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WORKING BOARD

September 2016

6 September

Unit 6. See the world!

In class:
Attendance: София, Маргарита, Наина, Софья, Мадина, Аня, Амина, Нила
Discussing our co-operation principles:

  • mutual respect (don’t be silent but don’t hush others down)
  • good attendance,
  • stay tuned,always keep notes,
  • work in class and at home, it’s a continual prosess
  • learn a language and learn to learn a language
  • meet deadlines, go digital @
  • welcome to advanced learning technologies: our group’s wiki, personal wikies, voxopop, etc
  • students as teachers (collaboration in educational projects)

Allow a moment to look through TEAMWORK PRINCIPLES and see if you are doing fine!


SPEAKING: Exchanging the stories of your travel experiences.
VOCABULARY:
1 Put each of the following words or phrases in its correct place in the passage below.
high / off the beaten track / hitch-hiking / leisure /off-peak /resort / youth hostels / travel agents /cut-price tickets / package holiday

People have more money and more …………… nowadays and even young people can afford to go abroad. Many
…………… offer cheap ………….. for flights to all parts of the world, so youngsters can avoid the crowded well known places and get to less famous areas which are ……………. using public transport. They can travel by …………….. and stay at ……………… . However, most people prefer some kind of a …………… …………at a popular ………… , which means that everything is arranged for them and the price they pay includes transport, food and accommodation. Try to avoid taking your holiday during the busy …………….. season. It’s overcrowded and expensive. If possible, choose a quieter ………… period.

2 Put each of the following words in its correct place in the passage below. Some words can be used more than once.

trip / travel / journey / cruise / tour / voyage / flight

  1. For general advice turn to a ……. agent.
  2. One day I would like to do the …….. by train and ship across Russia to Japan.
  3. We’re going on a ………… of Europe, visiting 11 countries in five weeks,
  4. We went on a three-week ……………..round the Mediterranean. The ship called at Venice, Athens, Istanbul and Alexandria.
  5. He once went by ship to Australia. The ……….. took 3 weeks.
  6. I’m going on a business ……….. to Paris next weekend.
  7. Air France ……………. 507 from Paris to New York will be taking off in ten minutes.
  8. The …………….. from Heathrow Airport to the centre of London takes about 45 minutes by underground.
  9. On our first day in New York we went on a three-hour ………….of the city by bus, which showed us the main sights.
  10. During our stay in London we went on a day ……… to Oxford, and another to Windsor.

Put one of the following words in each space in the sentences below.
in/ at/ by/ on

(a) We went …. car.
(b) She arrived …. London at midnight
(c) We went …… John’s car..
(d) We went ….. a journey,
(e) She arrived ……..the hotel.

SPEAKING: What did the author mean?

Travel quotes

«A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.» (Tim Cahill)
«A tourist is a fellow who drives thousands of miles so he can be photographed standing in front of his car.» (Emile Ganest)
«He travels fastest who travels alone.» (proverb)
«He who would travel happily must travel light.» (Antoine de St. Exupery)
«If God had really intended men to fly, he’d make it easier to get to the airport». (George Winters)
«Most travel is best of all in the anticipation or the remembering; the reality has more to do with losing your luggage». (Regina Nadelson)
“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” (Lao Tzu)
“Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.” (Mark Twain)
“I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad.” (George Bernard Shaw)
“I love to travel, But hate to arrive” (Albert Einstein)
“I love waking up in the morning not knowing what’s gonna happen or who I’m gonna meet, where I’m gonna wind up.” – said Jack in “Titanic”
“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” (Robert Louis Stevenson)
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” (Augustine of Hippo)
“To travel is to live.” (Hans Christian Andersen)
“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” (Gustave Flaubert)
“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money”. (Unknown)
“Wherever you go, you take yourself with you.” (Neil Gaiman)

HOME ASSIGNMENT
1) Learn travel vocabulary from this class
2) Try to memorize TRAVEL QUOTES
3) Study carefully the travel vocabulary below, look all the new words and expressions up in your dictionary, do the exercises.
4) Write your entries in the discussions on Welcome page and Title page.

Vocab1.jpg

Vocab2.jpg

9 September

Unit 6. See the world!

In class:
Attendance: София, Маргарита, Наина, Софья, Аня, Амина, Нила
Madina — unwell

VOCABULARY: word-game «What do you mean?», «Travel and accommodation» vocabulary.
SPEECH PRACTICE: Write a brief message to your tour agent asking to arrange your dream journey. Use at least 5 vocabulary items. Send it to your tutor’s mail ipjulia@yandex.ru
DISCUSSION: What did the author mean?

Travel quotes

«A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.» (Tim Cahill)
«A tourist is a fellow who drives thousands of miles so he can be photographed standing in front of his car.» (Emile Ganest)
«He travels fastest who travels alone.» (proverb)
«He who would travel happily must travel light.» (Antoine de St. Exupery)
«If God had really intended men to fly, he’d make it easier to get to the airport». (George Winters)
«Most travel is best of all in the anticipation or the remembering; the reality has more to do with losing your luggage». (Regina Nadelson)
“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” (Lao Tzu)
“Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.” (Mark Twain)
“I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad.” (George Bernard Shaw)
“I love to travel, But hate to arrive” (Albert Einstein)
“I love waking up in the morning not knowing what’s gonna happen or who I’m gonna meet, where I’m gonna wind up.” – said Jack in “Titanic”
“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” (Robert Louis Stevenson)
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” (Augustine of Hippo)
“To travel is to live.” (Hans Christian Andersen)
“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” (Gustave Flaubert)
“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money”. (Unknown)
“Wherever you go, you take yourself with you.” (Neil Gaiman)

LISTENING and making notes — How to travel on the cheap

A) Write down the tips from the video
B) Find in the video the English equivalents of the following expressions, you will REALLY need them when you travel!

  1. путешествовать налегке
  2. спальный мешок
  3. не тратьте деньги попусту на…
  4. экономьте средства
  5. туристический справочник
  6. курс обмена валют
  7. «предупрежден — значит вооружен!»
  8. слишком хорошо, чтобы быть правдой
  9. страховка путешественника
  10. это необходимо
  11. окупится каждая копейка
  12. чрезвычайное происшествие; крайняя необходимость
  13. заказать билеты
  14. посещать музеи и туристические достопримечательности
  15. путешествовать автостопом
  16. пролезать без билетов
  17. пробовать «уличные яства»
  18. торговаться
  19. не болейте
  20. «это вам влетит в копеечку»
  21. путешествовать с помощью «гостевых сетей»

MORE TO DO — See your textbook

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
1) Your textbook NEW PROGRESS TO PROFICIENCY — page 66 — 6.3 A — orally, 6.3.B — keys in your notebooks, 6.3.C — Be ready to discuss!
You will find the summary of grammar rules on the Future Tenses at the bottom of this page.
2) Watch the video again and write the key words and expressions in your notebooks.
3) Watch the following episodes from a famous BBC documentary series «An Idiot Abroad». READ ABOUT THE SHOW BEFORE WATCHING THE EPISODES!
Be ready to discuss the culture shock that Karl encountered in Russia.

What are the reasons for major misunderstanding between foreigners and locals? Give your reasons

FUTURE TENSES
Future1.jpg

Future2.jpg

13 September

Unit 6. See the world!

In class:
Attendance: София, Маргарита, Наина, Аня, Амина, Нила


TEAMWORK: a brief talk on students’ integrity
VOCABULARY: memory check — travel quotes
GRAMMAR: Future tenses. Your textbook ex.
VOCABULARY: key words and expressions from «20 pieces of travel advice»
DISCUSSION: Watch the following episodes from a famous BBC documentary series «An Idiot Abroad». READ ABOUT THE SHOW BEFORE WATCHING THE EPISODES!

Be ready to discuss the culture shock that Karl encountered in Russia.

What are the reasons for major misunderstanding between foreigners and locals? Give your reasons

HOME ASSIGNMENT:

1) VOCABULARY WORK
Learn the vocabulary from the folioing page. Be ready to act out the dialogues A-D in class.
TravelTalk.jpg

2) Work with TRAVEL IDIOMS — do the exercises and write the idioms in your notebooks.

 TRAVEL IdiomsShort.docx

Download (168 KB)

 

 TRAVEL Idioms2short.docx
Download (122 KB)

3) Read the text on the site following the LINK
Write in your notebook new expressions related to traveling. Be ready to comment on the text and give your reasons why you agree/disagree with the author.

16 September

Unit 6. See the world!

In class:
Attendance:София, Софья, Мадина, Аня, Амина, Нила

VOCABULARY: memory check — travel quotes results — see the NEWS-BOARD
GRAMMAR: Future tenses test
TravelTalk.jpg

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
1) READING: Read and translate the text below:

Studying Abroad: Culture Shock

For those who want to study abroad (or stay long-term) one thing to be aware of when you first enter the country is culture shock. Culture shock is natural, expected, and unavoidable. No matter how much films you watch, no matter what you do to prepare, there are going to be things about the culture that are just foreign and alien to you, whether it’s the language, food (which can be weird sometimes), climate, and even just everyday actions of different people.

At first you will probably feel only excitement and anticipation as you explore the various sights, eat street food, take lots of pictures, etc. However, after several weeks in this new environment, you may find yourself with less energy and even less enthusiasm. Maybe you do not have many friends yet and start miss home.

The good news is that disorientation is temporary and the feelings of depression will pass. However, this will only happen after you accept your new culture, including the good and the bad parts. However if you want to speed up the process of getting over culture shock some activities that can help include: keeping up a journal, making friends, talking with other international students/advisors, improving your language skills, developing a hobby, joining a club, or traveling.

Another thing to be aware of, is that it happens in reverse as well. After getting fully integrated with your new culture, coming back home creates reverse culture shock! This is especially prevalent for those who study abroad for a full year. All of a sudden you are frustrated with how things are back at home and long to return to your host country. Applying the same techniques as for the initial culture shock also apply here, particularly talking with other students who have studied abroad before.

The good news for vacationers is that this really doesn’t apply to you. You will still be on the pre-culture shock high for pretty much all of your vacation unless you plan on spending over a month in Japan. So enjoy yourself, and for those who plan to stay longer, hang in there, it gets better!

53fec-culture_shock.jpg

DISCUSSION: Talk about your own experience of culture shock. Is it a nasty or exciting experience? What professional advice can experts in intercultural communication provide?
MORE VOCABULARY: Travel Idioms (see the 13th of September)
DISCUSSION: CAN ONE LIVE WITHOUT TRAVELING?
CREATIVE WORK: Take the text from 6.6A as an example. Create a 1-page leaflet entitled MY FAVORITE PLACE IN THE WORLD. Attention — you MUST NOT use the ads from the Internet. The text you are going to create should be connected with your own personal experience. It should be the place which you have visited at least once. Make good use of your key vocabulary! Print your leaflet out and bring it in class.
STUDENT’S WORK SAMPLE —

 LizaK_my favourite place.docx
Download (72 KB)

 Sachnina_ALtai krai.docx
Download (332 KB)

 DO_Montmartre.doc
Download (1 MB)
20 September

Unit 6. See the world!

In class:
Attendance: София, Софья, Мадина, Аня, Амина, Нила, Наина, Маргарита

VOCABULARY: Travel idioms
DISCUSSION: Culture shock

HOME ASSIGNMENT:

Read the following extract from Jerome K. Jerome’s novel Three Men in a Boat.
Write down all the expressions related to travel. Think of your own sentences with these expressions.
hqdefault.jpg

«What we want is rest,» said Harris.
«Rest and a complete change,» said George. «The overstrain upon our brains has produced a general depression throughout the system. Change of scene, and absence of the necessity for thought, will restore the mental equilibrium.»
George has a cousin, who is usually described in the charge-sheet as a medical student, so that he naturally has a somewhat family-physicianary way of putting things.
I agreed with George, and suggested that we should seek out some retired and old-world spot, far from the madding crowd, and dream away a sunny week among its drowsy lanes – some half-forgotten nook, hidden away by the fairies, out of reach of the noisy world – some quaint-perched eyrie on the cliffs of Time, from whence the surging waves of the nineteenth century would sound far-off and faint.
Harris said he thought it would be humpy. He said he knew the sort of place I meant; where everybody went to bed at eight o’clock, and you couldn’t get a REFEREE for love or money, and had to walk ten miles to get your baccy.
«No,» said Harris, «if you want rest and change, you can’t beat a sea trip.»
I objected to the sea trip strongly. A sea trip does you good when you are going to have a couple of months of it, but, for a week, it is wicked.
You start on Monday with the idea implanted in your bosom that you are going to enjoy yourself. You wave an airy adieu to the boys on shore, light your biggest pipe, and swagger about the deck as if you were Captain Cook, Sir Francis Drake, and Christopher Columbus all rolled into one. On Tuesday, you wish you hadn’t come. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, you wish you were dead. On Saturday, you are able to swallow a little beef tea, and to sit up on deck, and answer with a wan, sweet smile when kind-hearted people ask you how you feel now. On Sunday, you begin to walk about again, and take solid food. And on Monday morning, as, with your bag and umbrella in your hand, you stand by the gunwale, waiting to step ashore, you begin to thoroughly like it.
I remember my brother-in-law going for a short sea trip once, for the benefit of his health. He took a return berth from London to Liverpool; and when he got to Liverpool, the only thing he was anxious about was to sell that return ticket.
It was offered round the town at a tremendous reduction, so I am told; and was eventually sold for eighteenpence to a bilious-looking youth who had just been advised by his medical men to go to the sea-side, and take exercise.
«Sea-side!» said my brother-in-law, pressing the ticket affectionately into his hand; «why, you’ll have enough to last you a lifetime; and as for exercise! why, you’ll get more exercise, sitting down on that ship, than you would turning somersaults on dry land.»
He himself – my brother-in-law – came back by train. He said the North– Western Railway was healthy enough for him.
Another fellow I knew went for a week’s voyage round the coast, and, before they started, the steward came to him to ask whether he would pay for each meal as he had it, or arrange beforehand for the whole series.
The steward recommended the latter course, as it would come so much cheaper. He said they would do him for the whole week at two pounds five. He said for breakfast there would be fish, followed by a grill. Lunch was at one, and consisted of four courses. Dinner at six – soup, fish, entree, joint, poultry, salad, sweets, cheese, and dessert. And a light meat supper at ten.
My friend thought he would close on the two-pound-five job (he is a hearty eater), and did so.
Lunch came just as they were off Sheerness. He didn’t feel so hungry as he thought he should, and so contented himself with a bit of boiled beef, and some strawberries and cream. He pondered a good deal during the afternoon, and at one time it seemed to him that he had been eating nothing but boiled beef for weeks, and at other times it seemed that he must have been living on strawberries and cream for years.
Neither the beef nor the strawberries and cream seemed happy, either – seemed discontented like.
At six, they came and told him dinner was ready. The announcement aroused no enthusiasm within him, but he felt that there was some of that two-pound-five to be worked off, and he held on to ropes and things and went down. A pleasant odour of onions and hot ham, mingled with fried fish and greens, greeted him at the bottom of the ladder; and then the steward came up with an oily smile, and said:
«What can I get you, sir?»
«Get me out of this,» was the feeble reply.
And they ran him up quick, and propped him up, over to leeward, and left him.
For the next four days he lived a simple and blameless life on thin captain’s biscuits (I mean that the biscuits were thin, not the captain) and soda-water; but, towards Saturday, he got uppish, and went in for weak tea and dry toast, and on Monday he was gorging himself on chicken broth. He left the ship on Tuesday, and as it steamed away from the landing-stage he gazed after it regretfully.
«There she goes,» he said, «there she goes, with two pounds’ worth of food on board that belongs to me, and that I haven’t had.»
He said that if they had given him another day he thought he could have put it straight.
So I set my face against the sea trip. Not, as I explained, upon my own account. I was never queer. But I was afraid for George. George said he should be all right, and would rather like it, but he would advise Harris and me not to think of it, as he felt sure we should both be ill. Harris said that, to himself, it was always a mystery how people managed to get sick at sea – said he thought people must do it on purpose, from affectation – said he had often wished to be, but had never been able.
Then he told us anecdotes of how he had gone across the Channel when it was so rough that the passengers had to be tied into their berths, and he and the captain were the only two living souls on board who were not ill. Sometimes it was he and the second mate who were not ill; but it was generally he and one other man. If not he and another man, then it was he by himself.
It is a curious fact, but nobody ever is sea-sick – on land. At sea, you come across plenty of people very bad indeed, whole boat-loads of them; but I never met a man yet, on land, who had ever known at all what it was to be sea-sick. Where the thousands upon thousands of bad sailors that swarm in every ship hide themselves when they are on land is a mystery.
If most men were like a fellow I saw on the Yarmouth boat one day, I could account for the seeming enigma easily enough. It was just off Southend Pier, I recollect, and he was leaning out through one of the port-holes in a very dangerous position. I went up to him to try and save him.
«Hi! come further in,» I said, shaking him by the shoulder. «You’ll be overboard.»
«Oh my! I wish I was,» was the only answer I could get; and there I had to leave him.
Three weeks afterwards, I met him in the coffee-room of a Bath hotel, talking about his voyages, and explaining, with enthusiasm, how he loved the sea.
«Good sailor!» he replied in answer to a mild young man’s envious query; «well, I did feel a little queer ONCE, I confess. It was off Cape Horn. The vessel was wrecked the next morning.»
I said:
«Weren’t you a little shaky by Southend Pier one day, and wanted to be thrown overboard?»
«Southend Pier!» he replied, with a puzzled expression.
«Yes; going down to Yarmouth, last Friday three weeks.»
«Oh, ah – yes,» he answered, brightening up; «I remember now. I did have a headache that afternoon. It was the pickles, you know. They were the most disgraceful pickles I ever tasted in a respectable boat. Did you have any?»
For myself, I have discovered an excellent preventive against sea– sickness, in balancing myself. You stand in the centre of the deck, and, as the ship heaves and pitches, you move your body about, so as to keep it always straight. When the front of the ship rises, you lean forward, till the deck almost touches your nose; and when its back end gets up, you lean backwards. This is all very well for an hour or two; but you can’t balance yourself for a week.
George said:
«Let’s go up the river.»
He said we should have fresh air, exercise and quiet; the constant change of scene would occupy our minds (including what there was of Harris’s); and the hard work would give us a good appetite, and make us sleep well.
Harris said he didn’t think George ought to do anything that would have a tendency to make him sleepier than he always was, as it might be dangerous.
He said he didn’t very well understand how George was going to sleep any more than he did now, seeing that there were only twenty-four hours in each day, summer and winter alike; but thought that if he DID sleep any more, he might just as well be dead, and so save his board and lodging.
Harris said, however, that the river would suit him to a «T.» I don’t know what a «T» is (except a sixpenny one, which includes bread-and– butter and cake AD LIB., and is cheap at the price, if you haven’t had any dinner). It seems to suit everybody, however, which is greatly to its credit.
It suited me to a «T» too, and Harris and I both said it was a good idea of George’s; and we said it in a tone that seemed to somehow imply that we were surprised that George should have come out so sensible.
The only one who was not struck with the suggestion was Montmorency. He never did care for the river, did Montmorency.
«It’s all very well for you fellows,» he says; «you like it, but I don’t. There’s nothing for me to do. Scenery is not in my line, and I don’t smoke. If I see a rat, you won’t stop; and if I go to sleep, you get fooling about with the boat, and slop me overboard. If you ask me, I call the whole thing bally foolishness.»
We were three to one, however, and the motion was carried.

23 September

Unit 6. See the world!

In class:
Attendance:
GRAMMAR: Future tenses test results
VOCABULARY: Where are they?
HOME READING: Jerome K. Jerome’s novel Three Men in a Boat

HOME ASSIGNMENT: Revise the material for your quiz

27 September

Unit 6. See the world!

Attendance: София, Маргарита, Наина, Софья, Мадина, Аня, Амина, Нил

FINAL TEST:

TRAVEL VOCABULARY QUIZ. September 27, 2016

A) Complete the words in the grid to make two-word expressions connected with Travel and Tourism. You have been given the first letter of each word, and you can find the rest of each word in the box below the grid. The first one has been done as an example.

accredited agent b pass c_ crew
d_ tax e_ charge f_ poisoning
g_ manager h_ charge i document
j_ lag k_ card l_ card
m sickness n_-show o_ rate
p_ holiday q_ control r_ number
s_ charge t_ building u_ baggage
v_ service w_ service y_ hostel

_ackage _ aiter _alet _anding _andling _abin _ccupancy _ey _ naccompanied _outh _uality
_dentity _eneral _ntrance _eparture _erminal _ervice _et _oarding _o _ood _oom _otion

B) Complete these sentences with a two-word expression from above.
1.During the flight, our………………………. will be serving you a light meal and offering you a selection of drinks from the bar.
2.The best way to avoid_……………….. when you fly across time zones is to try to stay awake in your new time zone until it gets dark.
3.During the winter months, the …………………._ in most hotels falls considerably: some are almost empty for most of the season.
4.A………………… includes the price of the flight, transfers, accommodation and local taxes.
5.Some museums have an………………. , but others let visitors in for free.
6.Travellers can avoid ………………..such as salmonella by only eating in reputable restaurants with a high standard of hygiene and cleanliness, and by making sure that everything is thoroughly cooked.
7.Here’s your ……………….. You’re in row 37, seat G. Watch the screens for information and a gate number.
8.Many restaurants add a 10%……………… to their bills, which can increase the cost of a meal significantly.
9.If you need anything cleaned, the hotel offers an excellent……………….. .

  1. 10. The bank will add on a 5% for changing traveller’s cheques.

C) Translate the following sentences into English making good use travel idioms.

  1. 1. Русские туристы считаются самыми «трудными» клиентами. Бывает, они слетают с катушек, что вызывает у местных жителей культурный шок.

 

  1. 2. — Что? Твой рейс в четыре утра? И зачем тебе пускаться в путь в такую рань?

— Зато я купил билет за копейки на специальном сайте. Конечно, придется «ехать за семь верст» , но зато это выгодная покупка.

  1. 3. Чудесное местечко! Выше всяких похвал! Не пожалеешь об потраченных деньгах. И там ужинают местные, а это хороший знак.

 

  1. 4. — Милый, давай остановимся в отеле Гранд Мариотт Отеле? — Дорогая, об этом не может быть и речи! Я в этот туристический ад ни ногой. Мне не нравится система «все включено», мне хочется самому осматривать достопримечательности.

— Да, но в прошлый раз выбрал гостинцу ты, и это была настоящая дыра!

  1. 5. Ребята, а где это мы? – О, кажется мы не просто в стороне от больших дорог, а прямо-таки у черта на куличиках!

 

  1. 6. Ах, у него «шило в заднице» , и он у нас заядлый путешественник? Ну ему-то это легко – англичанин, может объехать мир без виз и всякой там бюрократии. А моя тетя два месяца собирала документы, чтобы поехать в автобусный тур «галопом по Европам» – девять городов за пять дней. Вернулась она усталая как собака.

 

  1. 7. Сингапурские Авиалинии предлагают вариант: по дороге в Австралию сделать остановку в Сингапуре. Это позволит разбить длительный перелет на две части и осмотреть достопримечательности этого удивительного города.

D) Write four sentences describing this place you’ve visited, making good use of the key words and expressions.

 экрана 2016-09-27 в 11.27.29.png

HOME ASSIGNMENT:

VOCABULARY: Your Textbook. Ex. 7.1.B
READING: Your Textbook. Ex.7.2 Money fit to launder

 

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Julinkajuly Sep 29, 2016

Look at the table of contents of your textbook (New Progress to Proficiency) and say which 5 topics you consider to be most relevant personally for you. Justify your choice.

Ohnonaya Sep 29, 2016

This is my list of topics:

4 «Let’s talk» — about communication, language, accents and dialects. I chose this one because our university course is based on intercultural communications and learning languages, and it would be very useful to learn about different accents because, in my opinion, this exact topics is under appreciated in our faculty.
7 «Spending your money» — this would really help us in the future. This time of our life is the transition from the childhood to the adulthood, and trekking your finances is a problem which is sometimes difficult to solve by yourself.
11 «Another world» — this is the easiest topic to justify for me. I love reading, I love literature, and unfortunately, I don’t have many people to talk with about it, and I’d like to discuss it with the class.
15 «Is it art or entertainment?» — Nowadays music and movie industries are very important for the society. People literally make friends based on their music preferences. Actors and musicians become our idols and role models, and I think this is a good reason to talk about it
16 «look after yourself» — this topic is relevant always and everywhere. We only live once and we have only one body. I think that we should know how to look after ourselves in terms of staying healthy.

Ohnonaya Sep 29, 2016

This is my list of topics:

4 «Let’s talk» — about communication, language, accents and dialects. I chose this one because our university course is based on intercultural communications and learning languages, and it would be very useful to learn about different accents because, in my opinion, this exact topics is under appreciated in our faculty.
7 «Spending your money» — this would really help us in the future. This time of our life is the transition from the childhood to the adulthood, and trekking your finances is a problem which is sometimes difficult to solve by yourself.
11 «Another world» — this is the easiest topic to justify for me. I love reading, I love literature, and unfortunately, I don’t have many people to talk with about it, and I’d like to discuss it with the class.
15 «Is it art or entertainment?» — Nowadays music and movie industries are very important for the society. People literally make friends based on their music preferences. Actors and musicians become our idols and role models, and I think this is a good reason to talk about it
16 «look after yourself» — this topic is relevant always and everywhere. We only live once and we have only one body. I think that we should know how to look after ourselves in terms of staying healthy.

UsmanovaNila Sep 29, 2016

To my mind the most interesting topics are following: «is it art or entertainment» — I find this one very relevant for me because I am fond of art, music, cinematography and painting. This one is very personal for me. The next one is «Bon appetit» — cause I am a foodie 🙂 also I like topic called «look after yourself» because I think it is important to learn more about health and keeping fit. «All in day’s work» seems to be a good one too. I think it is interesting to learn more collocations about business and work. «Spending your money»- I believe this one can help us to understand how to plan the budget and stop wasting money on unnecessary things.

AminaAm2 Sep 29, 2016

1.Bon appetit;
2.Everyone’s different;
3.See the world;
4.Look after yourself;
5.The past is always with us.
I don’t think that these five topics are closely connected with each other, but to my mind all of them are and always were very important in human’s life. They are different but the main thing that they all have is a man with his values, ways of life, his attitude to life and to other people.

sofiya.sidorova Sep 30, 2016

My top-5 list of topics:

4 Let’s talk — communication, language, accents and dialects. I guess this is the most relevant topic for the future intercultural communicators. I’m personally eager to learning how to identify accents and what peculiarities it has just to understand them easily.
5 Bon Appetit! — food and drink, cooking. I’m not actually good at «food» topic because I’m not a fan of cuisine and cooking in general. But I think it’s a must to keep the conversation about it in English.
13 Just good friends? — relationships, family, marriage. I love making new friends and talking to different kinds of people. So I’m really interested in the question of acquaintance, bounds between people, responsibility to each other and so on.
14 All in a day’s work — work, business, commerce. Actually I’m curious to know the slang of white-collars 🙂 and to act a few contextual dialogues.
16 Look after yourself! — health, doctors, keeping fit. We all resort to doctors from time to time and I’ve had such an experience abroad. And that’s why, as for me, this topic is considered to be a must and should be included in our course. Just to be on the safe side.

Abramkina.Anna Sep 30, 2016

My personal list of topics consist of:
4 «Let`s talk» — this topic is very useful for us because it’s closely connected with our profession.
5 «Bon appeti!» — everyone likes to eat, but not all people know the names of food, products, and so on. This also applies to recipes and cooking.
9 «A learning curve» — this theme can help us in the future. We can be teachers and to know the educational terminology.
13 »Just good friends?» — friends, family is a necessary part of our lives. As a future professionals we need to know how to correct communicate.
16 »Look after yourself» — beauty and health is also required.Wherever we are going to go, each of us need to know the vocabulary of this topic.

sofyagotovchenko Sep 30, 2016

4. Let’s talk — communication, language, accents and dialects. This topic is really important and interesting for because, first of all, it connected with my study and also l want to improve my speaking skills and know more about different English dialects and accents.
5. Bon appetit! — food and cooking. So, l’m really foody person and l always try to taste something new when l came to other country. Moreover, I like to cook.
10. Mother nature — Faina and flora, the environment. I like nature and animals. I always try to recognize something new about it. Moreover, I think that the preservation of the environment is very important nowadays.
11. Another world — reading, books, enjoying literature. I don’t read a lot actually but l enjoy reading. Nevertheless, l think book are the greatest part of our life.
Look after yourself! — health, doctors, keeping fit. We all try to be healthy and to keep our fit but not always. I think this topic is very useful and will help us to take care about ourselves.

MargoN4 Oct 3, 2016

So the first topic is
«everyone is different» — our university course is based on intercultural communication in this topic will help us to find more about it
«Bon appétit»- cooking is my hobby and of course it would be very interesting for me
«Another world» — it is always pleasant to talk about literature
«Just good friends» — our future depends on our relationships with family and friends
«Look after yourself» — I want to know more about keeping fit.

30 September

Unit 7. Spending your money
In class:

REVISION: Your test results. Troubleshooting.
READING: Your Textbook. Ex.7.2 Money fit to launder
352016.jpg

READING AND WRITING: Read the article Bank of England planning to introduce plastic notes which last six times longer than paper. and write a brief summary (5-6 sentences) in your notebook.
VOCABULARY: Word use — ex 7.1 B
TEXTBOOK 7.1.A — a warm-up talk

READING: Read the article below:
Study shows money makes us worry

A new study from the BBC shows that looking after money isn’t easy. Over 109,000 people took part in the BBC’s Big Money Test. It was one of the biggest ever studies on money psychology. One of the biggest findings is that money makes many people feel bad. Researchers say over 40 per cent of us always worry about spending money; a third of us constantly worry about money; and the same percentage feel guilty when spending money on themselves. The study found that women like to go shopping to make themselves feel better about life, while men are more likely to save their cash. Women are more generous with their money and are also more likely to suffer from money problems.

The researchers also looked at ways shops try and make us spend our money. It showed how stores are continually looking at new ways to make us buy things on impulse. It asks why candies and chocolate are always by the checkout in supermarkets; why «everyday essentials like bread and milk are at the back of the shop so you have to walk through as many aisles as possible to reach them;» and why the perfume and jewellery sections are always at the front of a department store. The test says that buying things on impulse can be bad for our finances: «People who bought goods impulsively were three times more likely to go bankrupt, and four times more likely to run out of money by the end of the week.»

Source: /www.bbc.co.uk/science/0/21360144

DISCUSSION: (be ready to justify your answers providing the examples from your own experience)

  1. How do shops make us buy things?
  2. Do you always believe adverts that tell us why we need something?
  3. What things have you bought on impulse? Were you happy after?
  4. Have you ever bought something and felt guilty?
  5. Do you need everything you buy?
  6. How does shopping make you feel?

NG

1406967600848-sfbshopping-animated-2.gif

VOCABULARY: What are the english equivalents of the following vocabulary items:
КАССА, КАССИР, СЧИТАТЬ КОД ТОВАРА, ПРОДАВЕЦ, ПОКУПАТЕЛЬ, БУМАЖНИК, ОЧЕРЕДЬ, СТОЯТЬ В ОЧЕРЕДИ, ВЛЕЗТЬ БЕЗ ОЧЕРЕДИ, ПРИЛАВОК, ВИТРИНА, ПРИМЕРОЧНАЯ, ПРИМЕРИТЬ, ТЕЛЕЖКА, ТОВАР, ЦЕННИК, ЧЕК, ВЫПИСАТЬ ЧЕК, РАСПРОДАЖА, ДАТЬ СКИДКУ, ПЛАТИТЬ НАЛИЧНЫМИ, ЗАМЕНИТЬ ТОВАР, ВОЗВРАТИТЬ ТОВАР, БРАКОВАННЫЙ ТОВАР, ПОЛУЧИТЬ ДЕНЬГИ НАЗАД, УНИВЕРСАМ, УНИВЕРМАГ, ТОРГОВЫЙ ЦЕНТР, БЛОШИНЫЙ РЫНОК, СПЕЦИАЛЬНОЕ ПРЕДЛОЖЕНИЕ, СПИСОК ПОКУПОК, «МАГАЗИННАЯ ТЕРАПИЯ», БАНКОМАТ, РАЗГЛЯДЫВАНИЕ ВИТРИН

CASH REGISTER/ TILL/DESK, CASHIER, TO READ BARCODE, SHOP ASSISTANT, CUSTOMER, PURSE, QUEUE/LINE, TO QUEUE UP, TO JUMP THE QUEUE, COUNTER/SHOP BOARD, SHOPWINDOW, CHANGING/FITTING ROOM, TO TRY ON, TROLLEY/CART, GOODS/ MERCHANDISE/ARTICLE , PRICE TAG, RECEIPT, MAKE A CHEQUE, WRITE OUT A CHEQUE, SAIL, GIVE A DISCOUNT, TO REPLACE/EXCHANGE, TO RETURN, TO GET MONEY BACK, FAULTY STUFF, TO PAY CASH, SUPERMARKET, DEPARTMENT STORE, SHOPPING MALL, FLEA MARKET, SPECIAL OFFER, SHOPPING LIST, RETAIL THERAPY, ATM/HOLE IN THE WALL, CONVERSATION

PRACTICE:
In just 5 minutes make up a short funny dialogue making use of at least 10 words or words combinations from the list above.

