Руководство для студентов 3 курса специальностей 1 02 03 06 01 Английский язык. Немецкий язык
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Ex. 2 Answer the questions: 1 Do you agree with the author? 2 Was your childhood happy? 3 Did your parents demand much from you? 4 Will you bring up your children the way you were brought up? UNIT 4 OLD AGE Ex. 1 Work ingroups. Ask your partners to imagine that they're due to retire next year. They're still fit and healthy but not very wealthy. Ask them to put these factors in order of importance: comfort and warmth in winter privacy companionship intellectual stimulation closeness to children/grandchildren financial independence a nice garden or nearby park having a part to play in society peace and quiet security books and records any other factors Text 10 Ex. 2 Read the article below, preferably before the lesson. Find the answers to these questions in the article. 1 What are the aims of the U3A movement in Britain? 2 Who organizes the classes for U3A students in Britain? 3 How long ago were the first U3As in France started up? 4 What is the main difference between U3A in France and Britain? 5 Why did the French government encourage the setting up of U3As? 6 How many U3A are there in Britain? 7How many students are there at a typical U3A in France? 8 Did you like the text? Do you like the idea of U3A? Life begins at 50 for Third Age students The period after earning a living and raising a family is an age of discovery for students at the Third Age universities, which are growing rapidly in Britain. They find it is never too late to learn, and that intellectual stimulation can lead to better health for the elderly. . At first glance it's the usual Cambridge scene: the fight for places to park the bicycles, the hasty greetings called across the courtyard, the scramble for decent seat next to your friends, the silence before the lecture begins. The difference here is that the greetings are a little cheerier, the scramble a little more intensive, the silence a little more avid, and though you may not notice it, there are more grey hairs. The students at the new Cambridge university are all aged 50 or over. The Wednesday afternoon lecture is the main event of the week for members of the University of the Third Age, of U3A as they call it. But every day there are classes going on all over town ranging from Culture to computers. Founded only three years ago the new university now has more than 700 members. It was the first of its kind in Britain, but the idea caught on quickly and Third Age universities have started up all the country. Although Shakespeare chronicled Seven Ages of Man, the new university makes do with four. The Third Age comes when the First Age of Childhood and the Second Age of earning a living and bringing up a family are over. It may well last as long as 30 years beginning in the fifties, going on to the sixties, seventies and eighties. The belief and the hope is that an active Third Age can postpone the Fourth Age of weakness and death, squeezing that into the shortest period possible. Thirty years is a long time to feel bored, lonely and useless; it's not nearly long enough for the members of the University of Third Age to do all the things they want to do. Jane Taptik is a case in point. A widow and grandmother, her life is still as busy and active as ever. 'We dash to classes and then we meet up for coffee. I'm learning French. I never had the time before. People say you can't learn a new language when you're old, but that's nonsense. It just depends on your drive and willingness to do it. The difference with U3A is that we feel we’re using our brains. We're not superior, not at all. We're just extending our knowledge, starting again really – and it's fun'. Students pay £10 for six months' membership of the university and for this they can go to as many, or as few classes as they wish. There are also regular social and sporting events. One ofthe reasons why so much activity is possible and costs so little is that the teachers give their time free and seem to enjoy it just as much. Richard Tunnen, a retired schoolteacher who takes one of the French classes, says the great joy is that everybody is motivated. There are none of those little boys in the back row trying to hide under their desks. ‘Most of us who teach also learn. I am doing cookery and music. We're doing areas of 20th-century music I'd never explored before and I'm finding out all sorts of things.' The new university is a cooperative venture and everyone can contribute something by teaching or learning, by delivering the newsletter or making the coffee. The university belongs toits students and they choose the classes. Many classes started because two or three people discovered a mutual interest, found someone to take the lead and it has grown from