1. Мои учебные курсы
  2.  » 
  3. MKK1 English 2017-2018
  4.  » MKK1 English 2017-2018 (задания)

WORKING BOARD

September 2017

5 September

A WELCOME CLASS

BY TATIANA ROMANOVA

PART 1: Warming-up activity + ice-breaking
LISTENING AND SPEAKING: Learning English — your expectations and reality — by David Crystall

  1. What are you expectations from this year’s course go English?
  2. What activities would you like to perform?
  3. Can you remember the most interesting and the most horrible English lesson in your life?
  4. Are you going to take one of these exams in the future: IELTS, FCE, TOEFL?

PART 2. The Impact of Social Media

Nowadays social media has a huge impact on our use of languages. Let’s speak about the advantages, opportunities and risks of operating with social networks.
What do we have to start with when we sign up to a social group/network? We tick the mark that we have read the terms or rules of the resource.
But, do we read these rules? Nevertheless, there is a man who did it!)

READING:

Nobody reads the small print

Nobody reads the small print when they sign up to social media – so no one knows what they’re giving away. Martin Belam has found out for youThe Children’s commissioner has warned that children as young as eight are signing up to social media terms and conditions without reading or understanding the agreements they are entering.
Let’s be honest, that probably goes for a lot of adults too – and most of these lengthy legal documents that we never bother to read include some rather unexpected clauses. Here are some of the more wide-reaching and most bizarre.
Facebook: you need to say within 48 hours if you change your phone number
By using or accessing Facebook you agree to its **statement of rights and responsibilities**, which includes theprovision that if you change your phone number, you promise to update it on Facebook within 48 hours.
Facebook also obtains the permission to use any of your public posts, photographs or videos for anything, anywhere in the world, without paying you – and to sell them to others to do the same.
You also agree to your name, your picture, and your content appearing in connection with commercial, sponsored, or related content.
You must be 13 to use the service, and you also must agree not to publish any false personal information, or create more than one account.
Facebook specifically states that if you want to pursue a claim against Facebook, you have agreed to do it in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, or a state court located in San Mateo County.
Instagram: it isn’t responsible if it misplaces your private stuff
Advertisement
As with many other services, Instagram’s terms of use state that it can use your images for anything, anywhere in the world without paying you, and sell them on to others to do the same.
It also explicitly states that you can be suspended from the service or have your username taken from you “for any reason”.
Instagram also reserves the right to not always disclose that sponsored content is sponsored.
It stipulates that none of your information or messages held on its system are deemed to be confidential, and Instagram is not liable if that information becomes public: “None of your Content will be subject to any obligation of confidence on the part of Instagram, and Instagram will not be liable for any use or disclosure of any Content you provide.”
WhatsApp: it promises it can’t read your encrypted messages
WhatsApp is much stronger on the privacy of your communications than Instagram. It explicitly states in its termsthat “We’ve built privacy, end-to-end encryption, and other security features into WhatsApp. We don’t store your messages once they’ve been delivered. When they are end-to-end encrypted, we and third parties can’t read them.”
However, it also states: “Nothing in our Terms will prevent us fromcomplyingwith the law.” This gives it an out should legal frameworks about encryption around the world change.
Homework
Twitter: nasty tweets are not endorsed
Twitter takes the “Retweets are not endorsements” trope of many official bios to the next level, with its termsclarifying that Twitter does not “endorse, support, represent or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of any Content or communications.” Probably just as well, given the level of nastiness that can take place on the platform.
As weird legal jargon goes these two sentences from Twitter are probably among the most oddly uninformative ever written into a contract: “Twitter has an evolving set of rules for how ecosystem partners can interact with your Content on the Services. These rules exist to enable an open ecosystem with your rights in mind.”
There appears, though, to be no specific clause against heads of state causing diplomatic incidents with their tweets.
YouTube: it suggest you print a copy of its terms and keep it for your records
Clause 2.4 of YouTube’s terms of service literally suggests “You should print off or save a local copy of the Terms for your records.”
It also states that you should only use the service if you agree to the terms, and you should not use the service if “you are not of legal age to form a binding contract with YouTube” – which has interesting implications for the amount of Minecraft videos on the service aimed at kids.
If you want to terminate the legal agreement you have made with YouTube by watching a video, you have to send it in writing. You’ll be able to find the postal address at the top of the terms and conditions that you printed off – assuming you can still remember how to do something as old-fashioned as posting a letter to a company.

COMPREHENSION:

  1. Did you find anything controversial or ridiculous about the rules or rights and responsibilities?
  2. Why do site owners insist on the clients’ complying with the rules? Do they try to avoid the responsibility or warn against the consequences? Are they compelled to do it?

VOCABULARY:
A) Give the synonyms of the following words or give the definition:

to disclose  
to comply with  
to stipulate  
to be liable for  
to pursue a claim against  
to subject to  
to suspend  

B) Form a noun

to disclose  
to stipulate  
to pursue  

C) Fill the gaps with the prepositions used in the text above.
Insomnia is almost impossible to describe to those who haven’t suffered …. it.
Jane Austin’s books have been translated …. many languages.
What time does the train leave …. Dublin?
Keith invited me …. the party but I wasn’t able to come.
Susan knows she can always depend … me for help when she really needs it.
He paid the price …. his unpopular opinions.
I blame him ….. his failure.
People were always commenting …. his bad behaviour.
Aren’t you going to invite her in …. a drink.

SPEAKING:
Now let’s consider the opportunities offered by social media. What purposes do we have when we sign up to Facebook or Instagram?

Using Instagram To Promote Your Work!


What is the main aim of the author? To promote his work? To communicate with his audience? To inspire?

CREATIVE WORK:
Divide into 2 or 3 groups. You should:

  1. Choose the item you would like to promote (your blog, your product, your services, your career, your newspaper, etc)
  2. Which social media is more appropriate for promoting it? Explain why
  YOUTUBE FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM
Opportunities 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
   
Things to promote      
Reasons for choosing the social network      
Famous examples      
 
 
7 September

THE ADVANTAGES OF SOCIAL MEDIA

BY TATIANA ROMANOVA

Last time we discussed the risks of signing up to social media. Today we are going to consider the other side of the double edged sword. What are the advantages and opportunities of using Tweeter, FB and other social networks?

Watch TED Video «The Art of Asking»
https://www.ted.com/talks/amanda_palmer_the_art_of_asking/transcript
 экрана 2017-09-24 в 18.37.50.png

VOCABULARY ITEMS:
liberal arts — гуманитарные науки
harassed (adj) — встревоженный, изнуренный
to harass (v) — беспокоить, изводить
rotating smorgasbord of weird – smorgasbord /ˈsmɔː.ɡəs.bɔːd/ многообразие; разнообразие; шведский стол
neti pot – устройство для промывания носа
crew – команда, экипаж
wireless – радио
punk squats –
van – автофургон
pull up – притормозить, остановиться
tortilla — /tɔːˈtiːə/ тортийя (мексиканская лепешка)

DISCUSSION:
Answer the questions:

  1. Have you seen living statues while traveling? Do you feel excited to see their performance or do you feel sorry for them?
  2. What did she maintain the prolonged eye-contact with some passers-by?
  3. Why was she harassed by some people? What helped her to get over it?
  4. In your opinion , why was that sense of direct connection to people so important for her?
  5. How do social media help her to promote her art show?
14 September

Unit 6. See the world!

In class:
Attendance: Катя, Гуля, Лена Ш, Лена Ч, Юля, Наташа
Absent Erik

SKILLS:
a) Look through the page USEFUL LINKS and see what kind of links may be of help for your classes. Browse the internet and send your teacher a sample link with a brief description (before sending see (b). Be ready to justify your choice.
b) Have you read your teacher’s advice on netiquette on NEWS-BOARD page? Please send the link via e-mail ipjulia@yandex.ru, following the guidelines.


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 (1)…………… nowadays and even young people can afford to go abroad. These days few people seek the help of (2)………. ……. If you have just a smartphone and Internet connection, you will have no problem finding cheap (3)………….. 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 (4)……………. using public transport. They can travel by (5)…………….. and stay at (6)……………… . However, still many people prefer some kind of a (7)…………… …………at a popular (8)……….. , 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 (9)…………….. season. It’s overcrowded and expensive. If possible, choose a quieter (10)………… 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 travel 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 …. midnight
(c) We went …… John’s car..
(d) We went ….. a journey,
(e) She arrived ……..the hotel.

HOME ASSIGNMENT
1) Learn travel vocabulary from this class
2) Read all TRAVEL QUOTES and be ready to interpret the actors’ ideas in class.
3) Study carefully the travel vocabulary below, look all the new words and expressions up in your dictionary, do the exercises.

Travel quotes
What did the author mean?
«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)

4) In your DISCUSSION section write just a couple of sentences about your most horrible trip ever.

TravelTalk.jpg

Vocab1.jpg

Vocab2.jpg

 

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

I HATE TO THINK ABOUT THAT TRIP

Julinkajuly Sep 14, 2017

Write just a couple of sentences about your most horrible trip ever!

Julinkajuly Sep 14, 2017

My most horrible trip was the one to Lake Loch-Ness in Scotland. I bought a cheap bus-tour, the bus was tiny, the driver — first-day-at-work, the road — curvy, so I ended up trowing up every 20 minutes. As a result I saw neither the Monster nor the lake itself as I was too exhausted to leave the bloody bus!

ShashkinaElena Sep 17, 2017

The trip to Alushta was the most awful one in my life. My parents booked a room in the hotel in advance, on the advice of buddies . It turned out to be the most horrible place on earth (lack of sanitation, damp, etc). Because of this, we had to pass an uneasy night in search of accommodation at the height of the season!

MekryukovaJuliana Sep 17, 2017

The worst trip I’ve ever had was the one to Moscow. It took place when I was seventeen. Two of my classmates and I decided to spend our winter break away from home. We bought second-class tickets and were happy to know that our fellow passengers would be members of the student handball team. But it turned out to be a nightmare! They were tippling brandy all night! As the situation got out of hand we had to make ourselves scarce and spent the rest of the night in the guard’s accomodation. So, next day we were unable to enjoy walking around the city. It was the most disgusting trip in my life!

KadamboevaGulasal Sep 18, 2017

As for me, my worst trip was the one when my mum and I urgently needed to come from Saint Petersburg, where we’d been spending our holiday, to Moscow. Everything was being done in a hurry because we had our train in that very evening, which I hated. Actually, we had quite a lot of unfinished affairs in Saint Petersburg, so we’d been wandering around the city until the departure. As a result, I’d been terribly annoyed by the time we got to the railway station. Thanks God, my mum is the most patient woman, and so she didn’t react at all to my ‘whining’. I’d honestly tried not to be capricious but I hate doing things in a hurry!

KalabinaNatalya Sep 18, 2017

When somebody asks me about the most horrible trip, I always have only one picture in my head. It was a trip to Turkey about seven years ago.
My parents and I had to go to Moscow because there wasn’t an airport in our town. We went there by train, but our trip began with being late for a train. We mixed our tickets by accident: the tickets for our return were laying on top and we saw a wrong time of departure. We had to spend much money to catch our train by taxi in another town and we managed!
Then I spent all trip being ill, it was a kind of allergy. My skin itched and looked like a very red tomato. And the culmination of this story was the missing of our personal things. Someone stole them! I really «enjoyed» the trip!

KateRybina Sep 21, 2017

My most terrible trip was to Thailand. We spent about three hours at the airport, as our luggage was lost. Then, we rang for a taxi to get to the hotel, but the car took a long time to reach us. The weather was rainy there and it was cold!Regrettably,i caught a cold.All the trip I had a sore throat and my mood was not as fine,as i had expected.

Julinkajuly Sep 21, 2017

ShashkinaElena, I know what you are talking about! A bad accommodation can literally kill your vacation.

Julinkajuly Sep 21, 2017

MekryukovaJuliana — oh, my! Drunken companions on a train — what could be worse? Only those who snore!

Julinkajuly Sep 21, 2017

KadamboevaGulasal, I know what you are talking about — doing things in a rush is an awful experience!

Julinkajuly Sep 21, 2017

KalabinaNatalya , well, my dear, it was one of those horrible trips that happen once in a while… Let’s hope it is all done and dusted!

Julinkajuly Sep 21, 2017

KateRybina, Still I envy you! I have never been to Thailand!

ElenChepok Sep 25, 2017

The worst trip I ever had took place about 7 years ago, when my mother and I went to Crimea. We used to go there by train back then and as I was about 10-11 years old I had to be accompanied by one of my parent and to have a certificate of birth. We came to the railway station with my Mom, found our train, prepared our tickets, the conductor checked them and we finally boarded the train. About 8-10 hours later we reached the border control and only there did we find out that we had forgotten my certificate of birth, although the conductor should have double-checked that. Because of that stupid mistake we had to get off our train at about 2 in the morning in the unknown city (it was Belgorod, by the way)and somehow fix the situation. But you can imagine how stressful it was. Luckily, our friends in Moscow were able to handle that bloody certificate to the driver of another train, so that we could finally cross the border and reach our destination. However, we still did have to quickly find ourselves a hotel, in which we could spend a night and to explore the city to shorten the time before the next train.

erick3ric Sep 26, 2017

The worst trip I have had was probably when moving from Lithuania to Moscow when I was 15, I boarded the train with this old guy, we took our seats in a sleeping car. Everything was fine till he started drinking. He was really drunk, the whole room was stinking from alcohol and I wasn’t even able to switch the rooms because everything was booked by that time. Good thing I fell asleep fast

 

 

21 September

Unit 6. See the world!

