и -Я

Л
Печатается по решению Ученого совета
Московского государственного лингвистического университета

Св. план 2001 г., разд. 2, поз. 37

Авторы:
канд. пед. наук, доц. Л.В.Яроцкая
канд. филол. наук, доц. И.И.Градышкевич-Радышкевич

Рецензенты:
канд. филол. наук, доц. Н.А.Павлова
канд. филол. наук, доц. М.Р.Кауль

© Московский государственный лингвистический университет, 2002

 ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ
Настоящее пособие предназначено для студентов I курса языкового
вуза, изучающих английский язык в рамках специальности «теория и
методика преподавания иностранных языков и культур». Оно пред­
полагает углубленное изучение лингвострановедческих фактов и
языкового материала первого года обучения в данном типе учебного
заведения и может быть использовано как в качестве основного пособия
(при высоком уровне сформированное™ речевых навыков студентов),
так и в качестве дополнения к Учебнику английского языка для первого
курса языкового вуза (авторы - Г.М.Фролова, Г.В.Стрелкова и др.).
Цель пособия - обучение адекватному межкультурному общению:
восприятию иноязычной текстовой деятельности с позиции инофонной
лингво социокультуры и умению создавать тексты, характерные для
данной лингвокультурной общности.
При подготовке данного пособия его авторы исходили из следующих
принципов:
- обучение иностранному языку должно строиться на потреб­
ностях развития личности студента данного контингента, важнейшими
сферами деятельности которой являются познание и общение;
- усвоение языкового материала должно осуществляться в ходе
активной познавательной и мыслительной деятельности студента,
причем иностранный язык должен стать средством реализации позна­
вательны х п отребностей студентов и приобщ ения к иноф онной
языковой и глобальной картинам м ира, составляю щ им базу для
общ ения коммуникантов, принадлеж ащ их к разным культурам и
социумам;
- обучение должно строиться на целостных и аутентичных текстах;
- в ходе учебной деятельности студенты должны самостоятельно
«добывать» знания, а не получать их в готовом виде.
Исходя из этого, авторы отказались от традиционного раздела
‘Vocabulary’, в котором приводится список лексических единиц, под­
леж ащ их заучиванию . В рам ках п особ и я пред полагается с а м о ­
стоятельная работа студентов со словарями, энциклопедическими и
справочными пособиями. Фиксация подлежащих усвоению значений
осуществляется в специальных упражнениях - переводах на русский
язык, содержащих все базовые модели.

3
 Такой подход, по мнению авторов, во-первых, дает возможность
сформировать у обучаемых гибкие умения самонаучения, необходимые
для будущей профессиональной деятельности, и, во-вторых, позволяет
постоянно обновлять привлекаемые материалы при сохранении «ядра»
пособия.
Каждый из предлагаемых уроков пособия разбит на секции.
Section 1 предполагает первичное введение в изучаемую пробле­
матику, своего рода «речевую зарядку». Обсуждение лингвострано­
ведческого материала ведется на основе аутентичных аудио- и печатных
текстов в пределах языковых средств, которыми располагают студенты.
Section 2 предусматривает расширение диапазона лексико-грамма­
тических и, отчасти, стилистических навыков, а также углубление
лингвострановедческих знаний по данной проблематике. Данный
раздел может включать несколько подразделов.
Section 3 посвящен исключительно развитию коммуникативной
компетенции студентов на базе изученного языкового материала.
Особое место в пособии отводится работе с аутентичными аудио­
текстами.
Данное пособие может использоваться в комплексе с пособием для
обучения письменной речи ( ‘Learning to Write Clearly and Effectively’).

4
 INTRODUCTION
MEETING PEOPLE, GREETINGS, STARTING A
CONVERSATION
Exercise 1.
(a) Read the text. Account for the title.

SOCIAL LANGUAGE
Every language has fixed expressions which are used on particular social
occasions - for example when people meet, leave each other, go on a journey,
sit down to meals and so on. Here are some o f the most important English
expressions o f this kind.
INTRODUCTIONS
Common ways o f introducing strangers to each other are:
John, do you know Helen? Helen, this is my friend John.
Sally, I don’t think yo u ’ve met Elaine.
I don‘t think you two know each other, do you?
Can/may I introduce John Willis? (more formal).
W hen people are introduced, they usually say How do you do? (formal),
Hello or Hi (very informal). Americans often say How are you? N ote that
How do you do? is not a question, and the normal reply is How do you do?
(In British English it does not mean the same as How are you?).
People who are introduced often shake hands.
GREETINGS
W hen meeting people (fonnal):
Good morning/afternoon/evening.
When meeting people (informal):
Hello.
Hi (very informal).
W hen leaving people:
Good morning/ afternoon/evening/ night, (formal)
Goodbye, (less formal)
Bye. (informal)
Bye-bye. (often used to and by children)
Cheerio.

5
 See you. (informal)
See you later/tomorrow/next week/etc. (informal)
Cheers, (informal - British only)
Take care, (informal)
It was nice to meet you.
Note that Goodnight is used only when leaving people, not when meeting
them.
ASKING ABOUT HEALTH ETC
W hen we meet people we know, we often ask politely about their health
or their general situation.
How are you '?
How are things/How’s thing? (very informal)
How s it going? (informal)
How (are) you doing? (especially American)
Formal answers:
Fine/Great, thanks.
Not too bad.
OK.
So-so. (not so and so)
All right.
(It) could be worse.
British people do not usually ask How are you? when they are introduced
to people. And neither British nor American people begin letters to strangers
by asking them about health.
British people often begin polite conversations by talking about the
weather.
‘N ice day, isn’t it? ’ ‘Lovely. ’
GETTING PEOPLE’S ATTENTION
Excuse me! is commonly used to attract somebody’s attention or to call
a w aiter in a restaurant. I beg your pardon! is also possible, especially in
Am erican English.
APOLOGIES
British people say Excuse me before interrupting or disturbing somebody,
and Sorry after doing so.
Excuse me. Could I get passed?
Oh, sorry, did I step on your foot?

6
 Americans also use Excuse me to apologize after disturbing somebody.
/ beg your pardon is a more formal way o f saying ‘Sorry
ASKING PEOPLE TO REPEAT
If British people do not hear or understand what is said, they may say
Sorry’? (GB), What? (informal), (I beg your) pardon? or Pardon me? (US)
‘Mike is on the phone. ‘Sorry? ’ ‘I said Mike s on the phone. ’
‘See you tomorrow. ’ ‘What? ’ ‘See you tomorrow. ’
‘You are going deaf. ’ 7 beg your pardon? ’
NAM ES AND TITLES
Names and titles are used both when talking about people and when
talking to them. There are some differences.
When we talk about people, we can name them in four ways.
(a) First name
This is informal. We use first names mostly to talk about relatives, friends
and children.
How’s Maud getting on at school?
(b) First name + Surname
This is neutral - neither particularly formal nor particularly informal.
We ’re going on holiday with Mary and Daniel Sinclair.
(c) Title (Mr, Mrs etc.) + Surname
This is more formal. We talk like this about people we do not know, or
when we want to show respect or be polite.
Can I speak to Mr Lewis, please?
Note that it is less usual to talk about people by using title + first name +
surname (e.g. M r John Parker)
(d) Surname only
Surnames alone are sometimes used for employees (especially male
employees), and by members o f groups (especially all-male groups like
soldiers, schoolboys, team members) when they refer to each other.
W hen we talk to people we generally name them in one o f the two
ways.
(a) First name
This is informal, used for example to relatives, friends and children.
(b) Title + Surname
This is more formal or respectful. N ote that we do not usually use both
the first name and the surname o f a person that we are talking to.

7
 M em bers o f all-male groups sometimes address each other by their
surnam es alone, but this is unusual in modem English.
Mr, Mrs and Ms are not generally used alone.
Doctor can be used alone to talk to medical doctors whom one is
consulting, but not usually in other cases.
Doctor, I ’ve got this pain in my elbow.
Professor does not mean ‘teacher’; it is used only for certain very senior
university teachers.
Sir and Madam are used in Britain mostly by people in service occupations
(e.g. shop assistants). Some employees call their male employers Sir, and
some schoolchildren call their teachers Sir or Miss. Dear Sir and Dear Madam
are com m on ways o f beginning letters to strangers. In other situations Sir
and Madam are unusual in British English.
In American English, Sir and Ma ’am are less formal than in British
English, and are quite often used (especially in the South and West) when
addressing people.
Ladies and Gentlemen is used to address an audience.
Mr/Madam Chairman - to the chairman o f a meeting
In the family, children call their parents Mom and Dad or Mommy and
Daddy, sometimes Mother and Father (by adults mostly). Grandparents are
addressed as Granny (sometimes Nanny) and Grandpa. Aunts and uncles
are called Auntie or Uncle, usually with the first name.
NOTES ON TITLES
1. Like Mr, Ms does not show whether somebody is married (as in the
case o f Mrs) or not (Miss). It is often used, especially in writing, to talk
about or address women when one does not know (or has no reason to say)
whether they are married. M any women also choose to use Ms before their
own names in preference to Mrs or Miss.
Ms is a relatively new title: it has been in common use in Britain since
the 1970s, and a little longer in the United States.
2. They do not normally combine two titles such as Prof Dr or Mrs Dr.

(b) Answer the questions about the text.

1. W hat are the ways o f addressing people in England? 2. How do you
show respect for position and seniority? 3. Do you ever address a person in
Russian with their surname as people sometimes do in Great Britain and the
USA? 4. When addressing a woman, do they distinguish between a married
and an unmarried woman in Great Britain and the USA? 5. W hat does the
title Ms stand for? 6. Are the titles Sir and Madam usual in British English
(in American English)? W hen do they use them?
(c) Imagine yourself on a visit to Great Britain. Address the following
people, adding an opening sentence or two to start a conversation.
- an audience o f professors and students at a university.
- a doctor, thanking him for his medical aid.
- a traffic policeman, asking him for directions.
- your landlady (a married woman), asking her to serve your breakfast
a bit earlier.
- your woman-guide, expressing your wish to visit some historical
places in the city.
(d) People may be introduced to each other in a formal or informal way
depending on the circumstances. How would you introduce.
- your classmate to a professor from Great Britain?
- your classmate to a friend o f yours?
- your friend to your parents?
- your close friend to an elderly acquaintance o f your parents?
- yourself to the teacher you have come to work under?

Exercise 2.
(Role play) You are at a party and you’d like to get acquainted with
some people around you. Get up from your chair and start a conversation
with someone, pretend you have never met before. Try with several partners.
Do not forget to use special formulas to greet a person, to start a conversation
and to say good-bye in a polite way.

9
 UNIT 1.
A WEATHER FORECAST

SECTION 1.

Exercise 1. (Listening Comprehension 1).

(a) L ook at the map o f the British Isles. Draw a line between the Bristol
Channel and the Wash.
(b) Listen to the description o f the main geographical features o f the
British Isles.
W hat can we find to the north o f the line?
W hat can we find to the south of the line?
(c) Listen to the second part and take notes about the following areas
and places.
The South West;
The South East;
East Anglia;
The Midlands;
The North West;
Wales;
The North East;
Scotland;
Ireland.
(d) Read the Tapescript. Check any new words.

Exercise 2.
(a) Nam e the place on Earth where water freezes at 32°C and boils at
212°C.
(b) Refer to an encyclopedic dictionary to look up the word ‘Fahrenheit’.
(c) Put together the beginnings (Column A) and ends (Column B).

10
 А В
In Britain, temperatures are often given in (a) 212° Fahrenheit
(1) ... since many older people are not (b) 95° Fahrenheit
used to the (2) ... scale. In US, (c) 32° Fahrenheit
temperatures are still given in (3) ... 0° (d) 15° Fahrenheit
Celsius equals (4) ... It was hot and (e) Celsius
clammy. The forecast had promised (5) ... (f) Fahrenheit
W ater boils at (6) ... There was a sudden (g) Celsius and
fall in temperature, down to (7)... Fahrenheit
(h) 215° Fahrenheit

SECTION 2.

Exercise 1.
(a) Put the words to do with temperature in the right order.
1. (100°C/212°F) freezing
2. boiling
5. cold
4. warm
5. chilly
6. (0°C/32°F) hot

(b) W hat’s the weather like today? Is it freezing?

Exercise 2. Complete the chart with a word from the box.

Snow - snowy - snowing

Rain - rainy - raining
Wind - windy - blowing
Storm - stormy
Fog - foggy
Cloud - cloudy
M ist - misty
Shower - showery

11
 V erb A d jectiv e N oun

The sun’s chining. It’s Sunshine

It’s It’s rainy.

«V It’s It’s

c? The wind is It’s

о It’s showery.

о It’s

Exercise 3. (Listening Comprehension 2).

(a) Look at the map of the British Isles and notice the lines which divide
the British Isles into four weather regions.
(b) Listen to the weather forecast for the British Isles. W hat will the
weather be like tomorrow?
(c) W hat makes the forecast sound so friendly and considerate? Are all
forecasts like that?
(d) Read the Tapescript and write out the sentences with the adjectives
from the box in Exercise 2 (Column A) and the nouns from the same
box (Column B).
(e) Examine the chosen sentences carefully. Try and formulate the rule
to use the structures:
it is + (what part of speech?)
there is + (what part o f speech?)
(f) Paraphrase the chosen structures it is + an adjective for there is + a
noun there is + a noun for it is + an adjective.
(g) Learn the Tapescript by heart.

Exercise 4.
(a) Review the use of articles and prepositions with names o f parts of
the day.

12
(b) Account for the use of articles in the following sentences.
1. The night was warm and beautifully still. 2. We decided to spend the
afternoon with his friends. 3. He used to spend the morning lying about the
beach. 4. On a hot September evening he strolled idly to the embanlament.
5. It was evening when he decided to take a walk. 6. It was a fine, warm
night and Charles and I decided to walk home. 7. It was early morning. 8. It
was broad day. 9. It was high noon. 10. It was late evening. I I . Day was
breaking when we set out. 12. The sky was overcast and dusk fell early.
13. He always woke up with the first sounds o f morning. 14. She returned in
the late afternoon.
(c) Fill the gaps in by putting the number o f your choice: in the - 1, on
the - 2, at the - 3, in a - 4, on a - 5, at - 6, other options -7 .
1. It was chilly ... morning o f his arrival.
2. The Great Fire broke o u t ... night o f September 1. '
3. He came to London ... fine summer morning.
4. They came ... appointed day.
5. It was ~ high noon, and there were few people out.
6. He woke up rCf late afternoon. 1
7. We set o ff late ... night.
8 .1jog ... morning.

Exercise 5. Translate into English using the active vocabulary o f the

u n it an d th e w o r d -c o m b in a tio n s from E x e r c ise 3.
(T apescript). Pay attention to the use o f articles and
prepositions with names of parts of the day.
Предлагаем прогноз погоды на ближайшие сутки.
В ранние утренние часы в Москве ожидается небольшой туман,
затем в течение дня будет сухо и солнечно, но довольно прохладно. До
конца дня продержится сухая погода, но к вечеру ветер усилится, а
ночью возможно резкое понижение температуры до 15° С, сильные
дожди, грозы.
В последующие сутки будет облачно и ветрено, так как с севера
надвигается холодный фронт.

