WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (1564—1616)

England's greatest poet and dramatist, William Shakespeare, was born at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, the exact day of his birth is unknown.

Shakespeare was earning his own living by the time he was 18. He was not yet 19 when he married Anne Hathaway. They had three children – Susanna, Judith, and Hamnet. Judith and Hamnet were twins.

Not much is known about what Shakespeare did in the years just after his marriage. Some accounts say that he taught at school in the country for a while. Some say that he worked for his father, who was a glovemaker. A few years later he appeared in London as an actor and writer of plays. His plays were written in poetry.

In 1592 bubonic plague,¹ a terrible disease, swept over London. For about two years all London theatres were closed. During that time Shakespeare began to write poems. Besides writing some long poems, he wrote more than 100 sonnets.

When the plague was over, the playhouses were opened again. New companies of actors were formed and Shakespeare began to spend most of his time writing plays. He became a part – owner in the company for which he wrote. This company, known as the Lord Chamberlian’s Men, often put on a play to entertain the royal hosehold. Shakespeare prospered.

Shakespeare wrote some of his plays about early kings of England. Henry 5

and Richard 3 are two of these plays. They helped the English people to understand the history of their own country. Besides his historical plays Shakespeare wrote both comedies and tragedies. Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous of his tragedies. Other tragedies are Hamlet, Macbeth and Othello.

Among his comedies are A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice.

At the height of his success Shakespeare returned to Stratford. There he died in 1616. He was buried in Sratford-upon-Avon. Thousands of people visit his birthplace and grave each year.

Questions

1. Where and when was William Shakespeare born?

2. When did he began to write poems?

3.What historical plays written by Shakespeare do you know?

4. What did Shakespeare write besides historical plays?

5.Where is Shakespeare buried?

Note

1) bubonic plague – бубонная чума

TEXT 2

Music

No one knows when, but at some time very long ago, people got the idea of making music themselves. They found that with music they could express their feelings as well as make sounds that were pleasant to hear.

Rhythm, melody, and harmony are important of music today. Rhythm and melody are much older than harmony. Rhythm is the accent, or beat, in the flow of sound. Melody is the tunefulness. Harmony has to do with^l the sounding of different notes at the same time.

The first music was vocal. People began singing simple melodies as they worked and played. The best songs were not written down but were remembered and handed down from one generation to another.

Music came to be so important in the lives of people of long ago that formal music was bound to appear. Formal music is music that has been specially composed for some purpose. The composer writes the music down in some way. No one can tell when and where music was first composed and written down. But we do know that the Greeks wrote music with the letters of their alphabet. Writing in notes like those of today came much later.

All early composed music was for voices. Early songs were sung in unison; everyone, that is,² sang the same melody. When composers began composing songs, they began adding other melodies to the main melody. Such writing for different parts, or voices, became known as "polyphonic" music - music of many sounds.

Much of the work of early European composers was sacred music³ for the church. But there were also gay songs. Some of them were called "madrigals". Songs people made up as they worked or played came to be called folk songs.⁴

Writing music for instruments began about 400 years ago. Violins and keyboard instruments ⁵ became popular. From that time on people developed many kinds of compositions. Many different groups were formed to perform them. There came to be choirs, opera companies, string quarters, symphony orchestras, and many others besides. But of course not all the music composed was for groups. Great soloists appeared - singers, violinists, pianists, cellists, and so on.

Music is sometimes called a universal language. In music there are not the barriers there are with spoken languages. A composer who cannot speak a single word of our language can still make us feel joy and pride, ехaltation and despair, peace and mystery through his music.

Questions

1) What are important parts of music?

2) What is formal music?

3) When did writing music for instruments begin?

4) Why is music called a universal language?

Notes

1) has to do with — имеет отношение к

2) that is - то есть

3) sacred music — духовная музыка

4) folk songs — народные песни

5) keyboard instruments - клавиатурные инструменты

TEXT 3

NEW ZEALAND

The beautiful island country of New Zealand is a distant nation in the huge Pacific Ocean. The nearest continent to it, more than 1,200 miles away, is Australia. Like Australia, New Zealand is south of the equator.

Surprising as it may seem, far-off New Zealand is a land of English-speaking people with modern ways of work and play. North Island, South Island, and many other parts in it have English names. Farms and pastures ^l near Christchurch are in a lowland called Canterbury Plains. Mountain Cook is New Zealand's highest mountain, and the capital is named Wellington.

Some of the early settlers went to New Zealand because gold was found there. But in Auckland, its largest port, we see signs that today grass, which feeds millions of sheep and cattle, is New Zealand's "gold". Millions of pounds of wool, mutton, and lamb are shipped away. And refrigerated ships carry to other lands so many tons of butter, condensed milk,²and cheese that New Zealand is now one of the world's great dairy countries. Britain is its best customer, and supplies most of New Zealand's imports which include automobiles and oils.

Most English settlements in New Zealand are less than a century old. Early settlers found brown-skinned Maori ³ natives there. Today the Maoris, who make up only about a twentieth part of the New Zealanders, are highly respected citizens.

New Zealand has some volcanoes and hot springs. December comes in summer there. For Christmas trees, New Zealanders use trees with bright red, real blossoms. But the green pastures, rain, and mild winters and summers help to make people from the British Isles feel at home in New Zealand. Just as Ireland in those islands is called the "emerald isle", New Zealand is a "country of the emerald isles".

Questions

1) Which is the nearest continent to New Zealand?

2) Which is New Zealand's highest mountain?

3) What is New Zealand's capital?

4) What is the largest port in New Zealand?

5) Is New Zealand one of the world's great dairy countries?

Notes

1) pasture - пастбище

2) condensed milk - сгущенное молоко

3) Maori — маори (коренное поселение Новой Зеландии)

TEXT 4

PROOF AND PROGRESS

The Early Greeks, living as they did on the coasts and islands of the Mediterranean Sea, had a taste for travel and sea-trade. It brought them wealth, as well as knowledge, from other lands. With slaves to do most of their day-to-day work, the wealthy free citizens of the Greek settlements had time on their hands to debate the affairs of the city. Having mastered the new alphabet writing, they were able to leave a record of some of their arguments for all times. When travellers brought back news of what they had learned in navigation outside the Mediterranean, each announcement was a challenge ¹to debate. Men skilled in the fashionable pastime of argument gathered around them disciples²eager to study their methods.

Such a man was Pythagoras. Before 500 B.C. he founded a brotherhood of young men to whom he imparted his mathematical knowledge only after they had sworn an oath ³ never to pass it on to an outsider. Despite this secrecy and despite the fact that he mixed magic and religion with such instruction, Pythagoras was thus a pioneer of the teaching of mathematics. A century later there were in Athens schools where philosophers such as Plato taught young men law, politics, public speaking and mathematics. In these new schools there were no oaths of secrecy. Teachers and pupils were free to put whatever they wished in writing for all to read.

Public study and debate led to a new way of thinking about mathematics. While the peoples of ancient world knew many useful rules for finding areas and measuring angles, they had never attempted to link those rules in a train of reasoning to prove that they are reliable. The argumentative Greeks insisted on putting every rule to the text of debate and answering every objection brought against it.

Questions

1.What brought the early Greeks wealth?

2. Who gathered around them disciples?

3. What brotherhood did Pythagoras found?

4. Who was the pioneer of the teaching of mathematics?

5. What led to a new way of thinking about mathematics?

Notes

1) challenge - вызов

2) disciples- ученики

3) had sworn an oath – давали клятву

TEXT 5

Tennis

Tennis may be played by either two people or four. Games in which two people play are called "singles". "Doubles" are games with four players. Both men and women play tennis. If each team in a match is made up of a man and a woman, the match is called "mixed doubles".

