An Interview with a famous person

Ø 1) Have you ever interviewed people or been interviewed?

Interviewer: Thank you for taking some time off from your busy schedule to answer a few questions about your life!

Brad: It’s my pleasure.

Interviewer: Could you tell us about an average day in your life?

Brad: Sure. To start with, I am a freelance writer which means that I can plan my day as I like it. I get up quite early – at 6 in the morning. I start my day with a cup of green tea which helps me to wake up and which boosts me with energy for the whole day. I meditate for about half an hour in the open air if the weather is good and read some motivational literature on achieving success in life while my family is still asleep. Then, at around 7 a.m., I have a light breakfast prepared by my caring wife – a marmalade toast, cereal, a cup of tea. After breakfast, I go to the local gym.

Interviewer: Are you writing anything now?

Brad: Yes, I’m working on a new novel called “The Pleasure of Being a Polyglot.” I have been writing it for three months now and I am planning to bring it to the end by May.

Interviewer: What do you usually do in the afternoon?

Brad: First I have lunch, then I go to my private library again and type until my imagination is exhausted.

Interviewer: Which scene are you describing today?

Brad: I’m writing a scene about two desperate lovers. One of them is from Japan and the other is from the USA. At this point they don’t understand each other’s language and communicate using only non-verbal means.

Interviewer: That’s very interesting indeed. What do you do in the evening?

Brad: In the evening, I take my Labrador for a walk, come back home, help my wife to do the household chores like vacuum cleaning, dusting the furniture, washing the floors or the clothes, if she asks me to do it, have dinner and spend quality time with my family.

Interviewer: Do you go out at night?

Brad: Not always, I like going out at weekends.

Ø 2) Choose the correct answer to the questions:

a) Why does the interviewer thank Brad? (for visiting him; for taking time off; for telephoning)

b) What is Brad? (a polyglot; an editor of a magazine; a freelance writer)

c) What is Brad writing now? (“The Pleasure of Being a Polyglot;” “The Adventures of Polyglots;” “Reflections of a Polyglot”)

d) What does he do in the afternoon? (he goes to the local library; he goes to the gym; he goes to the private library)

e) When does he like going out? (at night; on Sundays; at weekends)

2.13 WHAT’S IN YOUR OFFICE?

Ø 1) Answer the questions:

a) What is your profession? Do you work? Do you enjoy your work?

b) Where do you work? Have you got an office? What is your office like?

c) What furniture is there in your office?

Ø 2) Read the dialog and say if you would like to have an office similar to Maria’s.

David: I’ve got a new office now…
Maria: That’s great! Congratulations.

David: I’ll need a desk and some cabinets. How many cabinets are there in your office?
Maria: I think there are four cabinets in my office.

David: And do you have any furniture in your office? I mean other than the chair at your desk.
Maria: Oh yes, I’ve got a sofa and two comfortable armchairs.

David: Are there any tables in your office?
Maria: Yes, I’ve got a table in front of the sofa.

David: Is there a computer in your office?
Maria: Oh yes, I keep a laptop on my desk next to the phone.

David: Are there any flowers or plants in your office?
Maria: Yes, there are a few plants near the window.

David: Where’s your sofa?
Maria: The sofa is in front of the window, between the two armchairs.

David: Thanks a lot for your help, Janet. This gives me a good idea of how to arrange my office.
Maria: My pleasure. Good luck with your decorating!

Ø 3) Draw a plan of Maria’s office.

Ø 4) Choose the best answer (true, false or doesn’t say) to the questions:

a) David has just received a new job.

b) David is sure he will need some cabinets in his new office.

c) Maria thinks it is a good idea to have comfortable furniture in an office.

d) David is surprised that Maria keeps coffee on her table.

e) Maria keeps a computer next to her telephone.

2.14 A TYPICAL MANAGER’S DESK AND A TYPICAL SECRETARY’S DESK

Ø 1) Answer the questions:

a) Do you work much at the desk?

b) What is there on your desk?

Managers often have desks that are surprisingly empty! These empty desks can show that the manager often travels and is out of the office most of the time. An empty desk can also demonstrate how powerful the manager is by its representative status.

Sometimes, in the United States of America, you can see footmarks on the desk because some managers like to put their feet up on the desk when they are talking on the telephone! In the USA, managers put their feet up on the desk to show that they are in control in their office.