October 2016

4-7 October

Unit 7. Spending your money

Attendance: Сидорова София,Усманова Нила,Абрамкина Анна, Абрамова Ная,Магомедова Амина

In class:

  • WRITING: summary of the article check
  • VOCABULARY: Money
  • WATCHING: video — Money and Shopping. Discussion
  • WATCHING: Shoplifters — who they are and how we should deal with them.
  • WATCHING: Shopping. Pretty woman
  • Students’ presentations on «Money and shopping» «Luxury Lifestyle» etc.
  • READING: «From Helen Fielding’s B. Jones’s Diary»
  • DISCUSSION: «Retail Therapy»
  • «Money talks», «Bills» etc.

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
«The man who lives without money» Read and answer the questions

14 October

Unit 7. Spending your money

Attendance: София, Маргарита, Наина, Софья, Мадина, Аня, Амина, Нила
In class:
A) Revising the material you have covered:
Speaker 1: My 7 favorite set-phrases about MONEY (Use them in the appropriate context)
Speaker 2: Shoplifters — who they are and how we should deal with them.
Speaker 3: Describe the problems that the Pretty Woman has when she first went shopping? How did she resolve them later?
Speaker 4: Sum up Bridget Jones’s views on X-mas Shopping
Speaker 5: Speak about RETAIL THERAPY
Speaker 6: Speak about plastic money, its pros and cons.
Speaker 7: Speak about the effective ways of controlling your spending — paying the bills, planning your purchases, etc.
Speaker 8: Things you cannot buy, do they exist? Give your reasons.

B) Listening: MONEY ADVICE
money_advice1.jpg
Money_Advice2.jpg

C) VOCABULARY:

Money_Vocab.PNG

D) THE MAN WHO LIVES WITHOUT MONEY

 The man who lives without money.docx
Download (48 KB)

E) MONEY VOCABULARY QUIZ
https://ru.surveymonkey.com/r/QW2F87J

F) READING. O’Henry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJUhnVSQ0ek

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
Write a RESPONSE ESSAY 250-300 words — ( See the guidelines HERE) to describe your attitude to one of O’Henry’s stories.

18 October

Unit 7. Spending your money

IN CLASS:

QUIZ RESULTS: See NEWS-BOARD
DISCUSSION: your RESPONSE ESSAY 250-300 words ( See the guidelines HERE) to describe your attitude to one of O’Henry’s stories.

Learning to meet the requirements of your task. Do you have an idea of what a DEADLINE is?
 экрана 2016-10-18 в 1.46.52.png

IT SKILLS: A short tutorial on how to upload your essays on our site.

DISCUSSION: STUDENTS’ EXPENSES AROUND THE WORLD
1) Students’ expenses in Canada

2) COST OF LIVING IN KOREA | Exchange student

3) PERTH’S COST OF LIVING: What our students say

5) The cost of living and student residence life in Lund

6) The cost of Living in JAPAN

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
Edit and upload your essays on STUDENTS’ PAPERS page
Study and solve SHOP TILL YOU DROP QUIZ

ATTENTION! Those who cannot open the quiz — please contact me ASAP! JL

25 October

UNIT 16. Look after yourself

IN CLASS

LISTENING: Doctor Doctor Jokes

READING FOR VOCABULARY
Examination Fever
For most of the year, most of us had been allergic to work; apparently there had been a history of such allergies in the school.Throughout the spring there had been quite a few cases of ‘Exams are stupid’, which proved highly contagious among friends.Then in late May, one or two of us suffered a mild attack of ‘Gosh, is it really next month?’ and we seemed to give that to the others rather rapidly. You could tell how it was spreading from improved attendance at lessons. An even more serious outbreak was that of the very infectious ‘I don’t know a thing’ two weeks before. At about the same time everyone seemed to catch ‘You’re no good!’ from the teachers. Then there was about “don’t really care” followed by a few chronic casesof ‘My parents will kill me’. This again proved very catching; half the class was down with it in the week leading up to the exam itself, and it had reached epidemic proportions by the Friday before.By this time, those who had been suffering from ‘It’ll be easy for me’ had made a total recovery. That Friday there was a ‘What if I’m suffering from amnesia?’ scare, and this had developed by Monday into a touch of I can’t even remember my own name’.There were also, of course, the normal isolated cases of ‘My pen doesn’t work’ and several pupils had a sudden fit of ‘Where’s the toilet?’ Afterwards there were a couple of complaints of I know I’ve failed’, but generally the worst seemed to be over. Such diseases are rarely terminal!

SICK.GIF

READING Unit 16.1 A B — be ready to read, translate and discuss the text16 C D vocabualry work (consult the dictionary)

HOME ASSIGNMENT
A) LISTENING AND WRITING: In your notebook, write the answer to the following questions
1) What can you say about the patient judging by her looks? 2) Describe the examination the doctor has given her. Look up the words in the dictionary if necessary!3) What health problems did he discover? 4) Why did the doctor finally run away in horror?
B) VOCABULARY: Learn the words and expressions from the text in Unit 16.1 A B — be ready to read, translate and discuss the text

28 October

UNIT 16. Look after yourself

IN CLASS

A) VOCABULARY: Word game, define the words (Unit 16, pp 169-170) : ALLERGY, AGORAPHOBIA, ANAESTHETIC, THERAPY, GP, QUACK, STRESS, TO FAINT, WOUND, INJECTION, CONTAGIOUS, PAIN-KILLER, PREVENTIVE MEDICINE, AFTER CARE, PILLS, GET WELL, INFLAMMATION, FRACTURE, FRINGE MEDICINE.

 экрана 2016-10-28 в 0.27.47.png

B) LISTENING: A visit to doctor

 

  1. Listen for general info and some details:

 

  1. 1. What sort of health problem does the patient have?
  2. 2. When was the patient injured?
  3. 3. What was the patient doing when he supposedly got his injury?
  4. 4. What sort of treatment does the doctor have in mind?
  5. 5. Do you think the patient has got a serious health problem? Justify your opinion.
  6. 6. Does the doctor appear to be sympathetic/unsympathetic/helpful?

 

  1. Listen again and find the words and expressions which correspond to the following:

 

  • Думал полегчает, а стало хуже
  • Думаю, ребро сломал…
  • Ну, и что Вас беспокоит?
  • Принимать болеутоляющие средства
  • Само пройдет!
  • Сделать рентген
  • Сильно болит, правда!
  • У меня ужасно болит…

C) SPEAKING: Using the words and expressions given above, make short dialogues describing your own visits to doctors.

D) LISTENING AND WRITING:

In your notebook, write the answer to the following questions
1) What can you say about the patient judging by her looks? 2) Describe the examination the doctor has given her. Look up the words in the dictionary if necessary!3) What health problems did he discover? 4) Why did the doctor finally run away in horror?

E) READING: SELF-HEALING — MYTH OR REALITY?
HOME ASSIGNMENT

  1. Learn the key vocabulary
  2. Listen to the extract from Jerome K.Jerome’s «Three men in a boat» UP TO min. 7.44 (!!!) and be ready to retell it.

November 2016

1 November

UNIT 16. Look after yourself

IN CLASS
DISCUSSION: the extract from Jerome K.Jerome’s «Three men in a boat» about the hypochondriacal man.
SICK.GIF

  1. Try to enumerate as many illnesses and diseases as possible of those mentioned in the text. What parts of his body were out of order?
  2. What symptoms did the writer have?
  3. Why did he decide that he was an interesting case for medical students?
  4. Describe his self-examination.
  5. Describe his conversation with his medical man.
  6. Why did the chemist send him off with the doctor’s prescription?
  7. Why are some people hyper-sensitive to their own illnesses?
  8. In your opinion, can self-examination and self-treatment do you any good?

LISTENING Phobia Workshop

VOCABULARY
phobias.jpg

READING. Read the extract from the article
Why Shrinks Have Problems? — and answer the question posed in the title.

«…In 1899 Sigmund Freud got a new telephone number: 14362. He was 43 at the time, and he was profoundly disturbed by the digits in the new number. He believed they signified that he would die at age 61 (note the one and six surrounding the 43) or, at best, at age 62 (the last two digits in the number). He clung, painfully, to this bizarre belief for many years. Presumably he was forced to revise his estimate on his 63rd birthday, but he was haunted by other superstitions until the day he died—by assisted suicide, no less—at the ripe old age of 83. That’s just for starters. Freud also had frequent blackouts. He refused to quit smoking even after 30 operations to correct the extensive damage he suffered from cancer of the jaw. He was a self-proclaimed neurotic. He suffered from a mild form of agoraphobia. And, for a time, he had a serious cocaine problem.
Neuroses? Superstitions? Substance abuse? Blackouts? And suicide? So much for the father of psychoanalysis. But are these problems typical for psychologists? How are Freud’s successors doing? Or, to put the question another way: Are shrinks really «crazy»?»
When, years ago, my mom told me that her one and only session with a psychotherapist had been disappointing because «the guy was obviously much crazier than I was,» I assumed, or at least hoped, that she was joking. Mental healthprofessionals have access to special tools and techniques to help themselves, right?
Sure, Freud was peculiar, and, yes, I’d heard that Jung had had a nervous breakdown. But I’d always assumed that—rumors to the contrary notwithstanding;—mental health professionals were probably fairly healthy.
Turns out I was wrong.»

LISTENING Is Freud a fraud — See your textbook.
nervous.gif

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
Write an essay: Can a psychiatrist (or psychoanalyst or psychotherapist) help someone with their problems? Express your own opinion!

8 November

UNIT 16. Look after yourself

IN CLASS

WARM-UP: More Doctor-Doctor Jokes
I'mUgly.jpeg

VOCABULARY:
Study the ‘case history’ below:
— You’re in perfect health! You are as fit as a fiddle. There’s nothing wrong with you.-
— I feel a bit off-color. I am rather under the weather. I do feel funny. I really don’t feel well. I think I’m sickening for something. I feel feverish!
— He’s been taken ill. He’s in a coma. He is fighting for his life. He is still in a very critical condition. He still hasn’t regained consciousness!
— He’s no better … he’s getting worse … his condition is deteriorating … he’s getting weaker … he’s slipping away … his life is hanging by a thread … it’s just a matter of time … he could go at any second!’
— He is s responding to treatment… off the danger listmaking progress … his condition is satisfactory … he’s come out of the coma…. he’s turned the corner … he’s on the mend.’
— We all wish you a speedy recoveryGet well soon … We’re glad you’re over it!
— The worst is over … he’s almost completely recovered … he’s practically cured … he’s coming along nicely … he’ll be on his feet again soon …
— He has made a miraculous recovery … he’s as good as new …he’ll live till he’s a hundred!

graphics-medical-medicine-916677.gif

DISCUSSION: Watch the movie scene about shrinks. Why do people laugh at psychotherapists?

DISCUSSION: Feedback on students’ essays

HOME ASSIGNMENT

Find a news story related to contemporary health and illnesses issues. Bring it in class and be ready to present it in front of other students. The ‘audience’ will not be idle and your group-mates will come up with questions based on what they hear.

SAMPLE STORIES:
Calls for Daylight Saving Time to be scrapped (7th November, 2016)

Broccoli and avocado slow down aging (1st November, 2016)

Internet addiction sign of mental health problems (21st September, 2016)

11 November

UNIT 16. Look after yourself

IN CLASS

SPEECH PRACTICE: Presenting the news stories related to contemporary health and illnesses issues.
Health care News - обложка

 

 

 

 

DUBBING A MOVIE SCENE:
Jeff Peters as a personal magnet — Meet Dr. Waugh-hoo!

лексический тест

VOCABULARY: Health and lines test.

 health_and_Illness_QUIZ.docx
Download (45 KB)

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
UNIT 9. EDUCATION
READING:
BillGates_onEducation.JPG

ex.9.1.C and D

Do the first TWO pages of the CHEATS study pack

 Cheating__StudyPack.docx
Download (114 KB)
15 November

UNIT 9. EDUCATION
IN CLASS

DISCUSSION: Your test results

READING: Bill Gates on School values.
BillGates_onEducation.JPG

LiSTENING: Listen to the three people remembering their school days and fill the gaps in ex 9.1 p 96 of your textbook

DISCUSSION: Did you have any similar experiences at school?
What is the point of going to school? What should the aims of education be?

IS INTERNET CHEATING R-R-REALLY CUTE?!

cheating_1.jpg

SCHOOL CHEATS FIND THE WEB’S THE WAY
STUDENTS are not only getting music from the Internet — they’re downloading good grades. An ENQUIRER investigation discovered an explosion in cheating and plagiarism — made possible by outrageous Web sites. It’s as easy as punching a couple of keyboard buttons to summon up ready-made term papers, research projects and other information from Web sites that have such brazen names as Schoolsucks.com and CheatHouse.com. And if you don’t find the paper you like in their huge files, you can pay scholars-for-hire to write one for you.
The cheating is so rampant, say experts that the «three Rs» are becoming Reading, ‘Ritin’ and Rip-off, The research done by the nonprofit Center for Academic Integrity shows that Internet plagiarism is a growing national concern. The survey show that over 75 percent of all students admit to cheating on some level. Students who are caught often say their lives are so busy with extracurricular activities — they plagiarize to save time. When a student gets caught, typically, they’ll say, ‘Why don’t you worry about something that really matters? It’s the American way…’
The Enquirer’s investigation found there are thousands of «term papers for sale» sites on the Internet. For example, CheatHouse.com boasts more than 10,000 essays for sale. Its creator Jens Schriver distances himself from matters of integrity. «I provide a service not too different from that of that of a library» he rationalizes — «It can be used legitimately, to do research and get inspired». Another site Schoolsucks.com features such ‘elegant touches’ as chat rooms that can be accessed by clicking on a button that says, ‘I hereby agree school sucks’.
A university professor, who asked that his identity be protected, claims: ‘Basically, lying is the part of our culture. Some members of our society are lying and using marketing spins to get away with it, so today’s student thinks: ‘Other people get away with it, so why shouldn’t I?’
On the other hand, the faculty are often reluctant to pursue suspicions of plagiarism. This can be explained by various reasons – from not wanting to spend the time and effort to not feeling supported by the academic system. Professors are even sometimes fearful that it could badly affect their relations with the audience.
The need for a deterrent to student cheating became so pressing that a special Web site was created — called Turnitin.com which uses Web-crawling robots to search the Internet for proof of plagiarism. This site can be accessed by educators who want to check on a suspicious term paper. If a student knows that his term paper will be compared by a room full of computers to over two billion pages from the Internet, then he will probably be motivated to write his own.

What’s the English for:

  1. студенты —
  2. преподаватели —
  3. профессорско-преподавательский состав университета —
  4. оценки –
  5. готовиться к экзамену —
  6. сдаватьэкзамены –
  7. сдать экзамен –
  8. принимать экзамены –
  9. студент-отличник —
  10. жульничать, шпаргалить
  11. списывать

Words Words Words

I. Find in the article the English equivalents for the following:

  1. проблема государственного значения
  2. мошенничество, плагиат; недобросовестная компиляция
  3. признаться в использовании шпаргалок
  4. делать что-л. с неохотой
  5. откреститься от чего-то
  6. честность, порядочность
  7. заниматься исследованиями
  8. получить стимул
  9. использоваться на законных основаниях
  10. избежать наказания

II. Can you explain the following in English?

  1. plagiarism
  2. scholars-for-hire
  3. three R’s (сокр. от reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmetic)
  4. extracurricular activities
  5. the faculty

Did you get it right?

  1. What sort of sites for students has recently appeared in the WWW?
  2. How do students account for their cheating?
  3. Why are university professors unwilling to pursue students for cheating?
  4. What do students usually say when they get caught while cheating?
  5. What is the position of the «term papers for sale” site-owners?
  6. Do you agree that lying is a part of human nature? Justify your point of view.
  7. What measures have been taken against students cheating through the Internet?

Let’s Talk!

  • Do you know that cheating is considered shameful in western school system? Moreover, it is a crime and cheating students can be expelled. Do you find it strange or amusing?
  • What is the current situation with cheating and plagiarism in Russian educational system?

