Реферат: Санкт – петербургский государственный университет британия Учебные задания Санкт Петербург

САНКТ – ПЕТЕРБУРГСКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ

УНИВЕРСИТЕТ


Британия


Учебные задания


Санкт - Петербург


Утверждено на заседании кафедры иностранных языков для математических факультетов.


Составитель: асс. И.А. Бадеева


Рецензенты: ст. преп. Д.Х. Ибрагимова,

cт. преп. Н.П. Васильева


Учебные задания способствуют расширению познаний студентов о Соединенном Королевстве Великобритании и Северной Ирландии, национальных символах и политическом строе страны. Пособие снабжено упражнениями на отработку навыков произношения, освоение основных лексических единиц, связанных с данной темой, а также на развитие коммуникативных навыков учащихся. Издание предназначено для студентов математических факультетов университета.

^ Britain Overview. National Symbols.





«I have seen much to hate here, much to forgive. But in a world where England is finished and dead, I do not wish to live».

Alice Duer Miller. White Cliffs*.

The official name of the country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK for short). It consists of four parts: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, their capital cities being London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast respectively. The UK is situated on the British Isles and is separated from the continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover. The largest of the British Isles is Great Britain which contains England, Wales and Scotland. The second largest island of the British Isles is called Ireland. Northern Ireland (which is a part of Britain) occupies the north-eastern part of the island. Its capital city is Belfast. The larger part of Ireland is the Irish Republic, an independent state with its capital in Dublin.

The national flag of the United Kingdom is known as the Union Jack. It is made up of three crosses: the cross of St. George (the patron saint of England), the cross of St. Andrew(the patron saint of Scotland) and St. Patrick’s cross representing Northern Ireland. The Union Jack was set up in 1801, and the combination of colours and crosses of the flag reflects the peculiarities of the existing at that time national flags of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Each part of the United Kingdom has its own national symbol: a red rose became the emblem of England after the Wars of the Roses (1455-1485). The thistle is the national emblem of Scotland. According to the old legend it saved the country from the enemy. The leek or daffodil is Welshmen’s national emblem. The Irish people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by wearing the shamrock, their national emblem.

The total population of the UK is over 57 million people. London is the largest city with population of more than 7 million people. As to the other cities, one can name such important industrial and cultural centres as Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham and Leeds.

For many centuries a large number of countries all over the world were included into the British Empire and were ruled by Britain. Nowadays most of these countries are independent states. In 1949 Britain and many former members of the British Empire founded an association, called the Commonwealth. It includes such countries as the Irish Republic, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The Queen of Great Britain is the official head of the Commonwealth and the countries which constitute it. The Union Jack is incorporated into the national flags of many countries of the Commonwealth.

* Alice Duer Miller (1874 – 1942) – an American journalist and writer. " White Cliffs " (1940), her best known short story, owes its name to the famous White Cliffs, a dramatically picturesque tourist attraction near Dover.



the United Kingdom

[jH'naItId'kINdqm]

Соединенное Королевство

Northern Ireland

['nLD(q)n'aIqlqnd]

Северная Ирландия

the British Isles

['brItIS'aIlz]

Британские острова

the English Channel

['InglIS'Cxnl]

принятое в Великобритании название пролива Ла-Манш

the Strait of Dover

['streItqv'dquvq]

Дуврский пролив (принятое в Британии название пролива Па-де-Кале)

Wales

[weIlz]

Уэльс

Scotland

['skOtlqnd]

Шотландия

London

['lAndqn]


г. Лондон

Cardiff

['kRdIf]

г. Кардиф

Edinburgh

['edInb(q)rq]

г. Эдинбург

Belfast

['belfRst]

г. Белфаст

Dublin

['dAblIn]

г. Дублин

patron saint

['peItr(q)n 'seInt]

святой покровитель

St. George

[snt 'dZLdZ]

Святой Георг (покровитель Англии)

St. Andrew

[snt 'xndrH]

Святой Эндрю (покровитель Шотландии)

St. Patrick

[snt 'pxtrIk]

Святой Патрик (покровитель Ирландии)

thistle

['Tisl]

чертополох (эмблема Шотландии)

leek

[lJk]

лук-порей (эмблема Уэльса)

daffodil

['dxfqdIl]

нарцисс (эмблема Уэльса)

shamrock

['SxmrOk]

трилистник (эмблема Ирландии)

Manchester

['mxn(t)SIstq]

г. Манчестер

Liverpool

['lIvqpHl]

г. Ливерпуль

Glasgow

['glRsgqu]

г. Глазго

Birmingham

['bWmINqm]

г. Бирмингем

Leeds

[lJdz]

г. Лидс

the Commonwealth

['kOmqnwelT]

Содружество наций


Exercises


Ex. 1 Match the name of a country from the left column with the name of its capital from the right column:


England

Wales

Northern Ireland

Scotland

the Republic of Ireland

Edinburgh

London

Dublin

Cardiff

Belfast


Ex. 2 Choose the correct word or phrase to complete these sentences:


1) The full and official name of the country is ________.

