Министерство сельского хозяйства
Российской Федерации
Федеральное государственное бюджетное
образовательное учреждение высшего
профессионального образования
«Самарская государственная
сельскохозяйственная академия»
Кафедра «Иностранные языки»
Н. В. Чигина, С. В. Сырескина, Е. Г. Бухвалова
Topics for conversation
Методические указания
по практике устной и письменной речи
Кинель
РИЦ СГСХА
2014
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ББК 81.2 Анг.р
Ч-58
Чигина, Н. В.
Ч-58 Topics for conversation : методические указания по практике
устной и письменной речи / Н. В. Чигина, С. В. Сырескина,
Е. Г. Бухвалова. – Кинель : РИЦ СГСХА, 2014. – 91 с.
Методические указания по практике устной и письменной речи
«Topics for conversation» предназначены для студентов, обучающихся по
дополнительной образовательной программе «Переводчик в сфере
профессиональной коммуникации». Учебное издание включает
17 разговорных тем, затрагивающих проблемы современного мира
и человека. Они помогут студентам в подготовке к занятиям по практике
устной и письменной речи, позволят ознакомиться с интересными
фактами и повысить уровень знаний.
© ФГБОУ ВПО Самарская ГСХА, 2014
© Чигина Н. В., Сырескина С. В., Бухвалова Е. Г., 2014
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Contents
Предисловие…………………………………………………….. 4
Unit I
A Hobby Makes Your Life Much More
Interesting................................................................... 5
Unit II Why Do We Dance? ………………………………... 9
Unit III Video and Computer Games………………………… 14
Unit IV A Vital Part of Daily Life: Mobile Phones................. 19
Unit V
Unit VI
Friendship: A Single Soul Dwelling in Two
Bodies……………………………………………….. 24
Love Is Life………………………………………….. 28
Unit VII The Mystery of Dreams…………………………….. 33
Unit VIII Stop It Before It Is Too Late……………………….. 37
Unit IX Stress and How to Cope Well With It……………… 42
Unit X
Unit XI My Home Is My Castle…………………………….. 54
Unit XII
Colours and Their Associations……………………. 48
Parenting: the Most Important Job on the Planet…... 60
Unit XIII Generation Gap: Reality or a Psychological
Prejudice………………………………….................. 65
Unit XIV Artificial Intelligence………………………………... 70
Unit XV Ways of Being Successful……………………… 75
Unit XVI What Skills Do You Need to Get a Good Job?.......... 81
Unit XVII The Changing Face of Tourism: Ecotourism………. 85
Рекомендуемая литература……………………………………. 90
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Предисловие
Методические указания предназначены для студентов,
обучающихся по дополнительной образовательной программе
«Переводчик в сфере профессиональной коммуникации»
в качестве дополнения к основному курсу. Учебное издание
состоит из 17 текстов с упражнениями. С его помощью можно
подготовиться к занятию, зачету и экзамену, ознакомиться
с интересными фактами, повысить свой уровень знаний.
Представленные методические указания помогут развернуто
высказывать и аргументировать свою точку зрения, выделять «за»
и «против», участвовать в обсуждении актуальных проблем,
принимать участие в коллективной беседе. В предлагаемых
текстах затрагиваются наиболее актуальные темы
и проблемы.
После каждого текста следует ряд упражнений
в порядке нарастания трудностей. В упражнениях предлагается
соединить части предложений, ответить на вопросы, закончить
фразу, дать определение понятию, прокомментировать то или иное
высказывание, дать совет, высказать свою точку зрения по данной
проблеме и т.д. Основная задача упражнений – расширить навыки
говорения по теме. При выполнении заданий необходимо найти
дополнительную информацию по теме или написать сочинение.
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UNIT I
A Hobby Makes Your Life Much More Interesting
Our life would be hard without rest and recreation. People have
quite different ideas of how to spend their free time. For some of them
the only way to relax is watching TV or drinking beer. But other people
use their spare time getting maximum benefit from it. If you enjoy
doing some activity in your free time, than you have a hobby.
A person's hobbies are not connected with his profession, but they are
practiced for fun and enjoyment. A hobby gives one the opportunity of
acquiring substantial skill, knowledge and experience. A hobby is a
kind of self-expression and the way to understand other people and the
whole world. A person's hobbies depend on his age, intelligence level,
character and personal interests. What is interesting to one person can
be trivial or boring to another. That's why some people prefer reading,
cooking, knitting, collecting, playing a musical instrument, painting,
photography, fishkeeping or playing computer games while others
prefer dancing, travelling, camping or sports.