"Tennis" is short for "lawn tennis". At first the game was played on grass-covered courts. But now many courts are bare. Some are clay-covered, some are concrete, and some are even covered with cinders.

To anyone who does not know the game_,the score at times sounds strange. "Love" is used for "zero". If the score in a game is " 15 — love" one side has 15 points and the other side nothing. A game tied at 40—40 is a "deuce" game. ¹

Tennis was invented by an English major in 1873. He called it by the peculiar name, but many liked the game. Now tennis is played all over the world.

Although outdoor tennis is a little more than 100 years old, its ancestor - court tennis - goes back to the Middle Ages. Kings and noblemen played court tennis indoors in special rooms built for it.

Every year there are world and European championship tennis matches. The most famous tennis matches are held at Wimbledon (England). The best-known trophy is the Davis Cup.²The Davis Cup matches are also international.

In Russia tennis began to develop in the end of the 19th century. In 1903, Russian sportsmen took part in international competitions for the first time. The first championship of the Soviet Union was held in 1924. And since 1958 our sportsmen have been taking part in all international competitions.

There are officials ³ at tennis tournaments. But the players themselves help with the rulings. If a player makes a mistake which the official fails to see, the player reports it. No player accepts a point unless he is sure he is entitled to it. For this reason tennis is often called a "gentleman's game".

Questions

1) Is tennis played with a ball or without it?

2) How many people may tennis be played by?

3) Who invented tennis?

4) When was the first championship of the Soviet Union held?

5) Why is tennis often called a "gentleman's game"?

Notes

1) A game tied at 40 - 40 is a "deuce" game. - Если в игре соотношение очков 40- 40, счет становится «ровно».

2) the Davis Cup - Кубок Дэвиса

3) officials - судейская коллегия

TEXT 6

GENERAL SECONDARY SCHOOL

The general secondary school is the most important - and the biggest - link of the public education system of Russia. It is based the principles of a unified labour polytechnical school and prepares the younger generation for life, inculcates in schoolchildren the habit of and love for socially useful work, broadens their outlook, moulds in them the lofty qualities of a citizen, equips young men and women with the knowledge necessary for work in modern production.

The general secondary school moulds a harmonious individual combining spiritual wealth, moral integrity and physical fitness.

According to the reform of general and vocational schools, the duration of general secondary education is extended to eleven years, with children starting school a year earlier, at the age of six or seven. This has been made possible by the development of the preschool education system which now covers an absolute majority of children, and the experience of their training in kindergartens and in schools.

The primary school (1st - 4th forms) is increased by one year in order to give children better training in the basic skills of reading, writing, mathematics and in elementary labour skills, and at the same time to ease the workload of the pupils and to make it easier for them subsequently to learn the fundamentals of sciences.

The incomplete secondary school (5th - 9th forms) ensures tuition in the fundamentals of sciences over a period of five years. With the completion of the ninth form, the pupils, at the age of fifteen, as a rule have an incomplete secondary education. During that period the task of general labour training of the pupils will be, in the main, accomplished. This, combined with vocational guidance, creates conditions which will make it easier for them to choose their future profession or trade. Thus the nine-year school forms the basis for receiving a general and vocational secondary education through a number of channels.

The general and vocational secondary school system includes the 10th and the 11th forms of the general secondary school, vocational secondary schools and specialized secondary schools. The general and secondary vocational school system provides a general secondary education and labour and professional training to young people.

Pupils of the 8th to 11th forms have an opportunity to take up optional courses in various subjects of their choice in the fields of physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, social studies and the humanities. Labour training in the 10th and 11th forms should include the learning of mass trades or professions which are in demand in the productive and non-productive spheres.

To improve their skills or to qualify for a higher-skill job, secondary school leavers can enroll in one-year departments of vocational secondary schools, or in specialized secondary schools for a period of two to three years, or in a higher education establishment. Some of them can work in the national economy in line with the training they have received at the eleven-year secondary school. In compliance with the wishes of the young people, of their parents, and of work collectives the question of lowering the age limits for a number of trades is solved.

