Тексты для чтения №21-№30
Текст № 21
1. Read the article and say in 2-3 sentences what it is about.
THE PROBLEM WITH HAPPINESS
Most people want to be happy. Some people even spend lots of money to learn to be more positive. But perhaps the search for happiness isn’t always a good thing. Some scientific research shows that you cannot force yourself to be happy Research has also shown that being in a negative mood can sometimes be an advantage.
Joseph Forgas is a scientist at the University of New South Wales in Australia. He has studied how happy and negative moods affect people’s lives. Professor Forgas has found that people in a negative mood know more about the world and they are more careful when making important decisions. «A positive mood is good for creativity and quick thinking,» says Forgas. «But negative moods connect people with reality.»
In some experiments, Professor Forgas found that people in a negative mood didn’t easily believe rumours, but happy people are more likely to believe them. Other tests showed that people in a negative mood were better at remembering events that they had seen. People in a bad mood were also better at expressing their opinions on serious subjects.
Forgas has also found a connection between the weather and people’s moods. When the weather is bad, people tend to have a negative mood. When the weather is good, people are happier. Forgas also found that on rainy days, when people were negative, their memory was improved.
Other experiments by Forgas show that happy people are more selfish than unhappy people. Forgas says: «Happy people think more about their own needs than the needs of other people.»
Some people are pleased about the results of Forgas’s research. «Today, if you aren’t happy people think there is something wrong,» says Michael Collins, a journalist. «This is why Forgas’s research is so important. Certainly, happiness is a good thing. But we do not have to try to be happy all the time.» Forgas told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: «Positive mood is not always a good thing. People in a negative mood make fewer errors. Even they remember events more clearly and they are often better at communicating.»
rumours – слухи
2. What does Joseph Forgas do? Read aloud the extract which says about it.
3. What are the results of Forgas’ studies?
4. Do people find the results of the research important? Why?
Текст № 22
1. Read the article and say in 2-3 sentences what it is about.
MARY POPPINS: PERFECTLY MAGICAL THERAPY!
In 1964, Walt Disney’s production of Mary Poppins was a great success, and it is still considered to be among the top ten musical films of all time. The film was famous for its special technical effects. But people also loved the film for the story it told and the feelings it expressed.
Perhaps this is why the Mary Poppins story is so successful today, this time as a stage musical. At a recent performance at the Birmingham Hippodrome theatre, many people in the audience were adults who had not brought children with them.
The film version of Mary Poppins and the stage production are a little different, but they express the same message. Mary Poppins teaches the Banks family how to live well together.
At the beginning there is a crisis, naturally. Mr Banks is a very successful man but he spends too much time thinking about work and not enough time with his family, especially his two young children. Everyone in the family is stressed and the children become difficult to control and behave badly. It’s a situation that is very common in families today.
And then Mary Poppins appears from nowhere and works her magic to help the family live in harmony again. Incredibly, the answers that she provides are really very simple. One answer is that money does not buy happiness. Instead, Mary Poppins tries to show the Banks family how important it is to understand the true value of things.
Another lesson that Mary Poppins teaches is that it is sometimes important to look at the world from a child’s point of view. It is good to believe in magic, and enjoy simple things like flying a kite. Most lifestyle experts would agree that these things really can make us feel better and less stressed. Perhaps the most important lesson of all is that we should value the people that are closest to us. It is important to have time for one another. The magic of Mary Poppins is really well expressed in the stage musical. In the final scene, the actors point up at the stars, reminding us how small we really are and how big the world is.
value – значимость
2. The film and the theatre versions were very successful. Read aloud the extract
which says about the success of the film.
3. What happens in the Banks family before Mary Poppins comes?
4. What lessons does Mary Poppins teach the family and the audience?
Текст № 23
1. Read the article and say in 2-3 sentences what it is about.
GOOD MANNERS
Are you sure that you are a polite person? Good manners are important across the globe, but that doesn’t mean they are the same. The rules of politeness vary greatly all over the world, from country to country everywhere.
Good manners are taken extremely seriously in Japan. It is considered rude to blow your nose in front of other people, and impolite to eat while standing or walking in the street (except ice-cream). When visiting someone’s house you should always take off your shoes, and you should be very careful what you say.
The Japanese are so well-mannered that they think it is rude to express your opinion too directly. In fact, the Japanese have two different words for opinions ‘honne’ which is your real opinion; and ‘tatemae’ which is your public opinion. Generally, they express their public opinion not to hurt people.
