Тексты для внеурочной деятельности по английскому языку

PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT

Since ancient times Nature has served Man, being the source of his life. For thousand of years people lived in harmony with environment. But with the development of civilization Man's interference with nature began to increase.

Large cities with thousand of smoky industrial enterprises appear all over the world today. They pollute the air we breath, the water we drink, the land we live in. many cities suffer from smog. Vast forests are cut and burnt in the fire. As a result some rare species of animals, birds, fish and plants disappear forever, a number of rivers and lakes dry up.

Environmental protection is a universal concern. That is why serious measures to create a system of ecological security should be taken. Some progress has been already made in this direction. As many as 159 countries-members of the UNO have set up environmental protection agencies.

The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in April 1986 caused radioactive pollution of a vast area. Who knows what possible effects on health or long-term genetic effects this pollution may have. The international organization Greenpeace is also doing much to preserve the environment. The Earth is our home. We must take care of it for ourselves and next generations.

New words:

A source

A harmony

A development

To interference

A nature

To increase

An enterprise

To pollute

To breath

Agencies

A Greenpeace

To suffer

Smog

Rare

To disappear

To dry up

A concern

Measures

A security

A direction

UNO - United Nation Organization

A Chernobyl

Generations

FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN OUR LIFE

Learning a foreign language is not an easy thing. It is long and slow process that takes a lot of time and efforts.

Nowadays it is especially important to know foreign languages. Some people learn languages because they need them for their work, others travel abroad, for the third studying languages is a hobby. Everyone, who knows foreign languages can speak to people from other countries, read foreign authors in the original, which makes your outlook wider. It is not surprising that many intellectuals and well-educated people are polyglots.

I study English. Nowadays English has become the world's most important language in politics, science, trade and cultural relations. Over 300 million people speak it as a mother tongue. The native speakers of English live in Great Britain, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand.

English is one of the official languages in the Irish Republic, Canada, and the South Africa Republic. English is one of the official languages of the United Nations Organization and other political organizations. Half of the world's scientific literature is in English. It is the language of computers technology. To know English today is absolutely necessary for every educated man, for every good specialist.

English language is a wonderful language. It is the language of the great literature. It is the language of William Shakespeare, Jonathan Swift, Walter Scott, and Charles Dickens.

The great German poet Goethe once said, "He, who knows no foreign language, does not know his own one". That is why in order to understand oneself and environment one has to study foreign languages.

New words:

Efforts

Slow

Nowadays

To travel abroad

In the original

An outlook

Wide

An intellectual

Well-educated

A polyglot

Cultural relations

A mother tongue

A native speaker

Necessary

ANCIENT BRITAIN

Apart from a few short references in classical literature, knowledge of Britain before the Roman conquest (begun AD 43) is derived entirely from archaeological research. It is thus lacking in detail, for archaeology can rarely identify personalities, motives, or exact dates. All that is available is a picture of successive cultures and some knowledge of economic development. But even in Roman times Britain lay on the periphery of the civilized world, and Roman historians, for the most part, provide for that period only a framework into which the results of archaeological research can be fitted. Britain truly emerged into the light of history only after the Saxon settlement in the fifth century AD.

Until late in the Mesolithic period, Britain formed part of the continental landmass and was easily accessible to migrating hunters. The cutting of the land bridge, 6000-5000 BC, had important effects: migration became more difficult and remained for long impossible to large numbers.

New words:

References

Knowledge

A conquest

To derive

An archaeological research

To identify

An available

A successive

A civilized

A framework

An emerged

A settlement

A Mesolithic

An accessible

BC

AD

UKRANIAN-BRITISH RELATIONS

In 1992 Ukraine and Great Britain established diplomatic relations. Since then Ukraine has its Embassy in London.

Ukraine's ties with Great Britain stretch far back in history. Volodymyr Monomakh was married to Gytha, a daughter of the English King Harold.

Great Britain is taking particular steps to support Ukraine's policy of transformation. Close relations between the United Kingdom and Ukraine are profitable for both countries.

There are a lot of things to do in the commercial sphere; a lot of problems to solve too.

Ukraine passes through a difficult period of time.

Joint British-Ukrainian ventures have appeared. Potential for cooperation is big. A good example of cooperation we can find in a large industrial city - Donetsk. Formally Donetsk was called Yuzovka after his founder, the Welsh industrialist John Hughes. His descendants visited Donetsk and established a fund to commemorate the name of John Hughes and work for the rebirth of the Donbas region.

In Great Britain there are organizations which support the development of Ukrainian sciences and economy. Know-How fund offers different programmers for managers so that they can implant reforms in their own enterprises.

The British Council is the United Kingdom's international organization for educational and cultural relations.

The British Council's work covers many activities, but focuses particularly on education and training, English language teaching, the arts, science and governance. The British Council creates opportunities for learning and contributing to the development of people and organizations at all levels.

In 2000-2001 the British Council centers organ organized more then 1500 science events in over 60 countries, helped 13000 young people take part in exchange projects.

The British Council presents the best of British achievement in six sectors: arts, literature, design, education, training, English Learning Teaching, governance and human rights, information exchange and knowledge management, science, engineering, technology, the environment.

In Ukraine the British Council has centers in Kiev, Kharkov, Donetsk, Lvov, and Odessa.

The British Council facilitates contacts between people and organizations which create understanding and mutual respect, implements many different programmers for students, young scientists and specialists.

It is really good that contacts are set at different levels. We look forward to further extension of cooperation between Great Britain and Ukraine.

THE US COURT SYSTEM

The courts are the overseers of the law. They administer it, they resolve disputes under it and they ensure that it is and remain equal to and impartial for everyone.

In the United States each is served by the separate court system, state and federal. Both systems are organized into three basic levels of courts - trial courts, intermediate courts of appeals and a high court, or Supreme Court. The state courts are concerned essentially with cases arising under state law and the federal courts with cases arising under federal law.

The trial courts in each state include: common pleas courts, which have general civil and criminal jurisdiction and smaller in importance municipal courts, country courts and mayor's courts.

The common pleas court is the most important of the trial courts. It is the court of general jurisdiction - almost any civil or criminal case, serious or minor, may first be brought there.

The main job of courts of appeals is to review cases appealed from trial courts to determine if the law was correctly interpreted and applied.

The supreme court of each state is primarily a court of appeal and the court of last resort.

The federal court structure is similar to the structure of the state court system.

The US Supreme Court is the highest court in the nation and the court of last resort. It consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices, all of whom are appointed for life by the President with the Advice and Consent of the Senate. The duty of the Supreme Court is to decide whether laws passed by Congress agree with the Constitution.

New words:

The court

The overseers

Equal

Is served

To separate

The trial courts

The courts of appeals

The Supreme Court

The law

The federal courts

The common pleas courts

The municipal courts

The country courts

The mayor's courts

The Senate

The Congress agree

The Constitution

COMPUTERS: FROM FINGERS TO THE STARS

Computers are machines. They work with numbers. Computers can add numbers thousand of times faster than you can.

We haven't always had machines to help us. Long before people could write, they could show numbers. They used their fingers. That's why most he world counts it tens - because people have ten fingers. Today almost everyone can write, but some people still use their fingers and hands for numbers. You can see this in the market places and ports of Africa and India. You'll find it in the money markets of modern cities all over the world. You can see it at horse races. And wherever it's noisy, people use their fingers instead of saying numbers.

The word computer comes from a Latin word which means "to count". Pascal built the first mechanical computer in 1642; Leibnitz built a better device in 1673.

Today computer is a machine with a complex network of electronic circuits. The first electric computers were built in the 1940s. This was the first generation of computers. They were very big and difficult to work with and they needed a lot of electricity. They were slow and they couldn't do very difficult jobs. The memory was very slow.

Today computers are used everywhere. For instance, all modern planes carry computers. When a plane is flying, there are many things that the pilot must look and control. He must know how heavy his plane is, to know about the winds and the weather and must be sure that the engines are working well.

Computers help the pilot in all of these things. The pilot has television screens in the plane and these show him the data he needs. Sometimes the computers themselves fly the plane.

