Text 31
DOLPHIN DOCTORS?
- Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.
Dolphins have helped a 10-year-old boy to talk for the first time in his life. The boy, from Bristol in England, took part in a dolphin interaction programme at a research centre in Florida, USA. Now he has begun to use words to communicate instead of signs and gestures. He is one of many children who have been helped by dolphins to overcome disabilities.
How does it work? When the children have close contact with the dolphins, they become very stimulated. They concentrate and are very attentive. This helps the children learn. Dr Nathanson says that there is nothing magical about the therapy. He uses the things that children love to stimulate them: water, animals and music.
Scientists confirm that dolphin therapy can help children learn. Research at the centre showed that children who had only classroom therapy did not respond as well as the children who received the dolphin interactive therapy.
David Cole is a scientist. He has studied what happens in children’s brains when they swim with dolphins. He has found that the children become very relaxed. This state of relaxation may protect them from illness as well as help them learn. Cole also believes that some dolphins can influence positively unhealthy parts of body.
Not everyone agrees with dolphin therapy, however. Animal rights groups remind us that dolphins are wild animals with wild instincts. It is wrong to think that they are harmless. Sometimes dolphins seriously injure* the humans that swim with them. In the USA, there were 18 reported injuries to people by dolphins between 1989 and 1994.
There are some people who say that the therapy is not good for the dolphins. The dolphins become used to life in aquariums. They cannot return to the wild because they are no longer able to look after themselves and often die. Dolphin therapy can be of great value to a lot of sick children. At the same time, it is necessary to protect the dolphins as well as the children who swim with them.
Interaction [ıntǝ`rækʃǝn] взаимодействие
to injure [`ınʤǝ] ранить
2. Did dolphin therapy help an English boy? Read aloud the extract which says about it.
3. How does the therapy work? Use facts from the article.
4. Why do some people speak against dolphin therapy?
Text 32
DO VERY CLEVER CHILDREN NEED HELP?
- Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.
In our history, there have been some remarkable children. Mozart is a famous example. After he had heard a piece of music a couple of times, he could write it down on paper. He composed symphonies while he was still a child. Today we also hear stories of very gifted children.
Ruth Lawrence, from the UK, became famous at the age of 12, when she began her studies at Oxford University. She was the youngest student ever to attend a university in the UK. Before going to university, Ruth was taught at home by her father. While she was a student, her father was always by her side. He attended all her lectures with her. Ruth did very well at Oxford. She got a first class degree in mathematics. Now Ruth is a mathematics professor.
These young people are, however, extremely special. Because of that they naturally feel different to other children of their own age. They can become lonely. Michael Howe, a professor of psychology says, «It is good to be good at something while you are young, but if you do not have friends or other experiences you will not have a satisfying life.» Gifted children who understand quicker than their classmates can also become lazy. They can behave badly in class because they are bored.
If parents find that their child is especially talented, they have to take some important and difficult decisions. They have to help their child develop but they cannot push their child too hard. If they do, the child may have serious problems later in life. However, if a child is especially gifted, it is clear that they need a special kind of education. These children need to be motivated. This means that they have to study with people who are older than them. But at the same time they must be allowed to be children too.
Despite her great success, Ruth Lawrence does not want her own children to be brought up and educated in the same way she was. They will be sent to a normal school and she has said that she wants them to develop and grow only in a natural way.
gifted[`gıftıd]– талантливый
2. Ruth Lawrence was a gifted child. Read aloud the extract which says about her.
3. What kind of problems can wonderkids have?
4. What should parents and teachers do for their gifted children?
Text 33
ARE YOU SHY?
- Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.
About 50 % of people in the United States say that they are shy. And for more than 13 % of Americans, being shy is a serious problem. The situation in other countries around the world is very similar. Of course it is normal to feel a little shy sometimes. Most people feel shy in a new social situation, for example when they start a new job or have to meet and talk to strangers. But in these cases the shyness usually passes quickly.
Some people, however, are extremely shy. They are so shy that they cannot live normally. They feel worried, they sweat and tremble when they are with other people. In order to avoid these unpleasant feelings, the shy person avoids* other people. Shy people often say to themselves: «I’m not normal. People think I am boring and unattractive. I’m a failure.» These negative thoughts make it more difficult for the shy person to make friends. The result is that the shy person is lonely and sad.
Shy children need a lot of help. Otherwise these shy children will grow up and become shy, unhappy adults. Parents who have a shy child should set a good example, since children learn a lot of behaviour from their parents. It is also important not to label a child as shy.
Shy children can also help themselves. You have to learn to think positively. You must stop thinking negatively. Another thing you can do is give yourself a target. For example, you may say, «I’m going to talk to at least one stranger today» or «I’m going to ask X to come for a coffee with me.» When you achieve your target, you will feel very satisfied. If you are shy, you should try to walk with your head up so that you look at other people’s faces. Soon, walking like that will become a habit and you will feel better and more confident as a result.
Of course, it is normal to be shy sometimes. Being a little shy can sometimes stop us from doing things that are foolish. But if you are extremely shy, you do not have to suffer. You can become less shy and become a happy, sociable person.
To sweat [`swet] потеть
to avoid [ǝ`vɔɪd] избегать
to label [`leɪbǝl]навешивать ярлык
2. There are quite many shy people in the world and it is not an illness. Read aloud the extract which says about it.
3. Why are shy people sad?
4. What recommendations does the author give parents and children?
Text 34
FAMILY HISTORY
- Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.
«Researching family history is a true passion rather than just a hobby for many people», says Julie Mason. «It is wonderfully exciting when you learn more about the ancestors.»
Julie began researching her family’s past in order to find out her roots. She says: «When you discover your roots, it gives you understanding who you are.» John Paul Thompson, has a different reason for wanting to research his family’s history. «After my father died I found myself with photo albums full of old photographs with no labels. 1 wanted to find out more about the others.»
Some of the things that people discover about their families can be very surprising. When Jean Sandwell researched her family history she had a very big shock. She found out that she had been adopted as a baby. After she had accepted this situation, Jean tried to find her real parents. «I discovered that my mother emigrated to Australia in 1966,» says Jean. «In 1982 I went to Australia to meet her. It was a very emotional experience for both of us.»
So what is the best way to start researching your family history? «Interview all your family members before it is too late,» says Julie Mason. «Make a basic family tree of your close family and step by step make it bigger. Of course, it is not easy to have accurate information from relatives about things that happened in the distant past. It is quite normal for different family members give different versions of the same events. It is very important to check everything.»
Public records in local libraries and in national archives are also important to the family historian. Old newspaper reports are often kept on in local libraries. Sometimes, researching your family history can be lonely work. Remember that you can find a lot of help on the internet.
Of course, it is not easy to trace your family history a long way back and you must be very patient. Believe me, in the future, your children, and their children may be very grateful to you for recording it.
An ancestor[`ænsǝstǝ]предок
roots [`ru:ts] корни
- Jean Sandwell made a shocking discovery. