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LEARNING FOREIGN LANGUAGES
LEARNING FOREIGN LANGUAGES
The problem of learning languages is very important today. Foreign languages are socially demanded especially at the present time when the progress in science and technology has led to an explosion of knowledge and has contributed to an overflow of information. The total knowledge of mankind is known to double every seven years. Forein languages are needed as the main and the most efficient means of information exchange of the people of our planet. Today English is the language of the world. Over 300 million people speak it as a mother tongue. The native speakers of English live in Great Britain, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. English is one of the official languages in the Irish Republic, Canada, and the South African Republic. As a second language it is used in the former British and US colonies.
It is not only the national or official language of some thirty states which represent different cultures, but it is also the major international language for communication in such areas as science, technology, business and mass entertainment. English is one of the official languages of the United Nations Organization and other political organizations. It is the language of literature, education, modern music, international tourism.
Russia is integrating into the world community and the problem of learning English for the purpose of communication is especially urgent today.
So far there is no universal or ideal method of learning languages. Everybody has his own way. Sometimes it is boring to study grammar or to learn new words. But it is well known that reading books in the original, listening to the news, communicating with the English speaking people will help a lot. When learning a foreign language you learn the culture and history of the native speakers. One must work hard to learn any foreign language.
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ENGLISH TODAY
The modern world is becoming smaller all the time. Every day distances between different countries seem less. For this reason it's becoming more and more important to know different languages, especially English.
One billion people speak English today. That's about 20% of the world's population.
400 million people speak English as their first language. For the other 600 million people it's either a second language or a foreign language.
English is the first language in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. It is one of the official languages in Canada, the Irish Republic and the Republic of South Africa.
As a second language English is spoken in more than 60 countries. It is used by the government, businessmen and universities.
English is the language of politics and diplomacy, science and technology, business and trade, sport and pop music.
80% of all information in the world's computers is in English.
75% of the world's letters and faxes are in English.
60% of all international telephone calls are made in English.
More than 60% of all scientific journals are written in English.
To know English today is absolutely necessary for every educated person, for every good specialist. Learning a language is not an easy thing. It's a long and slow process that takes a lot of time and patience. But it's a must.
English is taught throughout the world and a lot of people speak it quite well. In our country English is very popular: it is studied at schools (sometimes even at nursery schools), colleges and universities.
Everyone will speak English soon I'm sure of it. We all need to understand each other. To do that we need an international language, and that's English.
Vocabulary
distance
reason
especially
billion
population
official language
government
politics
diplomacy
science
technology
trade
scientific
educated ,
process
patience
it's a must ;
throughout the world no
nursery school
OUR PLANET EARTH
OUR PLANET EARTH
The planet Earth is only a tiny part of the universe, but it's the only place where human beings can live.
Today, our planet is in serious danger. Acid rains, global warming, air and water pollution, overpopulation are the problems that threaten human life on Earth.
Who is to blame for the disaster? The answer is simple: all of us.
Our forests are disappearing because they are cut down or burnt. If this trend continues, one day we won't have enough oxygen to breathe.
The seas are in danger. They are filled with poison: industrial and nuclear waste, chemical fertilisers and pesticides. The Mediterranean is already nearly dead; the North Sea is following. The Aral Sea is on the brink of extinction. If nothing is done about it, one day nothing will be able to live in the seas.
Every ten minutes one kind of animal, plant or insect dies out for ever. If nothing is done about it, one million species that are alive today may soon become extinct.
Air pollution is another serious problem. In Cairo just breathing the air is dangerous equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. The same holds true for many Russian cities.
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Factories emit tons of harmful chemicals. These emissions have disastrous consequences for our planet. They are the main reason for the greenhouse effect and acid rains.
An even greater threat are nuclear power stations. We all know how tragic the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster are.
Fortunately, it's not too late to solve these problems. We have the time, the money and even the technology to make our planet a better, cleaner and safer place. We can plant trees and create parks for endangered species. We can recycle litter. We can support green parties and put pressure on those in power.
Together we can save the planet and all of us with it.
THE EARTH IS OUR HOME
The Earth is our home. What sort of home it is depends on how we treat it, just as the houses we live in depend on how we take care of them.
Do you like to fish or swim? Do you like to walk through the woods? Do you like to breathe fresh air? Or to watch birds and hear them sing?
If you do, we'll have to treat our Earth home in a different way. Why?
Because we are making lakes and rivers too dirty for fish to live in or for people to swim in.
Because we're cutting down our forests too fast, we are spoiling the nature.
Because we're making so much smoke, dirty air often hides the sky and even nearby things. The dirty air makes it hard for us to breathe, and it can cause illness, and even death.
Because we're putting so much poison on the things birds eat, they are finding it hard to live.
