Тексты для восприятия и понимания речи на слух к учебному пособию для гимназий и лицеев Английский язык/Англійская мова. 11 класс”. Минск. Вышэйшая школа, 2015. Unit 1: Family

And, of course, the Internet – a lot of curious facts can be found there: archive references and articles from newspapers.

I’ve got one brother – Roland. He's alright, I suppose, but I wish I had more brothers and sisters. I think it must be awful to be an only child. An only child is often spoilt – they get everything they want from their parents all the time. And then sometimes they are a bit shy or at least not very sociable because they’re not used to being with other people. Well, I suppose there are some advantages too. I mean, you get lots of attention all the time from your parents and you don`t have to share everything with the other children. But I think big families are better. A big family teaches the older children how to look after the younger ones and that`s a good thing. All the big families I know are always friendly and good fun. Of course, it`s more expensive to look after a big family – so money can be a problem. Personally, I think the ideal family size is four. I’d like to have a sister and two brothers. That would be nice.

There were a lot of families in the history of Belarus; however none was more renowned than the Radziwill family. The story of the members of this family occupies many pages in the modern encyclopaedia of Belarus. The family left its imprint on a wide variety of human endeavours – from public and political life to culture and education. Members of the family were leaders in wars against the enemies of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian Empire. For centuries they had been collecting books, documents, paintings, weapons and other rare and valuable objects that could fill entire museums. History has preserved a lot of names of the Radziwill family. Let us recollect some of them today.

Barbara Radziwill (1520–1551), the Queen of Poland and Duchess of Lithuania was the most beautiful woman of her time. It is written in the chronicles that she was “triumphant in her beauty and love affairs”. Indeed, the love she awoke in the heart of the Polish King Zyhimont II August was called “the love affair of the century.”

Nickolay Radziwill Chorny (the Black) (1515–1565) filled high and responsible posts in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: great chancellor, governor of Vilno, administrator of Litovia. His policy was aimed at strengthening the sovereignty of the Belarusian state.

His son Nickolay Kristof Radziwill Sirotka (1549–1616) a Catholic, headed the fight against Calvinism and issued orders to burn books published by Calvinist printing houses. At the same time he exerted every effort to make the architecture of the Radziwill palace in Nesvizh equal to that of contemporary European cities. He was famous as the author of a detailed travelogue describing his journey to Jerusalem, Syria, Egypt and other places.

Mikhail Kazimir Radziwill (Rybonka) (1702–1762) rebuilt the town and the castle of Nesvizh. He occupied high state posts, possessed land and was a close friend of King August II. He was a powerful magnate and Nesvizh was turned into a center of his estate.

In those years his wife Franciska Ursula Radziwill (1705–1753), who was writing comedies and dramas, established the first Slavic secular theatre in Nesvizh. Dramas, operas and ballets were staged there. Slutsk ballet school was attached to the theatre. This theatre was in action till 1760. That was also the time of restoration of book printing in Nesvizh.

The Radziwills collected jewelry, paintings, weapon, different precious objects... Untill now nobody has been able to find out where the treasures have gone.
5. Unit 1 Lesson 8. Listening

HOW WE KEPT MOTHER'S DAY

We decided to have a special cele­bration of Mother's Day. We thought it a fine idea. It made us realise how much Mother had done for us for years, and all the efforts and sacrifices that she had made for our sake.

So we decided that we'd make it a great day, a holiday for all the family, and do everything we could to make Mother happy. Father decided to take a holiday from his office, so as to help in celebrat­ing the day, and my sister Ann and I stayed home from college classes, and Mary and my brother Will stayed home from high school.

It was our plan to make it a day just like Christmas or any big holiday, and so we decided to decorate the house with flowers. We asked Mother to do it, because she always does it.

The two girls thought it would be a nice thing to dress in our best for such a big occasion, and so they both got new hats. Father had bought silk ties for him­self and us boys. We were going to get Mother a new hat too, but it turned out that she liked her old hat better than a new one.