In class:
Attendance: Эрик, Гуля, Лена Ш, Юля, Наташа
Absent: Катя, Лена Ч

giphy-downsized.gif

SPEAKING: Taking part in an Internet discussion — can it be dangerous? Speak up and then write your opinion in our DISCUSSION section.
VOCABULARY: Explanation game. Take one vocabulary item from your previous class and try to explain to your neighbor what you have in mind.
MORE VOCABULARY WORK: See you home task on page 14 September.
SPEAKING: Let’s go on interpreting TRAVEL QUOTES:

«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 the vocabulary you have discussed in class.
2) Make a One-page leaflet entitled «YOUR MUST-SEE DESTINATION»

  • It should be a ONE page Word-document: text + picture. For inspiration see the extracts of a tourist brochure in your textbook (page 70, ex 6.6A)
  • It should be a persuasive slogan-like text explaining to your clients why they must visit the destination in the picture.
  • The trick is to advertise the destination that is off the beaten track, some faraway spot in the middle of nowhere )))
  • You should use many items of our topic vocabulary without being over the top.
  • Send me your leaflets at ipjulia@yandex.ru BEFORE out Tuesday class.

3) Textbook work — Page 66, ex. 6.3 A and B
4) Write short comments in today’s Discussion below.

 

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

COMMENT BATTLES — why does flaming occur?

Julinkajuly Sep 21, 2017

Flaming is a hostile and insulting interaction between persons over the Internet. It can also be the swapping of insults back and forth or with many people teaming up on a single victim. Flaming usually occurs in the social context of an Internet forum, social media services, and on video-sharing websites such as YouTube. It is frequently the result of the discussion of heated real-world issues such as politics, religion, and philosophy, but can also be provoked by seemingly trivial differences.
So, have you ever taken part in it? Have you been a victim? Do you refrain from leaving comments?

Julinkajuly Sep 21, 2017

As for me, I do spend much time on the Internet and I do a lot of networking which is my way of keeping in touch with my friends all over the world. Some time ago I readily got involved in public discussions and often I became the object of flaming — there will always be someone who doesn’t like your opinion! These days I am more careful and if the subject is SENSITIVE, I prefer to keep my mouth shut — not always though )))

KadamboevaGulasal Sep 25, 2017

As for me, I’ve never taken part in flaming and, fortunately, never been a victim of this thing. I believe that in most cases it’s really better to keep our opinions to ourselves as it’s impossible for some people to understand you correctly — they still do find particular words from your comments to hang on. I would say that, as a rule, those people are addicted to insulting and slining mud at other people, and, no doubts, they will greatly enjoy it. So, more often than not I do refrain from leaving comments in any social publics but if there’s something I want to say to a particular person I will always do it via private messages.

ElenChepok Sep 25, 2017

Personally I have never taken part in such thing, logically have never been a victim of it. I prefer to read through such conversations so that I can get to know people’s opinions on a particular subject. But I normally do not put my personal beliefs and ideas on-line. Unless I see something, which really gets to my heart. In most cases, I would prefer to look through the hot news, maybe read through some comments and then discuss it with my friends as, in my view, it is the safest and the most productive way to exchange opinions.

MekryukovaJuliana Sep 25, 2017

Personally, I prefer to refrain from taking part in Internet discussions as I don’t see any point in it. The majority of those who leave comments don’t even want to hear your thoughts. They pursue their own goals or just want to assert themselves at the expense of others. They get personal and often use an obscene language. I really hate being a target of ironic comments and baseless attacks. So, public discussions isn’t my cup of tea!

ShashkinaElena Sep 25, 2017

As for me, I have never taken part in such provocative discussions. I’m that type of person who tries to avoid any kind of arguments. So, I refrain from leaving comments at all, because there is always someone who has a different point of view. Some people express their disagreement in a polite way, but others can spend hours arguing fiercely. I prefer not to waste my time and emotional energy on pointless debates. So, those who want to know my opinion can always ask me in person and get the answer.

Julinkajuly Sep 26, 2017

KadamboevaGulasal The thing is that your future profession means you’ve got to be OPINIONATED — in other words, SPEAK UP! )

Julinkajuly Sep 26, 2017

ElenChepok — fair enough!

Julinkajuly Sep 26, 2017

MekryukovaJuliana — I like the way you put things into perspective! Well-done!

Julinkajuly Sep 26, 2017

ShashkinaElena , I see your point! Your world is much safer than mine )))

Julinkajuly Sep 26, 2017

Nataly, Erik! Why are you, guys, ignoring my tasks?

KateRybina Sep 26, 2017

To be honest,I do not see any point to spend my time on such inflammatory discussions.In the majority of cases people establish a goal to defeat their collocutor,but not to get their point across. For me it is pointless to argue with a person who I will hardly see in my real life. Of course, it is essential to defend your personal life position. However, disputes in Internet rarely have something in common with it.They are rather a desire to assert oneself.

KalabinaNatalya Sep 26, 2017

As for me, I have never been involved in flaming and have never suffered from it. And I’m really happy because of that!
Frankly speaking, flaming is not just a polite discussion. It sometimes turns into quarrels. People judge you not only for your political views but also for you grammar, appearance, religion. It is the policy of the modern Internet space.
But as for comments, I can sometimes write some things on my friend’s page, but I don’t want to change comments with unknown people and be a victim of flaming.

P.S.: I’m sorry for texting late.

erick3ric Sep 26, 2017

I have never been a victim of such internet activity concerning politics or any other sensitive subject like these ones.
It’s true, there are people on forums who you can talk to about religion or politics without them getting insulted and afterward
getting a nice conversation, but it doesn’t happen all the time. I try to ignore what’s happening on forums since it’s heated.
I have friends who love such conversations, I talk to them if I get concerned.

October 2017

3 October

Unit 6. See the world!

In class:
Attendance: Юля, Лена Ч, Лена Ш, Гуля. Катя, Эрик
Absent: Наташа

QUIZ: Travel Quotes
DISCUSSION: Working on your task — Dos and Donts. A brief tutorial on uploading of your papers on our site.
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»

GRAMMAR: Ways of describing Future Actions

Future1.jpg
Future2.jpg
HOME ASSIGNMENT:
0) Read the tutorial on HOW TO EDIT YOUR WIKI! It will explain to you how to upload your edited TRAVEL LEAFLETS on the site.

 Editor Toolbar.docx

1) Watch the video How to travel on the cheap again and write the key words and expressions in your notebooks. Try to memorize them as you will need to use them in your creative tasks.
3) Read about the famous BBC documentary series «An Idiot Abroad».
Watch the first episode. 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

5 October

Unit 6. See the world!

In class:
Attendance: Катя, Гуля, Лена Ш, Лена Ч, Юля, Эрик

Absent: Наташа

INFO: Travel Quiz:
Юля 17/18
Эрик 0/18
Лена Ч 17/18
Лена Ш 17/18
Гуля 18/18
Катя 17/18

GRAMMAR: Future Tenses (Theory and Exercises)

VOCABULARY: Write an e-mail to your friend, asking him her for help in planning your future trip in their country. Send it to ipjulia@yandex.ru

DISCUSSION:
Watch the «Russian episode of the Idiot Abroad, be ready to describe Karl’s exploits and comment on his culture shock. You need to watch min 7.32 — 44.21

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
0) Write your entries in today’s Discussion.
1) 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!

2) Be ready to discuss the picture below:
53fec-culture_shock-2.jpg

3) Practice the use of future tenses:
Future_1.png
Future_2.png
Future_3.png
Future_4.png
Future_5.png
Future_6.png

 

 

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

CULTURE SHOCK

Julinkajuly Oct 5, 2017

Write a few lines about your own experience of culture shock. Is it a nasty or exciting experience?

Julinkajuly Oct 5, 2017

Yes, I did experience culture shock when I first went yo the UK in 1995! It was an exhilarating experience! Everything seemed to be so nice and cute. I was amazed to see that even the smallest towns off the beaten track enjoyed all the benefits of modern life — nice roads, good shops… But I was also shocked when I found them all deserted after 6 PM- no night life )

KalabinaNatalya Oct 9, 2017

Frankly speaking, I had such cultural shock and it was an exhilarating one. My parents and I went to Turkey some years ago. And one day we went to the park by car, it was off the beaten track. And I was absolutely unready to see that every tree in the park was fenced and numbered! I was surprised by their attitude towards nature in such hot climate.
What about unpleasant cultural shock, I wasn’t happy to learn that they wanted to chet every tourist. We went to bargain in some markets, we were lucky to find one with fresh fruits. And the seller tried to convince us that one orange weighted more than one kilo. He cheated with his scales to get more money! But such «beautiful» event didn’t make our trip worse!

KalabinaNatalya Oct 9, 2017

Sorry for «cultural shock». I mean «culture shock».It’s my mistake.

ShashkinaElena Oct 9, 2017

Last summer when I was in Germany I encountered one thing which really shocked me. As it turned out, drinking alcohol in public places is common there. So there were no restrictions on place or time to do it. Once we met drunk young men in the subway sitting and talking loudly next to a woman in her 50s who clearly was not paying attention to them. I think a russion one would definitely show her displeasure and maybe even rebuke them. But this very woman did not even change her countenance!

erick3ric Oct 9, 2017

I have had my first culture shock when I flew to Hurghada when I was 14 for the very first time. The city
has been built almost from scratch, so there were dunes, you can say, in every corner. It was a completely new experience
for me since I have never seen dunes nor experienced such a hot weather in real life. It was awesome, I even made a few friends. Wish I was there 5 years older

KadamboevaGulasal Oct 9, 2017

As for me, I don’t have much experience in communicating with people who represent other cultures but while living in the dorm I got to know quite a lot of Chinese guys. They always tell something. So once they told me that in China it’s legal to photoshop their passport photos on their own. And then those guys showed their special app for doing it. After that I looked at their passport photos and again at their faces and there was nothing similar. I was shocked that the Chinese government allows such things. I still can’t get what’s the scene in a passport if it’s almost impossible to identify it’s owner via passport photo.

KateRybina Oct 9, 2017

Frankly speaking, i can’t refresh my memory and recollect any stories about culture shock. Maybe i have not had it yet.I think in each country we can face with some behavioral features which can really shock us.I hope , in my next journey i will get this kind of shock, because i am curious about it after our topic !

Julinkajuly Oct 9, 2017

Dear Nataly, I know what you are taking about — unfortunately cheating is widespread in tourist places!

Julinkajuly Oct 9, 2017

Lena, I am also surprised to know they consume alcohol in the streets openly! So strange! In today’s PC world!

Julinkajuly Oct 9, 2017

Erick, Don’t wish to change or to have changed your age. All things in life come and go in their due time ))) I badly need to tune your use of Perfect Tenses right now. ))))

Julinkajuly Oct 9, 2017

Gulya! If I were you I would not believe those Chinese guys! They obviously cheated on you. And their faces that did not look like passport pics… Can you tell one Chinese guy from another one at all?

Julinkajuly Oct 9, 2017

Dearest Kate! I hope to make you even more curious to learn about new things — that is part of my job. I am happy it does work this way.

MekryukovaJuliana Oct 9, 2017

First of all, I should say that I had always dreamt of going to Paris. And one day that dream came true. During the trip I experienced culture shock more than once, but what struck me most about Parisian life was that there were two types of homeless people in France. Firstly, we could see SDF (sans domxile fixe) people, who had lost their houses because of circumstances and had to beg in the streets. And also there’re so called «clochards», who freely chose that way of life. The worst thing you could do was give them money. They took it as an insult! In fact, those who live in France or learn abot the French culture know about this national peculiarity, but for me it was a great shock!

ElenChepok Oct 9, 2017

About 6 years ago my parents and I were in London. And when we had to get a cab, which would take us to our hotel, I was quite surprised to find out that the driver had to sit on the right side of the car and that the traffic in England was left-sided. Is was quite unfamiliar to me, as in Russia we have right-sided one. That could have caused an accident, especially in the centre of London where could be pretty hectic from time to time. Although, luckily, my father was experienced enough to be aware of that, so he kept a close eye on us.

ElenChepok Oct 9, 2017

About 6 years ago my parents and I were in London. And when we had to get a cab, which would take us to our hotel, I was quite surprised to find out that the driver had to sit on the right side of the car and that the traffic in England was left-sided. Is was quite unfamiliar to me, as in Russia we have right-sided one. That could have caused an accident, especially in the centre of London where could be pretty hectic from time to time. Although, luckily, my father was experienced enough to be aware of that, so he kept a close eye on us.

 

10 October

Unit 6. See the world!

In class:
Attendance: Лена Ш, Лена Ч, Катя, Гуля, Юля, Наташа, Эрик

DISCUSSION:
09.jpeg

  • «Say NO to plagiarism!»
  • How to solve communicative tasks effectively.
  • Analysis of your task «Letter to your friend».
  • Learning to read and follow the guidelines.

CULTURE SHOCK (see your home assignment of the 5th of October)

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
1) Comment on the following picture.

culture_shock.jpg
2) VOCABULARY: TRAVEL IDIOMS
Complete each idiom in bold with an appropriate word from A, B or C. Each idiom is explained in italics after each sentence.
1. Despite a huge variety of restaurants selling excellent local dishes, many tourists prefer to eat ……………………….. food. (fast food / convenience food such as hamburgers, pizzas, etc, which are not very healthy for you) A. rubbish B. junk C. garbage
2. He’s always going on holiday to interesting and exciting places. He’s such a globe-
……………………….. (somebody who travels a lot) 
A. runner B. hopper C. trotter
3. Many tourists staying in the area are kept in tourist
……………………….. where they rarely get a chance to meet the local people and experience local culture. (an enclosed resort surrounded by high fences, etc, designed to keep local people out and tourists in) 
A. ghettoes B. slums C. dives
4. This hotel is dirty and uncomfortable. It’s a real ………………………! (a dirty, uncomfortable and, usually, cheap hotel)A. doghouse B. fleapit C. chicken coop
5. The resort was in the middle of ……………………….., so there was nothing interesting to see or do. (isolated from any towns, villages, etc) 
A. everywhere B. somewhere C. nowhere
6. I hadn’t been anywhere for years, and then suddenly I got ……………………….. feet and decided to do some travelling. (a desire to travel and see different places)
 A. itchy B. scratchy C. tickly
7. I always try to travel ………………………. when I go on holiday. I just take a very small suitcase and nothing else. (to take very little luggage with you when you travel) 
A. light B. gentle C. easy
8. I don’t like staying in busy resorts. I prefer to go somewhere that’s off the ………………………. track. (away from popular areas) 
A. beaten B. well-walked C. tramped
9. When I arrive in a foreign city, I can’t wait to ……………………….. the sights. (to go sightseeing) A. run B. play C. do
10.Passengers flying from Britain to Australia often ………………………. the journey for a day or two for a stopover somewhere like Hong Kong or Singapore. (stop somewhere for a short time during a long journey) A. split B. crack C. break
11. One of the biggest problems anyone faces when they travel abroad is culture ………………………… (confusion or anxiety that travellers experience when visiting a different country)
 A. surprise B. shock C. daze
12.Applying for a visa often involves dealing with a lot of ……………………….. tape. (bureaucracy) A. blue B. white C. red
13.£15 for a hamburger and a plate of fries? What a ………………………. -off! (something that costs too much) A. rip B. tear C. pull
14.Don’t eat in that restaurant. It looks nice from the outside, but it’s a real tourist ………………………. (a place that is in a good location to attract tourists, but is overpriced and generally provides poor service)
 A. pit B. trap C. trick
15.Last year we went on a ………………………. visit to Europe: we did seven capital cities in seven days! (a very short visit) 
A. running B. flying C. hurrying

3) Read the paragraphs below, and try to explain the meaning of the idioms in bold type.

