_ПРАВКА_лексика разг.речи_. _ПРАВКА_лексика разг. Министерство образования и науки
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Toy Story In 1986, Jobs bought a small company called Pixar which specialized in computer animation. Over the following ten years he built Pixar into a large corporation. One of the most successful of Steve’s projects was Toy Story, the first full-length film to be completely computer-animated. New Apple In the late 1990s, Apple had very serious financial problems. They asked Jobs to come back. He agreed, and quickly organized a clever advertising campaign that urged customers to «think different» and buy Macintoshes. In the past 10 years, Steve Jobs changed Apple from a small computer company to a gadget superpower. It’s now one of the richest companies in the world. Steve Jobs died on the 5th of October, 2011. TEXT 9. Read and translate. Retell this biography sample. Tom Cruise: Long Way To the Top Tom grew up in a poor family dominated by a cruel father. «Dad was a bully and coward, and he often beat me», said Tom. «He was the kind of person where, if something goes wrong, they kick you». Tom’s mother struggled to support her four children. As a child Tom has a form of dyslexia and it was difficult for him to study at school or make friends. «My childhood was extremely lonely. I was dyslexic and a lot of kids made fun of me. That experience made me tough inside». By the time Tom was fourteen, he had changed 15 schools because his father moved the family around looking for a job. Tom felt lonely and unhappy because he had no friends: «I had no really close friend. I was always the new kid with the wrong shoes, the wrong accent. I didn’t have the friend to share things with and confide in». Finally Tom’s mother had the courage to stand up to her husband and leave him. «People can create their own lives», said Cruise. «I saw how my mother created hers and so made it possible for us to survive. She held three jobs. She said, «We’re going to get through this». And I decided that I’m going to create my own life, too». At first Tom wanted to become an athlete. He competed in many sports and was very good at wrestling but a knee injury closed the door on any athletic career he might have had. So Tom decided to try acting. After his success in a high school musical Guys and Dolls, he made up his mind to become a professional actor. At the age of 18 Tom Cruise moved to New York. He was poor and in order to survive he had to work as a bus-boy, a porter in an apartment block and a table-cleaner in a restaurant. In the evenings he took drama classes, auditioning for TV ads whenever possible. He looked good, he had that winning smile, but he was never hired. Casting directors said he was «too muscular», «too angry», «too long-haired» and «too obsessed with success». Feeding on hot dogs and rice, Tom lived, he now says, «like an animal in the jungle». Soon, however, his luck turned and Tom got his first small role in the film Endless Love. Next came Losing It and Taps, then the big one, Risky business. And in 1968, came the first huge hit, Top Gun. Since then Tom starred in many top films and received lots of awards. TEXT 10. Read and translate. Give some special detail about your biography. Michael Jackson: the King of Pop Michael Jackson was born on the 29th of August in 1958. He was the eighth of the 10 children. He had 3 sisters and 6 brothers. He was four years old when he began singing. He gave his first public performance at the age of five. When he was six everybody called him a singing and dancing genius. His show-business career began in 1970 when he and his brothers formed a group called The Jackson Five. When he was a child his favourite books were Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving and The Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemingway. His favourite cartoon character was Pinocchio. He played a scarecrow in the Wiz, a 1978 remake of the movie the Wizard of Oz. Michael Jackson was fond of animals. During his life he had pet rats, pet frogs, pet spiders (as a kid he used to put spiders in his sister’s bed), pet rabbits and pet dogs. He once had a boa constrictor called Muscles and a pet python called Crusher. He had two llamas called Louis and Lola. But his most famous pet was Bubbles the chimp. Michael saved Bubbles from a research clinic in Texas. Bubbles slept in Jackson’s bedroom and even used his private toilet. One of Jackson’s earliest hits, and his personal favourite was Ben. It was devoted to his pet rat. Jackson was just 14 years old when he recorded the song, becoming the youngest ever singer at the time to top the US charts. Michael was very ticklish. His album Thriller became the best-selling album of all time, with 65 million copies sold worldwide. All in all, Michael Jackson has sold more than 300 million records. Michael Jackson won 13 Grammy awards. In 1984 he won eight Grammys – the highest number ever won by one person in a single year. In 1987, Jackson bought a large piece of land near Santa Barbara. He named it Neverland, after the fantasy island in J. M. Barrie’s novel Peter Pan. He built there a zoo, a cinema and an amusement park – with a roller coaster, a railway, a Ferris wheel and many other interesting things. His favourite superhero was Morph from X-Men. Jackson was a vegetarian. He was especially fond of Mexican vegetarian food. In 1992 he founded the Heal the World Foundation which helped poor children all over the world. He wore a black armband to remind people of hungry and sick children in poor countries. In 1993 Jackson’s doctor said he had a rare skin disease called vitiligo, which causes the skin to lose colour. Jackson has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (one for himself and one as part of the Jackson Five). At the time of his death (June 25, 2009) Michael Jackson was rehearsing for his greatest comeback, with 50 shows in London. TEXT 11. Read and translate the text. Be ready to discuss. Family Relationships How could you describe the word «family»? First of all «family» means