- •Уо «Мозырский государственный педагогический университет
- •Essential vocabulary
- •Basic American Values and Beliefs
- •Introduction
- •Basic american values and assumptions a land of diversity
- •Individual Freedom and Self-Reliance
- •Joining and protesting
- •Hurry, hurry, hurry
- •Are americans materialistic?
- •Straight talk
- •Equal ity
- •Achievement, action, work, and materialism
- •Directness аnd assertiveness
- •Equality of opportunity and competition
- •Material wealth and наrd work
- •Vocabulary Check
- •1. Analyze the following abstract notions аз they are treated in the text:
- •2. Study the following idioms and see if you can supply contexts for them:
- •3. Reading comprehension check. Write the letter of the best answer according to the information in the chapter.
- •Cloze Summary Paragraph
- •The Protestant Heritage
- •Vocabulary Check
- •Comprehension Check
- •Cloze Summary Paragraph
- •American Values at the Crossroads
- •A. Vocabulary Check
- •B. Comprehension Check
- •D. Cloze Summary Paragraph
- •Customs vary with culture
- •Usa and uk in comparison
- •Character and characteristics: a humorous look at
- •Stereotypes
- •What the British Think of Americans…
- •What Americans Think of the British...
- •4 Assessing Students' Comparative Skills
- •I Look at the chart and decide whether the student
- •Socio-cultural portrait of the uk & usa
- •British values and assumptions. Monarchy the island people
- •The island people (II)
- •Essential vocabulary
- •I. Define and comment on the following terms used in the texts
- •II. Study the following list of geographic names.
- •The united kingdom
- •Introduction
- •As others see us
- •0 Wad1 come Pow'r the giftie2 gie3 us
- •It wad frae5 mony6 a blander free us
- •Views of britain. The official view
- •Тhe people's view
- •British society a changing world
- •Attitudes
- •Stereotypes and change
- •English versus british
- •Multiculturalism
- •Conservatism
- •Being different
- •The love of nature
- •The national trust
- •The love of animals
- •Formality and informality
- •The scruffy british
- •Public spiritedness and amateurism
- •I. Mark the following areas of activity as 'professional' or 'amateur / voluntary':
- •II. Sort out the following as positively or negatively viewed by the British:
- •Privacy and sex
- •Lovely weather we're having
- •II. Explain the meaning of the following:
- •III. Match the adjectives with the nouns they collocate with:
- •IV. Explain the use of articles with the word England:
- •I. Fill in the grid:
- •II. Sort out the details for each "stereotype" of the English person
- •III. Answer the questions:
- •IV. Do you agree that
- •No longer an island
- •Have the english finally left their
- •Island mentality behind?
- •Cast in the same mould
- •Change of direction
- •I. Match the following proper names with relevant characteristics:
- •Monarchy
- •Vocabulary
- •The royal family
- •The Sovereign
- •The Royal Family
- •The Monarchy
- •I. Great Britain is a monarchy. Find out from your partner: what is the role of the monarch in a highly developed modern country?
- •II. Choose the correct equivalent for the word:
- •V. Say if you agree or .Disagree with the following and explain why:
- •VII. Express your opinion on the following:
- •Adapt or die?
- •I. Find out the following.
- •II. Make sure you understand the following words and expressions:
- •III. Match the words on the left with their definitions in the right-hand column:
- •IV. Fill in the gaps with the prepositions:
- •In groups and pairs discuss:
- •III. Choose the right preposition:
- •IV. Fill in the gaps where necessary with suitable notional or functional words, using your active vocabulary:
- •V. Translate from Russian into English, using your active vocabulary:
- •Russian and belarusian values and assumptions. Sharing Your Own Culture
- •1 Pre-Reading Discussion
- •2 Vocabulary Development
- •3 Reading, Thinking, Sharing
- •1 * What do the Americans who visited Russia or Belarus think about these countries and their people? Read an extract from a diary and list the areas which provoke culture shock in Russia.
- •15 August, 1996 - Vladimir
- •1 September, 1996 - Vladimir
- •A man of the people
- •Russian mentality
- •People of belorussia
- •1. Strike off one inappropriate word in each tine. Translate those used in the text. Make sure you know the weaning and the pronunciation of the rest words.
- •2. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English using the vocabulary from the text.
Тhe people's view
Mrs Thatcher created a society which is richer and freer, but also unhappier and more selfish, according to a survey for the Observer newspaper.
People were asked how they thought Britain had changed over the past ten years: 48 % thought people were richer, compared with 36 % who thought people were poorer. Asked about freedom, 44 % thought people now had more freedom, compared with 24 % who believed they had less. These positive views of Margaret Thatcher's 'enterprise culture" were balanced by some negative results: 48 % thought people were 'more unhappy’ today than ten years ago; 21 % believed people were 'happier’.
The answers showed considerable differences between various sections of society. Women felt much more, strongly than men that life was worse (47 % compared with 37 %). So did the old (49 %) and those living in the north of England (47 %).
How has Britain changed over the past ten years?
