International english

English is just one of over 2700 languages in the world today. Millions of people are learning English because it is the most important (1) ____ language in the world. 400.000 people speak English as their first language, or the other 600.000 it is either a (2) ____ language or a foreign language. There are more than 500.000 words in the Oxford English (3) ____. When American (4) ____ "Voyager" began its journey in 1977, it carried a gold disc, on which there were messages from Secretary (5) ____ of the United Nations in English.

From the British (6) ____ English spread all over the world, but English has not always been the language of the inhabitants of those islands. When the (7) ____ colonised England in the 1st century of our era, the country was inhabited by the (8) ____, and until he 5th century only Celtic languages were spoken by the people of Britain.

In AD 450, a new group of invaders – the Angles, (9) ____ and Jutes arrived. They spoke a (10) ____ language which was the ancestor of present-day English.

During the 1500 years that have passed since the Anglo-Saxon (11) ____ English has changed very considerably. First it was influenced by the language of the (12) ____(Viking) invaders in the 8th-10th centuries. Then, in 1066, the French duke William the (13) ____ beat the English king Harold at the Battle of (14) ____. After that French words became an important part of English.

Modern English evolved from the mingling of the three tongues. Today English (15) ____ is approximately half (16) ____ (from the Saxons and Vikings) and half Romance (from (17) ____ and Latin).

Ex 2.  Match each literary character from column A to the author from column B. There are two extra names in the authors’ column.

A	B
1.  David Copperfield 2.  Becky Sharp 3.  Jenny Gerhardt 4.  Julius Caesar 5.  Emma 6.  Mr. Gatsby 7.  Jane Eyre 8.  Rip Van Winkle 9.  Ivanhoe 10. Rhett Butler	a)  William Shakespeare b)  Washington Irving c)  William M. Thackeray d)  Margaret Mitchell e)  Charles Dickens f)  Charlotte Bronte g)  Francis S. Fitzgerald h)  Jane Austin I.  Theodor Dreiser j)  Lewis Carroll k)  Walter Scott l)  Jonathan Swift

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

UNIT 2.  INTRODUCING GREAT BRITAIN

Task 1.  Edinburgh

Ex.1.  Watch the scene and choose the right answer.

1.  Where's Edinburgh situated?

a)  in England

b)  in Scotland

c)  in Wales

2.  Which castle was once the residence of the Scottish Royal family?

a)  Edinburgh Castle

b)  Dumbarton Castle

c)  Scalloway Castle

3.  How long was Edinburgh Castle the residence of the Scottish Royal family?

a)  100 years

b)  1000 years

c)  10 years

4.  What street begins from the castle?

a)  King Edward`s street

b)  Queen Elizabeth`s street

c)  The Royal Mile

5.  What is the traditional Scottish dress?

a)  a skirt

b)  a kilt

c)  a T-shirt

6.  How much cloth is needed to make a kilt?

a)  10 m.

b)  9 m.

c)  8 m.

7.  What is the national musical instrument of Scotland?

a)  A violin

b)  A guitar

c)  A bagpipe

8.  When does the Royal family usually visit Edinburgh?

a)  In winter

b)  In summer

c)  In autumn

Ex.2.  Match column A with column B.

A	B
1.  The Royal 2.  The national 3.  bag- 4.  Edinburgh 5.  plaid	a)  pipe b)  Castle c)  cloth d)  Mile e)  dress