Учебно-методическое пособие для студентов I-II курсов заочного отделения неязыковых факультетов
ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЕ АГЕНТСТВО ПО ОБРАЗОВАНИЮ
Государственное образовательное учреждение
высшего профессионального образования
«Пермский государственный педагогический университет»
Кафедра иностранных языков
СБОРНИК текстОВ для самостоятельного чтения и экзаменационные темы
по английскому языку
Учебно-методическое пособие для студентов I–II курсов
заочного отделения неязыковых факультетов
2-е издание, исправленное и дополненное
Пермь
ПГПУ
2009
УДК 802.0
ББК Ш 143.21-923.8
С 232
Р е ц е н з е н т :
старший преподаватель кафедры иностранных языков, лингвистики и
межкультурной коммуникации Пермского государственного
технического университета Т. Э. Рылова
Авторы-составители : преп. каф. иностранных языков Е.Е. Васильева,
ст. преп. каф. иностранных языков Н.П. Зонина (отв. ред.),
ст. преп. каф. иностранных языков Н.В. Карпенко,
ст. преп. каф. иностранных языков Н.А. Костарева,
ст. преп. каф. иностранных языков Е.Ю. Раскина,
ст. преп. каф. иностранных языков Р.К. Терешкина
С 232
Сборник текстов для самостоятельного чтения и экзаменационные темы по английскому языку : учеб.-метод. пособие для студентов I–II курсов заочного отделения неязыковых факультетов / авт.-сост. Е.Е. Васильева, Н.П. Зонина, Н.В. Карпенко и др. ; Перм. гос. пед. ун-т. – 2-е изд., испр. и доп. – Пермь, 2009. – 88 с.
Издание включает тексты по специальности для самостоятельного чтения и семь текстов устных разговорных тем по английскому языку, предусмотренных программой вузов. К каждой теме приводится словарь и вопросы. Ряд текстов по специальности взят из оригинальных источников. Некоторые тексты адаптированы. Данное пособие призвано помочь студентам в подготовке к экзамену по английскому языку в конце курса обучения.
Предназначено для студентов заочного отделения факультетов начального обучения, дошкольной психологии и педагогики, математики, биологии, географии и физической культуры.
УДК 802.0
ББК Ш 143.21-923.8
Печатается по решению учебно-методического совета
Пермского государственного педагогического университета
© Васильева Е.Е., Зонина Н.П., Карпенко Н.В., Костарева Н.А.,
Раскина Е.Ю., Терешкина Р.К., составление, 2005
© Васильева Е.Е., Зонина Н.П., Карпенко Н.В., Костарева Н.А.,
Раскина Е.Ю., Терешкина Р.К., составление, 2009
© ГОУ ВПО «Пермский государственный
педагогический университет», 2009
CONTENTS
Предисловие ……………………………………………………….4
Term I (for all faculties)
My Working Day…………………………………………………... 7
Our University……............................................................................10
Great Britain…………………………………...................................13
Term II (for all faculties)
London……………………….......................................................... 20
My Future Profession…………….................................................... 26
Heinrich Pestalozzi………………………………………………….31
Term III
The Faculty of Primary Schooling and
The Faculty of Preschool Psychology and Pedagogy........................36
The Faculty of Mathematics..............................................................40
The Faculty of Biology......................................................................48
The Faculty of Geography………………………………………….53
The Faculty of Physical Culture.........................................................58
Term IY
The Faculty of Primary Schooling and
The Faculty of Preschool Psychology and Pedagogy........................62
The Faculty of Mathematics..............................................................67
The Faculty of Biology......................................................................72
The Faculty of Geography……………………………………….….78
The Faculty of Physical Culture.........................................................82
Список литературы..........................................................................87
ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ
Требования к зачетам и экзамену по английскому языку
Чтобы сдать зачет по английскому языку, студенту нужно:
Повторить грамматический материал, начитанный преподавателем в предыдущую сессию. Необходимый грамматический материал подробно изложен в пособии «Краткий курс грамматики английского языка» под ред. Н.П. Зониной, Н.В.Карпенко. Пермь, 2008.;
Выполнить и защитить контрольную работу (контрольная работа пишется в классе);
Научиться читать и переводить тексты данного учебного пособия. Письменный связный перевод текстов делать не разрешается! К текстам следует завести тетрадь-словарь, куда в три колонки нужно выписать все незнакомые слова. Тетрадью можно пользоваться во время чтения и перевода текстов на зачете.
К каждой сессии следует выучивать не менее 50 новых слов, неправильные глаголы выписывать в специальную таблицу и запоминать в трех формах. Студент должен уметь находить в текстах и объяснять любые изученные грамматические явления.
Студент должен быть готов с вышеуказанным домашним заданием к первому же занятию по английскому языку, указанному в расписании.
Чтобы сдать экзамен по английскому языку, студенту нужно:
Прочитать и перевести со словарем английский текст по специальности (900 печатных знаков за 45 минут);
Высказаться по одной из разговорных тем (10-15 предложений) и ответить на вопросы преподавателя.
Список экзаменационных тем:
О себе (семья, жизнь студента, рабочий день).
Наш университет.
Великобритания (немного о Лондоне).
Выписка из программы курса
"Иностранные языки для неязыковых факультетов и вузов"
Основной задачей курса «Иностранный язык» в неязыковом вузе является обучение практическому владению разговорно-бытовой и научной речью для активного применения иностранного языка как в повседневном, так и в профессиональном общении.
Критерием практического владения иностранным языком является умение достаточно уверенно пользоваться наиболее употребительными и относительно простыми языковыми средствами в основных видах речевой деятельности: говорении, восприятии на слух (аудировании), чтении и письме. В речи допустимо наличие таких ошибок, которые не искажают смысла н не препятствуют пониманию. Практическое владение языком специальности предполагает также умение самостоятельно работать со специальной литературой на иностранном языке с целью получения профессиональной информации.
Требования, предъявляемые к студенту по окончании курса
По окончании обучения студент должен владеть навыками разговорно-бытовой речи (владеть нормативным произношением и ритмом речи и применять их для повседневного общения);
- понимать устную (монологическую и диалогическую) речь на бытовые и специальные темы;
- активно владеть наиболее употребительной (базовой) грамматикой, и основными грамматическими явлениями, характерными для профессиональной речи;
- знагь базовую лексику общего языка, лексику, представляющую нейтральный научным стиль, а также основную терминологию своей специальности;
- читать и понимать со словарем литературу по широкому и узкому профилю своей специальности.
О работе с англо-русским словарем
Прежде всего необходимо бегло ознакомиться с содержанием текста или с предложением, чтобы в целом понять, о чем идет речь.
Рекомендуется найти значения новых слов сначала в одном предложении, потом переходить к другому. Ни в коем случае не выписывать подряд все незнакомые слова из всего текста, т.к. в контексте одного предложения слово перевести гораздо легче.
Важно точно запомнить графическое изображение слова при поиске его в словаре.
Как быстро найти слово? Для этого надо четко знать английский алфавит. Целесообразно начинать искать нужное слово по напечатанным на крайних углах словаря словам. В левом углу дается первое слово левой страницы, а в правом углу - последнее слово правой страницы. Сразу видно, какие слова находятся на развороте этих страниц.
Следует помнить о том, что слова в словаре даются в их основной форме, то есть глаголы - в инфинитиве (неопределенная форма), существительные - в единственном числе, прилагательные - в положительной степени и т.д. Орфография некоторых слов при прибавлении суффиксов и окончаний изменяется.
6. Кроме того, встретив в предложении новое слово, следует сразу определить, какой частью речи оно является (по смыслу, по порядку слов в предложении и другим признакам), т.к. очень часто в английском языке за одним словом скрываются совершенно разные части речи.
Условные сокращения частей речи:
n - существительное
v - глагол
a - прилагательное
adv - наречие
num - числительное
pron - местоимение
prep - предлог
conj - союз
7. Самое трудное - это установить значение слова. Большинство
английских слов многозначны, поэтому нужно дочитывать каждую
словар ную статью до конца, выбирая нужное значение слова для
данного предложения. Здесь тоже нужно опираться на общий смысл
предложения и уже известные слова.
TERM 1
MY WORKING DAY
Learn the following words and expressions:
а trade firm – торговая фирма
correspondence – заочное
а department – отделение
nine storey – девятиэтажный
an alarm clock – будильник
to wake up – будить
to be an early riser – рано вставать
especially – особенно
to switch on – включать
to do morning exercises – делать утреннюю гимнастику
to take a shower – принимать душ
to shave – бриться
to get dressed – одеваться
to have to – должен
to get up – вставать
to listen to – слушать
to take interest – интересоваться
latest – последние
а day-off – выходной
to leave – уходить, покидать
It takes me – у меня уходит
to waste time – терять время
to retell – пересказывать
silently – про себя
to come across – встречать
an expression – выражение
to memorize – запомнить
a flashcard – карточка
to arrive at – прибывать
though – хотя
sharp – ровно
frequently – часто
а representative – представитель
а price – цена
terms of payment – условия платежа
a delivery – доставка
to discuss business – обсудить дела
matters – деловые вопросы
а customer – заказчик, клиент
to make an appointment – назначить встречу
to look through – просматривать
mail – почта
to speak on the phone – разговаривать по телефону
a message – сообщение besides – кроме того
business partners – деловые партнеры
abroad – за границей
a break – перерыв
occasionally – время от времени
to get tired – уставать
to wait for – ждать
living room – жилая комната
just to talk – просто поговорить
to fail – провалить (экзамен)
to work hard – упорно трудиться
to revise – повторять
a subject – предмет
a library – бибилиотека
to get ready – подготовиться
a report – сообщать
a course paper – курсовая работа
to enter – поступать
to make up one’s mind – решить
to pass exams – сдать экзамены
excellent – отличный
а mark – отметка
easy – легкий
to combine – совмещать
learning – обучение
still – все равно
to look forward to – очень ждать
a job – работа
useful – полезный
experience – опыт
Read and translate the text “My Working Day”
Let me introduce myself first. I am … and I am … years old. I come from Berezniki but now I live and work in Perm. I am a manager of a big trade firm. I am also a student of a correspondence department. I study in the Perm Pedagogical University. I have a family – a mother and a father. Their names are … . We live in a new nine storey house in the centre of the city. We have a modern three room flat on the fifth floor.
On weekdays the alarm clock wakes me up at 6.30 and my work ing day begins. I’m not an early riser, that’s why it’s very difficult for me to get out of bed, especially in winter. I switch on my music centre and do my morning exercises. Then I go to the bathroom, take a warm shower, clean my teeth and shave. After that I go to my bedroom to get dressed.
Usually my mother makes breakfast for me. But when she is away on business or just doesn’t have to get up early, I make breakfast myself. While having breakfast I listen to the latest news on TV. I take much interest in the latest po litical and business news.
I always go to my office on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I don’t go to my office on Saturday and Sunday. These are my days-off.
I usually leave the house at 7.30 and go to the nearest bus stop. It takes me half an hour to get to work. I don’t want to waste my time on bus. I’ve got a good player, so I listen to different texts and dialogues on my way to work. Sometimes I read an English book and retell it silently. If I come across an interesting expression I try to memorise it. I also write some English words on flashcards and learn them.
I usually arrive at work at ten minutes to nine though my working day begins at 9 sharp. I have a lot of work to do. I frequently meet representatives of Eng lish and French firms. We discuss prices, terms of payment and delivery. Sometimes I go to dif ferent cities to discuss business matters with our custom ers. I am a very busy man. During the day I make appointments with my business partners, look through mail, read faxes and letters, speak on the phone with the customers. Some fax messages are in English and I have to translate them into Russian. Besides, I write letters in English to our business partners abroad.
At 1 o’clock in the afternoon we have lunch. We usually have lunch in a small cafe just round the corner. At 2 o’clock we come back to the office and work hard till 6 o’clock. During the working day we also have several short coffee breaks. But sometimes we have no time for them. Occasionally I have to stay at work till 7 or even 8 o’clock in the evening. When we have a lot of things to do we go to work on Saturdays. So by the end of the week I get very tired.
I come home at about 7 o’clock in the evening. My parents are usu ally at home, waiting for me. We have dinner together. Then we sit in the living room, drink tea, watch TV or just talk. As I’m a student and don’t want to fail my exams I work hard at my lessons. I do them in the evenings. I read a lot, do some exercises, learn new English words and revise grammar rules. We study a lot of subjects, so it takes me a lot of time to do my homework. Sometimes at the weekends I go to the library to get ready for my exams or to write a report or a course paper. When I entered the Institute I made up my mind to pass my exams only with good and excellent marks. So I do my best.
I must say that it isn’t easy to combine work and learning. But still I always look forward to my next working day because I like my job and my study. I think I’m getting a lot of useful experience.
Answer the questions:
1. Do you get up early? Is it easy for you to get up early?
2. Do you wake up yourself or does an alarm-clock wake you up?
3. Do you do morning exercises? Do you do your morning exercises to music?
4. Which do you prefer: a warm or a cold shower in the morning?
5. What do you usually have for breakfast?
6. Some people look through newspapers or listen to the latest news
on TV while having breakfast. What about you?
7. When do you usually leave the house?
8. Do you work? Where do you work?
9. How long does it take you to get to the office?
10. What do you usually do on your way to work (institute, etc.)?
11. Where do you usually have lunch (dinner)?
12. What are your duties at work?
13. What time do you come home?
14. How do you spend your evenings?
15. When do you do your homework?
16. What time do you usually go to bed?
OUR UNIVERSITY
Learn the following words and expressions:
a higher educational institution – высшее учебное заведение
an establishment – учреждение
to train – обучать, подготавливать
to provide – обеспечивать, предоставлять
to found – основывать
an instructor – преподаватель
a war – война
to house – размещать
to produce – производить
education – образование
free – 1) свободный, 2) бесплатный
equipment – оборудование
a hostel accommodation – место в общежитии
to contain – содержать
staff – штат
to include – включать
outstanding – выдающийся
to make a contribution – вносить вклад
various – разнообразный
a field of knowledge – область знаний
science – наука
to equip – оборудовать
apparatus of advanced design – приборы современной конструкции
research – исследование
to carry out – выполнять
to develop – развивать
Practise the pronunciation of the following words:
pedagogical ["pedə'gOGikəl], technical ['teknikəl], pharmaceutical ["fRmə'sjHtikəl], agricultural ["ægri'kAltSərəl], faculty ['fækəlti], mathematics ["mæӨi'mætiks], philology [fi'lOləGi], culture ['kAltSə], biology [bai'OləGi], chemistry ['kemistri], primary ['praiməri], pre-school ['prJ'skHl], psychology [sai'kOləGi], psychological ["saikə'lOGikəl], music ['mjHzik], lecture ['lektSə], lecturer ['lektSərə], laboratory [lə'bOrətəri], science [saiəns], scientific [saiən'tifik], integral individuality [in'tegrəl "indi"vidju'æliti], hydrodynamics ['haidroudai'næmiks], ornithology ["Lni'ӨOləGi].
Read and translate the text “Our University”.
There are different types of higher educational institutions in Russia. In Perm several establishments train specialists in various fields, and among them the Perm State University, the Technical University, the Medical Academy, the Pharmaceutical Academy, the Agricultural Academy, the Higher School of Economy and others.
My friends and I study at the Perm State Pedagogical University. Our University provides higher education for future teachers. There are full-time, part-time and external students at our University. Part-time (or evening) and external (or correspondence) departments are set up for those who want to combine work and learning. Evening and correspondence training demand great effort from the students.
The Perm Pedagogical University is the oldest higher educational establishment of this type in the Urals. It was founded in 1921 and the number of students was small. During the next two decades (the 20s and the 30s) our University grew greatly. In 1940 there were 1085 students and more than 100 professors and instructors.
During the wartime a military hospital was housed in the main building, the department of chemistry produced medicines. In the years of the Great Patriotic War a large group of students, graduates and teachers went to the front. We shall never forget those who fell in the war, and among them Tatyana Baramsina, Hero of the Soviet Union, who had studied at our University.
Nowadays the Perm Pedagogical University is an important centre of training teachers in the Urals. Every year a great number of students enter its 13 faculties: the Faculty of Mathematics, the Faculty of Philology, the Faculty of Physical Culture, the Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, of Pedagogy and Methods of Primary Education, of Pre-school Psychology and Pedagogy, the Faculty of Foreign Languages, the Faculty of Physics, of History, of Music, of Psychology, the Faculty of Computer Operating and Economics and the Faculty of Social Pedagogy.
The head of the University is the Rector. Every faculty has a Dean. He or she occupies the Dean’s Office. The Dean is responsible for the faculty. Every student group has a monitor. The monitor is the leader of the group and is in charge of it.
Our University has more than 45 departments. The staff of professors, lecturers and instructors is big and includes many outstanding scientists who are making contribution to various fields of knowledge. Several scientific schools have been formed at our University: the psychological school of integral individuality, the scientific school of hydrodynamics, of history of the Perm region, of ornithology and others.
