XIII. Finish up the sentences according to the model. (Consult a dictionary.):
Englishmen live in England, they speak English.
... in Scotland,....
... in Ireland, ....
... in Sweden, ....
... in Norway, ....
... in Denmark,....
... in Holland, ...
... in Spain, ...
... in the USA, ....
... in Switzerland,....
XIV. Make up dialogues between an English and a Russian student on the
topics:
1. Moscow and London — cultural and industrial centres.
2. The main industrial centres (towns, ports, etc.) of Russia and England.
3. Rural areas of both countries.
XV. Translate the following, putting it into your own words:
a) express your opinion;
b) say how far factors like climate, the geography of a country, its history, religion(s),
system of government, etc affect national character. Give examples.
с) write some brief notes about your own national character as yon think foreigners see
yon. Then, in small groups, describe to each other this "foreign" view of your nation and say
why you agree or disagree with it.
Британский характер
Национальный характер повсюду живуч. Но ни к какому народу это не относится в
большей степени, чем к англичанам, которые судя по всему, имеют нечто вроде патента на
живучесть своей натуры. Такова первая и наиболее очевидная черта англичан. Стабильность и
постоянство их характера. Они меньше других подвержены веяниям времени, преходящим
модам. Важно, однако, подчеркнуть, что при своей стабильности характер этот составлен из
весьма противоречивых и даже парадоксальных черт, одни из которых весьма очевидны,
другие же трудноуловимы; так что каждое обобщение, касающееся англичан тут же может
быть оспорено.
Материалистический народ — кто усомнится в этом? — англичане дали миру щедрую
долю мистиков, поэтов, идеалистов. Народ колонистов, они проявляют пылкую
приверженность к собственной стране, к своему дому.
Неутомимые мореплаватели и землепроходцы, они одновременно страстные садоводы.
Их любознательность позволила им познакомиться с лучшим из того, чем обладают
другие страны, и все-таки они остались верны своей собственной. Восхищаясь французской
кухней, англичанин не станет имитировать ее у себя дома. На редкость законопослушный
народ они обожают читать о преступлениях и насилиях. Являя собой воплощение
конформизма, они в то же время заядлые индивидуалисты, и среди них полно эксцентриков.
Все эти парадоксы, к которым, пожалуй, следует добавить еще один: при всей своей
парадоксальности английский характер редко бывает загадочным и непредсказуемым.
Генри. Стил Коммаыджер (США), Британия глазами американцев. 1974
Я не пытаюсь утверждать, будто англичане никогда не менялись. Перемены происходят
всегда. Но эти различия, столь заметные внешне, не проникают вглубь, до корней. К лучшему
или к худшему, исконные черты английской натуры по-прежнему остаются неким общим
знаменателем, оказывают глубокое влияние на национальный характер и общий стиль жизни.
Джон Б. Пристли (Англия), Англичане, 1973
XVI, Comment on the following proverbs and sayings. (Explain their meaning,
give their Russian equivalents.):
East or West, home is best.
There is no place like home.
So many countries, so many customs.
When at Rome, do as the Romans do.
Rome was not built in a day.
To carry coals to Newcastle.
ХVII. Read the following passage and a) discuss it in detail; b) give a short
summary of the passage; c) comment on the following:
the beauty of Britain as the author sees it;
the variety of geographical features;
a happy compromise between Nature and Man.
We live in one of the most beautiful islands in the world. This is a fact we are always
forgetting. When beautiful islands are mentioned we think of Trinidad67 and Tahiti.68 These are fine, romantic places, but they are not really as exquisitely beautiful as our own Britain. Before the mines
and factories came, and long before we went from bad to worse with our arterial roads and petrol
stations and horrible brick bungalows, this country must have been an enchantment. Even now, after
we have been busy for so long flinging mud at this fair pale face, the enchantment still remains.
Sometimes I doubt if we deserve to possess it. There can be few parts of the world in which
commercial greed and public indifference have combined to do more damage than they have here.
The process continues. It is still too often assumed that any enterprising fellow after quick profits has
a perfect right to destroy a loveliness that is the heritage of the whole community.
The beauty of our country is as hard to define as it is easy to enjoy. Remembering other and
larger countries we see at once that one of its charms is that it is immensely varied within a small
compass. We have here no vast mountain ranges, no illimitable plains. But we have superb variety. A
great deal of everything is packed into little space. I suspect that we are always faintly conscious of
the fact that this is a smallish island, with the sea always round the corner, We know that everything
67 Trinidad; an island in the Atlantic, to the north-east of South America
68 Tahiti: an island in the Pacific
has to be neatly packed into a small space. Nature, we feel, has carefully adjusted things —
mountains, plains, rivers, lakes to the scale of the island itself. A mountain 12,000 feet high would be
a horrible monster here, as wrong as a plain 400 miles long, a river as broad as the Mississippi;
Though the geographical features of this island are comparatively small, and there is astonishing
variety almost everywhere, that does not mean that our mountains are not mountains, our plains not
plains.
Our children and their children after them must live in a beautiful country. It must be a
country happily compromising between Nature and Man, blending what was best, worth retaining
from the past with what best represents the spirit of our own age, a country rich in noble towns as it
is in trees, birds, and wild flowers.
(From
"The
Beauty of Britain" by J. В. Priestley)
XVIII. Role-playing:
Mr. Nice, a lecturer, in his early forties. His topic:
"Don't Spoil Nature".
T h e a u d i e n c e :
Alex, a sceptically-minded young man of 21, a student of
Geography; Miss Dorothy Peach, an ardent lover of nature, age 73;
Mr. Frederick Healey, a journalist work ing on a popular newspaper, middle-aged.
R e s t o f c l a s s : make offers and suggestions relating to the problem.
Don't Spoll Nature
Both in densely and in thinly populated countries the authorities make regulations and give
hints to would-be tourists to protect the countryside from pollution.
Here's what the Tourist Office of Finland advises would be visitors: While you are enjoying
the uniqueness of the Finnish landscape, the forests, the lakes, the rivers, the seas, the wild life and
vegetation, you should obey the unwritten laws of nature. Sheer carelessness and thoughtlessness
can cause great damage. As you travel about, please remember you are a guest in the Finnish
countryside.
It is forbidden to break off branches of trees and bushes. Picking flowers (except protected
species) is allowed. When you travel by car please avoid throwing litter and rubbish about. Put it in