Collecting things is a very popular hobby and it may deal with
almost any subject. Some people collect stamps, coins, badges, books,
clocks or toys. Other people collect beer cans, key rings, stones,
matchboxes, thimbles and all sorts of things. Once you've got a small
collection you keep adding to it. Some people don't even remember how
their collection started but now their house is crammed full of different
knick-knacks which they can't use but keep for the sake of having them.
But some people collect valuable and rare things as they consider it to
be a good investment of their money.
If you are active and tired of town life, if you long for changes and
want to get away from civilization, than camping is for you. It is a
cheap way to rest, to improve your health, to train yourself physically
and to enjoy nature. Some people prefer more extreme camping when
they have to survive out-of-doors, orient themselves, obtain food from
the wild, build shelters and adapt themselves to extremely cold weather.
They learn to overcome any obstacles and become strong and selfreliant.
Ecotourism
is becoming popular and fashionable all over the
world, especially with people who try to damage the environment as
little as possible. Tourists visit places of natural beauty and they usually
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travel on foot, by bicycle or boat so that there is no pollution. They stay
in local houses or hotels and eat local food. Their aim is to enjoy nature,
to experience the local culture and to get unforgettable impressions
without polluting and wasting or destroying natural resources. They
must keep places that they visit clean and safe. The principles of ecotourism
are 'Leave nothing behind you except footprints and take
nothing away except photographs' and 'Take as much care of the places
that you visit as you take of your own home'. If people remember these
simple rules, we will be able to save our planet and to conserve the
wildlife.
A hobby plays a very important educational, stimulation and
psychological role, makes you stronger physically and mentally, helps
you escape from reality, improve your knowledge, broaden your mind,
develop your skills and gain a better understanding of how the world
works.
Practical Skills
1. Complete each sentence (A-H) with one of the endings (1-8).
A. If you enjoy doing some activity in your free time, than
B. A hobby gives one the opportunity of
C. A person's hobbies depend on his
D. What is interesting to one person
E. Some people collect valuable and rare things as they consider it
F. Camping is a cheap way
G. Ecotourism is popular with people who
H. A hobby plays a very important
1. age, intelligence level, character and personal interests.
2. educational, and psychological role.
3. acquiring substantial skill, knowledge and experience.
4. try to damage the environment as little as possible.
5. you have a hobby.
6. can be trivial or boring to another.
7. to rest, to improve your health, to train yourself physically and to
enjoy nature.
8. to be a good investment of their money.
2. Give the definitions of the following words :
• recreation • self-reliance
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• self-expression • pollution
• knick-knack • simulation
3. Answer the questions.
1) How does a hobby influence a person's life?
2) What kinds of hobbies do you know?
3) Why do people collect different things?
4) What is your attitude to extreme camping?
5) Why is ecotourism fashionable today?
6) What are the principles of eco-tourism?
7) Why is it important to everybody to have a hobby?
8) How do you spend your spare time?
4. Read what other people say about their hobbies and fill in
the table below.
Kate, 43, bank manager
I can say that my hobby is dog training. I have a dog Jerry and we
are best friends. Jerry follows all my commands and performs some
simple tricks. We understand each other perfectly. I spend 2 or 3 hours
a day training Jerry and it takes me a lot of effort but it's so much fun!
Dogs are very devoted and understanding creatures and it is a great
pleasure and entertainment to communicate with them. When Jerry is
disobedient I never punish him but ignore his bad behaviour. And
I often give him sweets and cookies as a reward.
Adam, 72, pensioner
I started collecting milk-jugs 12 years ago. At first my collection
was small but today I have more than 200 items in it. I like drinking tea
with milk and I have all sorts of milk-jugs in my collection. Most of
them are attractively displayed on the shelves in my living-room. My
relatives and friends know about my passion and they often add to my
collection. My granddaughter often travels abroad on business and for
pleasure and she always presents milk-jugs to me. I also collect antique
clocks and icons, but my collection is still very small.
Daniel, 63, cook
My favourite pastime is amateur astronomy. When a school boy
I liked physics and astronomy and dreamt of becoming astronaut.
Observing and studying celestial objects is very interesting and
romantic. Viewing the night sky you can see stars, the Moon, planets,
comets and meteor showers. Of course you won't see much looking at
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the sky with the naked eye, that's why I use optical telescopes. I often
keep records of my observations and share useful information with
other amateur astronomers. Now my dream is to discover a new comet
and to make some useful contribution to astronomy.
Simon, 25, messenger
Parkour teaches you to move quickly and efficiently and to
overcome obstacles such as concrete walls, high fences or rocks. It has
no set of rules or competitiveness. Parkour helps me develop my body
and mind and gives me much energy. I learn to trust myself and to be
strong. Parkour teaches me to overcome everyday difficulties and to
approach problems differently. My friends and I practice in parks and
abandoned structures. We try to avoid injuries but of course everything
happens. You need no particular equipment: just a T-shirt, light trousers
and comfortable athletic shoes. I think parkour has changed my life and
my attitude to everything.
