Методическая разработка «Формирование социокультурной компетенции на уроках английского языка в старших классах средней школы» (на основе текстов журналов “Speak Out”)
Text 1.
British humour – do you get it?
It is common to hear foreigners use the phrase: ‘typical British sense of humour’, but what exactly does that mean? As a nation, the British are proud of their particular sense of humour and believe that it is unique. British people often say that foreigners, in particular, the French and Americans, don’t understand British jokes. The statement is, of course, a bit unfair, but it does reflect some differences in what people in different countries and cultures find funny. The strange thing is that British humour is based on two rather contradictory foundations. On the one hand, there is a typically dry, almost sarcastic understatement. On the other, there is a national obsession with something called ‘toilet humour’.
UNDERSTATEMENT AND IRONY.
The first characteristic is probably the most famous. British people use understatement almost all the time. Perhaps it is connected to the terrible climate in Britain. The statements like: ‘It is a bit chilly, isn’t it?’, or ‘I’m just a bit tired’ are often used when it is terribly cold, or you are absolutely exhausted.
Understatement is closely connected to a more general term: irony. Quite often foreigners have to spend some time getting used to British people being constantly ironic – in other words – saying the opposite of what they think or feel. The statements: ‘Lovely weather we’re having at the moment’, or, ‘Turned out nice again, didn’t it?’ are to be used when it is raining heavily, or the weather suddenly turns after you leave the house without a coat or umbrella. Another example of irony used for humorous purposes: We visit out friend in the hospital. We know from his wife that the prognosis is bad, and also that our friend has been informed of his condition. When we enter, we ask him how he’s feeling. ‘Well,’ he says, ‘I have been better.’ Of course, in some countries it would be unusual to make jokes when you’re ill but in Britain it is absolutely normal. It is well-known that British people do not like showing their feelings and emotions, so they often turn to irony to conceal what they really feel.
Both understatement and irony depend a lot on tone of voice. This is why it can take time for foreigners to get used to British irony: it is often difficult to detect.
Example: Mother comes into the TV room and discovers that her 11-year-old son watching a film instead of doing his homework, as he was supposed to ten minutes ago. Pointing to the screen she says, ‘Don’t let me distract you from your duties, son, but when you’re finished with your serious studies there, maybe we could have a rest and do a little bit of maths’.
What the mother says could be said in an ironic tone of voice, but it could also be said in a normal, matter-of-fact tone as well. In the second case the mother would pretend to be respectful but she is really not. Confused? A lot of people, especially foreigners, because they are concentrating on the tone of voice and are not listening to the actual meaning of words completely miss the ironic intention of the speaker.
TOILET HUMOUR.
The other end of the scale is toilet humour. Quite often these jokes (usually visual, as in television comedy programmes) are connected with taboo bodily functions. Toilet humour is something every schoolchild in Britain becomes an expert in very early in life.
A very mild example:
1st MAN: I’ve just bought my wife a bottle of toilet water for 100 pounds.
2nd MAN: You could have had some from my loo for nothing.
Pre-reading tasks:
Answer the questions:
According to the title of the video, guess what is going to be about?
What do you think about a sense of humour? Is it important to understand and feel humour in the right way?
Do you agree with the opinion that every nation has its own way to play jokes?
Have you ever heard anything about the specific British humour? Do you know some British jokes?
Is it important to understand jokes of your foreign interlocutor and to react to them correctly? Why do you think so?
Look at the title of the story. Try to guess what purpose the author pursues, telling us such a story.
Reading tasks.
Read the text attentively. Why do the British people believe that their sense of humour is unique?
Translate the following sentences. Try to explain your personal understanding of the information.
As a nation, the British are proud of their particular sense of humour and believe that it is unique.
The strange thing is that British humour is based on two contradictory foundations.
British people use understatement almost all the time.
It is well-known that British people do not like showing their feelings and emotions so they often turn to irony: it is often difficult to detect.
The other end of the scale is toilet humour.
Toilet humour is something every schoolchild in Britain becomes an expert in very early in life.
Try to find the English equivalents of the words below. How can these words help us to understand the special features of British humour?
особый
уникальный, единственный в своём роде
отражать
противоречащий
основа, основание, фундамент
сухой, сдержанный
саркастический, язвительный
преуменьшение, недосказанность, сдержанность
одержимость
ирония
скрывать
улавливать, замечать
деловой
вежливый
намерение, цель
другая крайность
Read the following sentences. Say if they are true or false. Comment upon each sentence.
The British are proud with their sense of humour because they believe in its uniqueness.
The foreigners are not able to perceive any British joke at all.
The British humour is a typically dry but polite, it doesn’t contain some ‘toilet’ jokes.
Understatement is closely connected to irony.
The British like showing their feelings and emotions, so they often turn to irony to exaggerate them.