After breakfast we decided that we would hire a motor car and take Mother for a beautiful drive away into the coun­try. But on the very morning of the day we changed the plan a little bit. We all felt that it would be nicer to have a defi­nite purpose. It turned out that Father had just got a new rod the day before, and he said that Mother could use it if she want­ed to: in fact, he said it was practically for her, only Mother said she would rather watch him fish than fish herself.

So we got everything _.arranged for the trip. Mother cut up some sandwiches and packed it all up in a basket for us.

When the car came to the door, it turned out that we couldn't all fit in. Father said that he could stay at home and work in the garden. The girls said that Mother had only to say the word and they'd gladly stay at home and work.

In the end it was decided that Mother would stay at home and have a lovely restful day round the house. It turned out anyway that Mother didn't care for fish­ing and also it was just a little bit cold and fresh out-of-doors, though it was lovely and sunny, and Father was afraid that Mother might take cold if she came.

We had the loveliest day. Father and the boys fished, the girls met quite a lot of people. We all had a splendid time.

It was quite late when we got back. We sat down to dinner. It was grand. When it was over all of us wanted to help clear the things up and wash the dishes, only Mother said that she would really much rather do it.

When we all kissed Mother before going to bed, she said it had been the most wonderful day in her life and I think there were tears in her eyes.

Britain or Great Britain is an island and the people who live here are called the British, Britons or Brits. This doesn’t include Ireland, which is the second biggest island of the British Isles. The bigger part of Ireland is called Eire, and was part of Britain once but isn’t now except for Northern Ireland or Ulster.

The official or political name of the country is the ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’ which is often abbreviated to ‘UK’. The country is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

One of the unofficial romantic or poetic names of the country is Albion which is the oldest known name of the island of Great Britain. Caledonia, Cambria and Hibernia are the Roman names for Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

Surnames were originally introduced into England by the Normans in 1066, and the practice began to spread. Initially, surnames changed from generation to generation, or even as a person changed his job – "John Blacksmith" may have become "John Farrier" as his trade developed. But by 1400, surnames in England and lowland Scotland had mostly settled down and become hereditary. Common surnames such as Smith, Wright, Cook, Taylor and Turner are all based on a person's trade or occupation, and these would have been common in that era. Other occupational names include Knight, Thatcher and Fletcher.

Another common source of surnames are nicknames or descriptive names. Goodchild, Love, Wise and Armstrong all fall into this category.

Some of the oldest surnames are those derived from place names. These can include location names such as Heath and Dale, as well as specific places such as Preston and Stanley.

Other early surnames include those derived from the name of a parent. For example, "David's son" became Davidson or Davids, and "Peter's son" became Peterson or Peters. A very large number of Welsh surnames follow this pattern, with Jones (from "John's son") being the most common of all. Some others like Davis, Evans, Rees also suggest Welsh origin.

The prefix Mak- or Mc- which is the Gaelic word for "son" in surnames such as MacDonald, McCartney, MacMillan is always either Scottish or Irish.

The prefix O’ is distinctly Irish like in O’Hara. Another common Irish prefix is Fitz- (Fitzgerald). Many other Irish names like Murphy or Connor don’t have any prefixes.

First names can also be indicative. The Scottish form of John is Ian and the Irish form is Sean, although all three names are common throughout Britain.

J: Of course, yes. Collecting is an old favourite. People collect stamps, postcards, coins, china, furniture, dolls and what not. I’ve come across people who collect old irons, buttons, teddy bears and even kinder surprise toys , but they are not numerous.

J: Bird watching is getting more and more popular. The British Trust for Ornithology reports that it has more volunteer birdwatchers than ever. It says that more than 40,000 contributed to its “Bird Atlas” project counting British birds.

1. 
   Select an object you want to decorate, and collect materials. You can use just about any materials, including cards, tissue paper, wrapping paper, magazine clippings, thin fabric pieces, or (of course) decoupage paper.
   
2. 
   Prepare the surface. Make sure the object you are decorating is clean and dry, remove bumps and imperfections if necessary.
   
3. 
   Apply the glue. Use a paintbrush to brush a thin layer of glue onto your surface and onto the backs of the cut-outs. Make sure you apply the glue evenly and over the edges of the cut-outs.
   