A. England

B. Great Britain

C. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

D. The UK


2) The UK consists of ________ parts.

A. three

B. five

C. four

D. two


3) The flag of the United Kingdom, known as the Union Jack, is made up of ________ crosses.

A. two

B. three

C. four

D. five


4) ________ is the national emblem of Scotland.

A. The leek

B. The daffodil

C. The shamrock

D. The thistle


5) Welshmen all over the world celebrate their national holiday, St. David’s Day, by wearing either ________.

A. red roses or white roses

B. violets or daffodils

C. roses or daffodils

D. leeks or daffodils


6) What a red rose is to the English, a little ________ is to the Irish.

A. apple

B. shamrock

C. daffodil

D. thistle

:

.

Ex. 3 Answer the following questions:

1. What is the official name of the country?

2. Where is the UK situated?

3. What separates the country from the continental Europe?

4. What parts does the country consist of?

5. What is the capital of each part?

6. What is the name of the UK’s national flag?

7. How many crosses is the flag made up of?

8. What colours is the Russian flag composed of? Do you know what they symbolize?

9. Is there a patron saint of your home city?

10. What can you say about the national emblems of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

11. What is the population of London?

12. What other large cities can you name?

13. When was the Commonwealth founded?

14. What countries belong to the Commonwealth?

15. Who is the official head of the countries included into the Commonwealth?


Ex. 4 Which of the following statements are not true? Correct the false statements.


The Republic of Ireland is a part of the UK.

Edinburgh is the capital of an independent state.

Wales is not represented on the Union Jack.

Great Britain is a full and official name of the country.

An Irishman might not agree that he is a British citizen.

The Commonwealth is an association of former members of the British Empire and Britain.


Ex. 5 Render the text in English using the words and expressions below the text.


Государственный флаг Британии.


Говоря о государственных символах страны, мы, прежде всего, имеем в виду государственный флаг. Флаг — это визитная карточка страны, олицетворяющая ее суверенитет. Не каждый человек может описать по памяти флаги всех стран мира, но даже ребенок знает, что «звезды и полосы» принадлежат США, «кленовый лист» — Канаде, а «Юнион Джек», сложное сплетение красных и белых крестов на синем фоне, представляет Соединенное Королевство.

Государственный флаг Великобритании не просто символизирует страну, он отражает ее историю. Первый английский флаг был флагом Святого Георга, покровителя Англии (Уэльс к тому времени уже был покорен Англией). После заключения союза Англии и Шотландии к флагу добавили шотландский символ — крест святого Андрея. Тогда же появилось название «Юнион Джек», в котором закрепилась память о том, кто явился автором союза Англии и Шотландии, ведь две страны объединил Яков (Джеймс) I Стюарт, сын казненной шотландской королевы Марии Стюарт. В 1801 году после провозглашения союза Англии и Ирландии на британском флаге появился крест святого Патрика — покровителя Ирландии. С тех пор флаг Соединенного Королевства не менялся. Его можно увидеть и на флагах других государств — стран Содружества Наций, таких как Австралия, Новая Зеландия, Фиджи, Гавайские острова.



from memory




по памяти

“Stars and Stripes”




флаг США

maple-leaf




кленовый лист

interlacement




сплетение

against a background




на фоне

to conquer

['kONkq]

покорить, завоевать

to conclude an alliance with

[q'laIqns]

заключить союз с …

in commemoration of




в память о …

to execute

['eksIkjHt]

казнить

to declare




провозглашать, объявлять

Fiji Islands

[fJ'dZJ]

острова Фиджи

Hawaii

[hR'waIJ]

Гавайи











Monarchy


Britain is a state of the constitutional monarchy. That means that a monarch (a queen or a king) is at the head of the state, but the power of the monarch is not absolute, it is greatly limited by parliament. The continuity of the British monarchy has been interrupted only once (the republic of 1649-60) in over a thousand years.

According to the law the monarch is the head of the executive power, an integral part of the legislature, the head of the judiciary, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Crown and the supreme governor of Church of England. But the real power of the monarchy has been steadily reduced over the years, and today the monarch acts only on advice of the ministers of the government. That is why it is often said that the Sovereign reigns but doesn’t rule.

