been washed up from ships that have been wrecked. 4. In some places, such as the bays in Devonshire, the tide may come up the sands very quickly, and if people are picnicking among the rocks, or on the sands at the foot of a cliff, they may not notice that they are being surrounded by the sea. If they are cut off by the tide in this way, they may be able to run through the water before it gets too deep, or climb the cliff behind them, or get to some place of safety on higher ground. But every summer we hear of people for whom there has been no way of escape and who have been drowned. 5. Sometimes we hear of a "tidal wave", a great wave which comes up on the land far beyond high-water mark, destroying everything in its path. Such waves, however, are not caused by the tides, but by earthquakes somewhere under the sea. • Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, соответствующие русским выражениям: 1. Причина этого подъема и падения … 2. … притяжение солнца и луны … 3. … не очень подвержены этому притяжению. 4. … в Средиземном море почти не бывает приливов и отливов. 5. … как их иногда называют. • Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие английским выражениям: 1. … a line of little stones, shells, and bits of wood… 2. …at this high-water mark…

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3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. • •

…thrown or lost overboard… … ships that have been wrecked… … people are picnicking among the rocks … … on the sands at the foot of a cliff … … in this way … … some place of safely on higher ground… …earthquakes somewhere under the sea. Задание 5. Определите основную мысль каждого абзаца. Задание 6. Составьте план текста.

УРОК 11 • Задание 1 Прочитайте 2-3 раза и запомните чтение следующих слов: calendar ['k lind ], Gregory ['greg ri], confusion [k n'fju:z n], intriguing [in'tri:gin], vary['v ri], occupant ['okjup nt], menu ['menju:], sustenance ['s stin ns], essential [i'sen l], champagne [ m'pein]. • Задание 2. Прочтите и переведите текст: HAPPY NEW YEAR 1. At midnight on 31st December 1983, bells will ring out around the world to welcome the year 1984 AD. Although certain countries calculate time by other calendars, most countries in the world now number their years according to the Gregorian calendar introduced in the 16th century by Pope Gregory XIII. This calendar was intended to overcome the confusion caused by calculating time according to the moon's phases. 2. Bell ringing is one way of celebrating the arrival of a new year, which is common to all the countries welcoming 1984 at this time; but it is the differences in their celebrations and customs which are intriguing. 3. In Europe traditions vary considerably, but most of them involve a meal or special food. Swiss housewives bake special bread, rich in butter, eggs and raisins. They also cook roast goose. Children go from house to house greeting the occupants and receiving invitations to come inside. People in Italy hold all-night parties, where salt pork and lentils are included on the menu. Lentils are supposed to be lucky and bring money - perhaps because they look like small piles of gold coins. There is a practical reason for meals featuring in these New Year festivities. Most people stay up all night, or at least until midnight to "see the New Year in", so sustenance is essential. Also there is a common superstition that if the new year begins well it will continue like that. So great efforts are made to provide an atmosphere of goodwill and plenty. In Spain it is a custom to eat 12 grapes at midnight and toast the New Year in champagne at family gathering. Groups of friends visit restaurants in Turkey intending to spend the night in celebrations which include present giving. Some people in Greece play cards, hoping that a win will bring them for a whole year. • Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, соответствующие русским выражениям: 1. ...по всему миру …

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2. 3. 4. 5. •

…чтобы приветствовать .. Звон колоколов - это один из способов празднования Нового Года … … по крайней мере, до полуночи … Существует также общее суеверие … Задание 4 .Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие следующим английским выражениям : 1. … certain countries … 2. … calculate time … 3. … calendar introduced … 4. … according to the moon's phases. 5. … common to all the countries … 6. … it is the differences … which are intriguing … 7. … Swiss housewives … 8. … to come inside … 9. … look like small piles of gold coins … 10. … to see the New Year in … 11. … goodwill and plenty … 12. … to toast the New Year. • 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. •

Задание 5. Ответьте на следующие вопросы: According to what calendar do most countries in the world number their years? When was it introduced? Do the traditions in Europe vary? What do Swiss housewives bake and cook? Do children go from house to house in Italy or in Switzerland? In Spain it is a custom to eat 12 grapes at midnight, isn't it? Why do people in Greece play cards at the New Year night? Задание 6. Перескажите текст на английском языке. УРОК 12 • Задание 1. Прочитайте 2-3 раза и запомните чтение следующих слов: Venice ['Venis], Italy ['it li], issued ['isju:d], exhibited [ig'zibitid], allowed [ 'laud], successor [s k's s ], foreign ['forin], ancient ['ein nt], farther ['fa: ], Babylonian [b bi'lonj n], Assyrian [ 'siri n], origin ['oridzin], record ['rek d], event [i'vent]. • Задание 2. Прочтите и переведите текст: WHEN DID THE NEWSPAPERS FIRST BEGIN? 1. A newspaper in its modern form is usually regarded as beginning in 1566, when the government of Venice, Italy, issued hand-written news-sheets and exhibited them in streets. Anyone was allowed to read them on payment of small coin called "gazetta" and they were so popular that they were printed. Soon after the date mentioned, gazettas were issued in most of big cities of Europe. The first English newspaper was published in London in 1662. But in this paper and its successors down to 1641 only foreign news was printed.

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2. While the newspapers in the modern sense are thus less than four centuries old, something corresponding to a newspaper was found in ancient world. Accounts of doings of the imperial armies in Rome were sent to generals in command in all parts of the empire. These "Acta Diurna" or "Daily Doings", as they were called, were communicated by generals to their officers. 3. Farther back still items of news, generally about kings or battles were carved in stone in prominent places in Babylonian and Assyrian cities. These may almost be regarded as the origin of a newspaper, as a record of events. (From "The Book of Knowledge", vol. VII) • Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, cоответствующие русским выражениям 1. …выпускало написанные от руки листовки с новостями… 2. Всем разрешалось прочесть их… 3. … мелкая монета… 4. Вскоре после этой упомянутой выше даты… 5. … печатались только зарубежные новости. • Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие английским выражениям: 1. … in its modern form… 2. … exhibited them in streets … 3. … they were so popular that they were printed. 4. … in this paper and its successors… 5. … less than four centuries old … 6. … something corresponding to a newspaper… 7. … in ancient world … 8. … imperial armies… 9. … in all parts of the empire… 10. … items of news… 11. … were carved in stone.. 12. … prominent places… 13. … the origin of a newspaper… 14. … a record of events… • Задание 5 . Определите тему каждого абзаца и найдите ключевые предложения • Задание 6. Передайте содержание текста на английском языке.