4. 
   Glue the cut-outs, piece-by-piece, to the object. Apply the paper carefully to avoid bending or crumpling it, and smooth it out with a small roller, rubbing outward from the center. Repeat with each piece.
   
5. 
   Let glue dry. Make sure the whole piece is completely dried before proceeding. If applying several layers, make sure each layer is dry before starting on the next.
   
6. 
   Apply lacquer. Let each coat dry thoroughly before applying the next. The number of coats is up to you.
   
7. 
   Sand the decoupage when it is dry, with sandpaper to remove imperfections.
   

People in Wales and those of Welsh origin celebrate the life of their patron saint, St David, and the Welsh culture on March 1 each year. Many people pin a daffodil or leek to their clothes and some, especially children, wear traditional costumes.

St David's Day is not a public holiday therefore government offices, schools, post offices and businesses are open. However, it is a day of celebration so many schools, institutions and even businesses will have a special programme for the day. Many people attend special church services, parades, choral recitals or Welsh literature readings. Schools plan celebrations, often involving choirs, on the day.

The Welsh flag, a red dragon on a white and green background, is displayed prominently and a festive mood prevails. The traditional meal on St David's Day is soup that is made of leeks and other locally grown produce.

St David plays a very important role in Welsh culture but little is known about his life. It is believed that he lived to be 100 years old and that he died in 589. It is difficult to tell which aspects of the St David’s story are true and which are legend. He was supposed to have been very gentle and physically strong and tall despite eating very little.

St David travelled widely and founded several churches and a monastery in Wales and eventually became an archbishop. People started making pilgrimages to St David’s monastery after he was canonized. A cathedral still stands on its original site.

The republic of Belarus is a small country in the centre of Europe with a total land area of 207,600 km2.

The population of the country is 9,468,200 as recorded on 1 January 2014. Thus, the population of the country is growing and life expectancy at birth is 72.6 years at the moment, which is quite high. Minsk, the largest of the Belarusian cities and its capital, has 1, 921,800 inhabitants. On the whole, the proportion of the urban population makes up 76.8%. It means that most people live in cities and towns. The regional centres of Belarus are also quite large and have the following number of people as of 1 January 2014: Brest – 331,000; Vitebsk – 363,000; Gomel – 512,000; Grodno – 357,000; Mogilev – 371,000.

The largest ethnicity groups are represented by Belarusians with 83.7% and Russians – 8.3%. Poles make up 3.1%, Ukrainians – 1.7%, and the Jews -0.1%.

There are two state languages in the country – Russian and Belarusian.

Belarusians celebrate more than 10 national holidays. Most of them are days off; New Year’s Day on 1 January, Orthodox Christmas 7January, Women’s Day on 8 March, 9^th day after Orthodox Easter – Radonitsa, Labour Day on 1 May, Victory Day on 9 May, Independence Day on 3 July, October Revolution Day on 7 November, Catholic Christmas on 25 December.

Other official dates are Constitution Day on 15 March, Union Day of Belarus and Russia on 2 April, Day of the National Emblem and Flag of Belarus on the 2^nd Sunday in May.

Besides the official holidays in Belarus, there is also a popular ancient national holiday of Kupalle, which is celebrated the entire night of 6 July. This holiday is accompanied by songs, dances and traditions, such as fire-jumping and night swims.

The National Flag of the Republic of Belarus is a rectangular canvas, which is made up of two horizontal stripes and a vertical one. The upper red stripe takes up two-thirds of the flag’s width, the green lower stripe is as large as one-third. The vertical red-on-white Belarusian national decorative pattern, which occupies one-ninth of the flag’s length, is on the side of the flagpole.

The National Emblem of the Republic of Belarus is made up of a green outline of the Republic of Belarus lit by the golden rays of the sun rising over the globe. A five-pointed red star is located at the top of the outline. The emblem is encircled by a wreath of golden wheat heads intertwined with clover flowers on the right and flax flowers on the left. The wheat heads are embraced by a red-and-green ribbon with a golden inscription “Republic of Belarus”.

The Republic of Belarus celebrates the national holiday of the Belarus National Flag and National Emblem Day on the second Sunday of May every year.

