Supplementary Reading and Vocabulary Enrichment

I. Read the text and do the assignments that follow:

Explaining, persuading, advising, sharing, ordering, influencing – most of our day-to-day life is spent in verbal or nonverbal communication with others. The infinite possibilities of a good command of a language enable us to define who we are in our personal lives and our career. Just being good at your job doesn’t cut it today. Your skills are limited without a well-developed ability to communicate ideas and intentions.

In the context of ever-changing world and the permanent mutation of factors that influence our lives and behaviour, books are those rare, if not unique, treasures the value of which remains constant throughout human history. Many of them, written in the époques of long ago, still give the reader a non-negligible chance. He who reads books has an opportunity to glimpse into the world, and uncover the secrets, of the most successful communicators – the writers. He will have access to a myriad of skills that can go into making him a more compelling and dynamic communicator. Integrating these abilities into all his endeavours, whether in a social or business context, will help maximize his persuasive powers and have a much greater impact on those with whom he interacts.

Scientists believe that reading and writing are integrally related. That is, reading and writing have many characteristics in common. Accordingly, readers increase their comprehension ability by writing, and reading improves writing performance.

The new branches of human and social sciences have drastically changed the traditional interpretation of reading. New aspects of this process have been pointed out, some of which are totally contrary to the traditional views. Mastery of isolated facts is not the main goal of reading, which is seen as self-regulated learning and does not consist in mechanically decoding words and memorizing by rote. During the process of reading an interaction between the author, the text, and the reader is created, the reader not being a passive vessel receiving knowledge from external sources but a good strategy user, cognitive apprentice. Meaning is not in the words on the page. The reader constructs meaning by making inferences and interpretations.

Reading researchers believe that information is stored in long-term memory in organized “knowledge structures”. Thus, the essence of learning through reading is linking new information to prior knowledge about the topic, the text structure, or genre.

Let’s outline some characteristics of poor and successful readers. Those who use strategies such as rote memorization, rehearsal, and simple categorization think that understanding occurs from “getting the words right”. They do not think strategically about how to read something or solve a problem. Having relatively low self-esteem, they see success and failure as the result of luck or teacher bias. Decent readers use a more fruitful and effective way to grab out and absorb any explicit and implicit information a book contains. They have self-confidence that they are effective learners; they see themselves as agents able to actualize their potential by thinking strategically, monitor their comprehension, and revise their strategies if they need to. They see success as the result of hard work and efficient thinking.

In conclusion, reiterating the historical importance of books as the most powerful tool for the dissemination of knowledge and the most effective means of storing and preserving it, we must say that all initiative aimed at enhancing the impact of books constitutes a cultural enrichment. It will help to develop fuller public awareness of the treasures of the world’s cultural heritage and to foster understanding, tolerance, and dialogue.

Exercise 1. Give Russian equivalents for the following:

just being good at your job doesn’t cut it today; they give the reader a non-negligible chance; a more compelling and dynamic communicator; all his endeavours; mastery of isolated facts; memorizing by rote; a passive vessel receiving knowledge from external sources; prior knowledge; teacher bias; explicit and implicit information; the most powerful tool for the dissemination of knowledge and the most effective means of storing and preserving it; enhance the impact of books; to foster understanding, tolerance, and dialogue

Exercise 2. Find in the text the English equivalents for the following:

хорошее владение языком; давать возможность, позволять сделать что-то; на протяжении человеческой истории; сила убеждения; оказать воздействие на; взаимодействовать, взаимодействие; делать выводы; относительно низкая самооценка; уверенность в себе; в заключение; мировое культурное наследие

Exercise 3. Answer the following questions:

1. What role of books is emphasized in the article?

2. Why is language ability so important nowadays?

3. What is the new scientific interpretation of the process of reading? What is the essence of learning through reading?

4. What is meant by “poor” and “successful” readers?

5. Sum up everything the text says about the role of books in human society.

II. Fill in the following words in the comments about different kinds of reading material: