Курсач. Английский язык
 Скачать 68.97 Kb.
|
|
3. What was Clifton’s job? 4. Which facts show that all the family loved Clifton very much? II. Listen to three teenagers talking about homework and answer the questions below. 1. Why does the first speaker dislike doing homework? 2. What does the second speaker have regrets about? 3. What are the benefits of doing homework according to the third speaker? III. Let’s talk about science and modern technologies. № 7 I. 1. Read the story and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about. The Condemned Room1 Dear Mom, I am working very hard on cleaning my room. But I want to go to Katy’s this afternoon to work on our Halloween costumes. Can I finish tomorrow? I would get up early and do it before breakfast and I’ll do a good job. Please, write back. Love, The Prisoner in Tower # 3 Dear Prisoner, No. Love, Mom. For days Sam’s mother never came up to her room. And then one day Sam came home from school and found the Condemned sign on her door. Her mother had made the sign. It said: “The room is condemned. Its owner may not go anywhere or do anything until the area is restored”. In other words, Sam was to stay in until she cleaned her room. It wasn’t fair. She was always getting the Condemned sign. Her brother hardly ever did. And his room was really disgusting, with posters of rock stars and basketball stars and movie stars wearing tiny bikinis covering every inch of his walls. But, her mother pointed out, his floor was clean and his desk as well. That was all she cared about. Sam had been in her room for three hours now. She sat on the floor, looking at everything she was supposed to be putting away. It was possible she might be there all day. There were her clothes, lying high on her chair and overflowing onto the floor. Dirty shoes. An umbrella from when it rained on Tuesday. Library books. Magazines with pictures of cool teenmovie stars that Rebecca had given her. Her piano music from yesterday’s lesson. And different little things: nail polish remover, cotton balls, a tennisball, a note pad from Katy, rocks from rock collection they were making for science, pencils, chewing gum. And about twelve dirty handkerchiefs. The thing to do, Sam decided, was sort everything into piles. A pile of dirty laundry, a pile of her dresser drawers, a pile to throw away. That was how her father, the organization man, would do it. She sighed. It was impossible to imagine she couldn’t leave her room all weekend. She decided to paint her finger nails instead. 1 a condemned room [kənˈdemd ˈruːm] комната, признанная небезопасной для проживания 2. The author tells us about her brother’s room. Find this extract and read it aloud. 3. What made Sam’s Mum write a message? 4. Is Sam going to clean the room? Why do you think so? II. Listen to the conversation and answer the questions below. 1. Where was Tina going to? 2. What happened at the airport? 3. Why was Tina scared during the flight? III. Let’s talk about art. № 8 I. 1. Read the story and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about. Great grandad It was a funny and surprising thing that brought Grandad back to me. It was algebra. I couldn’t cope with algebra in my first year at secondary school, and it made me mad. “I don’t see the point of it,” I screamed. “I don’t know what it’s for!” Grandad, as it turned out, liked algebra and he sat opposite me and didn’t say anything for a while, considering my problem in that careful expressionless way of his. Eventually he said, “Why do you do PE1 at school?” “What?” “PE. Why do they make you do it?” “Because they hate us?” I suggested. “And the other reason?” “To keep us fit, I suppose.” “Physically fit, yes.” He reached across the table and put the first two fingers of each hand on the sides of my head. “There is also mental fitness, isn’t there? I can explain to you why algebra is useful. But that is not what algebra is really for.” He moved his fingers gently on my head. “It’s to keep what is in here healthy. PE is for the head. And the great thing is you can do it sitting down. Now, let us use these little puzzles here to take our brains for a jog2.” And it worked. Not that I fell in love with algebra. But I did come to see that it was possible to enjoy it. Grandad taught me that maths signs and symbols were not just marks on paper. They were not flat. There were threedimensional, and you could approach them from different directions. You could take them apart and put them together in a variety of shapes, like Lego. I stopped being afraid of them. I didn’t know it at the time, of course, but those homework sessions helped me to discover my Grandad. Algebra turned out to be the key that opened the invisible door he lived behind and let me in. Now I learnt that Grandad’s world was full of miracles and mazes3, mirrors and misleading signs. He was fascinated by riddles and codes and labyrinths4, by the origin of place names, by grammar, by slang, by jokes — although he never laughed at them — by anything that might mean something else. I discovered My Grandad. 1 PE [ˌpiːˈiː] физкультура 2 to take our brains for a jog [əˈdʒɒɡ] шевелить мозгами 3 a maze [meɪz] путаница 4 a labyrinth [ˈlæbərɪnθ] лабиринт 2. The author says she had problems with algebra. Find this extract and read it aloud. 3. How did the girl’s Granddad help her understand the subject? 4. What else did the author understand about her Granddad? II. Listen to the member of the Greenpeace organisation telling a story about whales and answer the questions below. 1. How did Uncle Roger explain to the boy why the whales were on the beach? 