5. Read the quotations below. Choose any statement and
comment on it.
• 'Life's a hobby.' (Joshua Lederberg)
• A hobby a day keeps the doldrums away.' (Phyllis McGinley)
• 'Making money is a hobby that will complement any other hobbies
you have, beautifully.' (Scott Alexander)
• 'People are spending more on their hobbies to make their free time
more enjoyable.' (Steve Wagner)
• 'Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself
awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through
you. Live today with gusto.' (Dale Carnegie)
6. Choose any topic and make up a short composition on it.
Find some extra information on the subject.
1. My hobby.
2. As many people as many hobbies.
3. Strange hobbies.
7. Say what kind of hobby you would prefer. Explain your
choice using the words and word combinations in brackets.
1. cooking 2. gardening 3. yoga 4. painting 5. dancing 6. playing
violin 7. fishing 8. playing chess 9. photography 10. camping
11. reading 12. knitting
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(the way to relax, creativeness, to get maximum benefit from, to
enjoy doing something, for fun, to acquire substantial skill, knowledge
and experience, aesthetic pleasure, a kind of self-expression, effective
medium in education, to derive inspiration/pleasure/enjoyment, to
improve one's health, to train oneself physically, to make friends, to
become a team, to become strong and self-reliant, to broaden one's
mind, to involve mental/physical stimulation)
8. Give the definition of the word 'hobby' and compare it with
your group mates' variants.
9. Read the text 'A Hobby Makes Your Life Much More
Interesting' and say if you agree with the title.
Unit II
Why Do We Dance?
Why do people dance? They do it for different reasons but
probably the most expected answer is that they dance because they
simply like it. It is difficult to say when dance became an important part
of human culture. Dance has been used during different ceremonies,
rituals and celebrations since prehistoric times. Archaeologists have
found Egyptian tomb paintings depicting dancing figures from circa
3300 ВС. In the past people danced to tell myths and to show feelings
for one of the opposite gender. Dance plays a vital role in many of the
world's religions. People have used dance in praise of their gods, in
celebration of the seasons, and simply as an outward expression of joy
or grief. Native Americans could not imagine their lives without
dancing. It was an essential part of their culture and heritage. Native
Americans danced for almost any reason: for worship, for rain, when
preparing to fight with other tribes or when preparing for a big hunt.
Today a lot of people are still fond of dancing though few of them
dance for religious reasons. For many of us dance is an excellent
opportunity to have fun, to express our emotions, to relieve stress, to
experience music and to improve our health and fitness level. Dance
can be also a form of nonverbal communication as it helps two people
say 'I love you' to each other. That is why many couples celebrate their
unions with a wedding dance which is the symbol of their love and
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affection. A wedding dance is an unforgettable experience and a person
remembers this happy moment during all his or her life.
There are many interesting dancing styles and everybody can find
something to his liking. There are dancing styles that can be practiced
alone (solo dance), as a couple (partner dance), or as a part of a much
larger group (group dance).
Ballet is popular with many people and it is best known for its
unique features and techniques. Ballet began to develop in Italy and
later it appeared in France. It combines classical music, mime, acting,
costumes and dance. Nobody can remain indifferent watching ballet
dancers' graceful movements.
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in 3/4 time. It first became
fashionable in Vienna around the 1780s and spread to many other
countries. This dance form became the example for the creation of
many other ballroom dances. In Britain the waltz was considered
'riotous and indecent' as late as 1825. Now there are many types of
waltz, including many folk and several ballroom dances.
Tango is often associated with love, passion and romance. This
dance form originated in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo,
Uruguay and it became popular in Europe in the early years of the 20th
century. Tango has influences from Spanish and African cultures.
Today, there are many tango dance styles, including Argentine Tango,
Uruguayan Tango, Ballroom tango (American and International styles),
Finnish tango, Chinese tango, and vintage tangos.
Today many young people, especially boys, are fond of break
dancing. It is a street dance style that evolved as part of the hip hop
movement among African American and Latin American youths during
the early 1970s. It is normally danced to funk or hip hop music. Break
dance is highly improvisational and physically demanding. It allows
dancers to display their skills by showing extremely difficult and
complicated elements. Some dancers organize competitions and try to
outperform each other. Many people dedicate their lives to dancing and
spend years perfecting their dancing skills. But it is not necessary to be
a professional. The most important thing is just to love dancing. There
are many reality television shows such as 'Dancing with Stars' and
movies such as the one with Richard Gere 'Shall We Dance' that have
made ballroom dancing popular and appealing to the average person.
Some people take dance lessons or just buy videos and DVDs that teach
different dance steps.
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