Have you seen smoke pouring out of tall factory chimneys? Have you smelled the gas fumes from the back of a bus? Have you noticed the smoke from a jet plane taking off?
All of these things make the air dirty they pollute it. In crowded cities thousands of automobiles and factories may add tons of poison to the atmosphere each day.
Have you wondered where the sewage from one house, many houses, a big city goes? It pollutes rivers and lakes and may even make them die. Fish can't live in them, and you can't swim in them.
Have you wondered where the wood for houses comes from? And the paper for
books and newspapers? From our forests. And what does the land look like when the trees are gone?
Have you thought where the poison goes that we spray on gardens and grass to kill insects and weeds? Onto the things the birds eat, making it hard for them to live and share with us their beautiful colours and songs.
Have you seen piles of old cars and old refrigerators? Not very nice to look at, are they? Have you seen piles of old boxes, glass jars, and cans? Not very beautiful, are they?
If we don't do anything about this spoiling of the world around us its air, its water, its land, and its life our lives are not going to be so nice. But there is much that we can do.
Factories can clean their smoke. Cars and planes can be made so that their fumes do not add to the pollution.
The dirty water from factories can be made clean. Sewage, too, can be changed so that water is clean enough to use again. Fish can live again, and you can swim again in oceans, seas, rivers, and lakes.
The mountains can still be covered with forests if the cutting of trees is done with care. We must plant again where we have cut. And we can have enough wood for houses and paper for books.
There is no need to throw away things we do not want or cannot use any more. We can change many things back into what they were made of, and use them again. Old newspapers can become new paper. Old glass jars can be turned into new glass. Old iron can help to make new cars and refrigerators.
We can also learn not to litter. We all know the sign: DO NOT LITTER. But not everyone does what the sign says.
For a long time, people have used their Earth home without thinking of what was happening to it. Now we see that we must treat it better if it is to be a nice home. It can be.
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Vocabulary
tiny
universe
human being
acid rains
global warming
pollution
overpopulation
to threaten
to blame
disaster ,
to cut down ,
trend
oxygen
to breathe
poison ,
industrial and nuclear waste
fertilizer
pesticide
on the brink of extinction
to die out
species ,
to become extinct
equivalent ,
the same holds true for , ...
to emit
harmful
chemicals
emission
disastrous
consequence
greenhouse effect
threat
nuclear power station
tragic
technology
endangered ()
to recycle
litter
to support
to put pressure on
those in power ,
MASS MEDIA
MASS MEDIA
The mass media play an important part in our lives. Newspapers, radio and especially TV inform us of what is going on in this world and give us wonderful possibilities for education and entertainment. They also influence the way we see the world and shape our views.
Of course, not all newspapers and TV programmes report the events objectively, but serious journalists and TV reporters try to be fair and provide us with reliable information.
It is true that the world today is full of dramatic events and most news seems to be bad news. But people aren't interested in ordinary events. That is why there are so many programmes and articles about natural disasters, plane crashes, wars, murders and robberies. Good news doesn't usually make headlines. Bad news does.
Some people say that journalists are given too much freedom. They often intrude on people's private lives. They follow celebrities and print sensational stories about them which are untrue or half-true. They take photos of them in their most intimate moments. The question is should this be allowed?
The main source of news for millions of people is television. People like TV news because they can see everything with their own eyes. And that's an important advantage. Seeing, as we know, is believing. Besides, it's much more difficult for politicians to lie in front of the cameras than on the pages of newspapers.
Still, many people prefer the radio. It's good to listen to in the car, or in the open air, or when you do something about the house.
Newspapers don't react to events as quickly as TV, but they usually provide us with extra detail, comment and background information.
The Internet has recently become another important source of information.
Its main advantage is that news appears on the screen as soon as things happen in real life and you don't have to wait for news time on TV.
Vocabulary
mass media
what's going on
possibility
to inform ,
entertainment
to report , ()
event ,
objectively
fair ,
to provide
reliable
ordinary ,
disaster
crash
murder
robbery
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to make headlines ,
freedom
to intrude
private ,
to follow
celebrity
to print
sensational
untrue ,
half-true
intimate
source
advantage
Seeing is believing. ,
.
besides
politician
to lie
to prefer
to react
extra detail ,
comment
background information ""
recently
TV or not TV?
Whether we realise it or not, TV plays a very important part in our lives.
It's the main source of information and a cheap form of entertainment for millions of people.
It's the window on the world which gives us an opportunity to "travel" all over the world, to "meet" different people and learn about their customs and traditions.
It has the power to educate and broaden our minds.
It helps us to relax after a hard day's work and escape from reality.
There's always a great variety of programmes on TV: news and sports programmes, talk shows and TV games, documentaries and feature films, concerts and theatre performances...