2. How did the people help them? 3. How did this event affect the story-teller’s life? III. Let’s talk about your future career. № 9 I. 1. Read the interview with a British businessman and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about. AN INTERVIEW Journalist: Do people in your country depend a lot on technology for communication? Businessman: Yes. Everybody’s using all kinds of phones, mobiles and Internet services. I think the benefits of the computers cannot be denied. They save valuable time and space. Timeconsuming tasks such as checking bank accounts can now be done in a matter of minutes and a large volume of information is economically stored on tiny disks. In addition, with immediate access to the Internet, we can always keep up with global and current issues and explore the world from the comfort of our homes. Journalist: Do you manage to keep up with the development of technologies? Businessman: I think the fact that methods in business have moved ahead at such speed has meant that we generally have to keep up with it all, whether we want to or not. Otherwise, we’ll be left behind. In fact this need to keep up has also entered the home, where a lot of people spend much money on computer equipment when all they do is play games. Journalist: How different would everyday life be without technological means of communication? Businessman: Of course, life would be very different without all these means of communication. For those working in the world of business, life would be much more difficult as it would take much longer to get in touch with other companies and to come to agreement on important matters. Basically, if we didn’t have email systems at home or mobile phones, etc., it wouldn’t be the end of the world. I mean, we survived before, didn’t we? Journalist: How do you feel about mobile phones? Businessman: I personally find them useful and necessary. They’re convenient if there’s an emergency on a business trip or when you’re in the middle of nowhere or need to contact the police or your family for example. Though, I do feel that they are overused in many cases. Think about how many people spend hours just chatting about silly, unimportant things or looking through sites for no special reason even at work. 2. What are the benefits of the computers? Read aloud the extract which describes them. 3. How do businessmen benefit from using technological means of communication at their workplace? 4. When are technological means of communication misused? II. Listen to the conversation and answer the questions below. 1. Where does the action take place? 2. What happened to the furniture in the grandmother’s room? 3. Why were Martin and his friend scared? III. Let’s talk about your family. № 10 1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about. What is a good family? Building a successful family is like building a house. Both need a plan. The best way to be organised as a family is to talk about family matters. By doing this, families enjoy a special closeness and stability. Choosing to spend time with your family sends a message more powerful than words. How much time should families spend together? That varies from family to family. Families with young children usually spend most of their time together because young children need a great deal of physical care and guidance. Families with teenagers may spend less time together because teens naturally want to spend more time with their friends. Healthy families keep a good balance between ‘too much’ and ‘not enough’ time together. They spend enough time to satisfy all family members. Nothing unites a family more than its traditions which include different norms, ways of behavior, customs and views. In united families these traditions are deep-rooted and passed from generation to generation. Strong families take time to be together and talk to one another. They share their hopes and dreams, feelings and concerns over common meals. Members of successful families feel they really belong to their family. They celebrate their victories and help each other learn from their mistakes. They do their household chores together and go to the theatre. At the same time, strong families adapt relationships and family rules when needs arise. Since no family knows what tomorrow will bring, being adaptive is a good trait for family members to develop. Recent studies affirm the importance of love in families. Research shows that expressions of affection towards children reduce behaviour problems and help children’s development. Strong families notice and share positive aspects of each member. They notice the talents, skills and achievements, special qualities and characteristics that make the other person unique. They find ways to be positive even when another family member makes a mistake and make an effort to develop closeness and show love at home. 2. The author explains what makes a successful family. Find this extract and read it aloud. 3. What makes a family united? 4. How much time should family members spend together? II. Listen to the girl speaking about her eating habits and answer the questions below. 1. What problem does the girl have? 2. What makes the girl think that her habit is harmful? 3. Why can’t she stop eating chocolate? III. Let’s talk about youth and society. № 11 I. 1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about. PYTHAGORAS1 Pythagoras is often described as a very important mathematician, yet we know little about his achievements. What we do know is that he was the leader of a society which was half scientific and half religious. It was a secret society and today Pythagoras is still a mysterious figure. It is believed that Pythagoras was born on the Greek island of Samos. His father was a merchant, and as a child, Pythagoras travelled with him selling their goods. Pythagoras was well educated. He learned music and poetry and had three philosophers to teach him who introduced Pythagoras to mathematics and advised him to travel to Egypt to learn more about mathematics and astronomy. So in 535 BC, Pythagoras travelled to Egypt where he visited many temples and took part in discussions with priests. Many of the customs he learnt in Egypt he came to adopt. For example, the Egyptian priests refused to eat beans and wear animal skins, as did Pythagoras later in his life. In 525 BC the King of Persia invaded Egypt. Pythagoras was taken prisoner and was transported to Babylon. It was here, taught by the Babylonians, that he reached perfection in arithmetic and music. When Pythagoras returned to Samos he founded there a school which was called ‘The Semicircle’. It seems that the people of Samos did not appreciate the teaching methods of Pythagoras and they treated him rudely and improperly. Furthermore, they wanted to involve Pythagoras in local politics against his will. For these reasons, he went to Italy. Pythagoras believed that numbers rule the universe and that numbers are present in all things. He also connected mathematics to music and recognized the healing power of music. He used it as a kind of therapy to help those who were ill. Another of his beliefs was that there are three types of men: those who love wisdom, those who love honour and those who love wealth. Pythagoras was a mathematician, an astronomer, and a philosopher. Today we remember him best for his famous geometry theorem, known as Pythagoras’ theorem.2 1 Pythagoras [paɪˈθæɡərəs] Пифагор 2 Pythagoras’ theorem [paɪˈθæɡərəsɪz ˈθɪərəm] теорема Пифагора 2. Where did Pythagoras go to learn mathematics and astronomy? Read aloud the extract which says about it. 3. Why did Pythagoras go to Italy? 