IV. UNDERSTANDING THE MAIN POINTS

Гуманитарный институт

Кафедра иностранных языков №1

Английский язык

Методические указания по разговорным темам

для студентов I курсов всех направлений подготовки

дневной и заочной формы обучения

часть II

(переработанная)

Тюмень

ТюмГНГУ

2011

Английский язык: методические указания по разговорным темам для студентов I курсов всех направлений подготовки дневной и заочной формы обучения часть II (переработанная) / сост. А.А. Мелихова; Тюменский государственный нефтегазовый университет.– 2-е изд., испр.– Тюмень: Издательский центр БИК ТюмГНГУ 2011.– 32 с.

Методические указания рассмотрены и рекомендованы к изданию на заседании кафедры иностранных языков №1

«21» апреля 2011 года, протокол № 6.

Аннотация

Настоящие методические указания предназначены для развития навыков чтения, аудирования и устной речи для студентов 1 курса всех направлений подготовки. Представленный сборник состоит из 2 частей, в которые включены темы, соответствующие программе.

Каждая тема раскрывается в виде комплексного текста и особым образом подобранных заданий, которые направленны на активизацию тематического словаря и усовершенствованию навыков устной речи, и которые способствуют развитию делового общения, являющегося основой дальнейшей профессиональной деятельности, и которые создают благоприятные условия для формирования личности, стремящейся к осмысленному существованию в мире, способной ориентироваться в различных потоках информации, используя современные информационно-коммуникационные технологии, насыщая ее своим ценностно-личностным содержанием и воплощая свой собственный творческий подход (ИКк). 

Темы рекомендуется изучать в той последовательности, в которой они представлены.

Методические указания рассчитаны для аудиторной и самостоятельной работы студентов.

UNIT 1.              The United States of America

I. WARM UP

React to the following statements (discuss in your group).

Interesting facts about America:

a) One in every 4 Americans has appeared on television.

b) In Los Angeles, there are fewer people than there are automobiles.

c) 52% of Americans drink coffee.

d) A Californian doctor has set the record of eating 17 bananas in two minutes.

e)  Approximately 35 million Americans are linked by blood to one (or more) of the 102 pilgrims who came to America on the Mayflower in 1620.

f)  Alaska is the state with the highest percentage of people who walk to work.

II. BEFORE YOU READ

A. Practice your pronunciation:

Genoese [ˌʤenəu'iːz]

Atlantic [ət'læntɪk]

Pacific [pə'sɪfɪk]

Canada ['kænədə]

Alaska [æ'læskə]

Chicago [ʃɪ'kɑːgəu]

New York ['njuː'jɔːk]

Los Angeles [lɔs'ænʤɪliːz]

Houston ['huːst(ə)n]

Christopher Columbus ['krɪstəfə kə'lʌmbəs]

Vespucci [ves'pu:tʃɪ]

the Mississippi [ˌmɪsɪ'sɪpɪ]

Spanish ['spænɪʃ]

legislative ['leʤɪslətɪv]

judicial [ʤuː'dɪʃ(ə)l]

Senate ['senɪt]

executive [ɪg'zekjutɪv]

the Gulf of Mexico ['gʌlfəv'meksɪkəu]

the Bering Strait ['bering streɪt]

Piedmont ['piːdmənt]

Juan Ponce de León ['hwɑːn'pɔns də 'liən]

parochial [pə'rəukɪəl]

soccer ['sɔkə]

B.Match the following English words and phrases with their Russian equivalents:

C. Look at the table. Compare two educational systems.

III. READING. Part 1

Read the text and make sure you know the translation of the highlighted words and phrases.

The USA.History and government

1. The United States of America (commonly called the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprisingfifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.

2. At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km²) and with over 309 million people (including an estimated11.2 million illegal immigrants) the United States is the world's third or fourth largest nation by total area (land and water) and four global cities had populations over 2 million (New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston), rankingbehind Russia and Canada and just above or below China. It is, by far, one of the world's most ethnically diverse (White – 63.7%, Black/African American - 12.3%, Hispanic/Latino (of any race) – 16.4%, Asian – 4.7%, other – 2.9%) and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The largest cities are New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

3. In 1492, Genoese explorerChristopher Columbus, under contract to the Spanish crown, reached several Caribbean islands, making first contact with the indigenouspeople. On April 2, 1513, Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León landed on what he called "La Florida"—the first documented European arrival on what would become the U.S. mainland. In 1507, German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a world map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere "America" after Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci.