УРОК 13 • Задание 1. Прочитайте 2-3 раза и запомните чтение следующих слов: unique [ju:'ni:k], quality ['kwo:liti], research [ri's :t ], experience [iks'pi ri ns], bulletin ['bulitin], immediately [i'mi:dj∋tli], barrier [b ri ], idea [ai'di ], revival [ri'vaiv l], participant [pa:'tisip nt], benefit ['benifit], architecture [ 'a:kitekt ].

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• Задание 2. Прочтите и переведите текст: A UNIQUE SCHOOL 1. Nancy Mayers and Victoria Tripolskaya - Multing, from Chicago, have established a unique "school" for Russian and former Soviet journalists who write about science and disarmament. The school is attached to the editorial office of one of the quality American magazines - "Bulletins from Atomic researchers", the idea having been realised with the help of the Mac Arthur Foundation. 2. "We first had the idea two years ago for a specialized programme for journalists from the former USSR", relates Nancy Mayers, the leader of the journalists' educational programme. At that time I knew nothing about Russia, but felt that our "school" would be forward looking, partly because the most important and interesting developments of our time are happening in Russia. The fields of atomic research and space exploration have for a long time been kept secret; an exchange of information and creative experience in these areas could provide a real catalyst to the democratization not only of the press but of general public awareness. 3. Nancy was born on a farm not far from Chicago. After graduating from university she taught English literature, together with her husband she worked for a long time in Africa, Japan and Europe. She has two children; her son is now studying at college and her daughter is hoping to be a musician. For the last few years Nancy has worked in the editorial office of "Bulletin". She first came to Moscow last summer. 4. I can still clearly remember the day when she first walked into "Ogonyok". She immediately made herself at home, forgetting both about language barriers and cultural differences. She found lots of things similar, understandable and surprisingly interesting, she says that at that moment: "I simply fell in love with Russia". 5. She recalled these words on her last visit, this winter, when she reconfirmed both her superficial impressions about the country - dark streets, monotonous architecture, rubbish, a badly ordered uninteresting way of life, and her deeper thoughts - people, ideas, potentials. Thus she was drawn closer to Russia and strengthened in her hope of revival - in the foreseeable future. 6. Nancy and Victoria spent two weeks in Moscow and Kiev sightseeing, going to exhibitions, to the theatre, visiting people, and most importantly, spending lots of time interviewing prospective candidates for the course, the requirements being: knowledge of English; specialization in the field of scientific journalism and in disarmament, the ability to present a paper in Russian and a seminar in English; and a description of the project the journalist intends to work on in America. 7. "The placement lasts 3 months" explains Victoria, director of the Russian programme. "During this time our students have the opportunuty to get to know, how our journal works, to publish a few articles, and to make contacts with specialists in their fields, whether it is cosmic medicine, conversion or atomic energy. For each participant in the programme we work out a special timetable and organize meetings so that he has the maximum benefit from the course.

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8. And Nancy added: "The main thing is that journalists who have received work experience in a specialised western journal will come back changed people and will be able to help their colleagues at home. For example, after his time in America quite a famous journalist from the Ukraine admitted: "Only now do I realize what freedom of the press means, especially with regards to such complex matters." (Moscow News) • Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, cоответствующие русским выражениям: 1. … школа находится при редакции… 2. … специальная программа для журналистов… 3. …обмен информацией… 4. … катализатор демократии… 5. После окончания университета … 6. Она сразу почувствовала себя как дома… 7. Я просто влюбилась в Россию. • Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие английским выражениям: 1. …cultural differences… 2. …superficial impressions… 3. …monotonous architecture… 4. …she was drawn closer to Russia… 5. … in the foreseeable future… 6. …spent 2 weeks… sightseeing… 7. …prospective candidates… 8. …have the opportunity to get to know… 9. …a special timetable… 10. .…maximum benefit from the course. • Задание 5. Определите тему каждого абзаца. • Задание 6. Найдите в тексте ключевые предложения для каждого абзаца. • Задание 7. Суммируйте основное содержание текста на английском языке. УРОК 14 • Задание 1. Прочитайте 2-3 раза и запомните чтение следующих слов: ingenious [in'dzi:nj s], winding ['waindin], mysterious [mis'ti∋ri∋s], vividly ['vividli], guess [ges], surprise [s 'praiz], coupled [k∧pld], exciting [ik'saitin], encyclopedia [ n saiklou'pi:dj ], passionate ['p nit], desire [di'zai ], genre [ 'anr ], sacred ['seikrid]. • Задание 2. Прочтите и переведите текст: O'HENRY LITERARY ACTIVITIES 1. O'Henry's stories won great popularity with the readers and have been translated into many languages. They are usually very ingenious, well constructed and logically developed. All the material is compactly arranged and centres around the plot. The action moves forward rapidly and vividly.

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2. Most of the novelettes depend for their effect on unexpected endings. Try hard as he would, the reader could never guess the winding up of the story, which always takes him by surprise because of its quite unexpected turn that usually gives the clue to the whole situation which often seems mysterious at first. 3. Interesting and exciting plots coupled with "surprise endings" lead many readers and critics to the conclusion that O'Henry was a writer of "entertainment", that is to say, his only aim was to amuse the reader with unusual situations and to stir his imagination. We cannot share this opinion. Though not all the works of O.Henry are of equal value, most of his novelettes, interesting and exciting as they are, convey deep thoughts and keen observations. 4. Life's rich experience, years of hardships, vagrancy and prison supplied the author with abundant material for writing. During the brief period of his literary activities, O'Henry wrote 273 novelettes and one novel. Taken together, his works may be regarded as "a humorous encyclopedia of American life". 5. O'Henry's stories are packed with characters. He shows us people of various occupations, belonging to different social groups: millionaires, planters, generals, judges, lawyers, priests, policemen, artists, clerks, cowboys, tramps, thieves and many others; but the author's sympathy invariably lies with the common people of America whose life he knew intimately, at first hand, and he makes the reader admire their kindness, generosity, self-sacrifice, their passionate desire to see other people happy. O'Henry uses a gentle humour while describing positive characters, and satire to expose the vicious qualities of those who make them suffer. 6. O'Henry does not give a broad social panorama of contemporary life in his works. His attempt to do so in his only novel Cabbages and Kings (1904) was not a success, but he vividly shows different aspects of life, and every novelette of his is a piece of realism, original, deep and exciting. The hard life of the man in the street in America, his deep humiliation and longing for happiness motivate the best-known stories of the author. 7. In spite of the "happy endings" which seem illogical and spoil the realistic effect of the narration, we highly appreciate O'Henry's works for his truthful portrayal of the seamy sides of life in America, interesting plots, and a deep sympathy for common people. 8. Like the other great realists of the 19th century, O'Henry used a short-story genre to tell the reader of the joys and sorrows, the sacred feelings and the cherished desires of plain American people whom he loved with all his heart. • Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, соответствующие русским выражениям: 1. …литературная деятельность… 2. Эффект большинства рассказов зависит от неожиданных концовок … 3. …который всегда удивляет его совершенно неожиданным поворотом… 4. …принадлежащих к различным социальным группам… 5. …он заставляет читателя восхищаться их добротой, щедростью, самопожертвованием…

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• Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие английским выражениям: 1. O'Henry's stories won great popularity with the readers… 2. They are usually very ingenious… 3. Interesting and exciting plots …lead many readers and critics to the conclusion… 4. His works may be regarded as "a human encyclopedia of American life". 5. …different aspects of life… 6. …positive characters… 7. Taken together… 8. In spite of the happy endings… 9. …a short-story genre… 10. the sacred feelings and the cherished desires… • Задание 5. Составьте план текста. • Задание 6. Передайте кратко содержание текста, используя следующие клише: 1. The text is titled… 2. It deals with… 3. It gives some ideas of… 4. The text reads that … 5. It is pointed out that … 6. It is stressed that … 7. In conclusion it is outlined that …

УРОК 15 • Задание 1. Прочитайте 2-3 раза и запомните чтение следующих слов: Alfred Nobel [' lfrid nou'bel], Swedish ['swi:di ], industrialist [in'd stri list], bankrupt ['b nkr pt], idealist [ai'di list], millionaire ['milj 'n ], scientist ['sai ntist], fortune ['fo:t n], • Задание 2. Прочитайте и переведите текст: ALFRED NOBEL - A MAN OF CONTRASTS 1. Alfred Nobel, the great Swedish inventor and industrialist, was a man of many contrasts. He was the son of a bankrupt, but became a millionaire; a scientist with a love of literature, an industrialist who managed to remain an idealist. He made a fortune but lived a simple life, and although cheerful in company he was often sad in private. A lover of mankind, he never had a wife or family to love him; a patriotic son of his native land, he died alone on foreign soil. He invented a new explosive, dynamite, to improve the peacetime industries of mining and road building, but saw it used as a weapon of war to kill and injure his fellow men. During his useful life he often felt he was useless:"Alfred Nobel", he once wrote of himself, "ought to have been put to death by a kind doctor as soon as, with a cry, he entered life." World-famous for his works he was never personally well

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known, for throughout his life he avoided publicity. "I do not see", he once said, "that I have deserved any fame and glory to others. 2. He was born in Stockholm on October 21, 1833 but moved to Russia with his parents in 1842, where his father, Immanuel, made a strong position for himself in the engineering industry. Immanuel Nobel invented the landmine and made a lot of money from government orders for it during the Crimean War, but went bankrupt soon after. Most of the family returned to Sweden in 1859, where Alfred rejoined them in 1863, beginning his own study of explosives in his father's laboratory. He had never been to school or university but had studied privately and by the time he was twenty was a skilful chemist and excellent linguist, speaking Swedish, Russian, German, French, and English. Like his father, Alfred Nobel was imaginative and inventive, but he had better luck in business and showed more financial sense. He was quick to see industrial openings for his scientific inventions and built up over 80 companies in 20 different countries. Indeed his greatness lay in his outstanding ability to combine the qualities of an original scientist with those of a forward-looking industrialist. 3. But Nobel's main concern was never with making money or even with making scientific discoveries. Seldom happy, he was always searching for a meaning to life, and from his youth had taken a serious interest in literature and philosophy. Perhaps because he could not find ordinary human love - he never married - he came to care deeply about the whole of mankind. He was always generous to the poor: "I'd rather take care of the stomachs of the living than the glory of the dead in the form of stone memorials", he once said. His greatest wish, however, was to see an end to wars, and thus peace between nations, and he spent much time and money working for this cause until his death in Italy in 1896. His famous will, in which he left money to provide prizes for outstanding work in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology, Medicine, Literature and Peace, is a memorial to his interests and ideals. And so, the man who felt he should have died at birth is remembered and respected long after his death. From "Reading for Adults" by Richard LEWIS, McVINCENT, Susan WEIR • Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, соответствующие русским выражениям: 1. ...Альфред присоединился к ним… 2. … он никогда не учился ни в школе, ни в университете… 3. … как и его отец… 4. … ему больше повезло в бизнесе… 5. ... его величие заключалось в его выдающихся способностях сочетать качества оригинального ученого с качествами далеко смотрящего промышленника. • Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие английским выражениям: 1. He was quick to see industrial openings… 2. Nobel's main concern… 3. …he was always searching for a meaning to life.

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4. …he had taken a serious interest in … 5. …he came to care deeply about the whole of mankind. 6. I'd rather take care of… 7. His famous will … 8. …to provide prizes for… 9. … the man … is remembered and respected… • Задание 5. Найдите в тексте ключевые предложения для каждого абзаца: • Задание 6. Составьте план текста.