Nevertheless, the institution of monarchy plays a very important role in Britain and the Commonwealth. It is a symbol of the national unity. All the members of the royal family take part in traditional ceremonies, visit different parts of Britain and many other countries and are closely involved in the work of various charities.


Vocabulary



constitutional

["kOnstI'tjHSqnl]

конституционный

monarchy

['mOnqkI]

монархия

parliament

['pRlqmqnt]

парламент

executive

[Ig'zekjutIv]

исполнительный

legislature

['ledZIsleICq]

законодательная власть

judiciary

[dZu(:)'dISIqn]

судебная власть

commander-in-chief

[kq'mRnd(q)rIn'CJf]

главнокомандующий

supreme

[sju(:)'prJm]

верховный, высший

government

['gAvnmqnt]

правительство

to reign

[reIn]

царствовать

charities

['CxrItIz]

благотворительные учреждения, общества

Church of England




англиканская церковь





















^ Government. Executive Power


The supreme executive power in Britain belongs to the Sovereign and the Government. Every five years a general election is held and the party which wins most seats in it forms the Government. By tradition, the leader of the majority party is appointed Prime Minister, the head of

the government. The Prime Minister usually takes policy decisions with the agreement of his Cabinet (a committee of leading ministers). The Cabinet Ministers introduce legislation, control finances, arrange the time-table of the Houses of Parliament, conduct foreign affairs, exercise supervision over every department of administration.

The Cabinet meets in private at number 10, Downing Street, the official residence of the British Prime Minister, and these proceedings are strictly confidential.

The Cabinet is constitutionally responsible to Parliament and can be forced to resign. No bill which a minister may prepare can become law until it is passed by an Act of Parliament.


Opposition


The party with the second largest number of members in the Parliament, or sometimes a combination of other parties, forms the official Opposition, and the Leader of the Opposition has a recognized post in the Houses of Parliament and receives a salary out of the state funds. He forms the so-called Shadow Cabinet, an alternative government. The aim of the Opposition and its Shadow Cabinet is to criticize government policies and to present an alternative programme.


Vocabulary


Sovereign

['sOvrIn]

монарх

general election

[I'lekS(q)n]

всеобщие выборы

majority

[mq'dZOrItI]

большинство

to appoint

[q'pOInt]

назначать

Prime Minister

['praIm 'mInIstq]

премьер-министр

finances

['faI'nxnsIz]

финансы

to conduct

['kOndAkt]

вести

to exercise

['eksqsaIz]

осуществлять

to resign

[rI'zaIn]

уходить в отставку


British Parliament. Legislative Power


Like the Monarchy, the Parliament in Britain is an ancient institution dating from the beginning of the 13th century.

The British Parliament is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom. It consists of the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The Houses work in different chambers, in the opposite parts of the Westminster Palace, but the chambers are shaped in the same way which is very important. The arrangement of seats (or benches) in both Houses is of great significance. It reflects and maintains the two-party system of Britain.

Both Houses are rectangular (not semicircular as most European Chambers) in shape, with rows of benches on either side. To the right of the Speaker of the Chamber there are benches for the Government and its supporters, to the left – for the Opposition. There are facing the Speaker cross benches for Independent members, for those who do not belong to either of the two leading parties.

The proceedings in both Houses are public, and visitors are admitted into the “strangers’ gallery”. Since 1803 the proceedings of the Parliament have been published the following day as “Hansard”, the Official Report of the parliamentary life.


^ The Chamber of the Houses of Сommons.





S

Mr. Speaker

T

Table of the House

X

Cross Benches

P

Press Galleries

D

Despatch Boxes

SA

Serjeant at Arms

H

Hansard Reporters

Ma**

Mace

M

Members’ Galleries

O

Government Officials’ Box (advisers to Ministers)

L***

Lines

G

Visitors’ Galleries

C

Clerks of the House*

B

Bar of the House







* When the house goes into Committee, the Speaker leaves the Chair, and the Chairman sits in the chair of the Clerk of the House, which is the one on the left.

** Mace [meis] (булава) – a heavy club, symbol of the Speaker’s authority in the House of Commons.

When the House goes into Committee, the Mace is put “below the Table” on brackets.

*** Lines over which Members may not step when speaking from the front benches.

^ The House of Commons


The House of Commons is the centre of real parliamentary power and activity. All important bills are presented first to the House of Commons. Here they are explained and debated. If a major bill is defeated there the Government usually resigns and there is a new election. If it receives a majority vote, it goes to the House of Lords. The House of Lords in its turn, debates and criticizes it. But the Lords rarely vote against the bill. Finally, the bill is taken by the Prime Minister to the King or Queen, who always signs it. After that, the bill becomes an Act of Parliament and the Law of the Land.