A.
You should always read between the lines when you look in a holiday brochure. I chose a hotel that was described as being in a quiet location a stone’s throw from the beach. That was true only to a certain extent. You see, the hotel was in the middle of nowhere, and it was on a cliff looking down at the beach two hundred feet below!

B.
Prices for long-distance flights are usually high. However, competition between airlines has brought prices downrecently, and if you shop around you can usually get a good deal, especially if you go to search on the Internet. I managed to get a cut-price flight to Edinburgh — £350 return! — but the flight left Washington at an unearthly hour and went round the houses (we flew via Calgary, Rome, and Hamburg) before we reached our destination!

C.
We had a guest staying at our hotel last week. She was a very tough customer, always complaining and picking holes in everything. Anyway, when she checked out, she demanded a refund, but our manager calmly and politely explained that this was out of the question. She flew off the handle and stormed out of the hotel without paying! On top of everything, when maid went to clean her room, we also discovered she had nicked the towels!

D.
I really recommend the cafe on the corner. You always get your money’s worth. The foodis good and plentiful, and the staffis friendly and cheerful. The place is popular with the natives, so that’s a good sign. The restaurant next door is a tourist trap and food there will cost you a pretty penny!

F.
The Aphrodite Hotel in Cyprus is out of this world, and if you stay there you’ll know that you’re in good hands. When I was there, the staff went out of their way to make me feel welcome, and the manager did his best to make sure everything was perfect. He knew I was dog-tired when I arrived, so asked all his staff to keep the noise down, and of course I slept like a log.

4) GRAMMAR: Future Tenses (see your home assignment of the 5th of October)

24 October

Unit 7. Spending your money
Attendance: — everyone!
In class:

READING: Your Textbook. Ex.7.2 Money fit to launder
MoneyFitToLaunder.png

LISTENING: Watch the video of the Bank of England devoted to the issue of a new 10 pound polymer note on the 14th of September 2017. Write down the answers to the questions below:

  1. What are the advantages of polymer over paper?
  2. What are security features introduced for?
  3. Make a list of the key security features of the note.
  4. What is the tactile feature introduced for?

READING and WRITING: Read the the article The World’s Weirdest Banknotes and write its short summary in up to 150 words.

HOME ASSINGMENT:

A) LISTENING AND VOCABULARY WORK: Watch the video THE EVOLUTION OF MONEY and fill in the gaps in the sentences from the text:

  1. What is money? Small pieces of metal or paper, passed from person to person, …………… for food, or clothes, or robotic vacuum cleaners.
  2. Before money existed, humans relied on a system of ……….. .
  3. According to writings from the time, early Roman soldiers were paid in salt, which is where we get the word ‘…………….’
  4. The first …………… issued in Lydia in about 600 B.C. were made of Electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, and made King Croesus extremely wealthy.
  5. When the British Empire colonised America, the government restricted the colonists from …………….. ……………. so they wouldn’t be able to declare independence.
  6. During the American civil war, both sides issued huge amounts of government backed ………….. …………… to fund the war as there wasn’t enough gold.
  7. Money finally entered the digital age in the 1980s with the introduction of ………….. …………. …………. (ATM) – or …………… …………. , ………………. …………Numbers, and ………. cards.
  8. In more recent times a new phenomenon has evolved – ……………… You may know it better as …………
  9. These days banks are becoming increasingly less important to our daily finances — we started with a cashless society, and with the rise of chip and pin and …………. ……………., cash is on the decline.

B) VOCABULARY:

Money_Vocab.PNG
C)
The customary design of banknotes in most countries is a portrait of a notable citizen (living and/or deceased) on the front or on the back of the banknotes. Browse some reliable sources and prepare a brief overview on the subject «WHO is WHO of the
(the country of your choice) banknotes». Make sure to tell your group mates some exciting facts and don’t forget to explain the reasons to honor the people on the banknotes. You are to deliver your story as a short speech (you may consult your notes though).

26 October

Unit 7. Spending your money
Attendance: Лена Ш, Лена Ч, Гуля, Эрик, Катя
Absent: Юля, Наташа
In class:
TRAVEL TEST RESULTS: Best papers — Lena Sh, Natasha, Julia (pic description),

PRESENTATION: «WHO is WHO of the banknotes».
HondurasNote.jpg
AustralianBanknote.jpg

VOCABULARY:
Money_Vocab.PNG

LISTENING AND VOCABULARY WORK: Watch the video THE EVOLUTION OF MONEY and fill in the gaps in the sentences from the text:

  1. What is money? Small pieces of metal or paper, passed from person to person, …………… for food, or clothes, or robotic vacuum cleaners.
  2. Before money existed, humans relied on a system of ……….. .
  3. According to writings from the time, early Roman soldiers were paid in salt, which is where we get the word ‘…………….’
  4. The first …………… issued in Lydia in about 600 B.C. were made of Electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, and made King Croesus extremely wealthy.
  5. When the British Empire colonised America, the government restricted the colonists from …………….. ……………. so they wouldn’t be able to declare independence.
  6. During the American civil war, both sides issued huge amounts of government backed ………….. …………… to fund the war as there wasn’t enough gold.
  7. Money finally entered the digital age in the 1980s with the introduction of ………….. …………. …………. (ATM) – or …………… …………. , ………………. …………Numbers, and ………. cards.
  8. In more recent times a new phenomenon has evolved – ……………… You may know it better as …………
  9. These days banks are becoming increasingly less important to our daily finances — we started with a cashless society, and with the rise of chip and pin and …………. ……………., cash is on the decline.

1406967600848-sfbshopping-animated-2.gif

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?

WATCHING and WRITING:
Watch the clips on shopping. Answer the questions IN WRITING. Write in your notebooks.

1) What seemed to be Vivian’s problem while she went shopping?

2) Explain why Vivian’s second shopping session was much more successful.

3 ) Why is the customer clearly dissatisfied with such ‘excellent’ service? Have you had a similar experience in shops?

4) Why did the person at the cash register dislike Michelle Pfeiffer’s heroine? What was her vendetta? Have you ever felt the same in shops?

5) Do you know what shoplifting is? Have you ever had an experience of the kind? In your opinion, why do shoplifters steal things? What measures should be taken to prevent this?

6) What sort of people do you see at the meeting? Why do they get together? Why does Rebecca’s monologue spoil the whole game? Where does she keep her credit card? Why? What other ways to look after your money do you know?

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
1) Learn (and do it very well!) the vocabulary of this lesson — all of it.
2) In writing answer the questions to the videos above. Write the answers which you did not submit in the end of last lesson. For those absent — write all answers.
3) Read the extract «Bridget Jones on shopping». Be ready to read, translate and discuss this text in class.

 shopping_Bridget_Jones.doc

31 October

Unit 7. Spending your money
Attendance:
In class:
MONEY VOCABULARY QUIZ
YOUR PAPERS ASSESSMENT (VIDEO CLIPS ON SHOPPING)
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,window shopping
shopping.gif
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

READING, TRANSLATION, DISCUSSiON
Bridget Jones on Shopping

 shopping_Bridget_Jones.doc

Bridget Jones on X-mas Gift Exchange

 X-masShopping_From HELEN FIELDING.docx

SHOPPING QUOTES

The quickest way to know a woman is to go shopping with her. ~Marcelene Cox
I always say shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist. ~Tammy Faye Bakker
I’ve been shopping all my life and still have nothing to wear. ~Author Unknown
Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination. ~Oscar Wilde

November 2017

7 November

Unit 7. Spending your money
Attendance: Гуля, Лена Ш, Лена Ч, Юля, Катя
In class:
MONEY VOCABULARY QUIZ Results
INFO: Travel Quiz:
Эрик 0/19
Лена Ч 18/19
Лена Ш 18/19
Катя 15/19

READING, TRANSLATION, DISCUSSiON
Bridget Jones on Shopping

 shopping_Bridget_Jones.doc

Bridget Jones on X-mas Gift Exchange

 X-masShopping_From HELEN FIELDING.docx

SHOPPING QUOTES

  • The quickest way to know a woman is to go shopping with her. ~Marcelene Cox
  • I always say shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist. ~Tammy Faye Bakker
  • I’ve been shopping all my life and still have nothing to wear. ~Author Unknown
  • Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination. ~Oscar Wilde

SPEAK-UP
MoneyCards.jpg

F) READING. O’Henry

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

9 November

Unit 7. Spending your money
Attendance:
In class:
DISCUSSION: your RESPONSE ESSAY 250-300 words 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 2017-11-09 в 11.49.33.png
SPEAK UP: Money Talk
Practice your skills of dialogue and monologue.

DISCUSSION: STUDENTS’ EXPENSES AROUND THE WORLD
1) COST OF LIVING IN KOREA | Exchange student

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

3) Students’ expenses in Canada

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

5) The cost of Living in JAPAN

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
A) Read the text below and write down all the key words and expressions.
Unit17-Text.png
B) Do the vocabulary exercises and be ready for discussion on the text:
Unit17-Ex1.png

Unit17-Ex2.png

16 November

UNIT 16. Look after yourself

IN CLASS

LISTENING: Doctor Doctor Jokes
VOCABULARY: Unit 16.C — D vocabualry work
DISCUSSION: Unit16 A -Bquack.jpg

  1. What impression did this story make on you?
  2. Do you think the plan described in the story is going to work with most people? Why? Why not?
  3. What do you think about the personality of the doctor and the author of the book?
  4. Do you think such books are written to help people? What other reasons might there be?

SICK.GIF
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!

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?

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

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

HOME ASSIGNMENT

  1. Learn the key vocabulary — there will be a quiz!
  2. Listen to the extract from Jerome K.Jerome’s «Three men in a boat» UP TO min. 4.20 (!!!) and be ready to retell it.

3. Translate the Doctor-Doctor Jokes below from Russian into English, trying to keep the essence of the joke! Do it in writing in your notebook.

— А мне сегодня вырвали зуб.
- Болит?

— Не знаю, он остался у стоматолога.

Осмотрев пациента, врач отводит его жену в сторону и говорит:
— Знаете, Ваш муж мне не нравится.

— Мне тоже, доктор, но дети его очень любят.

Врач взял отпуск на неделю и отправился на охоту. Возвращается в больницу разочарованный:

— Так никого и не убил! — говорит он медсестре.

— Да-а, отвечает та. — Для этого Вам лучше было бы остаться здесь, в больнице.

— Доктор, я кажется умираю! Куда ни ткну пальцем — везде такая боль!
— Э-э, дружочек, так у вас же палец сломан!

— Здравствуйте, бесплатный доктор! 

— Здравствуйте, безнадёжный больной!

Пациент: «Доктор, а я буду жить?»
 Ответ доктора: «А смысл?»

Врач слушает легкие больного и приговаривает: 
- Хорошо… Хорошо… Очень хорошо… 
- А что же хорошего? 
- Хорошо, что у меня такого нет!

 

21 November

UNIT 16. Look after yourself

IN CLASS
VOCABULARY:
A) Quiz
B) Write a comment in today’s discussion, using at least 3 vocabulary items
C) Doctor Doctor Jokes Translated

Funny Doctor Cartoons And Jokes8.png

MORE VOCABULARY:
Study the ‘case history’ below.
A) ‘You’re in perfect health… as fit as a fiddle … there’s nothing wrong with you.»I feel a bit off-colour … rather under the weather… I do feel funny… I really don’t feel well… I think I’m sickening for something … I feel feverish … ‘
B) ‘He’s been taken ill… he’s in a coma… fighting for his life … still critically ill… in a very critical condition … no change … still seriously ill… still hasn’t regained consciousness …C) ‘He’s no better … he’s getting worse … his condition is deteriorating … he’s getting weaker … he’s slipping away … fading fast… his life is hanging by a thread … it’s just a matter of time … he could go at any second!’D) is responding to treatment… off the danger list… making progress … his condition is satisfactory … he’s come out of the coma…. he’s turned the corner … he’s on the mend.’E) ‘We all wish you a speedy recovery … get well soon … we’re glad you’re over it.’F) ‘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’ll be out and about again in a few days.’G) ‘He’s made a miraculous recovery … he’s as good as new … as right as rain … he’ll live till he’s a hundred.’
DISCUSSION: Do we really suffer form illnesses or do we simply overreact (After Jerome K.Jerome)
READING:29 October 2017

Battle to encourage healthier lifestyles — Changing behavior is not easy.

By Nick TriggleHealth reporter, BBC News
Whether it is smoking, drinking, eating or exercise, most people are aware of what they need to do. And yet they do not do it.
Take smoking, for example. The link to lung cancer has been clear for decades, while evidence is mounting for a host of other conditions.From the 1960s to 1990s the numbers fell dramatically. But progress has been much slower since then, with smoking rates hovering stubbornly above 20%. Obesity rates have risen over the past decade too, with the country on course to have more obese adults than non-obese by 2050. What is more, an increasing number of Britons are turning to drink.
There is a big challenge now because of the recession. During economically tough times smoking and drinking rates tend to rise. Anxiety and stress will be problems as well. We need a good public health service more than ever.
But the key question, as always, is over money. One of the government’s flagship public health projects, free swimming for children and pensioners, was scrapped soon after the coalition government was formed. This has prompted fears there will be little money available to push for the local projects, from cycling lanes to cookery classes, that are the bedrock of public health.
Nevertheless changing behaviour is not easy. People can try to make the healthy choice, but that is not always possible when you see the amount of fat, sugar and salt already in some processed foods.