Exercise 6. W rite a weather forecast for where you are. Try to sound
friendly and considerate.

13
 V erb A d jectiv e N oun

The sun’s chining. It’s Sunshine

It’s It’s rainy.

&
Л * It’s It’s

cf The wind is It’s

о It’s showery.

О It’s

Exercise 3. (Listening Comprehension 2).

(a) Look at the map of the British Isles and notice the lines which divide
the British Isles into four weather regions.
(b) Listen to the weather forecast for the British Isles. W hat will the
weather be like tomorrow?
(c) W hat makes the forecast sound so friendly and considerate? Are all
forecasts like that?
(d) Read the Tapescript and write out the sentences with the adjectives
from the box in Exercise 2 (Column A) and the nouns from the same
box (Column B).
(e) Examine the chosen sentences carefully. Try and formulate the rule
to use the structures:
it is + (what part o f speech?)
there is + (what part o f speech?)
(f) Paraphrase the chosen structures it is + an adjective for there is + a
noun there is + a noun for it is + an adjective.
(g) Learn the Tapescript by heart.

Exercise 4.
(a) Review the use o f articles and prepositions with names o f parts of
the day.

12
(b) Account for the use o f articles in the following sentences.
1. The night was warm and beautifully still. 2. We decided to spend the
afternoon with his friends. 3. He used to spend the morning lying about the
beach. 4. On a hot September evening he strolled idly to the embankment.
5. It was evening when he decided to take a walk. 6. it was a fine, warm
night and Charles and I decided to walk home. 7. It was early morning. 8. It
was broad day. 9. It was high noon. 10. It was late evening. 11. Day was
breaking when we set out. 12. The sky was overcast and dusk fell early.
13. He always woke up with the first sounds o f morning. 14. She returned in
the late afternoon.
(c) Fill the gaps in by putting the number o f your choice: in the - 1, on
the - 2, at the - 3, in a - 4, on a - 5, at - 6, other options -7 .
1. It was chilly ... morning o f his arrival.
2. The Great Fire broke o u t ... night o f September 1.
3. He came to London ... fine summer morning.
4. They came ... appointed day.
5. It was ,.. high noon, and there were few people out.
6. He woke up ... late afternoon.
7. We set o ff late ... night.
8 . 1jog ... morning.

Exercise 5. Translate into English using the active vocabulary o f the

u n it an d th e w o r d -c o m b in a tio n s from E x e r c ise 3.
(T apescript). Pay attention to the use o f articles and
prepositions with names of parts of the day.
Предлагаем прогноз погоды на ближайшие сутки.
В ранние утренние часы в Москве ожидается небольшой туман,
затем в течение дня будет сухо и солнечно, но довольно прохладно. До
конца дня продержится сухая погода, но к вечеру ветер усилится, а
ночью возможно резкое понижение температуры до 15° С, сильные
дожди, грозы.
В последующие сутки будет облачно и ветрено, так как с севера
надвигается холодный фронт.

Exercise 6. W rite a weather forecast for where you are. Try to sound
friendly and considerate.

13
Exercise 7.
(a) Look at the groups o f words in points 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Use your
dictionaries to look up any new words. Identify the word (words)
which cannot be put in the gap in the sentences below.
(b) Group the correct sentences from point 1 according to the meaning
(three groups). Describe today’s weather using some of the sentences.
(c) Group the correct sentences in point 2 according to the meaning
(two groups). W hile grouping pay attention to the meaning o f the
link verbs. Underline synonymous link verbs. Give a weather forecast
for tomorrow using some of the sentences above.
(d) Group the correct sentences in point 3 according to the season they
can describe. Can you use any of the sentences above to describe
today’s weather? When can we use the phrase ‘It’s lightening’?
(e) W hich of the correct sentences from point 4 can be used to describe
all the four seasons in M oscow (London, Washington DC)?
(f) Group the adjectives chosen in point 5 according to their meaning
(two groups). W hat kind o f day would you call glorious?

1. The weather is fine, uncertain, beastly, wretched, unsettled,

frightful, terrible, changeable, awful, shining,
nasty, glorious, blowing, rainy, freezing
2. It’ll be ... stay fine, continue dry, be snow, keep frosty,
improve, be wind, clear up, change for the worse,
be showeiy, be rain
3. It’s ... snowing, blowing hard, lightening, thundering,
freezing, pouring, sleeting, raining, thawing,
drizzling, hailing, lightning
4. There’s ... snow, a snowstorm, a shower, sunshine, stuffy, a
thaw, chilly, hardly a breath o f air, wind
5. The day is ... wet, damp, gloomy, fine, dull, blowing, most
lovely, glorious, shining

Exercise 8.
(a) Use your dictionary to differentiate between the following synonyms:
fog, smog, mist, haze.

14
(b) Fill in the right word for the definitions.
All the four words denote an atmospheric condition which deprives the
air o f the earth o f its transparency.
... (1) applies to such a condition as is caused by the diffusion o f smoke,
dust, or a light vapor through the air in such a way as to impede but not
obstruct the vision and to convey little or no impression o f dampness.
... (2) applies to a condition where water is held in suspension in fine
particles in the air floating or slowly falling in minute drops.
A ... (3) differs from a mist only in its greater density and its greater
power to cut off the vision and differs from a cloud in being near to the
ground.
... (4) applies to a fog made heavier and darker by the smoke o f an
industrial area.
(c) W hich o f the phenomena defined above can we see in M oscow
(London) in summer (winter, spring, autumn)?

Exercise 9. Match a word from column A with its definition from column B.

A В
1. slush a) partly frozen rain, ice falling in fine bits mixed with
water
2. blizzard b) frozen raindrops which fall as little hard balls o f ice
3. hail c) partly melted snow
4. sleet d) a long severe snowstorm
5. storm e) a violet weather condition with strong wind, rain and
often lightning
6. gale f) a very strong wind
g) a mixture between smoke and fog

Exercise 10. In column B, find words synonymous with those underlined

in column A. Put down the number o f the sentence and
the letter of the corresponding synonym.

15
 A В
1. Beastly weather! a) raw
2. The sun is too scorching! b) chilly
3. It’s a stifling day! c) wretched
4. It’s cool out. d) close
5. It was a cold and wet winter day. e) blazing
6. The cold weather broke at the end o f February. f) outlook
7. The weather forecast for the week is bad. g) set in
h) changed

Exercise 11. Paraphrase the underlined words.

1. The sky is overcast. 2. Hot weather has set in. 3. It’s a sultry day. 4.
The snowdrifts came up over my knees. 5. The winters are either mild or
quite severe there. 6. It’s warm enough to go sunbathing. 7 . 1 really enjoy
Indian summer. 8. The heat is unbearable. 9. Everything is blooming in
spring. 10. What fluffy snowflakes! 11. Do they use snow-ploughs in
London?

Exercise 12.
(a) Review the use o f articles with names of seasons.
(b) Fill in the gaps.
1. ‘I said t h a t ... summer was pretty awful,’ said Erick once more. 2. It
was ... summer, and you were still on your vacation. 3. It was ... late autumn.
4. ‘And did you have ... pleasant summer, Mr. Gorin?’ 5. Is there anything
more beautiful than ... Indian summer? 6. Are you going to stay here for ...
summer? 7. The Plague went on until ... summer o f 1666 and carried off
one fifth o f London’s population.

Exercise 13.
(a) Review the use of articles with nouns denoting unique objects. Are
there any cases when those nouns may be used with the indefinite ,
article?
(b) Account for the use of articles with nouns denoting unique objects
in the following sentences.

16
 1. The sun was falling flat across the field, and the grass was pale with
it. 2. We had been there all day, the whole party o f us; the ground was
littered with our picnic. 3. Only the yellow light o f the low autumn moon
ruffled the water. 4. There was a splendid tropical moon and a soft breeze
last night. 5. My first reply was: ‘O f course, I want a better world.’

Exercise 14. Translate into English in writing. M ake use o f the active
vocabulary o f this unit.
1. Прогноз погоды на завтра
Утро завтра будет ясное и сухое, но в течение дня небо покроется
тучами, а вечером и ночью возможны ливни. Температура понизится,
скорее всего до 16-18°С. Будет дуть слабый южный ветер.
Послезавтра тоже будет облачно, солнца будет мало и станет еще
прохладнее, около 14°С.
В субботу ожидается сухая погода. Во второй половине дня выглянет
солнце, но будет довольно прохладно.
Такая погода продержится всю следующую неделю.
2. Климат в Китае очень сложный. Ветры дуют из пустыни Гоби и
приносят много песка. Небо желтое. Сквозь дымку просвечивает желтое
солнце. Песок хрустит на зубах. Воздух сухой и холодный.
Летом ветры, дуют с океана. Жара стоит невыносимая. В течение
нескольких недель температура выше 40°С. Воздух влажный и жаркий.
Если пройдет дождь, становится еще тяжелее. Вода испаряется на
солнце, и чувствуешь себя как в бане.
3. Весна начинается рано, и быстро теплеет. Тает снег, если он выпал
зимой. Кругом лужи и грязь. Но это быстро проходит. Земля подсыхает
., и все начинает цвести. Воздух чистый и прозрачный. Погода стоит
безоблачная.
4. Самое хорошее время года в Китае - это осень. Бабье лето стоит
два месяца: сентябрь и октябрь. Утром бывает довольно прохладно,
потом становится теплее. Температура не поднимается выше 25°С.
Погода просто очаровательная. Кругом изобилие фруктов и овощей.
Но в ноябре начинается период дождей.
Дождь льёт, как из ведра, день и ночь, иногда две - три недели
подряд. Погода отвратительная. Если выйдешь на улицу без зонта,
промокнешь насквозь. Все небо в облаках. Дни пасмурные и серые.
Потом дожди кончаются, и начинается зима.
Exercise 15. Have you ever been to other countries or areas o f this
country? Is the climate mild or extreme there? W hat was
the weather like? Describe your experiences. If you have
photos, bring them to show to the class.

Exercise 16.

(a) Look up the meaning o f the following word-combinations.

- to get wet through and through
- to be drenched (soaked, wet) to the skin/to the bone
- to be soaking wet
- to get frost-bitten
- to get sunburnt
- to get suntanned

(b) M ind the preposition in the following word-combinations.

- in the rain
- in the snow
- in the sun
- in the sky
- in the shade

(c) Answer the questions in detail.

1. W hen do people get wet to the skin? 2. When do people get frost­
bitten? 3. Have you ever got sun-burnt? 4. Is it possible to get sun-burnt in
the shade? 5. Is it possible to get frost-bitten in the sun?

Exercise 17. Read the paragraph below and fill in the gaps. Refer to
a good English-English dictionary if necessary.
The place where the land meets the water can be the bank (1), shore (2),
coast (3), seaside (4) or beach (5). The edges o f a river are its (a) ... The
usual word for the edge o f a sea is (b) ... However, we use ( c ) ... \yhen we are
thinking of places on maps, o f weather or o f naval defence. The seaside
(Br.E) /coast (Am.E), or the (d) ... is the area by the sea considered as a
place o f enjoyment. A ( e ) ... is part o f the shore that is smooth, without cliffs
or rocks. The only words that can be used o f lakes are (f) ... and (of a large
lake) (g) ... Note that we often talk as if the coast belonged to the land and
the shore to the water: e.g. the French coast, the sea-shore.

18
Exercise 18. Fill in the gaps using the suggested symbols for your options:
coast - 1 , shore - 2, bank - 3.
1. It’s difficult to walk on such a rocky ... 2.1 dream o f a holiday on the
north ... o f Spain. 3. The place is on the French ... 4. The ... o f lake Geneva
is very picturesque. 5. The water was warm; we swam in the river and played
volley-ball on the ...

SECTION 3.

Exercise 1. (Listening Comprehension 3).

(a) It’s two o ’clock in the morning. You and a friend are driving along a
lonely Canadian road. It has been snowing heavily for the past two
hours and you realise there is no possibility of continuing any further
because the snow is too deep. You know that last winter two travellers
died in similar conditions. You each have a winter coat and a pair of
gloves with you. You think that there might be a petrol station in
another kilometre or so. W hat would you do? In pairs, discuss your
survival plan.
(b) Listen to the radio programme on surviving in cold weather and
decide if you would have survived.
(c) Listen to the interview again and complete these notes.
1) Your most important piece o f survival equipment is ... 2) Rule number
one is ... 3) You should make sure you have the following things in the car:
a) blankets, b) .., c) .., d)-.., 4) You should make sure that your w indow is
open ... on the ... from the wind. 5) Car fumes can kill you in ... 6) You
should run your car engine for a maximum o f ... every hour. 7) Before you
leave on your journey, you should ...

(d) Does it often happen that people die in the snow?

Exercise 2. Make up dialogues (Make use of Exercise 1, pages 28-29

from your text-book by GLM.Frolova, GV.Strelkova and
others).
1. You are a gardener and a charwoman. You are sitting on a bench in
front o f the house you work in to have a rest after work. The gardener enjoyed
his work in the garden, and the charwoman had to do twice as much as usual
because o f the slush. You are discussing spring weather.

19
 2. You are a newly-wed couple. You are planning your honey-moon
holiday. You agree that you want to travel across Russia, but one o f you
insists on the summer and the other hates the summer.
3. You are a farmer and his wife. The farmer is fond o f composing poems
and believes he is a great poet. Like most great poets he adores the autumn .
His wife has to do everything about the house herself and she works hard in
the field. On a nasty autumn day, they are quarrelling.
4. You are in Mauritania. Make up a dialogue between an African and a
student from Russia. The African wants to go to Russia but isn’t sure which
time o f the year is the best for the journey. The student from Russia persuades
the African that the best choice is winter.
5. You are an African who is fresh from Siberia. You are telling your
friends and relatives about the Russian winter.
6. You are a homeless dog. You are thinking about your life in all the
four seasons and you are very pessimistic about it.

Exercise 3. (Listening Comprehension 4).

(a) Listen to the tape. As you listen, decide If the narrator’s experience
w as...
1. pleasant
2. frightening
3. amusing
(b) Listen to the tape again. Pay attention to the details o f the adventure.
As you listen, take notes. Complete the sentences.
1. The narrator ...
a) nearly froze in the cold waters o f the Arctic,
b) set a new skiing record,
c) nearly froze to death in the snow.
2. It happened ...
a) in Finland,
b) in Great Britain,
c) on the island o f Corsica.
3. It was ...
a) spring,
b) late autumn,
c) winter.