The House of Commons consists of 651 elected Members of Parliament (MP’s for short). In the Chamber there are benches. From this we get the terms “front benchers” and “back benchers”. The term “front benchers” stands for the Prime Minister and the leading members of the Government who sit on the front benches on the Speaker’s right. The same term is used for the leader of the Opposition and the members of the alternative government who sit on the front benches on the Speaker’s left. The back benches are occupied by supporters of the Government and Opposition. Hence the name “back benchers”. The cross benches may be used by Independent MPs who do not vote regularly with the Government or the official Opposition.

One of the most important members in the House of Commons is the Speaker who despite his name is the one who actually never speaks. The Speaker is the Chairman or presiding MP of the House of Commons. He is elected by a vote of the House. The Speaker cannot debate or vote. He votes only in case of a tie, i.e. when voting is equal and in this case he votes with Government. The main job of the Speaker is to keep fair play between the parties, backbenchers and frontbenchers, as well as between the government and opposition. His duty is also to protect the House from the outside influence. The Speaker insists that MPs call each other “honourable members”, bow to him on entering and leaving and address all their speeches to him “Dear Speaker, Sir”. He must forbid “grossly insulting language”. It is the Speaker who selects MPs to speak and when an MP is about to finish his speech several MPs stand up and try to catch the Speaker’s eyes and get his permission to talk. The order of speakers is not arranged in advance. It is the Speaker who decides which MP is to speak next. The member who is named remains standing, and speaks from the place he has been sitting.

Members who speak from the Clerk’s table are the Government and Opposition leaders. The Speaker is assisted by three deputy speakers and by the party whips. The whips are party functioneers, party managers, who receive special salaries for their duties. They arrange each day programme in the Parliament and tell MPs when they must attend debates. They inform, instruct, dictate and enforce the views of the frontbenchers on the backbenchers. The strict party discipline obliges them to follow the instructions of the whips. Each leading party has officially recognized whips as well as the Chief Whip of the Government and the Chief Whip of the Opposition.

Voting in the House of Commons is not a simple matter; the members have to leave their benches and walk out into two corridors (called the Lobbies). As they pass out they are counted by four persons – two for each side – and it may take ten or fifteen minutes before the figures are announced. One Prime Minister said that speaking of the method of voting, the British system had much in its favour. When members leave their seats to walk out of the Chamber into the Lobbies, they come back much cooler and much quieter. The ten or fifteen minutes needed for a division gives time for passions to cool and for tempers to become calm.

In the Commons debating chamber there are seats for only 370 members and except on matters of great interest and importance the presence of all members is not necessary. 40 MPs are enough to make up a quorum.


Vocabulary


bill




билль, законопроект

“front benchers”




«переднескамеечники»

“back benchers”




«заднескамеечники»

chairman

['CFqmqn]

председатель

tie

[taI]

равный счет

deputy speaker




заместитель спикера

honourable

['On(q)rqbl]

почетный

to bow

[bau]

поклониться

“grossly insulting language”

[In'sAltIN]

грубые оскорбительные выражения

whip

[wIp]

парламентский организатор партии


^ The Chamber of the House of Lords



* Black Rod (герольд-мейстер) – Sovereign’s representative who on the day of State Opening of Parliament is sent to knock on the door of the Commons and ask its members to go and listen to the State Opening Speech outlining the Parliamentary business of the new session.

^ The House of Lords


The House of Lords appeared first as King’s council of the nobility. Now the House is a partly hereditary upper chamber. It comprises 26 Lords Spiritual (2 of which are archbishops of Canterbury and York, the rest being bishops of Church of England) and over a thousand of Lords Temporal, about 380 of these are peers created for life only. It is interesting to note that one fourth of Life Peers are women.

The Monarch belongs to the House of Lords, so there is a throne in the Lords’ Chamber, a joint present of Canada and Australia. For the Opening of Parliament the Monarch reads the Speech from the Throne.

In front of the Throne is the Woolsack packed with wool from England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the countries of the Commonwealth. The Woolsack is a symbol of prosperity and a seat of the Lord Chancellor who presides in the House of Lords. But the Lord Chancellor is not only Speaker of the House of Lords, he is also a Cabinet Minister and Head of the Judiciary.

Unlike the Speaker in the House of Commons the Lord Chancellor is not concerned with order. Any peer has the power to rise in his place and move demonstrating his disapproval to a fellow peer making a speech. No one calls to order.

Almost a century ago the Lords had the power of absolute veto over any legislation passed by the House of Commons. After a great struggle this was finally abolished in 1911. However, it left the Lords with the power to delay a bill for 2 years and since 1949 the period was reduced to one year. After one year the bill is passed even without the Lords' agreement.