there. In this – and in many other ways – it is quite different to the other Cambridge University. Dr. Peter Laslett who is a Fellow of Trinity College and thus knows both from inside, was a founder member of U3A. ‘We have a claim, I think, to be what some people call “the true university” because we insist that nobody needs qualification to join. Nobody is paid, there are noawards, no exams, we are not agents for any outside body which wants to know whether Smith is better than Brown. All our people study because they want to – for aesthetic, literary or other reasons – and this is what a university is for’. The University of the Third Age is independent and has no ties with any other educational institutions. Peter Laslett is adamant that it should remain so. Too much, he feels, is done forthe elderly, not enough by them. Organizing their own university answers their need for intellectual stimulation. But in France, where the movement began, they have the opposite view. There the new universities are run in, and by, the established institutions. U3A takes its name from the Universite du TroisiemeAge launched in Toulouse in 1972. Professor Francisque Costa was one of the founders. He says they were moved partly by their awareness of the growing number of elderly people who were bored and lonely and purely by the fact that a law was passed requiring educational institutions to do something about it. This was no mere act of charity. The French government was convinced by the research which said that as soon as people have no stimulation, stop working and stop being interested in life, they decline physically. If you stimulate the brain you are physically fitter. The economic consequences were clear: it was in the government’s interest to promote the educational and cultural education of elderly people because it would cost less than health care that would otherwise be needed. Universities of the Third Age sprang all over France and most other European countries soon followed suit. Professor Costa is delighted with the results: ‘It has been proved that elderly people can progress – they can do research, they can learn languages. Even if you decline in some way, in others you can grow – you can be more creative in this age than in your younger days’. In Britain we seemed not to have noticed how old we were getting: the one fifth of our population – some ten million people – were in their sixties or older and that many of them were bored and lonely, desperate for something more intellectually stimulating than a game of bingo and a singsong. It took some of Peter Laslette’s vision and determination to get the U3A idea going in this country. Now it is spreading like wildfire. There are U3As in cities like Huddersfield and Nottingham and in smaller towns like Saffron Walden and Abergavenny (at the last count, there were 113 altogether). Some of the newer ones have only 20 members, the more established as many as 800. They are all independent. They raise funds by subscription and donation because they don't want government funds with strings attached. Each university develops its own character and programme in response to the needs and resources of the area, and ideas are shared through a nationwide network with its own newsletter. Peter Laslette believes many of the new universities will grow to a size of 1200 to 1500, which is the pattern in France. They will take on their own research projects and lobby for the needs of their own age group. Above all, they will correct the public image of Britain’s Third Age populations. It will become accepted that, once the Second Age is over, a new time of creativity and fulfillment can begin. Marion Dawson, who attended that Wednesday afternoon lecture in Cambridge, would have found that hard to believe two years ago. When her husband died in Hong Kong, where they had lived for some time, she felt she had lost everything. She came back to Cambridge and had to build a new life. But she wanted to keep in touch with her Chinese friends, to be able to read their letters without an interpreter. So she joined a Chinese class at the University of the Third Age. Now, to her great delight, she can already express her own thoughts quite fluently in Chinese. She has ventured into other U3A activities and made new friends. 'It has given a purpose to my life again – something totally different – and I'm enjoying every minute of it.' At Christmas, when so many older people can only look back in loneliness, Marion Dawson and herfriends can look forward together – to the new discoveries and new delights that the New Year will undoubtedly bring. Ex. 3 Highlight the following words and phrases in the passage (the № shows which paragraph they are in). If any are unfamiliar, try to work out their meanings from the context. Match them to the definitions below.