a close unit of parents and their children living together. But we shouldn't forget that it is a most complex system of relationships. Family relationships are rarely as easy as we would like, and very often we have to work hard at keeping them peaceful. When do people usually start a family? This question doesn't have a definite answer. In the 18th, 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century people used to get married at the age of 18 or even 16. If a girl about 23 or more wasn't married, she was said to be an old maid or a spinster. That might have turned out a real tragedy for her family which usually brought up more than three children, because in some cases a successful marriage was the only chance to provide a good life for the daughter and to help her family. Despite the fact that the girl was so young, she was already able to keep the house, take care of her husband and raise children. But life's changing as well as people's lifestyle. Nowadays we have got much more freedom in questions concerning family. It is natural to get married at the age of 20 up to 30; however, some people prefer to make a career first and only after that start a family when they are already in their forties. Moreover, there are many cases when people prefer to live together without being married. There are some reasons for this phenomenon. Firstly, it is difficult to juggle a family life with studies. But without good education it is practically impossible to find a suitable well-paid steady job. It's a must to get a higher education, but by this moment you are already 22—24 years old. After that you seek for a well-paid job to live independently, which takes about 3—5 years. Now you see why people in the 21st century do not hurry to get married. Nowadays there are very few people who have never divorced. Today Russia one the highest divorce rates in the world. What are the reasons? • Occurrence of adultery once or throughout the marriage. The unfaithful attitude towards a spouse destroys the relationship and leads to a final separation. • Communication breakdown. After some time of living together spouses find out that they are absolutely incompatible. Constant clashes, brawls and squabbles cause serious problems. This snowball can't be settled by kisses or hugs. • Physical, psychological or emotional abuses. When a person taunts, humiliates, hits the children or his spouse, it can't but end with a divorce. • Financial problems. They say, love alone can't guarantee well-being, whereas money can solve many of your problems. So when a couple lacks it, their relations become more and more complicated, their priorities change and the relationships end. • Boredom. A lot of couples get bored of each other after 7 or more years of marriage. Boredom may become the reason of constant quarrels and adultery which inevitably leads to a divorce. However, it goes without saying, in most cases married couples succeed in solving all the problems and keep living in peace and happiness. TEXT 12. Read and translate the text. Make up 10 questions on its contents. British Family Life The English are a nation of stay-at-home. «There is no place like home», they say. And when the man is not working he is at home in the company of his wife and children and busies himself with the affairs of the home. «The Englishman's home is his castle», is a saying known all over the world. And it is true. A «typical» British family used to consist of mother, father and two children, but in recent years there have been many changes in family life. Some of these have been caused by new laws and others are the result of changes in society. For example, since the law made it easier to get a divorce, the number of divorces has increased. In fact one marriage in every three now ends in divorce. This means that there are a lot of one-parent families. Society is now more tolerant than it used to be of unmarried people, unmarried couples and single parents. Another change has been caused by the fact that people are living longer nowadays, and many old people live alone following the death of their partners. As a result of these changes in the pattern of people's lives, there are many households which consist of only one person or one person and children. You might think that marriage and the family are not so popular as they once were. However, the majority of divorced people marry again, and they sometimes take responsibility for a second family. Members of a family - grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins - keep in touch, but they see less of each other than they used to. This is because people often move away from their home town to work, and so the family becomes scattered. Christmas is the traditional season for reunions. Although the family group is smaller nowadays than it used to be, relatives often travel many miles in order to spend the holiday together. In general, each generation is keen to become independent of parents in establishing its own family unit, and this fact can lead to social as well as geographical differences within the larger family group. Relationships within the family are different now. Parents treat their children more as equals than they used to, and children have more freedom to make their own decisions. The father is more involved with bringing up children, often because the mother goes out to work. Increased leisure facilities and more money mean that there are greater opportunities outside the home. Although the family holiday is still an important part of family life (usually taken in August, and often abroad) many children have holidays away from their parents, often with a school party or other organized group. Who looks after the older generation? There are about 10 million old-age pensioners in Britain, of whom about 750,000 cannot live entirely independently. The government gives financial help in the form of a pension but in the future it will be more and more difficult for the nation economy to support the increasing number of elderly. At the present time, more than half of all