But it isn’t only in Japan where you can see the difference. In many countries people shake hands when they greet each other but in others it might be seen as aggressive. While in Western cultures it is polite to keep eye-contact during a conversation, in other countries it is best to show your respect by not looking directly at the speaker. Just to add to the confusion, whereas we shall nod our heads to say ‘yes’ and shake them to say ‘no’, in some parts of the Middle East, shaking your head means ‘yes’ and nodding it means ‘no’!
In spite of all the differences most of the countries have to face one problem nowadays: the disappearance of good manners. In America Public Agenda showed that 73 % of Americans think that manners are worse now than 20 years ago. At the same time in China the government had to start a campaign during the Olympics to give up bad habits such as spitting in public, littering the streets and using bad language. In England announcements are made on trains to remind people to offer their seats for the elderly and women with children.
As we can see good manners are treated seriously all over the world, that’s why we should learn and follow them.
confusion — путаница
to nod — кивать
to spit – плевать
2. Good manners are important in Japan. Read aloud the extract which says about
it.
3. Which facts from the article prove that good manners vary in different
countries?
4. What do the governments in China and England do to teach people good
manners?
Текст№ 24
1. Read the article and say in 2-3 sentences what it is about.
ARE GM PLANTS SAFE?
A few years ago I read an amusing article about a crazy scientist who had invented a way of making tomatoes grow in cube shapes. That way the tomatoes were easier to pack in boxes. The article was not true of course. But now biotechnology has developed very rapidly. Genetically modified food (GM food) is a fact of modern life.
Genetic modification means that a gene from one plant or animal is put inside another plant or animal. In this way scientists can produce plants or animals that have special qualities that do not exist naturally. The idea of changing the genetic structure of food plants seems a bad thing to many people.
If people do not want GM foods, why are biotechnology companies trying to produce more of them? It is a question of simple economics. Genetically modified food plants are less damaged by diseases and can better survive in bad weather conditions than natural food plants. As a result, harvests are higher and so food costs less to produce. This is an advantage for both consumers and producers.
The biggest worry is the possible danger of GM food for people’s health. When scientists put a new gene inside a plant, that gene changes the plant in some desirable way. For example, the fruit stays fresh for longer.
But at the same time, it is possible that the modified plant contains toxic material, making it dangerous for people to eat. Before a genetically modified plant is sold to the public, it has to be tested very carefully so that it will be safe to eat. But some scientists think that no amount of testing will ever be enough. Dr Doug Parr, Chief Scientist with Greenpeace, says, «When you put a foreign gene into a plant you find that new toxins appear that weren’t expected. These effects are very hard to see in advance because living organisms are very complex.»
Consequently, the testing of GM foods should be very thorough and governments should be very careful before they approve the introduction of GM foods into our supermarkets.
2. The author says that he read an article about cubed-tomatoes. Read aloud the extract which says about it.
3. What are the advantages of GM foods?
4. Why is it important to test GM foods?
Текст № 25
1. Read the article and say in 2-3 sentences what it is about.
HOW TO PREPARE FOR AN ORAL PRESENTATION
As a student, you are often given a task to prepare an oral presentation such as a book report, debate or power point presentation. How can you speak to the class in an interesting way, avoid getting nervous and get a good grade? Here are a few tips to help you achieve all three of these goals.
Many people are good speakers, but most weren’t born that way. What’s the key to their success? Practice. Everyone who speaks well from Angelina Jolie to the president rehearses speeches and presentations ahead of time and asks others for their opinion. Practising your presentation in front of a mirror is also helpful because it gives you ideas on how to improve your posture, body language and gestures.
If you’re allowed to use notes or a plan when speaking, write only main points on note cards. Avoid writing long sentences on the cards because they’re harder to read and encourage you to read your speech rather than speaking to the audience.
One of the most important things to remember about public speaking is that you’re speaking to an audience. Is the audience a group of your classmates? If so, what are some points about the topic that they find interesting? Add anecdotes from the class or bits of humour to keep your listeners interested. The more you can connect it with their own experiences, the better — and the more positively they will listen to you.
The biggest mistake teenagers make is talking too fast. It happens to most of us when we’re feeling anxious. However, you can teach yourself to be slower by practising your speech ahead of time for a friend. You can also record it using a tape recorder and play it back to hear how fast you’re speaking and how many times you say things such as ‘like’ and ‘um.’
Making eye contact with your audience members makes you look confident and competent about your subject. If you’re particularly nervous about speaking in front of the class, you can also try looking at an object just behind the people in the audience, such as a clock or board on the back wall of the room.
a tip – совет
confident – уверенный
2. The article says that practice is very important while preparing for a
presentation. Read aloud the extract which says about it.