20
 4. The climate there is as follows:
a) it’s very hot in summer and the winters are either mild or quite
severe,
b) it’s terribly cold in winter and rather cool in summer,
c) in winter it never snows there.
5. The man ...
a) lived in the North, but went to the South to see his friends,
b) lived in the South, but went on business to the North o f Europe,
c) lived in the South and went to the mountains to ski.
6. When he started the journey back ...
a) it was warm enough to swim,
b) it was warm enough to go sun-bathing, but not enough for actual
swimming,
c) it was snowing hard.
7. W hy was the man puzzled when he was standing next to the road?
a) people in all the cars that were going past were wearing jackets,
scarves, and hats, and there were skis on the car-roofs,
b) people in all the cars that were going past were in their shirt-sleeves
because it was a warm spring day,
c) there were no cars on the road.
8. He hadn’t heard the weather forecast, but apparently
a) it was sunny in the mountains and snowy at the foot,
b) it was snowing hard in the mountains and people were setting off
for a day’s skiing,
c) it was thundering at the foot o f the mountain.
9. Was it easy for the man to get a lift?
a) It was, when he was going to the top of the mountain,
b) it was, when he was going down the hill,
c) It was no problem at all.
10. W hat did the man have to do?
a) He had to go back,
b) He had to walk on,
c) He had to stay at the hotel in the mountains.
11. Was the narrator cold?
a) Not at once, as it was mid-afternoon; it w asn’t pleasant, but very
beautiful,
b) He was cold after he had lost his way in the snow,

21
 с) Не was cold only when he was going up the mountain.
12. W hy did the man start to panic?
a) It was getting cold, and he couldn’t find his way in the snow,
b) It was getting dark and awfully cold; he was miles from anywhere
and he was supposed to be at work at 9 o ’clock the next day,
c) He had lost his money and skis in the snow.
13. W hy couldn’t the man talk?
a) Because his jaw had frozen,
b) Because the snow and the wind were pouring into the car through
the smashed windscreen,
c) Because he didn’t know the language.
14. Did his friends believe his story?
a) Yes, they did,
b) No, they didn’t,
c) Only its end.
(c) Retell the story’ you have heard in writing.

Exercise 4.
(a) Read the text. Why does its author say that ‘the climate of the United
States is extremely varied, and in some ways hostile’?

CLIMATE
The climate in the United States is extremely varied, and in some ways
hostile. One thing that people tend to forget is how far south even the northern
parts o f the United States are in comparison with Western Europe. New
York is on about the same parallel o f latitude as Naples in Italy; Boston and
Detroit are no further north than Rome or Barcelona. (Even Toronto in Canada
is further south than Marseilles.) In all o f the heavily populated parts o f the
United States the summer can be exceedingly hot, and particularly near the
eastern seaboard it is very unpleasant. In the great cities a tremendous heat
is built up, made more disagreeable by high humidity. The inhabitants have
developed advanced techniques to m ake sum m er life tolerable; air-
conditioning is one o f the symbols o f a home or office or factory that is
based on reasonable economic success. It is very desirable indeed to have
an air-conditioned interior.
In the winter on the other hand it can be very cold. Particularly away
from the coast the winter cold is so intense that strong heating systems are

22
essential if normal life is to be carried on. Even near the east coast in N ew
York and Boston there are some spells o f very cold weather indeed, though
these may be interspersed with much milder weather. Short term fluctuations
of remarkable violence are very common, so that within a short period people
must adapt themselves from almost arctic conditions to a few days o f warm
sunshine, then more cold weather.
On the west coast the climate is much more equable. One o f the great
advantages o f California is that there are no extremes. Except in the desert
the summer is never intolerably hot, and the winter is mild. The coastal
region suffers from mist and drizzle, though only a little way inland the
weather is commonly much clearer. Inland from California, A rizona and
New Mexico can produce some o f the highest temperatures o f any inhabited
part o f the globe.
M uch o f Am erica suffers constant insecurity from violent clim atic
happenings. Best known o f these are hurricanes which afflict the Southeast,
particularly during the autumn. Originating in the Caribbean these circular
storms tend to move northeastwards, and any part o f the deep South is liable
to finds itself in the track of a particular hurricane. In general it is the areas
nearest to the coasts which suffer more severely. There are certain to be
several hurricanes each year, though they do not follow the same course.
Some o f them maintain their strength far up into the North, and may cause
severe damage in areas as far north as New York. But some years pass without
anything very serious happening, and although every southeastern coastal
place risks damage at some time, it has some chance of remaining unscathed
for years together.
Human ingenuity has not yet found any means o f mitigating the damage
which hurricanes may cause to buildings and property in general. Curiously,
people have shown themselves quite ready to build houses in areas which
are particularly subject to danger from hurricanes, and sometimes thousands
o f expensive new houses are destroyed within a short time o f being built.
On the other hand skills in weather prediction are well advanced. Each
hurricane is called by a name, and its path and force can be predicted long
enough for people to be warned in time to protect themselves, or to escape
from danger in good time. Many severe hurricanes have caused m uch
material damage but no loss o f life. So dangers o f living in a hurricane zone
seem acceptable when compared with the other dangers which have to be
faced every day.

23
 The M idwest is similarly subject to damage from violent wind storms,
here commonly called ‘tornadoes’. As in the Southwest, damage is often
extensive, but the likelihood o f any particular place suffering from tornado
is very slight. There are several dozens o f tornadoes each year, but each is
short-lived and localised, likely to cause devastation in a restricted area. On
the other hand, tornadoes are less easy to predict than southeastern hurricanes,
and they are more likely to cause death or injury to people, and to cause
severe suffering over small areas.
A nother problem o f the eastern half o f the United States behind the
Appalachian Mountains, in the whole basin o f the Mississippi, Missouri
and Ohio Rivers, is the danger o f flooding. Severe storms and heavy rainfall
can raise the level o f these rivers to dangerous heights. In the history of the
U nited States river floods have probably caused more damage than any
other single climatic element. Enormous resources have been devoted to
flood control with some success.
The great plains o f the Midwest, where wheat is grown in vast quantities,
correspond more closely with conditions found in southern Russia than with
anything in Western Europe. In winter, cold and wind arc particularly intense,
and the pioneers had to suffer terrible hardships before they had established
reasonable shelter. But m odem m echanised farmers have little to fear
provided that their equipment functions as it should.
In the Rocky M ountains the climate is what would be expected in a
m ountain area, with heavy snow in winter matched by brilliant sunshine
and warm days in the summer even up to considerable heights. The mountains
seem to have enormous potential as a holiday area, and vast sections o f
them have not yet been opened up. Here too the problem o f what to do with
the water has been acute, and enormous schemes already exist for controlling
it and for deriving electric power from great flow o f waters in the Colorado
and other great rivers.
The climate o f the United States, with all its variations and violence - its
frost and snow reaching far into the South, and the great heat o f summer -
made life difficult for the ill-equipped pioneers and for the American Indians
before them. Now, however, so much o f life goes on in the shelter o f buildings
that m ost people can carry on their lives without much concern for what is
going on outside.

24
(b) Do the following assignments.
1. Give facts from the text to support the first sentence o f the text. 2. Give
facts to contradict it. 3. W hat are the summers like in the USA? 4. W hat are
the winters like? 5. W hat techniques have the inhabitants o f the USA
developed to make summer and winter life tolerable? 6. W hat part o f the
USA is compared with southern Russia? Do you agree? 7. W hat part o f the
USA suffers constant insecurity from violent climatic happenings? W hat
climatic happenings are the most common? (name at least three) W hy do
people choose to build houses in those dangerous areas? 8. W hat is the
climate like in the Rocky Mountains? 9. Re-read the last paragraph o f the
text. Is the trend discussed in it progressive or regressive? Is it weather and
climate that make our life difficult?
(c) Compare the climate of the USA and that o f Russia in detail.

25
 UNIT 2.
CITIES AND SUBURBS

SECTION 1.

Exercise 1. (Listening Comprehension 1).

(a) Review the use o f articles with the words ‘tow n’, ‘country’. Refer to
Exercise 1, Section 2-1.
(b) M ake sure you know the words: suburbs, suburban, to commute, to
estimate, to treble, to quadruple.
(c) You are going to hear an expert being interviewed about the future
o f the world’s cities. Listen to the first part of the interview and
complete the notes.
1. In 19 5 0 ,... o f ten o f the biggest cities were in developed countries. In
2000 they were expected to have ... out o f ten.
2.
1950 Position in top 10 Population
New York 12 m
London
Calcutta 10
Tokyo 3 6m

2000 Position in top 10 Population

New York .. .

Calcutta
Tokyo ...

3. In the year 2000, the w orld’s two largest cities were expected to be
M exico City with a population o f ... million and Sao Paulo.

(d) Listen to the second part o f the interview and decide if these
statements are true or false.
1. It’s getting difficult to commute to London. 2. More and more people
are leaving London. 3. Movement from London can be exaggerated. 4. M ost
insurance companies are based outside London. 5. People are happier living

26
in the country. 6. One company had to close its London office. 7. Since then
the company has doubled its productivity. 8. Farming land is being developed
for accommodation.
(e) Listen to the tape again. Pick out information about the new trend
in the life of big cities like London. W hat are the reasons? Speak on
the topic.

Exercise 2.
(a) Read the text about the USA. Does it support or contradict the facts
described in the interview above (in Exercise 1).

CITIES AND SUBURBS

Two hundred years ago, nearly all the people lived on farms or in villages,
with few towns, still quite small, serving as markets and administrative
centres. All through the nineteenth century, as industry developed, some
villages becam e towns and grew steadily. Incorporated as cities, they
extended their built-up areas and their administrative boundaries or city
limits by ‘annexing’ the land into which they grew. After 1900 the onward
growth continued, but annexation o f newly built peripheral areas slowed
down, because a change o f boundary could be made effective only with the
agreement o f the majority o f the people living in areas concerned. Since
about 1940 the m ain cities have (with exceptions) kept unchanged the
boundaries, or city limits, which were established by that time, so that all
outward physical growth has been suburban, often engulfing peripheral
satellite cities. But some defined suburban areas have been incorporated as
administratively independent cities, so that the suburbs o f a big ‘central
city’ include many other cities.
For each big town the Bureau o f the Census now gives two population
figures, one for the administrative central city, the other for its whole
‘metropolitan area’, which includes the suburbs too, defined as ‘an integrated
economic and social unit with a recognised large population nucleus’. Only
a quarter o f the people now live outside metropolitan areas, in small towns,
villages and farms. Less than three per cent o f the working population are
farmers, and they produce more food than the nation needs.
Three-quarters o f the people live in metropolitan areas with populations
o f over eighty thousand people. There are more than three hundred such

27
areas, each with a central city, and the whole o f their territory is classed as
‘urban’. But these ‘urban’ areas together cover more territory than the whole
o f France and Germany, and they consist mainly o f suburbs, some o f them
w idely spread out. By now nearly twice as many people live in suburbs as
in central cities, and while the suburbs grow the population o f the biggest
central cities is falling - though this is not the same for the smaller ones.
The declining cities are mainly in the northeastern quarter o f the United
States where all but one o f the twenty biggest have seen their populations
decline by between ten and thirty per cent since 1970 - though in most
cases the suburbs have continued to grow. The condition o f the big central
cities is one o f the most serious social problems o f the modern age. Each
has a prosperous downtown area with office blocks and fine hotels, a few
specialist shops and some good open spaces - with some excellent residential
areas too. But huge sections o f the central cities are squalid, vandalised,
dirty, full o f abandoned cars and other rubbish, dominated by violent gangs,
drugs and crime - and by high levels o f unemployment, particularly among
the young, many o f whom have been brought up by single parents. Older
buildings are damp and dilapidated, new apartment blocks built within the
past twenty years are no better. The condition o f these central city zones is
a m ajor cause o f many people’s preference for living out in suburbs where
they can be far away from this different world, and at the same time avoid
the central city taxes. For several decades there has been debate about the
policies which might improve the condition o f the bad parts o f the central
cities. Federal, state and local action has produced positive results in some
areas, but not many. Meanwhile, the difference between the twilight zones
and the typically thriving downtown areas - and above all the prosperous
suburbs - is the most visible exception to the sameness characteristic o f so
m uch o f America.
(b) Answer the questions about the text.
1. Where did people prefer to live two hundred years ago? 2. What
tendency showed itself in the nineteenth century? 3. Did the outward growth
o f towns and annexation o f newly built peripheral areas continue after 1900?
W hy so (why not)? 4. What do they call the metropolitan area o f a city?
5. Is the proportion o f people living outside metropolitan areas high now?
6. What percentage o f the working population are farmers? Do they produce
enough food for the nation? 7. W hat do they call ‘urban areas’? Are they

28
numerous? 8. Are there more people in suburbs or in central cities? W hat
are the tendencies? 9. W hat is one o f the most serious social problems o f the
modem age? Do you agree with this point o f view?
(c) Translate the part of the text starting with the words ‘The condition
o f the big central cities is one of the most serious social problems . . . ’
to the end of the text.
(d) Make a list of English words and word combinations with their
Russian equivalents which can be used to describe the situation in
most big cities. Use them to describe any big city of the world.
(e) Write rough notes about pros and cons o f living in a big city. Be
ready to discuss the problem in class.

SECTION 2-1.

Exercise 1.
(a) Review the use of articles with the words ‘town’, ‘country’ (= the
land outside cities or towns). W hat article do we use when ‘tow n’
means
- the centre or business part o f a town?
- the town one lives in?
- the nearest town to a country place when there is some contrast
implied?
W hat article is used in the set phrases ‘in ... country’, ‘to ... country’?
(b) Fill in the blanks with a proper article.
1. She drove into ... town and drew up at the curb beside the dragstore.
2.1 called up &pd asked her if she would prefer to lunch in ... town. 3. It was
... small town where everybody knew everybody else. 4. Maycomb was ...
tired old town when I first knew it. 5. In rainy weather, the streets o f ...
town were very dirty. 6. Wby do you actually choose to live out in ... country?
7. We are going to have a day in ... country tomorrow.
(c) Answer the questions.
W hy do city-dwellers buy country-houses? Is it convenient to have a flat
in town and a house in the country? W hat is the most popular form o f
spending week-ends in Russia?

29
Exercise 2.
(a) Review the use o f ‘so’ and ‘such’. Analyse the patterns below. Put in
‘so’ o r ‘such’.
... + adjective
... + adverb
... + (adjective + noun)
... + (indefinite pronoun + noun)
... + a noun with a gradable meaning (e.g. fool, fun)
(b) A noun can have a gradable meaning which can be emphasised.
Here are some examples:
Bore, excitement, fun, fool, mess, nuisance, triumph ...
Continue the list.
(c) Can the words ‘car’, ‘table’, ‘TV set’ be emphasised? Give more
examples o f nouns which can’t be emphasised. What is used with
those nouns to compare things?
(d) Give examples to illustrate the usage of the patterns. (See points (a),
(b), (c)).
(e) Translate into English.
Hu
1. Ж изнь в городе такая чудесная! 2. Движение в городе такое
интенсивное! 3. Я всегда мечтал жить в таком маленьком провинциаль­
ном городке. 4. В городе так много людей на улицах и площадях.
5. Люди в деревне так отличаются от горожан. 6. Двор был в таком
беспорядке. ^(Такое поведение недопустимо. 8. Я всегда хотела иметь
такую шляпку. 9. Извините, вы так быстро говорите, что я ничего не
понимаю. 10. В Англии погода такая неустойчивая.

Exercise 3.
(a) M ake sure you know the meaning of the following words. If necessary,
use your dictionaries to look up the words; pay attention to their
stylistic value.
suburbs; burbs; suburbanite; suburbia.
(b) W hich words from the list above are often used derogatorily? How
can you account for it? Have we got the same attitudes in Russian?

