ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЕ АГЕНТСТВО ПО ОБРАЗОВАНИЮ
ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ ВЫСШЕГО ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ
КАМСКАЯ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННАЯ ИНЖЕНЕРНО-ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКАЯ АКАДЕМИЯ
ФИЛИАЛ В Г. ЧИСТОПОЛЬ
Методические указания к практическим занятиям по английскому языку для студентов 1 курса экономических и инженерных специальностей (тексты для чтения и перевода).
Чистополь 2009
Text 1
About myself. My family
I am Alex Petrov .Alex is my first name and Petrov is my surname. I’m seventeen years old. I want to tell you a few words about my family .My family is large. I have got a mother, a father, a sister a brother and a grandmother. There are six of us in the family. First of all, some words about my parents. My mother is a teacher of Biology. She works in a college. She likes her profession. She is a good-looking woman with brown hair. She is forty-four, but she looks much younger. She is tall and slim.
My father is a computer programmer. He is a very experienced. He is a broad-shouldered tall man with fair hair and grey eyes. He is forty-six .My father often sings, when he is at home and has some free time. I play the guitar and we sing together .My father knows all about new radio sets and he likes to repair old ones. He is also handy with many things. He can fix almost everything: a vacuum cleaner, a washing machine, a fridge and what not. He's got a few shelves where he keeps everything he needs .On the table there is always a radio in pieces.
My parents have been married for twenty-six years. They have much in common but they have different views on music, books, films, and sports. For example, my father likes horror films and my mother likes "soap operas". My mother doesn't go in for sports. But my parents have the same opinion about my education and upbringing.
My parents are hardworking people. My mother keeps house and takes care of my father and me. She is very good at cooking and she is clever with her hands. She is very practical. My father and I try to help her with the housework. I wash the dishes, go shopping and tidy our flat.
My grandmother is a pensioner. She lives with us and helps to run the house .She is fond of knitting.
My sister Helen is twenty-five .She is married and has a family of her own .She works as an accountant in a joint venture company .Her husband is a scientist . They have got twins: a daughter and a son .They go to a nursery school. My brother Boris is eleven. He is a schoolboy. He wants to become a doctor but he is not sure yet. Three months ago he dreamed of being a cosmonaut.
Answer the following questions:
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How old are you?
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What do you do?
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Is your family large?
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What does your mother (father) do?
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Is she (he) fond of her (his) work?
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Have you got any brother (sister)?
?. What is your hobby? Do you like sport?
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Are you sociable?
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Do you have many friends? What are they?
Speak on:
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Imagine you are having a big party. Introduce all the members of your family to the quests.
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Can you imagine what your mother tells her friends about you? Can you speak about yourself as if you were your mother?
3. Say whether you are for large or small families. Give examples to support your opinion.
Topic 2. Working day.
I am an early riser. I usually get up at 6 o'clock. When I wake up I switch on my tape -recorder and do my morning exercises. Then I wash, dress, do my bed and have breakfast. Usually my mother makes breakfast for me, but when she is away on business I make breakfast myself. For breakfast I have a cup of tea or coffee and some sandwiches, as a rule.
After breakfast I wash dishes and clean the table. Then I hurry to the institute. I leave home at a quarter past seven. I usually go to the institute by bus. The bus stop is not far from our house .It takes me 40 minutes to get to the institute.
I am never late. I always come to the institute in time .Our classes begin at 8 o'clock .According to the timetable, we study six hours a day .We usually have two lectures and one seminar or practical . Each class is an hour and a half long. Between classes we have short breaks .At twelve we have the lunch break. At the lectures we listen to the lecturer attentively and make notes. At the seminars we discuss problems and answer the questions of the teachers holding seminars.
As for English classes, I like them very much. It is universally known that to know English as well as other languages is extremely important nowadays. During our English class we read and translate text, speak English, learn grammar rules and do exercises.
Classes are over at four p.m. If I have no meeting I go home. Sometimes I stay at the Institute if 1 have some social work to do. I am a member of a Students Scientific Society.
After classes I usually walk home. I like to walk after a busy day at the Institute .When I come home I have dinner and a short rest. Then I prepare my home assignments. It usually takes me three hours. In the evening I read books or watch TV. If I have time, I go to see my friends . At eleven o'clock I go to bed.
Vocabulary .
To get up (got, got) вставить .
To wake up (woke ,woken) просыпаться .
To wash up = to wash dishes мыть посуду .
To do the bed заправлять постель .
To have breakfast (lunch ,dirmer) завтракать ( обедать ужинать).
To go to see somebody навещать кого-либо .
To go to bed ложиться спать .
To go by bus (trolley-bus , tram) ехать на автобусе .
To be over заканчиваться .
To leave home (left, left) уходить из дома .
To come / arrive home приходить, приезжать.
It takes me (him, her , them , us) мне требуется.
To hold (held . held) a seminar вести .проводить семинар .
To get to the institute добраться до института.
To get ( good marks , higher
education) получать.
Answer the following questions to the text about Helen Petrova’s working day:
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When does she usually get up ?
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What does she usually do in the morning ?What does she usually have for breakfast ?
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When does she leave home in the morning ?
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How does she get to the institute ?
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How long does it take her to get there ?
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When do her classes usually begin ? When are they over ?