Of course, not all programmes are good. But many are made in good taste and with great professional skill.
Some people argue that television is a terrible waste of time. It makes us lazier. We stay at home instead of going out. We read less. We think less. We even talk less.
It's true that some TV addicts spend hours in front of the "box" watching whatever's on from second-rate Mexican soap operas to silly commercials.
The trick is to learn to control television and use it intelligently. The ideal is to turn on the TV-set only when there's a really interesting programme.
Violence on TV is another problem that worries people. As George
Mikes once said, TV teaches us "how to kill, to rob, to shoot and to poison."
But the same can be said about computer games and many films and books. And if you don't like a certain programme, why watch it?
Vocabulary
source
to educate ,
entertainment
broaden one's mind
opportunity
to relax
power ,
hard day's work
to escape from reality
variety
documentary
feature film
in good taste
professional skill
to argue ,
waste of time
addict , . ,
box . "",
whatever's on ( )
second-rate ,
soap opera " "
commercial
the trick is . ()
intelligently
ideal
violence
to rob
to shoot (shot)
to poison ,
Newspapers
In the past people learnt about news from newspapers. Nowadays people usually learn what is happening in the country and in the world from TV or radio news programmes or from the Internet.
Still we cannot imagine our life without newspapers. There are dozens of them on every news-stand. There are newspapers for professionals, for businessmen, for children and teenagers, for men and women, for sports fans, for those who are interested in gardening and for those who keep pets.
Some newspapers publish serious articles on politics, economy and finance, some aim to entertain their readers. Many newspapers express certain political opinion and people choose them according to their own political beliefs. In short, you can always find a paper which suits your interests.
Besides, there are many free local newspapers which are put into your postbox whether you ask for it or not. Probably they are not interesting, because they consist mainly of advertisements, but you can find a lot of useful telephone numbers and addresses there.
My parents subscribe to Argumenty i Facty. I also like this weekly. I don't read all the articles, but in every issue I find something interesting. I think that most articles are very well written, they give a detailed and well-balanced analysis of current events and trends in economy. I like to read articles on social issues, interviews, reviews of new books, plays and TV shows. One of my favourite columns is The Quotation of the Day, where they quote our popular politicians and give their comments. Sometimes it's very funny.
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Quite often I buy Sovershenno Secretno (Top Secret) and practically in each issue there are some fascinating stories which you read like a detective story.
Sometimes they uncover things I have not heard about, sometimes they show well-known events in a completely new light.
From time to time I read Moskovsky Komsomolets. It's one of the most popular daily papers, but I don't consider it serious. However, I never miss an article written by Minkin. I think he is a very good journalist. I also like Merinov's cartoons. Sometimes they publish good reviews of new films, new CDs and so on.
In short, I think that TV, radio and the Internet have their advantages, but nothing can substitute newspapers.
Vocabulary
to imagine
dozens ,
news-stand
fan ,
politics
economy
finance
to aim
to entertain
to express
opinion ,
according to ,
political beliefs
in short
to suit
free
local
post-box
advertisement
to subscribe
weekly ,
issue ,
detailed
well-balanced ,
analysis (. . analyses)
current events
trend
social issues
review ,
column
quotation
politician
comment
fascinating
to uncover ,
completely
daily
to consider
advantage
substitute
Internet and Modern Life
The Internet has already entered our ordinary life. Everybody knows that the Internet is a global computer network, which embraces hundred of millions of users all over the world and helps us to communicate with each other.
The history of Internet began in the United States in 1969. It was a military experiment, designed to help to survive during a nuclear war.
Invention of modems, special devices allowing your computer to send the information through the telephone line, has opened doors to the Internet for millions of people.
Most of the Internet host computers are in the United States of America.
Nowadays the most popular Internet service is e-mail. Most of the people use the network only for sending and receiving e-mail messages.
In many countries, the Internet could provide businessmen with a reliable, alternative to the expensive and unreliable telecommunications systems its own system of communications. Commercial users can communicate cheaply over the Internet with the rest of the world. When they send e-mail messages, they only have to pay for phone calls to their local service providers, not for international calls around the world, when you pay a good deal of money.
However, there are some problems. The most important problem is security. When you send an e-mail, your message can travel through many different networks and computers. The data is constantly being directed towards its destination by special computers called routers. Because of this, it is possible to get into any of the computers along the route, intercept and even change the data being sent over the Internet. But there are many encoding programs available. Not with-standing, these programs are not perfect and can easily be cracked.
Another big and serious problem of the net is control. Yes, there is no effective control in the Internet, because a huge amount of information circulating through the net. It is like a tremendous library and market together. In the future, the situation might change, but now we have what we have. It could be expressed in two words an anarchist's dream.