3. What mistakes do presenters make?
4. Which pieces of advice do you find useful? Why?
Текст № 26
1. Read the article and say in 2-3 sentences what it is about.
PABLO PICASSO
Pablo Picasso was one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He experimented in many different styles and changed the world of art during his time.
Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain in 1881. His father was a drawing teacher. At 10 Pablo became his father’s pupil and at the age of 13 he held his first exhibition. His family moved to Barcelona in 1895 where Pablo joined an art academy. In his early period the young artist painted life as he saw it around him— in cafes and on the streets. Then they moved to Paris, the centre of art and literature.
In 1901 a close friend of Picasso shot himself. This had a great influence on Pablo. He was very sad and began painting his pictures in grey and blue tones instead of bright, vivid colours. This part of his career is called his Blue Period (1901-1904).
Later on, he changed his painting style and started using more earth colours — rose, pink or brown. He liked to paint pictures of circus life with dancers and acrobats. This Rose Period lasted until 1907.
When Picasso started working with his friend and fellow painter Georges Braque in Paris they started experimenting with a new style that was called cubism. Picasso and Braque didn’t want to show nature as it really was. They thought that all objects in nature had geometric forms. In cubism, objects were cut into many flat shapes, which looked like a puzzle. All the sides of a person’s face, for example, were shown at once, maybe even with three eyes instead of two.
In 1936 Civil War broke out in Spain. During this period he painted his masterpiece Guernica. It shows the terrified people of the ancient Spanish town which was bombed during the Civil War. Picasso was shocked by this inhuman act and in his painting he shows people running in the streets and screaming with their mouths wide open. To display his sadness and anger he used only black and white as well as shades of grey.
He continued his work up to his death in 1973. For his great imagination and skill he is called ‘El Maestro’ of modern art.
2. The most famous painting of Picasso is Guernica. Read aloud the extract about
it.
3. Where did Picasso learn to paint?
4. Picasso worked in different styles. Which styles are mentioned in the article?
What are their typical characteristics?
Текст № 27
1. Read the article and say in 2-3 sentences what it is about.
PERFECT METHOD OF TEACHING AND LEARNING
A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Students in my English classes sometimes ask for my opinion on the best method of learning a foreign language. The answer I give is always the same: learning a foreign language can never be quick and easy. There is no single method that can guarantee success.
In the Callan Method, the teacher talks a lot and makes the students repeat questions and answers. By contrast, in the Silent Way Method, invented by Dr Caleb Gattegno, the teacher tries not to talk at all! The teacher uses pictures, diagrams, objects to give the students problem-solving activities. The idea is that students learn better if they can discover the rules by themselves. Certainly that is an important part of learning. But I’m not sure it can guarantee success.
I think that it is wrong to look for a method of teaching/learning that gives all the answers. Often, the method is not so important. Obviously, you need good materials (e.g.: a good course book, etc) that are interesting and dear. And you need a good teacher too. The individual qualities of the teacher are very important. The teacher and the students must have a good relationship. The students must like their teacher. That is one important way to help make learning fun.
At the same time, we have to recognize that you can’t make progress without doing some old-fashioned hard work. There must be a method involved in teaching and learning, but the same method doesn’t work for everyone. People are different and they have different reasons for wanting to learn. The method will naturally change depending on the purpose of the lesson. However, it is important that each lesson should have a clear objective. The material should be presented in a context. There should be practice and consolidation work. Students should use all four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing.
There is nothing revolutionary about these ideas. But they give the best chances of success for different kinds of learners.
2. The article says about the Silent Way Method and the Callan Method. Read
aloud the extract which says about it.
3. What does the writer answer when asked about the best teaching method?
4. What is really important for learning a foreign language according to the
author?
Текст № 28
1. Read the article and say in 2-3 sentences what it is about.
DO YOU ENJOY EATING BREAKFAST?
When was the last time you had a proper breakfast before you went to work or school in the morning? Probably it was a long time ago. Most people do not have time to eat breakfast. And many people do not want to eat breakfast as soon as they get up. Perhaps an hour later, they are starving. But by then they are at school or work and there is no time to stop and eat anything until lunchtime.
However, if you could eat a decent breakfast, you would probably be able to do your work much better. This is especially true of schoolchildren because their brains are still developing. If children do not eat well, their brains will not function as well as they should. Their school work will be less effective. Children need iron*, for example. Iron is found in bread and in many breakfast cereals and it helps concentration. Research shows that if children do not eat the right kind of food, or if they do not eat breakfast, they can have problems at school.
