Яков Аракин - Практический курс английского языка 2 курс

alternative.

Note:The Russian word граница has several equivalents in English: border — пограничная

зона или полоса по обе стороны демаркационной линии, е.g. The people living on the border of

two adjoining countries usually speak the languages of both.; boundary — граница как

разграничительная линия, предел, е.g. This stream forms a boundary between the two farms.;

frontier — граница как демаркационная линия, государственная граница, е. д, to pass the

frontiers, и как пограничная зона или район (в отличие от border) только по одну сторону

демаркационной линии, е.g. to guard the frontiers, frontier station, fortress, incident, dispute,

1. When we went camping, we put up our tents on the ... of the lake. 2. The ... incident was

reported by the newspapers in detail. 3. A ... dispute is a quarrel about where a ... is or ought to be. 4.

The river formed a ... between these rural districts. 5. The half-ruined tower used to be a ... fortress.

6. The region along the boundary between England and Scotland is called the ... . 7. A hedge is a

fence or a row of bushes or low trees, which are planted to form a ... round a garden or field. 8. Great

Britain's .... northern, eastern and southern, are formed by seas and oceans.

VII. Study Text С and use it as a model for a talk between an Englishman and a

Russian who is on his first visit to England.

VIII. Fill in the words north, west east, south, or their derivatives:

1. The ... half of our country consists mainly of low plains, while the greater part of the ...

half of Russia is covered with mountain chains. 2. In Siberia the biggest rivers are the Ob, the

Yenissei and the Lena. They flow ... through a vast area parallel to one another. 3. The climate

contrasts are quite striking in Russia. You can find the ... braving the frosts that reach 70 degrees

below zero Centigrade and at one and the same time the ... basking In the sun on ... seashores lined

with green palms. 4. The Leningrad region lies to the ... of Moscow. 5. A ... is a person who lives in

the ... and a ... is one who lives in the ... . 6. Devon and Cornwall are situated on the ... peninsula of

England.

IХ. Supply articles where necessary:

There is no other country in ... world whose nature is more varied than that of ... Russia. ...

western half of ... country consists mainly of... low plains. The country is divided into two parts by ...

Ural mountains.... greater part of ... eastern half is covered with vast plateaus and mountain chains.

Here, on ... Kamchatka Peninsula ... biggest active volcanoes of ... Old World are located.

In ... south ... plains of ... western half of ... country are bounded by. . huge mountain ranges.

Here are ... country's highest peaks.

Many of ... rivers of... Russia are among ... world's greatest ... most important rivers of ...

western plain are ... Volga, ... Western Dvina,... Don and ... Northern Dvina.

In ... Far East... Amur flows into ... Pacific.

In ... lakes, too, our country is extremely rich. Among them are ... world's greatest lake ...

Caspian Sea and ... deepest — ... lake Baikal.

X. Discuss the following topics (use the map):

1. English scenery and climate.

2. Agricultural districts of England.

3. The most important industrial regions in England.

4. Physical background of Russia.

5. The surface of Russia.

6. The climate of Russia.

Note: Evaluate these talks according to their information content: amount and quality

of information.

XI. Supply prepositions where necessary:

Our motherland is immense. It's ... far the largest and richest country both ... Asia and

Europe. Its frontier line is the longest... the world.

Natural conditions ... Russia vary greatly. If you cross Russia ... the extreme North ... the

South you will get a good idea ... the climate contrasts, to say nothing ... the difference ... scenery

and vegetation, characteristic ... various geographical zones. Siberia unlike ... the Urals, the face ...

Ta-tary differs ... that... the Caucasus. One region is rich ... one thing, another is rich ... another.

Perhaps no country's geographic location has played such ah important part... its history as

Russia's. Half... Europe and half... Asia, its history has revolved ... this basic fact.

XII. 1. Describe the scenery, climate and industries of your home town, region

or republic. 2. Choose four slides or postcards and give a commentary on them. With

the first picture, concentrate on describing what there is in the picture. With the

second one try to give the position of things accurately. You can use the third one

for talking about how and when the picture was taken. And the last one can be the

starting point for a story or joke. (See "Classroom English" Section V.)