УРОК 16 • Задание 1. Прочитайте 2-3 раза и запомните чтение следующих слов: Persia ['p : ], fabulous ['f bju:l s], Arabia [ 'reibj ], sultan ['s lt n], princess [prin'ses], discover [dis'k v ], death [de ], royal ['r i l], dawn [d :n]. • Задание 2. Прочтите и переведите текст: ORIGIN OF ARABIAN TALES 1. "Thousand and One Nights" originated from India, long long ago, found their way into Persia (Iran) and finally found their abode in fabulous Arabia. Later on they became known in Europe too, and many translations of the original stories in Arabic can be found in French, English and other languages. Films have been produced on Arabian Nights. 2. Coming now to the origin of the name "Arabian Nights" the story is told that once upon a time there lived a sultan, Shahriyar by name, who was married to a beautiful princess. But some time later he discovered that she did not love him any longer. This made him very angry and she was put to death. After the execution Shahriyar passed a royal order. It said that everyone of his wives would be put to death the next morning after the marriage. By this method he killed many young women. At last Shahriyar married a beautiful princess Shehrazad. On the first night the princess came to know about her fate and began to think how she could escape execution. 3. Incidentally, she was a very good story-teller. She thought that she would be able to make use of her talent to please the sultan and trick him into sparing her life. 4. So, the story goes, she told him a very interesting tale, but it was so long that one night was not enough to complete it. By day break the story still remained unfinished. The sultan was so thrilled by the interesting story that he begged her to continue it. The princess reminded him that day had dawned and that the time of the execution had come. But the sultan got so much interested in the tale that he decided to postpone her execution, and allowed the princess to continue the story the following night. 5. When night arrived, the sultan said that he was eager to listen to her story. The story was so long and interesting that it could not be completed even on the second night. So the sultan postponed her death again. The princess prolonged the fascinating tale to actually one thousand and one night and the sultan quite forgot

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that he had given the order of her execution and spared her life for good. He said that the execution would be postponed for ever. 6. They lived on happily together ever after and the sultan loved and respected his clever wife. • Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, соответствующие русским выражениям: 1. Случайно она оказалась очень хорошим рассказчиком. 2. Она сможет использовать свой талант… 3. ... Угодить султану и обмануть его таким образом, чтобы он пощадил её. 4. …Как дальше повествует история… 5. … недостаточно, чтобы закончить … • Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие английским выражениям: 1. By day break … 2. …remained unfinished… 3. The sultan was so thrilled… 4. …he begged her to continue it… 5. …day had dawned… 6. …the time of execution had come… 7. …he decided to postpone her execution… 8. …the following night… 9. …he was eager to listen to her story… 10. …prolonged the fascinating tale … 11. …spared her life for good, for ever… 12. …ever after… • Задание 5. Найдите в каждом абзаце ключевое предложение, т.е. предложение, выражающее основную мысль. • Задание 6. Ответьте на следующие вопросы: 1. What is the text devoted to? 2. It describes the origin of the name "Arabian nights", doesn't it? 3. What does the text point out? 4. What is outlined in the conclusion of the text? 5. Did you like the story? Why?

УРОК 17 • Задание 1. Прочитайте 2-3 раза и запомните чтение следующих слов: Babylon ['b bil n], wigwam ['wigw m], Iroquois ['ir kwoi], Governor ['g v n ], expert ['eksp :t], profitable ['profit bl], island ['ail nd], borough ['b r ], private ['praivit], miracle ['mir kl].

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• Задание2. Прочтите и переведите текст: MODERN BABYLON 1. New York. Some call it a poem in stone and steel, others a soulless monster. It is unlike any other city in the world. 2. At the beginning of the 17th century only the wigwams of the Iroquois stood where the sky-scrapers of New York now reach to the clouds. In 1626 the Dutch Governor, Peter Minuit, concluded with them what American business experts call "the most profitable commercial deal" in US history. With several bottles of gin and handful of trinkets that cost twenty-four dollars, he bought a large island from the simple-hearted, trusting Indians. Later the Indians named the island Manhatta (present-day Manhattan, the main borough of New York) which in Iroquois means: "they cheated us". 3. It seems that at the dawn of private enterprise, too, it was hard to understand the difference between "a commercial deal" and cheating, between "a miracle of enterprise" and robbery. 4. It was not until the end of the 18th century that the city's real growth began. Situated as it is at the mouth of the Hudson River, which is open to ocean-going ships the year round, New York quickly became one of the largest ports in the world. 5. At the turn of the present century millions of people driven by poverty emigrated to the United States from various countries of Europe. They entered the New World through New York, the "Gateway of America". 6. Hundreds of thousands of them settled down in that city. That is what makes people call it the "Modern Babylon". 7. At present more Irish live in New York than in Dublin, more Icelanders than in Reykjavik, more Italians than in Rome. Emigrants from seventy countries and all the continents of the world, all speaking their own languages, make up this "Modern Babylon". • Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, соответствующие русским выражениям: 1. ...поэма в камне и стали… 2. …простодушные, доверчивые индейцы… 3. "Они нас обманули" . 4. …различие между "коммерческой сделкой" и обманом… 5. И только в конце 18 века… • Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие английским выражениям: 1. …reach to the clouds… 2. …main borough of New York… 3. It seems that … 4. …"a miracle of enterprise"… 5. …the city's real growth began. 6. … at the mouth of the Hudson River. 7. …ocean-going ships… 8. …the year round…

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9. At the turn of the present century… 10. …driven by poverty… 11. …"the Gateway of America"… 12. …make up this "Modern Babylon". • Задание 5. Найдите в тексте ключевые предложения для каждой логической части • Задание 6. Суммируйте основное содержание текста, используя ключевые предложения и следующие фразы: 1. The text is connected with… 2. The author discusses… 3. The stress falls on… 4. Attention is concentrated on… 5. Further on, the author reports that… 6. He points out that… 7. In conclusion it is pointed out that…

УРОК 18 • Задание 1. Прочитайте 2-3 раза и запомните чтение следующих слов: Holmes [houlmz], patient ['pei nt], medicine ['medisin], instead [in'sted], Arthur ['a: ], detective [di'tektiv], equally ['i:kw li], colleague ['koli:g], Watson ['wots n], knife [naif], plaque [pla:k]. • Задание2. Прочитайте и переведите текст: SHERLOCK HOLMES LIVES! 1. In the 1880s a young doctor sat waiting for new patients who never came. To pass the time, he wrote stories about a man who was very good at solving crimes. These stories were so popular that the doctor decided to give up medicine and become a writer instead. The doctor was Arthur Conan Doyle and his creation the detective, Sherlock Holmes. 2. Conan Doyle's first story about Holmes, "A Study in Scarlet", appeared in 1887. It's the story in which the detective meets his equally famous friend and colleague, Dr. Watson, at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in east London. The hospital still exists today and there is a special plaque there to celebrate the occasion. 3. Holmes and Watson shared rooms at 221 B Baker Street in London. Many serious discussions have taken place about where 221 B was. Anyway, no house exists there now. Instead, a large finance company has its office nearby and has taken responsibility for the twenty or so letters which still arrive each week addressed to Mr. Sherlock Holmes, 221 B Baker Street. Most come from the United States and many correspondents ask if Mr. Holmes can help them with some problem, such as finding a missing relative. Replies are sent on special paper saying that: "…unfortunately Mr. Sherlock Holmes now retired to Sussex and is keeping bees.