New words:

To add

To count in tens

The money market

Horse races

A complex network of electronic circuits

A generation

For instance

Heavy

To be sure

Television screen

AT THE POST-OFFICE

Many of us do not appreciate the tremendous job the post-office does in getting out mail and morning papers to us.

When we drop a letter in the postbox on the corner we know that the postman will deliver it to the right address. But let's pay a visit to the local post0office. There are a number of windows with a notice in big letters showing the operations handled: Parcel Post, Money Orders, post Restate (Br) or General Delivery (Am), Stamps, Postcards, Stamped Envelopes, registered Letters, air Mail. Somewhere near the entrance you'll see a notice giving the hours of delivery.

The window marked Parcel Post handles all parcels or packages. Don't forget to insure your parcel if you have something really valuable in it. This cost but a trifle, but makes delivery double safe.

Large post-offices even have a wrapping and packing service.

If you want to send printed matters (books, newspapers, magazines) you'll have to go to the window marked Book Post.

The Post Restate window keeps mail until called for. This service is for those who prefer to pick up their mail in person. When sending a letter of particular value you should have it registered. The advantage of this service is that registered letters are delivered personally (the addressee has to sign for them). At the Money Orders window you may send money orders by mail or by telegram. And don't lose your receipt.

Letters. In the USA they write the sender's address in the top left corner. English people sometimes write on the back of the envelope. Addressee's name is written in the center of the envelope. A few words about telegrams. There are three types of telegram service: ordinary, urgent, express. The services differ from country to country. The Day Letter in the USA is sent immediately and must be delivered by the next day.

New words:

To appreciate

The tremendous

To drop

The postbox

A trifle

A particular value

Registered

The envelope

Immediately

Must be delivered

The service

Addressee

Personally

Sender

Address

SO, WHERE DO YOU GO FOR YOUR SHOPPING?

In the past, shopping was done in the local high street, where you could find every shop you might need. Although you will find high streets in smaller towns, most towns now have at least one supermarket, which is a large store selling all types of foods and many household items. You will also find corner shops selling food and household items near to your house or flat. Although supermarkets are cheaper, local shops are usually more convenient if you only need to buy one or two items.

In larger towns you will find that the high street has been taken over by clothes shops, shoe shops, television and video shops, chemists and so on. In some towns you will find all these shops in a covered area - a shopping centre.

Another type of all-in-one shop is the department store, which you can find in most large towns and cities. This is a large shop, several floors high, which sells clothes, household items, furniture, electrical goods and in some cases, food as well - in fact, almost everything. Each floor is usually dedicated to a particular type of item. Department stores often have restaurants or coffee bars inside them and sometimes telephones and public toilets.

A good place to find bargains is at the local outdoor market. Some towns have a market open every day. Others have a market only one day a week. Even if you don't want to buy anything, a market is an interesting place to visit and can be a good source of free entertainment.

At some markets you will only find food, but larger markets have stalls selling cheap clothes and many other items. Some items in market stalls are cheap because they are seconds - items of inferior quality. Many items are of perfect quality but are cheap simply because they have come directly from the factory or because a stall-holder doesn't have to pay the high price of owning or renting a shop.

Bargains in things like fruit and vegetables can be found if you go to a market at the end of the day. Stall-holders will be eager to sell everything before they pack up to go home and so will reduce the price.

New words:

A shopping

A supermarket

A selling

Household items

Local shops

A bargain

A source

An entertainment

Items

Inferior quality

Directly

A stall-holder

A price

Computers in our life

Computers consist of console (system unit), a keyboard, a disk drive, a printer, a monitor, a mouse and their connections. The software contains the various programs you run on your computer. The most common programs used in business are those for word processing (writing letters, faxes, documents, contracts), spread sheets (for budgets and financial analysis), database management programs (for keeping names and addresses of customers), accounting (for bookkeeping), graphics programs (for drawing, charts), communications programs (for electronic mail, Internet), desktop publishing programs (for producing manuals, catalogs). The operator keys in (types in) the information which can be saved and retrieved at a late date.