Managers usually have a laptop computer on their desk. In fact, this laptop computer is their true desk. These days, most managers do almost all their work on their laptops. Another thing you might find is a cell phone – another sign of the mobility most managers demand.

Secretaries usually have an older computer and a telephone on their desk. They usually have an older computer because the managers are often the first to receive the latest technological equipment. Secretaries’ desks are often tidy because they are usually tidier than their bosses. You will also find an agenda of some sort on secretaries’ desks because secretaries need to make appointments for their bosses. Secretaries’ desks often have pictures of their children and family that they look at from time to time during the day.

In the past, secretaries were usually women. Today, however, more and more men are becoming secretaries as more and more women become managers and the workplace becomes more equal.

Ø 2) Choose the best answer to the questions:

a) Managers often have (laptop; beautiful; fax) computers.

b) Some managers in the USA like to … (talk a lot; put their feet up on their desk; work from home).

c) Many managers have (portable; cell; walkable) phones.

d) Most managers need to … (stay in the office; travel a lot; type their own letters).

e) A clean, empty desk represents … (laziness; power; indecision).

Ø 3) Say if the statements are true or false:

a) Secretaries are usually tidier than their bosses.

b) Secretaries often have pictures of their families on their desks.

c) Secretaries usually have a new computer.

d) Secretaries make appointments for their bosses.

e) Secretaries are always women.

MY OFFICE

Ø 1) Answer the questions:

a) What equipment do you need at work?

b) Do you keep family photos at work?

c) Do you stay late at work?

Like most offices, my office is a place where I can concentrate on my work and feel comfortable at the same time.

Of course, I have all the necessary equipment on my desk. I have a telephone next to the fax machine on the right side of my desk. My computer is in the center of my desk with the monitor directly in front of me. I have a comfortable office chair to sit on and some pictures of my family between the computer and the telephone.

In order to help me read, I also have a lamp near my computer which I use in the evening if I work late. There is plenty of paper in one of the cabinet drawers. There are also staples and a stapler, paper clips, highlighters, pens, pencils, a pencil sharpener, a ruler, scissors, a glue stick, adhesive paper, a hole punch, and erasers in the other drawer.

In the room, there is a comfortable armchair and a sofa to sit on. I also have a low table in front of the sofa on which there are some industry magazines.

Ø 2) Choose the best answer to the questions:

a) What does this person do in his office? (relaxes; concentrates; studies; reads magazines)

b) Which piece of equipment does he not have on his desk? (a fax; a computer; a lamp; a photocopier)

c) Where are the pictures of his family located? (on the wall; next to the lamp; between the computer and the telephone; near the fax)

d) He uses the lamp to read (all day; never; in the morning; in the evening)

e) What does he keep on the table in front of the sofa? (company reports; fashion magazines; books; industry magazines)

f) What is the author of the text? (a manager; a secretary; a student)

TWO WORKERS IN AN OFFICE

Ø 1) Answer these personal questions:

a) Do you have a schedule at work? Do you follow it?

b) Are you punctual? Are you absent-minded? Are you forgetful?

c) Do you often have snacks at work?

James: Hi, Alice. How are you today?
Alice: Hi, James. I’m fine, and you?

James: Great, thank you. Remember, the meeting is at 3 o’clock.
Alice: Excuse me, which meeting?

James: Which meeting?! The meeting with the boss!
Alice: Are you sure there is a meeting today?

James: Alice, Alice, every month there is a meeting with the boss. This month the meeting is this afternoon.

Alice: Calm down. OK, there’s a meeting this afternoon. What time is it?

James: Alice, this is important. The meeting is at three o’clock sharp!
Alice: Thank you, James... By the way, what time is it now?

James: It’s a quarter past eleven.
Alice: It’s time for lunch!

James: Lunch, now? Lunch time is at twelve.
Alice: Well, I’m hungry now.

James: You’re funny, Alice. This is an office.
Alice: I’m hungry... It’s just a snack...

Ø 2) Answer the questions on the text:

a) How is Alice doing?

b) What important event is at 3 p.m.?

c) When is lunch time at Alice and James’ work?

The Rocks

Ø 1) Read the text and translate it into Russian.