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He is no longer working as a detective". If he were alive today, he would be about 129 years old. 4. There is the Sherlock Holmes Pub near Trafalgar Square. Here an upstairs room has been made into a likeness of 221 B Baker Street, as it's described in the stories. 5. The room is filled with every thing which Holmes and Watson would have had Holmes 's violin on a shelf, his distinctive hat and pipe, the Persian slipper in which he kept his tobacco, unanswered letters pinned to the wall with a knife, as well as the fireplace, chairs and tables. 6. The pub is decorated in the style of the early 1900s and the walls are covered with pictures connected with Holmes and Conan Doyle, including photos of the many actors who have played Holmes and Watson in films, on television and radio. 7. The 1950s was a time when many people became interested in Sherlock Holmes and The Sherlock Holmes Society of London was formed in 1951. Its membership of about 500 meets three or four times a year to talk about their hero and to re-live his adventures. A good knowledge of all the stories is important for the discussions, which take place and for the trips, which are arranged about once a year. In 1983 a group went to South Wales to look over the area where "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" took place. And there have been two special visits to Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland - the scene of Holmes's famous struggle with Professor Moriarty. Details of the society's activities are published in The Sherlock Holmes Journal and news is exchanged with the many other societies all over the world. From "BBC English" • Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, соответствующие русским выражениям: 1. …Специальная мемориальная доска в честь этого события. 2. Холмс и Ватсон снимали квартиру… 3. …финансовая компания взяла на себя ответственность… 4. …к сожалению, м-р Ш. Холмс вышел на пенсию… 5. …разводит пчел. • Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие английским выражениям: 1. He is no longer working… 2. If he were alive… 3. …the Sh. Holmes Pub … 4. …a likeness of 221 B Baker Street… 5. … a violin… 6. … as well as… 7. … membership… 8. …to re-live his adventures… 9. …news is exchanged… • Задание 5. Составьте план текста.

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• Задание 6. Перескажите текст, пользуясь следующими клише: 1. The title of the text is … 2. It is from… 3. The article deals with… 4. It is stressed that… 5. Further on, the text reads that… 6. The author gives some ideas of … 7. The article provides the readers with some facts about… 8. In conclusion it is reported that…

УРОК 19 • Задание 1. Прочитайте 2-3 раза и запомните чтение следующих слов: Rome [roum], capital ['k pitl], government ['g v nm nt], magnificence [m g'ni:fisns], sculpture ['sk lpt ], Capitoline [k 'pit lain], museum [mju:'zi m], legendary ['led nd ri], Empire ['empai ], appreciated [ 'pri: eitid], tomb [ tu:m]. • Задание 2. Прочтите и переведите текст: THE HEART OF ROME 1. The heart of Rome is the Capitol; the emblem of the city and the marks of her destiny lie here. One should see this hall which has been the seat of the city's government through many centuries. 2. If one comes here for the first time, he can begin to understand the magnificence of ancient Rome. There is a wonderful collection of sculptures in the Capitoline Palace and other Capitoline Museums. This collection can tell you in living marble the story of the city from the legendary coming of Aeneas to the glorious flourishing of the Republic and Empire up to the time of the terrible collapse when the barbarians crossed the frontiers of Italy. The Capitoline Museums must have been built in 1417 and they must be the oldest public collection in the world. 3. Behind the Capitol, in the centre of the ancient city, lies the Forum. It is known to be the centre of commercial, political, governmental and, in fact, of whole civic life of the city. The ruins of to-day can be appreciated only in the light of the whole history of Rome. 4. The black marble of Romulus's tomb with the oldest known Latin inscription (VI century B.C.); the rostra taken from enemy ships and made into stands from which the most celebrated politicians must have delivered their speeches; the atrium from which the virgin guardians of the sacred flame must have come forth in solemn procession - all these are indestructible evidence of time and events. On the side of the Roman Forum are the green slopes of the Palatine. The Palatine may rightly be ranked amongst the most famous hills of the earth. This ancient hill adds to the majestic beauty of the ruins also that of the panorama which embraces all that is finest in Rome.

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• Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, соответствующие русским выражениям: 1. Если человек приезжает сюда впервые… 2. … замечательная коллекция скульптур Капитолийского дворца… 3. …до пышного расцвета… 4. … когда варвары пересекли границы Италии. 5. …это, дожно быть, самая старая коллекция, принадлежащая обществу. 6. Известно, что он является центром … • Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие английским выражениям: 1. …through many centuries… 2. …living marble… 3. …whole civic life of the city… 4. …in the light of the whole history… 5. ... Romulus's tomb… 6. …Latin inscription 7. …the rostra taken from enemy ships… 8. …the most celebrated politicians… 9. …must have delivered their speeches… 10. …virgin guardians… 11. …solemn procession… 12. …Sacred flame… 13. …indestructible evidence… 14. …may rightly be ranked… • Задание 5. Составьте план текста. • Задание 6. Передайте кратко содержание текста, используя следующие фразы: 1. The text deals with… 2. It gives the reader some information on … 3. It is pointed out that… 4. The text reads about… 5. It stresses the idea that…

УРОК 20 • Задание 1. Прочитайте 2-3 раза и запомните чтение следующих слов: Maiden ['meidn], European [ ju r 'pi n], Christian ['kristj n], Trinity ['triniti], folk [foulk], fair [f ], amusement [ 'mju:zm nt], various ['v ri s], wreath [ri: ], frequently ['fri:kw ntli], peasant [ 'peiznt].

