Курсач. Английский язык
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3. How can we help reduce pollution? 4. Why is carpooling convenient? II. Listen to the advice how to make a good friend and answer the questions below. 1. How do people feel if they have no friend? 2. What qualities does a good friend have? 3. Why is it good to be a real friend? III. Let’s talk about international cooperation. № 14 I. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about. Video Blogger In April 2007, a 16yearold English boy named Charlie McDonnell was studying for his exams. But he was bored, so he turned on his computer and started surfing the web. He soon found a website called YouTube and within minutes he was watching a video of another teenager sitting in his bedroom and talking to his computer about how bored he was. ‘I could do better than that!’ thought Charlie. So, using a cheap computer and a webcam, he made his first video blog and posted it on YouTube under the name Charlieissocoollike. A few days after the first video Charlie found that he had 150 subscribers. Encouraged by this, he went on to make more videos. A month later Charlie’s audience grew and he started to get hundreds of video messages from his fans. “It was really strange,” says Charlie. “I’d been talking to my computer for a month and suddenly my computer started talking back to me!” His next big success came a few months later when Oprah Winfrey, the famous American TV host, showed one of Charlie’s comedy videos called How to be English on her programme, which made him popular in the USA too. Charlie also realised he could use his fame to help people less fortunate than himself. To celebrate his 18th birthday, he raised £5,000 for cancer research. He raised four times as much when he copresented a live show on the Internet. He stayed awake for 24 hours performing challenges from viewers. All the money went to the children’s charity UNICEF1. But what is the secret of his popularity? “I just make videos that I would want to watch,” he says, “and I’m not trying to sell anything. I’m just trying to talk with people and that’s it for me.” His honesty and modesty are perhaps the main reasons why Charlie is so well liked. And of course, he is a talented song writer, camera man, actor and singer. And if you were wondering how Charlie did in his exams back in 2007...well, he passed with nine A grades and one B! He says that he wants to go on to study at university in the future but decided to try and make a career on YouTube before that. 1UNICEF [ˈjuːnɪsef] Детский фонд ООН 2. Charlie says how the idea of making a video crossed his mind. Find this extract and read it aloud. 3. How did he become popular? 4. Why do people like Charlie? II. Listen to Huan, a Chinese man, speaking about moving out and answer the questions below. 1. Why do young people prefer to live with their parents in Hong Kong? 2. How did Huan’s parents react to his decision? 3. What are the advantages of living on your own? III. Let’s talk about national character and stereotypes. № 15 I. 1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about. MAKE YOUR HOME GREENER Residential buildings are responsible for consuming 27% of the total amount of energy consumed within Europe and are the biggest source of global warming in the world. This is a fact that has, until recently, been overlooked by lawmakers trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, who have concentrated their efforts on industry and transport. The EU has now passed a new law which intends to cut considerably carbon dioxide emissions1 from buildings. This means that each of us can now save the planet from the comfort of our own homes. The first things we can do are simple and easy. We can block up draughts2, switch off unnecessary lights and make sure cold and hot water taps are not left running. The next step requires more planning and some expense, but as well as saving energy, we will also save on bills. Many homes have window and roof insulation3 but it is rarely enough. Full insulation can have a dramatic effect on energy consumption. We should use energy efficient light bulbs. These are usually expensive to buy but consume less than half the energy of standard bulbs. These bulbs last much longer than conventional light bulbs reducing the consumption of resources. Also, thermal solar panels are very efficient. They are capable of providing all the hot water you need. We can install a ‘grey’ water recycling system. At present water used to flush the toilets is of the same drinkable quality that comes out of the taps4. This is an unnecessary waste of energy used in water purification. A grey water recycling system cleans water that has been used for washing and sends it through the toilet system reducing the use of clean drinking water. New buildings have more energy saving features in their design. They can have a wooden structure, extensive insulation, electronic environmental controls, triple glazing5, a nonpolluting heating system and a turf6 roof. However, it is how we deal with our present homes that will determine housing’s contribution to global warming. It’s down to each of us, so get insulating! 1 carbon dioxide emissions [ˈkaːbən daɪˈɒkˈsaɪd ɪˈmɪʃnz] выбросы углекислого газа 2 а draught [draːft] сквозняк 3 insulation [ˌɪnsjʊˈleɪʃn] изоляция, утепление 4 a tap [tæp] кран 5 glazing [ˈɡleɪzɪŋ] вставка стекoл 6 turf [tзːf] торф 2. What energy saving features in the design of the building are used nowadays? Read aloud the extract which says about it. 3. What can we do to cut carbon dioxide emissions from buildings? 