At the University there are many laboratories equipped with apparatus of advanced design, computer classrooms with Internet facilities, study-rooms and workshops. They are all situated in its five buildings. The administration is housed in the main building.
Education is free for most students: they pay nothing for lectures, for using laboratory equipment and libraries, or for taking examinations and credit-tests. Moreover, many students receive state grants. Our University has 4 student hostels. Many students are provided with hostel accommodations. The Perm Pedagogical University has its own library containing an enormous number of books: textbooks and fiction, scientific literature and reference books.
The University provides good conditions for scientific research. All students carry out research work in the fields of methods and principles of teaching and special subjects. Our graduates work as schoolteachers in the Perm region.
The Perm Pedagogical University plays an important part in developing public education in the Urals.
Answer the questions:
1. Are there different types of higher educational institutions?
2. Which establishments train specialists in various fields in our city?
3. What does our University provide?
4. What is the oldest Pedagogical University in the Urals?
5. What are the main points in the history of our University?
6. What kind of centre is the Perm Pedagogical University?
7. Which faculties are there at our University?
8. Can you prove that education is free for most of students?
9. How many hostels has our University got?
10. What is the teaching staff like?
11. What scientific schools have been formed at the University?
12. Where is the administration housed?
13. In which fields do the students carry out their research work?
14. What part does the University play in developing public education in the Urals?
GREAT BRITAIN
Learn the following words and expressions:
actually – фактически
to unite – объединять
a state – государство
a capital – столица
population – население
to be situated – быть расположенным
an isle – остров (обычно с именем собственным)
a coast – побережье
to consist of – состоять из
an island – остров
to separate – разделять
to vary – менять(ся), разнообразить
mountainous – горный
all the rest – все остальное
vast – обширный
a valley – долина
a plain – равнина
to extend – простираться
to flow – протекать
a tributory – приток
to fame – прославлять
deep – глубокий
narrow – узкий
however – тем не менее
a mystery – тайна
to influence – влиять
mild – мягкий, умеренный
temperate – умеренный
to freeze – замерзать
to lie – лежать
a queen – королева
to rule – управлять
to elect – избирать
legislative power – законодательная власть
a chamber – палата
partly – частично
hereditary – наследственный
a member – член
a general election – всеобщие выборы
to hold – проводить
to receive – получать
the majority – большинство
to be appointed – быть назначенным
originally – первоначально
sheep-farming – овцеводство
wheat – пшеница
barley – ячмень
oats – овес
disadvantage – недостаток
raw material – сырье
nevertheless – однако
highly developed – высокоразвитый
oil – нефть
to consider – считать, рассматривать
moreover – более того
coal – уголь
iron ore – железная руда
coal mining – угледобыча
machinery – машинное оборудование
aircraft – самолет
equipment – оборудование
shipbuilding – судостроение
a birthplace – место рождения
famous – знаменитый
Practise the pronunciation of the following words:
official language [ə'fiSəl'læŋgwiG], area ['Fəriə], kilometer ["kilə'mJtə], relief [ri'lJf], beautiful ['bjHtiful], is called [iz'kLld], climate ['klaimit], warm [wLm], autumn ['Ltəm], typical ['tipikəl], parliamentary ["pRlə'mentəri], monarchy ['mOnəki], agricultural ["ægri'kAltSərəl], industry ['indəstri], industrial [in'dAstriəl], resources [re'sLsiz], textiles ['tekstailz], chemicals ['kemikəlz].
Mind some proper names:
The United Kingdom (UK) – Соединен ное Королевство
Great Britain – Великобритания
England (English) – Англия (английский)
Wales (Welsh) – Уэльс (уэльсский, валлийский)
Scotland (Scottish) – Шотландия (шотландский)
Northern Ireland (Irish) – Северная Ирландия (ирландский)
Edinburgh ['edinbərə] - Эдинбург
Cardiff [' kRdif] – Кардифф
Belfast [bel' fRst] – Белфаст
London [' lAndən] – Лондон
Liverpool [' livəpHl] – Ливерпуль
Manchester [' mæntSəstə] – Манчестер
Birmingham [' bWmiNəm] – Бирмингем
Glasgow [' glRzgou] – Глазго
the British Isles [ailz] – Британские острова
Europe [' juərəp] – Европа
the English Channel (La Manche) – Английский канал (принятое в
Великобритании название проли ва Ла-Манш)
Strait of Dover (Pas de Calais) – Дуврский пролив
the Atlantic Ocean – Атлантиче ский океан
the Irish Sea [...'airiS...] – Ирландское море
the North Sea – Северное море
the Highlands ['hailəndz] – Хайлендс (северный, горный район Шотландии)
the Lowlands – Лоулендс (южный, низинный район Шотландии)
the Cheviot Hills – Чевиот-Хилз (горы)
the Pennines ['penainz] – Пеннинские горы
Ben Nevis – Бен Невис
the Severn ['sevən] – река Северн
the Thames [temz] – река Темза
the Avon – река Эйвон
Lake District – Озерный край (живописный район гор и озер на северо-западе Англии)
Loch Lomond – озеро Ломонд
Loch Ness – озеро Лох-Несс
Gulf-Stream – Гольфстрим
House of Lords – Палата Лордов
House of Commons – Палата Общин
Labour party ['leibə'pRti] – лейбористская партия
Conservative party – консервативная партия
Liberal party – либеральная партия
Read and translate the text “Great Britain”
When we speak about the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland we actually speak about four countries united into one state: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Each of these countries has its language, its capital, and its government. The capital of Scotland is Edinburgh, the capital of Wales is Cardiff, the capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast and the capital of England is London. At the same time London is the capital of the United Kingdom. English is the official language, but some people also speak Scottish, Welsh and Irish.
The population of the country is over 57 million people; about 80 per cent of them live in cities and towns. There are many beautiful cities in Great Britain: Liverpool and Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh, Belfast and York, Birmingham and Leeds, Nottingham and Brighton.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles off the north-western coast of Europe. The British Isles consist of two large islands: Great Britain and Ireland, and about five thousand small islands. Their total area is over 244,000 square kilometres. The English Channel (or La Manche) and the Strait of Dover (or Pas de Calais) separate them from the Continent. The Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea wash the West Coast of the country. The East Coast is washed by the North Sea.
The relief of the British Isles varies very much. The north and the west of England are mountainous, but all the rest - east, centre and south - is a vast plain. The mountainous northern part of Scotland is called the Highlands. The south, which has beautiful valleys and plains, is called the Lowlands. England is separated from Scotland by the Cheviot Hills, running from east to west. The Pennines extends from the Cheviot Hills to the south of England. Mountains in Great Britain are not very high. Ben Nevis in Scotland is the highest mountain in the UK (it is only 1,343 m high).
There are a lot of rivers in Great Britain, but they are not very long. The Severn is the longest river, flowing between England and Wales. One of its tributaries is the Avon, famed by Shakespeare. The Thames is the deepest and the most important river. London is situated on the Thames.
There are many lakes in Great Britain. Scotland is widely known for the number and beauty of the lakes. The famous Lake District is situated there. Scottish lakes are long and narrow. The largest and the most beautiful is Loch Lomond. The most famous of the Scottish lochs, however, is Loch Ness, because of the mystery of the monster “Nessie”.
The mountains and the warm waters of Gulf Stream influence the climate of the British Isles. It can be described as mild and temperate. Winters are warm, the rivers do not freeze in winter and snow never lies on the ground for a long time. At the same time summers are cool and wet. Rain falls all the year round. Thick fogs in autumn are typical of the climate of Great Britain.
The United Kingdom is a parliamentary monarchy. The Queen is the official head of the state. But it is more a tradition than a real fact. In practice the country is ruled by an elected parliament. The legislative power in the country belongs to the British Parliament, which consists of two cham bers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The seats are partly hereditary in the House of Lords, but the members of the House of Commons are elected every 5 years.
In Great Britain there are three main political parties: the Labour, the Conservative and the Liberal. Every four years a general election is held. The leader of the party, which receives the majority in the House of Commons, is appointed Prime Minister.
Great Britain was originally an agricultural and sheep-farming country. The main agricultural products are wheat, barley, oats, and a big variety of food products. Britain usually imports tea, fruit, and tobacco.
The great disadvantage of Britain’s industry is that it has very few raw materials. Nevertheless the United Kingdom is a highly developed industrial coun try. The North Sea oil and gas can be considered as one of the major mineral resources. Moreover it has always been rich in coal and iron ore. Coal mining is one of the most important British industries. It is also known as one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of iron and steel goods, machinery and electronics, aircraft and naviga tion equipment, textiles and chemicals. One of the most important industries of the country is shipbuilding.
Great Britain is a birthplace of many famous people: Robert Burns and George Gordon Byron, Walter Scott and Charles Dickens, Bernard Shaw and Robert Louis Stevenson, William Thackeray and Oscar Wilde, William Somerset Maugham and John Galsworthy, Conan Doyle and Lewis Carroll, Thomas Gainsborough and Joseph Turner, Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton, Admiral Lord Nelson and Winston Churchill.
Answer the questions:
What is the official name of Great Britain?
What are the capitals of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland?
The capital of Great Britain is London, isn’t it?
What languages are spoken in the UK?
What is the population of Great Britain?
Where is the country situated?
What is the total land area of the UK?
What seas and oceans is Great Britain washed by?
The surface of Great Britain varies much, doesn’t it?
What are the main rivers in the country?
What river does London stand on?
Which part of Great Britain is known for its lakes?
Why is British climate mild?
What is characteristic of the Britain’s climate?
What kind of state is the UK?
Who rules Britain officially? Who rules Britain in practice?
What is the difference between the House of Lords and the House of Commons?
Who won the last general election? Who is the PM now?
What mineral resources can be found on the territory of the country?
What can you say about the economy of the country?
Do you know any famous Englishmen? Who are they?
Read the texts about some British sights
A. There are some unusual places in Great Britain. Let’s take the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland for example. The Causeway is a mass of stone columns standing very near together. The tops of the columns form stepping stones leading from the cliff foot and disappearing under the sea. There are about 40,000 of these stone columns. The tallest are about 42 feet (13 m) high. Visitors in modern times are told that it is the result of volcanic action, but the legend says it is a giant’s work. The ancient Irish knew that there lived the giant Finn McCool, the Ulster soldier, who was extremely strong. He fell in love with a lady giant that lived on an island in Scotland, and so he began to build this causeway to bring her to Ulster.
B. Stonehenge is perhaps the most famous, as well as the most mysterious, of all prehistoric engineering monuments. There is nothing else like it anywhere in the world. Started 5,000 years ago, it was remodeled several times in the centuries that followed. Yet, why it was built is remaining a mystery. Stonehenge consists of two circles of huge stone blocks. Inside these are two groups of stones in the shape of a horseshoe. On June the 21st , the longest day of the year, the rising sun faces the open part of the horseshoe and shines on the centre stone. At one time, people thought that Stonehenge was a Druid temple (храм друидов, жрецов древних кельтов), where they honoured the sun god but we shall never know precisely how it was used or what religious beliefs were celebrated there.
C. Stratford-on-Avon is the place where the greatest dramatist and poet of the English literature William Shakespeare was born and died (1564-1616). April 23rd is the day on which Shakespeare was born and also the day when he died. Stratford is a very interesting town in the centre of England. There are beautiful woods, green fields, a quiet river Avon and lovely country houses. The main centres of interest include the Birthplace itself, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage (the home of Shakespeare’s wife), foundations and gardens of New Place (where he died), Shakespeare Memorial Theatre and the beautiful Holy Trinity Church (Shakespeare’s burial place).
TERM 2
LONDON
Learn the following words and expressions:
a politician – политик
an invasion – вторжение, завоевание
to turn – повернуть
a misfortune – несчастье
to change – изменять
an image – образ
to destroy – разрушать
a church – церковь
ancient – древний
a guide – гид
a tower – башня
to defend – защищать
a fortress – крепость
a palace – дворец
an observatory – обсерватория
an arsenal – арсенал
a prison – тюрьма
a raven – ворон
a sight = a place of interest –достопримечательность
to leave – оставлять, покидать
a monarchy – монархия
to guard – охранять
remarkable – удивительный
impressive – производящий впечатление
a tomb – надгробный камень
to bury – хоронить
a time-keeper – часы (куранты)
royal – королевский
to reign – царствовать
a column – колонна
a statue – статуя
a fountain – фонтан
an inventor – изобретатель
to contain – содержать
a masterpiece – шедевр
an admission – вход, доступ
unique – уникальный
wax – воск
to enjoy – наслаждаться
to discover – открывать
curious – редкий, любопытный
a piece – часть, кусок
to investigate – исследовать
architecture – архитектура
plague – чума
a master – хозяин
a crown – корона
a jewel – сокровище
Mind some proper names:
Roman – римский
Londinium – древнее название Лондона
Westminster – Вестминстер
The City – Сити (исторический центр Лондона)
Stock Exchange – Лондонская фондовая биржа
The Old Bailey – Центральный уголовный суд
Mansion House –резиденция мэра Лондона
Tower of London – Лондонский Тауэр
William the Conqueror – Вильгельм Завоеватель
The White Tower – Белая башня (самая старая часть Тауэра)
London Bridge – Лондонский мост
Westminster Abbey – Вестминстерское Аббатство
The Poets’ Corner – Уголок поэтов
Gothic – готический
the Houses of Parliament – здание парламента
Big Ben – Биг Бен (колокол часов-курантов)
Buckingham Palace – Букингемский дворец
Changing of the Guard – смена караула
Queen Victoria Memorial – мемориал королеве Виктории
Trafalgar Square – Трафальгарская площадь
the National Portrait Gallery – национальная портретная галерея
the National Gallery – национальная галерея
St. Paul’s Cathedral – Собор Святого Павла
the British Museum –Британский музей
the Royal Opera House –королевская Опера
Royal Albert Hall – королевский концертный зал
Hyde Park – Гайд парк
the Speaker’s Corner – Уголок оратора
Kensington Gardens – Кенсингтон-Гарденз
St. James’s Park – Сент-Джеймс парк
Regent’s Park – Риджентс парк
Geoffrey Chaucer ['tSLsə]
William Shakespeare ['Seikspiə]
Robert Burns [bWnz]
George Gordon Byron
Charles Dickens
Rudyard Kipling
Charles Robert Darwin
Michael Faraday
Isaac Newton ['aizək 'njHtn]
Sir Benjamin Hall
Admiral Lord Nelson
Sir Christopher Wren ['sW 'kristəfə 'ren]
Madam Tussaud’s ['mædəm 'tjHsou]
Practice the pronunciation of the following words:
politician ["pOli'tiSn], misfortune [mis'fLtSən], century ['sentSəry], changed [tSeinGd], image ['imiG], plague [pleig], church [tSWtS], ancient ['einSənt], recommend ["rekə'mend], heart [hRt], conqueror ['kOŋkərə], jewel ['GHəl], monarchy ['mOnəki], guard [gRd], tomb [tHm], buried ['berid], isles [ailz], reign, [rein] highest ['haiist], column ['kOləm], statue ['stætjH], fountain ['fauntin], portrait ['pLtrit], masterpiece ['mRstəpJs], unique [ju'nJk], adult ['ædəlt], museum [mjH'ziəm].
Read and translate the text “ London”
A famous English politician once said about the English capital: “It’s a nation, not a city”. And it’s really true, as one can see all the history of the nation through the history of London.
London is 2000 years old and had been founded many years before the first Roman invasion. The first name of the city was Londinium. It was founded on the river Thames, the location of the city being very comfortable and in the course of time a small village turned into a big important city.
Two great misfortunes in the 17th century changed the image of London completely: the Great Plague (1665) killed about 1/5 of the population, and the Great Fire (1666) destroyed 3000 houses and almost all the churches.
Modern London was founded on the place of two ancient cities London and Westminster. Now the territory of the English capital is about 5 thousand square kilometers with the population of more than 8 million people. Traditionally London is divided into three parts: The City, the West End and the East End.
The City is the financial and business centre of London and occupies the territory of about 2.6 square kilometers. Less than 6000 people live there but about half a million people come to work there every morning. Numerous banks and big companies have their head offices there. You can also find the Stock Exchange, the Bank of England, the Old Bailey and the Mansion House there.
The West End is the richest and the most beautiful part of London. The best shops, hotels, restaurants, clubs and department stores are situated there. There are a lot of museums, galleries, concert halls, cinemas and theatres. In the West End you can find wonderful parks and squares. It is in the West End where the University of London is located with Bloomsbury as a students quarter.
The East End is a poorer district but it is developing fast. There are a lot of factories, plants and docks there. It is a working part of London but it is becoming the leading international financial centre with its high quality modern offices, shops, restaurants, hotels, sports and exhibition centres.
