land possesses. His primary goal is oil production, and environmental protection comes secondary.

7. Marina Larionova, aged 60, a famous seascape painter, participates in the campaign against the unrestricted sea exploration.

Reminds of the very beginning of life on the Earth. Says that man owes much to the Ocean and should preserve its reserves. She

doesn't think that man-made substitutes benefit humanity very much. Besides economic gains there should be moral obligations that

any environment-conscious person should observe. It's very important to make people environment-educated at an early age to

reduce the damage inflicted to the environment.

Note: The group of students is divided into two teams, each of which performs the same role-playing game. While discussing the problems pertaining to

environmental protection they show different approaches to the issues under discussion, speak about things of mutual interest, disagree with some of the

participants or share the others' point of view. Comments from the class on each team's performance and the estimate of the different arguments are invited.

•

17. Group Discussion.

Give your views on the problems pertaining to natural environment.

Topic 1. What role does natural environment play in our life?

Tal k i n g p o i n t s :

1. Nature and the man's love of it.

2. Man as a constituent part of nature.

3. Pets and plants in our life.

Topic 2. Is it a vital necessity to protect natural environment from destruction and pollution

today?

Tal k i n g p o i n t s :

1. Ill-effects of unrestricted industrialization and the sprawl of large-built areas: a) foul air: b) polluted water; c) noise disturbance;

d) overpopulation; e) disfigured landscapes and land pollution.

2. Extermination of wildlife — upsetting of the biological balance: a) destruction of animal habitats; b) removal and destruction of

plants and trees; c) unprecedented killing of animals for economic, scientific and individual purposes.

Topic 3. What do you know about the measures taken to control environmental pollution and to fight destruction of wildlife?

Tal k i n g p o i n t s :

1. International cooperation in environmental protection.

2. Mass media in the fight against pollution and for nature conservation: a) newspaper comments and reviews; b) TV programmes:

c) science-popular films.

3. Ecology — the science of how the living things are related to their environment.

4. Voluntary organizations' and individuals' participation in the nature conservation movement.

SPEECH SOUND EXERCISES

Unit One [e - æ]

Do not open your mouth too wide when articulating the vowel [e], it is a half-open vowel. Open your mouth very wide when

pronouncing the vowel [æ]: it is an open vowel (helping to make it open by a spoon-shaped depression in the front part of the tongue).

1. Pronounce the pairs of words and the sentences with the vowels. Observe their length variants:

— lend — land

— helping — happen

— plenty — planned

— selling — salmon

necessary — ational

subject — program

— 1. Harris objected to a slap-up breakfast. 2. The fact is Jed expected the man to be a different personality. 3. Can you imagine

anything happening to the salmon? — Yes, I can.

[ei — ɛə ]

Remember that the nucleus of the diphthong [ei] is Vowel No. 3, which is mid-open and that of the diphthong [ɛə] is an open vowel.

Make the nuclei long and very distinct vowels. Make the glides much shorter and indistinct.

1. Pronounce the pairs of words and the sentences with the two diphthongs. Observe their length variants:

A. fade — fair

railways — rarely

shade — share

waisted — wearing

xaging — airing

a mazement — de daring

B. 1. Mary declared she had some gravy to spare. 2. It wasn't safe to go downstairs for the remains of the bacon and eggs. 3. On the

stairs Mary explained she liked the flavour of the gravy and asked Clare if she had any more to spare. 4. The adminis tration was

prepared to overcome all the difficulties and complications.

C h e c k e d V o w e l s

The vowels sound checked when a slight pause is made between the short stressed vowel and the consonant following it.

3. Read the words and the sentences. Make the vowels traditionally called short, checked in their shorter variant:

— bricks upper

effect

push

— admit pot latticed cooking

— yet gossip struck touched

— 1. I admit I touched his pocket. 2. It's a pity it isn't possible to cook the stuff. 3. It was impossible for him to admit he was indif ferent

to the suggestion to come to Russia much later.

— [

]

When pronouncing the consonants make an ' oscal'5 "(that is show your teeth as if you were going to brush them). Check the in-

terdental position of the tip of the tongue. Prevent the lower lip from touching the upper teeth.

4. Read the pairs of words and the sentences. Do not replace the consonants

by [f, v], [T, Д] or [s, z]:6

A. things — those

thanks — this

something — other

teeth — gather

throughout — these

overthrow— therefore

health — together

worth — with

'oscal': оскал (the term was introduced by A.L.Trakhteroff)

To prevent the consonants [s, z] from being replaced by [9, d] keep the tip of the tongue at the lower teeth, and not between the teeth,

when articulating [s, z]. Make an 'oscal' to check the right position of the tongue for [s, z].

B. 1. But supposing it was something else. 2. It's the biggest thing of this kind. 3. They gathered the odds and ends. 4. The more we

peeled the more peel there seemed to be left on. 5. Here was a dish with a new flavour with a taste like nothing else on earth.

6. Therefore our talk was threaded throughout by two motifs.

7. Is this the man with the vegetables? — This is the very man I gather.

A s p i r a t i o n 1

Remember that aspiration is the strongest before stressed vowels, especially before long ones; that the consonants should not be

aspirated when following [s], like in 'speak, stick, skirt'; that [b, d, g ] , their voiced counterparts, are never aspirated; they are weak

consonants.

5. Read the words and the sentences aspirating the consonants [p, t, k] where necessary:

A. Pity

top

coming

encounter,

potted

dictatorship

speaking

make

B. 1. "Oh, that won't do. You must scrape them." 2. Montmorency had evinced great interest in the proceedings. 3. I encountered a

personality entirely different from anything I had expected.

T h e P r e v o c a l i c [ h ]

Mind that the consonant [h] should be very weak (in fact it is breathing out a bit of air before the vowel following i t ) . Do not make it

too fricative, like the Russian consonant [X]. Remember that it can be dropped when unstressed and following a stressed verb like in 'I

^like (h)er. I ^saw (h)im.'

5

6

6. Read the words and the sentences:

A. held

habit

human

hands

hamper

uphill

hard

Harris

behind

B. 1. Here was a new dish unlike the old hackneyed things. 2. He will exploit the human heritage stupidly. 3. I hope Harris and Henry

are happy now that they don't lag behind and nothing hampers them.

T h e L i n k i n g [ r ]

When there is a pause between the two words, the linking [r] should not sound.

7. Read the sentences inserting the linking [r] in the intervocalic position at the junction of words: