Сборник учебных текстов по развитию английской устной речи для студентов неязыковых специальностей

им. С Торайгырова

Павлодар

2009
УДК 811. 111 (075.8)

ББК 81.2 Англ-923

С 23
Рекомендовано к изданию учебно-методическим советом факультета филологии журналистики и искусства Павлодарского государственного университета

Каирбаева А.К.

С 23 Сборник учебных текстов по развитию английской устной речи для студентов неязыковых специальностей / сост. Аипова А.К., Смагулова Г.Ж., Нурсапинова М.К., Макаренко М.В., Макарихина И.М., Аскарова Л.Б., Кажикенова Г.М., Омарова Х.С., Мухамбетова Р.А., Авазбакиева Ф.Р., Кабжанова Г. А. – Павлодар : Кереку, 2009. – 79 с.

Основная цель – достижение студентами практического овладения социально-политической речью, развивая поликультурную личность студента посредством этнокультурного, общечеловеческого и гуманитарного характера текстов.

УДК 81.2 Англ-923

ББК 811. 111 (075. 8)
© Аипова А.К., и др., 2009

© ПГУ им. С. Торайгырова, 2009

1 About Myself.....................…………………………………… 4

2 My working day…..…………………………………………....9

3 Sport and Health……………………………………………….16

4 The system of education in Kazakhstan................ …………...23

5. Kazakhstan and English Speaking Countries ..........................33

6 My University. My future profession........................................51

7 Sphere of economics in Kazakhstan and in English Speaking Countries..............................…………........................................59

Literature.......................................................................................71

Введение
В настоящем сборнике представлены тексты аутентичного характера из различных источников (научной и художественной литературы).

Тексты содержат информацию страноведческого характера, направленные на развитие кругозора студентов. Изучение текстов способствует развитию умений чтения и говорения.

Основной целью является достижение студентами практического овладения социально-политической речью, развивая поликультурную личность студента посредством текстов этнокультурного, общечеловеческого и гуманитарного характера.

1 About Myself
1.1 People are different

It’s a well-known fact that in order to get to know another person we should learn more about his character. Read the following ideas about people’s features of character and say whom you would like to make friends with most of all.

The most important thing is being hard-working, thorough and ambitious. That’s why my friends say that I’m very reasonable and trustworthy.

Friendship is something that is very difficult to describe. It is like love - if you have never had it, you will never explain how it feels. But still it is very interesting to get to know what other people think about friendship. So we asked some of them the question “Does a true friend exist?” And here are the answers!

Frankly speaking, I’ve never thought that girls could be real friends. I thought that they liked to gossip and were not able to keep secrets. I’m glad now that I was wrong.

I also think that a person can have only one true friend, whom he/she can confide to. I don’t understand those people who say that they have a lot of friends. I believe they are not true friends - they are just good acquaintances, aren’t they?

Nataly: A true friend? I can’t understand what you mean. Will you tell me what a true friend is? Of course you can say that a true friend is a person who is generous and trustworthy. But, to tell you the truth, I’ve never met such people.

Our life is a very complicated thing. I’m grown-up enough to realize that it’s based on principles different to “A Friend in need is a friend indeed”. Today money rules the world. So if you are the wealthy person, who is able to help, then you will have lots of friends. I also think that friend is a person whom you can benefit from. If you need something - he will help you, if you need some money – he will give it to you. That is a real friendship.

Although my mum says that a true friend is a disinterested person, I won’t agree with her. I personally think that if you have a friend who is ready to help you any time and is able to do everything for your sake - use it, there won’t be any better chance. That is the thing that I always do. Don’t you think that I’m right?

Jane: I think that he does. I’d like to say even more: there should be more friends than one. I agree with the statement: “The more friends - the better» I’m a very sociable person and for me to find a friend is just a piece of cake. Frankly speaking, I am really surprised that for somebody to find a friend is very difficult. What can be easier that to be a friend for somebody? Just do something good for this person, say something pleasant to him, do him a favour and oops- he is your best friend because he owes you.

Perhaps somebody will say that it is not right, that a true friend should the only one, but I think that they are mistaken. We often quarrel with our friends or sometimes we part. If you have one friend but you still have some more - so, you are not alone. Don’t you think so?

Now she is the only friend I have. We are like sisters. I always tell her about my grief and pain and she often gives me a good piece of advice. She is very sincere and kind-hearted and I’m sure that she will never let me down. I can always bare out the secrets of my soul to her and I’m sure that she will never let them out. She is a model for me. She always supports me and understands me because she is grown and experienced. I don’t think that my peers possess such qualities. They are too young to understand the reality of life. Don’t you agree with me?

Friendship is something that is very difficult to keep. Only those people who are truly devoted to each other, who are confident and faithful can stay friends for a long time. But still sometimes it is very difficult to answer this question and here are the results.

For me, being friends means doing a lot of things together, having much in common, enjoying each other’s company and having much fun together. But if you sometimes want to be alone or to go different place your friend should let you do it. If he doesn’t want you to do this then he is selfish – a feature of character that isn’t appropriate for a true friend.

So, I think that to keep friendship forever you should never forget about equality. Never forget that you don’t owe your best friend, so let him do what he wants and you’ll never be bored with your true friend.

Mark: Should we really keep friendship forever? I don’t think that we should, because I don’t know what we need it for. I believe that friendship shouldn’t last forever. Sometimes we just get bored with our friends. For me it’s very difficult to spend all my time with one person - my friend. Although we have much in common, sometimes we just don’t know what to do when we are together. I know everything about him and he knows perfectly me. There is nothing new and it’s not very interesting. What’s more, I think, if you can’t learn anything new about the person, you should find someone else to deal with.

Moreover, some people say that real friends should be able to forgive each other. Well, I don’t think that they are right. Why should I forgive a person who has let me down or betrayed me? The best way here is to part, otherwise I’ll always think about him as an unreliable man.

So, my idea about friendship is rather simple - we shouldn’t keep friendship forever and sacrifice our life to it. Life without changes is very boring, so change it as much as possible just to have fun and be happy.

1.4 Generation Gap

Many young people say that very often they have some problems with their parents. They think that their parents don’t understand them, they want to be more independent and to live alone, etc. Such a situation is usually called a “generation gap”. This is the situation of misunderstanding: children refuse to listen to their parents, while parents think that their children are too young to make their own decisions. Is it possible to solve the problem?

Frankly speaking, I can hardly understand what people mean when they say “generation gap”. What is a generation gap? I know that it means misunderstanding between parents and children, adults and teenagers. But I cannot see what could be the problem. Parents love their children: they grow them up, care for them and support them. And children should pay them the same coin.

I love my parents, because they take care of me, they are kind and sympathetic; they are always ready to help me. I’m sure that they love me too. And where there is love there should be understanding. My parents never ignore me, they always support me and understand all my problems. I can’t live without their help and respect, and I know that they also need my attention. So, these are the only relations that are possible between parents and children, I think.

Jane: She has some problems

There is such a thing as a generation gap. And I know it for sure. I experience it every day. My parents never understand me. Whatever I say or do they always think that I’m wrong. They keep saying that I’m not grown-up enough to do what I want. That’s why they always tell me what to do and what to say; where to go and what people to make friends with. They don’t like my friends, my hobby and my style of life. They make me do things I don’t want to. They are always after me and it is very annoying.

My friends laugh at me very often and say that I am “mother’s darling”. They say that I depend on my parents and that I won’t be able to live on my own. I really wish I had more freedom.

I know that my parents love me and care for me, but I want them to treat me not as a child but as an adult person. I need more liberty, and I don’t want to depend on them. I’m 18 and I’m grown-up enough to make my own decisions. I just want them to respect my personality.

Many people say that only their relatives help and support them feel comfortable and cosy. I understand them and I wish I felt the same about my family. But unfortunately I can’t.

I love my parents very much, but I don’t think they feel the same. My parents never pay attention to me and they don’t understand my soul. It hurts very much when my parents ignore me. I never feel desirable at home. That’s why very often I think about leaving them. I know that many children leave their homes because of some terrible problems in their families - a step-parent, a parent with alcohol problems or a violent parent. In comparison with them I should be a lucky person, because we don’t have such problems in my family.

My parents let me do whatever I want. I’m free and I should be happy. But I don’t feel my parents’ love and care: the things that I long for. So, can you say that I’m a happy person?

A comfortable home makes our everyday life and work easier and more pleasant. And what should you do to make your home comfortable? Perhaps the first thing is to keep it clean and tidy. If you haven’t done your room, your mother may say to you, “Go and do your room!”

Domestic chores are numerous. You must air the rooms, wash or sweep the floor, clear the table after meals. What else can you do about the house? You can polish the floor or the furniture; clean the carpets with the vacuum-cleaner.

Most of the cooking in your family is probably done by your mother or grandmother, but you can help them by laying the table and clearing it after meals, and washing the dishes up.

On washing-day you can also help your mother. If your washing is sent to the laundry, you can take it there and fetch it when it’s ready.

If you have pets at home, you must take care of them.

Here are teenagers’ opinions on their attitude to domestic chores.

“I get some week pocket money, but most of my friends get much more. When I ask my Mum and Dad for more, they say I can have more if I help about the house, but I don’t see why I should. I think it’s not mine. What do you think?”

“On Fridays I usually clean my room which is in terrible mess by the end of a week. It is awfully boring, but it’s my duty.”

“If you have a dog, it’s usually great fun, but you have to take him for a walk twice a day. Besides you have to wash him sometimes. I have pets that are exotic, but easy to keep. They are insects. I feed my insects on leaves which I get in my garden. They are always clean, and I don’t have to take them for a walk!”

When I get from school what do I do? Instead of getting on with my personal interests, like playing computer games or designing programmes or models, I have to do a huge mountain of homework set by our teachers to fill our outside school hours.

Teachers and parents could spend years arguing that doing homework develops the pupils’ ability to work without assistance, or that additional work could help us complete our education successfully.

But I believe, in many subjects, homework is totally unnecessary and find that it doesn’t do me any good. I think, it’s really stupid to copy from textbook because someone else has already taken the time and effort to write this book, and it will remain with me until I leave the school year. So what the point of duplicating it? It’s reinventing the wheel! While copying things, it’s not easy to take in what you are taking down.

However, I believe, homework is essential in learning languages. New things are learnt at school, and then they have to be practiced in writing. I agree that some phrases have to be learnt by heart. From this, the teacher can comment on what has been taken in by the pupils and can be improved.

If we could get rid of unnecessary home work, we would have more time to take up hobbies and interests which could make us more enthusiastic and interesting.

There are plenty of other kinds of activities, such as travelling, visiting historical places, babysitting, delivering newspapers, putting together puzzles, reading, going to different museums, skateboarding, going fishing, hitchhiking, shopping, helping people in need, joining a computer club and others. We can say “So many teens; so many kinds of activities.”

Now some words about me. I am fifteen and I am a computer addict. I am fond of communication with other teens. That’s why I have a lot of friends in my and other countries. We send messages from one computer to another using e-mail; we have on-line conversations. I am a member of the computing club and I spend much time there. Of course, it’s rather expensive, but my parents understand me and give me enough money to pay for my computer club.

And I think that my hobby will be useful in my future profession. Besides, I spend my free time in the sport club. I go in for kung fu. Recently films about kung fu have become very popular in Russia. This fighting itself is a great art, the result of many years of hard work and self-discipline. The man who made kung fu films famous was Bruce Lee. He used fists, elbows, feet (never weapons) and moved as fast as lightning. I am rather good at kung fu now, but I never use my skills to hurt anybody, unless it is absolutely necessary. Now people know what Kung Fu is, and I think it may become a sport of the future, because it develops up your personality, will and nobility.

Young people are fond of different styles of music. What kinds are popular now? What kind of music do you like? Why? Can you think of a day without music? We can hear music everywhere: in the streets and at home, over the radio and on TV, in the shops and in the parks. People all over the world are fond of music. They listen to music, they dance to music, and they learn to play musical instruments. But what is music? Specialists explain that music isn’t only a combination of pleasant sounds. It is an art which reflects life. There are a lot of different kinds of music. Some of them appeared long ago, and some are modern. For example, folk music appeared long ago, but it is still alive. Folk songs are very tuneful and pleasant to listen to. Classical music is often associated with the music of the past. However, this style also includes music being written now, and we may speak of modern classical music. Rap is a modern musical style where the singer speaks or shouts the words in time to music with a steady beat.

Great Britain has produced more popular music stars than any other country. Over the last 30 years rock and pop music have been very popular in Britain. The Beatles, with their style of singing, eloquent and exciting, is still one of the most popular groups. British groups often set new trends in music. New styles, groups and singers continue to appear.

2.5 My day off

Yesterday it was Sunday, that’s why my last day off was not long ago and I remember it quite well. I always try to do my best to make my holidays really exciting, because we have only few days in a week for relaxation and rest. Yesterday my friends and I agreed to meet at my place. First we watched a very interesting TV show “What? Where? When?” Then we went took a videocassette and watched an outstanding movie “The Independence Day”. This is a story about strangers from the other planets that were trying to conquer the whole Earth and about the struggle against them. The movie is full of visual effects and computer graphics that takes your breath and makes you admire the modern technologies in the cinema. I wish our studios and directors made such movies. “The Independence Day” can be added to the genius pieces of modern art – that is my opinion. Having watched the film, we decided that it was a time to go outside. The first place we went to was the sports ground. Though it was rather cold, we put on warm clothes and had fun. Almost all day long we played soccer and basketball. As for me, I like weekends and holidays, as the majority of other people. And I like telling about my holidays. It’s dull to listen about the ordinary working day, how do you think? Every working day looks like another, but every weekend is different from the other. During the weekend we have an opportunity of enjoying the life and having rest.