Section 6. Interpreting Skills Training

Ex.1. Phonetic shadowing

What is the Higgs boson particle and why does it matter? Finding the Higgs is vital to the Standard Model, the theory that describes the web of particles, forces and interactions that make up the universe. Sometimes described as the "God particle" because it is such a mystery yet such a potent force of nature. Without the Higgs boson to give matter mass and weight, there could be no Standard Model universe. If it was proved not to exist, scientists would have to tear up the theory and go back to the drawing board. Professor Womersley said he was excited about what the discovery might mean for the future: “Finding (the Higgs boson) is really great because we've been looking for almost three decades, the Large Hadron Collider at Cern had this as one of its primary goals. But it is also the first step towards trying to understand what comes next.” Professor Peter Higgs dreamed up the concept of the Higgs mechanism to explain mass while walking in the Cairngorms in 1964. The unassuming Prof Higgs, who is known to shun the limelight, could now be on his way to winning a Nobel prize.

Ex.2. Read Text 1 to yourself and listen to the Text 2 delivered by your partner (or a teacher). Try to remember three facts from Text 2. Present the key information of Text 1.

Text 1.   For all I know, Grisha Perelman may have been all that—a nutty Russian eccentric. But as I read more about him, he seemed more and more familiar. Actually, the more I read, the more I found myself feeling nostalgic for people like him, people I used to know in Russia in the 70’s—writers, poets, artists, musicians, physicists. They lived in the rarefied world of ideas, completely removed from cares for success defined by money and fame. They gathered in tiny kitchens around cramped tables to drink tea, smoke cigarettes, argue, recite poetry, sing underground songs, exchange latest news of travails with the Soviet bureaucracy, and talk about big ideas.   Friends say that evidence of Dr Perelman's innate modesty came when - having finally solved the problem after more than 10 years' work - he simply posted his conclusion on the internet, rather than publishing his explanation in a recognized journal. "If anybody is interested in my way of solving the problem, it's all there - let them go and read about it," said Dr Perelman. "I have published all my calculations. This is what I can offer to the public."   On 1 July 2010, he turned down a $1 million prize, explaining that he considers his contribution to proving the Poincaré conjecture to be no greater than that of Richard Hamilton, who introduced the theory of Ricci flow with the aim of attacking the geometrization conjecture.

Text 2. 1.Менделеев в 1851 году слыл одним из последних учеников на своем курсе. Обладал крайне слабым здоровьем, к 1853 году уже вовсе не покидал больничной койки. Как-то во время обхода главный лекарь бросил фразу: «Ну, этот-то уже не встанет…..». А Менделееву вдруг стало обидно……за маму, которая одна поднимала 14 детей и страстно хотела дать всем образование. Менделеев вместо того, чтобы покориться судьбе, достал свои учебники……и увлекся. Экзамен был сдан блестяще! Диагноз оказался ошибочным, а в 1854 он уже считался самым одаренным студентом Главного педагогического университета. 2. Менделеев не любил заниматься чем-либо дольше нескольких лет. И когда ему предложили место в лаборатории по исследованию пороха с окладом в 30 тысяч годовых, Дмитрий Иванович отказался: “Буду работать, если станете платить две тысячи! Тридцать тысяч — это кабала, а две тысячи — тьфу! Захочу, и уйду!”. И ушел через четыре года! Но за этот срок изобрел бездымный порох. 3. Когда друзья Менделеева пытались выразить ему свое соболезнование по случаю вынужденного ухода великого ученого из Петербургского университета, которому он отдал тридцать три года жизни, Дмитрий Иванович только отмахивался: «Э, да что там, батенька. Вон Прометей не нам был чета, а как поступили с человеком!»

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