British people sometimes prefer to use a matter-of-fact tone instead of an ironic one.
Toilet humour is something forbidden for British schoolchildren.
Post-reading tasks:
Here are some other examples of simple English jokes that have been separated from their answers. Try to choose the correct end to the joke from the list below:
TEACHER: What do you know about the Dead Sea?
PUPIL:
TEACHER: What do you call the small rivers that flow into the river Nile?
PUPIL:
1st BOY: Do you always bath in dirty water?
2nd BOY:
STRANGER: I’m looking for a man with a wooden leg called Johnson.
LOCAL:
DINER: Waiter! Will my hamburger be long?
WAITER:
1st FRIEND: I know a café where we can eat dirt cheap.
2nd FRIEND:
DINER: Waiter! What’s wrong with the fish?
WAITER:
CORONER: And what were your wife’s last words, sir?
HUSBAND:
NERVOUS PASSENGER: How often do planes of this type crash?
AIR HOSTESS:
PASSENGER: Guard! How long will the next train be?
GUARD:
About six carriages, sir.
But who wants to eat dirt?
Dead? I didn’t even know it was ill.
I don’t see how they can make a profit selling this chicken at 2p per pound.
It was clean when I got in.
Juveniles.
Long time, no sea, sir.
No. It will be round and flat, sir.
Only once, sir.
What’s his other leg called?
If you have some difficulties with the task, use the answers and explanations below. Do you really like the jokes? Is it difficult to find the correct ending? If you have some difficulties, how can you explain them?
The jokes include: misunderstood words, sarcasm, ignorance, pun answers, ambiguous word order etc.
TEACHER: What do you know about the Dead Sea?
PUPIL: Dead? I didn’t even know it was ill.
TEACHER: What do you call the small rivers that flow into the river Nile?
PUPIL: Juveniles (from juvenile – young)
1st BOY: Do you always bath in dirty water?
2nd BOY: It was clean when I got in.
STRANGER: I’m looking for a man with a wooden leg called Johnson. (ambiguous word order, note: … a man called Johnson with a wooden leg)
LOCAL: What’s his other leg called?
DINER: Waiter! Will my hamburger be long? (time)
WAITER: No. It will be round and flat, sir. (size)
1st FRIEND: I know a café where we can eat dirt cheap. (dirt = very)
2nd FRIEND: But who wants to eat dirt? (dirt = earth)
DINER: Waiter! What’s wrong with the fish?
WAITER: Long time, no sea, sir (long time, no see = I haven’t seen you for a long time)
CORONER: And what were your wife’s last words, sir?
HUSBAND: I don’t see how they can make a profit selling this chicken at 2p per pound.
NERVOUS PASSENGER: How often do planes of this type crash?
AIR HOSTESS: Only once, sir.
PASSENGER: Guard! How long will the next train be? (time)
GUARD: About six carriages, sir. (length)
Pair work. Imagine the situation: a Russian man meets a British man. The British tries to play jokes but the Russian can’t understand what he wants to say. Make two short dialogues: in the first dialogue show us total misunderstanding between these people. In the second one try to demonstrate the possible ways of avoiding such situations. Let the Russian person be aware of the British people’s typical sense of humour. Use the information, examples and word combination from the text. If you are able to create your own “British” jokes, try to do it.
HOME TASK:
Think of a typical Russian sense of humour. Do we have some foundations of this notion? What topics are the most famous for playing jokes in Russia?
Try to make a project. Think of the beginning of a joke and try to choose the correct end to them from a British and a Russian point of view. Will the answers be different? Why do you think so?
Text 2.
American High School Traditions.
American high schools have all sorts of traditions. There are a lot of sports and musical events, plays and dances, but the biggest events are Homecoming and the Prom.
Homecoming. At the beginning of the school year students (and former students as well) celebrate Homecoming. There is usually a parade of floats, a football game with a rival school (with cheerleaders dancing and shouting to support their teams) and a big dance, too. Students vote for a Homecoming King and Queen are the best football player and a cheerleader.
Prom. At the end of the last year of high school there is a special huge party called a Prom. It’s the last party before university and it takes place after you’ve passed all your exams. During the year, an elected committee meets up to discuss the theme, the place, the music and the DJ’s.
There us also all the excitement of who you’ll go to the prom with. It may be your boyfriend or girlfriend or just a close friend.
After choosing a date, the real fun begins. Girls plan what they are going to wear months before and can spend hundreds of dollars on their dresses and shoes. Guys usually buy or rent tuxedo.
On prom day girls usually get up very early and get their hair and nails done. Many girls get together at someone’s house and spend most of the day preparing together – dressing, doing make-up, etc. Guys, on the other hand, hang together for a while, then get ready at the last moment.
Some students, especially crushes, go out to dinner before the prom and arrive at the party fashionably late.
