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  • 2) Shorten the text on the University of Arizona Library.

  • 3) Compare the library facilities provided by the University of Arizona Library and by the Karelian Branch of the North-West Academy of Public Administration in Petrozavodsk.

2.24 A homely face

  • 1) Read the text and translate the third paragraph of the text in writing.

(1) Can an eighty-year-old washerwoman become a famous model? Most definitely. The entire na­tion of France has fallen in love with La Mere Denis, who describes herself as a “fat old wo­man.” Her wrinkled, almost toothless counte­nance smiles out at the French citizenry from every TV set and magazine. This homely face appears on billboards, subway posters, and even on the backs of buses. All over France, the face of La Mere Denis can be found in ads.

(2) What product does she advertise? A washing machine, that’s what! Who could better tell of the virtues and wonders of a modern washing machine than a woman who has washed clothes for decades? The ads state that a person should have the same confidence in the machine that one used to have in the old washerwoman. These ads have helped to skyrocket sales of the com­pany’s washing machine.

(3) To show its appreciation for the contribution La Mere Denis has made to its sales, the washing machine company offered her the bonus of a new washing machine. This offer was politely refused. The reason? La Mere Denis said, “I wouldn’t know how to work it. Even if I did, the nearest water is in the stream I wash my clothes in. What would be the sense?”

  • 2) Choose the correct answer:

a)La Mere Denis was an unusual model because she (liked to wash her own clothes; was seen on TV from time to time; didn’t make any money; was old and unattractive).

b)This selection is set in (England; America; French Canada; France).

c)La Mere Denis is an old washerwoman who advertises (soap and bleach; clean clothes; a washing machine; TV sets).

d)This story is mainly about (how to wash your clothes; the advertising industry and TV; an old washerwoman who made good as a model;. how to buy a washing machine in France).

e)In this text, which is NOT mentioned as a place to find the old washerwoman? (on the stage; on billboards; on television; in magazines).

f)You can guess that La Mere Denis is not a wealthy woman because (she doesn’t have a bank account; she knows how to wash her clothes; her home doesn’t have running water; she likes to smile a lot).

g)The word “countenance” refers to the woman’s (income; clothes; face; hard-working hands).

h) La Mere Denis didn’t want a new washing machine because (she liked her old one; she was retired from washing; she didn’t know how to use it; she didn’t have a dryer).

2.25 A helpful directory

  • 1) What helpful directories do you know?

If you happen to live in Des Moines, Iowa, you can pick up a telephone and, for the price of a local call, reach the Des Moines Area Council for International Understanding. What would this do for you? You can learn how to say any word you want in Russian, Swahili, Urdu, or almost any other language in the world.

This is made possible through the council’s up-to-date directory of people in the Des Moines area who can read, write, or speak a foreign lan­guage. These people are willing to act as inter­preters and translators. The directory lists the names and telephone numbers of these people, as well as the languages they speak.

Who would use such a directory? Lots of people. Suppose someone has a foreign vis­itor. The directory could help locate a person to act as a translator. Suppose you were a business person who needed someone to write a letter for you in another language. The directory would help. Perhaps you need information on a foreign coun­try for a school report. The directory might help you to find someone from that country who now lives in your area.

Recently someone called the Council and re­quested a literal translation. The person asked how to say “Blue Eyes” in Russian. Of what use was this little bit of information to the caller? The caller had just purchased a Siberian Husky and wanted to name the dog in its native language. Do you know how to say “Blue Eyes” in Russian?

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