Text 3. Education in modern greece

Assignment 1: Translate the text into Russian. Explain the ways of introducing and explaining xenonyms in the text. Pay special attention to the graphic means of introducing xenonyms. Compare the Russian words «гимназия, лицей», the English words “gymnasium, lyceum” and their Greek etymons.

Education in Greece is free at all levels of the state system, from kindergarten to tertiary. Primary schooling begins at the age of six, but most children attend a state-run kindergarten from the age of five. Private kindergartens are popular with those who can afford them. Primary school classes tend to be larger than those in most European countries - usually 30 to 35 children. Primary school hours are short (8 am to 1 pm), but children get a lot of homework.

At 12, children enter the gymnasio, and at 15 they may leave school, or enter the lykeio, from where they take university-entrance examinations. Although there is a high percentage of literacy, many parents and pupils are dissatisfied with the education system, especially beyond primary level. The private sector therefore flourishes, and even relatively poor parents struggle to send their children to one of the country’s 5000 frontistiria (intensive coaching colleges) to prepare them for the very competitive university-entrance exams.

Text 4. Glimpses of norvegian history: the first unification of norway. Medieval norway

Assignment 1: Translate the text into Russian. Explain the ways of introducing and explaining xenonyms in the text.

While the Vikings were ranging far and wide, at home a decisive civil war sea-battle was raging in 872 at Hafrsfjord near Haugesund. The demographic consequences were considerable, with as many as 20.000 people emigrating from Norway to Iceland to escape the victorious king Harald Hårfagre (Fair-Hair), son of Svarta-Halvdan (Halvdan the Black). Politically, Harald’s victory produced far-reaching consequences as he unified a number of separate realms into the Kingdom of Norway.

The reign of Harald Hårfagre was such an odd and entertaining time, at least for historians, that it was recorded for posterity in the Heimskringla, the Norwegian Kings Saga, by the Icelander, Snorre Sturluson.

According to Snorre, Harald’s unification of Norway was inspired by a woman who taunted the king by refusing to have relations with a man whose kingdom wasn’t even as large as tiny Denmark. Through a series of confederations and trade agreements, he extended his rule as far north as Trondheim, which was founded in 997 at the mouth of the Nid River. Soon thereafter, it became the first capital of the new kingdom. His foreign policies were equally canny, and he even sent one of his sons, Håkon, to be reared in the court of King Athelstan of England. There is no record of whether the woman in question was sufficiently impressed.

The king did, however, marry 10 wives and fathered a surfeit of heirs, thereby creating serious problems over succession. The one who managed to rise above them all was Erik, his last child and only son with Ragnhild the Mighty, daughter of the Danish King Erik of Jutland. The ruthless Erik rose to power by eliminating all of his legitimate brothers except Håkon (who was safe in England). Together with a host of squabbling illegitimate brothers, Erik, whose reign was characterised by considerable ineptitude, then proceeded to squander his father’s hard-won Norwegian confederation. When Håkon returned from England to sort out the mess as King Håkon den Gode (Håkon the Good), Erik was forced to flee to Britain where he took over the throne of York as King Erik Blood-Axe.

King Håkon the Good, who had been baptised a Christian during his English upbringing, brought the new faith with him to Norway. His attempts to introduce it into his realm, accompanied by missionaries and a bishop from Britain, met with limited success. This was particularly true in Trondheim, where the subjects appeared to be utterly preoccupied with drinking and toasting Þór (Thor), Oðinn (Odin) and Freyr. Although the missionaries were eventually able to replace the names of the gods with those of Catholic saints, they failed to control the pagan practice of blood sacrifice. When Håkon the Good was defeated and killed in 960, Norwegian Christianity all but disappeared.

It was revived briefly during the reign of King Olav Tryggvason (Olav I), a Viking who had converted to Christianity in England. Being a good Viking, Olav decided that only force would work to convert his countrymen to the truth. Unfortunately for the king, his intended wife, Queen Sigrid of Sweden, refused to convert to Christianity. Olav cancelled the marriage contract and Sigrid married the pagan king Svein Forkbeard of Denmark. Together they orchestrated Olav’s death in a great Baltic sea-battle, then took Norway as their own.

Christianity was finally cemented in Norway by King Olav Haraldsson, Olav II, who was also converted in England. There, he and his Vikings allied themselves with King Ethelred and managed to save London from a Danish attack under King Svein Forkbeard by destroying London Bridge (from whence we derive the song ‘London Bridge is Falling Down’). Succeeding where his namesake had failed, Olav II helped construct Norway’s first Christian church, at Mosterhamn on the island of Bømlo, Hardanger in 995, and founded the Church of Norway in 1024. He even managed to bring Christianity to recalcitrant Trondheim.

However, no Scandinavian monarch of the time could ever rest comfortably in his bed. King Canute (Knut) of Denmark was eyeing Norway for possible annexation and, in 1028, Knut invaded the country, forcing King Olav II to flee. Although Olav later returned, a popular farmers’ uprising in Trøndelag led to his death at the decisive Battle of Stiklestad in 1030. For Christians, this amounted to martyrdom and the king was thereafter canonised as a saint. Indeed, the great Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim stands as a memorial to Olav and, until the Protestant reformation, the cathedral served as a destination for pilgrims from all over Europe. Apart from rising to the lofty heights of sainthood, Olav is also remembered for having forged a lasting identity for Norway as an independent kingdom.

Canute’s brief reign was followed by four generations of kings who ruled Norway as a semiautonomous nation. Although King Olav Kyrre (Olav the Peaceful) founded Bergen and Stavanger around 1070, none has captured the attention of historians quite like Harald III (Harald Hardråda, or Harald ‘Hard-Ruler’), half-brother of St Olav. After establishing a base by founding Oslo in 1043, Harald III raided throughout the Mediterranean before mounting an ill-fated invasion of England in 1066. His death at the hands of King Harold of England at the Battle of Stamford Bridge is generally regarded as the end of the Viking Age and expansionism, although Viking power abroad didn’t begin to wane significantly until the 13th century.

Assignment 2: Discuss the text while answering the following questions. Use reference books if necessary.

1. What is the origin of Vikings and what was their occupation?

2. What role did they play in the history of Britain?

3. What does berserk mean?

4. What is a saga?

5. Can you explain what kind of deities were Odin, Thor and Freyr?

6. What event makes the ‘content’ of a well-known English song ‘London Bridge is Falling Down’*?

7. What are the landmarks of converting Norwegians into Christianity?