A time management specialist was asked to give a presentation on her specialty. She decided to do a demonstration. First she asked her assistants to bring a big bucket and put it on the table in front of the audience. Then she asked for large grapefruit-sized rocks and filled the bucket with them. “Is the bucket full?” she asked. “Yes,” said the crowd, but she asked for more to put in anyway. This time her assistants brought in pebbles. She poured the pebbles into the bucket and it held a surprising number of them in the space between the big rocks. “Now is the bucket full?” she asked. “Yes! No! No!” said various persons in the audience. Some people were uncertain; some were getting suspicious.

The time management specialist asked for more. This time the assistants brought her sand. She poured sand into the bucket and filled the spaces between the pebbles. “Now, is the bucket full?” she asked. “No,” she answered. By now everyone was suspicious. So she asked for water and poured in quite a lot. Now no one could think of anything else that could fit in that bucket.

“What does this process demonstrate?” asked the time management specialist. One member of the audience spoke up, “No matter how busy you are, you can always fit in more.”

“I can see how you might think that that was my point, but it is not,” said the specialist. “I was trying to show you that if you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.”

Ø 2) Answer the following questions:

a) What specialist was asked to give a presentation?

b) What method did she choose?

c) If she asked you the last question what would be your answer?

d) What example from life could you give to prove her point of view?

e) What did the specialist mean by big rocks?

THE Secrets of Straight-A Students

They aren’t always more intelligent, but they do work smarter.
Here’s how.

Ø 1) Are you a straight-A student? Do you know any straight-A students? Have you ever asked him/her how he/she manages to make straight-As in all subjects? Do you use any of his/her ways in your studies?

Ø 2) Read the text and copy out all the secrets of straight-A students. Make a comment whether you agree or disagree with them.

Everyone knows about straight-A students. We see them frequently on TV and in movies. They get high grades, all right, but only by becoming dull grinds, who work very hard and their noses are always stuck in a book. They can’t do anything at sports, are boring when it comes to the opposite sex and wear clothes that are not fashionable.

How, then, do we explain for Domenica Roman and Paul Melendres?

Domenica Roman is on the tennis team. She also sings in the choral ensemble, serves on the student council and is a member of the mathematics society. For two years she has had a 4.0 grade-point-average (GPA), meaning A’s in every subject.

Paul Melendres, now a freshman at the University of New Mexico, was student president at school, he played soccer and basketball, exhibited at the science fair, was chosen for the National Honor Society and National Association of Student Councils and did student commentaries on a local television station. He got a GPA of 4.4 – straight-A’s in his regular classes.

How do super-achievers like Domenica Roman and Paul Melendres do it? Brains aren’t the only answer. “Top grades don’t always go to the brightest students,” declares Herbert Walberg, professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who has conducted major studies of super-achieving students.

Hard work isn’t the whole story either. “It’s not how long you sit there with the books open,” said one of the many A students we interviewed. “It’s what you do while you are sitting.”

The kids at the top of the class get there by mastering a few basic techniques. Here, according to education experts and students themselves are the secrets of straight-A students.

Set priorities. Top students let no intrusions on study time. Once the books are open or the computer is booted up, phone calls go unanswered, TV shows unwatched, snacks ignored. Study is business; business comes before recreation.

Study anywhere – or everywhere. Study times and places are strictly a matter of personal preference. Some work late at night when the house is quiet. Others awoke early. Still others study as soon as they come home from school when the work is fresh in their mind. All agreed, however, on the need for consistency. “Whatever I am doing, I leave some time every day for studying,” says a student from New Jersey. One student posted a vocabulary list in the bathroom, thus learning a new word every day while brushing his teeth.

Get organized. In high school McCray ran track, played rugby and was in the band and orchestra. “I was so busy, I couldn’t waste time looking for a pencil or missing paper. I kept everything right where I could put my hands on it,” he says.

Paul Melendres has two folders – one for the day’s assignments, another for papers completed and graded. Traci Tsuchiguchi, from California, has another system. She immediately files the day’s papers in color-coded folders by subject so they’ll be available for review at exam time.

Learn how to read. “ The best class I ever took,” says Christopher Campbell, “was speed-reading. I not only increased my words per minute but also learned to look at a book’s table of contents, graphs, and pictures first. Then, when I began to read, I had a sense of the material, and I retained a lot more.”

