РД-101 / Subj / 454-Read with pleasure

I But um, tell me; does the Englishman improve as you get to know him?

T Oh, yes!

I Oh, good!

T Once you have made a friend, it's a friend for life, but it takes a very long time. I'll tell you something that I think is very important. An Englishman in America is respected. Everyone wants to talk to him. We're inquisitive, we love his accent and his country. An American though in England is thought to be a little inferior because of his behaviour and his language. One thing I've learned - it's funny now, but it wasn't at the time - I couldn't understand why, when I was talking to someone he would move away, you know, move backwards, and I thought: ‘Do I smell? Am I boring?' The reason was, you see, Americans stand closer when they're talking. Again, English people like a certain distance.

I That's true. What about your impressions of living here? How does that compare with the States?

T Well, mmm . . . I think life is a lot easier in the States. It's easier to make money and it's easier to spend it. Shops are open all the time over there. Here you had to race to reach the supermarket by 5.30, but this has changed. Some shops are open later now, and on Sundays, but they are still harder to find than in the States. Generally, though I find life more inefficient here. If you need an electrician, it takes days to get one, he doesn't do the job very well, the system is so old that he can't get the parts to repair it, and he doesn't care.

I Yeah. But it is a lot better than it was.

T Sure. And another thing is Americans work a lot harder than you do here. To the English their private lives are important, their gardens are important, their animals are important, but an American wouldn't admit that. For us, our work is the most important thing in our lives. You know, holidays seem to be longer here, people make the most ridiculous excuses not to go to work - 'My dog'sgot a cold', I heard the other day.

I Oh, come on!

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T You have tea breaks that get longer and longer. In that respect, we're quite

like the Japanese. Our jobs come first, but there are all sorts of services to make life easier around our jobs.

I Well, I take it you have a pretty negative opinion of England.

T You would think so from this interview, wouldn't you? No, in fact I really

love it here. I go home once a year and really look forward to coming back here. This is my home now. I find life safer, more relaxed, and much more enjoyable. The Underground isn’t very clean but at least you can use it and feel safe. Maybe I've gotten into English habits! England doesn't have the dramatic beauty of the States,

but oh, it …it’s very pretty and charming in a way that

I find comforting.

Do the Following Tasks:

Vocabulary Practice

1. Give Russian equivalents to the following English notions:

- an average Englishman

- ridiculous

- conversation

- to admit

- to overpower

- to move backwards

- inquisitive

- inferior

2. Put the words into the right order to make sentences:

1) start -

street -

We -

the - with - in - people - conversations.

2) stand

-

Americans

-

talking

-

when - are

-

they

-

closer.

3) private

-

To -

lives

- are

-

the English

-

important

- their.

4) go home

- and

-

to coming back - once a year

- I

-

really - here

-

look forward.

Text Analysis

Read the text again. Put these events in a logical order.

1.I was trying to be too friendly.

2.I think life is a lot easier in the States.

3.We've been in this country for quite a long time. -1

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4.The biggest difference is the people.

5.English people like a certain distance.

6.This is my home now.

7.An Englishman in America is respected.

8.To the English their private lives are important.

Discussion

In your own words, explain the following sentences:

1.“The average Englishman is cold and not very open.”

2.“Once you have made a friend, it's a friend for life, but it takes a very long time.”

3.“Our jobs come first, but there are all sorts of services to make life easier around our jobs.”

Comment on the following problems:

1.An Englishman and his culture.

2.An Englishman and styles of communication.

3.An Englishman and his private life

4.An Englishman and his work.

18. America as Seen by Britons

Bob and Sheila spent two years living in New York because of Bob's work as a banker. Neither of them had lived in a big city before. They now live back in England in a small village outside London.

I = Interviewer, S = Sheila, B = Bob

I How long did you live in the States?

B We were there for two and half years, in New York.

I And did you enjoy it?

S Oh, tremendously. We had a wonderful time.