old people are looked after at home. Many others live in Old Peoples' Homes, which may be private or state owned. TEXT 13. Read and translate. Give a summary of the text. Generation Gap Do you know what a generation gap is? Even if you don't know the particular definition, you are aware of this problem, basing on your own experience. Generation gap is a popular term used to describe serious differences between people of two generations. To realize how to deal with it, you should keep in mind that generation gap includes several aspects: children must know as much as possible about their parents and parents – about the world outlook of their children, about relations between brothers and sisters, and also about the attitude to them of close relatives on both sides – father's and mother's. Children demand a great deal of attention, time and patience. There are many families where both parents keep working after giving birth to their baby and neglect their children's upbringing. In such cases most of the time the child has to spend on his own or with his friends. Due to the fact that he has not got any guidance from his parents he may be involved in some bad companies which commit violence or even crime and become alcohol or drug addicted. When the parents discover that, it's usually too late to change anything. On the other hand, there is a different situation when the parents treat their children too strict and don't give them any freedom at all. In this case the children may become pariahs among their peers. Constant bans may increase the risk that the child will grow up insolent and defiant. This causes another big problem – lying. The child is forced to lie to the parents because of the fear to be punished. It can be anything from putting on make-up in the girls' room at school to stealing. Some children rebel against discipline and family values. They listen to a loud music, wear inappropriate, to their parents' mind, clothes, dye their hair in inconceivable colours, have all their bodies pierced and tattooed trying to show their independence and establish their identity. They want to be treated as adults, but they are not ready to take all the necessary responsibilities. It doesn't mean that a child is bad and he will become a criminal. Of course, not! It only means that a child is in his transitional age and he is in need of your understanding and support. But how to handle such behaviour? Parents and children should speak as often as possible, and have some parent-child activities like shopping or going in for sports. It is worth involving the child in discussing some family questions. Moreover, children in their teens are very vulnerable when they are criticized in public, so it should be avoided. Parents should always be honest and sincere with their child; otherwise it would be unfair to require the same from him. Too authoritarian parents can't do any good to their children as well as parents who overindulge all the child's caprices. Overindulgence may lead to the same results as negligence. There are parents who are afraid of hurting the child by banning something when it is necessary. Such parents risk becoming powerless in the family and losing control over their children who may become spoiled and capricious. It demands to make a great effort from both parents and children to reach mutual understanding. TEXT 14. Read and translate the text. Be ready to discuss. Sibling Rivalry Have you got a brother or a sister? I have a younger brother and I think it's wonderful! I have a person who is very close to me and who will always help and support me in difficult situations. However, when children are young, there may occur jealousy, competition and fighting between brothers and sisters. It is a concern of almost all parents having two or more kids. The problem usually starts when the second child is born. Conflicts between brothers and sisters may be caused by the following reasons: Children want to show that they are separate from their siblings. Fearing that a brother or a sister is better at anything, they try to find out their own talents, activities and interests. Sometimes children think that mum or dad loves their sibling more, they feel that another child gets more attention. Children can't share a room, their parents, toys, etc. There are three main skills that parents should teach their children in order they could get along well together. They are communication, respect and negotiation. Communication. It means that children should learn to listen attentively to each other. Use family meetings to talk about things that concern everyone. At such meetings nobody should shout and everyone should have a chance to express his or her opinion. Respect. Try to explain to your children that if they want people to treat them nicely, they have to treat them nicely, too. People who treat each other with respect, get along together much better than those who are rude and selfish. Parents can also give examples of their own life so that children could understand better the necessity of being respectful. Negotiation. Your child should keep in mind that whether he is younger or older, taller or shorter than other children, it does not give him any more rights than the others in the family have. It demands a lot of time and effort to teach the child the skill of negotiating, but it's a must for every parent. You should be fair with your children and try to find a solution which will satisfy each of them. Parents should have a certain power in the family. However, this power can be reached only through trusting. If your children don't trust you, it's impossible to achieve anything but fear and contempt. Finally, it's necessary to say that children shouldn't be compared to one another at all. They are individuals and are waiting for the appropriate attitude. Bringing up children is a huge responsibility. To have a brother or a sister means to be never alone. From time to time children get sick of one another, but it is quite natural. The main thing is they'll have a close person throughout their life. |