Research supports the view that school breakfasts help schoolchildren perform better at school. One study by Michael Murphy, a psychologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, USA, studied breakfast programmes at three schools. Dr Murphy and his colleagues found that the children who had the breakfasts provided by the school generally did better at school, particularly in Maths, than the children who had no breakfast. In one school, scores in Maths tests rose by 16 %. In another school there was an increase of 10 % in Maths and Reading tests. Teachers said that the children concentrated on their lessons and behaved better than before, they were generally happier and more hard-working.
Studies have shown that it is not difficult to organize school breakfasts. The breakfasts help everybody, it seems: parents, teachers and the children themselves. The children’s favourite breakfasts are toast and jam, and cereals such as cornflakes. The most important thing of all is that children are happier, healthier and learn more.
iron – железо
2. The article says that most people are too busy to have breakfast. Read aloud the
extract which says about it.
3. Why is it important for schoolchildren to have breakfast?
4. What are the results of the experiment?
Текст № 29
1. Read the article and say in 2-3 sentences what it is about.
HUNDREDS OF ENGLISHES
A friend of mine recently tried to download a new programme from the internet. But she soon had a problem. She had selected English as the variant of the programme that she wanted. But then she had to choose from a whole list of different ‘Englishes’: International English, Universal English, American English, European English, South African English… Whatever happened to ordinary English English? My friend wanted to know.
Languages are like living things. They change and grow. In the case of English, the process of change is becoming faster and faster. New forms of the language are being created, partly because more and more people are now speaking English and partly because of new forms of communication such as email.
About 400 million people in various countries of the world use English as a first language. About 600 million people use English as a second language. In addition to these people, there are millions of people who are learning English for use at work or when they travel. It is not surprising that the language has changed to suit local needs, as a result there are many types of English with their own vocabulary and a characteristic sentence structure.
You might think that there are not really big differences between British and American English. Well, that is not really true. British people always find American English a little strange and sometimes totally incomprehensible.
Canadians officially use British spelling and usage, but in reality they are very influenced by American English. Once when I was visiting Vancouver, I asked a bus driver if he was going to the centre. I meant, of course, the city centre. He looked at me as though I were mad. «But this is the centre,» he said. In reality, we were about 10 miles from the city centre. However, we were at a bus stop outside a shopping centre. Fortunately, I remembered just in time that for north Americans ‘downtown’ is the word to indicate the city centre, so the problem was solved.
2. The author’s friend had a problem while working on the computer. Read aloud
the extract which says about it.
3. Why is English changing much more than other languages?
4. How much do the variants of English differ?
Текст № 30
1. Read the article and say in 2-3 sentences what it is about.
GOOD NEWS FOR CHOCOLATE LOVERS!
It would be difficult to find someone who does not like chocolate. In the United States, chocolate is bought more often than any other kind of sweet. In Britain, each person eats an average of 11 kg of chocolate per year. That is a lot of chocolate! In the US people eat about 200 chocolate bars per second as a matter of fact. People love chocolate so much that they often think it is a bad habit. But there is good news for all chocoholics: eating chocolate does less harm to you than you might think.
People often believe that chocolate causes a number of health problems including bad teeth, obesity and skin problems such as acne. Studies carried out in the United States, however, give no support to this idea.
Specific tests were carried out. One group of people who suffer from acne was given regular amounts of chocolate, while another group of similar sufferers had no chocolate at all. At the end of the test period the two groups were compared. No difference in the condition of the acne sufferers was noticed.
Chocolate contains fat and sugar, so if you ate a lot of chocolate you would probably put on weight. But reasonable amounts of chocolate in your diet will not make you fat. People usually get fat because they eat too much food in general, especially if they are not very active.
What about the effect on your teeth? Chocolate can damage your teeth, but the danger is less than many people believe. It is good to know that eating a certain amount of chocolate may even be good for you. Chocolate contains protein, vitamins and minerals. Scientists believe chocolate may reduce the risk of heart disease.
Perhaps the most amazing thing of all is that it can help you fight off illness. The important thing is not the chocolate in itself, but the pleasure that it gives you. Even the smell of chocolate can have a positive effect on your immune system. It is nice to smell chocolate of course, but it is much better to eat it. And the great thing is that you can eat it without fear.
obesity — ожирение
acne – угревая сыпь
2. People eat a lot of chocolate. Read aloud the extract which says about it.
3. What health problems do people traditionally connect with eating chocolate?
4. What facts prove that chocolate can be good for our health?