If you come to London for the first time and don’t know where to go, any guide would recommend you to begin with the heart of the capital – the City and Westminster. Let’s start with the Tower of London, which is situated there. This is the most ancient building in London. It was founded in the 11th century by William the Conqueror, who was French and built the White Tower to live in and defend himself and his people from the English. Over the centuries the Tower of London has been a fortress, a royal palace, an observatory, an arsenal and a state prison. Now it is a museum. It is a home of the Crown Jewels, which are used by the Queen and her family today. The ravens are one of the most famous sights of the Tower of London. According to the legend if the ravens leave the Tower, the monarchy will fall. That’s why for over 900 years these birds have been guarding the Tower of London. All the ravens have names and the Raven Master gives them food.
To the east of the Tower you can see a bridge over the Thames. It’s a Tower Bridge. We should say that the river Thames has always been the part of London’s history. Londoners call this river Father of London. There are about 30 bridges across the Thames, but Tower Bridge is the biggest and the most beautiful.
No tourist would like to leave London without visiting Westminster Abbey. It is one of the most remarkable examples of the early English Gothic Style. It is impressive in appearance and size. The Abbey is famous for the Poets’ Corner with the tombs and memorials of many British poets and writers such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Burns, Byron, Dickens, Kipling and others. Such great scientists as Darwin, Faraday and Newton are also buried there. Westminster Abbey is associated with the history of not only London but of all the British Isles.
The Houses of Parliament is the seat of the British government. The Clock Tower, which is called Big Ben after Sir Benjamin Hall, is known for its clock. It’s one of the finest timekeepers in the world. Big Ben has become the symbol of London.
London is known as the home of the oldest monarchy in Europe. Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the British royal family in London. When the flag is on the top of the Palace it means that the Queen is at home. Every day at 11.30 you can see the beautiful ceremony of the Changing of the Guard. In front of Buckingham Palace there is Queen Victoria Memorial. Her reign was the longest in British history. The Palace is very big, there are about 600 rooms in it.
Not far from Buckingham Palace there is Trafalgar Square. The highest point here is the column with a statue of Admiral Lord Nelson. Four bronze lions look at the square and two fountains make the square especially beautiful.
Behind Trafalgar Square there’s the National Portrait Gallery, which has portraits of almost every famous British man or woman – artists, writers, inventors, politicians. Next to it there is the National Gallery. It contains more than 2200 masterpieces from the 13th to 20th century. These pictures belong to the public and admission is free.
As any other old city London has got many churches. One of the most famous and absolutely unique is St. Paul’s Cathedral. It is a masterpiece of Sir Christopher Wren. He built it after the Great Fire, which completely destroyed it. It took Christopher Wren 35 years to reconstruct this fine building. St. Paul’s is one of the largest Cathedrals in the world.
If you love visiting museums, London is the right place to go. The most outstanding one is the British Museum. Here you can see the works of man from prehistory to the present day. Sherlock Holmes Museum attracts both children and adults. It is situated in famous Baker Street. Another interesting museum, which is also at Baker Street, is Madam Tussaud’s. It has life-size wax figures of famous people, both living and dead.
The British capital is the center of theatres and concert halls. There are a lot of them in London: the Royal Opera House, Royal Albert Hall, etc.
Londoners enjoy their parks and gardens, as London is very rich in them. Maybe the most famous one is Hyde Park, which used to be a royal hunting garden and now is the best place to have rest, walk or listen to the orators at the Speaker’s Corner. Among the other famous parks one can mention St. James’s Park, Kensington Gardens and of course Regent’s Park with the London Zoo.
So, London is an unusual city, where the great and the small, the old and the new are side by side. And there is always something new to be discovered, some curious piece of the history to be investigated.
Answer the questions:
1. What is London?
2. When was London founded?
3. Where is London situated?
4. What is the population of London?
5. What is the most ancient building of the City?
6. How old is it? What is it famous for?
7. What are the most famous sights of London?
8. How many bridges are there across the Thames?
9. What is the seat of the British government?
10. Where does the Royal Family live?
11. What ceremony can we see in front of Buckingham Palace?
12. What is the heart of London?
13. What galleries and museums of London do you know?
14. Who was the architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral?
Read the texts about some London sights
A. St. Paul’s Cathedral is near the middle of the City. It is one of the finest churches in Europe. From far away you can see the huge dome with a golden ball and a cross on the top.
Old St. Paul’s, that stood on the same site, was destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666. The present Cathedral was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and was being built for 35 years. The Cathedral contains monuments and memorials to many national heroes, among them the Duke of Wellington and Lord Nelson, Sir John Moore and Sir Christopher Wren. The interior of the Cathedral is very beautiful.
After looking round you can climb 236 steps to the Whispering Gallery, which is inside the dome. It is called so because if one whispers close to the wall on one side of the hall, a person with his ear close to the wall on the other side can hear what is said. If you want to reach the foot of the ball, you have to climb 637 more steps. Outside we have a magnificent view of London.
This jewel of London was chosen by Prince Charles and Princess Diana for their wedding in 1981.
B. Piccadilly is a fine street not far from Hyde Park. Piccadilly Circus is a dynamic and picturesque place with a happy and lively atmosphere. For centuries Piccadilly has been the heart of London’s West End. Piccadilly Circus is one of the busiest places in London. The Underground station “Piccadilly Circus”, its shops and newsstands are used by over 150,000 people a day. Piccadilly is a fashionable shopping centre. People come here to the shops in the daytime, and at night they come for a night out. It is the centre of nightlife in the West End.
Five important streets meet at Piccadilly Circus. The cars, the tourist coaches, the red London buses, and the black taxis go round its famous fountain with a statue. It’s not a statue of a famous man or woman. It is the statue of Eros, the Greek god of love, which attracts crowds of tourists. This is one of the most popular meeting points of London. There are a number of theatres and cinemas in the streets around Piccadilly Circus, so this part of London is generally called «Theatreland».
MY FUTURE PROFESSION
Learn the following words and expressions:
training – обучение
a skill – умение
to respect – уважать
involve – включать, вовлекать
independent – независимый
to choose – выбирать
to exist – существовать
to follow – следовать
an advice – совет
to decide – решать
to leave school – заканчивать школу
to evaluate – оценивать
moreover – более того
an ability – способность
a use – применение
own – собственный
as for me – что касается меня
to make а choice – делать выбор
vital – жизненно важный
constant – постоянный
a stream – вереница, поток
a decision – решение
that’s why – вот почему
a challenge – вызов
a flash – вспышка
to aim – ставить своей целью
to create – творить, создавать
pros – за (преимущества)
cons – против (недостатки)
an exception – исключение
varied – разнообразный
to require – требовать
flexible – гибкий, творческий
an approach – подход
to reward – вознаграждать
to deal with – иметь дело с
a pleasure – удовольствие
to repair – ремонтировать
to equip – оборудовать
a gym – спортивный зал
to mark – выставлять отметки
to prepare for – готовиться к
to complain – жаловаться
to pay – платить
to improve – улучшать
responsibility – ответственность
to master – овладевать (знаниями)
ignorant – невежественный
burning – жгучий
a desire – желание
medium – посредник, зд. среда
a quality – качество
generosity – великодушие
tolerance – терпение
to afford – позволять себе
dull – скучный, глупый
mean – посредственный, злобный
narrow-minded – ограниченный
bright – яркий, полный бодрости
to obtain – приобретать, достигать
a set – набор, ряд
to explain – объяснять
attitude – позиция, отношение
to be keen on – очень любить
to do one’s best – сделать все возможное
to succeed – добиться успеха,
достигнуть цели
to doodle – машинально чертить или рисовать
to detain – задерживать
to review – делать обзор
appropriate – соответствующий
to withdraw – отстранять
easily damaged – легкоповреждаемый
a facility – приспособление
Practise the pronunciation of the following words:
individual ["indi'vidjuəl], career [kə'riə], world [wWld], evaluate [i'væljueit], sure [Suə], moreover [mLr'ouvə], character ['kæriktə], specific [spi'sifik], knowledge ['nOliG], creativity ["kriei'tiviti], pedagogy ['pedəgəgi], psychology ["sai'kOləGi], philosophy [fi'lOsəfi], literature ['litrətSə], varied ['vFərid], require [ri'kwaiə], reward [ri'wLd], pleasure ['pleZə], equipped [i'kwipt], gym [Gim], catalyze ['kætəlaiz], guardian ['gRdjən], quality ['kwOliti], audience ['Ldiəns], would [wud], enough [i'nAf].
Read and translate the text “My Future Profession”
What is a profession? As Cambridge International Dictionary of English says, it is “any type of work which needs a special training or skill, often one which is respected because it involves a high level of education”. Several colleges and universities in Perm provide necessary training for individuals wishing to get good education and enter professional careers.
Finishing school is quite the right time to think about future profession because it is the beginning of the independent life for millions of school leavers. Many roads are opened for them, but it is not an easy thing to choose a profession out of more than 2,000 existing in the world. Some follow the advice of their parents or the example of their friends and make an easy choice, for others it’s difficult to decide. It is really so because people have to evaluate themselves before choosing a career, they must be sure they know their interests. Moreover they must be realistic about their abilities, so as to make the best use of their own talents.
As for me I made my choice long ago - I want to become a teacher. Many young people consider teaching as a career. It’s not surprising – teachers play a very important role in our lives. All people have the deepest respect for them. They serve humanity doing the most vital job of all. Besides, with ten school years behind and with all the teachers you have met, you think there isn’t anything you don’t know about this work.
I must say that this decision didn’t come to me as a sudden flash. My mother is also a teacher and I have always known that teaching is a very specific and difficult job. Teaching is a constant stream of decisions, that’s why this job is a real challenge to my character and abilities. I see that the successful solution of the complex tasks of upbringing depends to a great extent on the teacher, his professional skill and cultural background. The teacher is a sculptor of the young personality. Everybody knows that it isn’t easy to teach modern children. Teachers don’t only give knowledge in their own subjects. Modern school is also aimed to develop individual abilities of children, independent thinking and creativity. To be a good teacher you must be deeply interested in what you are doing. You have to be quite creative and well educated yourself. You must be a model of competence and know a lot of things not only in your subject but also in many others such as pedagogy, psychology, philosophy, history, literature and music for example.
Every job has its pros and cons. The profession of a teacher is not an exception. On the one hand this work is varied, it requires a flexible approach to every lesson and good communication skills. This profession can be rewarded if you like dealing with children because children will love you too. If you like people you will like teaching. Moreover it’s a pleasure to work in modern well-repaired and well-equipped schools with special rooms for different subjects, computer classes, laboratories, gyms, sports grounds, and even swimming pools.
On the other hand most jobs are done within the usual office hours from 9 a.m. till 5 p.m. but not for teachers. They are devoted to their work and their evenings are usually spent in marking exercise books and preparing for the next lesson. Teachers always complain that they are overworked and underpaid. That’s true but there are summer holidays, which last almost two months and there is also hope that the economical situation in Russia will soon improve and the situation in payment will change.
To be a teacher is a great responsibility. A teacher is a person who is always mastering and learning herself while teaching others because every time you learn something new you become something new. An ignorant teacher teaches ignorance but a good teacher catalyzes in her pupils the burning desire to know. John Steinbeck wrote: “A great teacher is a great artist. Teaching might even be the greatest of arts since its medium is the human mind and the human spirit.”
I’m sure that a teacher should have such personal qualities as generosity, tolerance, flexibility and so on. A boring teacher teaches boredom, so a teacher cannot afford being dull, mean or narrow-minded. Only bright personalities are respected by audience. She has to be clever and obtain a set of specific skills to be able to explain difficult points in simple words because teachers must develop their pupils’ intellect, form their views and characters, their attitude to life and to other people.
I can’t say that all these qualities can be found in me but I’m keen on this profession and I’ll do my best to match it. It’s not easy, as it may seem at first but I think that love for children combined with the knowledge I’ll get at the University would be quite enough to succeed in my future work.
Answer the questions:
1. What is a profession?
2. Why is finishing school quite the right time to think about future profession?
3. How many professions exist in the world?
4. What do schoolchildren do to choose a career?
5. Did you make your choice long ago?
6. Why is teaching a real challenge to a person?
7. Do people respect teachers greatly?
8. Is it easy to teach modern children?
9. What is the aim of modern school?
10. What must teacher know?
11. What are some pros and cons of this profession?
12. How are modern schools equipped?
13. What kind of person should a teacher be?
14. What personal qualities can be found in you?
15. Do you think you will succeed in your future work?
Read about some school policies of one of the English schools
Discipline. We aim to base our discipline on a spirit of co operation between pupils and staff, and to train the pupils in self-discipline and responsibility. Where this fails, and a punishment is necessary, a pupil may be detained after school (he is always given 24 hours warning) or his parents may be asked to visit the school to discuss matters with one of the senior staff.
Homework. The College arranges homework appropriate to the pupils’ abilities and provides for all pupils in each subject. The teachers hope that parents will combine positively with staff to encourage their children to fulfill all the tasks. Each child has a homework diary and a homework time-table; parents are asked to monitor all homework, check the diary and sign it weekly.
Special educational needs. We keep a list of pupils with learning or other problems, monitor them constantly and review their needs once a term. We aim to support them in class rather than withdraw them.
Money and valuables. Children should not bring expensive or easily damaged things to school. There are no proper facilities for their storage and the school is not responsible for them.
HEINRICH PESTALOZZI
(1746-1827)
Learn the following words and expressions:
to be born – родиться
to bring up – воспитывать
upbringing – воспитание
to consider – считать, полагать
household – домашнее хозяйство
a range – диапазон
education – образование, воспитание
to educate – давать образование, воспитание
true – истинный, правдивый
force – сила
to force – заставить, вынудить
to abandon – оставить, бросить
because of – из-за, благодаря
on behalf of – от имени, по поручению
to conduct – вести, руководить
to influence – влиять
to lay emphasis – выделить, подчеркнуть
a tutor – учитель, занимающийся индивидуально
to establish – основать, учредить, создать
to set up – учредить
a production unit – производственная единица
a failure – провал, неудача
a novel – роман
to express – выражать
to observe – наблюдать
observation – наблюдение
instead of – вместо
an orphan – сирота
activity – деятельность
to explore – исследовать
to develop – развивать
to implement – претворять в жизнь
a way – путь, дорога, способ
research – исследование
briefly – кратко, зд. непродолжительное время
to be in charge of – быть в ответе за
to appoint – назначать
tract – трактат
instruction – обучение
self-activity – самостоятельная деятельность
ready-made – готовый
to arrive at answer – приходить к ответу
own – собственный
power – способность, сила
to judge – судить
to reason – рассуждать
to cultivate – развивать
to encourage – поощрять, одобрять
aim – цель
to oppose – выступать против
a memory – память
memorization – запоминание, заучивание
strict – строгий
to replace – заменять
to abolish – отменять, уничтожать
flogging – физическое наказание, порка
to stress – подчеркивать, ставить ударение
to implant – насаждать
to facilitate – облегчать
a facilitator – человек, создающий благоприятные условия
to respect – уважать
to believe – верить, полагать
to consist of – состоять из
broad – широкий
a founder – основатель
a kindergarten – детский сад
a movement – движение
a follower – последователь
thus – следовательно
Practise the pronunciation of the following words:
brought up ['brL t'Ap], career [kə'riə], influence ['influəns], establishment [is'tæbliSmənt],emphasis ['emfəsis], tutor ['tju:tə], significant [sig'nifikənt], orphan ['Lfən], finance [fai'næns], failure ['feiljə], theory ['Tiəri], observation ["Obzə'veiSn], epistolary [i'pistələri], psychological ["saikə'lOGikəl], spontaneity ["spOntə'nJiti], encourage [in'kAriG], discipline ['disiplin], individuality ["indi"vidju'æliti], facilitator [fæ'siliteitə], although ['LlDou], unified ['jHnifaid], Pestalozzi ["pestə'lOtsi], Zurich ['zjuərik], Jean Jacques Rousseau ['GJn'Gækwəs'rHsou], Leonard ['lenəd], Gertrude ['gWtrHd], Stanz [stRnts], Burgdorf ['bWgdLf], Yverdon ['aivədən ], Friedrich Froebel [frJdrik'frWbəl].
Read and understand the text “Heinrich Pestalozzi”
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi was born in Zurich and brought up by his mother as his father died when the boy was only five. He was educated at the University of Zurich. He was forced to abandon his career because of his political activity on behalf of a reformist Swiss political organisation.
At his farm near Zurich he conducted a school for poor children. He was influenced by the works of the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. While Rousseau laid emphasis on the tutor, Pestalozzi made a significant contribution to the establishment of the school as a central educational force. He set up an industrial school for 20 orphans where work and learning were to be combined. The school was to be a production unit so that children could finance their own learning, but the result was a financial failure.
He wrote a didactic novel “Leonard and Gertrude” (1801), expressing his theories on social reform through education. Learning by Pestalozzi was based on immediate observation. Instead of dealing with words children should learn through activity. Pestalozzi explored how Rousseau’s ideas might be developed and implemented and put his theory into practice. He set out concrete ways forward, based on research.
In 1798 Pestalozzi was briefly in charge of a school for orphans in Stanz, later he was appointed head of a Teacher Training College at Burgdorf and later he set up the Institute in Yverdon. It was at that period when he published his book “How Gertrude Teaches Her Children” (1809) which was an epistolary educational tract. He wanted to establish a psychological method of instruction. He placed a special emphasis on spontaneity and self-activity. Children should not be given ready-made answers but should arrive at answers themselves. To do this their self-activity should be cultivated and encouraged. The aim is to educate the whole child; intellectual education is only a part of a wider plan. He opposed the system of memorization learning and strict discipline. It was replaced with a system based on love and understanding of the child’s world. He abolished flogging.
He stressed the individuality of the child and the necessity for teachers to be taught how to develop abilities of a child rather than to implant knowledge. The teacher should be a loving facilitator of knowledge. Although he respected the individuality of the teacher, Pestalozzi felt that there must exist a unified science of education that could be learned and practised. He believed that teacher training should consist of a broad liberal education followed by a period of research and professional training.
Pestalozzi had and has a lot of supporters and followers. One of them was a German educator Friedrich Froebel, the founder of the kindergarten movement, who taught at Yverdon from 1806 to 1810 and was greatly influenced by Pestalozzi’s method. Other Pestalozzi’s followers developed various sayings characterising his method as “from the known to the unknown, from the simple to the complex, from the concrete to the abstract.”
Thus, we may conclude that his theory laid the foundation for modern elementary education and teacher training.
Answer the questions:
1. Where did Pestalozzi study?
2. Why was he forced to abandon his career?
3. Whose ideas was Pestalozzi influenced by?
4. What did he establish as a central educational force?
5. What was an industrial school to be?
6. Where did Pestalozzi express his theories?
7. What novels did he write?
8. What was learning based on?
9. How should children learn?
10. What ways did Pestalozzi set out?
11. Which educational establishments did he conduct his research in?
12. What method of instruction did Pestalozzi want to establish?
13. What powers of children should be cultivated to help them to arrive at answers?
14. What system did he oppose?
15. What principles should a system of education be based on?
16. What should teacher training consist of?
17. What were the principles characterising Pestalozzi’s method?
18. What is Pestalozzi’s contribution to the theory of education?
Read the text about Friedrich Froebel
Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) was the founder of the kindergarten, or the children garden. He was largely self-educated, but studied for a few years at different European universities. From 1806 to 1810 he worked and studied with famous Swiss educational reformer Pestalozzi at Yverdon, Switzerland. He accepted certain aspects of Pestalozzi’s method. He wanted to improve the educational methods of teaching. He wanted the teacher to become an active instructor.
In 1837 Froebel founded the kindergarten in the city of Blankenburg. Its curriculum cultivated child’s self-development, self-activity, and socialisation. It stressed the social and emotional growth of a child. The kindergarten had prepared environment. The kindergarten teacher was to be a moral and cultural model. He provided educational materials (e.g. geometrical shapes) for young children to encourage education through play. Children learned songs, stories, and games. They were introduced to the customs, heroes, and ideas of the cultural heritage. He spent the rest of his life organising kindergartens.
Froebel influenced modern technique in pre-school education.
TERM 3
THE FACULTY OF PRIMARY SCHOOLING
THE FACULTY OF PRE-SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY AND PEDAGOGICS
Higher Education
The American ideal of mass education for all is matched by an awareness that America also needs highly trained specialists. In higher education, therefore, and especially at the graduate schools (those following the first four years of college), the U.S. has an extremely competitive and highly selective system. This advanced university system has become widely imitated internationally, and it is also the one most sought after by foreign students. Of the 438,000 foreign students enrolled in institutions of higher education in the United States in the 1992/93 academic year, 44 percent were enrolled in graduate programs.
While the American education system might put off selecting students until much later than do other systems, it does nonetheless select. And it becomes increasingly selective the higher the level. Moreover, because each university generally sets its own admission standards, the best universities are also the most difficult to get into.
Some universities are very selective even at the undergraduate or beginning levels. In 1991, for example, some 13,500 individuals sought admission to Stanford University, a private university south of San Francisco. Because these individuals must pay a fee to even apply for admission, these were "serious" applications. Of that number, only 2,700 (20 percent) were admitted for the first year of study. It is interesting to note that the great majority of those who were accepted had attended public - not private -schools. Many state-supported universities also have fairly rigid admission requirements. The University of California at Berkeley, for example, admitted only 40 percent of all qualified applicants in 1991. For Harvard, the figure is 17.2 percent (1991). Admission to law or medical schools and other graduate programs has always been highly selective. It is true, as often stated, that children who wish someday to go to one of the better universities start working for this goal in elementary school.
Needless to say, those children who have attended better schools, or who come from families with better-educated parents, often have an advantage over those who don't. This remains a problem in the U.S., where equality of opportunity is a central cultural goal. Not surprisingly, the members of racial minorities are the most deprived in this respect - with the notable exception of the Asian-Americans.
In 1990, for instance, 23 percent of all Americans 25 years and older had completed four years of college or more. However, the figure for Blacks was 12 percent and for Hispanics 10 percent. Compared with the figures from 1970, when the national average was only 10.7 percent (with 11.3 percent for whites, 4.4 percent for Blacks, and 7.6 percent for students of Hispanic origin), this does reveal a considerable improvement within two decades. The number of students who fail to complete high school, too, is much larger among minority groups. The national average of all 14 to 24-year-olds who did not graduate from high school was 10.5 percent in 1991. For white students it was 10.5 percent, for Blacks 11.3 percent, and for Hispanics the figure was as much as 29.5 percent. Yet, it is still a fact today, as the ВВС commentator Alistair Cooke pointed out in 1972, that "a Black boy has a better chance of going to college here than practically any boy in Western Europe." Today it would also be true of a Black girl.
The educational level is still relatively lower for women than for men. While 24.5 percent of male Americans had four years of college or more in 1989, only 18 percent of women had. But as indicated in the table above, there have been some recent improvements.
Academic Degrees Conferred by Sex (in 1,000s). Year Bachelor's degrees Master's degrees Doctor's degrees Male Female Male Female Male Female 1960 224.5 140.6 57.8 26.8 9.5 1.1 1970 475.6 364.1 138.1 92.3 27.5 4.6 1980 469.9 465.2 147.0 148.7 22.7 10.2 1990 504.0 590.5 156.5 180.7 24.7 14.5
A large number of different programs aimed at improving educational opportunities among minority groups exist at all levels - local, state, and federal. They have met with some, even if moderate, success. These programs along with the figures above point to one aspect, which is critical to understanding American education (and, for that matter, American society in general). Americans could conclude that they have been more successful than most other nations in including large proportions of their minorities at all levels of education. And they could conclude that enormous progress has been made in the past decades. But, in fact, few Americans do either. Rather, they concentrate on the fact that within the United States, minorities are still not equally represented in the number of high school graduates, or the numbers of engineers, doctors, lawyers, and university professors.
Elementary and Secondary Education
Because of the great variety of schools and colleges, and the many differences among them, no one institution can be singled out as typical or even representative. Yet there are enough basic similarities in structure among the various schools and systems to permit some general comments.
Most schools start at the kindergarten level. There are some school districts that do not have this beginning phase and others which have an additional "pre-school" one. There are almost always required subjects at each level. In some areas and at more advanced levels, students can choose some subjects. Pupils who do not do well often have to repeat courses, or have to have special tutoring, usually done in and by the schools. Many schools also support summer classes, where students can make up for failed courses or even take extra courses.
In addition to bilingual and bicultural education programs, many schools have special programs for those with learning and reading difficulties. These and other programs repeat the emphasis of American education on trying to increase equality of opportunity. They also attempt to integrate students with varying abilities and backgrounds into an educational system shared by all. At the same time, many high school students are given special advanced coursework in mathematics and the sciences. Nation-wide talent searches for minority group children with special abilities and academic promise began on a large scale in the 1960s. These programs have helped to bring more minority children into advanced levels of university education and into the professions.
Like schools in Britain and other English-speaking countries, those in the U.S. have also always stressed "character" or "social skills" through extracurricular activities, including organised sports. Because most schools start at around 8 o'clock every morning and classes often do not finish until 3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon, such activities mean that many students do not return home until the early evening. There is usually a very broad range of extracurricular activities available. Most schools, for instance, publish their own student newspapers, and some have their own radio stations. Almost all have student orchestras, bands, and choirs, which give public performances. There are theater and drama groups, chess and debating clubs, Latin, French, Spanish, or German clubs, groups which meet after school to discuss computers, or chemistry, or amateur radio, or the raising of prize horses and cows. Students can learn flying, skin-diving, and mountain climbing. They can act as volunteers in hospitals and homes for the aged and do other public-service work.
Many different sports are also available, and most schools share their facilities - swimming pools, tennis courts, tracks, and stadiums - with the public. Many sports that in other countries are normally offered by private clubs are available to students at no cost in American schools. Often the students themselves organise and support school activities and raise money through car washes, baby-sitting, bake sales, or by mowing lawns. Parents and local businesses often also help a group that, for example, has a chance to go to a state music competition, to compete in some sports championship, or take a camping trip. Such activities not only give pupils a chance to be together outside of normal classes, they also help develop a feeling of "school spirit" among the students and in the community.
Adult and Continuing Education
The concept of continuing (or lifelong) education is of great importance to Americans. In 1991, 57 million Americans 17 years and older furthered their education through participation in part-time instruction, taking courses in universities, colleges, professional associations, government organisations or even churches and synagogues. Most participants in continuing or adult education have a practical goal: they want to update and upgrade their job skills. As a result of economic changes and the rapid advance of the "information age," the necessity to acquire new occupational skills has increased. Adult education thus fills a need of many Americans who want to improve their chances in a changing job market. This is one explanation for the continuing growth of adult education classes over the past several years. Of course, not all people who take courses in adult education do this for job-related purposes. Many simply want to broaden their knowledge or learn something they would enjoy doing such as printmaking, dancing, or photography.
Continuing education courses are provided mainly by community or junior colleges and mostly take place in the evenings. The types of courses adults enrol in range from hobby and recreational activities to highly specialised technical skills. Courses in business, health care and health sciences, engineering, and education are most popular. Most of these courses are taken by employees because the employer provided major support for educational programs, either by paying part of the fees, giving time off, or providing other incentives. While some 50 percent of all people in adult education are enrolled in programs sponsored by educational institutions, about 15 percent were sponsored directly by business and industry. Over 80 percent of all companies today conduct their own training programs. Many large corporations offer complete degree programs, and some even support their own technical and business colleges and universities.
In the 1980s about 5 million students took industry-sponsored university programs and roughly twice that number were involved in corporate education of some kind. A great many universities and colleges, public and private, also admit part-time students to their programs. Many offer evening courses so those who work can attend, and most institutions have summer semesters, as well. This way many American are able to earn a university degree, bit by bit, and year by year. State universities have long "taken education to the people" by setting up extension campuses in small towns, or largely rural areas. Therefore, someone at home in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, for example, will be able to take courses taught by professors from the University of Wisconsin’s main campus in Madison.
THE FACULTY OF MATHEMATICS
The Whole Numbers
Generally when numbers are written the numerals are grouped by threes so that it becomes easy for the eye to distinguish them. Thus five million six hundred seventy-five thousand four hundred ninety two is written as 5 675 492. The groups of threes are often separated from one another by commas, that is: 5,675,492.
Numbers, when written, are often described by the number of numerals they contain, the number of places. Thus 72 is a two place number and 4895 is a four place number. Four place numbers, especially dates, are often written without commas or spaces, as 1905, 1943.
Addition of Whole Numbers
The addition of two or more numbers is an arithmetic operation by means of which a new number is obtained. This new number contains as many units as are contained in all added numbers taken together. The numbers that are added are known as the addends. The number resulting from addition of two or more numbers is known as the sum. The sign for addition is + (plus).
Addition is best performed when the numbers are written in columns so that units, tens, hundreds, and so forth are written vertically. For example, the sum of 1,562 and 1,891 is obtained, as follows:
1,562
+1,891
3,453
Addition is performed from right to left. We can easily observe that addition of 8 to 35 gives the same result when 35 is added to 8. In either of the operations of addition the sum is 43. So the sum of two or more numbers does not change when the order, in which the numbers are added, is changed.
Subtraction of Whole Numbers
Subtraction is an arithmetic operation by means of which one of the addends is obtained, when the sum and another addend are given. The result is known as the difference of the two given numbers. The number from which another number is to be subtracted is known as the minuend. The number that is subtracted is known as the subtrahend. Subtraction is an operation opposite to addition. The sign is - (minus).
Subtraction of many-place numbers is performed as follows:
986
-354
632
We begin subtraction from the right and we subtract the numbers in the same column. Thus: 6 – 4 = 2; 8 – 5 = 3, etc.
Multiplication of Whole Numbers
Multiplication is an arithmetic operation by means of which one number is repeated as an addend until it occurs as many times as it is indicated by another number. There are two numbers involved in multiplication. The result of the operation of multiplication is known as the product. The number which is repeated is known as the multiplicand. The number by which the multiplicand is multiplied is known as the multiplier. The sign is “x“or “”.
Division of Whole Numbers
The operation by means of which a factor is obtained when the product and the other factor are given is called division. The arithmetic operation is performed on the number, which we take as the given product. In division this number is called the dividend. The given factor is known as the number by which the dividend or the product is to be divided. This number is called the divisor. The result of the division of the dividend by the divisor is called the quotient. The sign of division is “:” or “/“ in England.
Fractions
A fraction is a part of a unit, such as ½; ¼; etc. A fraction has a numerator and a denominator. For example in the fraction ¾ - 3 is the numerator, and 4 is the denominator. In the fraction the numerator is divided by the denominator. The fraction 2/7; indicates that 2 is being divided by 7.
A mixed number is an integer together with a fraction, such as 2 3/5; 7 3/8 etc. An integer is the integral part and a fraction is the fractional part. An improper fraction is one in which the numerator is greater than the denominator, such as 19/6; 23/4 etc.
To change a mixed number to an improper fraction you must:
a) multiply the denominator of the fraction by the integer;
b) add the numerator to this product;
c) place the sum over the denominator of the fraction.
For example let’s change 3 4/7 to a fraction.
The solution is: 7 x 3 = 21; 21 + 4 = 25; 3 4/7 = 25/7 .
Addition of Fractions
Fractions cannot be added unless the denominators are all the same. If they are, add all the numerators and place this sum over the common denominator. Add up the integers, if any.
If the denominators are not the same, the fractions in order to be added must be converted into fractions having the same denominators. In order to do this; it is first necessary to find the Lowest Common Denominator (L.C.D.). The L.C.D. is the lowest number, which can be divided by all the given denominators.
For example L.C.D. of ½, 1/3, and 1/5 is 2 x 3 x 5 = 30.
Subtraction of Fractions
More than two numbers may be added at the same time. In subtraction, however, only two numbers are involved. In subtraction, as in addition, the denominators must be the same. One must be careful to determine which term is the first. The second term is always subtracted from the first, which should be of a larger quantity.
To subtract fractions you must:
a) change the mixed numbers, if any, to improper fractions;
b) find the L.C.D.;
c) change both fractions to fractions having the L.C.D. as the denominator;
d) subtract the numerator of the second fraction from the numerator of the first, and place this difference over the L.C.D.;
e) reduce if possible.
Multiplication of Fractions
To be multiplied, fractions need not have the same denominator.
To multiply fractions you must:
a) change the mixed numbers, if any, to improper fractions;
b) multiply all the numerators and place this product over the product
of denominators;
c) reduce the fraction if possible.
Illustration: multiply 2/3 x 2 4/7 x 5/9; 2 4/7=18/7;
2/3 x 18/7 x 5/9 = 180/189 = 20/21.
Division of Fractions
In division as in subtraction only two terms are involved. It is very important to determine which term is the first. If the problem reads 2/3 divided by 5, then 2/3 is the first term and 5 is the second. If it reads “How many times is ½ contained in1/3?”, then 1/3 is the first and ½ is the second.
To divide fractions you must:
a) change the mixed numbers, if any, to improper fractions;
b) invert the second fraction and multiply;
c) reduce the fraction if possible.
Illustration: divide 2/3 by 2 1/4 ; 2 1/4 =9/4; 2/3: 9/4=2/3x4/9=8/27
Addition and Subtraction of Decimal Fractions
Addition and subtraction of decimal fractions are performed in the same manner as addition and subtraction of whole numbers.
1. When we add two or several decimal fractions, all of these numbers should have the same number of places to the right of the decimal point.
2. If we subtract one decimal fraction from another both should have the same number of places to the right of the decimal point.
3. We shall refer to places to the right of the decimal point as decimal places.
In a set of addends or in a minuend or subtrahend one or several numbers may have more decimal places than the others. In such situations we note the number having the fewest decimal places and discard the digits, which are to the right of these decimal places in the other numbers, for example, in adding
45.6723
+156.78
we discard the digits 2 and 3. But we do not simply ignore these discarded digits. They may cause a change in one of the digits we intend to use. If we have 45.6723
+ 156.7
then according to the following rule we must rewrite it as:
45.7
+ 156.7
If the first digit at left of the portion that is to be discarded is either 0,1,2,3, or 4, then the last digit on the right that is to be retained should be left unchanged. If the first digit at the left of the portion that is to be discarded is either 5,6,7,8, or 9, then the last digit on the right that is to be retained should be increased by 1. Such discarding of the unnecessary decimal places is known as the rounding of numbers.
When 45.6723 was rounded to one decimal place, that is to tenths, we obtained 45.7 because the first digit of the discarded portion was 7, and therefore, the last digit on the right (the 6) was increased by 1, and we thus obtained 7. The actual addition and subtraction of decimal fractions are performed in the same manner as in the case of the whole numbers so that decimal points are all in a vertical column as is shown below: 56.883 or 875.728
+123.784 - 648.917
25.075 226.811
205.742
Multiplication of Decimal Fractions
The only difference between multiplication of whole numbers and decimal fractions is that we must take into consideration that some portion of one or both factors is fractional, as indicated by the decimal points. Now, instead of multiplying decimal fractions let us multiply whole numbers 3,672 and 275. To obtain 3,672 from 3.672 we move the decimal point 3 places to the right, that is we multiply the number by 1,000 and to obtain 275 from 2.75 we move the decimal point two places to the right. That is we multiply it by 100. Thus, the product 3,672 x 275 is 1000 x 100 = 100,000 times the product 3.672 x 2.75. When the product of the whole numbers 3,672 x 275 is obtained, we must divide it by 100,000. That is, we move the decimal point 5 places to the left. The multiplication of the whole number looks as follows:
3.672
x 275
18360
+ 25704
7344
1009800
The decimal point (not written) is at present on the extreme right of the product, that is, we have 1,009,800 and after moving it 5 places to the left we have 10,098.
Notice that one factor has 3 decimal places, and the second factor has 2 decimal places. The product has 5 decimal places. That is the number of the decimal places in the product is equal to total number of decimal places in the factors.
Division of Decimal Fractions
The only difference between the division of whole numbers and that of numbers containing decimal fractions is that we must take into consideration the fact that some portion of either the dividend or the divisor or of both is fractional, as is indicated by the decimal point.
Furthermore, when we perform division with whole numbers, we often cannot complete this operation as we obtain a remainder. Thus, we have before us two questions:
1. Where shall we locate the decimal point in the quotient?
2. What shall we do in the case of a remainder?
We have examined the effect of moving of the decimal point. Let’s first examine the division of a decimal fraction by a whole number. For example 111.78 : 9. We shall proceed as in the division of whole numbers:
111.78 I 9
- 9 12
21
- 18
3
Note that the division of the whole part leaves a remainder 3, and that we have a fractional part 0.78. That is we are left with 3.78. From this point on we can't expect anything else but some fraction in the quotient if we continue the division. If now we bring down the next digit, that is 7, we shall have 3,7 or 370 tenths. If we divide 37 tenths by 9, we shall have a certain number of tenths in the quotient. We shall, therefore, place a decimal point after the 2 in the obtained
quotient and continue the division as usual. Then we shall have:
111.78 I 9 Check: I2.42
-9 12.42 x 9
21 111.78
-18
37
-36
18
-18
Thus we observe that division of a decimal fraction by a whole number is performed in the same manner as division of a whole number by a whole number.
The whole part of the decimal fraction will give the whole part of the quotient. As soon as we bring down the first digit from the decimal part of the dividend, we shall begin to obtain the decimal part (the fractional part) of the quotient. This procedure always serves for the division of decimal numbers by whole numbers.
Now we shall apply the results just obtained to the division of decimal fractions by decimal fractions. Let’s perform the division 176.28 : 2.6. We know that the multiplication of the dividend and of the divisor by the same number does not produce any change in the quotient. When we multiply the dividend by some number, the quotient is multiplied by the same number, but when we multiply the divisor by some number, the quotient is divided by the same number. This fact enables us to change the dividend 2.6 into a whole number. This change is accomplished by moving both decimal points one place to the right; thus, both the divisor and the dividend 176.28 and 2.6 are multiplied by 10. The divisor 2.6 becomes 26, and the dividend 176.28 becomes 1,762.8.
Quotients with Repeated Decimals
Very often the division of numbers, whole numbers or numbers with decimal fractions cannot be completed to give an exact result. At some stage of division we reach a situation where the quotient or a part of the quotient repeats itself, and thus the division may be carried on indefinitely. In all such cases, however, the exact quotient cannot be obtained. In such situations the process of division must be stopped at some place. Often the point where the division stops is determined in the statement of the problem. The following example will illustrate the repeating:
11 6___
-6 1.83333...
50
-48
20
-18
20
-18
20
-18
2...
Note that during the division above, we brought down zeroes whenever we wished to continue the process. All these zeroes assumedly come from the places to the right of the decimal point. We note that the quotient 11: 6 = 1.83333... may contain as many repeated 3's as we wish. However, if we decide to stop, less than 5, we merely drop the digits that are beyond the place where we wish to stop.
THE FACULTY OF BIOLOGY
The Cell
All living things are composed of cells. Very simple organisms such as yeast1 and bacteria consist of only one cell. They are one-celled or unicellular organisms. A large organism, such as a human being contains billions upon trillions of cells and is called a multicellular organism. A drop of blood, for instance, contains about forty billion cells. And there are thousands of drops of blood in the average man.
Despite its small size, each cell is a tiny drop of life. Some cells can exist independently, and do, as in the case of bacteria. Human cells however, have lost that ability. They depend on one another and specialise in one function or another. Some cells specialise in photosynthesis, some in digestion, some in excretion and some in reproduction.
Groups of cells of a similar shape, size and function form a tissue. When tissues of different types are grouped together for a common function they form an organ. Groups of cells, taken all together, are more advanced than single cells, even if the latter2 are more independent. The living matter inside a cell is called protoplasm. The protoplasm is divided into parts. Near the center of the cell is a part, which is denser and thicker than the rest of the cell. It is the nucleus. The rest of the cell is cytoplasm.
Like any other living things, cells grow and multiply. Most cells multiply .by dividing down the middle. Then there are two cells where only one existed a moment before. The cell nucleus is in charge of seeing that cell division takes place properly. The cytoplasm takes care of the day-by-day life of the cell. Cells in different parts of the body vary in their shape according to the work they must do. Fat cells are just tiny blobs of fat surrounded by a thin layer of protoplasm. The red cells of the blood are little disks that contain a protein called haemoglo bin, which carries oxygen to all other cells of the body. Red blood cells are so simple, they don't even have a nucleus and so cannot grow or di vide.
Nerve cells have irregular shapes with long thread-like fibers sticking out5 of them. Impulses and sensations travel along those fibers. Muscle cells are long and thin. They can contract into short, thick cells when ever necessary.
Some cells are so specialised that they have abandoned almost everything but6 their main function. They have even lost the ability to multiply. A baby is born with all the brain cells, for instance, that it will ever have. Still other cells are always growing. The cells of the skin grow and divide throughout life.
Notes
yeast [ji:st] – дрожжи
the latter – nocледние
by dividing – путем деления
is in charge of seeing – зд. отвечают за
sticking out – выступающий
but – кроме
Some Familiar Proteins
The hair on your head is an example of an almost pure protein. So is silk. The protein of hair is called keratin by chemists, and the protein of silk is called fibroin.
Both keratin and fibroin are comparatively simple proteins. Their molecules consist of amino acids strung together in more or less a long straight line. Such lines of amino acids are called polypeptides.
In the 1940’s chemists learned to manufacture quite long polypeptide chains in the laboratory. They used only one or two different amino acids in doing so, however.
Then, in the 1950’s, chemists learned how to put together amino acids of many different varieties, one by one, just in a particular order. By 1960, a protein built up of 23 amino acids, was manufactured in the laboratory. It was found to behave just like a similar small mole cule formed by the body. However, 23 amino acids are a long way from the hundreds and thousands of amino acids found in the larger proteins made by the body.
Still, fibroin isn’t much more complex than these laboratory crea tions. Its molecule contrasts of over 250 amino acids of 14 different kinds. Eighty-five per cent of the molecule is made up of only three different amino acids, and those three happen to be the simplest of all. It is for this reason1 that silk doesn't play a vital role in life. It is just used by the silkworm2 to make a soft cocoon for itself.
Protein such as fibroin and keratin are called fibrous proteins. In general, fibrous proteins are strong, sturdy (крепкий) and tough (прочный). Keratin, for instance, is the chief protein not only of hair, but of skin, nails (ногти), hooves (копыта), scales (чешуя), horns (pora) and feathers (перья). Another important fibrous protein is collagen, which occurs in cartilage (xpящ), ligaments (связки) and tendons (cyxoжилия).
The really important proteins, however, are the globular proteins. In these, the polypeptide chains are not merely straight lines, but existing complicated loops (петля) and twists (изгиб) which are never quite the same in any two different proteins.
Notes
it is for this reason – именно по этой причине
silkworm – шелковичный червь
Enzymes and Genes
The nucleus of the cell is in charge of cell division. Unfortunately, most of the details of the process are as yet unknown. Still we can describe some of them.
Inside the nucleus are small patches that can react with certain dyes to become strongly coloured. Biologists noticed them for that reason and called the material in the patches chromatin from the Greek word for colour.
In the process of cell division, the chromatin collects into little rods of varying size. The rods are called chromosomes. In the nuclei of human cells are forty-six such chromosomes, existing in pairs. There are twenty-three pairs of chromosomes, in other words. Each kind of creature has its own fixed number of chromosomes. A rat (крыса) has thirty-eight chromosomes, a grasshopper (кузнечик) twenty-four and a housefly (муха) only twelve. A crayfish (рак) on the other hand, has over two hundred chromosomes.
Before a cell divides, every chromosome lines up in the centre of the cell and splits in two. The two halves of each chromosome move apart and when the cell divides, each new cell has a duplicate of all the original chromosomes.
It is these chromosomes that control a cell’s characteristics. A cell’s nature is determined by the kind of chromosomes it has. Every chromosome is actually a chain of protein molecules which are called genes. Genes are strung along a chromosome as beads are in in a necklace. The genes have a certain chemical resemblance to viruses.
Each gene is thought to control a single characteristic of an organism. For instance, there is a gene for blue eyes and one for brown eyes; one for straight hair and one for wavy hair. Every human being has thousands of different genes scattered through1 his various chromosomes. When ever a chromosome splits in two, during cell division, each gene dupli cates itself exactly and both daughter cells get one apiece.How does a gene control a particular characteristic? Many people now think that each gene is in charge of manufacturing one particular enzyme in the cell.
But how does a gene manufacture an enzyme? For that matter, how does a gene duplicate itself? This is probably the most important un answered question in biochemistry today. There are theories, of course. There are enzymes that take proteins apart and separate them into amino acids. These protein splitters can also put amino acids back together again.
Apparently, then, the beef (мясо) protein we eat or milk protein, or wheat (пшеница) protein is separated into amino acids and then put together in a different arrangement to make human protein. But how is the arrangement figured out2, when there are so many possibi lities?
Here is where the gene comes in3. Genes are nucleo-proteins. The non-protein part of the molecule is the nucleic acid. Each gene contains its own variety of nucleic acid. Each different nucleic acid some how acts as a model for the formation of a particular enzyme. Nucleic acids, therefore, control amino acid arrangements.
How? Chemists just began working out the method in the 1950’s. The nucleic acid of the chromosomes forms a "messenger"4 molecule which leaves the nucleus and joins particles in the cytoplasm which are called ribosomes.
In the ribosomes are tiny fragments of nucleic acid molecules. There are a number of kinds of these fragments and each will attach its own particular type of amino acid. These nucleic acid fragments carry their amino acids to the "messenger" molecule and use its structure as a guide. They line up to match the structure and each transfers its amino acid. In this way, an entire protein molecule is formed with an exact structure according to the original design of the chromosome’s nucleic acid.
You may wonder how enzymes can control characteristics. How can they decide blue or brown eyes, for instance? Well, eyecolour is due to a pigment called melanin. When the eyes contain very little melanin, they appear blue. With more melanin, they are brown. Melanin is formed in the body as a result of a chemical reaction which is catalysed by the enzyme, tyrosinase. The amount of the formed melanin de pends upon the amount of tyrosinase present. Possession of a gene producing much tyrosinase will result in brown eyes. A gene that produces less tyrosinase makes for blue eyes.
What happens when a cell splits in two without proper duplication of genes? Sometimes the daughter cells just can’t live. At other times, the cells survive, but with a changed chemistry. Some biochemists think that cancer (рак) cells may originate as the result of such imperfect duplications.
Notes
scattered through – разбросанный
figure out – вычислять
Here is where the gene comes in. – И вот к этому ген имеет прямое отноше ние.
messenger – курьер, разносчик
due to – обусловлен, благодаря, из-за
THE FACULTY OF GEOGRAPHY
A Country Across the Channel
The British Isles, which include Great Britain, Ireland and a lot of smaller islands, are situated off the north western coast of Europe and once formed part of that continent. They became islands when they were separated from it. The separation took place thousands of years ago, after the last Ice Age, when the ice melted, the level of the oceans rose and drowned the low-lying coastlands.
Politically the British Isles are divided into two countries —the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Irish Republic or Eire. All in all there are over 5,000 islands in the system of the British Isles which lie on the continental shelf, the zone of shallow water surrounding at present the continent and resembling a shelf above the deep water of the oceans.
From the European continent the British Isles are separated by the English Channel and the North Sea. The English Channel, in its widest part in the west is 220 km wide, and in the narrowest, what is called the Strait of Dover, only 32 km. So, the islands have had an easy and mainly profitable contact with mainland Europe. In the past there were a number of schemes how to connect the two coasts. In 1994 the dream came true: the construction of the two-rail tunnel was completed and it was opened for public use.
The most important sea routes pass through the English Channel and the North Sea linking Europe with the Americas and other continents. The advantageous geographical position of Great Britain created favourable conditions for the development of shipping, trade and the economy as a whole.
However, the true value of Britain's geographical position has not always been obvious. Indeed, it clearly emerged in the late 15th and 16th centuries, a period which saw the discovery of America and the opening of the sea route round the Cape of Good Hope to the Far East. Before this time European civilization had been centred in the-Mediterranean lands. The British Isles, although developing slowly, were on the ">
From the 16th century onwards, the wealth and influence of Great Britain increased rapidly. With the acquisition of overseas colonies and the establishment of an empire she attained the status of a world power. Her position as such was emphasized by the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries, which was based on her resources of coal and iron and on the markets she had established throughout the world. By Victorian times (1837-1901) Great Britain had become the richest country in the world, the first great modern industrial and capitalist society.
During the 20th century Britain has lost this position and her economy has faced increasing problems, especially with the collapse of the empire. The problems of supporting her population (57 million) on such a small land area (244,100 sq km) are also obvious. At the same time, however, it is important to remember that Britain, with the benefits of North Sea oil production, is still one of the leading industrial and trading countries in the world.
The British Isles in general, but especially England, form one of the most densely peopled areas in the world. Archaeologists and historians have demonstrated that the present-day inhabitants of Britain and Ireland are largely the descendants of settlers and traders from western Europe, who came to these islands in a series of invasions, from about 2500 B.C. down to the Norman Conquest of 1066. The growth of population in Britain reflects, to a large extent, the economic changes. The basic population distribution of the 20th century had been established by the Industrial Revolution and the increase in population of the 19th century.
The British Isles, apart from Great Britain and Ireland, the two largest islands, include several other important islands and islands known as the Hebrides. They are groups of islands. Off the northwestern divided into the Inner and Outer Hebrides, coast of Great Britain there is a group of They are separated from each other by the Sea of the Hebrides and the Little Minch. The main occupation of people here is farming combined with fishing.
Off the northern coast of Scotland, separated from the mainland by the stormy Pentland Firth are the Orkney Islands, comprising about a hundred islands. Most of the people (about 20,000) are engaged in dairy and poultry farming. Bacon, cheese and eggs are exported to Central Scotland.
The Shetland Islands are situated about 70 miles north of the Orkneys. They pro vide thin poor soils suitable only for rough pasture. The population (18,000) is actively engaged in herring-fishing. Apart from fish, the only exports from the islands are Shetland ponies and lace knitted from the wool of local sheep.
In the middle of the Irish Sea there is the Isle of Man (571 sq km). The island is administered by its own Manx Parliament and has a population of about 50,000 chiefly engaged in farming, fishing and tourist trade. The largest settlement is the holiday resort of Douglas (23,000). Another important island in the Irish Sea is Anglesey, situated off the north coast of Wales. Anglesey contains only 52,000 people, and more of the working population are now engaged in industry than in fishing and agriculture. This is due partly to an increase in the tourist trade and partly to the introduction of several new industries, for example, the construction and operation of the nuclear power station at Wylfa.