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• Задание 2. Прочитайте и переведите текст: MAIDENS' HOLIDAY For many European peoples the main holiday of the summer was Ivanov Day. Even for Russians this holiday marked the end of Spring and the beginning of Summer and was a day predating the Christian festival of the Holy Trinity or Pentecost (Whitsun). This year it falls on the sixth of June. 1. In the folk calendar Whitsunday could be compared with, for instance, Shrovetide (Pancake Day). It was one of the most important and jolly days with outdoor parties, fairs, sideshows, rides, and other such amusements. The Trinity ceremonies were particularly talked about. The main role in these was taken by the birch tree, ancient symbol of Russian nature. Birch twigs decorated the houses, the streets and the churches. Frequently young trees cut to stand in courtyards and by gates. The birch was affectionately known as 'Maidens' Beauty'. Whitsunday was a most important date for young girls. Therefore it was called the 'Maidens' Holiday'. The village girls gathered on Whitsunday, walked to the woods, singing songs (remember 'In the field a little birch tree stood'?) and waving birch twigs. This was done in various ways: twigs were plaited into pigtails and bound up with ribbons, twisted into wreaths, or trees were bent to the ground and braided to the grass or the tops of two birches were tied together. 2. In the village the wreaths were waved over oneself and one's relations to tell their fortunes. It was reckoned that if the wreath got caught on somebody that person would die. If the wreath became unbound it meant fate would come soon. Every girl tried to plait the wreath more tightly so that her sweetheart would love her more strongly. When they arrived on Whitsunday to see and pick bits of the birch tree (and this had to be done otherwise the village would take offence) the girl plaited wreaths out of birch twigs, wore them on their heads, played, sang and danced. In the evening the wreaths were taken to the river. Sometimes the girls would simply bend over and let the wreaths slip from their heads. More often they would start by laying the wreath on the water, scooping water from the middle of the wreath and washing, then the wreaths would be thrown into the middle of the river. The way the wreaths floated told the girl's fortune. If it sank that meant her sweetheart would no longer love her. If it was washed ashore she would marry a local man and if it floated on she would leave for foreign parts. 3. In several regions the custom was to decorate the cut birches. They were decorated with beads, ribbons and handkerchiefs. Sometimes the birch would be dressed like a girl in her wedding dress or in her very best clothes, attached with braided string and at the top a handkerchief or headdress would be placed. Girls would travel all over the countryside with these saplings, collecting food for the festive tables and then they would go out to the forest or the meadows. Placing the birch there, they would dance round it, spread out the tablecloths and set out the maidens' feast. As evening fell they would go down to the river and singing sad songs carry the birch to the water or take it to the field. They believed that left to rot, the sapling would protect their crops from frost, hail and worms, and immersed in water it would bring lifegiving rains.

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4. Such pentecostal rites were widespread. With the wreath waving on the birch tree to the strains of particular songs, two girls, best friends, would walk under the wreath from different sides, kiss each other three times, swap objects (hankies, ribbons, beads, rings or crosses) and promise lifelong friendship. This ceremony was called the 'Rite of friendship'. Russian peasants took it very seriously. To girls who had been through this rite, the friendship was as binding, as a blood relationship and they would call each other 'dear friend' or 'sister'. (Moscow News) Задание 3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты, соответствующие русским выражениям: 1. … день накануне христианского праздника. 2. …древний символ русской природы. 3. …во дворах и у ворот… 4. …"Во поле берёзонька стояла" 5. …деревья нагибали до земли и переплетали с травой. • Задание 4. Подберите русские эквиваленты, соответствующие английским выражениям: 1. …Еuropean peoples… 2. …the folk calendar… 3. …birch twigs… 4. …the girl plaited wreaths out of birch twigs… 5. …her sweetheart would no longer love her… 6. …marry a local man… 7. …a girl in her wedding dress… 8. …protect their crops from frost… 9. …pentecostal rites… 10. …promise long-life friendship. • Задание 5. Ответьте на следующие вопросы: 1. What did Ivanov Day mark? 2. What kind of day was it? 3. Why was it called "Maidens' Holiday"? 4. What did the girls plait? 5. Where did they take their wreaths to? 6. How did the girls dress the cut birches? 7. Were such pentecostal rites widespread in old Russia? • Задание 6. Составьте краткий пересказ текста на английском или русском языке.

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ТЕКСТЫ ДЛЯ ДОПОЛНИТЕЛЬНОГО ЧТЕНИЯ Текст I. Прочитайте, переведите и перескажите текст: In 1608 an Englishman, Thomas Coryate by name, was in Italy. He liked the country and wrote down everything, which he found interesting. But there was one thing, which he thought more interesting than any others. On one of the pages Thomas wrote:"When the Italians eat meat, they use little forks. They do not eat with hands because, they say, people do not always have clean hands." Before Thomas Coryate went to England he bought a few forks. When he got home, Thomas Coryate gave a dinner party to show the forks to his friends. When the servants put the meat on the table, he took out a fork and began to eat like the Italians. Everybody looked at him. When he told his friends what it was, they all wanted to take a good look at the strange thing. All his friends said that the Italians were very strange, because the fork was very inconvenient. But Thomas Coryate didn't agree with them. He said it was not nice to eat meat with the fingers, because people didn't always have clean hands. Everybody was angry at this. Did Mr Coryate think that people in England didn't always have clean hands? And weren't the ten fingers we had enough for us? Thomas Coryate wanted to show that it was very easy to use the fork. But the first piece of meat he took with the fork fell to the table. His friends began to laugh and he had to take the fork away. Fifty years passed before people in England began to use forks. Текст 2. Прочитайте, переведите и перескажите текст: Once upon a time in a small village there lived a young man. His name was Jack. He had a wife and old parents. The family was so poor that there were no nice things in their house. One day Jack went to town to look for a job. Some time passed and he came back with a box full of presents for everybody. He gave his mother a shawl, his father a warm cap and a shirt, his wife a beautiful dress. All of them liked the presents very much and were glad to have them. But Jack's wife wanted to know what else there was in the box. So, when Jack went to see his friends, she opened the box and saw a beautiful young woman in it. She got very angry and began to cry. When her father-in-law heard it, he asked why she was crying. She told him she was so angry because there was a young woman in the box. The old man thought it was strange and decided to look at the young woman. But when he opened the box, he saw no young woman there. An old man was looking at him from the box. Jack's father told his daughter-in-law that there was an old man in the box and not a young woman. But she didn't believe him and went on crying. She said Jack didn't love her.