4. What are the three types of men according to Pythagoras? II. Listen to the interview with Mr Ron Cansler taken by the Youth Magazine and answer the questions below. 1. How old is Mr Cansler? 2. What kind of life did he have when he was young? 3. What does he recommend listeners to do? III. Let’s talk about mass media. № 12 I. 1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about. AMELIA Possibly the most famous female pilot ever, Amelia Earhart was born in 1897 in Kansas, the USA. Amelia had a difficult and unsettled childhood. Her family travelled a great deal so her father could find work. Although she often missed school, Amelia was nevertheless considered to be very bright academically. She enjoyed reading and poetry as well as sports, especially basketball and tennis. After graduating from high school, instead of going to college, Amelia decided to study nursing. During the First World War, she worked as a military nurse in Canada. When the war ended she became a social worker back in America and taught English to immigrants. In her free time, Amelia enjoyed going to air shows and watching aerial stunts1, which were very popular during the 1920s. Her fascination with flying began when, at one of those shows, she took a tenminute ride, and from that moment on she knew she had to learn to fly. Amelia took on several odd jobs to pay for the flying lessons and after a year, she had saved enough money to buy her own plane. She organised crosscountry air races for women pilots and formed a now famous women pilots’ organisation, called the ‘NinetyNines’. One day Amelia received an invitation to be the first woman ever to make the flight across the Atlantic from Canada to Britain. Amelia made the flight in 1928 and, although she was only a passenger and two men flew the plane, it made her a celebrity. She also met there her future husband, George Putman, a publisher, who arranged the flight and organised all the publicity. In 1932 Amelia and George decided Amelia should make the Atlantic crossing from America to Britain alone. She broke several records on this flight; she became the first woman to fly the Atlantic solo, the only person to have flown it twice and she established a new transatlantic crossing record of 13 hours and 30 minutes. Understandably, she became even more famous as a result earning respect for women pilots all over the world by proving that women could fly as well as men, if not better. 1 an aerial stunt [ˈeərɪəl ˈstʌnt] фигура высшего пилотажа 2. How did Amelia get interested in flying? Read aloud the extract which says about it. 3. What invitation did Amelia receive one day? 4. Why did Amelia become famous? II. Listen to the conversation between Nancy and her mum and answer the questions below. 1. What do Nancy’s parents worry about? 2. Why does Nancy refuse to do household chores? 3. What arguments does Mum use to make Nancy clean the room? III. Let’s talk about mass media. № 13 I. 1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about. THE STRESS OF COMMUTING1 In today’s modern world, people are constantly looking for ways to avoid stress and improve their lifestyle. Too much stress can lead to a variety of illnesses from headaches to high blood pressure. Simple things, such as driving to and from work on a daily basis, can be such a stressful experience that many people are left feeling totally exhausted. Cars can give normally peaceful people a feeling of power that can make them more aggressive. Fortunately, there are various means of public transport to choose from within modern towns and cities. Sometimes, all we need to do is to change a few of our longstanding habits in order to discover a much more comfortable way of life. By simply planning journeys, not only can we save time and money, but we can also reduce stress levels dramatically. By using public transport everybody wins. Most towns and cities are wellcovered by bus, tram and metro services. While making use of these services, you are also helping against increasing levels of pollution. Public transport systems have improved considerably in recent years and there is now more focus on environmentally friendly forms. For example, old tram systems have been reintroduced into many European cities, making movement across large areas much faster and ‘cleaner’. Another way of reducing levels of both stress and pollution is an introduction of an environmentally friendly network of cycle tracks. The aim of building cycle tracks is to motivate people to use their bicycles instead of their cars. So, next time you see your neighbor or colleague waiting at a bus stop as you drive by, don’t feel sorry for him because he will, no doubt, arrive at the office much earlier than you as you will still be fighting to find a parking space. Or you might consider another way of getting to work. Carpooling2 is a relatively new and convenient system when several people arrange to share one private car to get to work. And some companies have already introduced a plan where those who carpool get preferential parking in the company garage. 1 commuting [kəˈmjʊːtɪŋ] ежедневные поездки на работу в город из пригорода и обратно 2 to carpool [ˈkaːpuːl] ездить на одной машине, подвозить по очереди 2. The network of public transport has improved lately. Read aloud the extract which says about it. |