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
1) Learn the vocabulary of lesson on CHEATING
2) Render the following newspaper article into English
В последнее время использование студентами и школьниками Интернета для написания сочинений и курсовых работ становится проблемой государственного масштаба. Проблема в том, что школяры не хотят писать работы самостоятельно, а, жалуясь на загруженность после занятий и нехватку времени, «сгружают» уже готовые работы со специальных интернетовских сайтов. Молодые люди с готовностью сознаются в такого рода жульничестве, не боясь, что на них ляжет клеймо позора. Так что теперь студенты-отличники могут получить кое-что помимо хороших оценок, став на время «наемной интеллектуальной силой» для тех, кто с неохотой садится за домашнюю работу. Специалисты утверждают, что, расцветая пышным цветом такая практика подрывает азы образования. А вот преподаватели в основном предпочитают откреститься от этой проблемы(вероятно, не хотят тратить силы и время на ее решение), и тем самым помогают обманщикам избежать наказания. Создатели сайтов с работами на продажу гордятся своими творениями, сравнивая их с электронными библиотеками. Однако их сайты нельзя назвать некоммерческими — всего одна страничка подложной курсовой обойдется лентяям в восемь долларов. Вот еще один хрестоматийный пример того, что нравственность и честность в наше время серьезно сдают позиции.
Как же удержать студентов от списывания, плагиата и недобросовестной компиляции? И стоит ли это делать? Пишите нам, если есть идеи!
3) ON CHEATING AGAIN! Translate the following into Russian in WRITING.

Описание: PC user

More and more students are plagiarising material — and buying essays online, a BBC investigationsuggests.
The boss of a firm selling coursework to students has admitted that his work «undermines the whole education system». He sells between 500 and 1,000 essays a week, mainly to overseas students studying in the UK. Prices start at £50. He explains: «They don’t want to study anyway, so basically if I wasn’t doing their work for them they’d probably be kicked off the course anyway and mummy and daddy wouldn’t be very happy.»
Our expert in plagiarism prevention, says an American study found 43% of students cutting and pasting material from the internet without references to sources. Such services are being used by British students to cheat. One student was recently expelled from a leading university after downloading his entire first-year coursework from an American website.
Many universities have tried to solve the problem by using software which detects work which has been copied from the web or from academic journals. However the software won’t detect work that is written for the student by a scholar-for hire. The BBC investigation also discovered that even if plagiarism is detected, some academic authorities can be reluctant to do anything about it.

18 November

UNIT 9. EDUCATION
IN CLASS

BREAKING NEWS. Finland has world’s best education system
1. EDUCATION & SCHOOLS: Talk to other students about education & schools. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.
report / world education / learning curve / statistics / literacy rates / attendance / leaders / spending lots of money / good teachers / technicians / the future / job titles
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. EDUCATION: How can we make it better? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

Improvements What’s wrong now? How to make it / them better?
Classrooms    
Technology    
Subjects    
Teachers    
Exams    
Hours / Days    

4. BATTLE: Students A strongly believe education will get better in the future; Students B strongly believe not.
5. SUBJECTS: What’s the best thing for today’s students to study? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • environmentalism
  • community relations
  • •English

• health and sports
• single-family farming • religious education
• maths
• software programming
6. LEARNING: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘learning’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

READING 1: THE ARTICLE

From http://www.BreakingNewsEnglish.com/1211/121129-education.html

A new report into world education shows Finland has the best system. The global study is called «The Learning Curve» and is from the British magazine «The Economist». It aims to help governments provide a better education to students. The 52-page report looked at the education system in 50 countries. Researchers analysed millions of statistics on exam grades, literacy rates, attendance, and university graduation rates. Asia did well in the report, with South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore finishing second, third, fourth and fifth. The United States came 17th in the study, while Mexico, Brazil and Indonesia filled the bottom three positions in the top 50.
The Learning Curve reported on five things that education leaders should remember. The first is that spending lots of money on schools and teachers does not always mean students will learn. Second is that «good teachers are essential to high-quality education«. The report said teachers should be «treated as the valuable professionals they are, not as technicians in a huge, educational machine». Numbers three and four are that a country’s culture must have a strong focus on the importance of education, and parents have a key part to play. Finally, countries need to «educate for the future, not just the present.» The report said: «Many of today’s job titles…simply did not exist 20 years ago.»

READING 2:

Why Are Finland’s Schools Succesfull?
15 Reasons Reformers Are Looking to Finland
Download the article HERE:

 Education Reforms.docx
Download (35 KB)

I. Pre-reading 1
Look at the headline of the article: Finland’s schools are so successful that reformers are looking to Finland’s educational system. What do you think can be a measure of a school’s success? Give some examples and discuss the given:

  1. 1. The number of graduates per year
  2. 2. The quality of graduates’s education
  3. 3. The students’s opinion of the schools

II. Pre-reading 2
Which of the countries do you think has the most effective educational system: Russia, Finland, Great Britain or USA? Justify your opinion.

III. Key Words
Fill in the gaps to associate words and expressions with their definitions.
learning-related issues to assign homework an equal collocation of resourses
tuition fees national curriculum knowledge-based economy an academic prowess
a controversial issue educational potential

  1. 1. A concept of a state’s economy, dwelling not on the amount of natural resourses and human labour involved, but on usage of progressive production techniques and high-qualified specialists.
  2. 2. A remarkable student’s capability and educational achievments.
  3. 3. A complex of topics and skills that should be taught within the educational process, approved by the government.
  4. 4. Handicaps, diseases, personal views, sensibilities etc., rendering a person requiring specific conditions for education.
  5. 5. A concept of distributing money, industry-specific materials etc. among all involved sides in such a way that no one gets less or more than another.
  6. 6. To give a student special task to be worked through and prepared at home in order to support the educational process, conducted in class.
  7. 7. An ability of a country to provide citizens with a specified level of education.
  8. 8. A problem, subject etc., absorbing a variety of different opinions around it and causing a lot of disagreement and debate.
  9. 9. The money charged by educational institutions to assist with funding of staff and faculty, course offerings, lab equipment, computer systems, libraries, facility upkeep and to provide a comfortable student learning experience. __

IV. Scanning for information
Which of the following can be referred to the US or Finland’s school system?

  1. 1. managed to get to the top of international rankings
  2. 2. uses a strictly outlined curriculum
  3. 3. shows mediocre performance
  4. 4. encourages creative thinking
  5. 5. uses a set of broad guidelines
  6. 6. is obsessed with standardized tests

V. General understanding
Match the beginnings and endings of these sentences.

1. There is no doubt that American educational system a. to learn simply for learning’s sake.
2. Many see Finland’s educational system b. teach how to live, learn and find your passion.
3. Finnish students are encouraged c. provide on-site counselling and guidance.
4. The first years of education should d. is in need of reform.
5. As requiried by law, every school must e. as a promising model.

VI. Vocabulary development. Synonyms
Match the words and expressions with the same meanings in the tables.

1. to motivate a. a serious, obvious difference
2. to capitalize on sth b. second rate, less than average
3. a stark contrast c. showing a great deal of variety, very different
4. at the heart of d. to gain advantage from
5. an aversion e. a marked effect or influence
6. a woe f. a strong dislike, a hatred
7. diverse g. a problem, a trouble
8. mediocre h. In the center of attention, at the core of
9. to emulate i. to encourage
10. lasting impact on j. to reproduce, to copy

VII. Discussion

  1. 1. What does the educational model in your country more look like?
  2. 2. Is teaching a respected and prestigious profession in your country?
  3. 3. Do students in your country have much free time?
  4. 4. Does everyone have similar educational opportunities in your country?
  5. 5. What reforms do you think should be applied to the educational system of your country and how can they be perpetrated?
22 November

UNIT 9. EDUCATION
IN CLASS
Watch the video and write a 300-word RESPONSE ESSAY *.
Pink Floyd — Another Brick In The Wall (We don’t need no education)

* RESPONSE PAPERS are usually requested by teachers so that you’ll consider carefully what you think or feel about something you’ve read/watched. The following guidelines are intended to be used for reacting to a reading although they could easily be used for reactions to films too. A good response is persuasive; therefore, it should cite facts, examples, and personal experience that either refutes or supports the material you’re responding to, depending on your stance. The following questions might help you to structure your paper:

  • How do you feel about what you are reading?
  • What do you agree or disagree with?
  • Can you identify with the situation?
  • What would be the best way to evaluate the story?

Unlike a summary, a response is a subjective opinion about the piece and, as such, can include opinions and personal experiences as long as they are supported. The key to writing a good response is to always be specific and support all points made.

Mr Bean — The Exam Cheat

StudySkills_ClassContract.png
Discipine.png

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
Article «What colleges will teach in 2025»

 Article_Education_in_2025.docx
Download (50 KB)
25 November

UNIT 9. EDUCATION

iN CLASS:

DISCUSSION: What Colleges Will Teach in 2025

 Article_Education_in_2025.docx
Download (50 KB)

Pre-reading discussion 1
Which do you think is more important: giving students general information expected of all educated individuals or giving them area-specific knowledge necessary for their future careers?
Pre-reading discussion 2
Answer the following questions to the best of your knowledge:
1) Who is the current Minister of Finance in Russia?
2) Name three Russian Nobel prize winners
3) What year was the twentieth KPSS meeting?
Did you answer all of them? If not, is it a particularly bad thing? Is general knowledge like that important?
Key words
Liberal arts /K-12 /impetus /alumni/ key credential /grade-point average /core curriculum /the great books / cognitive /gain /graduate earnings
1) Used to describe primary education up to the point of college
2) Most commonly required qualification
3) An estimate of an average salary of university graduates
4) A clear and calculable progress of one’s mind
5) A set of literary works perceived as essential classics
6) Social sciences and the humanities
7) A basic general knowledge university course
8) A means of measuring a student’s success in the American system of education
9) Graduates of a particular institution
10) A moving force, a stimulus

Scanning for information

1 What is the percentage of students not knowing who the Chief Justice is? A
2 How many hours per week did full-time students dedicate to schoolwork in 2003? B
3 When did the battle of Appomatox happen? C
4 How many colleges is CLA+ to be administered to? D
5 Which university is the author of the article a visiting faculty member at? E

General understanding
Match the beginnings and the ends of these sentences.

1 More and more students A give employers a more reliable way of picking candidates
2 Exit exams could B contemplate the usefulness of a university program
3 Most traditionalists C have trouble finding qualified graduates
4 Many employers currently D aims to ensure graduates’ success
5 Council for aid to Education E insist that core knowledge is essential

Vocabulary development: Synonyms

 экрана 2016-11-28 в 21.58.48.png

Discussion
1 Are exit exams a good idea?
2 Should there be drastic changes in the American system of education?
3 Do you take the traditional approach or would you rather switch to a more modern view?
4 Do you think this article provides an accurate depiction of the situation?
5 How do you think the situation will change in your country in the near future?

TRANSLATION AND DISCUSSION:
СЕМЬЯ И ШКОЛА
Петербургские социологи пришли к шокирующим выводам, выясняя, какие факторы в семье и в окружении ребенка больше всего влияют на его успеваемость.
Эксперты международных сравнительных исследований PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) и TIMSS (Trends in Mathematics and Science Study) утверждают, что «Дети из семей с более высоким семейным культурным капиталом демонстрируют более высокие образовательные результаты».
Однако группа социологов под руководством Ольги Сачавы, кандидата филологических наук, магистранта программы «Управление образованием» Высшей школы экономики (Санкт-Петербург), первыми же результатами опровергла мнение о зависимости успеваемости ребенка как от уровня культуры, так и от доходов семьи.
Оказывается, ни уровень культуры, ни бытовой комфорт, ни количество книг на полках, ни наличие денег на услуги репетиторов, ни даже пьянство одного из родителей не влияют напрямую на успеваемость ребенка.
Гораздо большее влияние на успехи в школе имеют … общение с бабушками и дедушками, ценности семьи, семейные праздники, личная удовлетворенность и профессиональная самореализация родителей.
Исследователи были потрясены тем, что важными оказались факторы, на которые прежде никто не обращал внимания.
Оказывается, 50% отличников и хорошистов живут в одной квартире с бабушками и дедушками. Причем неважно, где при этом дети готовят уроки — на кухонном столе или на письменном. Так же неважно, живут они в коммунальных квартирах или отдельных: в не очень благополучных коммунальных квартирах, которых в старых районах Петербурга до сих пор остается немало, троечники и отличники живут в равных долях.
Однако 40% троечников при этом вообще не встречаются с бабушками и дедушками.
В семьях 73% отличников дома хранится более 200 книг, но 75% семей троечников тоже заявили, что их семейная библиотека состоит из 100 книг.
Семьи 5% отличников и 6% троечников владели большими библиотеками.
В малообеспеченных семьях с доходом до 5000 руб в месяц на человека оказалось больше отличников, чем троечников. Из этих семей вышли 26% всех троечников и… 30% всех отличников!
Почти одинаковое количество отличников и троечников — 25% и 21% соответственно — выходят из семей с доходом более 20 000 рублей на каждого члена семьи.
Зато очевидно большее число хорошистов и отличников — 67% в начальной и 73% в средней школе — живут в семьях, где всегда отмечаются семейные праздники. В семьях большинства троечников семейные праздники отмечаются редко или не отмечаются совсем.
Социологи увидели стойкую закономерность: чем выше доход семьи и чем ниже культура семейных праздников, тем ниже оценки ребенка. И наоборот: чем выше культура семейных праздников по отношению к доходам семьи (средним или даже низким) тем выше успеваемость школьника!
Услуги репетиторов, курсов, суммы вложенных в них денег не приносят результатов в виде хороших оценок, если при этом отсутствует полноценное общение родителей и ребенка в семье.
Интересный факт, что 56 % родителей отличников и хорошистов работают, по их словам, для самореализации, причем получая удовлетворение от своей профессиональной деятельности. Что касается троечников, то их родители, по их собственным словам, в 80% работают «ради денег».
Исследователи также выяснили, что вопреки бытующему мнению, сам по себе факт пьянства родителей не является определяющим для плохой учебы. Однако, если родители находят в себе силы признать проблему и стараться работать над ней, это влияет положительно на успеваемость ребенка.
«На школьные успехи ребенка на всех ступенях обучения напрямую влияют ценности его семьи, – считает Ольга Сачава. – Чем важнее для взрослых отношения внутри их семьи, чем большую ценность представляет для родителей школьника семейная жизнь (в том числе отношения со старшими родственниками), чем больше внимания родители уделяют построению внутрисемейных связей, тем выше школьные оценки их ребенка. Грамотно выстроенные внутрисемейные связи свидетельствуют о психологической компетентности родителей. Поэтому их можно назвать ключевым фактором, определяющим успеваемость ребенка».
И еще одна удивительная закономерность: чем более довольны жизнью родители, причем независимо от материального уровня, тем успешнее в учебе их дети.
Так что общайтесь с родственниками, организуйте дома праздники, любите свою работу, с радостью принимайте свою жизнь, такой как она есть, и ваши дети будут хорошо учиться!

READING AND DISCUSSION

Should You be Facebook Friends with Your Teachers?

The impact of the Facebook craze has swept across the high-school population. But now, the growing popularity of this social networking site has spread beyond the student level: teachers are now becoming “friends” with students on Facebook. This method of communication can be useful in many ways. Teachers can now post class notes onto the site, allowing students who have missed class to easily catch up on course material. As well, shy students no longer have to raise trembling hands and stammer out questions in front of the whole class to receive help. Besides providing academic support, the social networking site also allows teachers to notify students of meetings and practices for clubs and sports teams.
However, behind this convenience hides a somewhat sticky issue. Since users can view photos and other personal content related to their “friends,” it is now possible for students to poke their nose into the private lives of their teachers and vice versa. This of course raises the question: “When does this access to information become inappropriate?”
Many teachers prefer to stay away from this ticking moral time bomb. They claim that Facebook does expose both teachers and students to fairly significant risk when it comes to respecting the boundaries between educator and student. Teachers that would never take a child to lunch or offer to drive a student home may not hesitate to add a student as a “friend” on Facebook, exposing the student to personal information never shared in a classroom setting.
And teachers are not the only ones who are having second thoughts on the issue. Students are equally nervous about teachers having access to their Facebook walls. After all, it may not be a good idea to allow your math teacher to read your rants about the uselessness of trigonometry! Most students agree that after graduation, these “online friendships” are no longer a sensitive issue.
In the end, the choice of whether or not to offer or accept a friend request is due to the individual student and teacher. However, just to be safe, it is probably best to save those friend requests for your favourite teachers until after graduation.