Lots of people also take pictures on this special day. After all, it’s the end of school life and the beginning of adulthood.
Pre-reading tasks:
Answer the questions:
Do you know any school traditions in our country? Do you like them?
Why do you think it is important to have school traditions? What is the main purpose of them?
Would you like to participate in a school party abroad? What is the most interesting thing for you there?
What do you think about American pupils? Are they different from their peers in our country?
How can you understand the title of the text? Can you predict the contents of it?
Study some words which can confuse you while reading the text. Do this words help you to understand which events are described in it?
high school – средняя школа (амер.)
homecoming – вечер встречи учащихся и выпускников в начале учебного года
prom – выпускной (амер.)
float – платформа на колёсах, на которой размещаются декорации, красочные фигуры и.т.д. во время праздников и карнавальных шествий
cheerleader – член группы поддержки (спортивной команды)
tuxedo – смокинг (амер.)
crush – влюблённый (разг.)
adulthood – взрослая жизнь, совершеннолетие
Reading tasks:
Read the text and say why, in your opinion, Homecoming and the Prom so important for American students. Do we have anything alike in Russia?
IV. Fill in the gaps with the necessary words in the text. Are such traditions unusual for you? Comment upon your answer.
1) Many girls get together at someone’s house and spend most of the day ( ) – dressing, doing make-up etc.
2) Often, the King and Queen are the best ( ) and a ( )
3) After choosing a date, the ( ) begins.
4) Lots of people also ( ) on this special day.
5) During the year, ( ) meets up to discuss the theme, the place, the music and the DJ’s.
6) Some students, especially ( ), go out to dinner before the prom and arrive at the party fashionably late.
7) It’s the last party ( ) and it takes place after you’ve ( )
8) At the beginning of the school year students ( ) celebrate Homecoming.
9) There us also all the excitement ( ) the prom with.
Read the sentences and set them in chronological order:
Girls get up very early to prepare themselves to the party.
An elected committee discusses all the details of the future event.
Crushes arrive at the party fashionably late.
Girls spend hundreds of dollars on dresses and shoes.
The party takes place after all the exams.
The real fun begins after choosing a date.
Guys prefer to buy or rent a tuxedo.
Almost everybody takes pictures on this special occasion.
The special excitement is the choice of your partner in the prom.
Adulthood begins.
Post-reading tasks.
Discussion.
What is your impression of the text in general? Do you like it?
What do you think about the American high school traditions? Are they completely different from ours?
What can you find specific or strange in the described events?
Would you like to take part in Homecoming or the Prom in America? Which holiday is more attractive for you? Explain your point of view.
Do we have a tradition of Homecoming? Would you like to make such holiday a tradition of Russian schools?
Is our school-leaving party completely different from an American prom? Make a list of similarities and differences between them.
VII. Study some new facts about American schools. Comment upon the sentences. Is there something different with Russian schools?
American teens usually start high school at the age of 14.
A student taking high school is called a freshman.
In the second year he or she becomes a sophomore.
Eleventh-grade students are called juniors, and twelfth-grade students are seniors.
High school students usually take exams in the subjects they are studying at the end of each semester.
Their marks (grades) are based partly on these examinations and partly on other tests, homework and work in class.
They can get a grade of A, B, C, D or F (fail).
Students who have passed enough courses graduate from high school at the end of the twelfth grade, and get a high school diploma.
Anybody who wants to go to university must have a high-school diploma and take a test called the SAT based on multiple-choice questions.
Some universities ask students to take tests in several subjects as well.
Find the equivalents of the Russian words below in the exercise VII. Try to learn the words.
тест способностей к обучению
ученик предпоследнего класса
частично
второкурсник
диплом
1 – класс, 2 – отметка, оценка
ученик выпускного класса
множественный выбор
первокурсник
семестр
HOME TASK:
Imagine you’re an American senior. You’ve passed your exams and now it is time for your Prom. Describe your day of the Prom from morning till night. Tell us about your actions and emotions.
Text 3.
LONDON CALLING. Londoners new and old talk about Britain’s capital.
Since the EU expanded last year about 179,000 Eastern European workers have come to live in Britain. The largest group were Poles. The second-largest group were Lithuanians. Most of them came to London to work in catering and construction. It is estimated that they contributed about half a billion pounds to the British economy in tax. Immigration to London is nothing new. The city was mainly a Roman town when it was built two thousand years ago.
One famous magazine interviewed Londoners, new and old to find out what they liked and disliked about their city, and to discover what they thought about their fellow Londoners.
These are the questions they asked the people they met:
What is your name?
How long have you lived in London?
What is your job?
What is the best thing about London?
What is the worst thing about London?
Sum up the character of London and Londoners in one word.