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B Yeah, what I liked best was that I could work and yet still lead a normal life. I mean, the shops are open till 10 o'clock.

I All shops?

S Yes, everything, food shops, chemists...

B There's even a huge department store called Gimbles on 86th Street that was open till 9.00 o’clock.

S And some supermarkets are open twenty-four hours a day. Most shops don't open as early as in England, well they don't open until about erm ... 10 or 11 in the morning.

B Yes, that's right.

S Because they all work much later. And everything's open on Sundays.

B And the holidays, the public holidays are much shorter than here, and in the States only the banks are shut. Everything else stays open, so it makes life much easier. You could do what you liked when you liked.

S And it was easier with the children, because I could wait till you got back and we did the shopping together, didn't we?

B Yes.

I I see, erm … Do you think New York is as cosmopol itan as London?

S Oh, yes, but it's not as mixed. Nationalities stay in their own areas; like there is the Russian section…

B ... the German section. We were in German Town, York Town, which is called German Town. And there was a row of German shops, all German-speaking.

S Yes.

B But you didn't find that anywhere else. And the Ukrainians were down on 14th and 2nd, and the Spanish kept to Spanish Harlem.

S I think the major difference was the height of the place. Everything was up. We lived on the twenty-ninth floor.

B And I worked on the sixty-third floor.

S But I like heights. And of course everything is faster. And the people are much ruder.

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B Which means of course that we are much ruder ourselves now we are back in

Britain.

I Oh! In what ways?

B Well, pushing in the street.

S Oh, I don't!

B Fights about getting on the bus. People don’t queue like they do in England. And of cause the taxi drivers! New York taxi drivers must be the rudest in the world! Americans themselves are very friendly but the taxi drivers never speak. And they don’t seem to know where anything is. I asked one of them to take me to the Guggenheim Museum once and he was really angry with me because he’d never heard of it!

I But, are all American taxi drivers like that?

S Oh yes. Well, all New Yorkers anyway. Not so much in other places. When we went to California, it was very different. There weren't the same pressures at all, were there?

B I think we were aware that New York is quite a dangerous place. We never had any problems ourselves at all, but when there was a crime, it was horrendous.

S Oh yes, the subways are unusable. They are dirty, uncomfortable.

I Did you make many friends?

S Well, that is what is interesting, really. We made more friends there than we have after two years of living here. I think Americans are more … open, they, you know, they speak their minds, so if they don't like something, they actually tell you directly. Not like the British, who might think one thing and say another. So I suppose you could say that the English are ruder than the Americans.

B Or that they are less honest.

S mmm….yes.

B Something else. We're actually moving from here back into London to try to find the things we liked in New York.

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Do the Following Tasks:

Vocabulary Practice

1. Complete the word web with the words from the dialogue

Shops and public institutions					People
1.	………………………………	1.	……………………..
2.	………………………………	2.	……………………..
3.	………………………………	3.	…………………….
4.	……………………………...		4. …………………….
Behaviour					Character
1.	……………………………...		1.	…………………	…..
2.	……………………………...		2.	…………………	…..
3.	……………………………...		3.	…………………	…..
4.	……………………………..		4.	…………………	…..

2. Match the underlined words in the dialogue with their synonyms below. Make the sentences of your own:

- difficulty	- impolite	- storey
- terrific	- supermarket	- underpass

Text Analysis

Prove the following ideas using the dialogue:

1.“Everything stays open, so it makes life much easie r…”

2.“New York is as cosmopolitan as London…”

3.“New York is quite a dangerous place…”

4.“Americans are more open….”

5.“And the people are much ruder…”

Discussion

1.Comment on the difference between the styles of living of British and American people.

2.Imagine yourself being a tourist. Do you agree with the information in the dialogue?

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Appendix

			Linking words / phrases
Personal opinion:			In my opinion/view, to my mind, to my way of thinking, I
			am convinced that, it is my firm belief that, it seems to me
			that, as far as I’m concerned, I think that our efforts will
			bring positive results.
To list advantages and			One advantage of, another advantage of, the main advantage
disadvantages:			of, the greatest advantage of; one disadvantage, a further
			disadvantage of, the first disadvantage of having a pet is that
			they need a lot of care.
To list points:			Firstly, first of all, secondly, thirdly, finally, to start/begin
			with we have to make both sides feel comfortable before
			talks can continue.
To add more points to			What is more, furthermore, apart from this, in addition (to
the same topic:			this), moreover, besides the Internet has made a major
			impact on education.
To express effect:			Her health was failing and she wanted more time with her
			family; thus, therefore, so, consequently, as a result, as a
			consequence, she decided to retire.
To emphasize a point:			Indeed, naturally clearly, obviously, needless to say, the
			extent of his talent guaranteed that he would be a great
			actor.
To express reality:			It is a fact that, in fact, as a matter of fact, actually, in
			practice failing to keep your diet will lead to your gaining
			weight.
To	make	general	As a rule, generally, in general, on the whole, the more
statements:			decisions you let a child make on his own, the more self-
			sufficient he will be.

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To state other people’s	It is a popular belief that, people often claim that, some
opinion:	people argue that, contrary to popular belief, some people
	point out that, most people feel that, government must take
	measures to decrease the level of unemployment.
To make contrasting	It is a well-known fact that wearing seat belts saves lives;
points:	yet, however, nevertheless, but, even so, still, large number
	of drivers refuse to wear them.
To clarify:	In other words, that is to say, to put it another way, if you
	treat people with respect they are far more likely to treat
	you with respect.
To express condition:	You may use this room on condition that, provided (that), as
	long as, only if you keep quiet.
To conclude:	Finally, lastly, all in all, taking everything into account
	(consideration), on the whole, all things considered, in
	conclusion, for the above mentioned reasons, to sum up, it is
	felt that you would not be suitable for the position.
Reference:	I am writing with respect/regard/reference to, in
	regard/reference to the availability of product № 124587.
Summarizing:	In short, briefly, to put it briefly, I’ve never met a nicer
	person!

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Библиографический список

1.Virginia Evans, Jenny Dooley. Upstream (intermediate), Express Publishing, 2002.

2.Virginia Evans, Lynda Edwards. Upstream (advanced), Express Publishing, 2003.

3.Liz and John Soars. New Headway, Oxford University Press, 2001.

4.The Daily Express, September 12, 2002.

5.The Moscow News, № 3, 2006.

6.The Moscow News, № 9, 2006.

7.The Moscow News, № 14, 2006.

8.www. learningenglish.org.uk

9.www. businessonline.uk

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Оглавление
Предисловие…………………………………………………………………….3
I. Career Choice
Hollywood Hopefuls……………………………………………………………..5
Getting a Life…………………………………………………………………….8
II. Backbone of Society
Are Russian Yuppies Packing Their Bags? ……………………………	………11
Russia’s Middle-class Values and Investing for the Future……………………14
Stratification in British Society………………………………………………	....17
III. Work. Profession
From Dusk Till Dawn..........................................................................................	19
The Modern Servant – the Nanny and the Gardener…………	………………...22
IV. A Job Interview
The Best Way To Impress At Interviews……………………………………	…25
Classic Resume Mistakes, Omissions that will Kill Your Job Search…………28
V. The ILO
Youth Unemployment at All Time is High…………………………………	….31
International Organizations and International Co-operation…………………...33
VI. Labour Unions
Ford Russia: The New Face of Russian Labour Unions…	……………………..37
Labour Unions in Europe: A 40 hour Week?……………………………	….39
Labour Unions Find New Ways to Attract Members……………	……………..42
VII. The Famous Person
Bill Gates. The Richest Man in the World……………………………	………...44
Henry Ford……………………………………………………………………...47
VIII. English in the World of Work
England as Seen by Americans…………………………………………………50
America as Seen by Britons………………………………………………	……..53
Appendix……………………………………………………………………….57
Библиографический список…………………………………………………..59

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