Definitions: available talents and facilities, determined, did the same; encourage; feeling of deep satisfaction; interest shared in common; one of the group who started it; party where everyone joins in singing; recorded; successful; very rapidly; with conditions that must be fulfilled. Ex. 4 Work in pairs. This exercise will help you to appreciate the content and style of the text. 1 Look at the first paragraph, again perhaps read it aloud. Notice the style of the writing. 1) How does the writer evoke the atmosphere of excitement? 2) How does she make youfeel that you're actually there? 3) How does she emphasize the differences between the old and the new Cambridge University? 2 Highlight the words bored and lonely each time they are used in the article. What is the effect of this repetition? 3 Highlight an example in the text of each of the following: a) information (something you didn't know or realize before); b) opinion (a point of view that made you pause and think); c) entertainment (something that made you smile); d) social comment (a criticism of the way people behave); e) empathy (something that made you share the writer's feelings). 4 What was your reaction to the article? Were you surprised, interested, inspired, depressed or amused by what you read? Ex. 5 Work in groups. Find out from your partners: – what the 'public image' of old people in Britain is, according to the article – what image older people have in their country – what educational facilities are provided for older people in their country – whether they prefer the French or British system of organizing U3As – what role older people play in society in their country Ex. 6 Fill the gaps in these sentences with suitable words or phrases from the list below. 1 A retired person, living on a..............., can also be referred to as an old-age................, a ….. or (in the USA) as a ….. 2 Growing older brings ......... and …….. but one tends to become less ........ , .... and ...... . 3 Older people tend to be more dependent on ....... and .......... facilities than the young. 4 In the UK .......... is 77 for women and 71 for men (see below). 5 Sexism and racism are discrimination against people because of their sex or race. … is discrimination against older people. 6 Many older people enjoy looking back … at the … when they were younger. ‘............!' they often say. adaptable, ageism, agile, confidence, energetic, good old days, health, life expectancy, nostalgically, pension, pensioner, retiree, senior citizen, those were the days, welfare, wisdom. Ex. 7 Work in groups. Look at this chart and discuss the implications of the information. Life expectancy for WOMEN and MEN
Ex. 8 Work in groups. Think of some retired people you know personally. Ask your partners these questions: 1 What sort of lives do the retired people you know lead? 2 Would you like to be in their shoes? Why / Why not? Ex. 9 Work in groups. Each of the problems presents you with a different situation. Decide together how you would solve them. Make sure every member of the group has a chance to prove his or her own point of view. Work out a joint solution. When you are ready, explain your solutions, to the rest of the class. 1 You have an elderly parent who can no longer look after him- or herself. Should you persuade him or her to come and live with you, or should you find accommodation in a sheltered flat or a room in a rest home? Or should you persuade your brother or sister to look after him or her? 2 You are due to retire next year. Will you move to a more pleasant part of your country – or maybe to another country? What will you do with all your free time? 3 You are 70 years old and your estate is worth about £100,000. You have decided to make a will. You have three children (ages 39-45), seven grandchildren (age 11-24) and one greatgrandchild. How should the money be divided? 4 An elderly relative lives in an inexpensive flat in an inner city area where there is a lot of crime. He or she can't afford to move to a safer, more expensive place. What should you do? 5An old person, who you once helped with shopping and errands, leaves you £10,000 in his or her will, which must be spent for the benefit of local old people. What will you do with the money? Text 11 Ex. 10 Introduction You are going to read some advice given by American comedian George Burns, who is now in his nineties. George Burns won enduring popularity in Britain with the 'Burns and Allen Show', a television series featuring himself and his wife Grade Allen. Gracie died in the 1960s, but George continues doing shows and acting in films. Note-taking George discusses the following in his recipe for a long life: – exercise – work – stress and tension – the past – hobbies – the future – attitude Ex. 11 Reading for specific points George is famous for his witticisms. Read again and note all the ways in which he tries to be funny. How would you describe the manner in which he tries to be humorous? Ex. 12 Read the text. 