Richer 48%
Poorer 36%
More freedom 44%
Leas freedom 24%
More unhappy 48%
Happier 21%
Store selfish 61%
More generous 19%
life is worse 42%
life is better 39%
A dirtier country 68%
A cleaner country 15%
Ьеаз friendly people 52%
Friendlier people 23%
More intolerant 37%
More tolerant 35%
More violent, society 59%
less violent society 12%
There were a number of reasons for people's opinions. For example, when asked whether Britain was cleaner or dirtier than it had been ten years before, people mentioned an increase in dirt and rubbish in cities and the countryside. People's views on friendliness were influenced by their experience of service industries such as hotels and shops.
The figures on tolerance were more difficult to interpret: some people thought that it referred to racial tolerance and opinion was divided on whether Britain was becoming a more integrated society; others thought that tolerance of political views had declined and that left and right-wing views and become more extreme.
A large majority (59 %) believed that Britain had become a more violent society. They pointed to the increase in violent crime (for example, muggings and robberies on the London Underground) and the violent reputation of British football supporters.
British society a changing world
In the old days, it was easy to talk about British society. There was the working class, the middle class and the upper class. There were factory workers and farmers, northerners and southerners. But these days it is harder to describe the British. The old differences are still there, but people are divided in many new ways as well.
One difference is the change in age groups. More people are living longer than seventy or eighty years, so the number of old people is growing. (15% of the population is now over 65.) At the same time, fewer babies are being born (the average British family has two children). This means that the population of Britain is getting older all the time. Also, fewer people live with or near their families. This means that many old people live on their own or in old people's homes. And many young people live in bed-sitting rooms, or in flats with other people of the same age. Traditions of work are changing too. About three million people have no job. Poor people these days are not only people with badly paid jobs, but people without a job at all.
The 4 different regions of the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) have always had their own ways of life. But now many people from these regions (especially the Welsh and the Scots) have a new interest in their own special culture. Some Welsh people, for example, want to bring back the old Welsh language, Some of the Scots want a government of their own. The people of Northern Ireland often feel that the rest of Britain is not interested in them. They feel that no one understands the "troubles" between Catholic and Protestant that have been going on for so long.
There are now about four million "black” and "brown" Britons, who have come (or whose parents have come) to Britain since the 1950s. Most came from the West Indies, East Africa, India and Pakistan, and live in big cities like London, Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool. Some found in Britain the life they were looking for. But many did not. Young people, especially, from these "ethnic communities" find it hard to get, jobs and to be accepted.
But somehow, the traditional British way of life still goes on. Old and young, rich and poor, black and white, Londoner and countryman all agree about some things even if they disagree about others. The things they agree about make them British. The things they disagree about make them interesting.
Here is what people in different countries think about the British. Read the passage and make a list of all characteristics given to the British people and decide whether they are positive or negative.
A survey was conducted from London in Eastern and Western Europe, America, India, the Far East, Australia and New Zealand. Those questioned were asked about their views of British life, customs and characteristics.
The unprompted observations make depressing reading. One respondent in France thought the British were 'good at courtesy and phlegm', while another described them as 'a nation of ugly people with bad taste'. Britain's so-called special relationship with America seems to have done little to sugar American perceptions, either. 'Antiquated and living in the past,' said one. 'Britain is narrow, constrained, conventional, stuffy- but I guess quite picturesque,' volunteered another. One respondent in India said: 'The British always look down their noses at you'.
Confronted with a list of adjectives, respondents summed up the British as proud, civilised, cultured, arrogant and cold. The five words which were thought to describe them least accurately were: emotional, temperamental, aggressive, adventurous and fun-loving.
When the responses were broken down by continent, subtle differences emerged, which said as much about the countries questioned as they did about Britain. Australia and New Zealand, for example, still don't know whether to love or hate their Commonwealth alma mater. They admire Britain's institutions and democracy, but see the people as intolerant, stuck in their ways and lacking progressive zeal. If they had any affection for Blighty at all, it was a sentimental attachment to food brands of the 1950s, such as HP Sauce, Callard & Bowser and Bisto.
The view from Asia has been equally coloured by Britain's past colonial links. India's associations tended to be the most generous, with a common respect for culture, class, tradition and history dating back to the relationship before independence. The Far East, on the other hand, showed little such sentiment. As a thriving commercial centre itself, it easily cast Britain as a 'has-been' nation, bad at business and lacking entrepreneurial zeal.
The most unrelentingly stereotyped view of Britishness came from America. Americans love the accents, countryside and pageantry, but the American view of British industry seemed to have been formed while browsing around a gift shop. Products such as bone china, crystal, knitwear and even scones were singled out as among our biggest assets. Once again, Britain stood accused of lacking vitality, excitement and can-do attitude.
(from The British Studies Now)
READING COMPREHENSION CHECK
What is the geography of Great Britain?
What is the difference in the names; the United Kingdom, Great Britain, the British Isles?
What is the Union Jack?
What makes the Scottish, Welsh, English and Northern Irish different from each other?
What is more characteristic of British society: stability or change?
In what way does the British tendency to moderation reflect the climate?
What is the role of London in the life of the country? In what way has the city changed in the past fifty years?
Are the notions "the south” and "the north" only geographic notions in reference to England?
What is the attitude of the state towards the nation’s-heritage? What is included in it?
Is there any decline in the quality of life in Britain?
In what other ways has the British society changed?
Is it important to be able to look at yourself from aside?