The Isle of Wight is in the English Channel. It is diamond-shaped, 40 km from west to east, and about half as much from north to south. The Isle of Wight lies across the southern end of Southampton Water, and is separated from the mainland by the Solent. With its sunny beaches and pleasant varied countryside, the island forms one of the most important tourist resorts. It is linked to London by ferry and rail services. Also lying in the English Channel off the extreme south-western coast of Great Britain is a tiny group of the Isles of Scilly, another resort area.
The Channel Islands lie to the south west on the French side of the English Channel. They are known to the French as the Isles Normandes. The Channel Islands form an archipelago, separated by shallow waters from northern France. As part of the Duchy of Normandy, they have been attached to the English Crown since the Norman Conquest (1066). The total area of the islands is only 194 sq km, but the population is over 130,000 what results in high density of population — 686 per sq km. In summer the population increases greatly by holiday-makers.
The chief islands of the group are Jersey and Guernsey. In rural areas many of the people speak a French-Norman dialect, but the official languages are English and French.
The British Isles arc known for their greatly indented coastline. Therefore there are many bays and harbours, peninsulas and capes on the coast, which were formed as a result of the raising and submerging of the land surface in the process of the geological development of the islands. Due to its extreme indentity the coastline of Great Britain, despite its relatively modest size, is 8,000 km long. Very much indented is the western coast, especially the coasts of Scotland and Wales.
The east coast is less lofty and more regular than the west coast, and the coastal lowlands are flooded frequently.
Hardly has anything been more important in British history than the fact that Great Britain is an island. Living on islands, and therefore near the- sea, the inhabitants naturally grew into a nation of sailors. Their love of the sea led them to become navigators and discoverers of new lands in many parts of the globe.
The capital of the country, London, is an enormous city. Its name is probably derived from the Celtic Llyn, a pool or lake (the River Thames at an earlier period expanded into a considerable lake — the part immediately below London Bridge is still “the Pool”), and din wdun, a hill, fort, or place of strength. The “hill” may have been that on which St.Paul's now stands, or Cornhill.
When the Romans conquered Llyndun they Latinised the name as Londinium. Great military roads radiated from the city to various parts of Britain, and distances were measured from the lapis milliaris (mile-stone) in the Forum of Agricola, in the heart of the town. The stone, now known as the London Stone, may still be seen in the wall of St.Swithin’s Church, Cannon Street.
Under the Saxons London became the metropolis of the kingdom of Essex. The city was constituted by Alfred the Great the capital of England, York and Winchester having previously enjoyed that dignity in succession — the former under the Romans, the latter under the Saxons. In 994, the first bridge accross the Thames was built.
The White Tower, in the Tower of London, was erected by William I in 1078, on the site of the Roman fort already noticed. The same king granted a charter to the city confirming the burghers in the rights enjoyed by them under Edward the Confessor. King John granted the citizens several charters, and in Magna Charta (1215) it was expressly provided that London should have all its ancient privileges and customs.
About 7 million people live in Greater London. The oldest part of London is the “City”. Centuries ago, there was a high wall all round the City of London. Places like Soho and Chelsea were small villages outside the City. Now they are part of Central London. There are always crowds of tourists in London. They visit London’s many sights. Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey are two of the favourite ones. London is great for shopping. There are lots of big department stores, like the famous Harrods and Selfridges. People from many different countries live in London today, and their way of life has given London a new “face”. If you want to see the latest ideas in fashion, go and look at the shops in the King’s Road.
THE FACULTY OF PHYSICAL CULTURE
Sports and Recreation
"If you watch a game, it's fun. If you play it, it's recreation. If you -work at it, it's golf." (Bob Hope)
All-American Sports?
In 1911, the American writer Ambrose Bierce defined Monday as "in Christian countries, the day after the baseball game." Times have changed and countries, too. In the U.S. of today, football is the most popular spectator sport. Baseball is now in second place among the sports people most like to watch. In Japan, it is the most popular. Both baseball and football are, or course, American developments of sports played in England. But baseball does not come from cricket, as many people think. Baseball comes from baseball. As early as 1700, an English churchman in Kent complained of baseball being played on Sundays. And illustrations of the time make it clear that this baseball was the baseball now called "the American game." Baseball is still very popular in the U.S. as an informal, neighbourhood sport. More than one American remembers the time when he or she hit a baseball through a neighbour’s window (nice neighbours return the ball...).
What makes football in the U.S. so different from its European cousins, rugby and soccer, is not just the size, speed, and strength of its players. Rather, it is the most "scientific" of all outdoor team sports. Specific rules state what each player in each position may and may not do, and when. There are hundreds of possible "plays" (or moves) for teams on offence and defence. Because of this, football has been called "an open-air chess game disguised as warfare." Those who don't understand the countless rules and the many possibilities for plays miss most of the game. They are like people who, watching a chess game for the first time, conclude that the purpose is to knock out as many pieces as possible. One reason for the growing popularity of American football is that games are more often shown on TV in more nations. Another is that the rules of the game are beginning to be better understood.
Baseball and football have the reputation of being “typically American” team sports. This is ironic because the two most popular participant sports in the world today are indeed American in origin - basketball and volleyball. The first basketball game was played in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891. It was invented at a YMCA there as a game that would fill the empty period between the football season (autumn) and the baseball season (spring and summer). Volleyball was also first played in Massachusetts, and also at a YMCA, this one in Holyoke, in 1895. During the First and Second World Wars, American soldiers took volleyball with them overseas and helped to make it popular. Today, of course, both basketball and volleyball are played everywhere by men and women of all ages. They are especially popular as school sports.
Professional and collegiate basketball games in the U.S. attract large numbers of fans (57.8 million spectators in 1991). Most of the important games are televised live. Basketball's growth in the last few years outside the U.S. has been startling. In 1991 it was already the world’s fastest growing spectator sport. Then in 1992, the U.S. “Dream Team” - Michael Jordan and “Magic” Johnson and friends - appeared at the Olympics in Spain. While dazzling and charming viewers around the world they also brought a new popularity to the sport. In the U.S., in 1992, fully 90 percent of all professional NBA (National Basketball Association) games were sold out. And today, NBA games are shown on TV in over 90 countries around the world.
There is an enormous amount of live broadcasting of all different types of sports events, professional and amateur, at state, national, and international levels. Americans are used to having baseball and basketball, college and professional football games, golf, tennis, and auto racing, swimming meets, and the Olympics carried live and at full length. In season, college football games are shown live all day Saturday. On Sundays, there are live television broadcasts of the professional teams, and if that weren't enough, there's also a game on Monday night. Usually one or two games are broadcast throughout the land, and many others only to regions where the teams have most of their fans. If all seats are sold out for a game, it can often be seen in that city "live" on TV, too. Surprisingly, this live broadcasting of sports events has not only increased interest in the sports, it has also increased actual attendance at the stadiums or arenas.
Hockey (ice hockey, that is, the other kind is still a minor sport in the U.S.), baseball, football, and basketball are the "four major sports." Their seasons now often overlap. Some football games are still being played in January in the snow and ice. Pre-season baseball games start in warm, sunny regions like Florida and Arizona about the same time. In the fall of the year, all four come together. Some people think that having four very popular sports at the same time is “a bit much.” But they shouldn't bother the rest of us, please, during the games.
Americans are frequently told that the other football (which they call soccer) is, after all, the most popular spectator sport in the world. And how does it fare in the U.S.? Despite the 1994 World Cup being held in the United States, soccer remains, at least as a professional sport, distinctly minor. By contrast, it has become quite popular as a school sport. It is not the notorious soccer hooliganism that has hurt it as a professional sport. Rather it does not compete well in American eyes with the American favourite four. All is not lost yet: in the first women's soccer world championship in China in 1991, the United States team won.
There are many other sports and sports activities in America which attract millions of active participants. Among them are golf, swimming, tennis, marathons, track and field, bowling, archery, skiing, skating, squash and badminton, rowing and sailing, weight lifting, boxing, and wrestling. Around 40 percent of all Americans take part in some athletic activity once a day. And 1990 statistics show that the six favorite participatory sports activities for all Americans are, in order, exercise walking, swimming, bicycle riding, fishing (fresh water), camping, and bowling.
The question remains why so many sports are so popular in the United States. One reason may be that the variety and size of America and the different climates found in it have provided Americans with large choice of (summer and winter) sports. In addition, public sports facilities have always been available in great number for participants, even in sports such as golf, tennis, or skating. The fact that the average high school, too, offers its students a great variety of sports, often including rowing, tennis, wrestling, and golf may have contributed to the wide and varied interest and participation of Americans in sports. This, in turn, may explain why Americans have traditionally done well internationally in many of these sports.
Another reason might be that Americans like competition, by teams or as individuals, of any type. It's the challenge, some say. Others point out that American schools and colleges follow the tradition of all English-speaking societies in using sports activities as a way of teaching "social values." Among these are teamwork, sportsmanship (when they win, American players are expected to say, "well, we were just lucky"), and persistence (not quitting "when the going gets rough"). As a result, being intelligent and being good in sports are seen as things that can go together and, as an ideal, should. While there are colleges where sports seem to be dominant, there are many others, which have excellent academic reputations and are also good in sports. Stanford, UCLA, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Harvard, and Yale are among them.
Others simply conclude that Americans simply like sports activities and always have. They like to play a friendly game of softball at family picnics, and "touch football" (no tackling!) games can get started on beaches and in parks whenever a few young people come together. "Shooting baskets" with friends is a favourite way to pass the time, either in a friend's driveway (the basket is over the garage door) or on some city or neighbourhood court. And on a beautiful autumn afternoon - the sun shining in a clear blue sky, the maple trees turning scarlet and the oaks a golden yellow - it is fun to go with friends to a football game. And go they do.
An average of more than 100,000 people attend each of the University of Michigan's football games. Ohio State University, located only about 150 miles away, has had its Saturday games sold out for years (an average of almost 90,000 per game). Back East, Harvard and Yale "only" attract an average of about 20,000 fans each. Altogether, there are over 600 university and college football teams playing most Saturdays across the nation.
Among the 30 (as of 1995) professional National Football League (NFL) teams, the average number of fans attending each game is over 62,000. And, of course, there are the millions watching the game on TV By tradition there are always many parties which follow football games, win or lose, and these are especially popular at universities. Some critics say that among the millions of those attending football games there are many who think it's the first part of the party (and our research shows that this might be correct). Friends and relatives often come together to spend a Sunday having drinks, barbecuing, and, yes, watching a game or two. But with or without parties, Americans do like their sports, for whatever reason you care to choose.
The money earned by some professional athletes does not seem so impressive when one thinks that only a very few of the best will ever make it to a professional team. And once there, at best they will only have a few years to play, even in baseball and basketball. They know that they will soon be replaced by someone who is younger, faster, bigger, or better. Professional players’ organisations are therefore very concerned with such things as retirement benefits and pensions. More and more, they are also concerned with getting a good education, with acquiring university-level skills that will allow them to find good jobs when their playing days are over". Increasingly, universities and sports officials have enforced rules which require athletes to be properly enrolled in academic programs in order to qualify for a university team. Rules which state that all college athletes must meet set academic standards have long been accepted. If the students do not meet them, they are not allowed to take part in sports.
TERM IY
THE FACULTY OF PRIMARY SCHOOLING
THE FACULTY OF PRE-SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY AND PEDAGOGICS
Standards
Those who believe that American schools are more play than work overlook an important fact: a high school diploma is not a ticket that allows someone to automatically enter a university. Standardised examinations play a decisive role at almost every level of education, especially in the admission to colleges and universities. Students who wish to go to a good university but only took high school courses that were a "snap," or who spent too much time on extracurricular activities, will have to compete with those who worked hard and took demanding courses.
There are two widely used and nationally administered standardised tests for high school students who wish to attend a college or university. One is the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test), which attempts to measure aptitudes in verbal and mathematical fields necessary for college work. The other is the ACT (American College Testing program), which attempts to measure skills in English, mathematics, and the social and natural sciences. Both tests are given at specific dates and locations throughout the U.S. by nongovernmental organisations. The tests are used by universities as standards for comparison, but are not in any way "official."
Each year, the SAT is taken by some two million high school students. One million of these students are in their last year of high school. Another million are in their next-to-last year. The ACT, more commonly used in the western part of the U.S., is taken each year by another million high school students. With so many different types of high schools and programs, with so many differences in subjects and standards, these tests provide common, nation-wide measuring sticks. Many universities publish the average scores achieved on these tests by the students they admit. This indicates the "quality" or level of ability expected of those who apply.
Similar testing programs exist at higher levels, as well. Someone who has already finished four years of university and wishes to go to a law or medical school is also required to take standardised tests. These tests have been agreed upon by the various law and medical schools and are administered nation-wide at scheduled times. Like the SAT or ACT, these tests are not official or governmentally controlled. Other examinations, however, are official and usually quite difficult. For example, even after someone has studied for many years and earned a medical degree from a university, this still does not mean that he or she can begin to practice in the U.S. The individual states require still further examinations.
The United States Educational Structure
Other pressures also operate at the university level. Most universities require mid-semester and final (end-of-semester) examinations. It is possible, as a great many students have learned, to "flunk out" of a university that is to be asked to leave because of poor grades. And most students who have scholarships must maintain a certain grade average to keep their scholarships.
Since tuition fees alone can be rather high (ranging from some $20,000 for an academic year at Harvard, Yale or Stanford to under $ 1,000 at small public institutions) at most colleges and universities, a large number of students hold jobs besides studying. These part-time jobs may be either "on campus" (in the dormitories, cafeterias, students services, in research, and in teaching and tutoring jobs) or "off campus" (with local firms and businesses, in offices, etc.). In this way, for example, more than half of all students at Stanford University earn a significant part of their college expenses during the school year. In addition, there are work-study programs at a number of universities, and financial assistance programs, which are provided by the states and the federal government. At Michigan State University, for instance, 50 percent of all students receive some form of financial aid through the university, and 85 percent of undergraduate students worked part-time on campus during the academic year 1991-92. At Harvard, 74 percent of beginning students ("freshmen") and 61 percent of continuing students received financial aid in the 1991 -92 academic year. The average award for the 66 percent of beginning students receiving aid at Stanford was $13,600 per year. Students who must work as well as study are the rule rather than the exception. Students also cannot simply move from one university to another, or trade places with other students. Before changing to another university, students must first have been accepted by the new university and have met that university's admission requirements.
The competition and pressures at many universities, especially at the higher, graduate levels, are not pleasant. Nor are they evident in the popular picture of campus life. However, this system has been highly successful in producing scholars who are consistently at the top or near the top of their fields internationally. One indication of this can be seen by looking at the textbooks or professional journals used and read in foreign universities and noting the authors, where they teach and where they were trained. Another indication, less precise perhaps, is the number of Americans who have won Nobel Prizes. Americans have won 168 Nobel Prizes in the science alone-physics, chemistry, and physiology or medicine - since the awards were first given in 1901. This represents over 40 percent of all recipients. The next closest country is Great Britain, with 69 Nobel Prizes. If most Americans are very critical of their educational system at the elementary and secondary school levels, many will also admit that their higher education system is "in many respects, the best in the world."
Reform and Progress
A major conflict has always existed between two goals of American education. One is the comprehensive, egalitarian education with the goal of providing equal opportunity. The other is the highly selective educational emphasis that aims at excellence and the training of academic and scientific elite. Some Americans feel that more money and efforts should be spent on improving comprehensive education. Others think that more money should be provided for increasing scientific knowledge and maintaining America's position in technology and research. And some people, of course, demand that more money be spent on both.
A series of studies in the 1980s criticised American public schools. As a result, better training and payment for teachers has been advocated and more stress has been placed on academic subjects. But striking a balance between a comprehensive, egalitarian education and one of specialisation and excellence has always been a difficult task, and is likely to remain so.
Schools and universities have also been asked to do more and more to help with, or even cure, certain social and economic problems, from the effects of divorce to drug problems, from learning disabilities to malnutrition. Most school systems not only have lunchrooms or cafeterias, they also offer to give free or low-cost meals, sometimes including breakfast, to needy pupils. They also employ psychologists, nurses, staff trained to teach the handicapped, reading specialists, and academic as well as guidance and employment counsellors. Because of their traditional ties with the communities, schools are expected to be involved in many such areas. There is a growing belief among some Americans that the public schools cannot really handle all such social problems, even if enough money were available where it is most needed.
Examining Schools
One of the major markers of education in America - and one that is often noted by observers abroad - is the degree of constant self-examination. In the U.S. today, when pupils and students are tested, so, in effect, are their teachers, the curricula, the schools and universities, and the entire set of systems.
Each year hundreds of research studies are published which critically examine the nation's schools. Most of the large school districts employ full-time educational researchers. Almost all of the universities have departments for educational research and measurement. And, of course, there are many public and private institutes, educational commissions, think tanks, foundations, and professional organisations, which publish their reports and studies and voice their opinions. Newspapers publicly report the test results of local schools each year. These are compared with those of other cities, states, or countries. How do our schools "measure up?" What are the weaknesses? What can be done? This evaluation process is constant and continuing across the country.
