Яков Аракин - Практический курс английского языка 2 курс

D.: Oh, it's a big city. You mustn't think that all the people in Wales live in villages, We have

cities too!

A.: Yes, I suppose so.

XXI. Try your hand at teaching.

1. Say what you would do in the teacher's position:

Paul, a senior in high school, must outsmart every adult with whom he comes in contact. His

need to feel superior is so strong that he spends hours plotting how he can achieve his goal. He goes

to the library to look up definitions and information of irrelevant subject matter, and confronts the

teacher with questions like "What kind of dress did Josephine wear when she married Napoleon?"

Since the teacher cannot answer this question, Paul proceeds with his information and proves his

superiority to the whole class.

2. a) Try and act as a teacher of geography and discuss one of the following topics.

Make use of Essential Vocabulary (1). Use the map when speaking. (Give a three-minute talk.)

b) Comment on the students' knowledge of the topic, their skill of reading the map and

the choice of the vocabulary:

1. The British Isles and the seas, straits and channels, washing their coast. 2. The relief of

England, its highlands, lowlands and mountains. 3. The rivers of England. 4. The Lake District. 5.

Stratford-on-Avon. 6. The relief of Scotland. 7. The relief of Wales. 8. The climate of Great Britain.

9. The relief and climate of Ireland. (See "Classroom English", Section VIII)

LABORATORY EXERCISES (I)

1. Listen to the text "The British Isles", mark the stresses and tunes. Repeat the text

following the model.

2. Paraphrase the sentences, using the suggested speech patterns. Check your sentences

with the key (oral work).

3. Complete the sentences with geographical terms. Write these terms down and check

them with the key (oral and written work).

4. Write a spelling-translation test: a) translate the phrases into English; b) check them

with the key.

5. Do the suggested exercises and check them with the key (written work).

6. Listen to the text "Soil and Vegetation" or some other text on Geography: a) write it

as a dictation; b) retell it.

TOPIC: GEOGRAPHY

TEXT A. INDUSTRIAL AND AGRICULTURAL DISTRICTS IN GREAT BRITAIN

England is a highly developed industrial country. The city of London is one of the World's

three leading financial centres along with New York and by far the biggest in Europe The Bank of

England is the commercial pulse of the city of London while Greater London is important for

products of all kings in cluding food, instrument engineering, electrical and electronic engineering,

clothing, furniture and printing. It has some heavy engineering plants and several leading research

establishments65. London is a great port with many docks.

North-west of London, in the midland counties (the Midlands) is a very important industrial

district which is known as the "Black country". In Birmingham, the centre of this area, and in the

manufacturing towns nearby, various goods are produced: machine tools, tubes, domestic metalware,

rubber products, etc. The largest coal and iron fields in Britain are located in the Midlands. Further

north is Manchester, one of the main centres for electrical and heavy engineering and for me

production of a wide range of goods including computers, electronic equipment, petrochemicals,

dye-stuffs and pharmaceuticals. The Manchester Ship Canal links Manchester with Liverpool, one of

Britain's leading seaports.

East of Manchester is the city of Sheffield, well-known for its manufacture of high quality

steels, tools and cutlery. A short railway journey to the north-east will take you from Manchester to

Bradford, the commercial centre of the wool trade.

Further north is Newcastle situated on the North Sea coast, a city famous for its shipbuilding

65 Nowadays there is little industry in London as heavy engineering plants have been moved to the nearest manufacturing towns.

yards and its export of coal.

What is remarkable about the second half of the 20th century is the accelerating pace of

change.

The Scottish economy has moved away from the traditional industries of coal, steel and

shipbuilding. North-east Scotland is now the centre of offshore oil and gas industries. There has been

a significant development in high-technology industries, such as chemicals, electronic engineering

and information technology. In Scotland, the richest part is that of the Lowlands. Here there are coal

and iron fields. Glasgow is the largest city, seaport and trading centre of Scotland.

Recent decades have seen fundamental changes in the Welsh economy. Wales is an important

centre for consumer electronics, information technology, chemicals, and food and drink.

Although Britain is a densely populated, industrialized country, agriculture is still one of its

most important industries. Dairying is most common in the west of England, where the wetter

climate encourages the growth of good grass. Sheep and cattle are reared in the hilly and moorland

areas of northern and south-western England. Its best farmland lies in the south-eastern plains.

The south of England is rural, with many fertile valleys, well-cultivated fields and pastures.

The south-eastern coast is well-known for its picturesque scenery and mild climate and a

number of popular resorts. On the southern coast of England there are many large ports, among

them: Southampton, Portsmouth, Plymouth.

TEXT B. THE ENGLISH LANDSCAPE

— I know that there are many types of natural scenery in England. But what is there in the

English landscape that strikes the eye of the stranger used to other countries?

— Its "park-like" appearance, I believe. England in truth looks like one great well-ordered

park with its old trees, green meadows and hedges.66

— But as far as I know the hedges take up a considerable part of soil suitable for ploughing.

— They do. But the Englishman loves the green of England with its hedges, tender-green in

spring, covered with leaf and flower in summer, a blaze of gold and red in autumn. In winter too they

are still beautiful with a few scarlet berries almost burning in the frost.

— And yet, if England swept away her hedges and put in their place fences the saving of land

would be enormous.

— But much of the park-like beauty of the countryside would be gone and with it the

peculiar character of the English landscape.

— I hear there are a lot of lovely gardens all along the English countryside. Are English

people fond of gardening?

— They are. Almost every one in England tries to come in touch with a bit of plant life. In

the East of London you may see workingman's "flats" with their window gardens. In the West End,

land which is worth many thousands of pounds per acre is devoted to garden use. In the small

suburban villas a very considerable tax of money and labour is paid in the effort to keep in good

order a little pocket handkerchief of lawn and a few shrubs.

— Well, I think that this proves that the Englishman is at heart a great lover of nature, though

he is supposed to be such a prosaic and practical person.

TEXT C. LOOKING AT THE MAP OF RUSSIA