The National Anthem of the Republic of Belarus

The music for the National Anthem of the Republic of Belarus has been written by Nestor Sokolovsky, the lyrics – by Mikhail Klimkovich and Vladimir Korizna.

The National Anthem of the modern Belarus retains the musical basis of the anthem of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic. The music by Nestor Sokolovsky has been popular and respected by generations of Belarusians, this is why it was decided to keep it when the anthem of the independent Belarus was created. After that a contest for the anthem lyrics was announced.

The words of the National Anthem reflect development of the Republic of Belarus as a sovereign and peace-loving country. They emphasise patriotism and diligence of the nation, brotherly relations between all nationalities that live in the country.

We cannot help mentioning the names of outstanding sportsmen – the heroes of modern Belarusian history.

Alexander Medved is an outstanding Belarusian sportsman and trainer in freestyle wrestling. He was an Olympic Champion in 1964, 1968 and 1972 and a World Champion in 1962, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970 and 1971. He is recognised as the best freestyle wrestler of the 20th century.

Olga Korbut. The legendary gymnast won four Olympic Gold medals (three of them – in team, balance beam and floor exercise events at the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972 and one in 1976 in Montreal. At the 1972 Olympics, Korbut's acrobatics and high-level gymnastics brought her much fame. To this day, the tuck back and Korbut Flip are still very popular. Her excellence in technical skills overthrew the sport's traditional focus on artistry. In 1972 Korbut was named Best Sportswoman in the World.

Vitaly Shcherbo, born 13 January 1972 in Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, is a Belarusian former artistic gymnast. One of the most successful gymnasts of all time, he is the only male gymnast ever to have won a world title in all eight events (Individual All-Around in 1993, Team in 1991, Floor in 1994, 1995 and 1996, Horizontal Bar in 1994, Parallel Bars in 1993 and 1995, Pommel Horse in 1992, Rings in 1992, Vault in 1993 and 1994). He was the most successful athlete at the 1992 Summer Olympics – XXV Olympic Games in Spain, winning 6 of 8 events – team, all-around, pommel horse, ring, vault, parallel bars. He is also a winner of four bronze medals at the XXVI Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA, in 1996. He is a World Champion 14 times, a European Champion 10 times, the winner of the Good-Will games (USA, 1990) and a champion of Universidad (1993, 1995).

Igor Makarov won a gold medal in judo at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games

Julia Nesterenko is a Belarusian sprinter. She won the women's 100 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens in 10.93 seconds, becoming the first non-black and first non-U.S. athlete to win the event since the 1980 Summer Olympics.

Maxim Mirnyi is the most famous Belarusian tennis player. He has won a series of international doubles titles, such as Great Slam, Wimbledon, US OPEN, Australian Open, French Open and others and has led the Belarus national team to its best-ever result in the Davis Cup.

Victoria Azarenko is a Belarusian professional tennis player, winner of major WTA tournaments, an Olympic champion. In January 2012 Victoria Azarenko became WTA World No. 1 for the first time in her career. At the 2012 London Olympic Games she won the gold medal in the mixed doubles together with Max Mirny and the bronze medal in the women’s singles.

Darya Domracheva is a Belarusian biathlete who has been competing in the Biathlon World Cup since 2006. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi she won three gold medals in the women’s 10km pursuit, the women’s 15km individual race and the 12.5km mass start. She is the bronze medalist in the women's 15km individual race at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. She is the winner of the Biathlon Award 2010, when she was named Female Athlete of the Year.

Alexei Grishin is a freestyle skier, the winner of Belarus’s first gold Winter Olympics medal in Vancouver 2010. He is also the Olympic bronze medalist of the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, 2002.

Sergei Martynov, a Belarusian sharpshooter, is called “the king of small-bore rifle”, the London 2012 champion. His wonderful skill and good nerve helped him to shoot a maximum 10.9 in the ninth round which brought the crowd to its feet. Going into the final round of the Olympiad, he set a new world record: scored the maximum 600 points in prone rifle shooting. He is also a two-time Olympic bronze medalist in Sydney and Athens.

Ruslan Salei is one of the best sportsmen in Belarus’ hockey history, captain of Belarus' national team. Ruslan Salei is Belarus’ first ice hockey player to be promoted to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Life is going on. No doubt, Belarusian people will inscribe new names into the world heritage.