IMG_4668.PNG

IMG_4669.PNG

 

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

CONSULTING A DOCTOR

Julinkajuly Nov 21, 2017

Does the very idea of visiting a doctor make you sick or do you believe that a real professional can advice you the right treatment for your condition?

MekryukovaJuliana Nov 21, 2017

Personally, I don’t like consulting a doctor because many GPs are not interested in your health at all. So, I usually carry on while ill if the illness doesn’t seem to be contagious or spend several days at home taking medicine and sleeping a lot. In most cases it’s enough for me to get well.

KateRybina Nov 21, 2017

I do not turn to doctors really often,but because of suffering from several deseases,sometimes I have to do it.When a sympathetic doctor examines me I feel satisfaction ,because I know that it can help me to make a total recovery.

ShashkinaElena Nov 21, 2017

The idea of visiting a doctor doesn’t make me sick only if it is not about our polyclinic 202. It seems to me that doctors there are not real professionals. I’m sure that if you are at risk from some serious desease you definitely should go to a private center and have an examination there. Free medical organisations are not that reliable in terms diagnosing and giving right treatment.

KalabinaNatalya Nov 21, 2017

To tell the truth, I always feel a little bit worried before going to my GP for an examination. I was a victim of wrong diagnosis some times. For example, my latest illness: pneumonia.
The doctor was unsympathetic. I had to be waiting for a check-up queuing about 2,5 hours. The doctor was slow, prefered talking on the phone and having a lunch to working. After all, she diagnosed the wrong illness, said that I didn’t need to have X-ray, only if I wanted.
That’s why I was a little bit shoked and visiting a doctor still makes me sick.

ElenChepok Nov 21, 2017

As I get older it is getting harder and harder for me to see a GP in case needed. Medicals used to be something so easy and natural, but now in most cases it gives me anxiety, as some kind of an innocuous running nose or sore throat can potentially be a siphom of a terminal illness. My attitude is probably not the most optimistic one, but still you should better be prepared for the worst and be pleasantly surprised in the end that you are not dying.

ElenChepok Nov 21, 2017

As I get older it is getting harder and harder for me to see a GP in case needed. Medicals used to be something so easy and natural, but now in most cases it gives me anxiety, as some kind of an innocuous running nose or sore throat can potentially be a siphom of a terminal illness. My attitude is probably not the most optimistic one, but still you should better be prepared for the worst and be pleasantly surprised in the end that you are not dying.

 

23 November

UNIT 16. Look after yourself

IN CLASS
PART 1: HEALTHY LIVING
VOCABULARY QUIZ RESULTS
SPEAK UP: Make a short speech containing your active vocabulary items (no less than 7):
— a doctor talking to kids at school
— a quack trying to pick up more clients
— a politician talking about healthcare
— a patient telling about his condition
— a pensioner complaining about his/her poor helath
— a fringe medicine addict
— a person criticizing the situation the situation with medicine supply in his country

1202-harley-schwadron-d.jpg
DISCUSSION: What do you do to be in good health? Your quiz on Healthy Living

https://ru.surveymonkey.com/r/PX7NT5S
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-OMIcijRoTREhVhh-M2P-bPPCmWP5mtOJ5FpFWgJElQ/mobilebasic

PART 1: YOUR MENTAL HEALTH

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 smokingeven 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: WAS FREUD A FRAUD?

nervous.gif
Write down the English equivalents for:

  • одурачить, обмануть, ввести в заблуждение
  • это просто чушь, ерунда!
  • предоставить кого-л. самому себе
  • непрофессионалы, любители
  • состряпать историю
  • поставить неверный диагноз
  • неэффективное лечение
  • оговорка по Фрейду ( be ready to give an example)
  • «бессознательное»
  • «мутные» туманные разглагольствования
  • препятствовать тщательным клиническим испытаниям
  • наживаться на доверчивость публики
  • разрушить мифы

Freud1.png
Freud2.png
HOME ASSIGNMENT:
Write an essay: Can a psychiatrist (or psychoanalyst or psychotherapist) help someone with their problems? Express your own opinion!

28 November

UNIT 16. Look after yourself

IN CLASS
YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
You have listened to the interview with professor Carl Abrahams talking about Sigmund Freud.
What are the English equivalents for:

  • одурачить, обмануть, ввести в заблуждение
  • это просто чушь, ерунда!
  • предоставить кого-л. самому себе
  • непрофессионалы, любители
  • состряпать историю
  • поставить неверный диагноз
  • неэффективное лечение
  • оговорка по Фрейду ( be ready to give an example)
  • «бессознательное»
  • «мутные» туманные разглагольствования
  • препятствовать тщательным клиническим испытаниям
  • наживаться на доверчивость публики
  • разрушить мифы

freud.jpg
You have watched the video Phobia Workshop. Answer the questions below:

  1. What fears do the members of the workshop have?
  2. What makes the whole thing look so funny?

Watch the clips below and be ready to reason and discuss the following: In your opinion, do such practices help people suffering from psychological problems feel better? Why/Why not?

1) ANALYSE THIS!

In your opinion, what is wrong with the doctor?

2) Austin Powers Group Therapy

What famous American TV show is ridiculed in this movie? What are the general features of this kind of programmes?

3) Anger Management — Don’t go there

Do you think this man managed to deal with his angry ways? Why?/Why not?

4) Anger Management — Who you are scene

Why is the patient getting more and more nervous?

5) Freaky Fridy/ Therapy scene

Having watched this comic scene, do you think shrinks need to distance themselves from their patients in order not to go mad?

SPEAK UP: Can a psychiatrist (or psychoanalyst or psychotherapist) help someone with their problems? Express your own opinion!

READING: TIME TO HELP YOURSELF — DO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT?
IGM RDM interacting 1.pngIGM RDM interacting 2.png
HOME ASSIGNMENT
1) Revise the vocabulary for your Test on Health and Illness (vocabulary items from the text about the programme of self-healing and exercises after it, idioms and set expressions, the dialogue Doctor-Patient and the interview about Freud — to sum up, see the previous lessons on the subject)
2) Type your essays and send up0load them on the STUDENTS’ PAPERS page
3) Read the article Why Procrastinators Procrastinate and answer the questions:
1. What is a very simple definition of “Procrastination”?
2. Who are fake procrastinators and why is it easy for them to avoid this bad habit?
3. What are real procrastinators like?
4. How did the author hand in his papers at college?
5. In what way is the brain of a Rational Person different from one of a Procrastinator?
6. What suggestion does the Instant Gratification Monkey give to the Procrastinator?
7. Why shouldn’t the Instant Gratification Monkey be in charge of decisions?
8. What is a Dark Playground and why is the fun one has there completely unearned?
9. Look at the picture and speak about the activities at the Dark Playground. Which of them are you involved in from time to time?
10.When does the Panic Monster usually arrive? How do you usually deal with your own Panic Monster?
11.What are the reasons why we should fight Procrastination?

30 November

UNIT 16. Look after yourself

TIME TO HELP YOURSELF — DO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT?
Why Procrastinators Procrastinate
October 30, 2013 By Tim Urban
interacting 1.pnginteracting 2.png
*Tim Urban has become one of the Internet’s most popular writers. With weired illustrations and occasionally epic prose on everything from procrastination to artificial intelligence, Urban’s blog, Wait But Why, has gathered millions of unique page views, thousands of patrons and famous fans like Elon Musk.

TED TALK: https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_urban_inside_the_mind_of_a_master_procrastinator
ARTICLE HERE:

 why-procrastinators-procrastinate-pdf.pdf

WARM UP:
1. Are you good at time-management?
2. Do you use daily/weekly planners?
3. What do you think of the people who plan ahead for years and decades (i.e. they try to figure out when exactly they are going to start a family, have kids, buy a new house, etc)?
4. Do you procrastinate from time to time?
5. Do you feel guilty and how do you resolve the situation?

VOCABULARY:
Give the synonyms or explain the following:
VERBS

  • to delay
  • to avoid
  • to struggle
  • to accomplish
  • to coexist
  • to berate
  • to mope

NOUNS

  • deadline
  • guilt
  • anxiety
  • regret
  • predicament
  • consequence
  • embarrassment

ADJECTIVES

  • unbridled (freedom)
  • optional
  • insane
  • rational (decisions)
  • dormant
  • well-earned (leisure)

Fill the gaps with prepositions:
1. We have to hand …….. papers from time to time.
2. Let’s start ……..understanding a non-procrastinator’s brain.
3. Rational Decision-Maker in the procrastinator’s brain is coexisting ……..an Instant Gratifcation Monkey.
4. Who should be in charge ……..decisions?
5. In the monkey world, your Instant Gratification Monkey has got it all figured ……..: you eat when you’re hungry, sleep when you’re tired, and don’t do anything difficult.
6. The fun you have in the Dark Playground is completely unearned and the air is filled ……..guilt and anxiety.
7. Sometimes the Rational Decision-Maker puts his foot ……..and refuses to let you waste your time.
8. As it turns …….., there’s only one thing that scares the Instant Gratification Monkey.
9. The Instant Gratification Monkey is terrified ……..the Panic Monster.
10.Sometimes, the person who couldn’t write a paper’s introductory sentence for two weeks can stay ……..all night and write eighteen pages.
11.Some lucky procrastinators don’t even respond ……..the Panic Monster.
12.The procrastinator ultimately ends ……..underachieving and fails ……..reach his potential.

READING COMPREHENSION:
Read the article and answer the questions:
1. What is a very simple definition of “Procrastination”?
2. Who are fake procrastinators and why is it easy for them to avoid this bad habit?
3. What are real procrastinators like?
4. How did the author hand in his papers at college?
5. In what way is the brain of a Rational Person different from one of a Procrastinator?
6. What suggestion does the Instant Gratification Monkey give to the Procrastinator?
7. Why shouldn’t the Instant Gratification Monkey be in charge of decisions?
8. What is a Dark Playground and why is the fun one has there completely unearned?
9. Look at the picture and speak about the activities at the Dark Playground. Which of them are you involved in from time to time?
10.When does the Panic Monster usually arrive? How do you usually deal with your own Panic Monster?
11.What are the reasons why we should fight Procrastination?

In class render the following into English using the key vocabulary items:
Прокрастинация – это такой недуг, от которого трудно излечиться. Простой совет «Избегайте прокрастинации!» выглядит как насмешка. Давайте посоветуем страдающим ожирением людям избегать переедания, депрессивным людям — избегать апатии, и кто-нибудь, пожалуйста, скажите китам, выброшенным из воды на пляж, что они должны избегать пребывания вне океана.
«Избегайте прокрастинации!» — это хороший совет только для ложных прокрастинаторов, которые говорят: «Я заходил в Facebook несколько раз на работе, ах как же много времени я потратил впустую!». Эти же люди скажут истинному прокрастинатору: «Просто перестань прокрастинировать, и ты будешь в порядке». Они не понимают, что настоящая прокрастинация – не дело выбора, а тяжкая зависимость.
Принимающий Рациональные Решения в голове прокрастинатора сосуществует с Обезьяной Мгновенного Вознаграждения, и эта самая обезьяна не даёт ему делать работу.Она не в состоянии отвечать за принятие решений. Она думает только о настоящем, игнорируя все уроки прошлого и будущее вообще. Её заботит только то, как максимизировать удовольствие прямо сейчас. В мире обезьян всё понятно — вы едите, когда голодны, спите, когда устали, и не делаете ничего сложного. C безумной обезьяной в голове, прокрастинатор тратит кучу времени в месте под названием Тёмная Игровая Площадка. Веселье на Тёмной Игровой Площадке — вовсе не веселье, потому что оно абсолютно незаслуженно, а человек там испытывает вину, беспокойство, ненависть к себе и страх.
Иногда Принимающий Рациональные Решения настаивает на своем и отказывается напрасно тратить время. Но потом Обезьяна снова берет вверх и бедный Принимающий Рациональные Решения мучается от сожалений, хандрити отчитывает себя за слабость. А тут еще появляется Панический Монстр, который сначала дремлет, но просыпается, как только приближается дедлайн или возникает опасность общественного порицания, краха карьеры или другие пугающие последствия.
Безусловно, так жить нельзя. Даже для прокрастинатора, которому изредка удаётся добиться успеха, что-то должно измениться. И вот почему:

  • Лучше потратить время на наслаждение удовлетворением от проделанной работы, а не на панику.
  • Прокрастинатор слишком часто проваливает попытки раскрытия своего потенциала.
  • Разобравшись с прокрастинацией можно найти время делать потрясающие вещи: прийти в хорошую физическую форму, больше читать, научиться играть на гитаре, написать книгу, готовить сложные блюда, и даже круто поменять карьеру!

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
A) WRiTING: Read the Article HOW TO BEAT PROCRASTINATION and write the gist, summing up the main ideas of the author.

 how-to-beat-procrastination-pdf-v2.pdf

B) SPEAK-UP:
Looks at the pictures and be ready to comment on them.
ProcrasrinationMatrix3.pngProcrasrinationMatrix2.pngProcrasrinationMatrix3.png
C) CREATIVITY Follow the link and get ready for discussion:

December 2017

5 December

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 be ready to discuss them:
Key expressions:

  1. to face/experience challenges
  2. to see how things evolve
  3. mind-blowing facts
  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:
A) Learn the key vocabulary
B) Broaden your horizons and learn more about CREATIVITY! (click on the word to follow the link!)
C) 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 2-3-minute speech containing your the analysis of the clip and your
emotional response. Use key words and expressions!

EXAMPLE

7 December

CREATIVITY
You were supposed to find on YOUTUBE a short inspirational video that illustrates «out of the box» concept and make a 2-3-minute speech containing your the analysis of the clip and your emotional response. Use key words and expressions!