In certain periods this examination is more intense. When the Soviet Union launched its Sputnik satellite in 1957, a great debate across the United States started. Was America "falling behind" in science and technology and in "the space race?" How did American school children compare in mathematics and foreign languages? This led to a massive investment in science education as well as to a search for, and support of, gifted pupils. The Civil Rights movement, too, had a shock effect on American education, all the way from pre-school programs to post-doctoral studies. Billions of dollars were made available for special programs for the educationally disadvantaged, for bilingual education, and for seeing minority students better represented in higher education. In the 1980s and into the '90s, again, America was swept by a great public debate over the quality, content, and goals of education.
Summing up results is extremely difficult. There are, for instance, literally thousands of special programs and hundreds of experimental schools across the nation. Since 1968 alone, Native American tribes have established 24 colleges of their own, mostly two-year institutions. In 1991, a survey of programs offering literacy instruction to linguistic minority students had 600 different programs return a questionnaire. Of these programs, all but 10 had been started since 1980. School "choice" approaches - allowing parents more freedom in determining which public, or, in some cases, private schools their children can attend - have been started in many districts. And, as another example, many areas have started "magnet" schools. These offer special curricula, perhaps an emphasis on science, mathematics, or even dance, and attract, and motivate, students.
Given America’s history and that of its people, their many backgrounds, needs, and desires, the fact that American education is sensitive to its weaknesses (and aware of its strengths) speaks well for the future.
THE FACULTY OF MATHEMATICS
Numbers
It has been customary ever since Euclid’s time to present geometry in the form of an axiomatic system. Some other, different approaches to geometry have been developed by mo dern mathematicians, but this axiomatic approach has conti nued to be widely used and presented to beginners.
Our mathematics of numbers, however, has not traditionally been organized in axiomatic form. Arithmetic, school algebra, and such subjects as the differential and integral calculus (which go under the heading of analysis) have customarily been pre sented as collections of rules of calculation, rather than in the form of axiomatized systems of laws.
This difference arises from the fact that our modern mathematics of numbers has its origins more in the mathematics of the Babylonians, Hindus, and Arabs than in that of the Greeks. The Greeks did treat some numerical problems, to be sure, but in doing so their method was to give geometrical interpretations to numbers; that is, when dealing with a problem about the comparative size of two numbers, they would treat it as a problem about the comparative lengths of two lines or the comparative areas of two figures.
But the Babylonians, Hindus, and Arabs (to whom we owe the word “algebra”) gradually developed sym bols and rules of calculation that made it possible to deal with numerical problems more abstractly and more powerfully than could the Greeks. As was typical in Eastern mathematics, however, the Babylonians, Hindus, and Arabs did not much concern themselves with giving proofs, let alone with organizing their knowledge of numbers into axiomatic form.
Thus it happened that while geometry was being handed down1 through medieval and early modern times in the axiomatized form which Euclid had given it, the mathematics of number was passed along2 as a collection of comparatively unconnec ted laws and rules of calculation. This situation is finally changing; one of the striking features of twentieth-century mathematics is its greatly increased use of the axiomatic approach in mathematical studies besides geometry.
From very early times, the development of the mathematics of number must have given rise to philosophical puzzlement. The whole numbers 1, 2, 3, etc. are not too disturbing, to be sure, for their legitimacy seems clear to us as we count the number of beasts in a herd or of kings in a dynasty. The fractions also are not too disturbing, for we can regard them clients of whole numbers, useful for comparing the sizes of fields or lengths of time.
But one can imagine that there have been difficulties when the Babylonians, wishing to express the result of subtracting a number from itself, introduced a symbol for zero, and eventually began to treat it just as through zero were one of the whole numbers. Zero seems like an emptiness, like nothing; how then can we legitimately refer to zero as though it were something, a genuine number? No doubt this uneasiness was gradually soothed 3 as people came to realize that zero is just for “counting”, the number of beasts in an empty field, or the number of kings during a republican era.
The introduction of symbols for negative numbers must have been a further source of difficulties, however; negative numbers seem somehow to be numbers that are not there, unreal ghosts of numbers – so is it legitimate to call them numbers? In modern times the introduction of symbols for imaginary numbers excited similar doubts. Even if we admit the legitimacy of talk about negative numbers, is it correct to speak of the square root of minus one as if it were a number? Wouldn't it be more honest just to say that minus one has no square root?
Philosophical puzzlement about the various kinds of numbers was much reduced4 thanks to the work of nineteenth century mathematicians who developed a unified theory of numbers. Their very important achievement consisted in showing how the mathematical theories concerning more sophisticated kinds of numbers can be “reduced to”, “constructed from”, a theory concerning only the basic kind of numbers. That is, they showed how each of the more sophisticated kinds of number, together with the operations (such as addition and multiplication) performable on numbers of that kind, can be defined in terms of the whole numbers and the operations performable upon them. They showed that this can be done in such a way that the laws which govern these more sophisticated kinds of numbers can then be deduced from the laws that govern the numbers.
This development is called the arithmetization analysis, because it is concerned with showing how those parts of mathematics that go under the heading of analysis, can be reduced to the elementary part of arithmetic (or elementary number theory, as it is called), when that is supplemented by certain notions that we shall mention.
This unified theory of numbers enables us to regard the various kinds of numbers as belonging to a single family, all springing from a single parent kind and all governed by laws that are strict deductive consequences of the laws governing that simple parent kind. If we accept this unified theory of numbers, we no longer need feel any special doubts about the more sophisticated kinds of number; any doubts that remain will be focused solely upon the numbers of the kind used in counting.
The numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, etc., will serve as our basic kind of numbers; they are called natural numbers (unfortunately that term has a slight ambiguity, for some writers include zero among the natural numbers while others do not but let us count it in). Now, our intuitive idea of the natural numbers is that they are all those numbers, each of which can be reached by starting from zero and adding one as often as necessary.
The Italian mathematician Peano was the first to organize the fundamental laws of these numbers in axiomatic form; his set of five axioms is notable. Let us consider these axioms so that we can feel more at home with the natural numbers before we go on to see how other kinds of number can be reduced to them. Expressed in words, Peano's axioms are:
1) Zero is a natural number.
2) The immediate successor5 of any natural number is a natural number.
3) Distinct natural numbers never have the same immediate successor.
4) Zero is not the immediate successor of any natural number.
5) If something holds true of zero, and if, whenever it holds true of a natural number, it also holds true of the imme diate successor of that natural number, then it holds true of all natural numbers.
These axioms contain three undefined terms: “zero”, “ immediate successor”, and “natural number”. The axioms by themselves do not show us what these terms are supposed to mean (though they do connect together whatever meanings these terms may have), nor do they give us any evidence that the terms do refer to anything real.
If we wish to accept the axioms as true we must supply that understanding and that evidence for ourselves. Underlying the use of these terms in the axioms are the tacit assumptions that “zero” does refer to some one definite entity among those under discussion, and that for each entity among those under discussion there is just one entity among them that is its immediate successor.
It fol lows from the axioms that the immediate successor of zero, its immediate successor, and so on and on, all are natural num bers; and (by the fifth axiom) that nothing else is a natural number. From the axioms it follows that there must be infini tely many natural numbers, since the series cannot stop, nor can it circle back to its starting point (because zero is not the immediate successor of any natural number).
The fifth axiom is especially important, for it expresses the assumption which underlies mathematical induction. We can picture how reasoning by mathematical induction works if we imagine a series of dominoes standing in a row. Suppose we know that the first domino will fall and that whenever any domino falls the adjoining one also will fall; then we are entitled to infer that all the dominoes will fall; no matter how many there may be.
In the same spirit, if we know that something holds true of zero and that whenever it holds true of a natural number it also holds true of the immediate succes sor of that natural number, then we can infer that it holds true of every natural number. On the basis of Peano's axioms, we can introduce the names of further numbers: “one” by definition names the immediate successor of zero, “two” by definition names the immediate successor of one, and so on.
Peano’s axioms express in a very clear way the essential principles about the natural numbers. However, they do not by themselves constitute a sufficient basis to permit the reductions of other higher kinds of numbers – assuming, that is, that we continue to restrict ourselves to the same compara tively low-level logical principles that are employed for deducing theorems in geometry. There are two reasons for this.
For one thing, Peano’s axioms, do not by themselves provide us even with a complete theory of the natural numbers. If we limit ourselves just to Peano's three primitive terms and to his five axioms, it is impossible for us (using only normal low-level logical principles) to define addition and multiplication in their general sense for these numbers.
So we could not even express within the system, let alone prove within it, such laws as that the sum of natural numbers x and y always is the same number as the sum of y and x, or that x times the sum of y and z always is the same number as the sum of x times y and x times z. We do not even worry about subtraction and division, since these are not operations freely performable on the natural numbers.
Furthermore, in order to carry out this reduction of higher kinds of number we need to employ two other very important terms, “set” and “ordered pair”, which Peano of course did not include among his primitives.
Notes
1. while geometry was being handed down – в то время как геометрия дошла
2. the mathematics of number was passed along – математика числа пришла к нам в виде
3. this uneasiness was gradually soothed – это неудобство по степенно сгладилось
4. philosophical puzzlement... was much reduced – философские сомнения... были в основном разрешены
5. the immediate successor – непосредственный последующий элемент
THE FACULTY OF BIOLOGY
What Is a Mutation?
The body is like a Chinese puzzle1 box. It consists of organs, such as liver, legs, eyes. The organs consist of tissues, such as bone, muscle, nerve. The tissues consist of cells. The cell contains a nucleus. The nucleus contains chromosomes. The chromosomes carry the genes. Mutations are changes in chromosomes and genes.
The cell and the nucleus can be seen under the microscope, but the chromosomes cannot always be seen. They become visible only at certain stages in the life of the cell, namely2, when the cell divides to give two daughter cells. They then appear as rod-like or dot-like structures which, in thin tissue slices (слой, срез), can be stained with certain dyes which they take up more readily than the rest of the cell. The genes are too small to be seen even with a high-power microscope. The genes are arranged linearly along the chromosomes. Some particularly big chromosomes show a visible subdivision into smaller units, so that they look like strings of beads, or like ribbons with a pattern of cross-bands? These beads and bands are much too big to be the genes themselves, but they indicate the position of the genes on the chromosomes.
The number of chromosomes in the nucleus is characteristic for each species. Man has 46, the mouse (мышь) 40, the broad bean plant (боб) 12, maize (кукуруза) 20. Each chromosome carries hundreds of thousands of genes. It has been estimated4 that the chromosomes in a human cell carry at least 40,000 genes, possibly twice as many. This seems a large number, but it is not so large when we consider that the genes between them are responsible for all that is inborn and inherited in us. Genes determine whether we belong to blood-group A or О, whether we are born with normal vision or not, whether we have brown, blue or hazel eyes, whether on a rich diet we grow fat5 or remain slim (стройный), whether musical education makes virtuosi of us or we are unable to distinguish one tune (мелодия) from another, and so on through the thousands of details which together make up our physical and mental personalities.
Every time, before a cell divides, each chromosome makes another chromosome just like itself with the same genes in the same order. Then, when two cells arise from one, the old chromosomes separate from their new-formed duplicates and both "daughter cells" receive exactly the same numbers and types of chromosomes and genes.
The human body develops from a single cell, the fertilized egg, which contains 46 chromosomes. The egg divides to form two cells; these divide again to form four cells, and so it goes on until the whole body with its billions of cells has been formed. Before every cell di vision, chromosomes and genes are duplicated. Every cell therefore contains the same 46 chromosomes carrying the same genes.
The process by which chromosomes and genes are duplicated is remarkably accurate. It results in millions and billions of cells with exactly the same genes. But sometimes, perhaps once in a million times, something goes wrong6. A gene undergoes a chemical change, or the new gene is not exactly like the old one, or the order of the genes in the chromosome has been changed. This process of change in a gene or chromosome is called a mutation. Its result, the altered gene or chromosome, is also often called mutation, but to avoid confusion7 it is better to speak of a mutated gene and a re-arranged chromosome, and reserve the term mutation for the process which produced them. The individual, which shows the effect of a mutated gene or re-arranged chromosome, is called a mutant.
When a chromosome on which a mutation has occurred makes a duplicate of itself in preparation for the next cell division, it copies the mutated gene or the new gene arrangement as accurately as it copies the unaltered portions. In this way a mutation is inherited and becomes perpetuated9 exactly like the original gene from which it arose. The enormous variety of genes which are found in every living species results from mutations, many of which may have occurred millions of years ago.
Notes
Chinese puzzle – неразрешимая загадка
namely – а именно
ribbons with a pattern of cross-bands – ленты с поперечными полосами
estimate – подсчитывать
grow fat – толстеть, полнеть
go wrong – разладиться, испортиться
to avoid confusion – чтобы избежать путаницы
perpetuate – сохранять навсегда, увековечивать
Evolution and Heredity
More than a hundred years ago people believed that plants and animals have always been as they are now. They thought that all the different sorts of living things, including men, had been put here by some mysterious (таинственный) power.
It was Charles Darwin, born at Shrewsbury in February, 1809, who showed that this was just a legend. As a boy Darwin loved to walk about the countryside collecting insects, flowers and minerals. He enjoyed helping his elder brother at chemical experiments in a shed (сарай) at the far end of their garden.
These hobbies interested him much more than Greek and Latin, which were his main lessons at school. His father, Dr. Robert Darwin, sent Charles to Edinburgh University to study medicine. But Charles disliked the medical career. He spent a lot of time with a zoologist friend watching birds and other animals in their natural state and collecting insects in the surrounding countryside.
Then his father sent him to Cambridge to become a clergyman1. But Darwin did not care for lectures. He did not want to be a clergyman. At 22 he graduated from Cambridge University and soon was offered an unpaid post as naturalist on the ship "The Beagle".
The young naturalist asked himself whether all forms of life always existed just as they are now. This was what everyone believed and what he had been taught, but he doubted it very much. Three and a half years travelling around the world on the British ship "The Beagle" convinced Darwin that his doubts were justified. He returned from his travels convinced that man and all the living creatures on earth today are related. All have grown from earlier types, and those from earlier ones in an unbroken line back to a primitive one-cell creature.
More than a thousand million years ago, a small blob of jelly1 floated on the shallow seas of the young earth. It and others like it were the only life on earth. In half a milliard years that blob of jelly had become different kinds of sea worms (червь) and sea scorpions, sea weeds (морские водоросли) and other simple sea plants.
During the next half milliard years some of this life crawled (ползти) onto the barren (бесплодный) land. The first land animals were "amphibians", equally at home on land and in the water, like present-day frogs. There were also primitive scorpions, the descendants of which became insects or spiders (паук). From the seaweeds that took root on shore came ferns (папоротник) and mosses (мох). The amphibian became reptiles. For one hundred million years they ruled the earth. Out of them came birds and mammals. Gradually the mammals changed into all the different kinds we have today, including man. Each of these changes was very gradual and took thousands of years.
What makes you and your brothers and sisters look somewhat alike? What makes all of you look like your father and mother, and yet also a little different? The answer is to be found in the laws of heredity.
Gregor Mendel, son of an Austrian farmer, wanted to be a scientist but couldn't afford the university. He became an Augustinian monk3 and, in the years between 1843 and 1865, he became a great scientist. In the garden of the monastery he raised garden peas – pure tails, pure dwarf (карликовый) and so on. Then, when he was sure he had pure strains, he began crossing them. He did the same with green and yellow peas. In all he raised and studied more than 10,000 specimens.
From the way these peas transmitted and inherited various traits such as height or colour, Mendel worked out the laws of heredity. They have been found to be true for all types of plants and animals, including man, and have been widely used in the improvement of flowers and agricultural crops and the breeding of dogs and livestock.
Notes
clergyman – священник
blob of jelly – студенистая капля (комочек)
Augustinian monk – монах-августинец
Animal Behaviour
Wherever people have a chance to watch animals – at a zoo, park, pet store, or circus – it is evident that animal behaviour is a source of fascination1 for most humans. As they watch animals at play and at rest, feeding or protecting themselves, and tending to their young, frequently marvel (восхищаться) at the similarities between animal and human behaviour. These similarities are, in fact, one important reason for study ing the activities of animals: that is, their implications for the better understanding of human behaviour.
The question of why animals behave the way they do has attracted the interest of scientists from many fields – psychologists, zoologists, ecologists, geneticists, endocrinologists – to name a few.
What is Behaviour? Simply defined, behaviour is activity in response to an internal or external stimulus. All animals make adjustments to information or stimuli, from their external and internal environments. These adjustments may be voluntary or involuntary, and may range from a simple, single act to a complex and elaborate sequence of activities.
Taxis, Kinesis, Reflex. A very important behavioural response in the lives of many invertebrates and some vertebrates is the taxis. This is a directional movement in response to a specific type of environmental stimulus. The taxis response is inborn, and need not be learned; but it is fixed, and cannot be altered to suit unusual conditions.