One of the most exciting events in our country in 2014 was the World Ice Hockey Championship, which was held on 9–25 May.

Two main venues had been constructed for the World Ice Hockey Championship – Minsk Arena with 15,000 seats (opened on 30 January, 2009) and Chizhovka Arena with the seating capacity of around 10,000.

A total of 43 hotels from five-star to one-star and economy-class and 12 halls of residence, including seven of the new complex Student Village, had been prepared for meeting guests of the Championship.

Official participants of the world championship, teams, referees, IIHF officials and journalists were accommodated in the hotels Minsk, President Hotel, Europe, Crowne Plaza, Victoria-1, Victoria-2, Victoria-Olymp, Garni, Renaissance, Robinson Club, Narochanskaya, Svisloch and Belarus.

The fans were able to stay in the city’s hotels, hostels, halls of residence and a Fan Village.

Transport infrastructure had also been improved before the beginning of the 2014 IIHF World Championship in Minsk. An additional runway had been built at the Minsk National Airport. All major international motorways, crossing Belarus, had been made four-lane. Four new traffic interchanges had been constructed to ease the traffic near the ice arenas, additional metro stations had been built, and the city commuter train service had been introduced.

It was very easy for guests to get to Belarus for the time of the Championship. Visa requirements had been changed before the 2014 IIHF World Championship in Minsk. The entry to Belarus during the 2014 IIHF World Championship (on 25 April – 31 May 2014) had been made visa-free by the Belarusian authorities.

Even though there is no terrorism in Belarus, a system of additional security measures had been created for the IIHF World Championship by the Belarusian Interior Ministry’s jointed efforts with the Emergencies Ministry, the Healthcare Ministry and the Ice Hockey Federation of Belarus.

Not all Minskers speak foreign languages. That is why volunteers with foreign language skills had been recruited by the Education Ministry in cooperation with youth organizations to help guests and participants of the 2014 World Ice Hockey Championship. The volunteers were deployed in all public places of the city.

In early 2008 the Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation announced a competition to decide on the best Belarusian 2014 IIHF WC logo. The organizing committee received more than 200 works, but designer Victoria Adamovich’s laconic logo won the competition. The 2014 IIHF WC logo is recognizable and popular. The logo was used to make souvenirs and ads of the tournament. One could also see it on public transport, bills and billboards.

Preparation for the 2014 IIHF World Championship also included an open mascot design competition, announced by the Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation for the 2014 IIHF World Championship. As many as 40 design proposals had been submitted. The image of the bison, one of Belarus’ symbols, was named the official mascot of the IIHF World Championship in Minsk. The mascot was created by artist and designer from Minsk Vitaly Ortyukh.

A nationwide contest for the best name and story/biography for the official mascot of the 2014 IIHF World Championship was announced in March 2013. Following the competition, which had almost 300 proposals filed, the mascot got the name Volat (the heroic warrior – in Belarusian).

500 days before to the competition about 40 Belarusian enterprises began manufacturing souvenirs with the 2014 IIHF WC logo. Among the most popular ones were T-shirts, caps, scarves, towels, pucks, hockey sticks (including decorative made from cut glass), badges and magnets. These souvenirs were available in shops, passenger stations and the National Airport Minsk.

16. Unit 3 Lesson 8. Listening

Spokeswoman: I’d like to inform you about an interesting joint project of the national cinema company ‘Belarusfilm’ and limited liability company ‘Art Cinema Group’. The leading parts are performed by handsome actors Daniil Strakhov and Markus Kuntse. The script of the eight-part series was written by the general producer of the film Gleb Shprigov. It is based on the novel by Moscow writer Yuri Kostin, which became popular with the readers not only in CIS, but in Europe as well. This is an adventurous story, in which a Russian and a German are looking for St Euphrosyne’s Cross which disappeared during the war. The director of the film is Alexander Yefremov.

Alexander Yefremov: The German character in the film – Rulf Muller – is a descendent of a German private first class, performed by a German actor Markus Kuntse. The Russian adventurer Anton Ushakov is played by Daniil Strakhov. The characters are completely different: the German likes to give his actions a good thought first, whereas the Russian pushes him to actions and adventure. It creates interesting psychological and dramatic situations for the characters to look for a way out.

