Файл: МУ 1 курс (разгов.темы) 2002 корективний курс.doc

III. Reading and Comprehension

Exercise 1. Repeat after the speaker. Learn the words

Exercise 2. Look through Text A “ The United Kingdom. Geography and Climate” . Be ready to answer the following questions:

1. What seas is Great Britain washed by?

2. What is Great Britain separated from the continent by?

3. What hills separate England from Scotland?

4. What is the population of Great Britain?

5. What are the main industrial centres of Great Britain?

6. Where has gas been found in Great Britain?

7. What is the climate of the British Isles?

Text A

The United Kingdom. Geography and Climate

To the west of the continent of Europe lie two large islands called the British Isles. The larger of these, consisting of England, Scotland and Wales, is known as Great Britain. The smaller island is Ireland, with Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. To the British Isles belong also some 5,500 smaller islands. The area of the British Isles is 121,600 square miles. The population of Great Britain is about 56 million.

The west coast is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea, its east coast – by the North Sea, and the south coast – by the English Channel, the narrower part of which is called the Strait of Dover.

England is the southern and central part of Great Britain. Scotland is in the north of the island, and Wales in the west. Northern Ireland is situated in the north-eastern part of Ireland. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with a total area of 94,212 square miles.

Mountains are an important part of the geography of a country. The British Isles have no high mountains. Scotland is a mountainous country, especially in the north. Here the main chain of mountains is called the Grampians and its highest peak is Ben Nevis, which is 4,400 feet high and is the highest peak in Britain. In the north we can see the Cheviot Hills, separating England from Scotland . In England the Pennine Chain runs down from the north through the centre. In Wales there are the Cumbrian Mountains, the highest peak of which is Snowdown, in North Wales. It is 3,000 feet high. The Cumbrian Mountains are famous for the number and beauty of their lakes. There are sixteen lakes here, the largest being Windermere. This part of the country, called the Lake District, is the most beautiful and the wettest part of Great Britain. The largest lakes in Scotland are Loch Lomond and Loch Ness.

The British Isles have many rivers, but they are not very long. The longest of the English rivers is the Severn, which flows south-west into the Irish Sea. The Thames flows through rich agricultural and industrial districts. Scotland’s most important river is the Clyde, on which stands Glasgow. Many of the English and Scottish rivers are joined by canals, so that it is possible to travel by water from one end of Great Britain to the other.

There are no great forests in the British Isles today. Historically, the most famous forest is Sherwood Forest, in the east of England, north of London. It was the home of Robin Hood.

The climate of the British Isles is generally mild, not very cold in winter and never hot in summer. The rivers do not freeze in winter, and snow never lies on the ground for long, except in the north, especially in the highlands of Scotland. Sheep and cattle can find food in the meadows all the year round. All parts of the British Isles have a lot of rain in all seasons. In winter, thick fogs cover many parts of Britain. The British Isles are warmed by the Gulf Stream.

The mild and damp climate in the British Isles is very good for agriculture, especially for vegetable-farming, sheep and cattle-farming. Great Britain is more an industrial than an agricultural country. Britain is rich in coal and iron. Next to coal and iron the main minerals found in Great Britain are marble, granite, slate, lead, tin, copper, zinc, salt and china-clay. Gas is found in the North Sea. London, Liverpool and Glasgow are the biggest English ports, Manchester, Birmingham, Edingburgh are main industrial centres. Oxford and Cambridge are main university towns.

IV. Practice

Exercise 1. Using the chart of Great Britain (territory, location, population, parts, etc.) Make a report on the topic.

V. Reading and comprehension

Read and translate Text B

The Government of Great Britain

Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy. Officially the head of the state is the Queen. She is an integral part of the legislature and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The power of the Queen in Britain is not absolute but constitutional. She acts only on the advice of the ministers, her powers are limited by Parliament.

The legislative power is vested in the Queen and Parliament made up of two Houses – the House of Lords and the House of Commons, the supreme legislative body. The British Parliament exists since 1265. It is the oldest Parliament in the world. The House of Lords is a non-elected chamber. The titles and seats are inherited there. The House of Commons is a nation-wide representative body. It is elected by a universal suffrage, which was introduced in 1918. The Commons has 650 elected Members of Parliament (MPs). They are granted a salary for their parliamentary work. They are elected by the general election, which is to be held every 5 years.

There is no written constitution in the country. The term “English Constitution” means the leading principles, conventions, laws and statutes. The British constitution does not provide written guarantees of individual political rights.