Кадамбоева Гуласал

Юлиана Мекрюкова и Наталья Калабина

Чепок Елена

Лобачус Эрик

Екатерина Рыбина

February 2018

7 February

UNIT 4. Let’s Talk
BRAINSTORM:
Study the following TIMELINE OF HUMAN COMMUNICATION. Be ready to sum up the main events form the early stages up to these days.In your opinion, what new aspects has the issue of communication acquired recently and why? What are the new perspectives in the development of human communications and what dangers can it bring about?
CommunicHist.png

COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS ))) What seems to be the reason of misunderstanding?

There is too much butter on those trays!

You know nothing!

HOME ASSIGNMENT:

1) Recall your past experiences and the situations you have witnessed and speak about different ASPECTS of communication and all possible causes of communication problems. Be ready to make a 2-3 min speech in class.
2) Watch the episode of a popular UK TV Show, print out the study pack with exercises below and do all the tasks.

 Commumication problems.docx

13 February

UNIT 4. Let’s Talk

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 communication 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 to communication:

Study the feedback that other students gave on this video:

VOCABULARY: Do you think you know enough words and expressions to speak about communication? Study this list of COMMUNICATION VOCABULARY.
Communication.gif

BRAINSTORM: Speak about different ASPECTS of communication and all possible causes of communication problems.

DISCUSSION: Recall your past experiences and the situations you have witnessed and be ready to make a 2-3 min speech in class.

=


=

Stop Looking At Your Phones (‘The Britishes’)

Watch the video and give the English equivalents to the following:

  1. положить конец цивилизованной дискуссии
  2. получить важный звонок
  3. оставить сообщение
  4. жить в режиме многозадачности
  5. «только здесь ловится сигнал»
  6. перезвонить
  7. «брать трубку»


What phenomena of the modern life are the authors making fun of? How do they manage to create the humorous effect?

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
READING:
Mobile Phones

 READING_MobilePhones.docx

To text or not to text?
Read the article Is Texting the Death of Small Talk?
the-scream-cropped.jpg

  1. What issues does the author bring up?
  2. Who is more likely to lose oral communication skills and why?
  3. Analyse the talking versus texting table.
  4. What can we do to ensure that texting isn’t the death of small talk?
14 February

HAPPY VALENTINE!
In your opinion, which approach is more justified?
antiValentine1.gifmess.gif
SURVIVING VALENTINE’S DAY IF YOU ARE SINGLE

For many, St. Valentine’s Day is the climax of the romantic year. It is a time for loved ones to exchange all manner of gifts, including chocolates, flowers, cuddly toys and cards loaded with mots d’amour. It is the day of the year when you feel wanted. A pink sugar-coated happy day that brightens up the dullest part of winter… However, for many boys and girls, men and women, bachelors and spinsters, it can be the most cruel date on the calendar. So what to do with this day? Batten down the hatches, hide under the blanket and emerge anew on the 15th? Here’s what we suggest:
Talk Yourself Out of it

val-devil.jpg

Survive Valentine’s Day by simply ignoring any significance it might have. This is easy enough in the modern world where it’s just another excuse for companies to attempt to get you to buy large quantities of overpriced, badly made goods (which are also usually pink and heart-shaped). It’s all an attempt to make us feel guilty ofbeing alone. In life we need food, shelter, water, oxygen, clothing, transport and each other. And we need all those things all the time not only on the bloody Valentine’s Day! In fact, we should just boycott Valentine’s Day altogether! Those people who find themselves single on this particular day can comfort themselves thinking that they are saving money, time and effort when all around the world; people are struggling to cope with tokenism and thingism.
DO something ELSE…
… Ignore the whole thing. The best way to succeed is to involve yourself so completely in something that has nothing to do with Valentine’s that you don’t have time to realize that it is Valentine’s Day until it’s already over. Such activities could include making MP3 music collections, carving a really nice fork, knife and spoon out of wood with a dull penknife, or other suitably frustrating but time-consuming and finally “useful” activities.
A Few Alternatives:
One friend came up with this idea: I have the best alternative ever – Valentine’s Day just happens to be my dog’s birthday, so we celebrate THAT instead. Go for a long walk, share a meat pie and watch a movie together, it’s much nicer. Other than that you can just get drunk and watch violent action movies. OR — Do something good, for someone who needs it. You will like yourself as a result. Do it several times and you will like yourself a lot, and sweethearts will be standing in a queue at your door.
Celebrate Being Single
Sometimes it seems that if we don’t have an opportunity to sit opposite someone in a nice restaurant looking all shiny with love, then we feel bad, like something is missing in life or in us. We can spend all of our single life wishing to be in a couple, and then, ironically, when we do find someone, we start thinking how cool it would be to have some of our single life back. Enjoy being single, make the most of it! Do something on Valentine’s Day that celebrates your independent status. In this life you have to be happy with yourself first…
Cheat!
Or you could really go for the made-up mysterious admirer scenario. A few days before Valentine’s Day, place an order for flowers, chocolates and Champagne to be delivered to you at work. Have the card attached marked ‘Your secret admirer’. When the presents arrive, fake ignorance and surprise, and claim not to be able to guess who the gift has come from. Your office colleagues will rack their brains for you all day and will give you lots of attention.
Think International
Fortunately, in some countries Valentine cards and gifts are not only exchanged between sweethearts, but also between close friends. So send flowers and a card to a friend on Valentine’s Day. Or you could move to a country where they don’t celebrate it. Or at least go for a holiday there for the 14th of February, and counter all questions about Valentine’s Day when you get back with long descriptions of what you did, where you went and what you ate, until the uncomfortable moment is over. Russia is a good choice for this. Technically it’s not celebrated there, though the day is fashionable among young people (so avoid schools/colleges). Also if you hang around until the 8th of March, if you are a woman, you will be given flowers and chocolate whatever your marital status. And you’ll get a day off work, too.
Public Holiday
And while we’re on the subject of days off — the Government should solve everybody’s problems by declaring 14 February a national holiday. That way couples can enjoy a guilt-free day together in lovey-doveydom, or argue their way round a supermarket, whatever best suits them. And single people can avoid the outside world by staying at home, reflecting over why exactly nobody has sent them a card. Or spend the day at a free museum with a friend, or go to the pictures, or call their mothers… That way everybody wins.

warlove.jpg

UNIT 4. Let’s Talk TRANSLATION:Translate the following into English:Есть опасение, что повсеместное использование гэджетов для общения может положить конец цивилизованной дискуссии. В былые времена общение было устным, голосовым, и даже в телефонном разговоре можно было подчеркнуть свои эмоции. Вы могли выйти из себя и накричать на кого-то, могли заикаться; могли услышать нежное мурлыканье или даже шепот. Как важно было получить нужный звонок! Брать или не брать трубку, перезвонить или нет — это был иногда трудный выбор.В наши дни мы все живем в режиме многозначности, и вместо моментального ответа всегда можно отправить мессадж «когда-нибудь потом» или даже игнорировать его. Для молодежи чаты становятся естественным и единственным способом общения. А вот старшие члены семьи часто обижаются, когда детки за семейным обедом не выпускают мобильный из рук. Прекратите смотреть на мобильники! — кричат они. Даже чтобы понять, что этот текст не совсем серьезный, автор поставил в конце смайлик. 🙂
Here is another example of communication problem. Watch the video and speak about the reason why Bridget couldn’t get what she wanted in the drugstore.

HOME ASSIGNMENT
1) Read the texts about mobile phones and texting. We are going to discuss them in much detail. 2) TEAMWORK: Make a survey of your own. Ask other students about their attitudes to texting-talking communication. Ask them to give their reasons why they find either way more comfortable. Sum up the results in a short (2-2.5 min) video blog entry (blog). By 20.02.2018 the script should be ready.

20 February
 
UNIT 4. Let’s Talk

Emerging Talk-Rules: The Mobile PhoneEveryone in England has a mobile phone, but still there are no set rules of etiquette governing when, how and in what manner these phones should be used.
Most English people, if asked, agree that talking loudly about banal business or domestic matters on one’s mobile while on a train is rude and unacceptable. Yet a significant minority of people still do this, and while their fellow passengers may sigh and roll their eyes, they very rarely confront the offenders directly – as this would involve breaking other, well-established English rules about talking to strangers, making a scene or drawing attention to oneself.
There are some early signs of emergence of the rules regarding mobile-phone use in public places, and it looks as though loud ‘I’m on a train’ conversations or mobiles ringing in cinemas and theatres may eventually become as rude as queue jumping.
However, there are other aspects of mobile-phone etiquette that are even more blurred and controversial. For example, there are no agreed rules of etiquette on the use of mobile phones during business meetings. Recent research show that lower-ranking English executives tend to be less courteous, attempting to emphasize their own importance by keeping phones on and taking calls during meetings, while high-ranking people with nothing to prove tend to be more considerate.
There are many other social applications of mobile phones, some of which do not even involve talking on the phone at all, such as the use of the mobile phone itself as a status-signal, particularly among teenagers.
Many women now use their mobiles as ‘barrier signals’ when on their own in public places, as an alternative to the traditional use of a newspaper or magazine to signal that they are unavailable and mark personal ‘territory’. Even when not in use, the mobile placed on the table acts as an effective symbolic bodyguard, a protector against unwanted social contact.
Until the advent of mobile text messaging, many of us had to live without this kind of small but psychologically and socially important form of communication – a friendly greeting, maybe a scrap of news – but a personal connection, a reminder that you are not alone. But this new form of communication also requires a new set of rules. Chatting someone up, flirting by text is accepted, even encouraged, but some girls complain that guys use texting as a way of avoiding talking. ‘Dumping’ someone by text-message is widely regarded as cowardly and absolutely unacceptable.

DISCUSSION:To text or not to text?

the-scream-cropped.jpg
 
Read the article Is Texting the Death of Small Talk?
Find the English equivalents of the following expressions:
1. жизненно важный навык
2. на расстоянии
3. заядлый любитель переписываться
4. владельцы сотовых телефонов
5. сниженный способности к межличностному общению
6. непосредственно прямой разговор
7. лицом к лицу/лично
8. групповые чаты
9. импровизационная речь
10. личный разговор
11. навыки лидерства
12. неправильное толкование
13. работа в сети
14. быть деструктивным/ отрывающим от дел/ отвлекающим
15. общаться
16. передавать значение
17. написать на электронную почту
18. обмениваться сообщениями
19. получать сообщение/звонок
20. кануть в лету/стать далеко забытым прошлым
21. прерывать/перебивать
22. завязать разговор
23. начать светскую беседу
24. неверно истолковать сообщение
25. получать сообщение/голосовое сообщение
26. визуальное дополнение

Answer the questions:

  1. What issues does the author bring up?
  2. Who is more likely to lose oral communication skills and why?
  3. Analyse the talking versus texting table.
  4. What can we do to ensure that texting isn’t the death of small talk?

HOME ASSIGNMENT:


1) YOUR PROJECTS: TEXTING vs TALKING communication
2) READ THE TEXTS BELOW AND DO THE EXERCISES
 экрана 2018-02-19 в 22.23.33.png
The Expert ( Comedy Sketch)
Watch the video and point out the communication problems that the people at the meeting are experiencing.

Cross-Cult_1.png

Cross-Cult_2.png
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 

My major communication problem

Julinkajuly Feb 20, 2018

Describe your own major communication problem (if you have any).

Julinkajuly Feb 20, 2018

As for me, I tend to be too straightforward — some people might take offense. . Also, I am too open with others, which can backfire at times.

Julinkajuly Feb 20, 2018

Also, I sometimes teach people life, though they don’t ask me to do it. I believe it to be an occupational hazard. 🙂

KalabinaNatalya Feb 20, 2018

Frankly speaking, I’m a kind of person who has a psychological barrier. I mean that I’m afraid of communication with people, I feel that they stare at me. And that’s why I always refrain from expressing my opinion to avoid chuckling about my speech.

KateRybina Feb 20, 2018

I can not say that it is a real problem, but sometimes I get tired of a surplus of communication. When a person is really sociable and speaks a lot without any pauses-it is hard for me to communicate for a long time.

Julinkajuly Feb 20, 2018

Ann D: I don’t think it’s a problem, but with age I began to think first and then speak. Before I say anything, I think about the consequences, a person’s reaction.. I think it’s a good quality for communication that comes with age.

ElenChepok Feb 20, 2018

Normally I try to avoid having problems while communicating with people, especially people, whom I don’t know very well. But still some problems tend to occur while speaking to my close ones. One of my major problems, which is probably not closely connected to the communication itself but still affects it, is my unpredictable mood. Sometimes it happens so that while having a chat with a friend, out of a sudden, I can think about something really upsetting, which instantly changes my mood and my poor friend cannot understand what has happened. Although, I try to control it now, so that this magical feature of mine don’t affect communication with my partner.

ShashkinaElena Feb 20, 2018

My major problem in communication is that I speak without thinking. Sometimes it can be seen as honesty, but sometimes I can seem rude or impolite. To tell the truth, I find this feature of my way of communication rather good than bad. That is how people always know what I really mean. Also I would like other people talk to me exactly how l do to them. This probably wouldn’t make communication easier, but more honest I think.

ElenChepok Feb 20, 2018

Normally I try to avoid having problems while communicating with people, especially people, whom I don’t know very well. But still some problems tend to occur while speaking to my close ones. One of my major problems, which is probably not closely connected to the communication itself but still affects it, is my unpredictable mood. Sometimes it happens so that while having a chat with a friend, out of a sudden, I can think about something really upsetting, which instantly changes my mood and my poor friend cannot understand what has happened. Although, I try to control it now, so that this magical feature of mine don’t affect communication with my partner.

Julinkajuly Feb 20, 2018

Ilyana: To my mind, my major communication problem is that I feel uncomfortable when I talk with people who are not enough close to me. I have a communication barrier while talking to such people. I can’t show them my real emotions and feelings. In my daily life I have to communicate with many people. Honestly, it’s sometimes challenging for me.