Thus, in the course of one or two five year plan periods the universal general secondary education of _:young people will be supplemented by universal general vocational training. All young people are given a chance to master a trade or profession before they start an active working life of their own.

Questions

1) Is the general secondary school an important link of the public if education system of Russia?

2) When do the students have an incomplete secondary education?

З) What does the general and vocational secondary school system include?

4) What can secondary school leavers do to improve their skills or to qualify for a higher-skill job?

КРИТЕРИИ ОЦЕНКИ САМОСТОЯТЕЛЬНОЙ РАБОТЫ СТУДЕНТА

В критерии оценки входят: полнота, глубина, осознанность, систематичность знаний, умений и навыков по дисциплине. Уровень знаний оценивается в баллах.

«5»(отлично) – за глубокое и полное овладение содержанием учебного материала; за грамотное, логичное изложение ответа, за качественное внешнее оформление.

«4»(хорошо) – если студент полно освоил учебный материал, ориентируется в изученном материале, осознанно применяет знания для решения практических задач, грамотно излагает ответ, но содержание и форма ответа имеют отдельные неточности.

«3»(удовлетворительно) – если студент обнаруживает знание и понимание основных положений учебного материала, но излагает его неполно в применении знаний для решения практических задач, не умеет обосновать доказательно свои суждения.

«2»(неудовлетворительно) – если студент имеет разрозненные, бессистемные знания, беспорядочно и неуверенно излагает материал, не может применять знания для решения практических задач, допускает значительные ошибки в выполнении практических заданий.

КРИТЕРИИ ОЦЕНКИ ВЫПОЛНЕНИЯ СТУДЕНТАМИ ОТЧЕТНЫХ РАБОТ ПО ДИСЦИПЛИНЕ «ИНОСТРАННЫЙ ЯЗЫК»

Вид контроля	Критерии оценки
Практическая проверка знаний (по практической работе)	Выполнение работы и заданий к практической работе, умение работать со справочной литературой. Знание ответов на контрольные вопросы к работе. Оформление зачета в соответствии с требованиями – Зачет. Невыполнение одного из вышеперечисленных требований – Незачет
Опорный конспект	Краткость конспекта, логичность, последовательность, фиксация основных положений, наглядное отражение его содержания, продуманность смысловых опор (опорных сигналов): ключевых фраз, составляющих костяк информации, культура ведения конспекта, культура письменной речи
Творческая работа с практическим подтверждением	Качество и объем выполненной работы, ее практическая значимость, степень самостоятельности при выполнении работы, использование научной справочной литературы, документации, в случае необходимости наличие пояснительной записки
Устный и письменный опрос (контрольная работа)	«5» - за глубокое и полное овладение содержанием учебного материала, в котором студент легко ориентируется, владеет понятийным аппаратом, за умение связывать теорию с практикой, выполнять практические задания, высказывать и обосновывать свои суждения. Отличная отметка предполагает грамотное, логическое изложение ответа (как в устной, так и в письменной форме), качественное внешнее оформление «4» - если студент полно освоил учебный материал, владеет понятийным аппаратом, ориентируется в изученном материале, осознанно применяет знания для выполнения практических заданий, грамотно излагает ответ, но содержание и форма ответа имеют отдельные неточности «3» - если студент обнаруживает знания и понимание основных положений учебного материала, но излагает его неполно, непоследовательно, допускает неточности в определении понятий, в применении знаний для решения и выполнения практических заданий, не умеет доказательно обосновать свои суждения «2» - если студент имеет разрозненные, бессистемные знания, не умеет выделять главное и второстепенное, допускает ошибки в определении понятий, искажает их смысл, беспорядочно и неуверенно излагает материал, не может применять знания для выполнения практических заданий