Exercises
Exercise 35. a) Do you know much about the difference between British and American English? Try to point out at least 5 differences.
b) Read tha-passage about two differences between British and American English and decide if they are essential.
The basic meaning of 'dumb' in both British and American English is 'unable to speak'. In the USA it acquired a second meaning 'stupid1, straight from the German 'dumm' (stupid), and the second meaning has now crossed the Atlantic to Britain.
To those who speak or learn American English 'wash up' means 'to wash one's hands' but in British English it means 'to wash the dishes' (B-USA).
c) Decide which words from the following list belong either to American or British English.
Elevator, lift; sidewalk-pavement; pavement-roadway; hire a car, rent a car; to line up, to queue; President, Managing Director; Hudson River, River Thames.
Exercise 36. a) Wliat is the relation between English and Welsh?
b) Read the following passage 'and determine if Welsh belongs to the group of Germanic languages.
Welsh is not a dialect of English. It is a completely separate language as different from English as Greek or Italian. It is related to Scots and Irish Gaelic and to Briton spoken in the North-West of Wales. Compare the following numerals - five - pump: seven - saith; eight - wyth; nine - naw; ten - deg (ABC-K).
c) Decide which languages are more closely related -English and French, or English and Ukrainian (Russian).
Exercise 37. a) Do you know what is the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world?
b) Read the following passage and decide what aircraft are likely to appear in this country soon.
The largest aircraft manufacturer in the world is Boeing of Seattle, in the state of Washington. But of equal importance to American aviation are Douglas and Lockhead. William Boeing founded his corporation as far back as 1916. In World War II he built the Flying Fortress bomber, and it was largely as a result of war experience that he was able to construct such successful commercial aircraft after the war (B-USA).
Exercise 38. a) Ask your fellow-students if they know what Detroit is famous for. b) Read the passage and decide what cities of the world have a similar destiny.
General Motors, an amalgamation of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, and Buick, built factories in Detroit as did Chrysler. In the 1960s one in three people who lived in Detroit worked in the automobile industry. Now many plants have been dispersed to other parts of the States, and unemployment, particularly among blacks, has become a serious problem (B-USA).
Exercise 39. a) Which drink do you prefer - Coca-Cola or Pepsi-Cola? Which of them do you expect to be best-selling in the world?
b) Read the following passage and make up a list of differences between Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola.
Coca-Cola is the best-selling soft drink in the world. 165 million 'Cokes' are sold every day from the equator to the Arctic. But whereas outside the USA Coke tends to be a young person's drink, inside the USA anybody of any age or income can drink it without embarrassment on any
occasion.
'Coke' is not the only 'cola' drink. Pepsi Cola is a well-known rival, for it is not as sweet as Coke. Cola drinks contain caffeine from kola nut and are the only soft drinks which are stimulating as well as refreshing (B-USA).
c) Select the best-selling drinks in this country.
Exercise 40. a) Is Hollywood a film studio or a city?
b) Read the passage and speak on the present-day life of Hollywood.
Hollywood's fame and fortune reached its peak in the 1930s and 1940s, the golden days of the black and white movies. Most of the famous motion picture corporations of those days, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Columbia and Warner Brothers are still very much in business and great stars like Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Charlie Chaplin, Gary Cooper, and many others have become immortal.
Hollywood is no longer the heart of world's motion picture industry. Most movies today are filmed on location, that is to say, in the cities, in the countryside, and in any part of the world that the script demands. The Hollywood studios are still standing, but most of them have been leased to television networks. About 80% of all American TV entertainment comes from Hollywood (B-USA).
c) Make up a list of famous studios of the world. Speak about one of them.
Exercise 41. a) Do you know much about radio in the UK?
b) Read the following passage and point out the advantages and disadvantages of various radio channels in Britain.
Radio One is the oldest national pop station. It started in 1969. It broadcasts a mixture of music (mostly top 40 records), news and information from 5.30 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week. There are no commercials on Radio 1. Besides there are more than 200 local and community Radio Stations. The majority of them broadcast to just one part of the country. Some broadcast in languages other than English - Greek, Hindi or Turkish, for example. The best-known commercial local station is 'Capital Radio' in London (ELD).
c)Decide what features of British radio are being taken over-by the broadcasters in this country.
Exercise 42. a) Do you know what pastimes can make a person old before lime? Try to make up a list of them, b) Read the following passage and decide what pastimes your fellow-students should give up.
Scientists studying the secrets of long life believe that playing bingo and watching television can make you old before your time.
'Bingo kills the mind', said Dr. Warner Schaie, of Pennsylvania State University. 'To keep healthy and alert into the 70s, 80s and beyond it would be much better to play bridge or do crossword puzzles. The worst thing is to sit and watch television. He said that a study of a long-lived population in Hawaii showed three elements common to people active beyond their 80s - physical activity such as gardening, good nutrition, and living at home instead of in an institution (DM).
c)
Discuss what pastimes are recommended for young people.
Exercise 43. a) Who is the connoisseur of Jazz among your friends? Ask him to tell you something about the history of Jazz, b) Read the following passage and see what new information about Jazz you can learn.
Jazz is a gift to the world from the American blacks. In the 1790a the Methodists, a Protestant sect, began to convert the slaves to Christianity, so that during the 19th century most of blacks became of one denomination or another. Music played an essential part in their services. Before long they had Africanized the music of the Christian hymn-books. In New Orleans black bands as well as white bands still play in the jazz halls of the old quarter. New Orleans is devoted to the preservation of jazz. One of favourite haunts of jazz lovers in New Orleans is called Preservation Hall, a little room whose walls are decorated with faded prints and photos of the great players of the past (B-USA).
Exercise 44. a) Do you know what relations between the President and Congress in the USA are maintained? b) Read the passage and point out who has more power in the USA - the President or Congress.
The President of the USA has more power than any other president in the democratic world, except the French President. He is leader of the nation and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
Actually a great deal of the President's power is controlled by Congress, the American name for Parliament. Unlike the Prime Minister of Great Britain or Germany he can make a treaty with a foreign power. But this treaty must be debated and agreed by Congress before it comes into power. Congress has on several occasions refused to ratify treaties or give approval to laws prepared by the President (B-USA).
c) Comment on the relations between the President and Parliament in this country.
Exercise 45. Speak on the following situations.
Make up a list of leading business companies of this country. Decide which of them is likely to prosper in future.
Give recommendations to your teacher about the newspapers and magazines s/he should subscribe to.
Decide what company each of your fellow-students may set up and what name s/he is likely to choose for it.
Decide what kind of product is labelled by the trade mark 'Ensure'.
Decide what national and local newspapers in this country meet the requirements of population.
Decide what languages you will teach to your own children. Justify your opinion.