'How to live to be 100 or more' by George Burns People keep asking me, 'George, you're 88, how do you do it? You make films, you do television, you give concerts, you record albums, smoke cigars, drink Martinis, go out with pretty girls – how do you do it? It's simple. For instance, a Martini. You fill the glass with ice; then pour in some gin and a touch of dry vermouth, add an olive, and you've got yourself a Martini. Today you don't have to worry about getting old; you have to worry about rusting. So I also do exercises and walk a lot. Walking is even easier than making a Martini. I take one foot and put it in front of the other foot; then I take the other foot and put it in front of the other foot, and before I know it I'm walking. And you don't even need an olive. Every morning, I walk a mile and a half. My advice is to walk whenever you can. It's free; you feel better and look trim. If you want to live to be 100 or older, you can't just sit around waiting for it to happen. You have to get up and go after it. There's no point in kidding yourself. When you get older you slow down, you wear out a little. But right now I'm 88, and there isn't a thing I can't do today that I couldn't do when I was 18. Of course, I was pathetic when I was 18. I wasn't so hot when I was 25 either. I saved everything for now. I hate to brag, but I'm very good at 'now'. Here are my other secrets for long life: Think positive. If you ask me what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it's avoiding worry, stress, and tension. And if you didn't ask me, I'd still have to say it. Worry, stress, and tension are not only unpleasant but can shorten your life. My attitude is, if something is beyond your control, there's no point worrying about it. And if you can do something about it, then there's still nothing to worry about. I feel that way when the plane I'm on is bouncing around in turbulence. It's not my problem. The pilot gets a lot of money to fly that plane; let him worry about it. I can honestly say I was not even uptight about my heart bypass several years ago. It was beyond my control. It was the doctor's business. When I came round from the anaesthetic, I heard the surgeon say, 'George, you did great. You're just fine.' I said, 'Doctor, I wasn't the least bit concerned.' 'Really?' he said. ‘I was a nervous wreck.' Even that didn't bother me. Then he handed me his bill, and I passed out. Stay active. I know that for some people retirement works out fine. They enjoy it. I also know that for a great many others it presents lots of problems. To me the biggest danger of retirement is what it can do to your attitude. When you have all that time on your hands, you think old, you act old. It's a mistake. I see people who, the minute they get to be 65, start rehearsing to be old. They practise grunting when they get up, and by the time they get to be 70 they've made it – they're a hit – they're now old! Not me. When you're around my age you've got to keep occupied. You've got to do something that will get you out of bed. I never made any money in bed. Yes, find something that will make you get out of bed – like an interest, a hobby, a business, a pretty girl – there we are, back in bed again. At my age at least let me talk about it. Challenge yourself. When my wife Grade retired in 1958, I could have retired too. Even today I don't have to do what I'm doing. I don't have to travel round giving concerts, making movies, doing television specials, recording country-music albums, being a sex symbol. I firmly believe that you should keep working as long as you can. And if you can't, try to find something that will interest you. Don't wait for it to happen; make it happen. Remember, you can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old. I look to the future, because that's where I'm going to spend the rest of my life. I feel sorry for people who live in the past. I know it was cheaper then, but you can't keep looking in a rear-view mirror – unless you enjoy having a stiff neck. If you really think your life is over and you have no place to go, I advise you to take very short steps. It'll take you longer to get there. I don't live in the past; I live in a house in Beverly Hills. It's more comfortable. Actually, you may not believe this, but I don't waste time looking through scrap-books of my career or rereading my old reviews – they were painful enough to read the first time. I find it's best to fall in love with what you're doing today. The things I did yesterday I was in love with yesterday. But that romance is over. I'm very fickle. There's an old saying, 'Life begins at 40.' That's silly – life begins every morning when you wake up. Open your mind to it; don't just sit there – do things. Swim the English Channel; find a cure for the common cold; be the first to go over the Niagara Falls in a rocking chair. You see, the possibilities are endless. If all else fails, try doing something nice for somebody who doesn't expect it. You'll be surprised how good you feel. The Scouts have the right idea. Many's the time I've helped a young lady across the street and over to my place. You should see all my badges. The point is, with a good positive attitude and a little bit of luck, there's no reason you can't live to be 100. Once you've done that you've really got it made, because very few people die over 100. |