30
(c) The word ‘suburbia’ is defined as ‘the behaviour, opinions and ways
of living typical of people who live in the suburbs’. And what is
exactly typical o f the suburbs? W hy do so many people prefer to
live in the suburbs?

Exercise 4.
(a) Guess what word is missing in the paragraph below.
To ... means to travel regularly a long distance between one’s home and
work, especially by train or car. M any people in Britain now ... to work,
especially into London. In the US, people have to ... in most o f the large
cities. People w ho... are usually white-collar workers.
(b) W hat is a commuter train? W hat image does the word ‘com m uter’
conjure up? W hy do so many people choose to commute in spite o f
the time the journey takes them? Do you have to commute? Does it
take you long?

Exercise 5.
(a) Use your dictionaries to write out the definitions of the following
words and word-combinations.
to get on well (together); to get along well; to stay with smb, at a place;
to r e n t... from, rent (n.), renter (n.); to l e t ... t o ..; it takes ... to do; to arrive
in a city, country; at a hotel, station.
(b) W hat’s the difference between the British and American usage o f
the words and word-combinations to get on (along) well, to rent, to
. let? W hat prepositions are used after these words?
(c) Complete the gaps using one o f the words and word-combinations
above. StickNto the British usage.
1. Do y o u ......... well with your boss? 2. M y mother i s ........... us this
week.
3. We a r e .........a hotel. 4. M y brother and I have never r e a lly ...........
together. 5. We choose to ... a house ... a private landlord. 6. They ... the
house ... a young man. 7. We pay a h ig h ........ this flat. 8. I t ... me an hour
and a half to get to work. 9. The delegation has arrived ... the country.
10. We arrived ... the hotel late at night.

31
(d) W hat does ‘Rent-a . . . ’ in the names o f companies mean? Account
for the names ‘Rent-a-van’, ‘Rent-a-tent’. Have you ever used the
services of this type of company?
(e) Answer the questions.
Which do you prefer - to stay with your relatives (friends) or at a hotel
when you arrive in another town or country? Does it depend on how you
get on with your relatives? W hat (else) does it depend on?
What are the advantages and disadvantages o f staying at a hotel (with
your relatives, friends)?
Do you ever rent a room (flat) when you arrive in another town or
country? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
W hy do people have to rent a room or a flat in their town?
Would you choose to rent a flat or to commute? Would that depend on
the time the journey would take? Would that depend on the rent? How
long does it take you to get to the university?

Exercise 6. (Listening Comprehension - 2).

(a) Make sure you know the following words and word-combinations.
to wander around; to be /live/ set up on one’s own; a bed-sitter; to live in;
to pay a part-rent; to call on smb.; to complain o f smth.; radio-times; T.V.
times; that’s out; here we are.
(b) Answer the following questions.
1. Do you live on your own? 2. Would you like to set up on your own?
3. What do you think o f sharing a room with your friend? 4. Can you afford
to pay a part rent?
(c) Listen to the tape and try to get wrhat it is about. W hat problem are
the people discussing?
(d) Listen to the tape a second time. How did they go about finding a
flat to rent?
(e) Answer the questions.
1. Why did the man make up his mind to set up on his own? 2. What
possibilities did he try? 3. W hy did he cross them out one by one? 4. Was
there any hope o f finding anything reasonable? 5. W hich would you prefer?

32
 SECTION 2-2.

Exercise 1.
(a) Read the explanation below. Prepare to do the assignments that
follow.
Words like down, in, up are not always prepositions. Compare:
He is in his office.
You can go in.
- Something is climbing up my leg.
She’s not up yet.
In the expressions in his office and up my leg, the words in and up are
prepositions: they have objects (his office, my leg).
In go in and She’s up, the words in and up have no objects. They are
adverb(ial) particles, not prepositions. They include above, about, across,
ahead, along, (a)round, aside, away, back, behind, below, by, down,
forward, in, off, on, out, over, past, through, under, up, etc.
Many o f the words o f this kind can be used as both adverb particles and
prepositions, but there are some exceptions: for example back, away (only
adverb particles), from, during (only prepositions).
Adverb particles often join together with verbs to make two-word verbs,
sometimes, with completely new meanings (e.g. to break down, put off,
give up). These are often called ‘phrasal verbs’.
Adverb particles are often used rather like adjectives, as complements o f
the verb be
Hello! You are back!
W hat’s up?\
(b) Use your dictionaries to write out the meaning o f to be in; to be out;
to be away; to be off.
(c) Find out the difference between ‘to be out’,’ to be aw ay’ and ‘to be
o ff’. Which means ‘to be gone a long time’, ‘to be out o f tow n’,
which means ‘to leave a place for a short tim e’, ‘free from regular
work’?

Exercise 2. Complete the gaps with the words ‘away’, ‘in’, ‘o ff’, ‘out’.
1. Is M r S m ith :.? I ’m afraid Mr Smith is ... for lunch. 2. They are ... on
holiday. 3. Don’t pay attention to the mess. The maid is ... today. 4. ‘I ’ve

33
been trying to get him on the phone for six days running’. ‘Oh, he is ... on
business till M onday’. 5. Jane is ... at the moment, but she’ll be back in no
time. 6. Bye, Mom! I ’m ... now! 7. Is there anybody Yes, Mom. I’m at
home, but Dad is ... H e’ll be ... soon.

Exercise 3. Find out the difference between ‘out’ and ‘outside’ (adv.,
prep.). Complete the gaps.
1. Compare ‘outside’ and ‘out’. If we go ... a room or building, we remain
near it. If we go ..., we go from a building to a different place. 2. Go ... if
you want to smoke. 3. Let’s go ... for a drive. 4. Wait for me just ... the
door. 5. He is staying som ewhere... New York. 6. It’s quite ... my experience.
7. The opposite to ... is ‘inside’.

Exercise 4. Write out of your dictionaries other words used with the
adverbial particle ‘off’ in the meaning ‘away, free from
regular work’. Use your notes to translate into English the
sentences below.
1. Завтра я не работаю. 2. У меня выходной по вторникам. 3. Он
хочет взять выходной в четверг. 4. Я попробую отпроситься с работы в
четверг. 5. Я беру недельный отпуск на рождество.

Exercise 5. Write out of your dictionaries the definition of the phrasal

verb ‘set off (for/towards the place)’. Translate into Russian.
1. It’s getting late - time to set off. 2. They set off in search o f the lost
child. 3. They set off on a trip across Mexico. 4. They set off for the mountain
at dawn.

Exercise 6. Make up a short story to illustrate the usage o f the verbs to

be off (to have a week off), to go away, to set off, it takes ...to
get, to arrive, to stay with smb., to stay at a place.

Exercise 7. Translate into Russian. Use your dictionaries if necessary.

1. Let’s spend the weekend in. - No, it’s out o f the question. Let’s have
an evening out for a change. 2. My husband is taking me out to the theatre
tonight. 3. L et’s have Saturday night out. Mike is giving a party. 4. It’s
rather cold out. 5. They’ve invited me out for dinner. 6. She stays out late at
nights. 7. He saw tramps sleeping out in the park. 8. Some thieves broke in

34
while he was out. 9. You live in but I have to rent a room! 10. The train isn ’t
in yet. 11. The ship moved slowly away from the shore. 12. The police tried
to keep people away from the accident. 13. Go away!

Exercise 8. Answer the questions. Pay attention to prepositions in the

following word-combinations at/for the weekend (Br.E), on
the weekend (Am.E), on week days, on my day off, to go away
v on holiday/for one's holidays.
1. Do you have time to go out at weekends? Where do you go then? Do
you stay out late? 2. W hat are your days off? W hat do you do on your days
off? W hat do you do when you have a morning (afternoon, evening) off?
3. Do you go away on holiday? Why do many people choose to go away on
holiday?

Exercise 9.
(a) Read the text. Do people in Britain and the US go away on holiday
or do they prefer to stay at home?

PAID HOLIDAYS
. People in the US get 2 weeks a year paid vacation from their job. M ost
British people have four or five weeks’ paid holiday a year. Americans often
complain that two weeks is not enough holiday, especially when they hear
about the longer holidays that Europeans get. In addition, there are 8 days
in each country which are public holidays and many o f these fall on Monday
giving people a long weekend (also called three-day weekend in AmE or
Bank Holiday weekend in BrE). In Britain, so many people drive to another
part o f the country, especially to the coast, on Bank Holiday weekends that
there are serious traffic jam s which may stretch for many miles.
POPULAR HOLIDAY PLACES
Within the US, outdoor vacations are popular, for example at the Grand
Canyon or Yosemite or Yellowstone or other national parks or forests. Young
people may go walking or camping in the mountains. M any people have
campers or small trailers in which to travel, or if they are in a car, they m ay
stay at motels on the journey. Disneyland and Disneyworld are also popular
and people can go skiing in the Rocky M ountains o f Colorado, Wyoming
and Montana.

35
 It is also very common to use vacations to visit relatives who may live in
states a long distance away. Some children go to summer camp for a holiday
during the summer vacation from school, where they do special activities
such as sports or crafts (eg, making things from wood or cloth).
When Americans want a holiday for sun and rest, they usually go to
Florida, Hawaii, Mexico, or the Caribbean. They may go to Europe for
culture (for example to see art, plays, and places o f historic interest).
In Britain, many people like to go to the seaside for holidays. There are
places near the sea, such as Blackpool, Scarborough and Bournemouth, where
there is plenty to do even if it rains. In a traditional British seaside holiday,
the children can watch a Punch and Judy show, eat candy floss and rock
(=sweets) and make sandcastles, while older people can hire a deckchair to
sit on the beach. People also like to go to the country, especially to walk, in
places like Scotland, Wales and the Lake District. When the British go abroad
they usually want to go somewhere warm. Spain and Spanish islands o f
Majorca and Ibiza are popular as are other places in southern Europe. For
skiing, people often go to the Alps.
W HERE PEOPLE STAY ON HOLIDAY
The less expensive ways o f going on holidays are to take a camper or
caravan in which you can stay or to go camping. It is also cheaper when
travelling abroad to go on a package tour in which your hotel and flight are
arranged for you. You can stay in a bed and breakfast (also called a В and B)
which is usually a private house which takes paying guests and provides
them with a room for the night and breakfast for the following morning. In
Britain this is usually cheaper than a hotel though in the US it is more
expensive. Some people buy timeshares, that is they become part owners o f
a holiday home and it is theirs to use a certain time every year. Companies
which sell timeshares are famous for trying very hard to persuade people to
buy their houses, often offering prizes as a reward for buying them. Some
British people go on self-catering holidays where they buy and cook their
own food.
(b) Answer the questions.
1. Why do Americans often complain when they hear about the holidays
that Europeans get? 2. W hy are there traffic jam s at Bank Holiday weekends
in Great Britain? 3. Name popular holiday places in the US and in Britain.

36
4. W here do Americans go away if they want a holiday for sun? 5. W hy do
Americans go away to Europe for a holiday? 6. W here do people stay on
holiday?

- SECTION 2-3.

Exercise 1. Read the explanation. Do the assignment that follows.

To come from is used (in the present) to say where people’s homes are
or were or what the origin is
She comes from Scotland, but her mother is Welsh.
Originally I come from Hungary, but I ’ve lived here for twenty years.
This word comes from Latin.
Look at the list of quotations on the subject o f war and decide if they
come from ancient or m odem history. Match the quotations with one o f the
sources listed below. Account for your choice.
1. T came, I saw, I conquered’. 2. ‘People say, well, I could never kill a
man. That’s bullshit. They can. Anybody can kill. It takes more to make one
man kill than it does the next. The training helps a lot. But combat - you
know, once they start shooting at you, if you don’t shoot back, you’re a
damned fool’. 3. ‘You shall show no mercy: life for life, eye for eye, tooth
for tooth’. 4. ‘Happiness lies in conquering one’s enemy, in driving them in
front o f oneself, in taking their property in savouring their despair, in
outraging their wives and daughters’. 5. ‘ We knew the world would not be
the same. A few people laughed. A few people cried. M ost people were
silent I remembered the line from Hindu Scripture, ‘ Now I am become
Death, the destroyer o f worlds’. I suppose we all felt that, one way or another ’.
6. ‘ Resist no evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to
him the other also’.
a) the New Testament,
b) Robert Oppenheimer, inventor o f the atomic bomb,
c) Genghis Khan,
d) the Old Testament,
e) US veteran o f Vietnam,
f) Julius Caesar.

37
Exercise 2.
(a) Look at the envelope
The Secretary
Hall School o f Design
39 B eaum ont Street
London
W4 4LJ_______________ _

What is the way to give the address in English?

Is it different from Russian?

Keith and Ann Sharp

14 W est W ay H ouse
Botley Road
Oxford
0 X 3 5JP____________________

(b) Look at the envelope above. What address do Keith and Ann Sharp
live at? W hat is situated at No. 39 Beaumont Street? W hat address
do you live at?

Exercise 3.
(a) Find information about the following types of houses in Great Britain.
a cottage; a bungalow; a council house; an apartment house; a detached
house; a semi-detached house; a terraced house a mansion.
(b) Match a word from the list above with its definition.
A small, usually an old house, especially in the country and in the US
usually used as a holiday home.
A house o f this kind usually offers a good standard o f privacy and comfort.
It usually has a small garden at the front and a larger garden at the back.
It is usually two or three-storeys high. M any rows o f such houses were
originally built for workers in nearby factories or coal mines. They are not
expensive. Over a quarter o f British families live in them.
It is a one-storey house which is particularly popular with older people.
These buildings provide accommodation for a lot o f city dwellers, but
they are not very popular in Britain. About 20% o f the population live in
them. They can be rather expensive.

38
 It is the most expensive type of home. Such houses have privacy from
neighbours, and they are ideal for keen gardeners who can devote plenty o f
time to work in their garden.
About one third o f the population now live in such houses. Such houses
are mainly occupied by working-class people who can’t afford to buy a
house. They pay a low rent.
A large, grand house.

Exercise 4.
(a) Answer the following questions.
W h a t’s the d ifferen ce betw een ‘a f la t’, ‘an a p a rtm e n t’, and ‘a
condominium’; ’a house’ and ‘hom e’ (in Br.E. and Am.E)
(b) Find information about the following types of houses. W hat culture
do they belong to?
a brownstone; a mobile home; a ranch house; row houses.

Exercise 5. Answer the following questions.

1. W hat kinds o f houses do we have in Moscow? 2. W hat kind o f house
do you live in? 3. Do you like it to live in a flat? 4. W hat kind o f house
would you prefer to live in if you could choose?

E xercise 6. M ake up a sh ort story using the w ord s and w ord

combinations:
To come from; to live at the address; to live in a flat/house etc.; I (don’t)
like it there; it takes ... to do; to pay a high (low, reasonable) rent.

Exercise 7. Translate into English.

1.
- Ты знаешь, Брайен и Анна поженились.
- Да? Какие новости! А где они живут?
- П осле того, как они поженились, они сразу же переехали в
отдельный дом, где и живут с тех пор.
- Это их собственный дом или они снимают его?
- Я не знаю точно. Кажется, они купили его в рассрочку.
- Это один из этих новых шикарных особняков в южной части
города?
- Нет. Это типичный английский дом, каких тысячи в Англии.

