Яков Аракин - Практический курс английского языка 2 курс

Sometimes I doubt if we deserve to possess it. There can be few parts of the world in which

commercial greed and public indifference have combined to do more damage than they have here.

The process continues. It is still too often assumed that any enterprising fellow after quick profits has

a perfect right to destroy a loveliness that is the heritage of the whole community.

The beauty of our country is as hard to define as it is easy to enjoy. Remembering other and

larger countries we see at once that one of its charms is that it is immensely varied within a small

compass. We have here no vast mountain ranges, no illimitable plains. But we have superb variety. A

great deal of everything is packed into little space. I suspect that we are always faintly conscious of

the fact that this is a smallish island, with the sea always round the corner, We know that everything

67 Trinidad;an island in the Atlantic, to the north-east of South America

68 Tahiti:an island in the Pacific

has to be neatly packed into a small space. Nature, we feel, has carefully adjusted things —

mountains, plains, rivers, lakes to the scale of the island itself. A mountain 12,000 feet high would be

a horrible monster here, as wrong as a plain 400 miles long, a river as broad as the Mississippi;

Though the geographical features of this island are comparatively small, and there is astonishing

variety almost everywhere, that does not mean that our mountains are not mountains, our plains not

plains.

Our children and their children after them must live in a beautiful country. It must be a

country happily compromising between Nature and Man, blending what was best, worth retaining

from the past with what best represents the spirit of our own age, a country rich in noble towns as it

is in trees, birds, and wild flowers.

(From

"The

Beauty of Britain" by J. В. Priestley)

XVIII. Role-playing:

Mr. Nice, a lecturer, in his early forties. His topic:

"Don't Spoil Nature".

T h e a u d i e n c e :

Alex, a sceptically-minded young man of 21, a student of

Geography; Miss Dorothy Peach, an ardent lover of nature, age 73;

Mr. Frederick Healey, a journalist work ing on a popular newspaper, middle-aged.

R e s t o f c l a s s : make offers and suggestions relating to the problem.

Don't Spoll Nature

Both in densely and in thinly populated countries the authorities make regulations and give

hints to would-be tourists to protect the countryside from pollution.

Here's what the Tourist Office of Finland advises would be visitors: While you are enjoying

the uniqueness of the Finnish landscape, the forests, the lakes, the rivers, the seas, the wild life and

vegetation, you should obey the unwritten laws of nature. Sheer carelessness and thoughtlessness

can cause great damage. As you travel about, please remember you are a guest in the Finnish

countryside.

It is forbidden to break off branches of trees and bushes. Picking flowers (except protected

species) is allowed. When you travel by car please avoid throwing litter and rubbish about. Put it in

plastic bags and take it to the next place where waste is collected. In Lapland, the beauty of the

landscape is extremely fragile and easily damaged. Remember that it can take over 200 years for the

tracks left by your car to disappear.

Although it may be tempting to drive over moors of Lapland you must always keep to the

roads. Because the climate in Lapland is so cold, metal glass and plastic waste remain unchanged for

centuries.

S u g g e s t e d p h r a s e s : Right, can we begin, then, do you think? Can you all

hear me at the back! Good, that's fine . I'm going to talk about: as you know; anyhow. — I'd just like

to run through the main points... The first thing of course, is... And on top of that ... Now has anybody

got any points he'd like to raise? Now, that's a good question. The thing here is — er we've thought a

lot about this one. I think that's it then. Thanks very much for your attention.

XIX. Film "Mr. Brown's Holiday". Film Segment 7 "How do I Get to...?"

(Sallsbury), a) Watch and lislen, b) Do the exercises from the film.

STUDIES OF WRITTEN ENGLISH

VII

In its broadest sense any meaningful piece of written prose marked for its unity, content and

message may be called a composition, that is a unit of written communication involving a writer, a

message and a reader.

Between the sentence and the whole composition stands the paragraph. It is a composition in

miniature because it meets the same requirement of unity, content and message (see "Studies of

Written English" in Units One, Two, Three).

A group of paragraphs constitutes more complex compositions, such as essays, short stories,

accounts, letters, class-compositions as a special exercise in written communication, etc.

Essayis a short prose composition (5—20 pages) on a particular subject. Usually it is of

explanatory and argumentative nature (see "Studies" in Unit One). For instance, the passage

"Teacher Training in Great Britain" (see Unit Five) as well as "Introducing London" (see Unit Three)

is close to a formal essay. "What's Your Line" (see Unit One) and the first letter of Judy describing

her college experience (see Unit Five) may be classed with informal essays on teaching.