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When Jack's mother heard the young woman's story, she didn't believe her either. She looked into the box and saw an old woman there. Soon Jack returned home, and when he came into the room, he saw his wife, his mother and father at the box. He laughed at them because they didn't know what they saw in the box. What was there in the box? Can you guess? Текст 3. Прочитайте, переведите и перескажите текст: Mr Brown was at the theatre. He had got his ticket at the last moment, so he had not been able to choose his seat. He now found that he was in the middle of a group of American ladies, some of them middle-aged and some quite old. They obviously all knew each other well, as, before the curtain went up on the play they had come to see, they all talked and joked a lot together. The lady sitting on Mr Brown's left, who was about sixty years old, seemed to be the happiest and the most amusing of the American group, and after the first act of the play she apologized to him for the noisiness of her friends. He answered that he was very glad to see American ladies so obviously enjoying their visit to England, and so they got into conversation. Mr Brown's neighbour explained what they were doing there. "You know, I have known these ladies all my life", she said. "We all grew up together back in our home town in the United States. They have all lost their husbands, and call themselves the Merry Widows. It is a sort of club, you know. They go abroad every summer for a month or two and have a lot of fun. They always go everywhere together. I have wanted to join their club for a long time, but I didn't qualify for membership until the spring of this year." Текст 4. Прочитайте, переведите и перескажите текст: Mr and Mrs Brown were going abroad for their holiday. They had a dog called Blackie which they were very fond of, but they could not take him abroad with them, so they looked for a good place to leave him while they were away, and at last found a place which looked after dogs very well while their owners were away. They took Blackie there just before they left for their holiday, and sadly said goodbye to him. At the end of their holiday, they got back to England very late at night, and as they thought that the place where Blackie was staying might be closed at the late hour, they decided to wait until the next morning before going to get him. So the next morning Mr Brown got into his car and drove off happily to collect Blackie. When he reached home with a dog, he said to his wife, "Do you know, dear, I don't think Blackie can have enjoyed his stay at that place very much. He barked all the way home in the car as if he wanted to tell me something." Mrs Brown looked at the dog carefully and then answered," You are quite right, dear. He was certainly trying to tell you something. But he wasn't trying to tell you that he hadn't enjoyed his stay at that place. He was only trying to tell you that you were bringing the wrong dog home. This isn't Blackie!"

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Текст 5. Прочитайте и переведите текст. Выскажите свое мнение на английском языке относительно жанра текста: HOW TO WRITE A ROTTEN POEM WITH ALMOST NO EFFORT So you want to write a poem. You've had a rotten day or an astounding thought or a car accident or a squalid love affair and you want to record it for all time. You want to organize those emotions that are pounding through your veins. You have something to communicate via a poem but you don't know where to start. This, of course, is the problem with poetry. Most people find it difficult to write a poem so they don't even try. What's worse, they don't bother reading any poems either. Poetry has become an almost totally foreign art form to many of us. As a result, serious poets either starve or work as account executives. There is no middle ground. Good poets and poems are lost forever simply because there is no market for them, no people who write their own verse and seek out further inspiration from other bards. Fortunately, there is a solution for this problem, as there are for all problems. The answer is to make it easy for everyone to write at least one poem in his life. Once a person has written a poem, of whatever quality, he will feel comradeship with fellow poets and, hopefully, read their works. Ideally, there would evolve a veritable society of poet-citizens, which would elevate the quality of life worldwide. Not only that, good poets could make a living for a change. So, to begin. Have you paper ready. You must first understand that the poem you write here will not be brilliant. It won't even be mediocre. But it will be better than 50% of all song lyrics and at least equal to one of Rod McKuen's best efforts. You will be instructed how to write a four-line poem but the basic structure can be repeated at will to create works of epic length. The first line of your poem should start and end with these words: "In the -------of my mind." The middle word of this line is optional. Any word will do. It would be best not to use a word that has been overdone, such as "windmills" or "gardens" or "playground". Just think of as many nouns as you can and see what fits best. The rule of thumb is to pick a noun that seems totally out of context, such as "automobile tire" or "radiator" or "parking lot". Just remember, the more unusual the noun, the more profound the image. The second line should use two or more of the human senses in a conflicting manner, as in the famous, "listen to the warm". This is a sure way to conjure up "poetic" feeling and atmosphere. Since there are five different senses, the possibilities are endless. A couple that come to mind are "see the noise" and "touch the sound". If more complexity is desired other senses can be added, as in "taste the color of my hearing," or " I cuddled your sight in the aroma of the night." Rhyming, of course, is optional. The third line should be just a simple statement. This is used to break up the insightful images that have been presented in the first two lines. This line should be as prosaic as possible to give a "down-to-earth" mood to the poem. An example would be "she gave me juice and toast that morning," or perhaps "I left for work next day on the 8:30 bus." The content of this line may or may not relate to what has gone before.

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The last line of your poem should deal with the future in some way. This gives the poem a forward thrust is always helpful. A possibility might be, "tomorrow will be a better day," or "I'll find someone sometime," or "maybe we'll meet again in July." This future-oriented ending lends an aura of hope and yet need not be grossly optimistic. By following the above structure, anyone can write a poem. For example, if I select one each of my sample lines, I come up with: In the parking lot of my mind, I cuddled your sight in the aroma of the night. I left for work next day on the 8:30 bus. Maybe we'll meet again in July. Now that poem (like yours, when you're finished) is rotten. But at least it's a poem and you've written it, which is an accomplishment that relatively few people can claim. Now that you're a poet, feel free to read poetry by some of your more accomplished brothers and sisters in verse. Chances are, you'll find their offerings stimulating and refreshing. You might even try writing some more of your own poems, now that you've broken the ice. Observe others' emotions and experience your own - that's what poetry is all about. Incidentally, if you find it impossible to sell the poem you write to Bobby Goldsboro or John Denver, burn it. It will look terrible as the first page of your anthology when it's published. (Richard Howey) Текст 6. Прочитайте и переведите текст: VIEWING VS. READING (Mane Winn) Part 1 Until the television era a young child's access to symbolic representations of reality was limited. Unable to read, he entered the world of fantasy primarily by way of stories told to him or read to him from a book But rarely did such "literary" experiences take up a significant proportion of a child's waking time; even when a willing reader or storyteller was available, an hour or so a day was more time than most children spent in the imagination of others. And when the pretelevision child did enter those imaginary worlds, he always had a grown-up escort along to interpret, explain, and comfort, if need be. Before he learned to read, it was difficult for the child to enter the fantasy world alone. For this reason the impact of television was undoubtedly greater on preschoolers and pre-readers than on any other group. By means of television, very young children were able to enter and spend great portions of their waking time in a secondary world of unreal people and intangible things, unaccompanied, in too many cases, by an adult guide or comforter. School-age children fell into a different category. Because they could read, they had other opportunities to leave reality behind. For these children television was merely another imaginary world.