39
 2.
- Послушай, Джон. Посмотри на это объявление. По-моему, это
предложение заслуживает внимания.
- Похоже, что это типичный английский дом, каких тысячи в
Англии: двухэтажный дом с садиком перед ним и фруктовым садом
побольше за ним, рядом - гараж. Что ещё?
- Но дом находится в чудесном зелёном районе в пригороде
Л ондона. Там нет ни и н тен си в н о го д орож н ого д ви ж ен и я, ни
постоянного шума большого города.
3 .

- Я бы хотела снять квартиру где-нибудь в пригороде Лондона за

приемлемую плату, но не знаю, как это сделать.
- Можно поместить объявление в газету, раздел под рубрикой
«Сниму», но можно поступить прощ е. Купите м естную газету и
посмотрите объявления под рубрикой «Сдаю». Если вам подойдет
какой-нибудь вариант, обратитесь в редакцию газеты. Всё, что вам
нужно - заполнить анкету.
4.
- У вас случайно нет местной газеты?
- Есть. Вот пожалуйста. А зачем она вам?
- Я хотела бы снять удобную меблированную комнату с видом на
реку или парк в пригороде Лондона за приемлемую плату.
- Что вы называете приемлемой платой?
- Думаю, что смогу платить не намного больше того, что плачу
сейчас за эту комнату.
5.
- Я думаю, что пора мне поселиться отдельно от родителей.
Последнее время я с ними не могу ладить.
- Ты хочешь снять квартиру?
- Думаю, будет достаточно комнаты.
- В таком случае, ты можешь пожить пока у меня. Я уезжаю в
командировку на 6 месяцев, и моя комната будет свободна.
- Какие чудесные новости! Спасибо!
- Можешь переезжать в любое время.

40
 S E C T IO N 3.

Exercise 1. (Listening Comprehension 3).

(a) Make sure you know the following words and word combinations.
to be keen on; to box; to cabin; to crib; to confine; to be earned away
with; to talk through one’s hat; brisk (walk, air).
(b) Find four synonyms from the list above which can be used to describe
life in town. One example is to be boxed in by a thousand of other
houses.
(c) Listen to the tape and try to get what the husband and his wife are
talking about. Are they calm?
(d) Listen to the tape a second time. While listening write down the
main points of their argument.
(e) Answer the questions.
1. Where did the man prefer to live? W hat were his arguments? 2. W hat
was his w ife’s idea o f it? What were her arguments? 3. W hose argument
sounds more convincing to you? 4. W hat did they decide in the long run? 5.
Which o f the two is more romantic? How can you account for it?

Exercise 2. Write three paragraphs about pros and cons of living in the
country or in town. Be ready to discuss the problem in class.
Follow the pattern.
Living in ... has both advantages and disadvantages (pros and cons). On
the plus side, ... For example, ... W hat is more ... All in all, ...
However, for every plus there is a minus. For one th in g ,... Particularly,
... Last o f all, despite ...
In conclusion (finally), I think th a t... (give your opinion).

Exercise 3.
(a) Read the text. Suggest a title.
English people traditionally prefer to live in houses with their own front
doors, preferably with gardens behind and better still with front gardens
too. The streets built in the nineteenth century had very few apartment blocks.

41
Except in places where stone is easily available, the usual building material
is red brick, sometimes covered with stucco or rough-cast material. Until
about 1910 most town houses were built in terraces on two, three or four
floors, with each level having one room at the front, one at the back, and
space for hall and stairs. The more opulent houses were detached or built in
pairs, with space to the side as well.
Scotland’s housing history is different, more like most o f continental
Europe, with tenement buildings and bare stone stairs climbing up to flats at
the upper levels.
The divisions between the social classes have always been reflected in
the geography o f towns, with the bigger and better houses concentrated in
the most salubrious districts. The process began before 1800, and the
Georgian terraces which survive have been particularly admired all through
the past fifty years. The much more decorated houses of the late nineteenth
century, though less elegant, have come back into fashion. In many cases
the ‘nice’ parts o f towns would be on the west, because the prevailing south­
west wind blew the smoke from the coal-burning fires towards the east. In
such areas many single-family houses, both Georgian and Victorian, had
four or five floors, with basements and top floors kept for servants and the
children and their nannies. Today many houses o f this kind have been divided
into ‘maisonettes’ o f two floors each, or into flats which are useful to the
growing number o f one-person households, or to students. The old middle-
class status still survives, partly because the middle class is growing, as a
proportion o f the population as a whole. Indeed, some old ‘working-class’
areas, usually those nearby, are being ‘gentrified’.
From the 1920s the outward spread o f towns produced tidy rows o f small
houses, mostly built in pairs (semi-detached), and owned by their occupants
with the help o f mortgages from ordinary banks or housing loan banks,
called building societies. Suburban building o f this kind was stopped all
through the 1940s, but has flourished since that time.
The period from 1945 produced a huge growth o f social housing, built
by local authorities for letting at low rents with the help of central government
subsidies. Some o f this ‘ council housing’ has been on town fringes, mainly
at low densities. Most old town terrace houses belonged to private landlords,
many o f whom were poor themselves. Rents were fixed by law at levels too
low to leave money to pay for maintenance. By 1950 whole streets were
damp, rotten and condemned as unfit for habitation. During the next twenty
years there was large-scale demolition o f old town housing, and local councils

42
used the land to build blocks o f flats, first up to about five storeys, then, for
a few years, in towers o f fifteen, twenty' or more storeys.
This great change from traditional English housing patterns was seen as
a triumph o f m odem planning and technology. Instead o f cramped streets,
the new tower blocks had space around them. With m odem methods they
were built quite cheaply, yet to high standards o f interior space and comfort,
and the upper flats had good views. But by the 1970s things were going
wrong. Families with children were placed in high-up flats, and did not like
them. The entrances were -not supervised. There was vandalism, robbery
and violence, litter and graffiti. Lifts were damaged. Then it turned out that
there were some serious deficiencies in constmction. The tower blocks
became the object o f a whole vocabulary o f insults, and after about 1970 no
more were built by local councils.
These bad experiences did some harm to the reputation o f the councils
as house-owners and as planners o f land use. At the same time a higher
value was placed on the old terraces built in the days before the rise o f the
bureaucrats and planners. As tenants with controlled rents died or went away,
landlords sold their houses in the open market, not to new landlords but to
people who became owner-occupiers and revived these run-down properties.
By 1979 Labour had been in power for nearly twelve out o f fifteen years,
and had continued to encourage council housing. Just over a third o f all
households were by then council tenants - more than at any previous time.
Council tenants enjoyed security o f tenure and low rents, even if they became
prosperous. In 1980 it was estim ated that a quarter o f council-tenant
households earned above average incomes - and were inclined to vote for
Labour, while home-owners with similar incomes were inclined to vote
Conservative.
The T hatcher governm ent, w ith its firm com m itm ent to the old
Conservative ideal of a ‘property-owning democracy’ (including home-
ownership) considered that this proportion was too high. They also thought
that local councils, with political control and bureaucratic management, were
not the right bodies to manage people’s houses. Housing subsidies were
reduced: in the 1980s the number o f new houses built by local councils fell
to a tenth o f its former level. Councils were obliged to sell their houses to
any tenants who wanted to buy them and could afford to do so. In ten years
about a fifth o f all council tenants bought their houses, mostly at betw een a

43
third and two-thirds o f their estimated open-market value, though they could
not then sell them quickly at a profit.
Meanwhile, another form o f tenure, through housing associations, was
encouraged, with some new building and some transfer o f council housing
to this sector. N ew private building flourished. Local councils were
discouraged from being too strict in refusing permission to build new houses
on land outside designated building zones. By 1989 nearly two-thirds o f
householders owned their homes, though the variation between areas was
enormous: above four-fifths in some parliamentary constituencies, below a
tenth in others, mainly in some inner cities.
Meanwhile, private letting was encouraged, with rents for new tenancies
able to be fixed at market rates for stipulated periods. The long-term decline
o f private tenancy, to just over a tenth o f all households, slowed down.
But the most significant development with housing has been with the
market price. For most o f the past fifty years house prices have increased at
a rate far above inflation, and the rise accelerated in the 1980s. In the London
area the price o f a typical terrace house built around 1900 rose, in 1950-88,
from three times to ten times the annual average wage. The rest o f south­
east England saw nearly similar increases, and after 1987 the fastest rises
were in some areas between 100 and 200 kilometers from London.
The situation created difficulties for first-time buyers too young to have
accumulated savings. Also, with a house in the south-east costing two or
three times as much as its equivalent in the north, it became difficult for
people to move from north to south. However, in 1989-90 houses prices
fell, particularly in the south.
The new policies produced a big increase in the number o f homeless
people. By 1989 the London boroughs were accommodating 50,000 in bed-
and-breakfast houses - nearly 1 per cent o f London’s population. But the
majority o f the people were living in their own houses, bought some time
before and happy with the unexpected wealth which the vastly increased
value o f their houses had brought to them. Many people in their fifties,
already owner-occupiers o f good houses, can look forward to a retirement
made prosperous by the sale o f houses they inherit. Almost all the people
are comfortably housed, except for some o f the very old, and people living
in vandalised council flats and houses. There are very few houses without
proper heating or sanitation, and there is little overcrowding. The exceptions
may be very bad, but they are also very few.

44
(b) Re-read the text to answer the questions in detail.
1. W hat do English people traditionally prefer, flats or houses? 2. W hat
does ‘having one’s own front door’ mean? W hat else are English people
prejudiced in favour of? 3. Elow were most town houses built until about
1910? Describe their interior. 4. W hat types o f houses existed at that time?
5. Is Scotland’s housing history the same? 6. How have the divisions between
the social classes been reflected in the geography o f town? 7. Do m any
Georgian and Victorian houses survive now? How are they used? 8. W hat
does the growth o f the middle class in Britain lead to? 9. W hat is the history
o f semi-detached houses? 10. W hat is social housing? 11. W hat is m eant by
the ‘great change from traditional English housing pattern’? 12. W hat was
‘going wrong’by the 1970s? W hat was the way out? 13. W hy were council-
tenant households inclined to vote Labour, while home-owners with similar
incomes were inclined to vote Conservative in 1980? How did the Thatcher
government react? 14. W hat other form o f tenure was encouraged by the
Government? 15. W hat has been the most significant development with
housing? 16. What difficulties did the situation create? 17. Are there many
homeless people in Great Britain?

Exercise 4.
(a) Read the text. Account for the phrase in the text: ‘Nothing is regarded
as permanent’.

HOME
First o f all Americans, when they are free, concern themselves with their
homes and with their activities at home. M ost people have an ambition to
own their own house in a little piece o f ground, and very large numbers o f
them have achieved that ambition. Houses are not excessively expensive in
relation to their space and comfort by European standards, and in relation to
income levels they look very reasonable. Two-thirds o f all families own the
houses in which they live, though many o f the owners have borrowed money
on the security o f their houses and their jobs in order to pay for them.
As the suburb grows, so the city centres tend to become mainly places
for business, and the central areas are losing commerce to the suburbs. In
suburban areas, shopping centres consist o f a group o f perhaps fifty shops
around a huge car park; and the main unit o f the shopping centre is usually
a supermarket which stays open very late, or even all night. The growth o f
these vast establishments, and the decline o f the small independent shops,

45
 began earlier than in Europe and proceed faster. Modern Americans are
accustomed to buying all their food in weekly visits to the supermarket,
bringing it home in the car and storing it in the deep-freeze.
Once Americans have reached home they are interested in working to
improve it and in making it as pleasant as possible. There is a strong incentive
to spend m uch free tim e at hom e w hen the hom e is w ell-equipped,
comfortable and attractive; for example, the private swimming pool is no
longer reserved for the rich. One o f the first activities at home is making
things, mending things, and working on the car. Apart from that there is
television, and in most parts there are many programmes to choose from as
well as cable TV.
Americans like to invite their friends to their homes, even for Sunday
breakfast. Parties for children and for grown-ups are constantly occupying
their leisure hours, usually with something to drink. When a new family
moves into a suburban house the neighbours will be calling at once to see if
they can help in any way. The problem o f personal social barriers has been
overcome more successfully than in any part o f Europe. So although each
home may be a unit looking inwards to itself, it is also a unit which is much
involved with the activities of the homes round about it. The new suburb
recreates the sense o f community o f the old country village so that a family’s
home, instead o f being an isolated island, is itself a part o f a group of
homes. It is possible to turn it into an island, but not many suburbanites
want to do that. M ost find their homes more satisfying because o f their
links with neighbours - and also not too narrow because they still have
plenty of contacts outside the neighbourhood. M ost go to work in another
place, so that the suburban home is only a part o f their environment.
The constant visits o f friends and neighbours encourage people to display
their possessions. It is not enough just to have the usual array o f machines
and gadgets in the house; they must be new ones and the best ones too. The
gadgets which increase leisure act at the same time as an encouragement to
more work and more earnings, and are sometimes regarded as ends in
themselves, not merely as useful tools with which to avoid unpleasant work.
The acquisition o f the latest dishwashing machine is followed by the air-
conditioning system, the swimming pool, the added sun-room or covered
terrace. But a family whose income rises soon looks for a better house, in a
better district, with more land, a better view, a bigger and finer swimming
pool. They may be attached to the house which is home for the time being

46
but this does not impl-y that they have roots there. Today’s job, today’s home,
today’s friends, and neighbourhood: all these are part o f a fam ily’s identity.
N othing is regarded as permanent; the American hopes and expects to
exchange them all for something better, and finds no difficulty in identifying
with the new.
(b) Re-read the text to answer the questions in detail.
1. W hat do Americans concern themselves with, first o f all, when they
are free? 2. W hat ambition do most Americans have? 3. Are the houses
expensive in the US by European standards? 4. Do many families live in the
houses they own? 5. Why are central areas losing commerce to the suburbs?
6. W hat is a shopping centre in the US? 7. Do supermarkets stay open late?
8. How do most Americans do their shopping? 9. How do Americans try to
make their home well-equipped, comfortable and attractive? 10. W hat are
the main activities at home? 11. Do Americans often go out? 12. W hat sense
does the new suburb recreate? 13. Why is the suburban home only a part o f
their environment? 14. What gadgets do Americans use to increase leisure?
15. Do Americans have their roots in their houses?

Exercise 5. Review the texts in Exercise 3 and 4. Can you see any
difference in the attitude to their home in Britain and the
US? Be ready to discuss the problem in class.

47
 UNIT 3.
CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS

Exercise 1. Discuss the following questions.

1. Have you visited any country or countries that you felt were very
different from your own? 2. W hat did you find that was very strange to
you? 3. Which aspects o f life in Russia do you think might seem strange or
unusual to a first-time foreign visitor? 4. Which nationalities do you think
would find Russia most different? Which would find it similar? You can
consider the following areas if you wish.

Food Celebrations
Clothes Climate
Ceremonies National features
Leisure activities Public holidays
Modes o f transport Daily routine

Exercise 2. (Listening Comprehension 1).