As a rule the Prime Minister is the leader of the party that has won the election and has the majority in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister appoints the ministers to compose the government. The ministers who have gained the confidence of the Prime Minister are presented to the monarch for the formal approval. Thus the Cabinet is formed. It is presided over by the Prime Minister and controls and runs the national affairs. About 20 ministers are in the Cabinet – the senior group takes major policy decisions. The second largest party forms the official Opposition, with its own leader and “shadow cabinet”. The Opposition has a duty to criticize government policies and to present an alternative program.

Exercise 1. Give Ukrainian equivalents for the following:

• to belong

• parliamentary work

• the head of the government

• written guarantee

• to form the cabinet

• to act on the advice of the ministers

• to gain the confidence

• formal approval

• tribunal

Exercise 2. Give English equivalents for the following:

• державні справи

• законодавча влада

• призначати платню

• верховна влада

• збройні сили

• глава системи правосуддя

• повноваження королеви

• обмежені парламентом

• представник держави

• пряме голосування

Exercise 3. Agree or disagree with the following statements

1. The Prime Minister presides over the Cabinet

2. The Parliament limits the powers of the Queen.

3. The Cabinet is headed by the Queen.

4. The Queen and the Parliament exercise the legislative power.

5. The seats in the House of Lords are not inherited.

6. The universal suffrage was introduced in 1928.

7. The power of the Queen in Britain is Absolute.

Exercise 4. Answer the following questions:

1. What kind of state is Great Britain?

2. Who is officially the head of state?

3. What is the structure of the political system of Great Britain?

4. In whose hands is the legislative power in Great Britain?

5. What is the body of the legislative power?

6. What does the term “English Constitution” mean ?

7. What kind of Parliament has Great Britain?

8. When was the British Parliament formed?

9. Who usually becomes the Prime Minister?

10. How often are general election held?

11. Who is the head of the Government?

12. How many chambers are there in the British Parliament?

13. What are the functions of the Parliament?

VI. Practice

Exercise 5. Study the chart “Great Britain” (Parliamentary Monarchy and Political Parties) and discuss information in the form of questions and answers.

VII. Practice

Exercise 1. Role play the following situations:

Situation1. You are invited to take part in the discussion about Great Britain. Make a report on political life of the country. Describe your own impressions of visiting Great Britain. Be ready to answer students questions.

Situation 2. You are in the plane flying from Ukraine to Great Britain. Ask the guide questions on rivers, mountains, lakes, natural resources, industrial centres of Great Britain.

Usefull expressions: You should see – Вам треба було б подивитись … May I give you some suggestions? - Можна я дам вам кілька пропозицій? I’d like to give you a piece of advice – Я б хотів дати вам невелику пораду. Most willingly – охоче; I’d be grateful for your advice – був би вдячний за вашу пораду; Is it worth seeing? – Варто подивитись? Really? – дійсно.

VIII. Reading

Listen to the text C. Be sure that you know the following words and word combinations.

aircraft – літак, авіація

aero-engine manufacturers – виробники авіадвигунів

branch – галузь

domestic demand - внутрішній попит

electroengineering – електроніка

hosiery – трикотаж

knitted wear – в’язані вироби

machine tool industry – верстатобудівна промисловість

non-ferrous metals – кольорові метали

raw-material – сировина

rural – сільський

synthetic fibre – синтетичне волокно

satellite – супутник

vital part - істотна роль

Text C

Great Britain is known to be a highly developed industrial country. There are so-called “old” branches of industry which appeared in the period of industrial revolution and “modern” branches that appeared only after the Second World War.

Coal-mining is said to be a traditional , “old” branch of industry. It is to be found in Wales, in the Cumberland Mountains, in the south of Scotland, and in the northern part of England.

Metal industry, including production of steel and non-ferrous metals such as aluminium and other colour metals, is known to have been developing in Scotland, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, in Wales and other areas of the country.

Britain’s chemical industry is the third largest in Europe . Nearly half of its production is exported. Natural gas is known to be a good raw material for chemical industry. Chemical industry, especially production of synthetic fibres and plastics, is being developed on a large scale in Wales, in Liverpool, in the mouth of the Thames, in Scotland, in the south of England.

Engineering is the main branch of industry in Great Britain. Britain is the Western world’s largest producer of agricultural tractors, many of which are exported. London, Birmingham, Coventry are known to be the most important centres of motor-car construction. The Greater London, Bristol are the leading centres of aviation industry. The British aerospace industry is the third largest in the world. Its products include civil and military aircraft and satellites. Rolls-Royce is one of the world’s three largest aero-engine manufacturers. Glasgow, Newcastle, Belfast are the biggest ship-building centres.