Vocabulary


nobility

[nqu'bIlItI]

знать

hereditary

[hI'redIt(q)rI]

наследственный

spiritual

['spIrItjuql]

духовный

bishop

['bISqp]

епископ

archbishop

['RC'bISqp]

архиепископ

temporal

['temp(q)r(q)l]

светский

peer

[pIq]

пэр, лорд

woolsack

['wulsxk]

набитая шерстью подушка

prosperity

[pros'perItI]

процветание

Lord Chancellor

['lLd 'CRnsqlq]

лорд-канцлер

veto

['vJtqu]

вето

to abolish

[q'bOlIS]

отменить


^ Political Parties


Political parties first emerged in Britain at the end of the 17th century. The Conservative (“the Tories”) and Liberal (“the Whigs”) Parties are the oldest, and until the end of the 19th century they were the only parties elected to the House of Commons. Since 1945 general elections have been won by the Conservative Party and the Labour Party; the great majority of members of the House of Commons have belonged to one of these two main political parties.

In 1988 the Liberal Party made an alliance with the Social Democratic Party and formed a new party – the Liberal Democrats. This party is often said to be “conservatively oriented”.

Because of the electoral method in use only two major parties obtain seats in the House of Commons. People belonging to smaller political parties join one of the larger parties and work from within to make their influence felt. The exception to this are members of the Scottish National and Welsh Nationalist Parties. Although their total support is relatively small, they can manage to win seats in the Parliament, because their votes are concentrated in specific geographical areas.


to emerge

[I'mWdZ]

появляться, возникать

alliance

[q'laIqns]

союз, альянс


Exercises


Ex. 1 Choose the correct word or phrase to complete these sentences:


1. The head of State in Britain is ________.

a) the Prime Minister

c) the Queen

b) the President

d) the Speaker


2. Nowadays, the British monarch ________.

a) rules and governs

c) reigns and rules

b) reigns but doesn’t rule

d) rules but doesn’t reign


3. The British Prime Minister lives at ________.

a) 12 Whitehall

c) 7 Russel Street

b) 10 Downing Street

d) 15 Oxford Street


4. The Palace of Westminster is a centre of ________ life of Britain.

a) cultural

c) industrial

b) business

d) political


5. British Parliament is the ________ body of the country.

a) judicial

c) social

b) executive

d) legislative


6. Parliament consists of ________ houses — ________.

a) two; the House of Representatives and the House of Lords

b) three; the House of Lords, Senate, and the House of Commons

c) four; the House of Commons, Congress, the House of Representatives, and the House of Lords

d) two; the House of Lords and the House of Commons


7. The members of the House of Commons are chosen by the ________.

a) electors

c) House of Commons

b) House of Lords

d) Sovereign


8. Important members in the House of Commons are ________.

a) the majority and the official Opposition

b) Leader of the Opposition and the Opposition

c) the Speaker and Leader of the Opposition

d) the Speaker and the so-called party whips


9. There must be a general election every ________ years.

a) four

b) six

c) five

d) three


10. In the House of Commons the members sit ________.

a) on four sides of the hall

c) on two sides of the hall

b) on three sides of the hall

d) on two sides and in the middle of the hall


11. The British political scene is dominated by a ________ system. These parties are ________.

a) one-party; the Democratic Party

b) two-party; the Conservative and the Labour Parties

c) three-party; the Conservative, the Liberal and the Labour Parties

d) four-party; the Labour, the Liberal, the Conservative and the Scottish National Parties


12. After each general election, the King or Queen invites the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons to become ________ and form the Government.

a) the Lord Chancellor

c) the Speaker

b) the Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

d) the Prime Minister


Ex. 2 Give a name to the following:


the Opposition cabinet

a King or a Queen

the Chairman in the House of Lords

a special seat in the House of Lords on which the chairman sits

a proposal for a law

the chairman in the House of Commons

a party manager whose instructions an ordinary MP must always follow

special corridors used during voting in the House of Commons


Ex. 3 Give the English equivalents to the following word combinations:


конституционная монархия; исполнительная власть; законодательная власть; всеобщие выборы; получать жалование; уйти в отставку; законопроект; теневой кабинет; быть ответственным перед парламентом; законодательный орган; палата общин; депутат палаты общин; большинство голосов; голосовать за (против); «переднескамеечники», «заднескамеечники», «духовные лорды», «светские лорды», пожизненные пэры; получить большинство мест в парламенте.


Ex. 4 Answer the questions:


Who is the official head of the state?

Are the powers of the monarch in the UK limited?

What activities are the members of the royal family engaged in?

How many Houses are there in the British Parliament?

Which of the Houses is stronger politically and why?