JOHN: I’ve lived in London for thirty years. I work as a lawyer in the City. The best thing about London is the international mix. It is very cosmopolitan, and increasingly so. The worst thing is pigeons and congestion. The traffic is terrible! Londoners are very open-minded.
ANNA: I’ve lived in London for two weeks. I’m from Moscow in Russia. I am studying English here. London is a big and nice city. There are a lot of kind people, I think. The worst thing is that there is too much traffic and the air is bad. I don’t know what Londoners are like. I haven’t lived here long enough to find out yet.
TOM: I’ve lived in London for two years. I am a security guard. I am from Sweden. There are lots of good things about London! Very nice buildings, nice people. Everything! The whole shebang! The worst thing? London is very polluted. And sometimes it can be very hectic. I love London.
PRANAS: I have lived in London for about one year. My job is to give information about this Indian restaurant to people. The best thing is that London is busy. The other thing is the crazy English girls. London is old and interesting. The bad things are too many cars and too many people from different countries. To describe London and Londoners in one word is very difficult: huge!
SARAH: I am an actress and a teacher, darling! I have lived here all my life. The best thing is the mix of people, the mix of entertainment, the mix of activities. The worst thing is the trash. Oops, I’ve gone American there! Actually, I think Londoners are quite friendly.
GEORGE: I own this stall at an underground station. I am from India. I came here four years ago. Life in India is better than in England, because things happen too fast here. You have to work hard here. The best thing is that London is a beautiful city. If I have to sum up London in one word it is “noise”.
MARK: I am a print manager for a print company. I have lived in London for three years. The best thing about London is its lost corners and unexplored places. They really make London a living museum. The worst thing is the people are quite angry sometimes for no reason. In one word, Londoners are irritated.
RUTH: I am a music teacher. I have lived here for fifteen years. The best thing is the buzz: the atmosphere. It is a certain atmosphere you don’t get anywhere else in the world. The worst thing is the traffic jams. In one word, Londoners are pretentious.
TONI AND JON: Jon has lived here for a year, but I was born here. I am an actor and he is a graphic designer. The best thing is the variety of life and the culture. Whatever you like, whatever you are into, there is something there for you. The worst thing is the rain and the obsession with money and status. Also the commuting is bad. In one word: Londoners are soulless.
JAN: I have lived here for one year. I am from Poland. I am a freelance artist. The best thing is that you are free in London to do whatever you want in life. There are lots of parks and green spaces. The worst thing is the awful weather. Londoners are very loyal and make good friends.
LOUISA: I have lived in London for eighty-five years. I am a pensioner now, but in the war I worked as a fire-fighter in London and afterwards I was a housewife and secretary. The best thing about London is you feel like a Londoner. We are different from the rest of the country. The worst thing is the crime and the noise. Some Londoners are nice and some aren’t.
Pre-reading tasks.
Answer the questions.
What do you know about London? Do you like to visit this city?
Would you like to go to London for living? What kind of job you want to do there?
How do you think Londoners new and old talk about Britain’s capital? Are their opinions different?
In your opinion, who is able to characterize London better: a person, who had been living there since his birth, or a new citizen of Great Britain? Comment upon your opinion.
Match the English words with their translations. How do these words help us to characterize London?
to estimate
cosmopolitan
congestion
polluted
entertainment
unexplored
traffic jam
to be into smth
commuting
to expand
catering
construction
increasingly
to contribute
tax
open-minded
hectic
huge
trash
variety
pretentious
unexplored
irritated
buzz
obsession
soulless
status
loyal
Затор, неисследованный, ежедневные поездки на работу и с работы, строительство, налог, огромный, надменный, суматошная активность, общественное положение, многонациональный, развлечение, увлекаться чем-то, сфера обслуживания, приносить доход, суматошный, разнообразие, раздражительный, бездушный, оценивать, загрязнённый, «пробка», расширяться, всё больше, отзывчивый, мусор, неисследованный, одержимость, надёжный.
Study the list of words below. They help you to understand the text correctly.
EU (European Union) – Евросоюз
Pole – поляк
Lithuanian – литовец
Security guard – охранник
Sweden – Швеция
The whole shebang – всё это
Oops! – ой!
Print manager – менеджер в типографии
Graphic designer – художник-оформитель
Freelance artist – свободный художник
Reading tasks:
Read the text. Whose opinion do you find the most objective?
Correct the mistakes in the following extracts:
Tom lives in London for about one year. He’s a security guard. He is from India. In his opinion, the best thing in London is its atmosphere, the buzz. But there is some drawback in this city. It is polluted and sometimes hectic. He thinks that Londoners are quite friendly.
Mark is a print manager for a print company. He has lived in London for three years. Mark is sure that London is so nice with its lost corners and unexplored places. They make the atmosphere of a living museum. The worst thing in London is the people. They are too pretentious.