Sum up the content of the article and be ready to discuss the following:

  1. How are the issues of privacy related to communication in social networks?
  2. In your opinion, should teacher-student relations be regulated in some way? How?
28 November

UNIT 9. EDUCATION
IN CLASS
education-teaching-english-teacher-new_english_teacher-school-teaching-ear0728_low-2.jpg
REVISION:

  1. What issues concerned with the topic «Education» do you consider to be most urgent? Why?
  2. What new dimentions of this topic have you discovered recently?
  3. What is wrong with the current educational system in your country? What improvements can be made?
  4. Which do you think is more important: giving students general information expected of all educated individuals or giving them area-specific knowledge necessary for their future careers? What are the most important subject areas for students to study? Justify your choice.
  5. What makes Finland’s schools so successful? Outline the main principles of the educational system of Finland.
  6. What duties should go in a class contract? What is the teacher’s/students’ contribution to an effective class?
  7. In your opinion, what are the effective methods of maintaining discipline at school? Is discipline an issue at higher educational institutions?
  8. Should you be Facebook friends with your teachers? Why? Why not?
  9. Speak on issues concerned with integrity and plagiarism in educational institutions. Outline the general vies of the faculty/students on the subject. Give examples.

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WRITING: The feedback on your essays

HOME ASSIGNMENT:

CREATIVITY

Creativity is about turning new ideas into reality. It involves two steps: thinking of an idea and then creating it. If you have ideas but don’t create them, you are imaginative but not creative. There are many different ways people express creativity. It can be expressed through art, cooking, designing, fashion, architecture, and business ideas and inventions. The world would be a very boring place without creativity.
Watch the videos and write down their contents IN DETAIL:
Key expressions:

  1. o face/experience challenges
  2. mind-blowing facts
  3. to see how things evolve
  4. the inspirations comes from…
  5. passion for sth.
  6. to discover an amazing hidden world
  7. to find solutions to problems
  8. to have a meaningful outcome
  9. to be exciting
  10. it’s about=it means
  11. to push the world forward
  12. for the benefit of humankind

Key expressions:

  1. creative process
  2. sth is larger than yourself = too difficult
  3. to craft beauty
  4. to transcribe observations
  5. to read the reality differently
  6. to see something that others cannot
  7. to share it back
  8. there’s poetry in every moment

December 2016

2 December

CREATIVITY

IN CLASS:

creativity-takes-courage.jpg

WHAT IS CREATIVITY?
Creativity is about turning new ideas into reality. It involves two steps: thinking of an idea and then creating it. If you have ideas but don’t create them, you are imaginative but not creative. There are many different ways people express creativity. It can be expressed through art, cooking, designing, fashion, architecture, and business ideas and inventions. The world would be a very boring place without creativity.

Reproduce the contents of the following videos using the Key expressions:

    1. to face/experience challenges
    2. mind-blowing facts
    3. to see how things evolve
    4. the inspirations comes from…
    5. passion for sth.
    6. to discover an amazing hidden world
    7. to find solutions to problems
    8. to have a meaningful outcome
    9. to be exciting
    10. it’s about=it means
    11. to push the world forward
    12. for the benefit of humankind

Key expressions:

  1. creative process
  2. sth is larger than yourself = too difficult
  3. to craft beauty
  4. to transcribe observations
  5. to read the reality differently
  6. to see something that others cannot
  7. to share it back
  8. there’s poetry in every moment

Now, let’s talk about creativity. Make use of the following words:
Vocabulary

Nouns Adjectives Verbs
Imagination
Creativity
Inspiration
Innovation
Creation
Skill
Ability
Fresh (ideas)
Creative (ideas)
Innovative (ways)
Imaginative (ways)
Create
Solve
Imagine
Daydream
Invent
Experiment
Practice

Consider the following:

  • What does the word ‘creativity’ mean to you? Give your own definition
  • Who are some of history’s most creative people?
  • Do you know any creative people? In which ways are they creative?
  • Is creativity something people are born with?

 

  • Did you have a good imagination when you were a child? What creative activities did you do as a child?
  • What conditions does a person need in order to be creative?
  • Does the education system in your country encourage creativity? How?
  • Do you think it is good for people to daydream?
  • Can you think of a device that would make people’s life easier? Do you like the idea of Snoozatron?
  • Why is creativity important?
  • Are you good at thinking outside the box?
  • Are you a creative person? What is the most creative thing you have ever done?
  • How can creativity be fostered?

HOME ASSIGNMENT:

Learn the key-vocabulary.
Broaden your horizons and learn more about CREATIVITY!
Can you think of a device that would make people’s life easier? Do you like the idea of Snoozatron? Be ready to give your attitude on the video.
Be ready to discuss the concept of creativity

6 December

CREATIVITY

IN CLASS:
1) Academic routine: students papers re-written, essays unloaded on site, etc
2) VOCABULARY:
a) Short online quiz CREATIVITY
b) Study the KEY WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS:

 ActiveVocab-Creativity-2.docx
Download (122 KB)

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3) DISCUSSION:

  • What does the word ‘creativity’ mean to you? Give your own definition
  • Who are some of history’s most creative people?
  • Do you know any creative people? In which ways are they creative?
  • Is creativity something people are born with?
  • Did you have a good imagination when you were a child? What creative activities did you do as a child?
  • What conditions does a person need in order to be creative?
  • Does the education system in your country encourage creativity? How?
  • Do you think it is good for people to daydream?
  • Can you think of a device that would make people’s life easier? Do you like the idea of Snoozatron?
  • Why is creativity important?
  • Are you good at thinking outside the box?
  • Are you a creative person? What is the most creative thing you have ever done?
  • How can creativity be fostered?

HOME ASSIGNMENT
Find on YOUTUBE a short inspirational video that illustrates «out of the box» concept. Send your teacher the link so that we could watch the clip in class together. Be ready to make a 3-minute speech containing your emotional response and the analysis of the clip.

9 December

CREATIVITY

There is poetry in each moment!

100 Most Creative Advertisement Ideas Ever Episode 2

CASTLE WEDDING CAKE WITH DANCING FIGURES BY RENAT AZGAMOV

OK Go – The One Moment – Official Video

Liftware launch video — a stabilizing spoon for people who have tremors (My favorite! JL)

One Direction — What Makes You Beautiful (5 Piano Guys, 1 piano) — The Piano Guys

February 2017

8 February
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Dear students, welcome back to our course!
During our class I am planning to discuss BOTH the good results which you all have managed to achieve during past semester AND the difficult path to success that each of you had to go along. Seeing that you still have a lot of difficulties organizing your speech in orderly logical segments, I am planning to try to deal with your major problems again. As a result, during our class each of you is going to produce a short WRITTEN piece, following the rules.
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Write 5 sentences describing the difficulties which you experience while learning English, using the cause-effect phrases given above.


The science of sleep

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READING:
We spend a third of our lives doing it. Napoleon, Florence Nightingale and Margaret Thatcher got by on four hours a night. Thomas Edison claimed it was a waste of time.
So why do we sleep? This is a question that has baffled scientists for centuries and the answer is, no one is really sure. Some believe that sleep gives the body a chance to recuperate from the day’s activities but in reality, the amount of energy saved by sleeping for even eight hours is miniscule — about 50 kCal, the same amount of energy in a piece of toast.
We have to sleep because it is essential to maintaining normal levels of cognitive skills such as speech, memory, innovative and flexible thinking. In other words, sleep plays a significant role in brain development.
What would happen if we didn’t sleep?

Irritable man
Irritable man

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A good way to understand the role of sleep is to look at what would happen if we didn’t sleep. Lack of sleep has serious effects on our brain’s ability to function. If you’ve ever pulled an all-nighter, you’ll be familiar with the following after-effects: grumpiness, grogginess, irritability and forgetfulness. After just one night without sleep, concentration becomes more difficult and attention span shortens considerably.
With continued lack of sufficient sleep, the part of the brain that controls language, memory, planning and sense of time is severely affected, practically shutting down. In fact, 17 hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol level of 0.05% (two glasses of wine). This is the legal drink driving limit in the UK.
Research also shows that sleep-deprived individuals often have difficulty in responding to rapidly changing situations and making rational judgements. In real life situations, the consequences are grave and lack of sleep is said to have been be a contributory factor to a number of international disasters such as Exxon Valdez, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and the Challenger shuttle explosion.
Sleep deprivation not only has a major impact on cognitive functioning but also on emotional and physical health. Disorders such as sleep apnoea which result in excessive daytime sleepiness have been linked to stress and high blood pressure. Research has also suggested that sleep loss may increase the risk of obesity because chemicals and hormones that play a key role in controlling appetite and weight gain are released during sleep.

DISCUSSION:
FILL IN THE SLEEP QUESTIONNAIRE
How well do you sleep? Are you a deep sleeper? A light sleeper? A sleepwalker? And what did you dream about last night? Take our questionnaire, then share your answers in small groups.
1. How many hours a night do you normally sleep?

  •  Less than seven hours.
  •  Between seven and eight hours.
  •  More than eight hours.
    2. How long does it take you to go to sleep?
  •  I fall asleep quickly.
  •  It takes me a while.
  •  I find it very diffcult to get to sleep.
    3. What do you do if you can’t sleep?
  •  I count sheep.
  •  I listen to the radio.
  •  Other.
    4. Do you read in bed at night?
  •  No.
  •  I read a book.
  •  I read a newspaper or magazine.
    5. How well do you sleep?
  •  I sleep like a log.
  •  Fine.
  •  I’m a light sleeper.
    6. Which of these have you ever done in your sleep?
  •  Talked.
  •  Walked.
  •  Made a cup of coffee.
    7. Do you snore?
  •  I don’t know – I’m asleep.
  •  Yes. I regularly get complaints from neighbours.
  •  No.
    8. Have you ever gone 24 hours without sleeping?
  •  Never.
  •  Once.
  •  Several times.

9. Have you ever fallen asleep in the following situations?
 In my English class.
 Standing up.
 At the theatre or cinema.
10. What position do you normally sleep in?

  •  On my back.
  •  On my stomach.
  •  On my side.
    11. Do you remember your dreams?
  •  I don’t dream.
  •  Yes, vividly.
  •  Sometimes.
    12. When was the last time you had a nightmare?
  •  Very recently.
  •  A long time ago.
  •  I never have bad dreams.
    13. What’s a siesta?
  •  A novel by Ernest Hemingway.
  •  A Ford car.
  •  A short sleep at midday.
    14. Do you normally have a siesta?
     Yes.  No.

 How can I answer this question if I don’t know what a siesta is?
15. How long are your siestas?

  •  I don’t take siestas.
  •  10–20 minutes.
  •  At least 30 minutes.

Basing on your answers, tell the class about your sleeping habits.

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
1) Read the following statements and say wether they seem to be true or false.

  1. Animals die if they don’t have sleep.
  2. A quarter of all Americans suffer from insomnia.
  3. Children need more sleep than adults.
  4. Sleeping in the middle of the day makes you less
    productive.
  5. Everybody needs at least six hours of sleep a night.
  6. The most popular place for a siesta at work is in the car.
  7. The position you sleep in re ects your personality.

2) Read the articles below and say wether your guess on the statements was write or wrong.
NIGHT
Why do we sleep? Amazingly, it’s a question that has no de nite answer. We all know that we fall asleep because we are tired and that we feel better after sleeping, but why can’t we do without it? Research has shown that animals die if they don’t have sleep, almost as quickly as they do if they don’t have food. But why do we need it?
The time we are asleep is divided into different periods: D-sleep (desynchronized or dreaming) and S-sleep (synchronized). These periods are also known as REM (rapid-eye-movement) sleep and NREM (non-rapid-eye-movement) sleep. A typical night’s sleep consists of four or five periods of D-sleep that last a total time of approximately 90 minutes (little more than 20 per cent of total sleep time). The first D-sleep period occurs about 70 to 120 minutes after falling asleep.
Young people always sleep more, and have much more D-sleep than adults. A young baby sleeps 16 to 18 hours per day, at least half of which is D-sleep. On average, a young adult spends 16 to 17 hours awake and 7 to 8 hours asleep each day. The amount of sleep we need varies greatly from person to person. Some people function well on ve hours of sleep a night, whereas others require ten hours. There have even been stories of people functioning with no sleep at all. However, it is generally accepted that (almost) everyone needs at least four or five hours.
How long animals sleep is also variable. Bats sleep for up to 20 hours a day, and the giant anteater sleeps for 18 hours. Lions can sleep for days. In general, animals that are secure from predators sleep a lot, while those whose lives are at risk sleep little. Dolphins are clever and spend the night half asleep. First the right half of their brain goes to sleep, and then the left. While one hemisphere is in deep sleep, the other is always alert.
The sleeping position you most often lie in (the one you normally wake up in) can tell you what kind of person you are. If you lie on your back (the ‘royal’ position) you have a strong, self-con dent personality, are generous and believe that nothing is impossible for you. If you lie on your stomach, (the ‘prone’ position) you are a careful and cautious person. You need to feel in control of your life and don’t like surprises, but you are essentially a happy person with a balanced view of things. If you sleep on your side with your knees up near your chest, like a baby before it’s born (the ‘foetal’ position), you are an anxious person with little self- con dence. You have a deep need to be loved and protected.

DAY

A survey carried out in the United States discovered that a third of all Americans suffer from insomnia. Over in England, it has been calculated that 20 million prescriptions for sleeping pills are written every day. So what can you do to avoid having problems getting to sleep?
The most obvious advice is to avoid coffee and alcohol. Alcohol puts you to sleep, but it disturbs your sleep patterns and you may wake up later. Smoking doesn’t help. Smokers take half an hour longer to get to sleep than non-smokers! In general, you shouldn’t go to bed until you really feel tired, and if you can’t sleep you should get up and do something until you feel sleepy again. And don’t worry about not sleeping – most people get the amount of sleep they need in the end!
The rest of the world has nally discovered what people from hot climates have known all along: a short sleep after lunch leaves you feeling fresh, relaxed and ready for action again. And that’s of cial. Experts now know that your body is programmed to have a nap at midday. It’s a habit that improves concentration, helps reduce stress and can help protect you against heart problems. Coffee can’t do this. It makes you feel awake, but your body still needs sleep. It’s important to get the right amount of sleep. Between 10 and 20 minutes is the optimum length for a siesta. Any more and you go into deep sleep and will wake up in a bad mood.
Even in the USA, where Benjamin Franklin famously said ‘time is money’, people are waking up to the bene ts of having a siesta. Sleeping during the day was seen as a sign of laziness. After all, if you’re not awake, you’re not being productive. But that attitude is changing. Recent studies have shown that a lack of sleep can make you 24 per cent less productive at work. You think slower, nd it harder to solve problems and have more accidents. Calculations show, for example, that tired drivers cause 100,000 traffc accidents a year in the United States, resulting in 1,500 deaths.
These studies have prompted a growing number of companies in the United States to open up ‘nap lounges’ for their workers. These rooms are equipped with reclining armchairs, blankets, headphones with relaxing music, alarm clocks and ear plugs. Nap lounges have brought the need for a lunchtime nap out into the open. In an anonymous Internet survey, hundreds of workers confessed that they have a siesta at work, but that they do it in secret. Where?
Well, a store room, the local park or their car were all seen as good places, but the most popular place of all was . . . the toilet!
So next time you feel tired after lunch, forget the coffee and lie down for a while. After all, if President Kennedy, Winston Churchill, Alfred Hitchcock, Salvador Dali and Albert Einstein all functioned better after a siesta, there’s really no need for you to feel guilty. Time is money.
And a midday snooze is time very well spent.

3) Browse the Interent, collect facts and figures and make a mind-boggling speech about:
— Sleep walkers
— Professionals who are always in conflict with their biological clock
— Learning while sleeping techiques
— Unusual sleeping habits of different nations
— Prophetic dreams
— scientific breakthrough — Sprayable sleep

Your speech should last about 3 minutes and contain both the descriptive (theoretical) part and some examples and stories.

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13 February

The science of sleep
READING:
Basing on the texts you have read at home, say wether the statements are true or false:

  1. Animals die if they don’t have sleep.
  2. A quarter of all Americans suffer from insomnia.
  3. Children need more sleep than adults.
  4. Sleeping in the middle of the day makes you less
    productive.
  5. Everybody needs at least six hours of sleep a night.
  6. The most popular place for a siesta at work is in the car.
  7. The position you sleep in re ects your personality.