What were the privileges of the House of Lords in the past? Are any of them left nowadays?

Who presides in the House of Lords?

What is the shape of the debating chamber in the Parliament? Why is it important?

What is the procedure of passing a bill?

What do the letters MP stand for?

Who is responsible for the debating procedure in the House of Commons? Is he appointed by the Prime Minister or elected by MPs?

How is voting in the House of Commons accomplished?

Who are called “frontbenchers” and “backbenchers”?

How is the government formed?

Who is traditionally appointed Prime Minister?

Who forms the Cabinet?

How is the second largest party called?

What is the name for the alternative cabinet?

What political parties in the UK can you name?

What party is in power in the UK nowadays?

Which party is in opposition now?

What is the name of the British Prime Minister?

What is the name of the reigning monarch in Britain at present?


Ex. 5 Render the following text in English:


Британский парламент


Соединенное Королевство Великобритании и Северной Ирландии является унитарным, т.е. единым государством. Все четыре образующие его части – Англия, Шотландия, Уэльс и Северная Ирландия – представлены в едином парламенте, высшем законодательном органе страны, заседающем в Вестминстерском дворце, который расположен в самом центре Лондона.

Главные функции парламента – законодательство, контроль над действиями правительства, санкционирование налогов и государственных расходов. Рассматриваемые в парламенте законопроекты называются биллями. Почти все они вносятся министрами от имени правительства. После принятия билля обеими палатами парламента, палатой лордов и палатой общин, законопроект утверждается личной подписью монарха и становится «актом парламента», т.е. законом Соединенного Королевства. Следует отметить, что с 1707 года не было случая, когда кто-либо из британских монархов отказался поставить свой автограф на таком документе.


^ Words and expressions to be used:


unitary

['jHnIt(q)rI]

унитарный

sanction

['sxNkS(q)n]

санкционирование

tax

[txks]

налог

on behalf of

[bI'hRf]

от имени

to ratify

['rxtIfaI]

утверждать


^ Supplementary Material

Listening comprehension exercises


Text 1

“A Warning to Beginners”


Here are some facts about life in Europe. Listen to the text and find out if the English do the same things or not.


On Sundays the poorest person puts on his best suit and the life of the country becomes happy, bright and colourful.

In Europe people don’t often talk about the weather.

Sunday papers appear on Monday.

In Europe some people like cats, others don’t.

Europeans have good food.

In Europe people speak loudly and clearly.

Europeans are proud of the things they know and try to show how clever they are.

In Europe people cry and quickly get angry.

People are either honest with you or they lie to you.

Many Europeans think that life is a game.


Text 2

“Tea”


Listen to the text and answer the following questions:


How did the British spoil tea?

What will they think of you if you refuse to have a cup of tea?

What should you do and say if someone brings you a cup of tea at five o’clock in the morning in an English home?

When do the English usually have tea?

In what cases should you drink additional cups of tea?

What drinks does the author usually have during the day?

How do you like to have your tea?


Text 3

“How to Be Rude”


Listen to the text and say whether the following statements are True, False, or Not Given:


To be very rude to people in Europe, you can make up terrible stories about them.

English people are rude in the same way as Europeans.

If somebody tells you an untrue story, in England you call him a liar.

Bad language was widely used in England a hundred years ago.

Foreigners who lived in England many years ago probably introduced rude expressions to the English language.


Text 4

“The Language”


Listen to the text and answer the following questions:


How many words does the ordinary Englishman use most?

What word is the most popular with the English to describe weather, restaurants, clothes, people etc.?

What is the easiest way to show that you have a good accent or no foreign accent?

What words does the author recommend to learn to look clever and intelligent?

Why is it easier to write in English than to speak it?

Is it always better to speak quietly in good German than to shout loudly in bad English on a bus or in the street?

Will you follow the author’s advice?


Exercises


Ex. 1 Express in English the main ideas of the text using the words below:


to be devoid of




лишенный

contrivance




ухищрение

case inflexion




падежное окончание


Язык


Англичане чрезвычайно гордятся своим языком, хотя в большинстве своем пользуются лишь крошечной его частью (да и то зачастую плоховато). “Complete Oxford Dictionary” («Полный оксфордский словарь») состоит из 23-х томов и содержит более 500 000 слов, тогда как наиболее полный словарь немецкого языка содержит около 185 000 слов, а французского – менее 100 000. Рабочий словарь Шекспира включал 30 000 слов (некоторые из них он выдумал сам), что в два раза больше, чем лексикон современного образованного англичанина. Большинство же англичан прекрасно обходятся и 8 000 слов – столько же слов в Библии короля Якова (английском переводе Библии 1611 г., которым и сейчас пользуется большинство англиканских церквей). Один из секретов успеха английского языка заключается в том, что он лишен таких лингвистических ухищрений, как падежные окончания. Язык этот, как и сами англичане, все время что-то впитывает, черпает из той культуры, с которой в данный момент соприкасается – из арабского языка, например, пришло слово «алгебра», а из идиш – слово “nosh” («кусочничать»). Ни один другой язык не располагает столь различными способами выражения практически одного и того же, как английский.





