Most businesses nowadays use personal computers or PCs, which are often linked together in a local network. This is a big change from the days when time had to be rented on mainframe computer. Nowadays these are only used by very large businesses, universities or government departments.

The two most popular types of computers currently are those of IBM and Apple (the Macintosh). It was IBM who set the standard for the PC which others later imitated. That is why, in order to be able to use the widest range of software, a computer has to be IBM compatible.

The most successful software company now is Microsoft with its Windows operating system/ the Microsoft Corporation is constantly developing the new versions of its operating system as well as other products.

The computer manufacturers try to apply the newest technologies producing hardware systems with the fastest processors like: Pentium IV, Celeron, Athlon, Duron and others. It is true that these newer models have a faster processor, more memory, a large hard disk drive and a faster CD-ROM drive than previous models.

Hardware - аппаратное обеспечение

Monitor - монитор

Keyboard - клавиатура

Printer - принтер

Connections - связь

Software - программное обеспечение

Run on the computer - запускать на компьютере

Word processing program - текстовый редактор

Spreadsheets program - бухгалтерская программа

Database management program - программа управления базами данных

Graphics program - графический редактор

Desktop publishing program - издательская программа

Key in, type in - печатать

Save information - сохранять информацию

Retrieve information - обновлять информацию

Personal computer - персональный компьютер

Local network - локальная сеть

IBM compatible - IBM-совместимый

Vendor - продавец

Hard disk - жесткий диск

Floppy disc - гибкий диск

Diskette - дискета

A Visit to the Theatre

We have a beautiful theatre in our city. It is a modern building situated not far from the city centre. The visitors can enjoy watching dramas, tragedies and comedies there. Sometimes theatre companies from other cities or countries perform their opera and ballets on its stage.

The visitors usually buy tickets beforehand in the ticket booths or in the ticket box offices. Theatrical shows usually start at 7 p.m. when you go in, you enter the foyer, and then you come to the cloakroom, where we leave our coats and hats. You can also take opera glasses there. After that you follow your way to the theatre hall. The person who meets you at the entrance is the usher. It is usually a woman wearing a uniform. You must show your ticket to her.

When you enter the hall, you find your seats. You can see the stage in front of you. The curtain is usually drawn and you can't see the scenery before the performance starts. The orchestra pit is next to the stage. This is where the musicians sit and play the music. The performance begins after the third bell has rung. The curtain goes up and you become a spectator. If the spectators enjoy the performance, they break into applause.

The interval starts when the lights go up. The spectators leave their seats and go to the buffet where they can eat a cake and drink a glass of lemonade. They are not allowed to eat during the performance. As the spectators eat or walk, they discuss the performance and the play of the actors and actresses.

After the performance finishes, the spectators rise from their seats and go to the cloakroom to get their coats and hats. You hear them say: "I enjoyed the performance very much," "The performance was splendid, " "The actors and actresses performed very well."

New words:

Dramas

Tragedies

Theatre companies

Beforehand

The ticket booths

The ticket box offices

Opera glasses

The theatre hall

The orchestra pit

Goes up

A spectator

Break into applause

The interval

The lights go up

LONDON AND FINANCE

London, the capital of the United Kingdom, is a political, cultural, commercial, industrial and financial centre of the country. At the same time London is one of the world's financial capitals. The business centre of London is the City, where numerous banks, various exchanges, insurance offices, shipping and other companies have their head offices. At the heart of the City is the London Stock Exchange where millions of shares and securities are traded daily. There are also exchanges in several other cities of the United Kingdom but the London Stock Exchange is the most important. In volume of business it ranks third to New York and Tokyo. The main commercial banks are: Lloyds Bank, Barclays Bank, Midland Bank and National Westminster Bank often referred to as "the Big Four". Paper currency in circulation is issued by the Bank of England. The monetary unit is the pound sterling equal to 100 pence.

New words:

Commercial

Financial

Numerous

Various

Insurance

Shipping

Head offices

London Stock Exchange

Shares

Securities

Daily

Traded

Ranks

Monetary

Currency

Circulation

BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

With the development of industry, technology, trade and economic ties among the countries and ordinary people a great volume of business is done by mail. It is true that the telephone, telegraph, telex and fax to speed up transactions, but they also increase expenses to such an extent that practical businessman and economic people use these modern means of communication only for matters requiring immediate action or for messages which can be expressed briefly.