SPEAKING:
Your mind-boggling speech about:
— Sleep walkers
— Professionals who are always in conflict with their biological clock
— Learning while sleeping techiques
— Unusual sleeping habits of different nations
— Prophetic dreams
— Lethargy
-Wakeup techniques for heavy sleepers
— Dreams and reality
— Scientific breakthrough — Sprayable sleep

UNIT 5. Food for Thought

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HOME ASSIGNMENT:
Textbook work
5.1 B1 — Learn the names of the types of food and WRITE in your notebook at least examples of each of these types.
5.2 A and B Reading: the article Feel Free to Protest, fill in the gaps in the text.
Discussion — Be ready to give a short speech on EACH discussion point (Part B)

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22 February

UNIT 5. Food for Thought

SPEAKING:
5.1 B1 — Give the names of the types of food and give at least 3 examples of each of these types.
This might help you: https://www.speaklanguages.com/english/vocab/foods

CULTURAL BACKGROUND:
Do you know these dishes? In the lists of dishes belonging to different types of national cuisine identify the odd one. Can you add some more names to each list?
ITALIAN — focaccia, tortellini, polenta, couscous, minestrone, carpaccio, tirami-su
CHINESE — spring rolls, goulash, prawn wanton, egg friend rice, dim sum
JAPANESE — sashimi, teriyaki, tempura, miso, wasabi, falafel
FRENCH — beef bourginon, salad nicoise, bratwurst, escargots
SPANISH — tapas, pinchos, tortilla, paella, caviar, chorizo, jamón Serrano
GREEK — pitta, tzatziki, baklava, burritos, taramasalata, mese
RUSSIAN — beef-stroganoff, bliny, borsh, pelemeny, chicken tikka-massala, Chicken Kiev, kasha, kissel, kholodets

Watch the video and try to explain why these people tend to have problems with the dishes they taste.

TEAMWORK:
Write a sample menu for a party with friends. Explain your choice of dishes.

READING: 5.2 A and B the article Feel Free to Protest, fill in the gaps in the text.
DISCUSSION: Be ready to give a short speech on EACH discussion point (Part B)

SPEAKING: Comment on the pics below
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HOME ASSIGNMENT:
A) Make a on-page colorful illustrated leaflet with a sample menu for a party with friends that you would like to organize. In the mail accompanying the leaflet briefly explain your choice of dishes. FOR EXAMPLE: I know that most of my friends are vegans that is why I decided to focus on vegetable dishes OR It is a summer picnic in the open air, so I decided to make grilled meet the center of the party.

ADDITIONAL READING:
B) Read the real-life complaint written by the dissatisfied customer (see above). Study the key words and pay attention to the style.

20 March 2011
My husband and I stayed in the British Colonial Hilton in Nassau in March 2011, twice for 1 night – on the way to and from our holiday in Long Island.
Outside, it’s a beautiful imposing building with a nice garden facing the seafront and an outside swimming pool. Inside, the rooms are small and very cold: for some reason, they set the air-conditioning at about 15 degrees Celsius, which is not a comfortable temperature for me. Even after switching off the air con it remained rather chilly.
The 1st room we stayed in was rather dark and had various things going wrong – fittings falling off, burnt out lights, a shower door that shuts only half-way. The second room (on the way back) was much better but we had to change it for a 3rd one, because it had a strange connecting door leading to the neighbouring room, and there was a rowdy crowd in that room, playing very loud rap music, which made our room uninhabitable. I should say that the lady at reception was very nice about it and gave us another room straight away.
The food in the hotel is not great, and very expensive, but compared to the truly appalling food that we found in town, it’s at least adequate. I should say that Nassau is a total desert if you’re in the slightest bit interested in what you put in your mouth; it’s a tourist hell catering grimly and remorselessly to the hordes of low-rent Americans stepping off the cruise linersevery morning, and they certainly know their audience. Every ‘restaurant’ is a hellhole of high-fat, high-salt, high-sugar, high-MSG horror. Every calorie served is an empty one – at vast expense. Unless you’re the kind of visitor who likes this kind of scene, for God’s sake don’t stay in Nassau a second longer than you have to.
You have to pay an extra $10 for the “high speed” internet connection, which is very slow. Moreover, there is no wi-fi in the rooms, so you have to sit at the desk with a plugged in connection cable. Not what you would expect from a rather posh hotel in 2011.
But the staff are doing a good job, and, contrary to some opinions that I have read here, I think they were helpful and welcoming.
“A bad lunch experience”
Having spent 2 days in Nassau trying to find a decent place to eat (I’ll tell you at once, we failed this task miserably), we decided to try Conch Fritters for lunch. Easy to get to, just across the road from our hotel, good reviews on the net. Also, the place was very full, which is normally a good sign.
The first thing that strikes you is that everything is dirty: tables, menus, waiter’s clothes. But fair enough, we thought, the food may still be good. Well, it wasn’t. My chicken was almost cremated and covered with some kind of batter, so dry and tough that I feared for my teeth. The coleslaw had a lot of sugar in it. The baked potato must have been baking for hours, it was so dry and overcooked. My husband’s barbequed ribs were swimming in a very sweet artificial sauce which he hated. Basically, it was junk food at a very high price.
On the positive note, the service was good and quick, the waiters are friendly. One great thing is that they have free wi-fi! That’s the best thing about this place. Actually, make that the only good thing.


C) WRITE a REPLY to this complaint on behlaf of the restaurant’s management.
Explain IN DETAIL the reasons of the bad service and poor food quality.
Mention the measures that will be taken to resolve the problem and the benefits you are ready to give the clients to make them happy.
Use the samples and links below:
Sample apology letters

Dear Mr Doe,

I am so sorry that you were treated unhappily in my restaurant. I am trying hard to teach my staff that our customers are most important for the success of our restaurant. So, please come back and let us show you how well we can treat you. Give us another chance.
We offer you and your partner a complimentary glass of house wine when you visit us next time. Please let it be soon.
Yours sincerely,

Betty Bestcook, the Manager, owner.

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27 February

UNIT 5. Food for Thought

CLASS 1

VOCABULARY: Follow the link and study FOOD IDIOMS and FAMOUS FOOD QUOTES

SPEAKING AND WRITING:
Sum up the main issues of the traveller’s complaint (see your home assignment).
Read «the manager’s answers» that you have prepared in response. Do you thing the client would be satisfied?

JUST FOR FUN: Read the following Anti-Letter:
Dear Mr and Mrs Doe,
I learnt that you had an opportunity to visit our restaurant recently and you were not too happy with the service and the food we provide.
I would like to give you some explanations:
First of all, it is obvious that we can’t satisfy everyone who drops in. I can’t agree that our food is so disgusting that you couldn’t even eat it, and by the way it is not junk food at all. I am really surprised to learn that you remembered your visit to us as a bad experience!
Secondly, I must admit that our restaurant doesn’t always provide high standard of food and service. We have many chefs and we can’t control whether they cook with passion and love for you or not. I would also like to add that much depends on their mood on a particular day.
Also, you happened to come in time when we had a lot of visitors ready to eat everything which we might offer only to fill their stomach. Our restaurant is a cheap place and we can’t take up too many members of staff as it might cost us a lot to pay for their work. Sometimes there is no one to wash all the tables and to make new menus…
It is very important for us to be visited by people and make money, but it is also important not to get such complaints as yours. Do you know that diners still come to us again and again despite the fact that ‘our place is not worth visiting’?
As a manager of our restaurant, I would like to say that I can see no need to bring some great changes. I am sure that people will come anyway and we won’t lose our money and good fame.
At any rate, thanks for your letter and have a good life!

Best wishes,
Mrs. Mary Salnik,
manager of the Conch Flitters

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LISTENING: The ways people enjoy eating out.
Listen carefully and write down key words and expressions:

  1. чудесная домашняя пища
  2. дружелюбная обслуга
  3. они знают мои вкусы
  4. я чувствую себя как дома
  5. мне не обязательно расфуфыриваться
  6. это — «не моё»
  7. первоклассное обслуживание
  8. ожидать чаевых
  9. вкуснейшая пища
  10. есть, чтобы наесться
  11. поход в ресторан
  12. сделать заказ (столика)
  13. роскошные рестораны
  14. особое удовольствие
  15. пробовать новые блюда
  16. пригласить на свидание
  17. создать атмосферу
  18. рестораны самообслуживания
  19. модные местечки
  20. простая пища
  21. острая пища
  22. вкусная и свежая пища

SPEAKING: Using the words and expressions you have just learned, describe your favorite cafe or restaurant. What do you like to go there?

CLASS 2

READING:
Bizarre Food Festivals

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What is our attitude to strange and exotic meals. What makes a particular food bizarre? The only difference between nasty food and tasty food is one letter. That’s it!
When we say «bizarre,» we have in mind festivals like the annual Bugfest at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. It’s not only the festival’s bug-filled fun for adventurous people of all ages that inspires us, but the «Cafe Insecta» featuring buggy-licious treats like stir-fry grasshoppers and sweet-and-sour worms.
When you’re ready to move up from bugs, go on to the Rattlesnake Hunt, held in Oklahoma, every April. If competing for the $150 prize for longest snake caught makes you hungry the organizers will provide you with deep-fried rattlesnake meat.
No festival celebrates a single food object quite the way the Gilroy Garlic Festival does. The festival takes place in California, the unofficial «Garlic Capital of the World». This fragrant fest attracts more than 100,000 visitors annually who consume more than two and a half tons of garlic. While most of the focus is on traditional uses, the unabashed love for garlic inspires some truly bizarre creations. Anyone hungry for garlic ice cream, garlic soft drinks and garlic lollipops?
Our second category includes foods that are regional or ethnic specialties. These include the Chitlin’ Strut of Salley, South Carolina, and the San Fernando’s Menudo Festival. Both celebrate parts of animals that most of us don’t consider eating. (Chitlins, if you don’t know, are pig intestines, and menudo is a traditional Mexican soup made of ox stomach.)
Such festivals are considered to be of great importance because they stress the nature of «nose-to-tail» eating, which reduces waste and is a more ecologically sound approach to food preparation and consumption than just eating the normal bits, so to speak. If the idea of such food doesn’t appeal to you, consider that a generation ago most Americans would have shuddered at the thought of eating squid tentacles. And yet today nearly every suburban supermarket offers calamari.
Last in our list comes Weird Food Festival, held during the week between Christmas and New Year in different locations around the Los Angeles area. Founded by a group of enthusiasts who enjoy trying exotic foods, the festival will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year. It’s more of a fashionable private dining club than a food-show, the festival’s founders Marc Moss and Levi Ahlberg, are more than happy to share their enthusiasm for kangaroo stew, jellyfish in oyster sauce or any of the other surprises that plentiful and diverse ethnic markets of LA offer.

SPEAKING: What food festivals do you have in your country? What social aims do they serve? Work in groups and make a plan of an unusual food festival!

HOME ASSIGNMENT: Follow the link and study
and provide your written answers to the questions of the 2-nd Round (create a word document file, copy the questions from site, write the answers). In your answers make GOOD USE of food idioms and the words and expressions of today’s lesson.

March 2017

1 March

UNIT 5. Food for Thought

LISTENING: Do we live to eat or eat to live? That is the question.

 

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Answer the questions, using these:
lack of interest in food….taste buds……mortal sins…to regard food as an investment….to feel down….to draw energy away from your brain….to boost your mood and alertness…effect starts to wear off….to fight depression… to meet the goals…..to help preserve cognitive skills…to lead to fatigue…indulging in life’s little pleasures

  1. How did the author feel about food when a child and how did his attitude change with years?
  2. Explain the author’s words: «The world has seduced my taste buds and opened my mouth.»
  3. According to the author, what roles does food play in a man’s life?
  4. The author says: «it’s time to change and make food work for us.» What does he mean?
  5. Why is consuming a bar of chocolate when you feel blue — NOT the best idea?
  6. How can snacks do you good?
  7. According to the author, how can taking control of your food help you take control of your life?
  8. «A little of what you fancy does you good’. — Explain!

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
READING: Read the article and make a list of the main issues mentioned by the author (Find and write sown the key phrases).
EATING TO PERFECTION
When I was at school, our teacher told the class ‘You are what you eat.’ My friends and I would laugh and call each other ‘hamburger’ and ‘biscuits’. But our teacher was talking about healthy eating…

When I was at school, our teacher told the class ‘You are what you eat.’ My friends and I would laugh and call each other ‘hamburger’ and ‘biscuits’. Our teacher was trying to show us the importance of eating the right food to stay healthy.
This was a few decades ago when there were big campaigns to make British people healthier. We decided to throw out our chip pan which we had used until then to make chips every day for dinner. We replaced our chips with boiled potatoes. We also started using semi-skimmed milk instead of whole milk in our cups of tea and bowls of cornflakes. At first I felt like I was eating my cornflakes in water and my potatoes had no taste at all. But after a while I started to prefer healthier food because I felt stronger and I didn’t get sick so often.
Japanese people are reputed to be the healthiest in the world because of the food they eat. The healthiest Japanese people eat rice and fish and vegetables every day. They drink green tea or water when they’re thirsty, and snack on dried fish, fruit or gingko nuts. The traditional Japanese diet is famous for helping you to live a longer and healthier life.
So we have proof that you become what you eat. Can you tell what your friends eat just by looking at them? When you know the effects of different types of food, you can use your knowledge well and eat what you want to become.
Food has an impact on our physical and emotional health. Have you ever heard any of the following advice?
Lettuce or milk can make you sleepy.
To stop feeling sleepy you should eat peanuts or dried fish.
To keep your teeth clean you should eat apples often.
Garlic helps you not to catch a cold.
Everyone has their own advice to give, which they have read about or have been told by older relatives. Some of these pieces of advice seem to contradict each other.
Eating chocolate makes you fat and gives you spots.
Chocolate contains the essential minerals iron and magnesium
What we need to figure out is what type of chocolate to eat to get the benefits and how much of it to eat. We can do this by reading the list of ingredients on the chocolate bar wrapper. Exactly how much real chocolate is in there? And how much of that do we need to eat to get the benefits of the minerals it contains?
Future restaurants might be named after the physical or emotional state they hope to create. Their menus will list the benefits of each dish and drink. Some restaurants have already started this concept, and list the nutritional content of their dishes on the menus.
Let’s take the restaurant Winners as an example. Their menu would list dishes specifically designed to help you win sports competitions. There would be ‘Night-before Vegetable Lasagne’, a pasta dish with extra layers of spinach pasta for slow-burning energy, rich tomato sauce full of vitamin C and soft, easy-to-digest vegetables. All this would be topped with a little fresh cheese – just enough to help you get a good night’s sleep, but not enough to give you nightmares!
Or you could choose the ‘Go-faster Salad’, which is a large bowl of mixed raw vegetables in a light salad dressing, giving you energy without making you gain weight. The vegetables are carefully chosen to include plenty of natural vitamins and minerals.
What kind of dishes do you think would be on the menu at the Clever Café (which sells food that’s good for your brain)?
So what’s going to happen to hamburgers and biscuits? Will the concept of eating food because it’s tasty go out of fashion? Of course not! Junk food is also changing. If ice cream is not good for children, can’t we give them fat-free, sugar-free tofu ice cream? Unhealthy food is going out of fashion, so brands are changing. We are told not to drink cola because of the sugar and caffeine content so cola companies are making sugar-free and caffeine-free drinks. We are told dried fruit is a healthier snack than biscuits, so some biscuit companies are making biscuits with added vitamins. Snacks might soon be changing their names to ‘Skinglow’ and ‘Chocomineral’! So in the future you might be able to eat your way to your idea of perfection!

VOCABULARY:
Food_Issues1.png

Food_Issues2.png

6 March

UNIT 5. Food for Thought

VOCABULARY QUIZ
PAGE LINK
VOCABULARY: Food issues
READING: List the main ideas of the text «Eating to Perfection»
READING: Read the text below and speak about your own way to survive holidays.

How To Survive Christmas Dinner While On A Diet
Many weight loss experts will tell you to not bother trying to lose weight during the holidays and to just try to maintain your current weight until after the holiday season. They probably think that because the average person gains three to seven pounds during the holidays that maintaining your current weight means you are doing great. I do agree to a point. Being able to not gain weight during the holidays is a pretty good feat considering all the delicious foods many of us have available to us in staggering amounts.

But I think a person can continue to lose weight during the holidays without feeling cranky the whole time or feeling completely deprived. I lost weight during the holiday season and I have a friend who was so determined to lose the extra pounds she was carrying around that she started her diet on Christmas Day (yes, on the one day of the year that people traditionally pig out on food) and went on to successfully lose 40 pounds and keep it off. And nobody was even aware she was starting her diet that day.

So how did I survive Christmas dinner while on my diet and how did my friends successfully start her diet on Christmas Day?

It’s all about choices.