4. What is considered to be an unnecessary waste of energy used in water purification? II. Listen to the tour guide and answer the questions below. 1. What sort of tour is it? 2. What will the tourists see on the tour? 3. Why does the tourist ask to return the money? III. Let’s talk about national character and stereotypes. № 16 I. 1. Read the extract and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about. MR WEMMICK’S “CASTLE” Wemmick’s house was a little wooden cottage in the middle of a large garden. The top of the house had been built and painted like a battery loaded with guns. I said I really liked it. I think Wemmick’s house was the tiniest I had ever seen. It had very few windows and the door was almost too small to get in. ‘Look,’ said Wemmick, ‘after I have crossed this bridge, I raise it so that nobody can enter the Castle.’ The ‘bridge’ was a plank1 and it crossed a gap about four feet2 wide and two feet deep. But I enjoyed seeing the smile on Wemmick’s face and the pride with which he raised his bridge. The gun on the roof of the house, he told me, was fired every night at nine o’clock. I later heard it. Immediately, it made an impressive sound. ‘At the back,’ he said, ‘there are chickens, ducks, geese, and rabbits. I’ve also got my own little vegetable garden and I grow cucumbers. Wait until supper and you’ll see for yourself what kind of salad I can make. If the Castle is ever attacked, I will be able to survive for quite a while,’ he said with a smile, but at the same time seriously. Then Wemmick showed me his collection of curiosities. They were mostly to do with being on the wrong side of the law: a pen with which a famous forgery3 had been committed, some locks of hair, several manuscript confessions written from prison. ‘I am my own engineer, my own carpenter, my own plumber and my own gardener. I am my own Jack of all Trades4,’ said Wemmick, receiving my compliments. Wemmick told me that it had taken many years to bring his property to this state of perfection. ‘Is it your own, Mr. Wemmick?’ ‘Oh yes, I have got a hold of it a bit at a time. I have absolute ownership now. You know, the office is one thing, and private life is another. When I go to the office, I leave the Castle behind me, and when I come to the Castle, I leave the office behind me. If you don’t mind, I’d like you to do the same. I don’t want to talk about my home in a professional manner’. 1 plank [plæŋk] брус, доска 2 feet [fiːt] — мн. ч. от foot — мера длины, равная 30,48 см 3 а forgery [ˈfɒdʒərɪ] подделка документа 4 Jack of all Trades мастер на все руки 2. ‘An Englishman’s home is his castle’. Read aloud the extract which proves this idea. 3. What do we understand about Wemmick’s home life? 4. Why does Wemmick call himself Jack of all Trades? II. Listen to a part of the interview with a thirteen-year old writer, Sally Myers, and answer the questions below. 1. What made Sally write the book? 2. What did Sally’s Dad think about the book? 3. How did Sally’s life change after publishing the book? III. Let’s talk about tourism. № 17 I. 1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about. MOTHER TERESA Mother Teresa was a simple nun1. She never wanted to be famous, but everyone in the world knows who she is. Mother Teresa was born in 1910 in what is now Macedonia2. She was the youngest of three children. Agnes’3 father died when she was a child. Her mother made dresses to support the family. Agnes’ mother also liked to do charity work, such as visiting the sick. Agnes often went with her, and she enjoyed helping these people. Even as a child, Agnes wanted to be a nun. When she was 18 years old, she joined a group of nuns in India. There, she chose the name Teresa. Then she went to Calcutta to work at St. Mary’s School, in a convent4. Sister Teresa worked there for 20 years and eventually became the principal. One day in 1946 Sister Teresa was riding on a train to Darjeeling5. She looked out of the window and saw dirty children wearing rags and sleeping in doorways. Sick and dying people were lying on dirty streets. At that moment, she believed God sent her a message. She decided to go to work with the poor. Two years later, Sister Teresa left the convent and opened a school for the kids from poor families. Though at the very beginning the school had no roof, no walls, and no chairs, later it became wellknown all around India. In 1948, Sister Teresa started her own group of nuns. They were called the Missionaries of Charity. The nuns lived in the slums6 with people who were poor, dirty, and sick. It was hard work and the days were long. But many young nuns came from around the world to join Mother Teresa. Later, she started homes for children without families. She also started clinics. Over the years, news of her work spread around the world. Many people sent her donations of money, others came to work with her. By 1990 the Missionaries of Charity were working in 400 centres around the world. Mother Teresa got the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. But she always said her greatest reward was helping people. Her message to the world was: ‘We can do no great things — only small things with great love’. 