(a) Have you ever been to London or New York? What did you do there?
W hat did you think of those cities?
(b) Listen to Sheila and Bob talking about the time when they lived in
New York. Do they think it’s a good place to live?
(c) Listen to the tape again. Pick out information about the people, shops,
work, holidays and transport in the US.
(d) Answer the following questions.
1. What did they like best about their stay in New York? 2. W hat first
thing do they mention that helped them lead ‘a normal life’ in New York? 3.
What other things do they mention? Why did they pay attention to them? 4.
What do Bob and Sheila mean by saying that ‘New York is as cosmopolitan
as London ... but it’s not as m ixed’? 5. Why did Sheila pay attention to the
height o f the place? 6. Is everything faster or slower in New York than in
London? 7. Is queuing a tradition in New York? Is it a tradition in Britain?
8. What are American taxi-drivers like? Are they the same in New York and
California? 9. W hy does Bob say that New York is quite a dangerous place?
Did they have any problems themselves? 10. What do they mean by saying

48
that ‘the subways are unusable’? 11. W hat difference did they see betw een
the Americans and the British? 12. Do you agree with Sheila’s concluding
phrase ‘So m ay be the British are ruder than the Americans’? 13. Do you
find the things that Sheila mentioned strange or unusual?

Exercise 3. (Listening Comprehension 2).

(a) Listen to Terry. She is an American who lives in London. Does she
like it in England?
(b) Listen to the tape a second time. Be ready to describe Terry’s attitude
to different aspects of life in England.
(c) Answer the questions.
1. W hat things did Terry pay attention to when she arrived in London?
Are they different from those mentioned by Bob and Sheila? 2. W hat biggest
difference did Terry notice between the two countries? 3. Are English people
respected in America? W hy so? 4. How are Americans treated in England?
W hy so? 5. W hat problem worried Terry at first when she talked to people
in England? What lesson did she learn? 6. Does Terry find life in England
easier or more difficult? W hy so? 7. W hat is really important to the English
people compared with the Americans? 8. Are holidays longer in Britain or
in the US? 9. What other nation shares the American attitude to work? 10.
Does Terry dream o f going back to the US one day? 11. W hich way o f life
seems more appealing to you? English or American?

SECTION 2-1.
Exercise 1.
(a) Review the use o f nationality words in English. In order to refer to a
nation or region and its affairs it is usually necessary to know four
words:
• The name o f the country or region Japan, Catalonia, Greece.
■ The adjective Japanese, Catalan, Greek.
• The singular noun used for a person (group of people) from the country
a Japanese, a Catalan, a Greek.
■ The plural expression the ... used for the population as a whole
the Japanese, the Catalans, the Greeks.
The name o f a national language is often the same as the national adjective.

49
 Do you speak Japanese?
I speak Greek.
Roughly, ‘nationality words’ can be divided into four groups.

Group 1.
a) The adjectives ending in -(i)an and b) the adjectives ‘Czech, Greek,
Iraqi, Israeli, Thai’.
Nation/the
C ountry/
Adjective Person/G roup of people Population as
Region
a whole
a) America American* An American/ The Americans
(The United (a group of) Americans
, States)
Belgium Belgian A Belgian/ The Belgians
(a group of) Belgians
Brazil Brazilian A Brazilian/ The Brazilians
(a group of) Brazilians
European European A European/ The Europeans
(a group of) Europeans
Italy Italian An Italian/ The Italians
(a group of) Italians
Korea Korean A Korean/ The Koreans
(a group of) Koreans
Norway Norwegian A Norwegian/ The
(a group of) Norwegians Norwegians
Russia Russian A Russian/ The Russians
(a group of) Russians
b) The Czech Czech A Czech/' The Czechs
Republic (a group o f ) Czechs
Greece Greek A Greek/ The Greeks
(a group of) Greeks
Iraq Iraqi An Iraqi/ The Iraqis
(a group o f ) Iraqis
Israel Israeli An Israeli/ The Israelis
(a group of) Israelis
Thailand Thai A Thai/(a group of) Thais The Thais

* See notes after the Table.

50
Group 2.
The adjectives ending in -ese and the adjective Swiss.

China Chinese A (group of) Chinese The Chinese

Japan Japanese A (group of) Japanese The Japanese
Portugal Portuguese A (group of) Portuguese The Portuguese
Vietnam Vietnamese A (group of) Vietnamese The Vietnamese

Group 3.
The adjectives ending in -ish.
Denmark Danish A Dane/(a group o f) Danes The Danes
Finland Finnish A Finn/(a group of) Finns The Finns
Poland Polish A Pole/(a group of) Poles The Poles
Scotland Scots/Scottish/ A Scot/(a group of) Scots The Scots
Scotch
Sweden Swedish A Swede/(a group of) The Swedes
Swedes
Turkey Turkish A Turk/(a group of) Turks The Turks

Group 4.

Britain British A British person (Briton)* The British

England English* An Englishman/woman/(a group The English
of) Englishmen/women
France French A Frenchman/woman/(a group The French
of) Frenchmen/women
Holland/The Dutch A Dutchman*/woman/(a group The Dutch
Netherlands of) Dutchmen/women
Ireland Irish An Irishman/woman/(a group of) The Irish
Irishmen/women
Spain Spanish A Spaniard/(a group of) The Spanish
Spaniards
Wales Welsh A Welshman/woman/(a group The Welsh
of) Welshmen/women

51
 * NOTES.
- Although ‘Am erican’ is the normal English word for United States
citizens and affairs, people from other parts o f the American continent may
object to this use, and some people avoid it for this reason. They use ‘the
U S’ instead.
- Scottish and Scots are the usual fonns o f the adjective. Scots is usually
used only o f people: a Scottish plant, a Scots/Scottish lawyer. Scotch is
often considered derogatory, ignorant, or old-fashioned except when used
o f the products o f Scotland: Scotch whisky, Scotch beef.
- The word Briton is unusual except in newspaper headlines. Brit is
sometimes used informally. (But most British people call themselves Scottish,
Welsh, Irish or English).
- English is not the same as the British, and is not used for Scottish,
Welsh, or Irish people.
- Arabic is used for the language spoken in Arab countries; in other
cases, the normal adjective is Arab. Arabian is used in a few fixed
expressions and place names, e.g. Saudi Arabian, the Arabian sea
- Note the pronunciation o f words like Irishman/men, Dutchman/men:
the singular is the same as the plural.
(b) Look at the table above and compare the words in groups 1 and 2.
Have those words got anything in common? W hat’s the difference.
Give examples.
(c) Look at the words in group 3. What makes them different from
those in groups 1 and 2? Give examples.
(d) Analyse group 4. What makes group 4 different from group 3? Give
examples.
(e) Give as many words having a feminine form as you can.

Exercise 2.
(a) Fill in the gaps giving an adjective or a noun corresponding to the
word in brackets. Remember to use the definite article to refer to a
whole nation.
1. (Wales)
March 1st is a very important day for ... people. It’s St. David’s Day.
H e’s the ‘patron’ or national saint o f Wales. On March 1st, ... celebrate St.
D avid’s Day and wear daffodils in the buttonhole o f their coats or jackets.

52
 2. (Scotland)
Haggis is a traditional type o f food from Scotland. You make it with
meat, onions, flour, salt and pepper. Then you boil it in the skin from a
sheep’s stomach -y es, a sheep’s stomach. In Scotland people eat haggis on
Bum s’ night. Robert Bums (... people Call him Rabbie Bums) was a ...
poet in the eighteenth century. Every year ... remember him and read his
poems.
3. Every year ... (Norway) give the city o f London a present. It’s a big
Christmas tree and it stands in Trafalgar Square.
In 1846 the first Christmas card began in Britain. That was five years
after the first Christmas tree. Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert,
brought this ... (Germany) tradition (he was ... (Germany) to Britain. He
and the Queen had a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle in 1841. A few years
later, nearly every house in Britain had one.
Traditionally people decorate their trees on Christmas Eve - that’s
December 24th. They take down decorations twelve days later, on the twelfth
Night (January 5th).
An older ... (Britain) tradition is Christmas Mistletoe. ... (Britain) people
put a piece o f this green plant with its white berries over a door. Mistletoe
brings good luck, people say. Also, at Christmas ... (Britain) people kiss
their friends and family under the mistletoe.
4. In the ... (England) language there are a number o f ‘. ..’ (Holland)
expressions: ... (the Netherlands) courage, go ... (the Netherlands), talk
double ... (Holland), I’m a ... (a man from the Netherlands), talk (to
someone) like a ... (the Netherlands) uncle, ... (Holland) treat.
Lookup the meaning o f these ‘Dutch’ expressions and find information
about their origin.
5. Stereotypes are certainly not reliable descriptions of individual people
but they still exist.
(Ireland) ... are supposed to be great talkers. (Scotland) ... have a
reputation for being careful with money. (W ales)... are renowned for their
singing ability. (England)... are individualists. (B ritain)... have a reputation
o f being conservative. (France)... are merry, sophisticated, intelligent people,
fond o f good food and the opposite sex. (The USA) ... are energetic,
hospitable and sociable, but rather noisy and showy. (Italy) ... are
affectionate, impulsive, talkative, jealous and superstitious.
Do you agree with the stereotypes described above?

53
(b) W hat new words did you learn about the British?

Exercise 3. Fill in the corresponding ‘nationality word’.

Each country has a national ‘emblem’ or sign. The ... emblem is a red
rose. The ... emblem is a vegetable or flower - a leek or a daffodil. The ...
emblem is a wild plant - a thistle. And the ... emblem is another wild plant
- a shamrock.
A chrysanthemum is one o f the oldest known flowers. It has grown in ...
for nearly two thousand years and is the ... national flower and emblem.

Exercise 4.
(a) What do you know about the British Empire? Can you name any
countries that were once part of the British Empire? W hat is the
Commonwealth? Who is the head o f the Commonwealth?
(b) You are going to read a song by a famous English song-writer called
No,l Coward. The song was written in the 1930s, a time when the
British Empire was starting to decline. Read the song. W hat does
Coward poke fun at?

‘MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHM EN’ BY NOEL COWARD

In tropical climes there are certain times o f day
When all the citizens retire
To take their clothes off and perspire.
It’s one o f those rules that the greatest fools obey
Because the sun is far too sultry
And one must avoid its ultry violet ray.
The natives grieve when the whitemen leave their
huts
Because they’re obviously, definitely nuts!
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.
The Japanese don’t care to,
The Chinese wouldn’t dare to.
Hindus and Argentines sleep firmly from twelve to
one.
But Englishmen detest a siesta.
In the Philippines they have lovely screens

54
To protect you from the glare.
In the Malay States there are hats like plates
Which the Britishers w on’t wear.
A t twelve noon the natives swoon,
And no further work is done.
But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday
sun.
It’s such a surprise for the Eastern eyes to see,
That though the English are effete
They’re quite impervious to heat.
When the whiteman rides every native hides in glee,
Because the simple creatures hope he
Will impale his solar topee on a tree.
It seems such a shame when the English claim the
earth
That they give rise to such hilarity and mirth.
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.
The toughest Burmese bandit
Can never understand it.
In Rangoon the heat o f noon is just w'hat the natives
shun
They put their Scotch or Rye down and lie down.
In a jungle town where the sun beat down
To the rage o f man and beast,
The English garb o f the English sahib
M erely gets a bit more creased.
In Bangkok at twelve o ’clock
They foam at the mouth and run
But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday
sun.
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.
The smallest Malay rabbit
Deplores this foolish habit.
In Hong Kong they strike a gong
And fire off a noonday gun
To reprimand each inmate w ho’s in late.
In the mangrove swamps where the python romps

55
 There is peace from twelve to two.
- Even caribous lie around and snooze,
For there’s nothing else to do.
In Bengal to move at all is seldom if ever done.
But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday
sun.
(c) Answer the questions.
1. What people are the British compared with? 2. W hat unites those
nations? 3. W hat makes them so different from the British? 4. How do
Englishmen behave as visitors to Russia?

Exercise 5. Answer the questions.

1. What countries does Russia border in the West (South, Far East)?
What do we call the people living there? W hat language do they speak? 2.
Where do the Dutch live? 3. W ho lives in Denmark? 4. W ho speaks Danish?
5. Where is Switzerland situated? W hat’s its capital? W hat countries does it
border? Who lives in Switzerland? 6. Where is Sweden situated? W hat’s its
capital? Who lives in Sweden? What countries does Sweden border? What
do we call the people living in those countries? 7. W hat are the two main
nationalities in C yprus? 8. W hat countries have you visited? W hat
nationalities live there? What language do they speak? What is their national
stereotype?

Exercise 6. (Listening Comprehension - 3).

(a) What are the principle languages spoken in the following countries?
Canada, the USA, Denmark, Egypt, Holland, Sweden, Switzerland,
China.
(b) M ake sure you know the m eaning of the fo llow in g w ords:
mandarin(e); Chinese; diverse tribes.
(c) Listen to the tape. W hat’s the tape about? Answer the following
questions.
1. How many people speak English as their m other tongue? 2. Is it
numerically first? 3. W hy is English so wide spread in the world?
(d) Listen to the tape again to answer the following questions.

56
 1. What countries use English as their first or official language? 2. Why
do they use English?
(e) Listen to the tape again to retell it in detail.

Exercise 7.
(a) Read about ‘pearly kings and queens’. Who are they? Why is it so
difficult to understand Cockneys?
Londoners from the east o f the city are ‘Cockneys’. There are a lot o f
traditional Cockney expressions. For example, Cockneys don’t say ‘stairs’
- they say ‘apples and pears’. And they don’t say ‘face’ - they say ‘boat
race’. This is Cockney rhyming slang.
The Cockneys have kings and queens, too - the ‘pearly’ kings and queens.
They wear special costumes on important days. Each costume has thousands
of pearl buttons.
(b) Listen to the tape (Listening Comprehension - 4). W hat’s it about?
Answer the following questions.
1. W hat’s the difference between Italian, German, and English dialects?
2. What examples does the announcer give? 3. What is typical of a reasonably
educated standard English?
(c) Listen to the second part of the tape. Can you guess where these
people come from?

Exercise 8. Translate into English.

Как случилось, что сейчас так трудно найти английскую еду в
Англии? В Греции вы едите греческие блюда, во Франции - француз­
ские, в Италии - итальянские, а вот в Англии легче найти индийские и
китайские рестораны, чем английские. В Лондоне вы можете отведать
тайскую, португальскую, турецкую, ливанскую, японскую, русскую,
п ольскую , ш вейцарскую , ш ведскую , испанскую еду. А где же
английские рестораны?