4. Indigenous peoples descended from forebears who migrated from Asia have inhabited what is now the mainland United States for many thousands of years. This Native American population was greatly reduced by disease and warfare after European contact. The United States was founded by thirteen British colonies located along the Atlantic seaboard. On July 4, 1776, they issued the Declaration of Independence, which proclaimed their right to self-determination and their establishment of a cooperative union. The rebellious states defeated the British Empire in the American Revolution, the first successful colonial war of independence. The current United States Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787; its ratification the following year made the states part of a single republic with a stronger central government. The Bill of Rights, comprising ten constitutional amendments guaranteeing many fundamental civil rights and freedoms, was ratified in 1791.

5. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmedthe country's status as a military power. It emergedfrom World War II as the first country with nuclear weapons and a permanentmember of the United Nations Security Council. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union left the United States as the sole superpower. The country accounts for 41% of global military spending, and is a leading economic, political, and cultural force in the world.

6. The coastal plain of the Atlantic seaboard gives way further inland to deciduous forests and the rolling hills of the Piedmont. The United States, with its large size and geographic variety, includes most climate types. To the east of the 100th meridian, the climate ranges from humid continental in the north to humid subtropical in the south. Most of Alaska is subarctic or polar. Extreme weather is not uncommon—the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico are prone to hurricanes, and most of the world's tornadoes occur within the country, mainly in the Midwest's Tornado Alley. The greatest rivers of the USA are the Colorado and the Columbia flowing into the Pacific Ocean, the Mississippi with its tributaries the Missouri and the Ohio flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, and the St. Lawrence river and the Hudson river, which flow into the Atlantic Ocean.

7. The United States is home to more than 400 mammal, 750 bird, and 500 reptile and amphibian species. About 91,000 insect species have been described. There are fifty-eight national parks and hundreds of other federally managed parks, forests, and wilderness areas.

8. The United States is a federal union of fifty states. The states do not have the right to secede from the union. The federal government is composed of three branches:

· Legislative: The bicameral Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the government. The House of Representatives has 435 voting members, each representing a congressional district for a two-year term. The Senate has 100 members with each state having two senators, elected at-large to six-year terms.

· Executive: The president is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law, and appoints the members of the Cabinet (subject to Senate approval) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies. The president serves a four-year term and may be elected to the office no more than twice. Home and workplace of the U.S. president is the White House. The winner of the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama, is the 44th U.S. president.

· Judicial: The Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the president with Senate approval, interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional. The Supreme Court, led by the Chief Justice of the United States, has nine members, who serve for life.

9. The United States has operated under a two-party system for most of its history. Since the general election of 1856, the major parties have been the Democratic Party, founded in 1824, and the Republican Party, founded in 1854.

10. Within American political culture, the Republican Party is considered center-right or conservative and the Democratic Party is considered center-left or liberal.

11. The United States exercises global economic, political, and military influence. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and New York City hosts the United Nations Headquarters.

IV. UNDERSTANDING THE MAIN POINTS

A. Number the following sentences 1-8, depending on the order in which they appear in the text:

a) The Senate has 100 members with each state having two senators, elected at-large to six-year terms.

b) Home and workplace of the U.S. president is the White House.

c) The largest cities are New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

d) Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León landed on what he called "La Florida".

e) The Columbia flows into the Pacific Ocean.

f) There are fifty-eight national parks and hundreds of other federally managed parks, forests, and wilderness areas.

g) The Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791.

h) Native American population was greatly reduced by disease and warfare after European contact.

B. Make up sentences of the given words.

1. most, operated, the, for, states, its, has, two-party, history,  under, a, united,  system, of.

2. supreme,  and, and, laws, lower, the, courts, court, overturn, federal, interpret.

3. confirmed, war,  military, as, country,  world, a, status, power, I, 's, the.