Ex. 2 Render the following text in English:


Человеку со стороны довольно трудно сразу освоить необходимый набор английских формул вежливости, однако следует понимать, что вряд ли возможно (даже с лингвистической точки зрения) в реальной жизни быть сверхблагодарным, сверхсожалеющим или сверхвежливым, иначе напрашивается мысль, что англичанин, которому вы наступили на ногу и который говорит «мне ужасно жаль», сожалеет о том, что он не успел ампутировать проклятую конечность до того. При этом он будет вам «ужасно благодарен», когда вы наконец перестанете топтаться на его ноге, а если не перестанете, то вежливо попросит вас сойти с нее, как всегда сопровождая эту просьбу таким количеством «пожалуйста» и «спасибо», которого представителю любой другой нации хватило бы как минимум на полжизни. Вот это будет совершенно по-английски!


Майол Э., Милстед Д. «Эти странные англичане».


^ Words and expressions to be used:


to master




осваивать, овладеть

grateful




благодарный

regretful




сожалеющий

to amputate




ампутировать

limb




конечность

to tread on smb’s toe




наступить на ногу

to stamp




топтаться


Appendix

Listening Text 1

“^ A Warning to Beginners”


In England everything is different. You must understand that when people say “England”, they sometimes mean “Great Britain” (England, Scotland and Wales), sometimes “the United Kingdom” (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), sometimes the “British Isles” (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland) – but never just England.

On Sundays in Europe, the poorest person wears his best clothes and the life of the country becomes happy, bright and colourful; on Sundays in England, the richest people wear their oldest clothes and the country becomes dark and sad. In Europe nobody talks about the weather; in England, you have to say “Nice day, isn’t it?” about two hundred times every day, or people think you are a bit boring. In Europe you get Sunday newspapers on Monday. In England, a strange country, you get Sunday newspapers on Sunday.

On a European bus the driver uses the bell if he wants to drive on past a bus-stop without stopping. In England you use the bell when you want the bus to stop. In Europe people like their cats but in England they love their cats more than their family. In Europe, people eat good food. In England people think that good manners at the table are more important than the food you get to eat. The English eat bad food but they say it tastes good.

In Europe important people speak loudly and clearly; in England they learn to speak slowly and quietly so you cannot understand them. In Europe, clever people show that they are clever by talking about Aristotle, Horace and Montaigne; in England only stupid people try to show how clever they are. The only people who talk about Latin and Greek writers are those who have not read them.

In Europe, almost every country, big or small, fights wars to show they are the best; the English fight wars against those people who think they are the best. The English already know which country is really the best. Europeans cry and quickly get angry; instead of this the English just laugh quietly at their problems. In Europe people are either honest with you or they lie to you; in England people almost never lie, but they are almost never quite honest with you either. Many Europeans think that life is a game; the English think cricket is a game.


Listening Text 2

“Tea”


Tea was once a good drink; with lemon and sugar it tastes very pleasant. But then the British decided to put cold milk and no sugar into it. They made it colourless and tasteless. In the hands of the English, tea became an unpleasant drink, like dirty water, but they still call it “tea”.

Tea is the most important drink in Great Britain and Ireland. You must never say, “I do not want a cup of tea”, or people will think that you are very strange and very foreign.

In an English home, you get a cup of tea at five o’clock in the morning when you are still trying to sleep. If your friend brings you a cup of tea and you wake from your sweetest morning sleep, you must not say, “I think you are most unkind to wake me up and I’d like to shoot you!” You must smile your best five o’clock smile and say, “Thank you so much. I do love a cup of tea at this time of the morning”. When your friend leaves the room, you can throw the tea down the toilet.

Then you have tea for breakfast; you have tea at eleven o’clock in the morning; then after lunch; then you have tea at “tea-time” (about four o’clock in the afternoon); then after supper; and again at eleven o’clock at night.

You must drink more cups of tea if the weather is hot; if it is cold; if you are tired; if anybody thinks you are tired; if you are afraid; before you go out; if you are out; if you have just returned home; if you want a cup; if you do not want a cup; if you have not had a cup for some time; if you have just had a cup.

You must not follow my example. I sleep at five o’clock in the morning; I have coffee for breakfast; I drink black coffee again and again during the day; I drink strange and unusual teas (with no milk) at tea-time.