The film is full of chasing, shooting, explosions, fights and stunts. There is a special group of stuntmen to do all the tricks.

We hope the film will have a lot of viewers as the story has magnetism. The mystery of the Cross of St Euphrosyne of Polotsk cannot fail to attract people. We know that this wonderful relic disappeared in the very first days of the Great Patriotic War from the Mogilev museum of local lore when it was evacuated. You know Dumas said: “History is a nail, on which I hang my hat.” We followed the principle. We wanted our story to be dynamic and captivating. So, a lot of the events in the story are a fruit of Yury Kostin’s imagination”.

The original cross was created by a local master Lazar Bogsha at St Euphrosyne’s request in 1161. The cross contained a number of sacred relics, such as part of the Wood of the Lord’s Cross with a drop of blood of the Savior, parts of the stones from the Lord’s Tomb and the Tomb of the God’s Mother, the icons of Jesus Christ, Holy Mother, John the Baptist, the patron saints of Euphrosyne and her parents and Lazar Bogsha’s postscript in the lower part of the cross and a set-in inscription from St Euphrosyne on the sides of the cross.

We know a lot of stereotypes concerning the United Kingdom and its natives. Using them we are able to create the national characteristics that British people are believed to present. Many stereotypes are wrong, but some of them seem to be good. We should be aware though, that some of them aren't true.

The typical British representative should be the tea lover. What is more, the tea should be drunk at an exact time. Most of the British drink their tea at 5 o’clock. They are also known to have a big traditional breakfast. The breakfast consists of several pieces of toast covered with jam or marmalade, which seem to be typically British. We couldn't even imagine how varied the British toasts can be. The other stereotype is connected with the traditional British cuisine and some cooking traditions. British meals are considered to be completely tasteless. They are unlikely to be accepted by foreigners. The basic British dish is called ‘fish and chips’ but most tourists don't like it.

There are a number of stereotypes about British gentlemen. They appear to be too stiff and conservative. Moreover they speak with a strange British accent. They call the accent "Received Pronunciation" and it is thought to be a very distinguished one, but in fact it isn't. What is more typical, the British sense of humour is very unique. It is presented mostly in such British films and TV series as "Monty Python's Flying Circus", "Mister Bean" and "Black Adder". All of them present the stereotypes, which aren't often the truth.

Another stereotype is that the British youth are believed to be clubbing lovers, which means that they enjoy walking from club to club or pub on the weekends. It is a kind of modern British tradition, which is today observed in various countries. But young British people are believed to enjoy their lives. In fact, young British people turn out to be very different as do young people all over the world.

Summing up, the British aren't as conservative as they are thought to be. Their main characteristic is that they are talkative and very friendly. They seem to be also pedantic, but we can say the same about every other nation. Every nation has positive and negative stereotypical features.

Danielle Montagne:

Travelling and teaching abroad have become my passion. When I learned that I would be teaching in Minsk, I was very excited. I started my twenty-four hour journey from Syracuse, New York.

My first glimpse at the city of Minsk was through the windows of an old city taxicab. It was the middle of the night and the city was completely empty – empty, but filled with lights. The buildings and monuments were huge. We passed by very modern buildings – like the National Library. Then I saw very beautiful monuments—like Victory Square statue and the Eternal Flame. Minsk was filled with an atmosphere of power and grandeur that I was not expecting.

In the days that followed, I spent a lot of time walking around the streets, getting lost and then finding my way again. I found myself wandering though beautiful parks filled with carnival rides. I saw children running and laughing along the banks of the river. I witnessed young couples holding hands and kissing on park benches. All of these images made me happy. The city felt completely alive. I was inspired to begin taking Russian classes in order to be able to read street signs and communicate with people outside the university.

My warm sentiments about the city of Minsk followed me to MSLU, where I met the most wonderful colleagues and students I could imagine. There is a real sense of community at MSLU that sometimes lacks at other educational institutions. The kindness and thoughtfulness I have encountered from the teachers and professors has made my time here wonderful thus far.