57
 SECTION 2-2.
Exercise 1.
(a) Review the use of articles with names o f meals. Answer the following
questions.
W hat article is used
1. if there’s a descriptive attribute expressed by a gradable adjective or
aspecting adjective? 2. if there’s a limiting attribute? 3. if there’s neither a
gradable aspective adjective nor a limiting attribute? 4. if there’s a change
o f meaning?
(b) Account for the use o f articles with the names o f meals in the
paragraphs below.
1. In Britain, the most important meal on December the 25th is Christmas
dinner. Nearly all Christmas food is traditional, but a lot o f the traditions are
not very old. For example, there were no turkeys in Britain before 1800.
And even in the nineteenth century, goose was the traditional meat at
Christmas but not now.
A twentieth-century British Christmas dinner is roast turkey with carrots,
potatoes, peas, Brussels sprouts and gravy. There are sausages and bacon
too. Then, after the turkey, there’s Christmas pudding. Crackers are also
usual at Christmas dinner. These came to Britain from China in the nineteenth
century.
2. The English Breakfast.
In a real English breakfast you have fried eggs, bacon, sausage, tomatoes
and mushrooms. Then there’s toast and marmalade. There’s an interesting
story about the word “marmalade”. It may come from the French “Marie est
malade”, or “M ary is ill”. That’s because a seventeenth-century Queen o f
Scotland, Mary Queen of Scots, liked it. She always asked for French orange
jam when she was ill.
3. Roast B eef and Yorkshire Pudding.
This is the traditional Sunday lunch from Yorkshire in the north o f
England. It is now popular all over Britain. Yorkshire pudding is not sweet.
It’s a simple mixture o f eggs, flour and milk, but it’s delicious.
(c) Fill in the gaps with the right article.

58
 , ENGLISH MEALS
The usual meals in England are ... breakfast, ... lunch, ... tea and ...
dinner. ... Breakfast, the first meal o f the day, generally consists of porridge
or cornflakes with milk and sugar, bacon and eggs, buttered toast or bread
and butter with marmalade or jam.
The usual time for ... lunch is one o ’clock, but it may be half an hour
earlier or later. The lunchers in a London cafe or restaurant can have a mutton
chop or fish and chips or cold meat, salad, biscuits and cheese.
... Afternoon tea is generally served at 5 o’clock. It is a sociable sort o f
thing when people often come in for a chat.
... Dinner, the biggest meal o f the day, is usually served at seven o ’clock
and consists o f three courses, as a rule.
(d) Answer the questions.
1. W hat is the usual order o f meals in England? 2. W hat do the English
have for breakfast, as a rule? 3. What is the usual time for lunch? 4. W hy is
tea called “a sociable meal” ? 5. What time is dinner usually served? 6. What
is the usual order o f meals in your family?
(e) Sum up the information about English meals. Add facts you know’.

Exercise 2. Fill in the gaps.

1. He talked more during ... dinner than was usual with him. 2. So after
I had finished ... supper, I came back along the passage to the empty dark
front room. 3. She intended to have ... glorious supper for my sake. 4. “ ...
lunch is ready” Mom said. 5 .... tea came in almost at once. 6. I ’m giving ...
dinner tonight. Are you coming?

Exercise 3. (Listening Comprehension 5).

(a) M ake sure you know the meaning o f the following words and
expressions.
To be fit; to feel on edge; a pint; to make up for it; in the long run;
superb; to be at stake.
(b) R em em ber that the negative and interrogative form s o f the
expression “to have breakfast” (lunch, tea, dinner, etc.) are built up
with the help of the auxiliary verb “to do”.
Do you have a leisurely breakfast? - No, I don’t, as a rule.

59
(c) Listen to the tape. W hy did Mr. Thompson come to see his doctor?
(d) Answer the following questions.
1. What was the matter with M r Thompson? 2. What questions did the
doctor ask him? Was Mr Thompson surprised at those questions? 3. What
was the order o f meals in M r Thom pson’s family?
(e) Listen to the tape a second time. Try and get details about Mr.
Thompson's meals. Answer the following questions.
1. What time did Mr Thompson have breakfast? 2. How many courses
did it consist of, as a rule? 3. W hat did he normally have for breakfast? 4.
Was it a light or substantial breakfast? Would you call it a real English
breakfast? 5. W hen did he have brunch? Was it the traditional brunch? 6.
W hat kind of lunch did M r Thompson have? 7. Did he have tea? 8. When
did he make up for it? 9. W hat advice did the doctor give Mr Thompson?
10. What do you think o f M r Thompson’s eating habits? 11. Are you a good
eater? 12. Does our health depend on our eating habits?

SECTION 2-3.

Exercise 1.
(a) Look up the nouns “work” and “job” in your dictionaries. Write
out their definitions.
(b) Account for the meaning o f those nouns in the sentences below and
the articles used in them. W hat meanings do the two words share?
I. 1. She put a lot o f hard work into writing that report. 2. Work on the
new tunnel will begin in January. 3. The pupils complained that their teacher
set them too much work. 4. He has been highly praised for the work he has
done in genetic engineering. 5. W hat’s your work? 6. “W hat work do you
do?” “I work in television”. 7 .1 go to work by train. 8. Hurry up! You’ll be
late for work. 9. W hat time do you get home from work? 10. I ’m taking
some work home to do this evening. 11. Shakespeare’s works include plays
and poems. 12. Danger: men at work on this road! 13. H e’s been out of
work for two years. 14. H e’ll be glad to be in work again.
II. 1. “What does she do?” “She has a good job in a bank”. 2. The factory
closed down and she lost her job. 3. He has been out o f a job for months. 4 . 1

60
love being a soldier; I could never do an ordinary nine-to-five job, 5. I ’ve
got a job for you: wash these dishes please. 6. The plum ber’s done a good
job /a good job of work. 7. It was a real job to talk with all that noise. 8. That
new car o f yours is a beautiful job. 9. We are not allowed to smoke on the
job. 10. It’s not my job to interfere.
Exercise 2.
(a) Fill in the gaps with articles.
1. If a person is looking fo r ... job, they will often look in a newspaper or
at a job centre and when they find something they are interested in, they
send a written application and their CV. If they are successful, they are
invited to an interview and asked questions about themselves; and may be
asked to give the names o f former employers who can talk about their work.
In most companies there’s an official process for giving someone ... job
and it is not usual to get ... job because you have a friend or relative who
can help you. 2. A job centre, also employment exchange, is a British
government office which helps people to find ... work or workers. Most
towns have a job centre. 3. A job-club is a government organization in Britain
which helps unemployed people find ... work. 4. CV (cv) = curriculum
vitae. I t’s a short w ritten account o f a p erso n ’s education and past
employment, used especially when they are looking f o r ... new job. 5. What
you do to earn your living is your job , your work, or (more formal) your
occupation. Post and position are more formal words for ... particular job.
Atradeis ... skilled job in which you use your hands. A profession is ...jo b
such as that o f a doctor or lawyer, for which you need special training and a
good education. Some professions, such as teaching or nursing, are also
called vocations, which suggests that people do them in order to help others.
A career is ... job that you hope to do all your life, with more and more
success.
(b) How do you go about finding a job in Great Britain?
(c) Find example with the synonyms from point 5. You may make use of
the text in Exercise 3.

Exercise 3.
(a) Read the text. W hat work is the President responsible for?

61
 THE PRESIDENT AT WORK
The President may be very powerful in the sense that he controls an
immense administrative machine, but he has to work through a governmental
organisation which he only partly controls, quite apart from the need to
keep a majority in the two Houses of Congress. First o f all he has his cabinet,
consisting o f the heads o f departments who under the constitution may not
be in either House o f Congress during the time they are in office. The
Secretary o f State, who deals with foreign relations, is traditionally the most
important member, though the Secretaries o f Defence and Treasury are not
far behind. There are twelve Secretaries plus Attorney General (concerned
with legal questions); so the cabinet is small. The President recommends
the appointment o f cabinet members to the Senate and the Senate may
approve or disapprove o f them - though disapproval is rare. He does not
necessarily choose party politicians for cabinet jobs. Some people are
appointed to these positions after having been elected members o f Congress,
but others are taken from state offices (mostly governorships) and others
from all kinds o f positions, including jobs in business and in universities. A
new President can choose his cabinet between the election in Novem ber
and his accession to office in January, so that they may all have a few weeks
in which to gather some rudimentary knowledge of the way that the system
works, as m any o f them will be unfamiliar with it.
A change o f President also produces changes in other jobs in the federal
administration. These political appointments are mostly above the level o f
the professional civil servants who make their careers in the federal service,
and provide a basis for continuity in the administration. M ost o f these
permanent offices, as well as some o f the holders o f political appointments,
are in the several departments mentioned above, and subordinate to the
Secretaries. But the President also has his own Executive Office, with more
than a thousand staff, and close to him the much smaller White House staff,
headed by his own immediate assistants. There is some rivalry between the
department staffs and the people closer to the President, and there is often
poor coordination o f policies and confusion about responsibility. When Nixon
was President there were complaints that he isolated him self with his own
advisers, and paid too little attention to Congress. Resentment about his
methods added to the severity with which he was treated when the Watergate
scandal blew up. In Reagan’s time there was trouble over the Iran-Contra
incident, in which officers o f the National Security Council took important

62
decisions on their own account, in accordance with what they believed to be
Reagan’s general wishes but in defiance o f Congress and of the normal
rules o f responsibility.
Apart from the departments and the President’s own office, there are
dozens o f partly independent agencies, run by boards which do not take
exact instructions from the federal administrative hierarchy. In general these
boards are appointed by the P resident, and subject to the S en ate’s
confirmation, in the same way as judges, and their members hold office for
fixed periods. For example, in 1979 President Carter appointed Paul Volcker
as Chairman o f the Federal Reserve Board. This body is equivalent to the
nation’s central bank, and effectively determines interest rates. As Volcker’s
appointment was for four years he stayed in office when Reagan became
President. Reagan then reappointed him for a further four-year term in 1983
and when this expired, Alan Greenspan for 1987 - 1991. For positions o f
this kind professional skills and suitability for a job are in general more
important than narrow political considerations.
The President’s power to appoint people to federal offices, including
judgeships, subject to the Senate’s consent, is important for his relationship
with the Senate. A senator offended by a presidential veto on a bill may be
disposed to oppose an appointment, but there are many ways in which the
President can help a senator, and expect, in return, his support in other matters.
Some o f the federal appointive offices are in particular states or regions,
and with them the President normally takes advice from local politicians of
his own party, particularly senators - provided that they support his general
policies. Presidents and senators, as well as representatives, can help or
harm each other, and each side depends heavily on the other, each has a
strong motive to cooperate with the other.
Although every President’s power is limited and constrained, there are
two sources o f advantage inherent in the position. First, the President is the
only officer elected by the whole people. Second, through his office he is
alone the representative o f the whole nation, and profits from the respect
paid to that office. He is often seen on television receiving foreign heads o f
state, and when he takes part in a summit meeting his political and national
roles are combined. In recent times John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan
have been charismatic figures, for whom the people felt affection, though
Reagan’s skills began to lose their magic halfway through his second term.
When the President needs congressional support he arranges consultations
with leading members of Congress, in order to try to persuade them to support

63
his point o f view. These Consultations very often lead to compromise
positions, so that the President and his assistants work together behind the
scenes to arrive at plans which will be likely to get majority support. A
m odem President can also put his case directly to the people on television.
The device o f the televised press conference may be useful to him if he can
use it effectively.
The President has special advantages which help him to dominate the
huge administrative machine which he controls. There is almost nobody in
political life who has a recognised claim to high office because o f his political
standing. The Secretaries in the President’s cabinet and his huge personal
staff owe their positions to him. He can remove any o f them at his own will,
and is unlikely to be damaged politically if he does remove them. (On the
other hand, a high office-holder will not suffer either, except through loss o f
political power, unless he has been involved in a scandal. He will have no
difficulty in finding a good job outside the political machinery.)
Those who agree to serve the President are likely to be loyal to him; if
not they would not have accepted his appointment. But they are also likely
to be highly competent. The President can take his pick from among the
people - with established reputations in national, state or local politics, or
in business or academic life. Almost the only restriction on his freedom o f
choice comes from the need to include people from all parts o f the country
and preferably to include in his team at least one person belonging to each
o f the main minority groups, such as Catholics, Italians and so on.
(b) R etell the text in sh ort. M ake use o f the w ords and w ord-
combinations from Exercise 2.

SECTION 2-4.

Exercise 1.
(a) Review the use of articles with the words school, college, hospital,
prison, jail, church, court, bed, table, etc.
(b) Answer the questions.
1. What article is used when they are part o f set phrases? 2. W hat article
do we use when they lose their unity?
(c) Fill in the gaps with the right article.

64
 1. ‘How long have you been in ... hospital with that wound?’ she asked.
2. The road to ... prison was blocked by policemen. 3. The criminal was
sent to ... prison. 4. Then he carefully placed the money on ... bed. 5. They
were discussing it after supper, when the children were in ... bed. 6. In the
morning I went as usual to ... school. 7. ‘Is your son a t ... school?’ 8 .1 was
told that from time to time there would be a ‘shop’ a t ... school. 9. In Britain
few people go to ... church regularly, although more people go at the special
religious times o f Christmas and Easter. In the US, many people still go to
... church regularly. 10. Many churches are very beautiful old buildings
and many people like to go to ... church to admire it even if they are not
Christians. 11. Silence in ... court! 12. The case was settled out o f ... court.
13. Her case will be heard in ... High Court.

Exercise 2.
(a) Read the text. W hat changes have taken place in the system of state
education in England recently?
The resp o n sib ility for education is d istrib u ted betw een central
government, local education authorities (LEAs) and the governing bodies
o f the schools. Nursery education is voluntary. Some LEAs provide nursery
education, or have reception classes in primary schools which last from 9
a.m. to 3 p.m. There are some private sector nursery schools, which parents
pay for.
Secondary education
About 5% of pupils go to independent schools. O f the remainder, the
vast majority (90%) attend comprehensive schools. These began in the 1950s,
and admit children without reference to ability or aptitude. The children
represent a total social cross-section, and all the subjects are available. In
very few areas, children are selected according to the level o f academic
attainment, and depending on their results in an exam (the 11+), go either to
a grammar school, which runs academic courses for selected pupils aged
11-18, or to a secondary modem, which offers a more general education for
pupils up to 16, although they can stay on if they wish.
Exams
The exams that pupils take used to be as follows:
GCE (General Certificate o f Education) О Level (Ordinary), taken at 16
in a num ber o f subjects (average six). CSE (Certificate o f Secondary

65
Education), also taken at 16, but easier than О Level. GCE A Level
(Advanced), taken at 18 in fewer subjects, usually 1, 2, 3 or 4.
In 1988, О Levels and CSEs were phased out and replaced with GCSEs
(General Certificate o f Secondary Education), taken at 16. These are more
practical, with less emphasis on retaining facts and more on the application
o f them. Assessment is continuous, with at least 20% o f coursework counting
towards the final grade. A Levels continue unchanged.
Curriculum
The curriculum is decided by the LEAs and the school governing body,
although the government is moving towards national criteria for syllabuses.
Schools must provide teaching in English, mathematics, science, religious
education, physical education, humanities, some practical and some aesthetic
activity. Most pupils learn a foreign language.
After 16
About 50% of children continue their education after 16, some in schools,
others in colleges o f further education and technical colleges. For entrance
to a university, pupils need at least two A levels, but usually universities ask
for three. About 5% of children go to university. Courses usually last for
three years, at the end o f which students are awarded a degree (Bachelor o f
Arts, Bachelor o f Science).
Postgraduate degrees are MA (Master o f Arts), MSc (Master o f Science)
and PhD (Doctor o f Philosophy).
Polytechnics offer academic subjects and training for particular jobs,
which result in either a degree, a certificate or a diploma. They have close
links with commerce and industry. Students receive grants for higher
education from LEAs, which are not repaid. The size o f the grant depends
on the student’s or the parents’ means. Student loans may be introduced
shortly and may eventually replace grants.
(b) Answer the following questions.
1. What body bears the responsibility for education in England? 2. W hat
school do the vast majority attend? W hat’s typical o f them? 3. Are children
selected according to levels o f academic attainment? 4. W hat exams do
pupils take and at what age? W hat changes have taken place? 5. W hat body
is the curriculum decided by? 6. W hat alternative do children face at the age
o f 16? 7. Are there any differences between universities and polytechnics?
8. Compare the system o f secondary education in England and in Russia.
W hat is different?