Among the modern branches are electroengineering, electronic, machine-tool industries which can be found in the Greater London, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and many other big and little towns of Great Britain. Halifax is known to be a machine-tool construction centre producing equipment for electric power industry.

Textile industry with the centres in Yorkshire and Landshire is considered to be one of the oldest in Great Britain. The clothing industry, one of the largest in Europe, meets about two-thirds of domestic demand and the woolen industry is one of the world’s largest.

Light industry and first of all clothing, footwear, knitting wear and hosiery are developed in Leeds, Nottingham, Manchester, London, Glasgow, Belfast. Light industry goods are of good qualty.

Nottingham, Lester and Derby are known to be the most important centres of footwear industry. Many enterprises of food industry are situated in the large industrial centres such as London, Belfast, Liverpool, Bristol as well as in other centres and also in some rural areas.

Britain has an open economy in which international trade plays a vital part. About one-quarter of its domestic product comes from the export of goods and services.

IX. Comprehension.

Exercise 1. Find the right ending of the sentence.

1. Among the modern branches are ….

1. textile industry

2. metal industry including production of steel and non-ferrous metal

3. aerospace, electronic and machine tool industries

2. the British aerospace industry is the …

1. largest in the world

2. third largest in the world

3. second largest in Europe

3. The Western world largest producer of agricultural tractors is …

1. Britain

2. France

3. Canada

4. The leading centres of aviation industry are …

1. Newcastle and Birmingham

2. London and Sheffield

3. Greater London and Bristol

5. Nottingham, Lester and Derby are known to be the most important centres of …

1. footwear industry

2. metal industry

3. chemical industry

Exercise 2. Agree or disagree with the following statements:

1. Aerospace, electronic and machine-tool industries are traditional branches of industry

2. Britain’s chemical industry is the first largest in Europe.

3. The British cotton textile industry is centered in Lincolnshire.

4. Engineering is the basic branch of industry in Great Britain .

5. Birmingham, Sheffield and Manchester are the main ship-building centers.

Exercise 3. Ask questions to get answers:

1. About one- quarter.

2. Coal-mining and textile industry

3. Glasgow, Newcastle and Belfast are

4. After the Second World War

5. In Wales, Scotland in the Cumberland Mountains

6. The woolen industry

Exercise 4. Make a chart of the development of industry in Great Britain and speak on the topic.

X. Supplementary

Text A

Science and Technology

Nobel prizes for science have been awarded to 70 British citizens, a greater number than for any other country apart from the United States.

Spending on scientific research and development in 1988 was about £10,300 million, 2-2 percent of gross domestic product. The Government takes responsibility for funding research in basic science.

The Science and Engineering Research Council supports fundamental research in pure and applied science, including engineering. With the other research councils, it is setting up interdisciplinary research centres.

The Medical Research Council supports major projects in all types of disease, including Alzheimer's disease and AIDS. The earth's resources, the oceans and the atmosphere are the concern of the Natural Environ­ment Research Council. The Agricultural and Food Research Council supports work on crops and livestock.

The Government supports university research through the Universities Funding Council. Research on nuclear power is the responsibility of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, which also offers a contract research service to industry. The Ministry of Defense’s share of govern­ment research expenditure has fallen to some 45 per cent. Increasing emphasis is placed on its research funded jointly with industry. "Spin-off" from defense technology to the civil market is encouraged. British firms and academic institutions participate in European Community and other international programs.

Industry is the second major source of funds for research and development. There have been major advances in the development of optical fibre communications, systems. The pharmaceutical industry accounted for 10 per cent of manufacturing industry's research and development expenditure in Britain in 1989. British firms make 11 of the world's 50 best-selling medicines. In aerospace British companies play a major role.

Text B

The Arts

The Government sets the arts budget for a three-year period so that arts bodies can plan ahead and diversify their sources of funding. The Government encourages arts bodies to seek funds from the private sector.

The British Council furthers knowledge of British culture and the English language overseas. It initiates or supports tours by British companies and artists.

London is a major international centre for theatre, opera and dance. There are many important companies and theatres outside the capital. The Royal National Theatres stages classical and modern plays. The Shakespeare Festival takes place in April. People flock to Stradford and pack its theatre. On the 23^rd of April – the Bardic Birthday – representatives of all nations walk from the theatre and stand under their national flag in Bridge Street. A procession goes to the Birthplace - the house where Shakespeare is said to have been born. The Royal Shakespeare Company performs both at Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace, and in London. The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, and the English National Opera are the main London opera companies. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own .