First of all I’ll tell you what I didn’t do. I didn’t have any alcoholic beverages because I wanted to chew my calories that day and not drink them, and because alcohol tends to weaken my resolve. And I’m not the only person whose resolve weakens after having a few drinks. Who do you usually see dancing on top of the pool table or bar when you go out; a sober person or a person who has had a few drinks?

This is what I did do:
Had small portions of the foods I really like so that I wouldn’t feel deprived (turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and half a dinner roll).
Had large portions of raw vegetables from the veggie tray and lots of the steamed cauliflower and green beans that were served that day.
Drank lots of ice water.
I love pumpkin pie and whipped cream but I ate a small piece of it later on in the evening when everyone else was pigging out on leftover turkey, potatoes, stuffing, etc. The pie along with more of the raw veggies completely satisfied me and the scale was still my friend the next morning.

This is what my friend did:

Took reasonable portions of everything she really liked but didn’t go back for seconds and thirds like she did other years.
My friend enjoys cocktails and she had a few, but to keep the calories down she had Jack Daniels and Diet Coke which meant each drink she had was less than 75 calories.
That afternoon when everyone was watching football, she went for a long walk.
She politely declined taking home leftovers.

You can survive Christmas dinner while dieting. And it doesn’t have to be a painful experience. Make smart choices, have small portions of what you really like, skip the things you don’t really love, and fill up on the low calorie veggies and salad. And, if the Christmas dinner you attend doesn’t traditionally offer any low calorie foods like raw or steamed veggies, don’t be shy about starting a new tradition and bringing them yourself.

Write a page from your diary. It is the 7th day that you have been on a really strict diet.


SPEECH PRACTICE: In 5 minutes design a menu for a:

— romantic dinner
— business lunch with an important guest
— a stand-up meal for your mates in an international student project


Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution

Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution is a television series which premiered on ABC on March 21, 2010. The show, which is produced by English chef Jamie Oliver, follows Oliver as he attempts to reform the school lunch programs, help American society fight obesity and change their eating habits in order to live healthier and longer lives.
Oliver, a celebrity chef and health campaigner in the UK, uses a popular campaign in the US to curb obesity. In a trailer for the show, Oliver challenges a group of American first grade schoolchildren to identify fruits and vegetables, and they are unable to do so. The show appears to roll together the concepts from at least two of his previous TV series’ campaigns in the UK: //Jamie’s Ministry of Food// and //Jamie’s School Dinners//.
In the second season, Oliver takes his food revolution to Los Angeles, California.
Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution was nominated for the Do Something TV Show Award for its efforts to promote healthy eating at public schools. The show also won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program.

  1. Why is Jamie taking part in this program?
  2. What is obecity?
  3. «We are doing well in getting really unwell», says Oliver. What does he mean?
  4. What has been the biggest killer in the world in the recent years?
  5. What is Food Revolution Day about?
  6. According to Oliver, what are the reasons of the the horrible situation with nutrition in the world?
  7. What is the restaurant Hear Attack Grill famous for?
  8. What is Honda’s newest invention for office workers?
  9. Why is the situation being ignored around the world?
  10. What ways of fighting obesity does Oliver offer?

MAKING THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE
Watch the video made by MSU students:

HOME ASSIGNMENT

Sum up everything you have learned while studying FOOD ISSUES.
Make a short (1-1.5 minute) video of your own promoting healthy eating in some unusual way. Your voice should be heard. You might promote your ideas or come up with some particular solution. The objects in the video should illustrate your ideas.
Later you will get a manual how to upload your clip on our special YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

 

 KEY FOOD QUIZ

  1. quick and friendly service
  2. to give tips
  3. to make an order
  4. to book a table
  5. luxury places
  6. plain home made food
  7. big cheese
  8. in a nutshell
  9. worth one’s salt
  10. piece of cake
  11. taste buds
  12. to draw energy from food
  13. to indulge in pleasures
  14. food additives
  15. healthy eating
  16. to cut down on fats
  17. healthy eating
  18. we are what we eat
  19. eat to live and don’t live to eat
13 March

UNIT 5. Food for Thought

CLASS 1
PROGRESS TEST — 60 min

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DISCUSSION: strong points and soft spots of your creative works — see YOUTUBE CHANNEL MKK-2015

apelsin.JPG

UNIT 4. Let’s Talk
DISCUSSION: Recall your past experiences and the situations you have witnessed and speak about different ASPECTS of communication and all possible causes of communication problems.
COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS ))) What seems to be the reason of misunderstanding?
ATTENTION! Below there are only smaller clips, you must watch the whole 30 min episode below
There is too much butter on those trays!

You know nothing!

Watch the video do the exercises below:

1. In your opinion, what is wrong with Mrs. Richards – when you first see her?
2. What communication problem emerges between Mrs. Richards and Manuel?
3. Does Mr. Fawlty like to bet on horses? What horse did he bet on? What’s his wife’s attitude to gambling?
4. What was Mrs. Richards complaining about when she saw her room?
5. What health problem explains her loud voice and her failure to understand people?
6. Do you think it is just her physical handicap that ruins communication?
7. Describe the issues with toilet paper and her glasses.
8. Why did Mr. Fawlty ask Manuel to keep quiet about the money he had won?
9. What money problem did Mrs. Richards seem to have?
10.How did Polly try to save Mr. Fawlty?
11.How did the Major let Mr. Fawlty down?
12.What was the role of the vase in the story?

Open the file with the exercises, print it out and follow the instructions.

 Commumication problems.docx
Download (28 KB)

 

15 March

UNIT 4. Let’s Talk
DISCUSSION: You have watched the video Communication Problems. Answer the questions:

1. In your opinion, what is wrong with Mrs. Richards – when you first see her?
2. What communication problem emerges between Mrs. Richards and Manuel?
3. Does Mr. Fawlty like to bet on horses? What horse did he bet on? What’s his wife’s attitude to gambling?
4. What was Mrs. Richards complaining about when she saw her room?
5. What health problem explains her loud voice and her failure to understand people?
6. Do you think it is just her physical handicap that ruins communication?
7. Describe the issues with toilet paper and her glasses.
8. Why did Mr. Fawlty ask Manuel to keep quiet about the money he had won?
9. What money problem did Mrs. Richards seem to have?
10.How did Polly try to save Mr. Fawlty?
11.How did the Major let Mr. Fawlty down?
12.What was the role of the vase in the story?

VOCABULARY: Communication problems

READING: Read the following texts and discuss the issues that they are devoted to.
Emerging Talk-Rules: The Mobile Phone

 READING_MobilePhones.docx
Download (17 KB)

 

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English weather-speak

 READING_English_weather_Speak.docx
Download (18 KB)

The Importance of Not Being Earnest

 READING_NotBeingEarnest.docx
Download (16 KB)

Too much of a good thing (English Understatement)

 READING_EnglishUnderstatement.docx
Download (16 KB)

Listen and read

George Mikes on English Understatement:
SOUL AND UNDERSTATEMENT

 

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Джордж Микеш, венгерский-английский журналист описывает объяснения в любви под прессом understatement, противопоставляя их «переоценке», overstatement континентального (а значит, и русского) языкового мышления. Попробуйте перевести этот пассаж на русский, сохранив юмор и идею автора.
«The English have no soul; they have the understatement instead.If a continental youth wants to declare his love to a girl, he kneels down, tells her that she is the sweetest, the most charming and ravishing person in the world, that she has something in her, something peculiar and individual which only a few hundred thousand other women have and that he would be unable to live one more minute without her. Often, to give a little more emphasis to the statement, he shoots himself on the spot. This is a normal, week-day declaration of love in the more temperamental continental countries. In England the boy pets his adored one on the back and says softly: „I don’t object to you, you know». If he is quite mad with passion, he may add: „I rather fancy you, in fact».If he wants to marry a girl, he says: „I say… would you?..»If he wants to make an indecent proposal:„I say… shall we…»».
А теперь сверьтесь с классическим переводом.

29 March

UNIT 4. Let’s Talk
Your grades for the test paper Food For Thought

Сидорова София 5-                          
Нисанова Маргарита 3+                          
Абрамова Наина 5-                          
Готовченко Софья 3-                          
Мудуева Мадина 3-                          
Абрамкина Аня 2                          
Магомедова Амина 4                          
Усманова Неонила 4                          
Alex 2                          

Troubleshooting: the Waiter-Client dialoguers that you made up contain many mistake on the usage of certain words and expressions. Let’s talk more on what English-speaking people SAY and what they MEAN.
Also, let’s find and write down the examples of the correct context use of the following expressions:
— not my cup of tea
— big cheese
— from the frying pan into the fire
— he is not worth his salt

BRITISH CULTURE & LANGUAGE, LIFE

WHAT THE BRITS SAY VS WHAT THEY REALLY MEAN

YOLANDE 2 COMMENTS

Despite being together for 8 memorable years, there are times when I find myself scratching my head in the corner of the room pondering over what my colleague has said. This is precisely why the article published by the Daily Mail caught my attention. I have not spent a long time in Britain; only two years. I found it hard to understand the Brits to the point of frustration. Generally, they come across as nice and proper and polite. These are not bad traits. However, in reality many Brits come across as pretentious, insincere and superficial. In other words, they were “hi-bye” friends. READ THE DAILY MAIL ARTICLE HERE!

Say-mean-understand-2.jpg

SPEECH PRACTICE:
Looking at the table above make up short dialogues between British and Russian partners in business. Try to illustrate the situation with cross-cultural difference.

MORE READING:
Read the article and express your opinion — do you share Dr.Melia’s approach? Why? Why not?
Myth VS. reality

Dr Matthew Melia, a senior lecturer in Performance and Screen Studies at Kingston University, who teaches about cultural linguistics and stereotypes, told The Independent the truth behind what we say and what we really mean may depend a little on individual — and regional — characteristics.

«I’m from Liverpool and we just say what we mean,» he said. «I teach television and in our first year classes we talk about how meaning is constructed and how an image can show you one thing and say something else.
Dr Melia also said that the kind of language we use may depend on our career or the kind of business we’re involved in.
«When I’m with my students and giving them feedback I tend to be direct,» he said. «If it’s bad, it’s bad – if it’s good then it’s good. As a lecturer and tutor I have a duty to be direct with students, whereas in business there’s likely to be a whole lexicon of sayings and language, such as the phrase, ‘blue sky thinking’.
«As someone who works within academia, I don’t think it’s good to be indirect. Students need to be able to be on the same page and you can’t give them mixed messages. For me, the same rules apply with friends and family, which is probably why my mouth gets me into trouble sometimes!»
Dr Melia criticised the chart, however, for propagating an «us vs them» mentality.
«By labelling these columns, ‘what the British say’ and making it appear differently to those from other parts of the EU, very much marks it out as an ‘us vs them’ mentality,» he said.
«Whereas what we say depends very much on the situation, and I would question how applicable this chart is to a wider set of social interactions.

HOME ASSIGNMENT: Presentation. Read the article written by YOULAND to the end and tell the group about the research done by its author.https://chroniclesofyoyo.com/2013/09/25/what-the-brits-say-vs-what-they-really-mean/

April 2017

3 April

UNIT 4. Let’s Talk
PUBLIC SPEAKING:
Sonya on what the Brits really mean and how well foreigners understand them.
Amina on the ambiguities of some Russian expressions.
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MODERN WAYS OF COMMUNICATION
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LISTENING: BBC. The Rise of emoji
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-170323

  1. What is the difference between the emoticon and emoji? Give examples.
  2. What connotation comes across your mind when you see the title of Professor Evans’ book?
  3. What does Prof Evance say about emoji?
  4. How many hours per week do adults spend online in the UK? In your opinion, do teenagers spend more time on line? Why& How much more?
  5. What is empathy?
  6. What is digital communication and how different is it for face-to-face communication?
  7. What are «non-verbal cues»? Give examples.
  8. The author says that without adding the emoji to a text message it is hard to detect the emotional state of the sender. Do you agree? To what extent?
  9. What is a typo?
  10. When was the first emoticon used?

Remember the words and expressions used in the audio:

  1. a vital tool for communication
  2. to clear sth up
  3. good point
  4. to convince smb
  5. to enable people to express emotions
  6. empathy
  7. digital communication
  8. face-to-face interaction
  9. to interact
  10. non-verbal communications
  11. social media
  12. non-verbal cues
  13. facia; expression
  14. body language
  15. to round up

Express your own attitude to emojis. how often do you use them and under what circumstances.

READING: Read the article and be ready to sum up its contents.

Emotions in virtual communication

ONE MORE OCCASION OF MISUNDERSTANDING:
Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus is a book written by American author and relationship counselor John Gray, after he had earned degrees in meditation and taken a correspondence course in psychology. The book states that most common relationship problems between men and women are a result of fundamental psychological differences between the sexes, which the author exemplifies by means of the metaphor: that men and women are from distinct planets—men from Mars and women from Venus—and that each sex is acclimated to its own planet’s society and customs, but not to those of the other. One example is men’s complaint that if they offer solutions to problems that women bring up in conversation, the women are not necessarily interested in solving those problems, but mainly want to talk about them.

Watch the video and comment on the difference in male-female approach:

Look at the list below. In your opinion, what would a man-made list on the subject look like?

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HOME ASSIGNMENT:
See the expert’s view: Smiley, frown and wink face: Are we all victims of a great emoticon trick?
Now convert the second article into study pack for the future generations of students.

  • Write comprehension questions on the article.
  • Make a list of key vocabulary items.
  • Create a gap-filling exercise with the key words.
  • Create an exercise training the use of prepositions.
  • Create the after-reading discussion.
5 April

UNIT 4. Let’s Talk

TEAMWORK: Putting together your study pack on the article Smiley, frown and wink face: Are we all victims of a great emoticon trick?
b6e6bb3bb073316241e0cb2f377f68de.gif

 Abramova Nisanova.docx

Download (500 KB)

 

 grammar_and_preposition_exercises.docx
Download (16 KB)

 

 Questions.Gotovchenko.Mudueva..docx
Download (482 KB)

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE:
COMMUNICATION PRACTICE: Discussing the situations on Business Communication
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Cross-Cult_2.png
Cartoon business people communicating - freedigitalphotos.net Jesadaphorn.jpg
The Expert ( Comedy Sketch)
Watch the video and sum up the communication problems that the people at the meeting are experiencing.

LANGUAGE PRACTICE. Making dialogues:
— 2 teachers discussing the students’ manner of talking at the exam.
— 2 students discussing their lecturer’s manner of presentation
— 2 business partners — an English one and a Russian one
— a young couple discussing their relationship

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
Write a response essay on the video of your choice: It’s not about the nail or The Expert

10 April

Unit 10. Mother Nature

Let’s face it, every time you take up the topic ENVIRONMENT while studying English you are horribly bored! Would you like to use a study-kit like this? Why? Why not?

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BRAINSTORM: Work in group and make a list of the biggest environmental issues of today. Do you know facts and figures to speak about them?

LISTENING: Watch the clip and write down the English equivalents of the following words and expressions:

  1. будущие поколения
  2. быть слишком погруженными в свои дела
  3. находить оправдания
  4. джунгли Амазонки
  5. очищать воду
  6. не думать о завтрашнем дне
  7. думать о выгоде больше, чем о людях
  8. жадность важнее потребностей
  9. использовать природу как безлимитную кредитную карточку
  10. истребление животных
  11. отравить океаны
  12. мировоззрение
  13. иметь наглость назвать разрушительную деятельность прогрессом
  14. изменение климата
  15. изменение уровня воды в морях
  16. смыть целые острова и страны
  17. носить маски против загрязнения воздуха
  18. мы можем изменить ход событий
  19. смотреть в корень
  20. от нас зависит судьба этой планеты
  21. изменить атмосферу в наших душах
  22. мы — часть природы
  23. предать природу — предать самих себя
  24. защищать права животных
  25. сократить объем загрязнения окружающей среды
  26. стать самими частью решения проблемы
  27. когда пересохнут реки и исчезнуть деревья, люди осознают, что деньги есть или вдыхать невозможно!

Try to reproduce the speaker’s words, using the key expressions.

LANGUAGE PRACTICE: Study the kit ENVIRONMENT form onestopenglish.com to built up the topic related vocabulary and get more aware of the contemporary issues. Do you think it covers all the sensitive issues?

 Topics-Environment_Intermediate.pdf
Download (2 MB)

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
1) Do the language exercises from the study-pack environment — see above.
2) Learn the topic-related vocabulary from the video SORRY and study-pack ENVIRONMENT — there will be a QUIZ.
3) Open the page of the 12th of April class and read the texts on the page.
4) Write an entry to the DISCUSSION below.