Louisa came to London four years ago. She is a music teacher. The best thing about London, in her opinion, is that you feel like a Londoner. The worst thing there is its awful weather. She thinks that some Londoners are nice and some aren’t.
Ruth is a freelance artist. She has lived in London all her life. The best thing there for her is the mix of people, entertainment and activities. The worst thing, she supposes, is the trash. She is sure that Londoners are very loyal and make good friends.
George owns the stall at an underground station. He is from Poland. He has lived in London for a year. He dislikes his life in Britain because everything there is too fast. He has to work too hard. But he thinks that there are a lot of good things about London, such as very nice buildings and nice people. He says that London may be called in one word – ‘noise’.
Read the text once again. Which opinions do you find alike? Who of the speakers, in your personal opinion, may be the best guide for you in London?
Read the sentences. Change the necessary words with their synonyms from the text. Translate the sentences. Whose words have you read?
The worst thing is the litter.
I own this kiosk at an underground station.
The best thing is the bustle: the atmosphere.
In one word, Londoners are arrogant.
Most of them came to London to work in catering and building.
It is very multinational, and increasingly so.
I am a pensioner now, but in the war I worked as a fireman in London and afterwards I was a housewife and secretary.
Londoners are very faithful and make good friends.
The worst thing is the rain and fixation with money and status.
To describe London and Londoners in one word is very difficult: enormous.
Post-reading tasks:
You’ve read a lot of opinions about London from people of different ages, professions and nationalities. Try to sum the information up and make a short report about the city.
Work in groups. The 1st group are people who adore the capital of Britain. Try to find the information from the text which can help you to express your admiration. The arguing group is sure that London is not the best place for living. There are the words in the text which reflect such an opinion. Make a discussion. Try to prove your rightness.
HOME TASK.
Write a dialogue. Imagine that you communicate with one of the characters from our story. Ask him about London, its good and bad things and their life in this very city. In your turn, inform your interlocutor about the city/town/village where you live. Try to draw his attention and impel him to visit your place.
Text 4.
American Food.
What is American food? Hamburgers and hot dogs? Fried chicken and giant steaks? Well, yes. But spaghetti and pizza are American too, and so is sweet and sour pork. The fact is the Americans eat every kind if food imaginable. There are, for example, more than 1,000 Chinese restaurants in New York City alone.
As American as apple pie. At the same time, people in the States still like to think of some kinds of food as especially American. They like the idea of the American family sitting around the table eating turkey at Thanksgiving. They like to think of ‘Mom’ as the best cook in the world, even if their own mother never did much cooking. ‘As American as apple pie,’ and ‘Like Mother makes it’ are popular expressions.
The truth is, though, that families in the US eat together less often than they used to. Instead of meeting at the dinner table, families often meet in the kitchen, around the refrigerator. There’s no time for old-fashioned cooking, Quick snacks all through the day have taken its place. And to save trouble, people eat wherever they like, in the street, in front of the TV, or at their desks.
An enormous fast-food industry gives hungry Americans the snacks they want when they want them. Ice cream, popcorn, and hot dogs are on sale everywhere. Best known, perhaps, is the McDonald’s hamburger business.
But if more and more Americans eat fast food, more and more Americans also worry about it. Fast food makes you fat, and Americans are the fattest people in the world. They are also the most interested in their health, and snack food is not healthy. The fashion for health food is growing all the time. Among middle-class people, salads, beans, and fruit have taken the place of steak and ice cream. Drinking is going down too. Only 67 percent of adults drink alcohol at all, and one-third of those drink less than they used to. Smart businesspeople order mineral water, not wine, at their business lunches.
Being fat, in fact, can cause real problems for an American. He or she will find it harder to get a good job, or even to make friends. If you want to do well, you must be thin. It doesn’t seem fair, does it? Advertisers and fast-food sellers scream at people to eat, eat, eat. But inside, there is another voice saying ‘stop, stop, stop.’
Delicious and refreshing. On May 8, 1886, Dr John Styth Pemberton, a chemist, carried a bottle down the street in Atlanta, Georgia, to Jacob’s Pharmacy on the corner. There, soda water was added to it, and the new drink was put on sale for five cents a bottle. The drink contained sugar, water, the leaves of the coca plant, and the juice of the kola nut. Dr Pemberton’s partner, Frank Robinson, thought of a name for it.
‘Coca-Cola,’ he said. ‘The two Cs would look well in advertising.’
For the first year of its life, Coca-Cola sold only thirteen drinks a day. By its hundredth birthday, in 1986, it was selling 7.9 billion dollars’ worth a year. Not much of the money went into John Pemberton’s pocket. He died two years after he had invented Coca-Cola, and Asa G. Candler, a clever businessman, bought the business for $2,300.
From then on, Coca-Cola’s success was all due to advertising. The words Coca-Cola, delicious and refreshing, in flowing, graceful writing, were soon to be seen everywhere: on calendars, clocks, trays, and walls. The more people heard of it, the more people wanted it, and by 1895, Candler could say, ‘Coca-Cola is new sold and drunk in every state in the United States’.
But the great days of Coca-Cola were still to come. In World War II, the company made a promise that every American soldier, sailor, and airman could have a Coke for five cents a bottle, anywhere in the world. The company knew they would lose money, but it was worth it. In one smart move they made sure that five billion bottles of Coke would find their way around the world, creating new demand in more countries. They also knew that the idea of Coca-Cola as something truly, especially American would be strengthened.
In the years that followed the war, Coca-Cola managed to make itself one of the most powerful symbols of America both inside and outside the States. ‘Drink Coca-Cola, and you will share in the American dream,’ the advertisements seem to say.
So what is in this magic drink that has become the most successful product in world history? The secret is locked up in a bank in Atlanta, and only a few people alive know the exact recipe.
One very important question remains: Is Coca-Cola good for you? Dentists say that sugary drinks like Coca-Cola harm your teeth. Doctors say they add to problems of fatness that lead to heart disease. Delicious and refreshing? Maybe.
Pre-reading tasks:
Answer the questions?
Do you know anything about national dishes in different countries? Do you prefer some of them?
Which country is famous for its fast-food? Do you like such food?
Why is it unhealthy to eat fast food often? What do you think about the consequences of such a way of nutrition?
What do you know about McDonald’s? Have you ever visited such a restaurant in Russia? Would you like to visit it in the USA?
Can you guess which popular American drink is called ‘delicious and refreshing’? What do you think about it?
a) Try to understand how the words below may be translated in Russian. If you find some difficulties in doing it, consult a dictionary. How do they characterize the specific features of American food?
pizza
giant
beans
snack
enormous
spaghetti
sweet and sour pork
delicious
refreshing
pharmacy
coca plant
kola
advertisement
turkey
b) How can you understand the expression ‘As American as apple pie’? Comment upon your opinion.
Reading tasks:
Read the text and say if it contains a lot of unknown information for you. What about American food do you find the best and the worst?
Correct the mistakes in the facts below and try to prove your opinion.
Speaking about American food, we can remember only hamburgers and hot dogs, fried chicken, giant steaks and coca-cola. Their preferences in food are too limited, they eat nothing but fast food.
American people dislike the idea of the whole family sitting around the table in Thanskiving and eating something, prepared by Mom. They prefer to have a snack in a cafeteria.
The McDonald’s hamburger business is not so popular in the USA than in some other countries. Native people are surfeited with such fast dishes and now they prefer to eat in some other places.
Americans eat too much fast food and drink alcohol. It can cause a lot if problems with their health. But they are people who are not interested in their health at all. Even smart businessmen at their lunches drink wine and eat hot dogs.
Coca-Cola is not a very popular drink nowadays. In spite of the slogan that it is delicious and refreshing, it is forbidden by doctors and nobody in America drinks it nowadays.
Coca-Cola became popular not with the help of good advertising, but owing to its unusual mixture of ingredients. Leaves of the coca plant and juice of the kola nut made this soda water a world brand.
Read the sentences from the text and explain the meanings of the marked words. Which specific features of American food traditions and tendencies do they reflect? Do you like them?
The fact is that Americans eat every kind of food imaginable.
And to save trouble, people eat wherever they like, in the street, in front of the TV, or at their desks.
An enormous fast-food industry gives hungry Americans the snacks they want when they want them.
Drinking is going down too.
If you want to do well, you must be thin.
Advertisers and fast-food sellers scream at people to eat, eat, eat.
Dentists say that sugary drinks like Coca-Cola harm your teeth.
Post-reading tasks:
Make a short report. Express your own opinion about American food traditions. Do you like their food and their tendency to eat wherever they like? Do you like fast food or prefer something healthier? What is your attitude to a new fashion not to eat fatting products and drink alcohol? Do you like Coca-Cola? What is more important for you: its deliciousness or harm for your health?
There is a recipe of a very popular American snack. Read it and try to understand what they a talking about.
Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a deep, heavy pan. Add 25 grams of dried kernels (maize). Cover with a lid and shake the pan. The corn will start to burst. Take the pan off the heat when all the corn has blown up. Sprinkle with salt or sugar and serve.
Read the short story about McDonald’s. Guess the omitted words with the help of its first letters.
In 1937 the McDonald brothers, Dick and Mack, open a little drive-in r_________ in Pasadena, California. They serve h__ ____ and milk shakes. In 1945 they have 20 waiters. All the teenagers in town eat h_________ there. In 1948 they get paper boxes and bags for the hamburgers. They put the p____ down from 30 cents to 15 cents. They cut the m___ down from 25 things to only 9. There are no more w______ - it is self-service. So it is cheaper and faster. And they have windows around the k______ - so everyone can see it is clean. Parents start bringing their c_______ to the restaurant. Poor families eat at a restaurant for the first time. In 1960s the McDonald’s company opens h_______ of McDonald’s restaurants all over the States. In 1971 they open r__________ in Japan, Germany and Australia.
Now… the McDonald’s company o____ a new restaurant every 8 h____! There are McDonald’s restaurants in over 70 c________. McDonald’s restaurants s____ almost exactly the same food in every country. But in Italy they serve beer, in Norway the McLack (salmon b_____) and in the Netherlands the Groenteburger (vegetarian)!
Coca-Cola is a brand, popular all over the world. Match the two halves of popular advertising slogans of this product.
1. Things go… a) real thing
2. It’s the... b) it!
3. I’d like to… c) better with Coke
4. Have a Coke… d) buy the world a Coke
5. Coke is… e) and a Smile
HOME TASK:
Work in pairs. Make a dialogue between an American and a Russian. Discuss the specific features of your national food traditions. Try to convince your interlocutor that food in your country is better. You may argue, but stay very polite not to make a conflict.
Text 5.
Icons of England.
In January 2006, the British government launched a two-year project, called Icons – a Portrait of England, to try and find the most significant symbols of England and Englishness. Hundreds of thousands of people, both in England and abroad, are taking part in the project and nominate things they cherish most about England.
But what makes something an icon?
Icons are symbolic – they represent something in English culture, history or the English way of life;
Icons are recognizable in a crowd – if no-one has heard of it or knows what it looks like, it cannot be an icon;
Icons are amazing and surprising – they have hidden depths and unexpected associations.
Icons aren’t people, however, Shakespeare, Darwin and Churchill may live on as historical figures but they won’t be included as icons in this collection. They won’t be ignored either, it simply means that Shakespeare’s plays rather than the man from Stratford-on-Avon will be included.
A cup of tea. One of the main runners for the best English icon is a cup of tea!
English people say jokingly: ‘Seven cups of tea will make you up in the morning; nine cups will put you to sleep at night. If you are hot, tea will cool you off, and if you are cold, it will warm you up. If you are depressed, it will cheer you up; if you are excited, it will calm you down.’
If you’ve just suffered a misfortune in England and you call on a friend, you’re likely to be told, ‘Oh well, just sit down and I’ll make you a nice cup of tea!’
Tea came to Britain from China in the late 1500s, but it was only for the very rich. A pound of the cheapest tea cost about one-third of a skilled worker’s weekly wage! It became cheaper about three centuries later, when it was planted in India and later in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). People from all classes started drinking it. But some people thought that too much tea was bad for your health. So they started putting milk in it, to make it healthier!
Afternoon tea in England is a small meal, not a drink! Now most families in Britain don’t have time for afternoon tea, but in the past it was a tradition. It is said that the fashion of afternoon tea was introduced in the early 1800s by the 7th Duchess of Bedford. It quickly became popular, and rich ladies started inviting their friends to their houses for a five-o’clock cup of tea. The guests were offered sandwiches (without crusts!), cakes biscuit and sometimes fruit. Soon everybody was enjoying this exciting new meal.
But the British working population did not have afternoon tea. They had a meal at about midday, and a meal after work, between five and seven o’clock. This meal was called ‘high tea’, or just ‘tea’. Some families in the north of England (and in Scotland, too!) still have ‘high tea’. It is a big meal with a main dish – meat or fish – followed by bread and butter and cakes. And, of course, you drink lots of cups of tea!
Most people today use teebags to make tea, but some serious drinkers make tea in the traditional way. First the water is boiled. Then some of the boiled water is used to warm the teapot. Then the boiling water is added. Then the pot is left for 5 minutes under a ‘tea cosy’. Finally, the tea is served in delicate cups with saucers.
Big Ben. Many people (even in England!) think that Big Ben is the clock or the whole tower next to the Houses of Parliament. In fact, it is the nickname of the largest bell at the top of the tower. It is actually called the Great Bell of Westminster and was made in 1858.
Its sound is well known because it has often been used in films, and British television and radio companies use it to introduce news broadcasts. It is also the sound that rings in each New Year in Britain.
Nobody knows for sure why Big Ben is called Big Ben, but many people think it was something to do with Sir Benjamin Hall, a rather fat man who was in charge of the building works at Westminster and whose nickname was ‘Big Ben’.
Did you know?
Big Ben weighs 13 tons!
The famous clock tower is called St Stephen’s Tower. It’s 96 metres high.
The tower has 4 white clock faces. They look north, south, east and west.
The minute hands in each of the clock faces are nearly 5 metres long!
Even in this technological age, the clock is still wound by hand.
The clock is very reliable but sometimes it reacts to extreme weather conditions. In 1962, for example, the New Year was ten minutes late because of heavy snow! And on the 27th of May, 2005, the clock stopped for 90 minutes because of the hot weather.
Pre-reading tasks.
Read the sentences below and predict what the text is about.
Hundreds of thousands of people, both in England and abroad, are taking part in the project and nominate things they cherish most about England.
Tea came to Britain from China in the late 1500s, but it was only for the very rich.
So they started putting milk in it, to make it healthier!
In fact, it is the nickname of the largest bell at the top of the tower.
The tower has 4 while clock faces.
Even in this technological age, the clock is still wound by hand.
Look at the title. What is your first association with ‘Icons of England’? Do you know anything about such icons?
Reading tasks:
Read the text and say when English people are called ‘conservative’?
Answer the questions:
When and from what place did tea come to Britain?
At the beginning of its English history, tea was very expensive, wasn’t it?
Why did the Englishmen start to put milk in tea?
Who was the ‘author’ of a five-o’clock-tea tradition?
How do the British call a meal at about midday, and a meal after work, between five and seven o’clock?
What recipe do serious drinkers use, making their tea?
What is called Big Ben?
Why is the sound of the bell well-known?
Who was Sir Benjamin Hall?
Do you remember the weight of Big Ben, the height of St Stephen’s Tower?
How is the clock wound nowadays?
Why did the clock stop on 27th of May, 2005?
Fill in the gaps. Comment upon the sentences.
1) Shakespeare, Darwin and Churchill may live on as historical figures but they won’t be ( ) in this collection.
2) ‘Seven cups of tea will ( ) in the morning; nine cups will
( ) at night. If you are hot, tea will ( ), and if you are cold
( ). If you are depressed, it will ( ); if you are excited, it
will ( ).
3) ( ) in England is a small meal, not a drink!
4) It quickly became popular and rich ladies started ( ) for a five-o’clock tea.
5) It’s a big meal with a main dish – ( ) – followed by bread and butter and cakes.
6) Most people today use ( ) to make tea, but some serious drinkers make tea ( ).
7) First the water is boiled. Then some of the boiled water is used to warm ( ). Then ( ) are put in the teapot. Then the
( ) is added. Then the pot is left for 5 minutes under a ( ). Finally, the tea is served in ( ).
8) Many people (even in England!) think that Big Ben is a ( ) or the whole ( ) next to ( ).
9) Its sound is well known because it has often been used in
( ), and British television and ( ) use it to introduce ( ).
10) Even in this ( ) age, the clock is still wound ( ).
Find the English equivalents of the words below in the text and say how they help us to understand the importance of the icons for the British.
символ
значительный, важный
номинировать, предлагать
лелеять, нежно любить
символизировать, олицетворять
скрытые глубины
неожиданные ассоциации
игнорировать, обходить вниманием
взволнованный, возбуждённый
потерпеть неудачу, попасть в беду
чайный пакетик
кипятить
стёганый чехол для чайника
тонкий, изящный
непредсказуемый
прозвище
ознаменовывать колокольным звоном
заводить часы
надёжный
Post-reading tasks:
Discussion
What’s your attitude to such a project of finding the most significant symbols of Englishness? Is it possible to make something of this kind in Russia?
Why do you think they ignore people as icons in this collection?
Do you like the tradition of having tea in England? Have you ever tasted tea with milk? Have you found it delicious?
Is it possible in our time to follow all the ‘ancient’ traditions? Prove your point of view.
How do you prefer making tea: using teabags or in the traditional way?
Have you ever heard the story of Big Ben?
Do you find anything unusual in this very story?
Role-play.
Imaging you’re a big English family sitting around the table and having ‘afternoon tea’. Use all the information your remember to create the atmosphere of a real English home. During your conversation don’t forget to discuss Big Ben.
Fill in the gaps in the text below.
Helpful hint.
If someone in England asks you ‘Would you like a cuppa?’ they are asking if you would like a ( ). If someone says, ‘Let me be mother’ or ‘Shall I be ( )?’ they are offering to pour out the tea from the ( ).
HOME TASK:
Make a report of some other British icon (in your opinion)
Литература:
Speak Out. Журнал для изучающих английский язык. – 2004. - № 2. – с. 26-28.
Speak Out. Журнал для изучающих английский язык. – 2005. - № 3. – с. 6.
Speak Out. Журнал для изучающих английский язык. – 2005. - № 4. – с. 2-5.
Speak Out. Журнал для изучающих английский язык. – 2005. - № 5. – с. 8-9.
Speak Out. Журнал для изучающих английский язык. – 2006. - № 2. – с. 6-7.
Speak Out. Журнал для изучающих английский язык. – 2006. - № 6. – с. 6-7, 9.
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