British pop musicians and groups have worldwide appeal and have set new trends.

Some 650 professional arts festivals take place each year. The Edinburgh International Festival is the largest of its kind in the world.

British films, actors and the creative and technical services which support them are acclaimed at international film festivals. The industry also produces films for television.

About 2,500 museums and art galleries include the major national museums, with world-famous artistic, archeological, scientific and historical collections. The Queen’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace shows pictures from the royal collection. Many of Britain’s great private houses (some open to the public), of prime architectural interest, also contain art treasures.

A network of free public and other institutional and private libraries helps to maintain the vast wealth of English literature and culture. The British Library, Britain’s national library, is one of the world’s three largest.

Text C

London Museums and Art Galleries

The best London Museums and Art Galleries are in the West End.

The British Museum in Russel Square comprises the Na­tional Museum of Archeology and Ethnography, the richest collection of prints and drawings and the National Library.

It was founded in 1753 and opened to the public on the 15th of January, 1759.

The Library of the British Museum is one of the largest collection of books and manuscripts (pyкописи) in the world.

It also comprises national museum of archeology and ethnography which together with the library originated in 1753 when the art collection and library of Sir Hans Sloane was aquired by the government. The museum has among its holdings collections of ancient and medieval artifacts and art.

The Natural History Museum in Cromwell Road is the home of the national collections of animals (животные) and plants, and of the minerals and rocks from which the earth is built up. It has a twofold function to increase man's know­ledge of the animal, plant and mineral Kingdoms as an in­stitution for scientific research, and to spread knowledge of natural history as widely as possible.

The Tower of London was once a fortress (кpenocть). Kings of England, when the battle turned against them, often found safety in the Tower.

From Norman days the Tower has been a state prison: it has been a place of torture and of execution.

Continuously from the 11th century the Tower has held a military garrison. Arms and armour have always been stored there and today it contains the National Collections of them. Today the Tower is a museum visited by tourists.

As it was the strongest fortress in the land, the safe custody ' of the Crown jewels has been entrusted to it since the time of Henry III.

The National Gallery offers a wonderful range of pictures.

Everyone can find some kind of picture to enjoy. It was opened to the public on the 10th of May, 1824. And in 1836 after series of troubles the collection of pictures of the National Gallery was established at Trafalgar Square. Old masters in the newly-built building both British and foreign are being kept there.

The Tate Gallery from the very beginning was intended as a collection of contemporary (coвременный) British painting only. It became the national collection of British painting of all periods, and in addition to this the national collection of modem foreign painting and of modern sculpture, both British and foreign.

The Science Museum exhibits machinery, scientific instruments and apparatuses for scientific research and for educational purposes.

Text D

Sport and Recreation

Interest in sports and recreations, such as basketball, darts, skiing, athletics and snooker, has increased, thanks partly to extensive coverage on television. More people participate in sport, mainly because of the increase in leisure time and facilities, greater mobility and improvements in living standards. It is estimated that 25 million people over the age of 13 regularly take part in sport or exercise. Walking, including rambling and hiking, is followed in popularity by swimming, football, golf, keep fit and yoga, athletics, angling, squash and badminton.

Britain has pioneered facilities for sports for disabled people. Disabled athletes are encouraged to participate either in direct competition with able-bodied athletes or in parallel events.

Wimbledon, one of the four grand slam tennis tournaments, is the world's premier grass court tournament. The British Open Golf cham­pionship attracts enormous interest. In horseracing there are five classics flat races — the Derby, the Oaks, the Two Thousand Guineas, the One Thousand Guineas and the St Leger. One of the world's principal sailing events is the regatta at Cowes in the Isle of Wight. Rowing events include the Oxford and Cambridge University boat race and Henley regatta, both on the Thames.

In 1990 England were World Cup soccer semi-finalists. The Govern­ment has worked closely with the football authorities and the government of other European countries to combat spectator violence. Legislation severely restricts access to alcohol at matches. The National Football Intelligence Unit, set up in 1989, co-ordinates police information about football hooligans and strengthens liaison with overseas police forces. The use of closed-circuit television on all Football League grounds has helped the police to identify lawbreakers.

Unit 8

Topic: Cities

Language: The Modal Verbs

The Perfect Tenses

Text: Kyiv

London

Kherson

1. Language

1. Sentence patterns

You can see the remains of the Golden Gate.

Can you see the remains of the Golden Gate?

You cannot (can’t) see the remains of the Golden Gate.