Business letters concern us in our daily living, especially those of us who live abroad and deal with foreigners.

People write business letters in many situations: finalizing contracts, booking a seat in an airplane, reserving hotel accommodation, booking theatre tickets, writing order-letters, letters of inquiry, claim letters (letters of complaint), cover letters, letters of confirmation and letters of guarantee.

A business letter like a friendly or social letter should make a favorable impression. In order that a letter may create this impression, it should be neatly written or typed, properly spaced on the page and correctly folded in the envelope.

New words:

Among - среди

Ordinary - обычный

A great volume of - большой объем

It is true - верно

Speed up - ускорять

Transactions - сделки

Increase - увеличивать

Expenses - расходы

To such an extent - до такой отмены

Matters -вопросы, проблемы

To require - требовать

Immediate - немедленный

Action - действие

Massage - послание

Express - выражать

Briefly - коротко

Daily - повседневно

Especially - особенно

Abroad - за рубежом

Foreigner - иностранец

Order-letter - письмо-заказ

Letter of inquiry - письмо-запрос

Claim letter - письмо-претензия

Cover letter - сопроводительное письмо

Letter of conformation - письмо-подтверждение

Letter of guarantee - письмо-гарантия

Like - подобно

A favorable impression - благоприятное впечатление

In order - чтобы

Create - создавать

Neatly - опрятно

Type - печатать

Properly - аккуратно

Space - размещать

Fold - складывать, сгибать

The Big Chill

Liam O'Connor is a familiar face in homes all over the country. Millions of us watch his documentaries. Now he is making a new programme about life in Russia. Here he tells Gaby Redmond about winter in Siberia.

A____

Yes, it does. Generally speaking, winter starts in September and lasts until May - so for about nine month. In the north, the sun never rises in December and January and it's dark nearly all day.

B____

Well, minus 30 or 40 degrees Celsius is normal, but in northern Siberia the temperature sometimes drops to minus 60 or 70 degrees.

C____

One reason is that, in the far north, the sun is always low in the sky and produces very little heat, so the ground stays cold all year. Another reason is that freezing winds come down from the arctic because there are no mountains or trees to stop them.

D____

It often snows, but it's rarely heavy. In the far north, snow cover lasts between 260 and 280 days.

E____

Yes, they are. Definitely. Western Siberia is getting warmer faster than anywhere in the world. In fact, it's actually melting. And in some places in eastern Siberia, dangerous gases are rising from the ground. They are stopping the surface from freezing, even in the middle of winter. But it's still very cold!

F____

They wear fur. In the West, we consider fur a luxury, but it's the only thing that keeps you warm when it's extremely cold.

G____

Yes, it is. Without gloves, your finger freeze. The little hares in your nose freeze too. It's quite scary! The tyres of cars and lorries burst. Sometimes children can't go to school because it's so cold. They have lessons on TV.

H____

Actually, they don't mind them. They enjoy a lot of outdoor sports. Ice-skating is the number one sport - it's really popular. They also like cross-country skiing and ice hockey. Reindeer racing is quite popular too. Some people swim in rivers and lakes in the sub-zero temperatures.

I____

They say there are health benefits to swimming in icy water. It's a way to avoid colds. Also, it's a real community event. Everyone takes part - men, women and children.

J____

Well, to tell you the truth, I love it! In my home city, Liverpool, the winters are usually cloudy and mild and I don't like them much. You don't get many days when the weather is fine, you know, sunny and not raining. In Siberia, it's different. On bright sunny days, it's very beautiful.

Complete these sentences with one or two words. The words you need are in the text.

1. Winter lasts for about ____ in Siberia.

2. Temperatures of minus 70 degrees are not ____ .

3. The ground stays cold because ____ produces very little hit.

4. In some places in eastern Siberia ____ are malting the frozen ground.

5. A lot of things ____ in the very cold conditions.

6. People wear ____ to keep warm in Siberia.