66
E x ercise 3. (L isten in g C o m p r e h e n sio n ).

(a) Listen to the tape. W hat type of school does it deal with?
(b) Listen to the tape a second time for more information about Britain’s
public school. Answer the questions:
1. Why were B ritain’s public schools described as one o f the most
extraordinary institutions in the world? 2. Who were they designed for? 3.
W hat age range did they take? 4. At what age were children sent to
preparatory schools? 5. Why is the term ‘public school’ a misnomer? 6.
What institution were those public schools compared to? 7. W hy were the
living conditions deliberately Spartan, with the fees so costly? 8. What school
did Basil Morgan go to? 9. Is corporal punishment allowed in British public
school? Was it allowed in the past? Whose prerogative was it? Could you
describe the procedure? 10. W hat is another characteristic o f the Spartan
life-style in Public schools? 11. Which was valued more - athletic excellence
or academic achievement? Why so? W hat does it have to do with the British
character? 12. What is the natural outcome o f spending one’s teens in a
climate where privacy is non-existent? 13. What do they call ‘the most radical
change’ in Britain’s public schools? Why was that allowed?

Exercise 4. (Listening Comprehension).

(a) Listen to the tape. W hat is it about?
(b) Listen to the tape a second time. Put down the main topics the people
discussed. Answer the following questions.
1. W hat’s Rebecca’s opinion o f the teaching standard (... o f the standard
o f pupils)? 2. What are the things one has to face in a boarding school?
3. What is still important in boarding school life? 4. W hy is sport still so
important? 5. Is it still possible to find corporal punishment in public schools?
6. W hat does the man call ‘the English disease’? Is it still common? 7. Who
are those barbaric rituals imposed by? Can you give an example o f those
cruel and absurd traditions? 8. W hat’s a special striped tie? W hat’s the most
important tie? 9. W hat are Englishmen who have been to the same school
notorious for? 10. W hat does the word combination ‘old school tie’ mean?
11. Where is ‘the old boy netw ork’ still going strong? 12. Is it a deplorable
system?

67
E xercise 5.

(a) Read the text. Do many people go to prison in Britain?’

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Like many other countries, Britain has experienced a great increase in
criminal activity o f nearly every kind. Nearly five times as many acts o f
violence were reported to the police in 1987 as twenty years before. Although
most burglars are not caught, those who are caught overload the courts and
prisons. A lthough the courts try, in theory at least, to use probation,
community service and other devices to avoid sentencing people to prison,
the 50,000 people in prison are more, in proportion to the population, than
In any other Western European country. Vast sums are being spent on building
new prisons, but the prisons are still overcrowded, and the humiliation
suffered by their inmates make rehabilitation difficult. M any prisoners are
released early on parole.
The prisons in England are run by the Home Office, though each prison
has a local Board o f Visitors (some o f them JPs) who make reports about
conditions and also deal with serious bad behaviour. Normally prisoners are
released after serving two-thirds, or less, o f the time for which they were
sentenced, but an offence in prison may be punished by the loss o f some
days o f remission. There are several kinds o f prisons, including open ones,
and some prisoners go out to work in groups outside. Prisoners who want to
study for examinations are helped to do so, and there are training courses in
prison. But in practice some spend very little time outside their cells.
(b) Sum up the text.

SECTION 3.

Exercise 1. W rite two paragraphs about a time in your life when you
found your surroundings and the customs going on around
you strange or different This could be the first time you
went abroad on your own, or a holiday that you took away
from your parents; perhaps your first day at school, or going
to stay with someone in your own country who organised
their life in a way you found strange.

68
E x ercise 2.

(a) Answer the questions.

1. Do you know any typical meals from the following countries?
France Spain Italy Greece
Turkey America Mexico England
What do you think influences a country’s food? What influences the
food in Russia?
2. Read these quotations about English food. Do all the people have the
same opinion about English food?
‘It takes some skill to spoil a breakfast - even the English can’t do it! ’
{J К Galbraith, economist)
‘On the Continent people have good food; in England people have good
table m anners.’
{George Mikes, writer and humorist)
‘If English can survive their food, they can survive anything!’
{George Bernard Shaw, writer)
‘English cooking? You just put things into boiling water and then take
them out again after a long while! ’
{An anonymous French chef)
(b) Read the article. Suggest a title for it.
How come it is so difficult to find English food in England? In Greece
you eat Greek food, in France French food, in Italy Italian food, but in
England, in any High Street in the land, it is easier to find Indian and Chinese
restaurants than English ones. In London you can eat Thai, Portuguese,
Turkish, Lebanese, Japanese, Russian, Polish, Swiss, Swedish, Spanish, and
Italian - but where are the English restaurants?
It is not only in restaurants that foreign dishes are replacing traditional
British food. In every supermarket, sales o f pasta, pizza and poppadoms are
booming. W hy has this happened? What is wrong with the cooks of Britain
that they prefer cooking pasta to potatoes? W hy do the British choose to eat
lasagne instead o f shepherd’s pie? Why do they now like cooking in wine
and olive oil? But perhaps it is a good thing. After all, this is the end o f the
20lh century and we can get ingredients from all over the world in just a few
hours. Anyway, wasn’t English food always disgusting and tasteless? Wasn’t
it always boiled to death and swimming in fat? The answer to these questions

69
 is a resounding ‘N o’, but to understand this, w e have to go back to before
World War II.
The British have in fact always imported food from abroad. From the
time o f the Roman invasion foreign trade was a major influence on British
cooking. English kitchens, like the English language, absorbed ingredients
from all over the world - chickens, rabbits, apples, and tea. All o f these and
more were successfully incorporated into British dishes. Another important
influence on British cooking was o f course the weather. The good old British
rain gives us rich soil and green grass, and means that we are able to produce
some o f the finest varieties o f meat, fruit and vegetables, which don’t feed
fancy sauces or complicated recipes to disguise their taste.
However, World War II changed everything. Wartime women had to
forget 600 years o f British cooking, learn to do without foreign imports,
and ration their use o f home-grown food.
The Ministry o f Food published cheap, boring recipes. The joke o f the
war was a dish called Woolton Pie (named after the Minister for Food!).
This consisted o f a mixture o f boiled vegetables covered in white sauce
with mashed potato on the top. Britain never managed to recover from the
wartime attitude to food. We were left with a loss o f confidence in our cooking
skills and after years o f Ministry recipes we began to believe that British
food was boring, and we searched the world for sophisticated, new dishes
which gave hope of a better future. The British people became tourists at
their own dining tables and in the restaurants o f their land! This is a tragedy!
Surely food is as much a part o f our culture as our landscape, our language,
and our literature. Nowadays, cooking British food is like speaking a dead
language. It is almost as bizarre as having a conversation in Anglo-Saxon
English!
However, there is still one small ray o f hope. British pubs are often the
best places to eat well and cheaply in Britain, and they also increasingly try
to serve tasty English food. Can we recommend to you our two favourite
places to eat in Britain? The Shepherd’s Inn in Melmerby, Cumbria, and the
Dolphin Inn in Kingston, Devon. Their steak and mushroom pie, Lancashire
hotpot, and bread and butter pudding are three o f the gastronomic wonders
of the world!
(c) Read the article more carefully. Choose the best answer, a, b or c.
1. The writers believe that British cooking ...
a) has always been very bad.

70
 b) was good until World War II.
c) is good because it is so international
2. They say that the British ...
a) eat only traditional British food in their homes.
b) don’t like cooking with foreign ingredients.
c) buy lots o f foreign ingredients.
3. They say that the British weather ...
a) enables the British to produce good quality food.
b) often mins fruit and vegetables.
c) is not such an important influence on British food as foreign trade.
4. They say that World War II had a great influence on British cooking
because ...
a) traditional British cooking was rediscovered and some good cheap
recipes were produced.
b) people had limitless supplies o f home-grown food.
c) people started to believe that British food was boring, so after the
war they wanted to cook more interesting and international dishes.
5. They say t h a t ...
a) British tourists try lots o f new dishes when they are abroad.
b) nowadays it is very unusual for British people to cook British food.
c) literature and language are more culturally important than food.
6. The writers’ final conclusion about British cooking is that ...
a) there is no hope.
b) you will only be able to get British food in expensive restaurants.
c) you will be able to get more good traditional British dishes,
especially in pubs.
(d) Find information about the traditional dishes mentioned in the
article.
(e) Sum up the article.
(f) Do you agree that food is as much a part of a country’s culture as
its landscape, language and literature. Explain why.
(g) What is traditional Russian food? How often do we eat it? Which
are your favourite places to eat in Russia?

Exercise 3. W rite rough notes on the topic ‘ Should there be different

schools for more and less academic children?’Arrange your
ideas into two columns (one - for pros, the other - for cons).
Get ready to discuss the problem in class.

71
E x ercise 4. (L iste n in g C o m p r e h e n sio n ).

(a) Listen to the tape. W hat kind o f school are they talking about?
(b) Listen to the tape a second time. Has Harrow School changed in the
past hundred years?
(c) Answer the following questions.
1. What would foreigners see if they came to Harrow Hill? 2. What
changes have taken place? 3. What do they mean by saying that they educate
‘the whole m an’?

Exercise 5. (Listening Comprehension).

(a) Listen to the radio programme. W hat’s the topic?
(b) Listen to the tape for more information. Are the following statements
false or true?
1. The program m e is called ‘W ise W orld’. 2. The attention o f the
programme turns to independent schools, not private schools. 3. Some people
think it is unfair that there are so many independent schools. 4. Fagging is a
modern institution. 5. Winchester, for the first time in its history, sent more
boys to Oxbridge than it sent to provincial universities. 6. Public schools
are not what they were. 7. Public schools are much better than independent
schools. 8. Independent schools are much better than public schools. 9. Over
the past fifteen years, they have set out to create the image o f institutions
that were socially divisive, obsessed with the classes disdainful o f industry.
10. Engineering is the largest destination for modern public school-leavers.
11. In public schools there are pupils whose backgrounds are far from
aristocratic. 12. Public schools still account for about half the entrants to
Oxbridge. 13. There are more private schools in England than in France,
but fewer than in the US. 14. Academic achievement has always been very
important in British public schools. 15. More and more public schools in
England become private schools. 16. The private sector is remarkably small
in the British secondary education system.
(c) Get ready to discuss the questions.
1. What do we learn about the names ‘independent’ school and ‘public’
school? 2. W hat changes have taken place in public-school life? 3. W hat is
said about the curriculum, especially in relation to classics, sport, science

72
and computers? 4. Is academic success important? 5. W hat is said about
discipline? 6. W hat’s fagging? 7. To what extent are public schools involved
with the local community? 8. W hy do you think the information sometimes
differs in the two interviews?
(d) Compare the private sector of education in England and in Russia.
W hat are the argum ents for and against a separate system of
education for those who can afford to pay for it?

Exercise 6.
‘Crime doesn’t pay’ is a well-known English saying. Can you think o f
any recent news stories that either prove or disprove this saying? Can you
think o f any recent court cases where you feel the law has been unjust - for
example, an excessively lenient or harsh decision?

Tapescript 1, part 1.

THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE BRITISH ISLES

The British Isles can be divided into two, not only because o f its
geography but also because o f its climate and agriculture. If you draw a line
from about the Bristol Channel to the Wash, then to the south of this line
there are mainly low lands and hills, and to the north there are higher lands
and mountains. This includes the Welsh Mountains, the Highlands o f the
north-west Scotland, and the Pennines, which is a range o f mountains that
runs north to south, and is known as the backbone o f England. It is wetter in
the north because o f the higher land, and drier and sunnier on the south.
This has an effect on the agriculture, o f course. To the north there are sheep
and cows because the grass grows so well, and to the south there are arable
farms growing crops and cereal.

Tapescript 1, part 2.
The South West o f England is famous for its beautiful countryside and
dramatic coastline. One particular area o f natural beauty is Dartmoor, which
is inhabited by wild ponies. The countryside in the South East is more gentle,
and there is a lot o f fruit-growing. It is also the most heavily populated part
o f Britain. East Anglia is very flat, and is famous for its vast fields o f wheat
and potatoes. The M idlands used to have a lot o f heavy industry, but much
o f this has disappeared over recent years. Wales is characterized by its

73
mountains in the north and its valleys in the south. In the North West o f
England there is the beautiful Lake District, and the cities o f Liverpool and
Manchester. The North East used to have a lot o f mining and ship building,
but not any more, unfortunately. Scotland is famous for its lakes, o f course,
known as lochs. The moors and mountains are beautiful and empty. Ireland
is famed for its rains and its rich green grass, its romance and its mists.

Tapescript 2.

THE WEATHER FORECAST

And now here’s the weather forecast for the next twenty-four hours. I’ll
divide the country into four, starting with the North West and the North East
o f England. Well, there’ll be some early morning mists, and after that it’ll
be mainly dry and sunny, but quite chilly, with temperatures around six or
seven. It should stay dry all day, but there’ll be quite a wind, so wrap up
warm.
And now the South West and Wales. You can expect some rain in the
morning and afternoon. There might be some storms, as well, with thunder
and lightning. There’ll be quite strong winds, and the temperature will be
lower than yesterday, around three or four degrees. I don’t think you’ll see
much o f the sun. Cloudy all day, I’m afraid.
The South East, the Midlands and East Anglia will see the best o f today’s
weather. It’ll be warmer than yesterday, no winds, and sunshine nearly all
day, with temperatures around ten or eleven, so quite warm for the time o f
year.
In Scotland and Northern Ireland, however, there’ll be heavy rain and
maybe some snow during the afternoon, and on the hills temperatures will
drop to below freezing, minus four or five, and on the highest spots minus
ten. Over much o f Scotland it will be cloudy, and windy, too, as the cold
front moves in over the Atlantic. Northern Ireland can expect the same, but
the rain will end before dark. But again, very cold, with temperatures not
going above freezing. And that’s all from me.

74
 С п и со к и сп о л ь зу ем о й л и т ер а т у р ы

1. New Headway Intermediate / John and Liz Soars. - Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 1996.
2. Headway Upper - Intermediate / John and Liz Soars. - Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1995.
3. Headway Advanced / John and Liz Soars. - Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1995.
4. Streetwise Intermediate / Rob Nolasco. - Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1993.
5. Streetwise Upper-Intermediate / Rob Nolasco. - Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1993.
6. Think First Certificate / by Jon Naunton. Longman Group UK Limited,
1994.
7. M.Swan. Practical English Usage. 2nd Ed. - Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1995.

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