In his book “Getting Straight A’s” Gordon W. Green, Jr., says the secret of good reading is to be “an active reader – one who continually asks questions that lead to a full understanding of the author’s message.”

Schedule your time. When a teacher assigns a long paper, Domenica Roman draws up a time-table, dividing her project into small pieces so it isn’t so difficult.

Paul Melendres researches and outlines a report first, then tries to complete the writing in one long push over a weekend. “I like to get it down on paper early, so I have time to polish and review.”

Take good notes and use them. “Reading the textbooks is important,” says Paul Melendres, “but the teacher is going to test you on what he or she emphasized. That’s what you find in your notes,”

The top students also take notes while reading the text assignment. David Cieri uses his “homemade” system in which he draws a line down the center of a notebook, writes notes from the text on one side and those from the teacher’s lecture on the other. Then he is able to review both aspects of the assignment at once.

Just before the bell rings, most students close their books, put away papers, whisper to friends and get ready to rush out. Christi Anderson, an athlete, student-council member and top student, uses those few minutes to write a two or three sentence summery of the lesson’s principal points, which she scans before the next day’s class.

Clean up your act. Neat papers are likely to get higher grades than sloppy ones. The student who turns in a neat,” says Professor Olney, “is already on the way to an A It’s like being served a cheese-burger. No matter how good it really is, you can’t believe it tastes good if it’s presented on a messy plate.”

Speak up. “If I don’t understand the principle my teacher is explaining in economics, I ask him to repeat it,” says Christopher Campbell. Class participation goes beyond merely asking questions, though. It’ a matter of showing intellectual curiosity.

In a lecture on capitalism and socialism, for example, Paul Melendres asked how the Chinese economy could be both socialist and market-oriented. “I don’t want to memorize for tests only,” he says, “better grades come from better understanding.”

Study together. The value of studying together was demonstrated in an experiment at the University of California at Berkeley. Uri Treisman, who did the research, suggested teaching group-study methods on the basis of his findings. Once that was done, all the groups performed well.

Test yourself. As part of her note-taking, Domenica Roman highlights points she thinks may be covered during exams. Later she prepares tentative test questions based on those points and gives herself a written examination before test day. “If I can’t answer the question satisfactorily, I go back and review,” she says.

Experts confirm what she has figured out for herself.

Do more than you’re asked. If her math teacher gives five problems, Christi Anderson does ten. “Part of learning is practicing,” she says. “And the more you practice, the more you learn.”

The most important secret of the super-achievers, however, is not so secret.

For almost all straight-A students, the contribution of their parents was crucial. From infancy, the parents filled them with a love for learning. They set high standards for their kids, and held them to those standards. They encouraged their sons and daughters in their studies but didn’t do the work for them. In short, the parents impressed the lessons of responsibility on their kids, and the kids delivered.

Ø 3) Add anything from your own experience that works well for your studies.

THE HISTORY OF UNIVERSITIES

Ø 1) Read the text and answer the questions:

a) What does the word “university” mean?

b) Where were the forerunners of medieval universities founded?

c) Did the curricula of ancient and medieval universities differ?

d) What did the modern Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees develop from?

e) What is the difference between the German and the French university models?

f) Which model became popular throughout the world?

g) What is the future of universities?

A universityis an institution of higher education and research which grants academic degrees. “University” is derived from the Latin “universitas magistrorum et scholarium,” meaning “community of teachers and scholars” since the first medieval European universities were simply groups of teachers and scholars.

Arguably the first western university was the Academy founded in 387 BC by the Greek philosopher Plato in the grove of Academos near Athens, where students were taught philosophy, mathematics and gymnastics. About thousand years later, institutions resembling the modern university existed in Persia and in India. They were forerunners of the rise of the University in the 11^th century.

The first medieval universities were the University of Bologna (1088, Italy), the University of Paris (c. 1150, later associated with the Sorbonne, France), the University of Oxford (1167, the UK), the University of Palencia (1208, Spain), the University of Cambridge (1209, the UK), the University of Salamanca (1218, Spain), the University of Montpellier (1220, France), the University of Padua (1222, Italy), the University of Naples Federico II (1224, Italy), the University of Toulouse (1229, France). Just to compare, the first Russian universities were either Moscow State University (1755), Saint Petersburg State University (1724-1803, 1819), or Kant Russian State University (1544-1945, 1967).