Julinkajuly Feb 20, 2018

Diana: My major communication problem has affected my life drastically. Personally I have a difficulty to memorize a face of a person whom I have just met. For this reason I don’t greet my new acquaintances when I encounter them somewhere. As a result people get offended saying that I am an arrogant and unfriendly person. Also when I meet new people I feel awkward because we don’t have much common topics to discuss. I remain silent in most interactions of this kind. Or for instance If I try to fill the uncomfortable silence I would often say something unsuitable and inappropriate and it’s even worse than just to say nothing.

Julinkajuly Feb 20, 2018

Julia: I can’t say that I have any serious problems with communication. I’m quite easy-going person and like meeting new people and talking to them. But sometimes it’s difficult for me to come up to people myself. So, I usually give them an opportunity to take the first step 🙂

Julinkajuly Feb 20, 2018

Jane: I think one of my major communication problem is that sometimes I can’t find words that I want to say when someone asks me questions and when I need to communicate with someone.In the middle of the speech I can start to stammer and sometimes I can think for a lot about the word that I need to use.
Another my communication problem is that I’m too shy to talk with others, and I can be quiet in a big company.

Julinkajuly Feb 20, 2018

Kate D: I am also straightforward.I like to tell the truth, but not all people like it, I try to be tactful, but not always it turns out. I like to express my opinion and argue, but sometimes it turns out to be too much.

Julinkajuly Feb 20, 2018

Sasha: I need time to know people better. So firstly I can be quite and silent. I had situations when people thought that I were insocial hater of people.
When I’m in company of friends I can’t be so quite because I feel uncomfortable in silence so I can be very loud.

 

March 2018

6 March

UNIT 4. Let’s Talk
CLASS 1ROLE PLAY: With your fellow student(s) create a dialogue, illustrating one of the following situations:(1) students complain to each other about their professor’s horrible attitude while (s)he is giving an oral exam(2) teachers complain about their students’ lack of respect to older generation and their inability to write a polite mail while sending in their papers(3) employers discussing the long day while they were interviewing the candidates for the job of a teacher — they are talking about the gifted candidates and those who failed completely(4) two candidates for a job of a MP’s personal secretary discussing the hard time their future boss had given him during the interview.(5) two pensioners complaining about the unacceptable language and manners characterizing model TV shows.Each dialogue should contain at least 7 expressions from the article
Is Texting the Death of Small Talk?

coffee_table_talk_PA_300_clr_6082.gif
DISCUSSION: You have watched the video THE EXPERT. What are the communication problems that the people at the meeting are experiencing. Why? Can you think of an effective way to resolve such a situation?
DISCUSSION:
 экрана 2018-02-19 в 22.23.33.png
Cross-Cult_2.png
Cross-Cult_2.png

CLASS 2

 экрана 2018-02-20 в 21.52.17.png
 экрана 2018-02-20 в 21.52.28.png
 экрана 2018-02-20 в 21.52.38.png
 экрана 2018-02-20 в 21.53.06.png

7 March

UNIT 4. Let’s Talk
VOCABULARY AND DISCUSSION:
Communicating across cultures (See the class of the 6th of March)
HowToSurviveInRussia.png
READING: Read the following article written some 10 years ago by an American working in Russia.

  1. Sum up his attitude in a few sentences.
  2. Are there any statements you disagree with? Why?
  3. Do you think something has changed since the early 2000s?

GAINING LOCAL KNOWLEDGE – It’s important to have a “sherpa” in the Russian market. Just as you wouldn’t try to climb Mt. Everest without a sherpa, so too should you not try to go it alone in Russia. At a minimum, companies entering the Russian market need to carefully recruit and retain experienced and talented Russian personnel in their industry. In certain industries, a Russian partner, either active or silent, will be helpful in dealing with government and regulatory issues. At most, even establishing a partnership or joint venture may speed market entry, but realize too that such partnerships come with risks, especially the almost inevitable time when there is a difference of opinion between the Western and Russian members of management. This can paralyze a company and create rifts, which are often difficult to resolve. A clear delineation of management control at the outset is critical to a successful joint venture. Solid legal advice from either multinational law firms or Russian firms catering to Western clients is essential.
PACE OF ACTIVITY– Progress is often slow in Russia. Western businesses should not plan on market development taking place as quickly as when entering other new markets. Product certification and other regulatory requirements need to be planned for and included into any project schedule.
COSTS – As with longer times required, investors should expect that actual expenses will be 2-3 times the anticipated budget amount.
FLEXIBILITY – When entering any new market, there are always unanticipated events and frustrations. New investors need to anticipate a higher than normal amount of frustrating delays in the Russian market and plan these into their project schedules. Some delays will never be fully explained either. Staying flexible and keeping ones sense of humor is essential.
SENSITIVITY TO NEW IDEAS– Because Russia was isolated from the West for such a long period, Russian business practices evolved differently, and Russians created novel ways to approach certain business decisions. While Russia has rapidly adopted Western business practices, and many Russian business managers have earned MBAs in the West, there are still key distinctions, which Western managers would do well to acknowledge. Who better knows and understands the Russian marketplace than Russians?
THE PERSONAL FACTOR– Relationships can make or break a business in Russia. Building the right relationships, even friendships, with key Russian partners and senior managers is essential. While relationships in Western business practice are important, they are magnified in Russia. A good relationship can cover a multitude of sins and ensure honesty and trustworthiness from both the Russian and Western partner. A strong relationship will also help both parties feel comfortable discussing problems and sensitive issues that can impact the business. Spend time with your Russian partners and key employees, take trips together, go to each other’s homes, get to know each other’s families. Not only will it enrich you personally, it will enhance your business.
RULE OF LAW / STABILITY OF CONTRACT– Quite often, contract signing with Russian counterparties is only another step in the never-ending negotiation process. Be prepared for regular attempts to re-negotiate agreements as factors change or as local partners sense they have gained enough knowledge to press their Western partners for better terms.
BUSINESS ETHIC. There is different business ethic in Russia than in the West. The “Anglo-Saxon” ethic of the UK or the US tends to be a bit more transparent, more “open-book”. In Russia because the legal system is still developing, people are much more “closed” and there is a lot more proclivity to lie, and gain the advantage by holding information and hiding essential things. That’s one of the key cultural differences.
DILIGENCE. Due to the factors mentioned above due diligence process has to be rigorous. You can’t expect that all the information will be presented to you from the very first time. When you are doing due diligence before working with Russian business partner you have to make sure that you’ve done a complete thorough investigation. Before making big investments due diligence is critical. It has to be proper and thorough. You have to go and see things yourself.
PERSONAL. The catchphrase “nothing personal – just business” DOES NOT WORK in Russia! With Russians business is a lot more personal. They have to genuinely like the people they are doing business with, before they have the level of trust to be partners. So if you are going to establish a joint venture or have Russian partners the relationship side is key.
PRIDE. Russians are very proud. Those businessmen who have survived during the chaotic period in Russian business, those who have been able to build their businesses and to attract western investment – have obviously done a great job – so they deserve a pat on the back! Just going in and dropping money on the table will not help to win friends or influence people. Russians would many times take a deal that on its face is less valuable in terms of cash or remuneration upfront so that they could have a partner they are comfortable with.
MARRIED TO BUSINESS. Russians are very attached to their businesses. They have to struggle so much for their business – they are very protective of it, they nurse it like a little child. The emotional draw is stronger in Russia than it is in the West. Russians are very good specialists in particular areas and they focus a lot on what they are doing. In the West people tend to do a wider range of things. So Russian businessmen can easily be hurt even in case you make some constructive criticism to their business because they treat it as their own child. Too much criticism may set negotiations back – you’ll have to go back to sooth over and repair ruffled moments and hurt feelings before you can move on again.
CRISIS RESOLUTION.If there is a misunderstanding or even a crisis in relations with your Russian partner, the main thing to do is to get it solved immediately. Don’t let it fester. Come to Moscow, come to wherever it is located in the region and spend time together. They relationship may never be the same but it can at least be repaired to the degree of being cordial again.
BUSINESS AND POLITICS. Every country has relations between politics and business; in most Western countries the political connection to business is very large; in Russia this connection has always been present especially in strategic industries and it has grown in the last couple of years as the Russian government has moved to get state control over gas, mineral deposits and other industries. The relationship is going to be very tight between politics and significant business in Russia. So there is no way you can do business there without knowing what’s going on and looking at the trends. Oil and gas are probably the most politically connected of the major industries.

WHAT DO THEY REALLY MEAN?

(From not bad to quite good, how trait of being polite stops us from saying what we really mean)
See the full article article HERE

«Ever been told by a new neighbour ‘You must come for dinner’ then spent weeks waiting for a follow-up invitation that never arrives?
Or been thrilled when the boss said he’d bear your ‘very interesting’ idea in mind and been surprised when it was never mentioned again.
Then you’ve been victim of the uniquely British trait of being too prim and polite to say what we really mean. And if it can be baffling for us, imagine what it must be like for foreigners who take our every word at face value.»

Looking at the table below make up short dialogues between British and Russian partners in business. Try to illustrate the situation with cross-cultural difference.
Say-mean-understand-2.jpg

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 Independentthe 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.

13 March

UNIT 4. Let’s Talk

WHAT DO THEY REALLY MEAN?

(From not bad to quite good, how trait of being polite stops us from saying what we really mean)
See the full article article HERE

«Ever been told by a new neighbour ‘You must come for dinner’ then spent weeks waiting for a follow-up invitation that never arrives?
Or been thrilled when the boss said he’d bear your ‘very interesting’ idea in mind and been surprised when it was never mentioned again.
Then you’ve been victim of the uniquely British trait of being too prim and polite to say what we really mean. And if it can be baffling for us, imagine what it must be like for foreigners who take our every word at face value.»

Looking at the table below make up short dialogues between British and Russian partners in business. Try to illustrate the situation with cross-cultural difference.
Say-mean-understand-2.jpg
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 Independentthe 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.

SPEAK UP: Here are some examples illustration the ambiguities of some Russian expressions. Try to explain them to our Italian student.
RusCraze.png
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. facial expression
  14. body language
  15. to round up

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

14 March

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?
environmnet boring.png

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 contemporaryissues. Do you think it covers all the sensitive issues?

 -Topics-Environment_Intermediate.pdf

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) Write an entry to the DISCUSSION below.

 

=+++++++++=+++++++++=+++++++++=+++++++++=+++++++++=

THE WORLD AROUND YOU

Julinkajuly Mar 14, 2018

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

Julinkajuly Mar 14, 2018

I have two «homes» — one in a big metropolis — Moscow, and the other — in the rural area in Italy. I must say that these two areas are quite different in terms of pollution. In my home city (Moscow) the air is not so clean, it is not recommended to drink tap water and your shoes last only one season because of the chemicals sprinkled on the roads. Sometimes we can see a thick smog hanging over our heads and for some reason the snow is grey and even black on the sides of the roads 🙁 ! On the other hand, in my little village in the North of Italy I always drink water from the tap and there a lot of street fountains where the water is also drinkable! The air is so fresh that you can also eat it like bread. Food there is fresh and home produced — so people normally live up to 100 years. The situation in Moscow is getting worse, and in Italy it seems to be quite stable though on TV they keep talking about pollution )))

ShashkinaElena Mar 17, 2018

I have been living in Moscow not for a long time but I definetely see the difference between the situation here and in my hometown. I have never seen so many factories and so massive traffic jams. I can’t really say that it is comfortable to live here in terms of ecology. And in case of Moscow I don’t think that something can be improved because it’s a metropolis. Factories won’t be closed and car owners won’t refuse to use it. So we can just dream about clean air.

Julinkajuly Mar 17, 2018

Well, Lena, let’s hope that there will be a general trend: green life will be in fashion!

IsakovaJane Mar 17, 2018

I also can say that I have two hometowns- one is Baku, and the other is Moscow.
I think that these cities differ a lot. In Baku , because of their efforts to make the city famous, they are trying to build new skyscrapers and buildings and there is dust and rubbish everywhere and it’s too windy what makes these rubbish and dust fly everywhere (except seashore of the Caspian Sea) and it’s not comfortable to breath. But in Moscow everything is different. Despite the cold weather and a lot of factories the air is more clean than in Baku and in Moscow there are more trees. In Baku is too hot and the tree burns sometimes happen. I think that the problem of air pollution should be solved because it can lead to the illnesses but we can only wait for it.

MekryukovaJuliana Mar 18, 2018

Well, I moved to Moscow about 2 years ago and I can say that the ecological situation here is much better than I expected! Comparing to my hometown there’re a lot of parks and wood massives. Personally, I’m quite satisfied with the place where I live. Maybe it’s just because I live in one of the cleanest districts of Moscow: there aren’t any factories and highways there. Also, what surprised me most was that many people really care about the environment. For example, I’ve never thought about waste sorting before. Fortunately, I see that more and more people are worried about our environment. The local government encourages people to save water and power, use public transport insted of own cars and so on and so forth. You can say those are just words, but it does work!

Julinkajuly Mar 18, 2018

Jane, I agree with you! Efforts should be made to improve the situation bot in Baku and in Moscow.

Julinkajuly Mar 18, 2018

Juliana, I trust these are not just words. If you can observe the changes — there is hope.

Annie252 Mar 18, 2018

I`ve been living in Moscow fo 17 years and I can say I got used to it. My district is clean, there is a huge Timiryazevskiy park and also a big pond where people always bathe in summer. It is a very strange thing that our mayor started to build a lot of highways, motorways and now there are a lot of programms which are supposed to green our city. So, whats the problem to think first and then to do something? in my opinion, people are afraid of these consequences of air and water polution so they are trying to improve everything.. That`s great but I wish it wouldn`t be too late…

Julinkajuly Mar 19, 2018

Oh, yes, Ann! Thinking BEFORE doing is a good idea, unfortunately, many things are done in just the opposite way.

gorldiana Mar 19, 2018

As soon as I entered university I had to move to Moscow. I came from a very environmentally friendly east district of Russia — the Altay Republic. Probably you have heard the stories about fresh air, clean water and great scenes of Altay. Well, from the environmental point of view I can say that I like my hometown more than Moscow. I remember when I used to drink water from the tap! That’s bizarre, right? The water was clean and drinkable, I had no need to use a water filter. Now when I live in Moscow, it’s dangerous for health to drink tap water. The air in Moscow is something left to be desired in comparison with my hometown. I miss the blazing sun and the blue sky of Altay. Can’t wait for holidays to begin! Some people claim that it’s hopeless to do anything to improve the overall condition of the city because it’s overpopulated and it would always remain polluted and exhausting. Well, I refuse to believe that nothing can be done.To my mind, to find a solution to all environmental problems that Moscow has, the Mayor should hire professionals: I’m sure they would figure something out.