As I become more acquainted with the city, the people and the language, I am sure I will continue to enjoy my time and teaching experiences. I believe I have a unique opportunity to not only teach Belarusians about American culture and life, but upon my return to the United States also share my experiences about Belarus with my colleagues back home.
20. Unit 4 Lesson 5, Ex.3b, 3c = TB Year 11 Unit Lesson 8 ex. 3b, 3c

Last weekend, my American roommate and I were on the way out the door to meet Andrei, a 22 year-old Belarusian student, for what he called “a tour of his hometown.” I was grabbing my keys and putting on my jacket when, all of a sudden, I heard a scream from the other room.

“I think the bathroom’s broken,” my roommate said.

I called Andrei to cancel our meeting.

“I will help you,” he said.

“I don’t think you want to do that,” I replied. “It’s ugly over here.”

“You need help,” he said again.

He wouldn’t take no for an answer. And as it turned out, we did need help – when we couldn't reach our hosts, we finally accepted Andrei’s offer to come over and try his luck. This turned into an entire afternoon of Andrei arguing with telephone operators and technicians, and advising us on proper Belarusian Saturday-emergency-plumbing situation etiquette.

I hesitate to generalize about a country and its people. But as I described the day’s events to my friends and family in the USA, I realized that there was, in fact, a common theme running through my three months of emails home. Over and over again, I find myself saying: “the Belarusians I meet are nice.” They take me to the market.  They give me their phone numbers and offer to "take me anywhere, to show me anything I might like."  They serve tea and set out cookies every time I teach a class. They spend entire afternoons helping to fix broken plumbing units – and, moreover, they seem glad to do it. Everyone I meet seems "glad to do it," whatever "it" may be – and as a newcomer, I have needed a lot of local guidance. I can't count the number of times I have had to show my passport, pay fees at the bank a few blocks away, sign papers, translate diplomas, take pictures, and so forth. Our landlady and landlord do not speak English. We always need interpreters. Ordering ice cream is, as a fellow American put it, "an adventure." Even registering for Russian classes took two weeks and about two hundred official documents.

Yet, three months has felt like three weeks, and I suspect I know why. Perhaps I wouldn’t know it from the people riding the metro or waiting in line at the polyclinic. But I have never been someplace so cold, and yet so warm. I have been floored by Belarusian kindness, generosity, and beyond all else, hospitality. 

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

                Free at last! Free at last!
22. Unit 4, lesson 6, ex. 4a, 4b Song “Imagine”= TB Year 10 Unit 7 Lesson 7, ex. 6

Imagine there's no heaven Imagine no possessions

Imagine there's no countries You may say I'm a dreamer

You may say I'm a dreamer

It’s impossible to know all of the different cultural differences in body language that you can run into. And trying to abide by all of them is even tougher. If I did, I’d be running around not looking at anyone with my hands in my pockets. Of course, then I would be offending both Turkish people (hands in my pockets) and all of my friends in the States. This article is a compilation of my research. I apologize if I omit anything or make a mistake – there’s so much information in regards to this subject, and it’s difficult to capture it all.

Hand signals mean different things in different countries.

The O ring in the UK and the US means “Ok”, in France, Belgium “zero”, in Japan it means money and in Turkey it is considered rude.

Thumbs Up in the UK means “Ok”, “All right mate”, “See you later mate”, “Brilliant”, in Brazil: “Thanks”, in Egypt, Israel, Australia, Denmark: “Very good”, “Perfect”, “Brilliant”, “Terrific”, in Germany, Italy, Hungry, Greece: “Ok”, “No. 1”, in China: “You are number 1”. In West Africa, parts of South America and Iran it is traditionally interpreted as an offensive sign.

The V Sign (a palm shown to the observer) usually means Two, Victory, Peace in most of the world if used.

The V Sign (the back of a hand shown to the observer) in the UK, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa is considered an insult. The rest of the World generally interprets this gesture the same as the V sign with palm shown to observer.

Showing the thumb and the index finger means “One” in Britain, Australia and New Zealand, “Two” in Europe, “Waiter!” in the USA and an insult in Japan.

Besides hand signals, there are some gestures and postures you should be aware of while travelling.