In the Middle Ages students studied law, medicine, and theology. In Europe young men proceeded to the university when they had completed the study of the “trivium”: the preparatory arts of grammar, rhetoric, and logic; and the “quadrivium”: arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. The “trivium” and “quadrivium” developed into degrees, especially in Anglophone universities.

Humanism, Enlightenment, Reformation and Revolution transformed medieval universities into research universities.

By the 18^th century, universities published their own research journals and by the 19^th century, the German and the French university models had arisen. The German, or Humboldtian model, was worked out by Wilhelm von Humboldt and based on Friedrich Schleiermacher’s liberal ideas pertaining to the importance of freedom, seminars, and laboratories in universities. The French university model involved strict discipline and control over every aspect of the university.

Until the 19^th century, religion played a significant role in university curriculum; however, the role of religion in research universities decreased in the 19^th century, and by its end the German university model had spread around the world. Universities concentrated on science in the 19^th and 20^th centuries and became increasingly accessible to the masses. In Britain new civic universities with an emphasis on science and engineering arose. The British also established universities worldwide, and higher education became available to the masses not only in Europe. In a general sense, the basic structure and aims of universities have remained constant over the years.

In the last decades of the 20^th century, a number of mega universities have been created, teaching with distance learning techniques.

Ø 2) Make a summary of the text on the history of universities in your own words.

2.20 THE KARELIAN BRANCH OF THE NORTH-WEST ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
IN PETROZAVODSK

Ø 1) How long have you been studying at the Karelian Branch of the North-West Academy of Public Administration in Petrozavodsk? Where did you study before? Why did you decide to get higher education at the Karelian Branch?

The Karelian Branch of the North-West Academy of Public Administration in Petrozavodsk offers training, retraining, and in-service training of civil and municipal employees, as well as seminars, consultations, information- and methodology services in the sphere of state and municipal administration. The Karelian Branch is part of the countrywide educational network of the Russian Academy of Public Administration.

The Karelian Branch was organized in Petrozavodsk in 1995 by the joint solution of the Government of the Republic of Karelia and the North-West Academy of Public Administration in Saint-Petersburg. In 2005, the Karelian Branch was included in the list of educational institutions of Russia which form the system of staff training, support and supervision of the bodies of local self-government. This system was organized by the Ministry of the Regional Development of the Russian Federation.

Administration of the Karelian Branch includes Director, First Deputy Director, Deputy Director on Finance and Economics, and Head of Scientific and Methodology Research Work Office.

The departments functioning at the Karelian Branch are: personnel department, professional skills improvement and retraining department, higher professional education department, scientific and methodology research work office, information and library center, international cooperation center, and municipal consulting center.

The Chairs of Economics and Finance, State and Municipal Administration, Law, the Humanities, and Foreign Languages operate within the Karelian Branch.

Higher professional education department conducts training according to programs of higher professional education on the following specializations: “State and Municipal Administration,” “Finance and Credit,” and “Law.”

Training on State and Municipal Administration is carried out on a full-time and part-time basis. Part-time program implies 3.5 years of training for graduates of professional colleges and 3 years of training for graduates of higher professional institutions. The diploma is granted in case of successful training.

The Department of Supplementary Education Programs offers programs of professional retraining which is a form of supplementary professional education for people who already hold a diploma of higher or secondary professional education. This form of education has been worked out by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation as a convenient, not costly and fast way to get additional higher education and master a new profession. The peculiarities mentioned above make professional retraining advantageously different from getting another higher education in a traditional way (which takes several years, costs much more and covers general knowledge subjects).

In-service courses help specialists to enhance their professional level and can be aimed at different audience: employees of state government bodies, employees of local self-government bodies, deputies of Legislation Meeting of the Republic of Karelia, deputies of representative bodies of local self-government bodies, executives of enterprises, agencies and organizations.

Subject and consultation seminars are one of the most advanced directions of the department activities. Usually, the seminars are conducted following the demand of state government bodies, local self-government bodies, enterprises and organizations. They cover the issues of accounting, taxation and labor legislation, as well as legal support of the activities of state and municipal employees and some other issues acute for the audience.