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How many classes does she have every day ?
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What does she do at the lectures, seminars and her English classes ?
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What does she usually do in the evening ?
Ask similar questions to each other. Speak on :
1. Describe your most unusual day at work (faculty). Say how the day started and ended then.
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For many people a working day is a series of routine actions, isn't it? Interview your partner on what he likes to do during the working day and what he hates doing .
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You like evenings at home better than mornings . Say why .
4. You don't like public transport .But you have no car and you have to travel to and from work on public transport .Say how you get to work and back home .
Text 2 . An Englishman's day.
It begins when he sits down to breakfast with his morning paper .After breakfast except on Sundays and Saturdays which are holidays, he goes to work by train , tube , bus , car , motor bike or even on his own two feet.
At midday everything stops for lunch. Most offices and small shops close for an hour, say from 1 to 2, and many people hurry to cafes. Factory workers usually eat at their canteens.
The usual midday meal consists of two courses - a meat course with plenty of vegetables, then a sweet dish , perhaps fruit pudding with tea or coffee.
Then back to work again, with another break in the middle of the afternoon for tea or coffee, sometimes with a cake or biscuit.
The working day finishes at time between 4 and 6. On arrival home many Englishmen like to inspect their gardens before their evening meal .usually a meat course and then a cake or tea. When this meal is over the Englisliman can do a little gardening and then have a walk to the nearest beer house .There is a lot of company there and he can play dominoes, billiards or discuss the weather or the current situation.
But if the Englishman stays at home, he can listen to the, radio, watch TV, talk ,read or enjoy his favourite hobby.
Then between 10 and 12 he will have a drink and a snack and then he goes to bed to be ready for tomorrow.
Ask each other all sorts of questions to the text "An Englishman's day" and render it using the underlined words.
Topic 3. My day off.
Most people work five days a week, but students and pupils work six days. They have only one day off. It is Sunday.
1 like this day very much. You needn't hurry anywhere and you may go wherever you like after your week's work .On this day I wake up later than usual. But sometimes I don’t get up till 9 or 10 o'clock. I read morning newspapers or listen to music.
As soon as I get up, I air the room, make my bed and do morning exercises. Then I have breakfast, clear away the dishes and wash up .Two more hours or getting ready with my homework, and I'm free.
In fine weather we like to be out of town. We find a nice place somewhere in the forest or on the bank of the river, we lie in the sun/ play different games and swim .
I'm fond of music and I like to go to the concerts. I take a special liking to the music of the Russian composers and I try not to miss solo concerts or symphonic orchestras by our famous conductors. I like piano concerts, especially Chopin's waltzes. I like the violin too. My sister has a good ear for music; she goes to school for violin lessons. She accompanies me all the time when I go to the conservatoire or to the concert hall .We enjoy music very much.
But sometimes we go to the cinema. On the way home we usually discuss the films we've seen, if the members of our family get together.
We have our supper, make plans for tomorrow, watch TV or read books .Sometimes we receive guests at our place or go for a walk. I enjoy my days off very much.
Vocabulary.
Day off выходной день .
Discuss обсуждать.
Enjoy наслаждаться.
Conductor композитор.
A good ear for music музыкальный слух .
Speak about your days off ( Sunday) .You may need these words and phrases :
To go for a walk
To walk / go on foot
To stay at home
To go out for dinner /discotheque
To spend a lot of time (doing something)
Occasionally - from time to time
Answer the following questions:
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How many days - off a week do you have as a rule? What are they?
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Do you spend your weekends with your family?
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Do you often visit your friends? Do you like to invite them to your place?
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What is your favourite pastime?
5. What do you like to do when there is nobody around? Act out the following situation :
You say that the best way of spending a weekend is sleeping later than usual, reading books . watching TV or at least going to the cinema . Your colleague says he completely disagrees with you there . He is fond of sports and travelling in general.
Topic 4. My flat.
We live in a new 5-storeyed block of flats in the south - west of the town . It's situated in a very picturesque place not far the Kama River.
There's a big supermarket on the ground floor and it's very convenient to do everyday shopping.
Our flat is on the fifth floor. It's very comfortable and well - planned .We have all modern conveniences, such as central heating. electricity, gas. cold and hot running water and a telephone. There are three rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a hall in our flat. There's also a balcony and we can enjoy a lovely view of the river.
The largest room in our flat is the living room and we use it as a dining room and as a sitting room. In the middle of the room there is a big table and six chairs round it. Opposite the window there is a wall unit with lots of books ,a TV-set and a video cassette recorder .There are two comfortable armchairs and a small coffee table in the right hand corner. There is also a sofa and an electric fire in our living room. We like the living room best of all because in the evenings we gather there to have tea, watch TV, talk and rest.
My room is the smallest room in our flat, but it is very cosy and light .There is a bed, a wardrobe, a desk, an armchair and several bookshelves in my room. There is a thick carpet on the floor. The walls in my room are light - brown and there are some posters on them. I like my room very much, but from time to time I change it round . I quite often move the bed and change the posters on the wall.
Our kitchen is large and light. It is very well-equipped. We have got a refrigerator, a freezer, a microwave oven, a coffeemaker and a toaster.
We haven't got a dish washing machine yet, because it is very expensive. But I'm sure we shall buy it in the future.