1 a nun [nʌn] монахиня 2 Macedonia [ˌmæsəˈdəʊnɪə] Македония 3Agnes [ˈæɡnɪs] Агнес 4 a convent [ˈkɒnv(ə)nt] монастырь 5 Darjeeling [daːˈdʒiːlɪŋ] Дарджилинг (город) 6 slums трущобы 2. The author writes about Mother Teresa’s family. Read aloud the extract which says about it. 3. Why did Mother Teresa decide to devote her life to people in need? 4. What did Mother Teresa do for people? II. Listen to the interview and answer the questions below. 1. What does Jackie want to become? 2. Why has she chosen this profession? 3. Why is it important for students to do sport at school? III. Let’s talk about accommodation. № 18 I. 1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about. The most mystique1 picture Every hour about 1,500 people visit the Louvre Museum in Paris with the specific intention of seeing one particular painting: the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. Most of these visitors look at the painting for about three minutes before they walk back to the tourist buses outside. Leonardo loved the painting very much and people say that he took it everywhere with him. The painting was originally ordered by a rich businessman in Florence, who wanted a portrait of his wife, Lisa. Leonardo began the painting in 1503 and he finished it about three or four years later. The fact that Leonardo wanted to keep the painting himself, adds to the Mona Lisa’s mystique. Mona Lisa’s mysterious smile has fascinated everyone who has ever seen the painting. In his Lives of the Artists, written just a few years after Leonardo’s death, Giorgio Vasari wrote, ‘While painting Mona Lisa Leonardo employed singers and musicians to keep her happy and so avoid the sadness that painters usually give to portraits. As a result, there was a smile that seemed divine2 rather than human; and those who saw it were amazed to find how alive and real it appeared.’ Modern art critics also emphasise how the portrait seems alive and real. ‘She is like a living person,’ writes art historian E.H. Gombrich, ‘She seems to change before our eyes. Even in photographs we can experience this strange effect. Sometimes she seems to be looking down on us, and sometimes we can detect sadness in her smile. All this sounds rather mysterious, and it is; that is so often the effect of a great work of art.’ The Mona Lisa is certainly a masterpiece, a magnificent work of art, but it is also a part of modern popular culture. Her image appears on plates, Tshirts, mouse pads and in advertisements. Perhaps for this reason, officials at the Louvre Museum placed the painting in a specially built area in a room with other great 16th century Italian paintings. In this way, visitors have a better chance to appreciate the painting as a work of art rather than as a tourist attraction. 1 mystique [mɪˈstiːk] таинственный 2 divine [dɪˈvaɪn] божественный 2. Why is Mona Lisa smiling? Read aloud the extract which says about it. 3. What makes the Mona Lisa so special? 4. Why is the painting displayed in an exceptional way? II. Listen to the conversation between two friends and answer the questions below. 1. What does Christian want to become? 2. Why does Kate need to learn English? 3. What piece of advice does Christian give to his friend? III. Let’s talk about your family. № 19 I. 1. Read the book review and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about. Book Review The Guinness Books of World Records1 have certainly changed a lot in the last 60 years. The first Guinness Book was published in August 1955 in London, in Britain. Most editions were small paperbacks printed in blackandwhite and contained more text than photographs. Now, there are colour pictures on every page — and the book also includes 3D images. This fascinating collection of records is divided into chapters on Space, The Living Planet, Being Human, Human Achievements, Spirit of Adventure, Modern Life, Science & Engineering, Entertainment, Sports, and the Gazetteer2. Here you will see and read about extremes: for example, the world’s tallest, oldest, shortest, and tiniest — people, plants, animals, buildings. Some have set records for pulling buses, kissing, swimming, ironing clothes, running, and for having the longest legs, the smallest waist, etc. Some images are a bit strange to look at for too long — check out the woman with the longest fingernails in the world. Also, one man had 14 operations to make himself look like a cat. There’s a wide range of amazing facts contained on these pages. What is the world’s most expensive hamburger? — It is available in a New York restaurant for $120. Who had the most hit singles on the US music charts? — Elvis Presley, of course, with 151 between 1956 and 2003 (and he died in 1977!). One of the most colourful sections shows records related to space, including some fantastic photographs of Jupiter. Take a look at the top movies such as the first summer blockbuster of all time, the first movie with Dolby sound, and the first to be more expensive than $100 million. As always, there’s a helpful index in the back of the book, in which you can find subjects of interest in alphabetical order. Please note that some stunts3 in this book would be quite dangerous — or at least terribly painful — for you to attempt to meet or beat them. Therefore, please don’t attempt to set any world records that would cause risk to you or to others! 1 the Guinness [ˈɡɪnɪs] Books of World Records [ˈrekɔ:dz] Книга рекордов Гиннесса 2 Gazetteer [ˌɡæzəˈtɪə] географический справочник 3 a stunt [stʌnt] опасный трюк 2. The author describes how The Guinness Books of World Records changed with time. Find this extract and read it aloud. |