Eyes are the most expressive part of the face. In Western cultures, direct eye contact is the expected norm; it indicates confidence, honesty and trust. In fact, in these cultures lowered eyes provoke a lack of trust. In the United States and Canada, eye contact is extremely important in conveying interest and attention. However, in Native American and Asian cultures, lowered eyes are a sign of respect and honour, which Westerners often misinterpret. The Japanese tend to consider even brief eye contact uncomfortable.

In UK, US, Europe, New Zealand people shake hands on meeting and on departure. If two people know each other, sometimes the handshake is skipped.

People from India, Middle East, Asia may continue to hold your hand after the handshake is finished. It is also more frequent and can happen several times a day. Beware that in Turkey, a firm handshake is considered rude and aggressive. This type of bodily contact is considered impolite in Japan and is replaced by a bow. The depth of the bow shows the amount of respect shown and indicates the relative status between the two.

Showing Soles of Feet

In many Asian and Arab countries this is considered rude and insulting to cross an ankle over a knee and display the sole of a shoe while talking to another person. It is usually translated to “I find you lower than what I walk on”.

In Southern Europe this is standard greeting whether the other person is known or not. It is however less common in professional settings. Men kiss women and women kiss women. Men kissing men varies between countries and within countries. It also depends if the other person is a family member. Hugging is popular between the sexes, between two women as well as between two men. In the Netherlands, Switzerland and France women kiss men and women. Men prefer to handshake rather than kiss men, except kissing father and close friends or if they have not seen a friend for a long time. In the UK cheek kissing is not as common as it is in the southern parts of Europe though it is practiced for greetings between the sexes and between women. Cheek kissing between two men is unusual. In the US air kissing is becoming ever more popular. Air kissing is kissing near the cheek in the air while cheeks may touch or not. In the Middle East kissing between men and women is considered inappropriate if the two are not married or closely related. A kiss of the cheek is common among same sex people when greeting. In Turkey cheek kissing is widely practised including men to men unless they are getting introduced for the first time.

This is a big no-no. It may look okay, but you could be fooled. In Japan, Scandinavia, and England, touching is less frequent. Though in Latino cultures, touching is encouraged.

In conclusion, I’d advise all travellers before visiting any country to study the country’s body language along with its traditions, values and beliefs. Remember that the best and easiest body language to master is a natural, sincere smile. It’s the most universally understood message and doesn’t need a translation! 

People often call them Eskimos. But this is not the right term as, in Inuktitut, their language, it means 'someone who eats raw meat'. So they prefer to be called Inuit, which means 'humans'. The Inuit live in northern Canada and in Alaska (which is in the United States of America), but also in Greenland, and, as some people think, in the North Eastern tip of Siberia. The Inuit learn English, Danish, French or Russian at school, but they speak Inuktitut at home. The Inuktitut alphabet has been adapted for computers. Children are also given lessons at school in Inuktitut on how to build kayaks or sleighs. More and more parents want their children to learn about these traditional activities, and it is often the older people who come to school to teach them.

The most famous kind of house the Inuit make is the igloo. It's made from compact blocks of snow stacked on top of each other into a dome shape. The igloo is a temporary shelter, which is used during hunting trips in winter. It is wind proof and quite light inside as snow allows some light through. Small oil lamps made out of whale or seal fat are used for heating inside. The igloo can reach up to 1 or 2 °C while outside, the temperature can fall to minus 50°C. Today, most Inuit live in colourful modern houses, which are heated. They have a television, a telephone and the Internet. But they still like to go hunting sometimes for a few days and teach their children how to build an igloo or a stone shelter.

Inuit have always treated human beings, the land, animals and plants with equal respect.  Today, they continue to strive towards maintaining this harmonious relationship.  They try to use the resources of the land and sea wisely in order to preserve them for future generations.  Strict hunting traditions and rules help maintain this balance.  Traditional knowledge of Inuit history, along with knowledge of the land, plants and wildlife, has been passed down through the generations.  The family is the center of Inuit culture and co-operation and sharing are basic principles in Inuit society.  Inuit share the food they have hunted and everyone does his or her part to help those in need.