DzurkovskayaKate Mar 19, 2018

I moved to Moscow 2 years ago. Arrived from small Bendery city (Transristria). My native city very green and blossoming. There fresh air and pure water, people quietly can drink water directly from under crane. In my opinion Moscow is very polluted. The main influence to ecology renders motor transport and industrial enterprises. Therefore air not so is pure and fresh. I hope, in future anything will change as well ecological atmosphere will be improved.

Ilyanakookuyeva Mar 19, 2018

When I visited Moscow seven years ago, the first picture I saw after entering the city was a huge cloud of smoke. I had always known that Moscow was a big megapolis and, of course, there were many different factories that polluted air. That’s why I wasn’t surprised.
I have been living there for 2 years and I still haven’t got used to pollution, traffic noise and lack of fresh air. I spend my childhood in a small southern town of Elista — a quiet and warm place where the air is so fresh and the sun always shines. And I can compare it with ecological situation in Moscow. The situation is almost terrible but the city where millions of people live and work cannot look different. Despite this, Moscow streets and roads are always clean and there is no rubbish.

KalabinaNatalya Mar 19, 2018

I’ve been living in Moscow for only 2 years, but I’ve managed to notice the difference between my native town and this big city. I mean environment. Moscow is overcrowded by cars, there are a lot of traffic jams. That’s why I feel that the air is polluted. In contrast to my native town where I lived before. My home is near the river, at the forest. And now I feel a lack of oxygen here. But, personally, I don’t know what should happen so this problem will be solved because the situation aren’t improving.

KadamboevaGulasal Mar 19, 2018

There are a lot of things said about Moscow environmental situation, so it needn’t me to commenting on this further. Actually, air/water pollution — this is the proplem of almost everywhere, not only of Moscow. My hometown is not the exception but in addition to bad air conditions another more serious ecological problem occur there. My hometown — Nadym — is in the very north so it is sensitive to any climat changes, particularly I am talking about global warming. This disaster is really disastrous to my hometown region because the North and the town itself were built on the ground of the permafrost, so under and around there are frozen marshes which should stay frozen. Otherwise, almost all the North will fall underground. Personally, I’ve started considering this problem quite recently. I have no idea what must be done to save the land and what people are doing now but hope mother nature is managing everything.

SusannaDeste Mar 19, 2018

I have been living in Moscow for a month and a half and there are still a lot of things I cannot get used to like, for example, light pollution. In Italy I live on a hill and the sky at night is dark, beautiful and full of stars, while here I have trouble falling asleep because at one in the morning there is still so much light. I also always need to remember not to drink water from the tap, as I used to do in Italy, because I heard horror stories from my colleagues who have studied here in Moscow in the past and got sick after drinking unfiltered water. But what really surprised me when I first came here was the lack of recycling bins. My flatmates and I spent the first couple of days looking for them around the city but we could not find anything. At last, we realised what the giant tube that links together all the sixteen floors of the building where we live was for and we were bemused. I had never seen something like that in Italy. However, I have to say that, here in Moscow, the streets are always kept very clean and free of snow and this is something that I appreciate very much.
I do not think that the situation will improve anytime soon, as Moscow is a metropolis. I think that taking action now would be difficult since a lot of people would have to make many adjustments to their lifestyles in order to safeguard the environment and I do not think that everybody would be glad for the changes.

Julinkajuly Mar 19, 2018

Diana, I envy you! Kate, Ilyana, Gulya — We all have to «pay the price» of living in a capital. )))

Julinkajuly Mar 19, 2018

Susanna, thank you for your contribution! Hope, later in spring you will be ably to see starry nights!

KateRybina Mar 19, 2018

I have been living in Moscow for 20 years, so I have already got used to its ecology. I adore this city and feel pretty comfortably here, however when I see people throwing garbage on the streets , I feel really angry and sorry for them. It is hard to imagine, but each of us gradually makes our planet more polluted. It seems like there is nothing serious in uncontrolled use of water or in throwing only one can on the street. It looks harmless, but according to the fact that almost all people do such things, it has become a real global issue. People do not notice how they are destroying their personal place to live. I guess sometimes something really bad should happen to make people think rethink their behavior.

ElenChepok Mar 19, 2018

Since I live in Moscow and it is, let me say, quite a big city and it is constantly expending, there are different parts of it, some of them are more polluted some of them less. But speaking solely about my region, I should say that it is a pleasant place to live in. Luckily, my region is not very close from the city-center that is why it is filled with some very picturesque places. Such as huge parks, ponds and lakes, the Moskva river flows just near my house. So, this place is pretty much unspoiled and unpolluted compering to other parts of our city. That is why, I feel quite comfortable and safe living here as it is still not far from the center and still quite green and fresh.

AlexandraSoshnikova Mar 19, 2018

I live in Moscow since birth. Near my house there is a park zone and a river but in spite of this the environment isn’t so good because of Moscow ring road near this territory.
A few years ago we bought a cottage near Istra and I can say what the air there is better. Every week I wait for weekend to escape from Moscow. Really I’d love to live there everyday. The air is less polluted and my state of health is better there.

AlexandraSoshnikova Mar 19, 2018

I live in Moscow since birth. Near my house there is a park zone and a river but in spite of this the environment isn’t so good because of Moscow ring road near this territory.
A few years ago we bought a cottage near Istra and I can say what the air there is better. Every week I wait for weekend to escape from Moscow. Really I’d love to live there everyday. The air is less polluted and my state of health is better there.

 

20 March

Unit 10. Mother Nature

CLASS 1
VOCABULARY: key words and expressions chain story.
ONESTOPENGLISH ENVIRONMENT:
Reading, Language point
SPEAK-UP: Using the vocabulary from the study-pack, make a short speech on one of the issues illustrated by the pictures.
READING and DISCUSSION Read two Guardian articles devoted to Environmental issues (The solar-powered town: a dream for the environment – or a wildlife nightmare?
 and
We must cut food waste by a quarter) and tell your classmates about the main points under discussion.
HOME ASSiGNMENT:
Read the text:
GreenLiving.png
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

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

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?

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?
27 March

Unit 10. Mother Nature

READING: Read the text:
GreenLiving.png
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
Look at the picture below. What are the visible results of the citizens’ efforts to make their environment greener?
green_area.jpg
You have watched the video below. Give the answers to the following questions:

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

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?

 

THE STARK REALITY

Read the article below.

40731_800.jpg Svalka.jpeg

Dozens of children poisoned by ‘chemical leak at rubbish dump’ in Russia

Some 57 children have been taken to hospital due to gas poisoning caused by a suspected chemical leak in the town of Volokolamsk. Health officials were working to evacuate children from the area where toxic chemicals had spread. Children affected by the incident complained of suffering from nausea and dizziness, the Moscow regional authority said. About 200 people gathered outside the Volokolamsk hospital on Wednesday. Several people were holding the signs reading: ‘We are suffocating! We so want to live you know.’ Another placard read: ‘Don’t kill our kids.’
The incident came weeks after Volokolamsk authorities declared a temporary state of emergency on March 7, saying the level of hydrogen sulphide in the air was recorded as 2.5 times higher and the level of nitric oxide was double usual levels because of a gas leak at the landfill. The Yadrovo landfill was opened in 2008 and is a dumping site for garbage from Moscow and nearby regions. Local residents have been staging protests, demanding the closure of the landfill for some time. Moscow regional authorities said earlier on March 23 that the landfill would suspend its operations until April 14, after which the old section of the dump would be closed. In the past, local authorities had promised to «modernize» the landfill but refused to consider closing it.
25 March 2018
pollution.gif
ROLE PLAY a public consultation meeting between local authorities and the residents of the area.
Allocate the roles:
the Mayor,
a representative of the company in charge of the local landfill
a member of the Green Party
an environmental scientist
a local hotel owner
parents of the kids affected by gas emissions
police officer


HOME ASSIGNMENT:

ANIMALS AND PEOPLE

gerald-durrell-older-man-2.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.
READ the extract of his book where he speaks on zoos and safari parks. Sum up his opinion in 5-6 sentences.
DarrellZoos1.png
DarrellZoos2.png

April 2018

10 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-2.jpg

DISCUSSION: HAVE YOUR SAY
You are going to read the selection of articles on the past and future of our planet’s ecology and discuss their content in class. Among the topics are pet zoos, metropolitan statistics, cave cities, underwater cities, vertical towns, garbage mafia and Brazilian paradise of the past.

Unit 5. Food for Thought

Follow the LINK and sign up to an exciting language contest!
 экрана 2018-04-09 в 23.25.45.png

 

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

CAN I REDIRECT IT?

Julinkajuly Apr 8, 2018

Has your attitude towards ecological problems changed after studying the issues concerning ecology? What have you decided to do and what can you personally do to make the situation better / to make the planet cleaner?

Julinkajuly Apr 8, 2018

Frankly speaking, in the past, ecological issues seemed to me just a boring list of very far-fetched topics. I must confess that having read a lot about them for our classes I have become much more aware and involved. First of all, I am ready to share the information about these problems with my friends and students. Secondly, I am seriously thinking about recycling my own litter. Thirdly, I am not going to buy animal-tested cosmetic products any more. I might take part in some litter-cleaning local initiatives. I think, we should join efforts!

ShashkinaElena Apr 9, 2018

To tell the truth, I have never thought about ecological problems seriously. It seemed so far away from me, from our daily lives. But now I see that it concerns every single person on the planet. Separate collection of waste paper, plastic and glass has become my contribution to the better life in our area. I’m also planning to reduce amount of water I use without need like while brushing the teeth. Try it! This makes you feel a better person:)

Annie252 Apr 9, 2018

Honestly, all these ecological problems have never touched me before, but after a large number of articles and videos related to the environment really made me think about what I`m doing wrong…I think that in our country it is really difficult to change something because there are a lot of corrupt officials behind every ecological violation. As for me, I decided not to use cosmetic which was tested on animals and also i will try to use much less water while washing the dishes. The life of the planet is in our hands and we have to do everything possible to keep it stay safe and sound! %22

IsakovaJane Apr 9, 2018

To be honest, I only payed attention to ecological problems when we discussed it in the school and when rubbish disturbs me in the street or in other places. After our classes I really pay attention to what is happening around me. Now I always say to my parents about littering to capture their attention on it and I have sent the “Sorry” video to a lot of people. And also, I will re-educate everyone, because I see that a lot of people litter streets and parks. I hope that there will be some results.

KadamboevaGulasal Apr 9, 2018

Personally, I’ve never considered ecological problems as something I shoud treat seriously. I’ve always had an idea that there are a lot of other people who are responsible for making our planet a better place to live. My part was just framed by not showing indifference when it came to any ecological issues. But now I’m sure it’s up to me as well to redirect this Earth’s destruction, at least I am able not to throw my litter on the streets, to find the nearest bin. I remember my mum’s words that we should start everything from ourselves. Now I see what it means.

SusannaDeste Apr 9, 2018

Frankly speaking, I think that after studying the issues concerning ecology more in depth my attitude towards ecological problems has changed. Before, the only thing I cared about was recycling, but now I have realized that there is still more I could do to help make the planet we live in a better place. Firstly, I have decided to reduce the amount of water I waste while washing the dishes, showering and brushing my teeth. Secondly, when I will be back in Italy, I will try not to use my parents’ car as much as I used to. Instead, I will take a bus or ride my bicycle to move around the city. It will be good for both the environment and my health.

DzurkovskayaKate Apr 9, 2018

Discussions оn the lesson, they pushed me to more serious thoughts. I’m surprised how many moments need to be eradicated. Earlier, I thought about it, but not as meaningfully as now. When these topics were discussing in the school, I did not care much about it. In a daily life, few people think about this problem. If everyone does even the most basic things, the world will be cleaner.
As for me, I always try not to pollute nature. I always throw garbage into tanks, do not pour harmful substances into reservoirs and generally try not to do something harmful to the world around me!
Therefore, I advise people to think about their actions, who like not we can change everything for the better.

KalabinaNatalya Apr 9, 2018

In my opinion, everyone on this planet must care about the place we live in. Personally, I have always been worried about our planet. When I was at school, I was taking part in different events devoted to ecology. For example, I was an organiser of educational programs for pupils to help them to be environmentally friendly.
Now I’m trying to continue these activities by collecting recycled wastes: paper and plastic.
But honestly, my attitude towards ecological problems has changed during our classes. I’ve realised that the problem was larger than it might seem at first look. And it’s up to us to make our planet a better place or not.

KateRybina Apr 9, 2018

I cannot say I was indifferent to ecological issues before I was studying them in school or in university. I have been always concerned about our environment. I do not speak particularly about my place of living, but about the whole planet. Certainly just to be concerned and to think about how bad is the situation is not enough. On my side I do my best not to pollute our planet. Sometimes people cannot even imagine how easy it is to make out environment a better place. I really appreciate our classes because such urgent topics should be discussed. People should be aware of what is going on on our planet to improve the situation. Because one of considerable reasons of this ecological situation is the lack of knowledge, some of us can simple think that all is alright and there is no reasons to feel threatened.

gorldiana Apr 10, 2018

As long as I remember myself, I was always a «close-to-nature person». As a teenager, I’ve read a lot of scientific articles on environmental issues. For instance, I wanted to become an ecologist once because I was so desperate to make a change. But then, after some research, I put on hold this idea because it’s unrewarding to be ecologist in Russia, they don’t get paid a lot. Personally, I distribute my litter, make sure that the lights are off when I leave my appartement. Well, I am not an avid user of cosmetics, but anyway, when I decide to buy some product I check in advance if a company run tests on animals.