Unity of essays is built up around the central idea. Any addition of unimportant details or

afterthoughts destroy the unity.

Coherence is achieved through skilful arrangement of details according to the following

rules: a) present your material from "the general to the particular"; b) try the order of enumeration,

that is, arrange several points of view according to their importance, or interest, or order of

happening; c) use key-words as connectives and transitions.

The following is a brief list of transitional words and phrases that help to connect paragraphs

of an essay: on the one (other) hand, in the second place, on the contrary, at the same time, in

paricular, in spite of this, in like manner, in contrast to this, in the meantime, of course, in

conclusion to sum up, in addition, morepver, finally, after all, and truly, in other words.

Emphasis is achieved with the help оf concrete details. Avoid generalities and abstractions.

Before writing an essay consider the following:

1. Study the materials about the topic.

2. Think of the main idea you are going to develop in your essay.

3. Write an informal essay "Looking at the Map of Russia."

4. Make a plan (topic plan, sentence plan, paragraph plan).

5. Develop the paragraph plan into an essay according to the rules of unity, coherence and

emphasis.

6. Go over the essay for "self-editing" purpose and see if it meets the main requirement of

good writing — clarity of communication.

Assignments:

1. Маke an outline of the passage "The British Isles" and analyse it from the point of

view of its unity, coherence and emphasis.

2. Write a formal essay "Looking at the Map of the British Isles" according to your own

plan.

LABORATORY EXERCISES (II)

1. Listen to the texts "Industrial and Agricultural Districts in Great Britain", "The English

Landscape", "Looking at the Map of Russia". Mark the stresses and tunes. Repeat the texts following

the model.

2. Without looking back at the texts, decide whether the following statements are true or

false.

3. Extend the sentences according to the model.

4. Write a spelling-translation test; a) translate the phrases into English; b) check them with

the key.

5. Listen to the text "The Lake District" and write it as a dictation. Check it with the key.

6. Listen to the poem "England" by G. G. Byron. Mark the stresses and tunes. Learn it by

heart .

7. Listen to the text "The Isle of Man" or some other text discribing a part of Great Britain.

Make a summary of the main points of the passage.

CURIOSITY QUIZ FOR EAGERS

I. Quiz "Across the Globe".

Answer the following questions. It is accuracy and amount of Information that count

when choosing the winner:

1. What is the longest river in the world?

2. In what way do the western shores of the British Isles differ from the easten shores?

3. What are the smallest countries in the world?

4. What language is spoken in Holland?

5. What are the Seven Wonders of the world?

6. What is the capital of Australia?

7. What are the Rockies and where are they found?

8. What is the coldest area in Russia?

9. What is the national emblem of Canada?

10. Where is the city of Honolulu situated?

II. Quiz "Across the British Isles".

Answer the following questions. In this case it is resourcefulness and sense of humour

that count when choosing the winner:

1. What is the main difference between the Cumbrians and the Cambrians?

2. Do Englishmen bring coal to Newcastle?

3. Do Englishmen go up or down to get to Edinburgh?

4. What is the difference between Loch Ness and Loch Lomond?

5. What colour is predominant on the map of the British Isles?

(Think twice before answering. There is Greenwich in the South, you may spot Greenock in

the North, search the map first.)

6. Which is closer to London, Oxford or Cambridge?

7. What is the difference between Portsmouth and Plymouth?

8. What is Liverpool famous for?

UNIT EIGHT

1 SPEECH PATTERNS

1. We must prevent him from leaving.

The cold wet weather prevented the Lowood girls from going for long walks.

His rheumatism often prevented Salvatore from doing anything at all.

You'd better keep yourself from taking extreme measures.

Various reasons kept Bill from joining the expedition.

Eliza tried to keep her little child from crying.

2. You can't act without feeling.

Jolyon started for the Club without having made up his mind.

Frank now felt, without knowing why, that the offer was probably good.

Rose sat there for a long time without unfastening her coat.

You can't teach one how to use speech patterns without giving a good supply of various

examples.

They can't have good crops without cultivating soil.

3. His clothes made him hard to recognize.

Lots of mistakes made his speech difficult to follow.

There was something in Bosinney's appearance that made him easy to recognize.

Her shallow-mindedness makes her dull to speak to.

They found it impossible to supply the factory with raw cotton.

We found it hard to make up our minds about choosing a place for rest.

4. These letters are hardly worth the paper they are written on.

The problem is hardly worth the trouble taken. The picture is of little value, it is hardly worth

the money paid.

The experiment is hardly worth the time you've spent on it. The incident is hardly worth all