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But since reading, once the school child's major imaginative experience, has now been virtually eclipsed by television, the television experience must be compared with the reading experience to try to discover whether they are, indeed, similar activities fulfilling similar needs in a child's life. Part 2 What happens when you read It is not enough to compare television watching and reading from the viewpoint of quality. Although the quality of the material available in each medium varies enormously, from junky books and shoddy programs to literary masterpieces and fine, thoughtful television shows, the nature of the two experiences is different and that difference significantly affects the impact of the material taken in. Few people besides linguistics students and teachers of reading are aware of the complex mental manipulations involved in the reading process. Shortly after learning to read, a person assimilates the process into his life so completely that the words in books seem to acquire an existence almost equal to the objects or acts they represent. It requires a fresh look at a printed page to recognize that those symbols that we call letters of the alphabet are completely abstract shapes bearing no inherent "meaning" of their own. Look at an "o," for instance, or a "k." The 'o' is a curved figure; the "k" is an intersection of three straight lines. Yet it is hard to divorce their familiar figures from their sounds, though there is nothing "o-ish" about an "o" or "k-ish" about a "k." A reader unfamiliar with the Russian alphabet will find it easy to look at the symbol "ш" and see it as an abstract shape; a Russian reader will find it harder to detach that symbol from its sound, "shch." And even when trying to consider "k" as an abstract symbol, we cannot see it without the feeling of a "k" sound somewhere between the throat and the ears, a silent pronunciation of "k" that occurs the instant we see the letter. Part 3 That is the beginning of reading: we learn to transform abstract figures into sounds, and groups of symbols into the combined sounds that make up the words of our language. As the mind transforms the abstract symbols into sounds and the sounds into words, it "hears" the words, as it were and thereby invests them with meanings previously learned in the spoken language. Invariably, as the skill of reading develops, the meaning of each word begins to seem to dwell within those symbols that make up the word. The word "dog," for instance, comes to bear some relationship with the real animal. Indeed, the word "dog" seems to be dog in a certain sense, to possess some of the qualities of a dog. But it is only as a result of a swift and complex series of mental activities that the word "dog" is transformed from a series of meaningless sounds into an idea of something real. This process goes on smoothly and continuously as we read, and yet it becomes no less complex. The brain must carry out all the steps of decoding and investing with meaning each time we read, but it becomes more adept at it as the skill develops, so that we lose the sense of struggling with symbols and meanings that children have when they first learn to read.

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But not merely does the mind hear words in the process of reading; it is important to remember that reading involves images as well. For when the reader sees the world "dog" and understands the idea of "dog," an image representing a dog is conjured up as well. The precise nature of this "reading image" is little understood, nor is there agreement about what relation it bears to visual images taken in directly by the eyes. Nevertheless images necessarily color our reading, else we would perceive no meaning, merely empty words. The great difference between these "reading images" and the images we take in when viewing television is this: we create our own images when reading, based upon our own life experiences and reflecting our own individual needs, while we must accept what we receive when watching television images. This aspect of reading, which might be called "creative" in the narrow sense of the world, is present during all reading experiences, regardless of what is being read. The reader "creates" his own images as he reads, almost as if he were creating his own, small, inner television program. The result is a nourishing experience for the imagination. As Bruno Bettelheim notes, "Television captures the imagination but does not liberate it. A good book at once stimulates and frees the mind." Part 4 Television images do not go through a complex symbolic transformation. The mind does not have to decode and manipulate during the television experience. Perhaps this is a reason why the visual images received directly from a television set are strong, stronger, it appears, than the images conjured up mentally while reading. But ultimately they satisfy less. A ten-year-old child reports on the effects of seeing television dramatizations of books he has previously read:" The TV people leave a stronger impression. Once you've seen a character on TV, he'll always look like that in your mind, even if you made a different picture of him in your mind before, when you read the book yourself." And yet, as the same child reports, "the thing about a book is that you have so much freedom. You can make each character look exactly the way you want him to look. You're more in control of things when you read a book than when you see something on TV." It may be that television-bred children's reduced opportunities to indulge in this "inner picture-making" accounts for the curious inability of so many children today to adjust to nonvisual experiences. This is commonly reported by experienced teachers who bridge the gap between the pretelevision and the television eras. "When I read them a story without showing them pictures, the children always complain - "I can't see." Their attention flags, "reports a first-grade teacher. "They'll begin to talk or wander off. I have to really work to develop their visualizing skills. I tell them that there's nothing to see, that the story is coming out of my mouth, and that they can make their own pictures in their mind's eye. They get better at visualizing, with practice. But children never needed to learn how to visualize before television, it seems to me." Part 5 VIEWING VS.` READING: CONCENTRATION Because reading demands complex mental manipulations, a reader is required to concentrate far more than a television viewer. An audio expert notes that "with the

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electronic media it is openness that counts. Openness permits auditory and visual stimuli more direct access to the brain… someone who is taught to concentrate will fail to perceive many patterns of information conveyed by the electronic stimuli." It may be that a predisposition toward concentration, acquired, perhaps, through one's reading experiences, makes one an inadequate television watcher. But it seems far more likely that the reverse situation obtains: that a predisposition toward "openness" (which may be understood to mean the opposite of focal concentration), acquired through years and years of television viewing, has influenced adversely viewers' ability to concentrate, to read, to write clearly - in short, to demonstrate any of the verbal skills a literate society requires.