 

 

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Madina01 Apr 11, 2017

So, the area which surrounding me is very green and picturesque. In my garden there are a lot of beautiful flowers, trees and bushes. Thus, flora and fauna in this place are wonderful. And I’m very glad to live in such extraordinary place because you even can’t imagine how I was happy while walking in this place. Also near far from me there is Gorky Park which is one my favorite place in Moscow. Here I like to go to Neskuchny garden, then we go to the nearest cafe and eating here, as it is late time and we need to have dinner.

JulinkajulyApr 12, 2017

I envy you! You are so lucky with your location!

=========================================

THE WORLD AROUND YOU

Julinkajuly Apr 10, 2017

How green/polluted is the area around you? Do you feel comfortable there? Is the situation improving?

Julinkajuly Apr 10, 2017

Oh, am quite lucky to live in the green area of Moscow. It is well away from the city center and I have several parks near my place which are within the walking distance. One of them, called Yablonevyi Sad, used to be a nasty run-down place where dog owners brought their pets to poo and local drunkards had their orgies. Fortunately it has changed now. The area has been cleaned and has received a good makeover. The beautiful apple trees are still there but now there are also nice cosy paths for walking and jogging, a playground for kids and a pretty little pond with green lawns around it. Even some barbecue spots have been installed quite recently. I love that place and I frequently go there to ease the stress of the big city. I like to sit on the ground and look at the water. However, I get very angry when I still see people dropping garbage or smoking there — though it is strictly banned. I always tell them off. Surprisingly, some of them get really embarrassed and leave… If things go well, I am planning to make my birthday party in the open air in this park.

UsmanovaNila Apr 11, 2017

I am also pretty lucky to have a quite green neighborhood, there are a lot of trees, bushes and flowerbeds. In the spring everything blooms and the area looks amazing. Also we have some beautiful parks, such as Vorontsovsky Park. It is a nice place, especially in the summer, with all the green lawns, sport grounds and playground for children. People love to spend their time there wandering, jogging, eating ice-cream and playing with kids and dogs.Besides there is a small pond, where some friendly ducks swim and you can feed them. Moreover you can ret a catamaran or a boat to swim there. Also we have a brand new small park behind the Gazprom building. There are only some saplings and playgrounds, but I think it would be a nice place in the future. I am not sure if there were any problems in our area, as I’ve been living here only for 2 years, but to my mind my neighborhood is a good place to live and I enjoy spending my time walking around it.

MargoN4 Apr 11, 2017

I absolutely love living in Moscow. In the past 5 years, this city has undergone many positive changes and the government is trying to make it a better place to live in . I believe it’s a green place , there are many wonderful parks to visit , new places to go for walks and many pedestrians can rent bikes and stroll around the centre.Due to Moscow’s population and size it can also be very polluted. There are lots of cars on the road therefore people should consider car pooling to diminish pollution. I believe that in the near future, Moscow will be a fantastic cosmopolitan city with cleaner streets, less potholes, many trees will be planted, new parks and playgrounds will be built. Moscow is developing and it is for the better. Urban planners will try their best to make it as green as possible:)🌳🌳

sofyagotovchenko Apr 11, 2017

Im living in the green area of Moscow and I feel lucky about that. There is a huge park near the place where i live which located just across the road so i can see it from my window. It called Park 50-letiya Oktyabrya. There are a lot of beautiful trees,flowers and bushes. It is a nice place for long walks, running and simply enjoying the nature around you. Moreover, there is a lovely pound with small wooden bridge where you can feed pretty ducks. Also it is a nice place for those who like skating because the skating rink is open there every year from December till March. Besides there are many concerts and festivals which you can visit there during the summer. All in all, it is just my second year in Moscow but I think there is no big problems with pollution here. In my opinion, there are some difficulties connected with traffic but I suppose that the city government will do their best to solve this issue.

Julinkajuly Apr 11, 2017

Dear Nila, I am so happy for you — indeed you are very lucky to have such a lovely neighboring area!

Julinkajuly Apr 11, 2017

Dear Maggy, I hope all these things will be happening, and I do agree that Moscow has become much prettier in the recent years. However, I do hate its traffic jams.

Julinkajuly Apr 11, 2017

Sofya, I agree!

Ohnonaya Apr 11, 2017

I live in the centre of Moscow which means that, unfortunately, there is a lot of congestion on the roads which leads to air pollution. I remember when i was a kid there were lots of trees in the front yards but now there are not so many of them because of chargeable parking lots in front of every house. Of course we have a park not far but a small park wont do any good if everything around it is so polluted. It makes me sad to see how people destroy the place where they live with their own hands.

In spite of this i feel comfortable here, as strange as it might seem. I’m an allergic person and the lack of trees means less suffering for me during flowering period. But every time i see a woman walking outside with her kid, both literally breathing with traffic fumes, it bothers me so much that our future generations, the children who are worth healthy life have to be surrounded by the things which kill them with every breath they take.

Julinkajuly Apr 12, 2017

Fair enough, Naya!

sofiya.sidorova Apr 12, 2017

I’m very lucky to live in a green district of Moscow. I’ve always got an opportunity to walk around or jog because there is the Voronzovsky park in 10 minutes walking away and the public garden in the middle of the street I live on. Being vegan, I can boast of having separate recycling containers in my precinct. Bins of litter are never overflowed and removed regularly. I’m really happy with the fact that our local authorities facilitate the area and continue to make the district a better place. Also I can’t complain of seeing cigar stubs and other litter on the pavement. Sometimes the police patrols the streets and I’ve never seen drunk people and vagrants there indeed. I’m entirely thankful to our administration for all those taken steps.

AminaAm2 Apr 12, 2017

I’m sure that I can call myself a lucky person if we talk about the green areas surrounding us. I live quite close to the boulevard full of green trees. It’s fenced, so there are no cars at all, only people walking or riding the bycicle. But me myself I never went there, as being lucky I’m a lazy person as well. As we are covering the topic of environment I am now motivated more to go and breathe fresh air, at the same time admiring the beautiful nature around me.

Abramkina.Anna May 12, 2017

I live in the center of Moscow but I have a lot of parks near my house. I am very happy because when I studied in school I couldn’t enjoy nature because of exams. However, today I can walk and relax there. Despite the fact that there are a lot of parks in Moscow many cars that make noise. I have headache and sometimes I can’t concentrate but I love this city despite some negative facts.

12 April

Unit 10. Mother Nature

1) FEEDBACK: your response essays’ assessment.
2) VOCABULARY: Write a quiz on the topic related words and expressions.
3) READING AND DISCUSSION:

  1. As kids, did you receive any «nature awareness training»? Did you take it seriously? Why/why not?
  2. What kind of nature awareness instruction would you give to your own kids?

BackToNature.png
4) Read the text:
GreenLiving.png

5) Western Harbour is not just an imaginary place described in a textbook/ It’s real! Read more about its lifestyle here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5413960.stm

6) Look at the picture below. What are the visible results of the citizens’ efforts to make their environment greener?
green_area.jpg

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
3) Watch the video below and and write down the answer the questions:

What ecological issues are described in the clip?
What solutions have been found so far?
What kinds of animals have for the green light now? How can they cross the road?

17 April

Unit 10. Mother Nature

1) PRESENTATION SKILLS: Each students takes up one topic from the list below and presents it in class. Members of the ‘audience’ are supposed to ask a specifying question. One student is responsible for making an extended vocabulary list.

Global warming

What might the world look like if temperatures keep rising? Neil and Alice discuss the need to adapt to the changes ahead

Cities of the future

What will the cities of the future look like, and will we enjoy living in them? Alice and Neil discuss Neil’s attempt at town planning

The impact of plastic

Should we all pay for supermarket plastic bags? Neil and Alice take a look at the environmental impact of plastic and teach you some related words.

Why did Singapore ban gum?

Do you chew gum and what do you do with it when you’ve finished? Listen to Rob and Finn discussing the history and chemical properties of gum and why it’s messing up our streets whilst explaining some related vocabulary

Saving China’s elephants

Many animals face extinction. But people are realising that they must act now to stop further losses. A scheme to save the Asian elephant in China could provide an answer.

Should tourists go to Antarctica?

About 37,000 tourists are expected to visit Antarctica this season. But should they be going to a region with such a sensitive environment? Listen to Rob and Neil’s conversation and learn some new vocabulary.

Is eating meat killing our planet?

Why is eating meat bad news?

2) DISCUSSION: Animal bridges (see home assignment of 12 April)
3) MORE ANIMAL ISSUESYears ago the word «circus» had only positive connotations — a kind of fun and enjoyable entertainment for kids and adults. Why is the attitude changing now? Watch the video and give your response.
4) READING and VOCABULARY:
 экрана 2016-04-19 в 20.26.15.png
 экрана 2016-04-19 в 20.27.10.png

HOME ASSIGNMENT:1) READING: Which examples from there article seem to illustrate mutual human-animal bonds? On the other hand, what instances just show us the way humans exploit animals?
The human–animal bond*
(this material is kindly made available by

Everyone knows the close bond between some animals and humans. We think of horses and dogs, for example, as domestic animals. We use horses for transport and dogs to look after sheep and guard houses and we think of them as friends, but they were once wild.
One example of this close bond is with a bird known as a ‘honey guide’. This bird can easily find bees’ nests, but it cannot get inside without human help. The Maasai tribesmen can find more honey more quickly with the help of this bird. The honey guide makes a special call to guide the tribesmen to the bee hives. The Maasai can then get the honey and give the bird the honeycomb as a reward.
Another example is a group of dolphins in Brazil. The dolphins herd fish towards the fishermen. The dolphins leap into the air to signal when the men should throw their fishing nets. The fishermen catch the fish and the dolphins can then catch some of the fish that try to escape.
Most people don’t like rats, but they are very good at finding landmines as they have an excellent sense of smell, are very intelligent and like repetitive tasks. People train the rats to find the landmines by rewarding them with food. Rats are particularly good for this task as they are too light to set off the landmines, they are cheap to transport and it only takes about nine months to train them. So far they have cleared landmines from more than two million square metres in African countries.
An unusual example of the human animal bond is the ‘piranha pedicure’. With this treatment, you put your feet in a tank of water and the Garra Rufa fish gently nibble away at the dry skin on your feet. This provides the fish with food and the humans with soft skin on their feet This treatment is not new. The Garra Rufa fish are native to Turkey, Syria, Iraq and other parts of the Middle East where there is a long tradition of using these fish to treat skin problems.
Recent research in Japan shows that dogs are very successful at detecting cancer, for example by smelling someone’s breath. Unfortunately it takes too long to train the dogs and it is too expensive now to use them commercially, but the findings could lead to a breakthrough in cancer detection in the future.

2) Watch the video in which Sigourney Weaver narrates this first look at the world of Pandora, as portrayed in James Cameron’s epic new motion picture, Avatar.

Answer the questions in writing:

  1. How is Pandora described in the very first lines?
  2. What makes Pandora’s atmosphere uninhabitable by humans?
  3. What sort of rain forests are there in Pandora?
  4. Describe the wide variety of Pandora’s animals.
  5. What are Pandora’s humanoids like? What are they called?
  6. «Hunter can become prey» — what does it mean?
  7. Describe the magical flying mountains.
  8. Why is unobtanium so important for the humans from the Earth? Why is it called so?
  9. How are plants, animals and humanoids connected in Pandora?
  10. Why is Pandora’s ecology compared to a nervous system?
  11. Why is the Tree of Souls sacred to the Navi?
  12. What connection is there between the name of the planet and Greek Mythology?
  13. In your opinion, what is the filmmakers’ message to the people of Earth?

 

19 April

Unit 10. Mother Nature

1) Mother Nature QUIZ: You have been discussing the issues of ENVIRONMENT and ECOLOGY for a while. Let’s see if you still an amateur or an expert.
SURVEY MONKEY QUIZ***
you will get the link to the quiz in class 😉
mothernature.jpg

2) As your home assignment, you have watched the video in which Sigourney Weaver narrates this first look at the world of Pandora, as portrayed in James Cameron’s epic new motion picture, Avatar.
Read your answers to the questions below:

  1. How is Pandora described in the very first lines?
  2. What makes Pandora’s atmosphere uninhabitable by humans?
  3. What sort of rain forests are there in Pandora?
  4. Describe the wide variety of Pandora’s animals.
  5. What are Pandora’s humanoids like? What are they called?
  6. «Hunter can become prey» — what does it mean?
  7. Describe the magical flying mountains.
  8. Why is unobtanium so important for the humans from the Earth? Why is it called so?
  9. How are plants, animals and humanoids connected in Pandora?
  10. Why is Pandora’s ecology compared to a nervous system?
  11. Why is the Tree of Souls sacred to the Navi?
  12. What connection is there between the name of the planet and Greek Mythology?
  13. In your opinion, what is the filmmakers’ message to the people of Earth?

3) READING: Which examples from the article seem to illustrate mutual human-animal bonds? On the other hand, what instances just show us the way humans exploit animals?
The human–animal bond*
(this material is kindly made available by

Everyone knows the close bond between some animals and humans. We think of horses and dogs, for example, as domestic animals. We use horses for transport and dogs to look after sheep and guard houses, and we think of them as friends, but they were once wild.
One example of this close bond is with a bird known as a ‘honey guide’. This bird can easily find bees’ nests, but it cannot get inside without human help. The Maasai tribesmen can find more honey more quickly with the help of this bird. The honey guide makes a special call to guide the tribesmen to the bee hives. The Maasai can then get the honey and give the bird the honeycomb as a reward.
Another example is a group of dolphins in Brazil. The dolphins herd fish towards the fishermen. The dolphins leap into the air to signal when the men should throw their fishing nets. The fishermen catch the fish and the dolphins can then catch some of the fish that try to escape.
Most people don’t like rats, but they are very good at finding landmines as they have an excellent sense of smell, are very intelligent and like repetitive tasks. People train the rats to find the landmines by rewarding them with food. Rats are particularly good for this task as they are too light to set off the landmines, they are cheap to transport and it only takes about nine months to train them. So far they have cleared landmines from more than two million square metres in African countries.
An unusual example of the human animal bond is the ‘piranha pedicure’. With this treatment, you put your feet in a tank of water and the Garra Rufa fish gently nibble away at the dry skin on your feet. This provides the fish with food and the humans with soft skin on their feet This treatment is not new. The Garra Rufa fish are native to Turkey, Syria, Iraq and other parts of the Middle East where there is a long tradition of using these fish to treat skin problems.
Recent research in Japan shows that dogs are very successful at detecting cancer, for example by smelling someone’s breath. Unfortunately it takes too long to train the dogs and it is too expensive now to use them commercially, but the findings could lead to a breakthrough in cancer detection in the future.

4) DISCUSSION: ANIMALS AND PEOPLE
gerald-durrell-older-man.jpg
Gerald Darell is was a British naturalist, zookeeper, conservationist, author and television presenter. He founded what are now called the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Durrell Wildlife Park on the Channel Island of Jersey in 1959. He wrote a number of books based on his life as an animal collector and enthusiast.
You have read the extract of his book where he speaks on zoos and safari parks. Sum up his opinion in 5-6 sentences.

5) Watch the video which might turn your notion of cute cuddly animals upside down. In smaller groups, work on WRITING a manifesto addressed to those who would like to buy wild animals in pet shops and keep them at home.
The truth behind the slow loris pet trade and ‘cute’ tickling slow loris videos.

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
Choose an issue from the list below and make a 4-5 minutes presentation with some statements supported by facts and figures. Make good use of the words and expressions form the text «Showing your attitude».

  • Cosmetics testing on animals

  • Animals in entertainment

Greyhound racing, horse racing, rodeos, marine mammals and animals used in movies and television are treated as chattel and where their is exploitation for money, the potential for abuse is a constant problem.

  • Killing animals for sports

Animal rights activists oppose any killing of an animal for meat whether it is done in a slaughterhouse or a forest, but there are arguments specifically against hunting that are important to understand.

  • Breeding animals at fur farms

Whether captured in a trap, raised on a fur farm, or bludgeoned to death on an ice floe, animals suffer and die for fur. Although fur coats have fallen out of fashion, fur trim is still widely available and sometimes isn’t even labeled as real fur.

  • Stray animals

  • Changing property status to companion status

Every animal use and abuse stems from the treatment of animals as human property — to be used and killed for human purposes, no matter how trivial. From a current, practical standpoint, changing the property status of animals would benefit both pets and their human guardians. We could start by referring to the domestic animals living with us as «companion animals» instead of pets, and referring to those who are caring for them as «guardians,» not owners.

  • Animal adoption
  •  
  • Jerald Durrell and his contribution to animal protection