4. united, seaboard, along, thirteen, by, states, was, Atlantic, founded, colonies, located, the, the, British.

5. the, of, an, is, mid-Pacific, state, archipelago, in, the, Hawaii.

V. VOCABULARY FOCUS

A. Find words or phrases in the text which mean the same as the following.

1. be close to;

2. a group of islands;

3. to calculate;

4. a half of a sphere;

5. official accepting;

6. to leave;

7. to become known;

8. native;

9. continent;

10.  a storm with a violent wind.

B. Explain the meaning of the following words and phrases.

1. by far (par.2);

2. explorer (par. 3);

3. forebears  (par. 4);

4. Independence (par. 4);

5. defeated (par. 4);

6. permanent (par. 5);

7. commander-in-chief (par. 5);

8. deciduous (par. 6);

9. compose of (par. 8);

10.  to host (par. 11).

VI. READING. Part 2

Read the text and make sure you know the translation of the highlighted words and phrases.

The USA.Social life

1. The United States has a capitalist mixed economy, which is fueled by abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity. The U.S. dollar is the world's primary reserve currency.

2. It is the world's number one producer of electrical and nuclear energy, as well as liquid natural gas, sulfur, phosphates, and salt. The United States is the world's top producer of corn and soybeans. Coca-Cola and McDonald's are the two most recognized brands in the world.

3. The United States has the highest rate of per-capita vehicle ownership in the world, with 765 vehicles per 1,000 Americans. About 40% of personal vehicles are vans, SUVs, or light trucks. While transport of goods by rail is extensive, relatively few people use rail to travel. Bicycle usage for work commutes is minimal. The civil airline industry is entirely privately owned, while most major airports are publicly owned. The three largest airlines in the world by passengers carried are U.S.-based; Delta Air Lines is number one.

4. The United States life expectancy of 78.4 years at birth ranks it 50th among 221 nations. Approximately one-third of the adult population is obese and an additional third is overweight.

5. English is the de facto national language. Although there is no official language at the federal level. In 2010, about 230 million, or 80% of the population aged five years and older, spoke only English at home. Spanish, spoken by 12% of the population at home, is the second most common and the most widely taught second language.

6. American public education is operated by state and local governments, regulated by the United States Department of Education through restrictions on federal grants. Children are required in most states to attend school from the age of six or seven (generally, kindergarten or first grade) until they turn eighteen (generally bringing them through twelfth grade, the end of high school); some states allow students to leave school at sixteen or seventeen. About 12% of children are enrolled in parochial or nonsectarian private schools. Just over 2% of children arehomeschooled.

7. The United States has many competitive private and public institutions of higher education. According to prominent international rankings, 13 or 15 American colleges and universities are ranked among the top 20 in the world (according to world university ranking in 2011 Harvard University is #2, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is #3, Yale University is #4, etc.). There are also local community colleges with generally more open admission policies, shorter academic programs, and lower tuition. Of Americans twenty-five and older, 84.6% graduated from high school, 52.6% attended some college, 27.2% earned a bachelor's degree, and 9.6% earned graduate degrees. The basic literacy rate is approximately 99%.

8. According to a 2007 survey, 78.4% of adults identified themselves as Christian, protestant denominations accounted for 51.3%, while Roman Catholicism, at 23.9%, was the largest individual denomination.

9. Baseball has been regarded as the national sport since the late 19th century, while American football is now by several measures the most popular spectatorsport. Basketball and ice hockey are the country's next two leading professional team sports. College football and basketball attract large audiences. Boxing and horse racing were once the most watched individual sports, but they have been eclipsed by golf and auto racing, particularly NASCAR. Soccer is played widely at the youth and amateur levels. Tennis and many outdoor sports are popular as well.

10. While most major U.S. sports have evolved out of European practices, volleyball, skateboarding, snowboarding, and cheerleading are American inventions. Basketball was invented in Massachusetts by Canadian-born James Naismith. Lacrosse and surfing arose from Native American and Native Hawaiian activities that predate Western contact. Eight Olympic Games have taken place in the United States. The United States has won 2,301 medals at the Summer Olympic Games, more than any other country, and 253 in the Winter Olympic Games, the second most.