XIII. Finish up the sentences according to the model. (Consult a dictionary.):

Englishmen live in England, they speak English.

... in Scotland,....

... in Ireland, ....

... in Sweden, ....

... in Norway, ....

... in Denmark,....

... in Holland, ...

... in Spain, ...

... in the USA, ....

... in Switzerland,....

XIV. Make up dialogues between an English and a Russian student on the

topics:

1. Moscow and London — cultural and industrial centres.

2. The main industrial centres (towns, ports, etc.) of Russia and England.

3. Rural areas of both countries.

XV. Translate the following, putting it into your own words:

a) express your opinion;

b) say how far factors like climate, the geography of a country, its history, religion(s),

system of government, etc affect national character. Give examples.

с) write some brief notes about your own national character as yon think foreigners see

yon. Then, in small groups, describe to each other this "foreign" view of your nation and say

why you agree or disagree with it.

Британский характер

Национальный характер повсюду живуч. Но ни к какому народу это не относится в

большей степени, чем к англичанам, которые судя по всему, имеют нечто вроде патента на

живучесть своей натуры. Такова первая и наиболее очевидная черта англичан. Стабильность и

постоянство их характера. Они меньше других подвержены веяниям времени, преходящим

модам. Важно, однако, подчеркнуть, что при своей стабильности характер этот составлен из

весьма противоречивых и даже парадоксальных черт, одни из которых весьма очевидны,

другие же трудноуловимы; так что каждое обобщение, касающееся англичан тут же может

быть оспорено.

Материалистический народ — кто усомнится в этом? — англичане дали миру щедрую

долю мистиков, поэтов, идеалистов. Народ колонистов, они проявляют пылкую

приверженность к собственной стране, к своему дому.

Неутомимые мореплаватели и землепроходцы, они одновременно страстные садоводы.

Их любознательность позволила им познакомиться с лучшим из того, чем обладают

другие страны, и все-таки они остались верны своей собственной. Восхищаясь французской

кухней, англичанин не станет имитировать ее у себя дома. На редкость законопослушный

народ они обожают читать о преступлениях и насилиях. Являя собой воплощение

конформизма, они в то же время заядлые индивидуалисты, и среди них полно эксцентриков.

Все эти парадоксы, к которым, пожалуй, следует добавить еще один: при всей своей

парадоксальности английский характер редко бывает загадочным и непредсказуемым.

Генри. Стил Коммаыджер (США), Британия глазами американцев. 1974

Я не пытаюсь утверждать, будто англичане никогда не менялись. Перемены происходят

всегда. Но эти различия, столь заметные внешне, не проникают вглубь, до корней. К лучшему

или к худшему, исконные черты английской натуры по-прежнему остаются неким общим

знаменателем, оказывают глубокое влияние на национальный характер и общий стиль жизни.

Джон Б. Пристли (Англия), Англичане, 1973

XVI, Comment on the following proverbs and sayings. (Explain their meaning,

give their Russian equivalents.):

East or West, home is best.

There is no place like home.

So many countries, so many customs.

When at Rome, do as the Romans do.

Rome was not built in a day.

To carry coals to Newcastle.

ХVII. Read the following passage and a) discuss it in detail; b) give a short

summary of the passage; c) comment on the following:

the beauty of Britain as the author sees it;

the variety of geographical features;

a happy compromise between Nature and Man.

We live in one of the most beautiful islands in the world. This is a fact we are always

forgetting. When beautiful islands are mentioned we think of Trinidad67 and Tahiti.68 These are fine, romantic places, but they are not really as exquisitely beautiful as our own Britain. Before the mines

and factories came, and long before we went from bad to worse with our arterial roads and petrol

stations and horrible brick bungalows, this country must have been an enchantment. Even now, after

we have been busy for so long flinging mud at this fair pale face, the enchantment still remains.