I have these funny foreign ways …and my poor wife (who was once a good Englishwoman) now has them too, I’m sorry to say.


Listening Text 3

“How to Be Rude”


It is easy to be rude in Europe. You just shout and call people animal names. To be very rude, you can make up terrible stories about them.

In England people are rude in a very different way. If somebody tells you an untrue story, in Europe you say, “You are a liar, sir”. In England you just say, “Oh, is that so?” Or, “That’s quite an unusual story, isn’t it?”

A few years ago, when I knew only about ten words of English and used them all wrong, I went for a job. The man who saw me said quietly, “I’m afraid your English is a bit unusual”. In any European language, this means, “Kick this man out of the office!”

A hundred years ago, if somebody made the Sultan of Turkey or the Czar of Russia angry, they cut off the person’s head immediately. But when somebody made the English queen angry, she said, “We are not amused”, and the English are still, to this day, very proud of their queen for being so rude.

Terribly rude things to say are: “I’m afraid that …”, “How strange that …” and “I’m sorry, but …” You must look very serious when you say these things.

It is true that sometimes you hear people shout, “Get out of here!” or “Shut your big mouth!” or “Dirty pig!” etc. This is very un-English. Foreigners who lived in England hundreds of years ago probably introduced these things to the English language.


Listening Text 4

“The Language”


When I arrived in England I thought that I knew English. After I’d been here an hour I realized I did not understand one word. In my first week I learned a little of the language, but after seven years I knew that I could never use it really well. This is sad, but nobody speaks English perfectly.

Remember that those five hundred words the ordinary Englishman uses most are not all the words in the language. You can learn another five hundred and another five thousand and another fifty thousand words after that and you will still find another fifty thousand you have never heard of. Nobody has heard of them.

If you live in England for a long time you will be very surprised to find that the word nice is not the only adjective in the English language. For the first three years you do not need to learn or use any other adjectives. You can say that the weather is nice, a restaurant is nice, Mr. So-and-so is nice, Mrs. So-and-so’s clothes are nice, you had a nice time, and all this will be very nice.

You must decide about your accent. You will have your foreign accent all right but many people like to mix it with another accent. I knew a Polish Jew who had a strong Yiddish-Irish accent. People thought he was very interesting.

The easiest way to show that you have a good accent (or no foreign accent) is to hold a pipe or cigar in your mouth, to speak through your teeth and finish all your sentences with the question: “isn’t it?” People will not understand you, but they will think that you probably speak very good English.

Many foreigners try hard to speak with an Oxford accent. The city of Oxford has a famous university. If you have an Oxford accent, people think that you mix with clever people and that you are very intelligent. But the Oxford accent hurts your throat and is hard to use all the time.

Sometimes you can forget to use it, speak with your foreign accent and then where are you? People will laugh at you. The best way to look clever is to use long words, of course. These words are often old Latin and Greek words, which the English language has taken in. Many foreigners have learned Latin and Greek in school and they find that (a) it is much easier to learn these words than the much shorter English words; (b) these words are usually very long and make you seem very intelligent when you talk to shopkeepers and postmen. But be careful with all these long words – they do not always have the same meaning as they once had in Latin or Greek. When you know all the long words, remember to learn some short ones, too.


Finally there are two important things to remember:


Do not forget that it is much easier to write in English than to speak English, because you can write without a foreign accent.

On a bus or in the street it is better to speak quietly in good German than to shout loudly in bad English. Anyway, all this language business is not easy. After eight years in this country, a very kind woman told me the other day, “You speak with a very good accent, but without any English”.

References:


Куприянова В., Арнольд И. и др. A Book of Britain, Leningrad, 1977.

Нестерова Н. Страноведение. Англия. на англ. яз., Ростов-на-Дону, 2001.

Kolodyazhnaya L. This is Great Britain. M., 1999.

Ощепкова В., Шустилова И. Britain in Brief. M., 2000.

Timanovskaya N. Spotlight on Great Britain. Tula, 1998.

Pavlotzky V. Discovering Britain, S.-P., 2000.

Бурова И. Великобритания. S.-P., 1999.

London. A souvenir of the world’s capital. London, 1986.

Майол Э., Милстед Д. Эти странные англичане. М., 1999.

Khimunina T., Konon N., Welsh I. Customs, Traditions and Festivals of Great Britain. M., 1984.

Kings and Queens of England. Leicestershire, 1985.

Bell J. The History of England. St.-P., 1995.

Mikes G. How to be an Alien. Penguin Readers, London, 2000.

The Pocket Oxford Dictionary of Current English. Oxford University Press, 1985.