For example, a moth navigates in a straight line by keeping at a constant angle to the parallel rays of the sun (or more often the moon, since most moths are nocturnal). This taxis works well under natural conditions. However, it can cause trouble2 when the light source is so
near that it produces diffused instead of parallel rays, as in the case of a candle (свеча) or a light bulb3. In this case, instead of a straight path, the constant angle may lead the moth into a spiral, so that it circles
ever inward toward the light source and is eventually burned to death.
Another involuntary behaviour pattern, best known in simple organisms, is kinesis. This is an increase or decrease in the movement of an animal in proportion to the intensity of a stimulus. Such movements are not directional like the taxis. Instead, they consist of increases in the rate of turning from side to side, or in other body movements. Planarians, for instance, when placed in the light, do not swim directly back to the darker areas where they normally stay. Instead, they continue weaving from side to side, but they turn more strongly toward the side where they encounter less intense light. This turning eventually bring them back to the dark area.
A third behaviour pattern involving relatively simple, innate responses to stimuli is reflex. A reflex is the involuntary movement of some part of the animal's body in response to a stimulus. A familiar example is the kicking motion you make when the tendons below your kneecap are struck by a doctor's hammer. Unlike the taxis and kinesis, the reflex does not involve a complete body movement.
Notes
a source of fascination – источник восхищения
trouble – неприятность, беда
a light bulb – электрическая лампочка
THE FACULTY OF GEOGRAPGY
The Face of Britain
From south to north Great Britain stretches for over 900 km and from east to west,in the widest part, only for about 500 km. But despite its small area Britain has a great diversity of physical characteristics. It contains rocks of nearly all geological periods. There is a contrast between the relatively high relief of eastern and northern Britain and the lowland areas of the south and east. In general, the oldest rocks appear in the highland regions and the youngest in the lowland regions.
ENGLAND. Though England cannot be considered as a very hilly country still it is far from being flat everywhere. The most important range of mountains is the Pennine range, regarded as "the backbone of England". It stretches from the Tyne valley in the north to the Trent valley in the south —a distance of about 250 km. The whole range forms a large table-land the highest point of which is Cross Fell (893 m). Being an upland region the Pennines form a watershed separating the westward-flowing from the eastward-flowing rivers of north England. They also form a barrier between the industrial areas of Lanca shire and Yorkshire on their opposite sides. Rainfall in the Pennines is abundant, and today the area is used for water storage: reservoirs in the uplands supply water to the industrial towns on each side of the Pennines.
Across the north end of the Pennines there are the grassy Cheviot Hills. The highest point is the Cheviot (816m), near the Scottish border. The Cheviot Hills serve as a natural borderland between England and Scotland. The region is noted for sheep-breeding. In north-west England, separated from the Pennines by the valley of the river Eden t lie the Cumbrian mountains. These mountains form a ring round the peak of Helvellyn (950 in). The highest peak of the Cumbrians is Scafell (978 m). The valleys which separate the various mountains from each other contain some beautiful lakes (Windermere, Grasmere, Ullswater, Hawswater, and others). This is the famous Lake District, the favourite place of holiday-makers and tourists. It is here that the great English poets Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey and Quincey lived and wrote. The Lake District, or Cumberland is sparsely populated and sheep rearing is the main occupation of the farmers. A typical farmhouse here is built of stone. Around it are a number of small fields, separated from one another by stone walls. The Lake District is exposed to the westerly winds and rainfall is exceptionally high. The region is claimed to be the wettest inhabited place in the British Isles.
The South-West Peninsula of Great Britain includes the counties of Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. The region is made up of a number of upland masses separated by lowlands. The uplands of the South-West Peninsula are not ranges of mountains or hills, but areas of high moorland, rising to 600m.
The South-West region is mostly an agricultural area, because there are many fertile river valleys on the lower land be tween the moors, both in Cornwall and Devon.
South-West England is noted for two other interesting things: the most westerly point of Great Britain - Land's End, and the most southerly point of the largest island - Lizard Point, are to be found here. The South-West Peninsula presents attrac tions for the holiday-makers and the artists, and tourism is one of the most important activities of the region.
WALES. Wales is the largest of the peninsulas on the western side of Britain. It is a country of hills and mountains deeply cut by river valleys. The mountains cover practically all the territory of Wales and are called the Cambrian mountains. The highest peak, Snowdon (1,085 m),is in the north-west. The lowland is confined to the relatively narrow coastal belt and the lower parts of the river valleys.
In the south the Cambrian mountains include an important coalfield, on which an industrial area has grown. Two-thirds of the total population live in South Wales. Two relief divisions may be distinguished in South Wales: a coastal plain which in the south-eastern part around Cardiff becomes up to 16 km wide and the upland areas of the coalfield proper, which rises between 245 and 380 metres. These divisions formed by the physical landscape are clearly reflected in the use of agricultural land. In the upland areas sheep are the basis of the rural economy, and in the low-lying parts near the coast and in the valleys dairy farming predominates. But in general South Wales is dominated by the coal mining and heavy industries.
SCOTLAND. Geographically Scotland may be divided into three major physical regions: the Highlands, the Southern Uplands and the Central Lowlands.
The Highlands lie to the west of a line from Aberdeen to the mouth of the river Clyde. The mountains are separated into two parts by the long straight depression known as Glen More, running from north-
east to south-west. To the south are the Grampian mountains, which are generally higher than the Northwest Highlands, including the loftiest summits such as Ben Nevis (1,347 m), the highest peak in the British Isles, and Ben Macdhui (1,309 m). An observatory has been erected at the very top of Ben Nevis.
Glen More contains several lakes, including Loch Ness, which is said to be the home of a "monster". In the early I9th century the lochs (lakes) were joined lo form the Caledonian Canal which connected the two coasts.
The Highlands comprise forty-seven per cent of the land area of Scotland, andthe region has the most severe weather experienced in Britain. The population is sparse.
The economy of the region has traditionally been that of crofting or Jife supporting farming, in which the farmer (crofter) and his family consume all the produce. The crofter grows crops on a patch of land near his cottage, the main crops being potatoes, oats and hay. His sheep graze on the nearby hill slopes, and he may have one or two cows, to keep the family supplied with milk, and some poultry.
The Southern Uplands extend from the Central Lowlands of Scotland in the north to the Cheviot Hills and the Lake District in the south. The Uplands form a broad belt of pastoral country. The hills rise to 800-900 m, but for the most part they lie between 450 and 600 metres.
The present-day economy of the region is dominated by agriculture. The region is clearly divided between the sheep pastures of the uplands and the more diversified farming areas of the lowlands.
The Central Lowlands of Scotland form the only extensive plain in Scotland. The name is given especially to the plains along the Clyde, the Forth and the Tay. The region lies between the Highlands and theSouthern Uplands. The Central Lowlands have the most fertile soil, the most temperate climate, the best harbours and the only supply of coal. They occupy about fifteen per cent of Scotland's area, but contain about eighty per cent of its people. This is the leading industrial area of Scotland.
Geographically Ireland is an island and a single unit, but politically it is divided. As a whole, Ireland forms a large extensive plain surrounded by a broken belt of mountains, or the uplands.
IN NORTHERN IRELAND the chief mountains are: in the extreme north-east the Antrim mountains, which rise above 400 m and are composed of basalt, in the centre of Ulster — the Sperrin mountains (500 m), and in the extreme south-east the Mourne mountains, including the highest summit Slieve Donard (852 m). Off the north coast is the famous Giant's Causeway, where the basalt solidified in remarkable hexagonal columns.
There is a fairly wide network of rivers in the British Isles. Though generally short in length, they are navigable but in their j lower reaches especially during high tides. Mild maritime climate keeps them free of ice throughout the winter months.
The largest river of Great Britain is the I Severn (350 km), which follows a very! puzzling course from central Wales andflows to the Bristol Channel. The courses of the Trent (274 km) and the upper Thames (346 km) also show many changes of direction and keep their way to the North Sea. Among other important rivers, which flow eastwards, to the North Sea, are the rivers Tyne, Tees, Humber, Ouse in England, and the rivers Tweed, Forth, Dee and Spey in Scotland.
A number of streams flow down to the west coast, to the Irish Sea, including the Mersey, the Eden (in England) and the Clyde in Scotland.
The longest river of the British Isles is the river Shannon (384 km), flowing from north to south of Ireland.
The largest lake in Great Britain and the biggest inland loch in Scotland is Loch Lomond, covering a surface area of 70 sq km, but the largest fresh water lake of the British Isles is Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland — 391 sq km.
THE FACULTY OF PHYSICAL CULTURE
Sports and Money
Intercollegiate sports and money have always been a hotly debated topic. Rules prevent any college athlete from accepting money. Whenever some basketball player is found to have accepted "a gift," the sports pages are full of the scandal. As a result, some college teams whose members have violated the rules are forbidden to take part in competitions. Several universities, like the highly respected University of Chicago, do not take part in any intercollegiate sports whatsoever. Many others restrict sports to those played among their own students, so-called intramural sports and activities.
Those who defend college sports point out that there are no separate institutions or "universities" for sports in the U.S. as there are in many other countries. They also note that many sports programs pay their own way, that is, what they earn from tickets and so on for football or basketball or baseball games often supports less popular sports and intramural games at the university. At some universities, a large portion of the income from sports, say from TV rights, goes back to the university and is used also for academic purposes. Generally, however, sports and academics are separated from one another. You cannot judge whether a university is excellent or poor from whether its teams win or lose.
In the United States, however, there are attitudes towards the mixing of commercialism, money, and sports, or professionals and amateurs, which often differ from those of other nations. The U.S. was, for example, one of only 13 countries to vote in 1989 against allowing professional basketball players to compete in the Olympics. Similarly, American professionals in football, baseball, and basketball are not allowed to wear jerseys and uniforms with advertising, brand names, etc. on them. The National Football League does not allow any team to be owned by a corporation or company. And when a city wants to build a new stadium or arena, voters get the chance to vote (and "no" is not uncommon).
Most Americans think that government should be kept separate from sports, both amateur and professional. They are especially concerned when their tax money is involved. The citizens of Denver, Colorado, for example, decided that they did not want the 1976 Winter Olympics there, no matter what the city government and businessmen thought. They voted "no" and the Olympics had to be held elsewhere. The residents of Los Angeles, on the other hand, voted to allow the (Summer) Olympics in 1984 to be held in their city, but they declared that not one dollar of city funds could be spent on them. Because the federal government doesn't give any money either, all of the support had to come from private sources. As it turned out, the L.A. Olympics actually made a profit, some $100 million, which was distributed to national organisations in the U.S. and abroad.
Leisure Sports
The attention given to organised sports should not overshadow the many sporting activities, which are a part of daily American life. Most Americans who grow up in the North, for example, also grow up with outdoor winter sports and activities. Skating, certainly, is one widespread activity, with most cities, large and small, flooding areas for use as skating rinks. Skiing, sledding and tobogganing are equally popular. Students at snow-covered campuses "borrow" the metal or fibreglass trays used in dining halls and race downhill standing up on them (or trying to).
Fishing and hunting are extremely popular in all parts of the country and have been since the days when they were necessary activities among the early settlers. As a consequence, they have never been thought of as upper-class sports in the U.S. And it is easy to forget how much of the country is open land, how much of it is still wild and filled with wildlife. New Jersey, for example, has enough wild deer so that the hunting season there is used to keep the herds smaller. Wild turkeys have also returned to the East and Midwest in great numbers. In Washington, D.C., commuters driving along the Potomac River can often see them flying overhead. Even more remarkable is the return of the black bear in the Northeast, as the forests grow thicker again. New York State has about 4,000 with most of them in the Adirondack, Allegheny, and Catskill mountain areas. In the states of the Midwest and West, of course, there is much more wild game, and hunting there is even more popular.
Hunting licenses are issued by the individual states, and hunting is strictly controlled. Some hunters don't actually hunt, of course. They use it as a good excuse to get outdoors in the autumn or to take a few days or longer away from the job and family. Indoor poker games are rumoured to be a favourite activity of many hunters who head for cabins in the woods.
There are many more fishermen (around 50 million in 1991) than hunters (17 million), and many more lakes and rivers than bears. Minnesota advertises itself on its license plates as the "land of 10,000 lakes." This, of course, is not quite true: there are more. Aerial photographs and maps show that there are about twice that number (each larger than 25 acres). Fishing is so popular in Minnesota that when a recent survey showed that 97 percent of all kids in the state went fishing, a newspaper asked, "What on earth went wrong with the other three percent?" Michigan not only has a long coastline from the Great Lakes, it also has what official descriptions simply call, without counting, "thousands of lakes." From Oregon to Southern California, Maine to Florida to Texas there are the ocean beaches. Finding enough water is no problem for most Americans, and where there's water, there are boats.
Overall (not including rowboats, canoes, or anything else driven by paddles), there is about one boat for every 15 people in the U.S. today (1991). In Minnesota, one out of seven people owns a boat and in Arkansas, one out of nine. In Arizona, a state usually known for its mountains and deserts, there are still enough lakes and reservoirs for over 10,000 boats.
As could be expected, all water sports and activities are very popular, including swimming, skin diving, sailing, white-water canoeing, water skiing, and powerboat and "off-shore" racing. Many Americans, of course, just like to go to the beach on a hot summer day, swim a bit, and then take a nap in the sun. Except for a few areas, such as around New York City, the beaches are not crowded, so long walks along the beaches, for example those of Northern California or those of Lake Superior, are quite relaxing. And, although the thousands of students who head for Florida's beaches each spring get headlines, many more thousands of other Americans enjoy small beach parties where there's no one else except a few friends, a fire, and the warm summer night.
Anything That Has Wheels
There are several sports and sports activities in the U.S., all having their strong supporters, which many people think, are a bit strange or at least unusual. For example, Americans will race just about anything that has wheels. Not just cars, but also "funny cars" with aircraft and jet engines, large trucks with special motors, tractors, pickup trucks with gigantic tires, and even motorcycles with automobile engines. Truck racing, it seems, has made it big in Europe. In 1990, The European paper wrote that in only six years since it found its way across the Atlantic, truck racing was attracting "crowds to rival those of the Formula One grand prix motor racing circus." Other sports are popular because they do not involve motors. The first "people-powered" aircraft to cross the English Channel was pedalled by an American. And the first hot-air balloon to make it across the Atlantic had a crew from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
There are also several sports in the U.S. which were once thought of as being "different," but have now gained international popularity. Among these, for instance, is skateboarding. Another example is windsurfing which very quickly spread in popularity from the beaches of California and Hawaii. Hang-gliding became really popular after those same people in California started jumping off cliffs above the ocean. Those who like more than wind and luck attached a small lawnmower engine to a hang-glider and soon "ultra-light-weight" planes were buzzing around.
The triathlon came from a late-night discussion in a Honolulu bar in 1977 about which sport was the most exhausting: swimming, bicycle racing, or long-distance running. Someone suggested that they all be put together. The result was the first "Ironman," in 1978, with 15 participants. This contest was a 3.8 kilometre ocean swim, followed immediately by a 180 kilometre bicycle race, and ending with a 42 kilometre run. Mountain biking, often still called an "American sport," is now really international.
Since the publication of Cooper’s book Aerobics (1968), sports in America turned from an assortment of team activities to what one observer called "a prescription for everyone's health." The emphasis on physical fitness involved increasing numbers of Americans in activities that provide the necessary physical conditioning and at the same time offer enjoyment and recreation. Swimming, jogging, cycling, and callisthenics can be done in company with family members and friends, have no real age limits, and are performed more for health and fun than for competition. Everyone can participate in these activities. The widespread public support for the Handicapped Olympics in the U.S., for example, indicates that "everyone" does, indeed, mean everyone.
Список литературы
Барановский Л.С., Козикис Д.Д. How Do You Do, Britain?. Минск; М.: Агентство САДИ: Московский лицей, 1997.
Гречина О.В., Миронова Е.П. English for students of mathematics. М.: Высшая школа, 1974.
Макаревская Е.В. English for students of biology. Минск, Вышэйшая школа, 1989.
Разговорные темы по английскому языку. Пермь, 2007.
Ройнберг М.Л. English for students of mathematics. Perm, 1977.
Douglas K. Stevenson. American Life and Institutions. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, 1998.
Учебное издание
СБОРНИК текстОВ для самостоятельного чтения и экзаменационные темы по английскому языку
Учебно-методическое пособие для студентов I–II курсов
заочного отделения неязыковых факультетов
2-е издание, исправленное и дополненное
Авторы-составители:
Васильева Елена Ефимовна
Зонина Наталия Петровна (отв. ред.)
Карпенко Наталья Викторовна
Костарева Наталья Анатольевна
Раскина Елена Юрьевна
Терешкина Регина Константиновна
Технический редактор О.В. Вязова
Компьютерный набор выполнен Н.П. Зониной
Свидетельство о государственной аккредитации вуза
№ 1426 от 23.04.2004
Изд. лиц. ИД № 03857 от 30.01.2001
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