Distance learning is a new convenient form of professional retraining for state and municipal employees who enter their field.

Ø 2) Draw the scheme of the organizational hierarchy of the Karelian Branch of the North-West Academy of Public Administration in Petrozavodsk.

Ø 3) Make a list of key words to describe this higher education institution.

Ø 4) Compare the pros and cons of different training schemes provided by the Karelian Branch of the North-West Academy of Public Administration in Petrozavodsk.

Ø 5) Retell the text adding personal details to it.

LAW ACADEMY

Ø 1) Find Russian equivalents to the words and expressions in italics.

We are students at the Ukrainian Academy of Law. Our Academy is one of the oldest educational establishments of this type in the Country. Its 70^th anniversary was marked in 1990. The Academy is housed in one of the best buildings of our city. This is the house in 77 Pushkinskaya Street designed and constructed by Beketov – a well-known Russian architect. It has a great number of light, spacious classrooms, lecture-halls, a gymnasium, a reading-room, and a computer lab. There are also special study rooms and laboratories here. The students have every opportunity to master their future profession which is law. Our Academy trains practical workers for law offices.

The course of study at the Academy is five years. Besides the day-time department there is also an evening and a correspondence department at the academy where the students study 5.5 years.

We study general and special law subjects. Among the general subjects are history of the political science, the history of the economics, philosophy, sociology, ecological law and a foreign language – English, German, and French. I am not confident in my English. I think it doesn’t sound well. But I am a good English learner. I always attend my English classes and work hard.

The law subjects are criminal law, criminal procedure, criminology, criminalities, civil law, civil procedure, labor law, ecological law, international law, and some others. We attend lectures, seminars, and tutorials. Classes usually begin at 8.00 in the morning and are over at 12.30 in the afternoon.

After classes many students hurry to the canteen to have lunch and after a short rest begin preparing for their lessons and seminars in the reading room or in a study room.

A very important part in the training of future specialists is played by the Students’ Scientific Society, and a lot of students carry on research work in its numerous circles. All of us also take part in the public activities of the Academy. Almost all out-of town students live in the hostel. At the end of each term we take credit tests and examinations. They are called terminals. All those who pass exams successfully are granted stipends.

At the end of the course of study the students take state examinations or finals, as they are often called. When we graduate from the academy we shall work according to our appointments as investigators, judges, procurators, etc. Some of us will work in the militia. Every year our country gets highly qualified specialists standing on guard of legality and law and order.

Ø 2) Compare the facilities provided by the Ukrainian Academy of Law and by the Karelian Branch of the North-West Academy of Public Administration in Petrozavodsk.

Ø 3) Use the text to talk about your studies at the Karelian Branch of the North-West Academy of Public Administration in Petrozavodsk.

LIVING IN The library

Ø 1) Read the title of the text and predict what it will be about.

Many people go to the library. Most likely you go to the library yourself. But have you ever heard of anyone really living in a library?

In New York City, 250 people lived for a while in their neighborhood library. They slept on the floor in sleeping bags and on blankets. Did they want to be at home sleeping in their own beds? Yes, they did – it’s not fun sleeping on a cold floor.

Why did those people live in the library? The people stayed there to prove a point. The city had planned to close the library to save money. These 250 New Yorkers loved their library. They knew that the library couldn’t be closed as long as they were living there. When the city agreed to keep the library open, they went home.

What were all these people doing while they were staying in the library? Do you think that they were reading good books?

Ø 2) Arrange the sentences in the logical order:

a) The New York government decided to keep the library open for the public.

b) Everyone was happy.

c) New Yorkers loved their local library.

d) The New York government decided to close a library.

e) They protested against the government decision by living in the library.

Ø 3) Interview your neighbour:

a) Are you fond of reading?

b) What books do you prefer to read (poetry, drama, novels, funny stories, detective stories, thrillers, fantasy, fiction, scientific literature, or professional literature)?

c) Who are your favorite authors?

d) You sometimes read books in English, don’t you?

e) You have got a great collection of books at home, haven’t you?

f) How often do you go to the library?

g) Would you also protect your favorite library in the same way as New Yorkers did?

h) Would you read in English if you were in such a situation as described in the text?

Дата добавления: 2015-10-24