MekryukovaJuliana Apr 10, 2018

As for me, I can’t say that my attitude towards ecological problems has changed seriously after our classes. I’ve always been concerned about the environment. That’s why, for example, I never buy packages in shops. Maybe, now I think more globally. I mean I think more about the ways of cutting down on the amount of water we use, protecting the envirinment, preventing climate change caused by global warming. Also I’m trying to inspire my relatives to sort litter and economise energy. But, who knows, may be one day I’ll be able to improve the situation at a global level.

AlexandraSoshnikova Apr 10, 2018

As long as I remember myself, I always tried to take care of the nature. The humanity is a part of the nature and to betray nature is to betray us, so we must care about it. During our classes I learned a lot of things that made me think about ecological problems more seriously. Now I understand how else I can help nature saving water, for example.

Ilyanakookuyeva Apr 10, 2018

I’ve always known that there are many environmental problems in our region but I thought it wasn’t my business.
Of course, I’ve tried not to pollute the environment and I’ve seen so many documentary about ecological issues.
Every day we see the news about water pollution, extinction of living species and other things that destroy the environment but we don’t care about it until it affects us. Now I feel that I’m part of the issue.
There are many ways to help save the environment. As for me, I try print as little as necessary to save paper and recycle as much as possible. One day I’ll plant a tree…!

ElenChepok Apr 10, 2018

To be completely honest, the issue of environmental problems has been spoken about since I was a middle-school student. With the help of our classes and extra materials I have found out more information about this problem. But in my opinion, most people know about ecological problems of our planet but still do nothing. That is why I believe only when humankind face some kind of disastrous consequence of their indifference to the environment around of them, then they will understand that it is high time we start doing something to improve the situation. My family and I have been doing and will continue doing our best to improve the environmental situation on our planet.

11 April

Unit 5. Food for Thought

Follow the LINK and sign up to an exciting language contest!
 экрана 2018-04-09 в 23.25.45.png
«FOOD FOR THOUGHT»
As we humans have developed so has our love for food. It no longer provides us only with energy and nutrition, but is now important for business, art and health, in addition to being a pleasure to eat.

Throughout history food has played a major role in society. Whether as a part of a State Banquet, or in a simple gathering of friends, we try to make a favourable impression by serving elaborate meals presented on our best tableware. It is through such hospitality that we aim to create a good mood among those present. Great banquets often accompany important events, and are an opportunity to employ the best chefs, often with an international reputation for their culinary skills. These master chefs have gained an important place in society, and throughout history they have been granted high status and privilege at royal courts. However, the past also reveals several tragic examples of chefs who were unable to endure a decline in their professional status, and some even committed suicide. French chef Bernard Loiseau is said to have killed himself in 2003, because a famous restaurant guidebook downgraded his restaurant.

Foods like chocolate and champagne are linked to romance, while others are part and parcel of a traditional celebration, such as turkey at Thanksgiving or the typical hog roast at a large wedding meal. In fact, for many of us, it would be a bitter disappointment if the traditional food was missing from the dinner table on certain festive occasions.

Food reflects both social habits and our personal preferences, and different nationalities use food according to their local traditions and lifestyle. The fast food of the USA is indicative of the hurried life of North American society, with no time to stop and enjoy the eating experience. The more leisurely meals in France reflect the importance French people place on enjoying time with their family and friends. Some people will appreciate that eating can provide a natural break in their daily routine. Around the Mediterranean a late meal, after the heat of the day, is considered a traditional way of life. In many Northern countries there is a history of feasting before winter, in order to build up the body’s energy reserves to survive the long cold nights.

Not only has food been an occasion for celebration, it also has its darker side. Long ago in history, as in ancient Rome and before, the poisoning of food was seen as a convenient way for a villain to dispose of their enemy. In the days before we understood how to detect poisons in the body, this was a good method to remove an opponent without being detected. In stark contrast, contemporary gourmets might show their adventurous taste by choosing to eat Fugu-fish, this is an extravagant restaurant experience because this fish is lethally poisonous, if the toxic parts are not carefully removed during preparation.

Today, food has become much more than a mere necessity of life. It has developed into a form of entertainment and a leisure pursuit, something to enjoy for the taste, smell, appearance and how it stimulates our senses. At its best, food will be so enticing that our mouths will water in anticipation, as we imagine the pleasure it will be to eat what we see before us. Now, the table has been set, and we are hungry for the COMPETITION to begin.

Let the starter be served!

GUESSING GAME: Solve the tasks of the 1st Round of the Language Contest.

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
1) learn the key words and expressions from the text above
2) write the answers to the questions of the 2nd round of our language contest. Send them to your teacher’s e-mail before 22.pm 16 April.
Textbook work
5.1 A Get ready to speak up in class
B1 — Learn the names of the types of food and WRITE in your notebook at least 3 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)
Food1.png
Food2.png

17 April

Unit 5. Food for Thought

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

Food1.png

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

WRITING:
Write a sample menu for a party with friends. Explain your choice of dishes. Think of a (1) Birthday party (2) Surprise party (3) Wedding party (4) Meet my b/f parents party (5) Tomorrow’s the exam party (6) Exams are over party )))

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
well-done-2.gifrestaurants-waiter-customer_service-customer-server-serving-rmgn251_low-2.jpgfood-drink-customer-customer_service-waitress-difficult_customer-tricky_customer-forn2939_low-2.jpg

18 April

Unit 5. Food for Thought

DISCUSSION: Do’s and Don’ts of creative writing (based on your answer to the 2nd Round Food Contest Questions).

  • Always give a full and complete answer to the question. Don’t begin your phrase with THEY to HE. Name the character.
  • Remember about the articles!
  • There is a System of Tenses in the English Language. Used without any tense form, any verb loses its meaning.
  • Don’t jump from past tenses to present tenses and back within one phrase.
  • What you think in Russian does not necessarily sound the same in English. Look for a good translation of a phrase — don’t translate word by word!
  • Always re-read what you have written. Maybe you have forgotten to finish the phrase. Also m check if it makes sense at all.
  • Spell-checkers DO exist.

Food2.png

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
1) Re-write your answers to the 2nd round questions and send them to JL.
2) Be ready to comment on the caricatures (see last lesson).
3)
A) 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 liners every 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 in your notebook 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

24 April

Unit 5. Food for Thought

VOCABULARY: Dictation-translation with key words and expressions.
WRITING: Checking your home assignment (your reply to the complaint of the dissatisfied customer).
Here is an example of the shortest one:

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

TEAM WORK: Write an anti-reply to the same complaint. Your task is to make the customer really mad at you and your business.
SPEAK UP: Comment on the caricatures — See the Lesson of 17 April.
romance-dating.jpg

LISTENING: The ways people enjoy eating out.
Listen carefully and write down key words and expressions.
Listen again and write down the number of people who took part in the survey. What can you say about the personality of each of them?

 

  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

foodface.jpg

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!

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

dietitian-guide-to-indulgence-woman-choosing-to-eat-fruit-or-donut-mq2mt9k85ltlkeqjaxnd08xcsj8mtpc3r1dych8xl8.jpg

Answer the questions, using these expressions:
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 down 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!

 

=++++++++++=++++++++++=++++++++++=++++++++++=++++++++++=

WORLD’S MOST UNUSUAL RESTAURANTS

Julinkajuly Apr 23, 2018

Tell us about the most unusual restaurants you have ever heard about!

MekryukovaJuliana Apr 28, 2018

Nowadays it’s difficult to surprise anybody with delicious meals or an unusual interior decoration of the restaurant. So, the restaurant owners are searching for new ways to attract attention of new customers.
The most unusual restaurant I’ve ever heard about is Giraffe Manor, which is located in Kenya. Actually, this restaurant is a part of the luxury hotel. What makes this place really exceptional is that you can see giraffes walking around freely. More than that, it’s permitted to feed the curious animals with special dry food. What can be better than a perfect breakfast in the middle of nowhere together with so adorable creatures?

IsakovaJane May 9, 2018

The most unusual restaurant I have ever heard about located in Baku. This restaurant is at a height of 175 meters in the TV tower. Besides that this restaurant is in the highest tower in the city it also rotates dextrally and the full turn takes about one hour. People are able to see a wonderful view to the city and the Caspian Sea. But I think that only brave people would like to have their dinner or supper there.

ElenChepok May 12, 2018

I heard about a restaurants where you have to eat in the dark. I am pretty sure this type of restaurant could be found in any country and we have one in Moscow as well. So the concept is the following, you come up to the bar, then a special assistant lead you to your table, speaks you through the menu, helps you with the cutlery. Cellphones, apple-watches, flashlights and other devices are prohibited. You have to be concentrated on the taste of the food, not on the decorations of the restaurant or on your mobile phone.

ShashkinaElena May 12, 2018

Honestly, I have never been to a restaurant that can be called unusual, but I know there is one in Thailand. The fact that it is located in the grotto on a beach right under a giant limestone cliff makes it exciting. What else can make people feel on top of the world except some scrumptious food? Right, incomporable view on magical sunset, spanking breeze and having your toes in the sand!

Julinkajuly May 13, 2018

Julia, Jane, Helen, Lena, thank you! The rest of the group! What are you waiting for?

SusannaDeste May 13, 2018

The most unusual restaurant I have ever heard of is completely made of ice. I think it is located in Canada. Everything is built from ice and every year the owners have to rebuild the place from scratch. I heard they put fur on the seats so you do not freeze, nevertheless the temperature inside is pretty low, so everybody tries to eat as fast as possible. I honestly do not see the appeal but apparently people like it and want to try the experience at least once in their life.

Annie252 May 13, 2018

There are a lot of unusual restaurants in the world because people trying to make as much profit as they can, that is why a lot of restaurateurs want to surprise their clients and allure them in their restaurants. I`ve heard a lot about some exotic places to eat but I`d love to tell you about one of them which is called «Snow castle Kemi». It is a huge snow castle where everything made of ice and snow..except food, of course 🙂 , located in Finland. In this restaurant hot food is also served. It is brought on a thick wooden tray and the ice on the table does not melt and the plates do not stick. A traditional part of a meal is Finnish vodka, otherwise there is a possibility of frostbite. Every year the owner rebuild his castle and create a new design, it is really worth seeing and visiting, but still if you decide to go to this restaurant, do not even think about stunning dress, you have to wear warm clothes, something like a fur coat and felt boots!

Ilyanakookuyeva May 13, 2018

The only unusual restraurant I have heard about is ‘ Toilet restaurant’ in Taiwan. Everything in this restraunat is based on items from a bathroom: the dishes are served on toilet bowls, visitors sit on toilets and baths are used as tables.This place is very popular among young generaton.
Not long ago ‘ Crazy toilet restaurant’ was opened in Moscow. However, it wasn’t so popular and many people criticised it. To my mind, it has to do with the attitude of Russian people towards such unusual things.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/30/russia-crazy-toilet-cafe-restaurant

KalabinaNatalya May 13, 2018

I think that nowadays most people consider food to be a kind of entertainment. It means that food is not only nutrition: it’s a big part of different celebrations, travelling, datings, etc. That’s why restaurant owners try to do their best in creating something specific, unusual.
One of such experiments is the restaurant named «Ithaa Undersea» which means «a mother of pearl». It is located in the Maldives, under the water, at the depth of 5 meters. The restaurant is covered by a glass ceiling and it provides guests with beautiful views of сoral reefs, shoals of fish, seaweed. Gourmets love this place because they are offered delicious food cooked from fish and molluscs by the best chefs.

gorldiana May 13, 2018

I’ve heard about this bizarre restaurant in Japan where they serve food on a human female body. Japanese people can be weird sometimes…What’s more, they invented another way of eating, where «a body» is made from food and placed on an operating table like in a hospital. All the intestines and organs of this body are eatable and the body bleeds when you cut a piece from it. I wonder what blood is made of? Probably from some kind of tomato sauce. Anyway, this seems like a challenge for those who have a fear of corps, blood and other unpleasant things connected to a dead human body. But If you ask me, I wouldn’t mind trying one! Well, if the actual ingredients of the body are tasty. I am a very curious person))

KateRybina May 14, 2018

The most unusual restaurant I have heard about is Labassin, the restaurant-waterfall in the Philippines. In this place people can enjoy local Filipino cuisine and taste exotic fruits sitting near the picturesque landscape. After having a meal there is an opportunity to jump into the water and swim. The idea of this restaurant is really creative because while adult are sitting, talking and eating their children can plash in the water and enjoy the life.

DzurkovskayaKate May 14, 2018

Unfortunately I was not in unusual restaurants, but I really want to visit some. For example, I was impressed by the Singapore restaurant, which is in the capsule of the biggest Ferris wheel.Its height reaches 165 meters.А personal chef serves in the each capsule . The order is negotiated in advance, the client chooses four dishes.The whole dinner takes an hour.

Julinkajuly May 14, 2018

Thanks a lot, my dear girls! You have managed to surprise me! Look through the comments. In our opinion, which story is the winner in terms of weirdness?

KadamboevaGulasal May 15, 2018

Actually, the most unusual place to eat I’ve ever heard is The Giraffe Manor’s restaurant in Nairobi, Kenya. If you’re lucky to have breakfast, lunch or diner at this restaurant, you may experience one of the most wonderful things in your life. The most fascinating thing about this restaurant are the giraffes who may poke their long necks into the windows in search for caress. These amazing creatures who accompany guests while they’re eating attract so many people all over the world so that it’s a very complex issue to book a table at The Giraffe Manor’s restaurant uless you’re the resident of the hotel.

AlexandraSoshnikova May 15, 2018

I have been in one unusual restaurant in Cuba. It was situated on the crocodile farm and where we were sitting and eating surrounded by small and big crocodiles. It was scary but also it was unforgettable.

May 2018

15 May

Unit 5. Food for Thought

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

Answer the questions, using these expressions:
the 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!

READING: Read the article and make a list of the main issues mentioned by the author (Find and write down 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…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
Jamie Oliver’s Food RevolutionJamie 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?

HOME ASSIGNMENT
Get ready for your final test that will include both vocabulary tasks, translation to check your grammar and syntax and creative tasks.
 экрана 2018-05-13 в 18.14.58.png