Министерство образования и науки Российской Федерации

Федеральное агентство по образованию

Южно-Уральский государственный университет

Кафедра английского языка

Е.А. Жежера английский язык

Учебно-методическое пособие

для студентов 1 курса

Челябинск

2012

Contents

Unit I. The Art of Living
Lesson 1.	Breaking the Ice	p. 3
Lesson 2.	Daily Life	p. 16
Lesson 3.	The Way to Success	p. 30
Lesson 4.	Lifestyle: Leisure for Pleasure	p. 37
Lesson 5.	Lifestyle: Shopping	p. 44
Lesson 6.	Lifestyle: Sport & Health	p. 51
Lesson 7.	Describing People	p. 57
Self-Study Materials for Unit I.		p. 64

Unit I. The art of living Lesson 1. Breaking the ice

To make the world a friendly place,

one must show it a friendly face.

Lead-in

1. Read the following words of wisdom. What do they mean?

• The world is a looking glass and gives back to each person a reflection of his attitude.

A Short Course in Human Relations

The Six Most Important Words: "I admit I made a mistake"

The Five Most Important Words: "You did a good job”

The Four Most Important Words: "What is your opinion?"

The Three Most Important Words: "If you please"

The Two Most Important Words: "Thank you"

The One Most Important Word: "We"

The Least Important Word: "I"

2. Study the following quotations about politeness. Which one comes closer to your beliefs?

1. True politeness is perfect ease and freedom. It simply consists in treating others just as you love to be treated yourself. (Chesterfield)

2. Ceremonies are different in every country, but true POLITENESS is everywhere the same. (Oliver Goldsmith)

3. Anyone can be polite to a king. It takes a gentleman to be polite to a beggar. (Source Unknown)

4. Avoid all haste; calmness is an essential ingredient of politeness. (Alphonse Karr)

5. Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you – not because they are nice, but because you are. (Author Unknown)

SOCIAL ENGLISH

3. “Breaking the ice” is an idiom that means getting to know someone. An atmosphere that was cold becomes warm. Now we will break the ice by introducing ourselves.

Activity 1. Introducing yourself

A. When you meet someone for the first time, it is customary to introduce yourself.

Some expressions used:

My name is ... / My name’s ...

I’m ... (first name, last name)

Hi / Hello

How do you do?

• It is not common to use titles (Mr., Mrs., Dr., etc.) when referring to yourself.

However, it is polite to use titles with others in formal situations, unless they give you permission to do otherwise.

Examples:

I’m Mr Robert Smith. (Title is not necessary here.)

I’m Robert Smith. (Better)

I’m Dr Sampson. (Okay, if you want to keep the relationship formal)

(After an introduction)

Nice to meet you, Mr Smith. — Oh, please call me Bob.

• Do not use titles with first names, and do not use last names alone without titles.

Examples:

Hello, Mr Bob (Wrong!)

Hi, Bob (Okay)

Good morning, Smith (Wrong!)

Good morning, Mrs Smith (Correct)

B. Go over this dialogue:

Neil:	H ello. Are you a student here?
Ami:	Yes, I am.
Neil:	So am I. My name’s Neil Bois.
Ami:	How do you do? I’m Ami Frank.
Neil:	I’m pleased to meet you. Is Frank your first name or your last name?
Ami:	My last name.
Neil:	Neil’s my first name. Please call me Neil.
Ami:	Okay, Neil, and please call me Ami.
Neil:	Okay, Ami.

C. Now form a double circle, and introduce yourself to the person facing you. The outside circle will move to the right, while the inner circle stays in place. Shake hands and smile when introducing yourself.

Activity 2. Preparing to Introduce Someone

A. Here are some expressions used when we want to introduce someone:

I’d like to introduce ...

I ’d like you to meet ...

Can I introduce you to ...

Quan, this is Rodolfo.

This is my friend, Jack. — Hi, Jack. I’m Linda.

• my brother, Bob.

• my sister, Cindy.

• my father, Mr Harris.

• my mother, Mrs Harris.

• my teacher, Ms Watson.

• my student, Carrie.

• my friend, Mary Jones.

• my boss, Mr Ritter.

• my co-worker, Penny Pitcher.

(After an introduction)

Nice to meet you. — Nice to meet you too.

• These types of introductions involve three people:

A: The introducer (who knows both B and C)

B: Introducee (knows A but not C)

C: Introducee (knows A but not B)

Example:

A: Have you two met each other?

B: No, we haven’t.

A: Ben, this is Carol. Carol this is Ben.

(B and C smile and shake hands.)

B: Nice to meet you Carol.

C: Nice to meet you too, Ben.

Follow-up:

After you have been introduced to someone, it is polite to ask a few general questions to get acquainted.

For example:

B: Where are you from, Carol?

C: I’m from Connecticut.

B: Connecticut, which part?

C: Hartford, the capital. How about you, Ben?

B: Nebraska – a place called Bellevue. It’s near Omaha.

C: How do you know Alan?

B: He is my friend from college.

• When meeting someone for the first time, it is not appropriate to ask certain types of questions. Do NOT ask:

• A person’s age

• Birth date

• Salary

• Weight

• Marital status

• You may ask general questions about the situation.

How do you know Alan (the person who introduced us)?

Are you a student at this university?

Is this your first time here?

What do you do for a living?

How long have you been working for (company)?

B. Work in small groups. Practice introducing your friends to each other. Remember to smile (and use handshakes where appropriate).

C. The purpose of this activity is to get information about another person, and then introduce him/her to the class. You will be working in pairs. Here are some questions to use. Let’s go over them before you start:

1. What’s your name?

2. Where are you from?

3. Do you work?

4. If not, what do you do?

5. Are you married?

6. When did you arrive here?

7. Do you have a hobby?

8. What are three things you like and three things you don’t like?

If there is any other information you would like to add, you may do so. It’s a good idea to take some notes so that you will remember all the points. When the class gets together again, you will introduce your partner to the class and tell the class about him/her.

D. Tell your partner something about yourself.

For example, “I’m from Russia. I am a university student.”

E. Tell your partner about important events in your life.

Example:

I was born in Tyumen in1984.

We moved to Orenburg when I was twelve years old.

I graduated from technical college there.

Now I’m studying at South Ural State University.

F. Ask your groupmates about events in their lives.

Example:

— Were you born and raised in Chelyabinsk?

— Actually, I was born in Kurgan.

— When did you move to Chelyabinsk?

— When I was a teenager.

4. Read through the following paragraph and practice introducing yourself to a roomful of people.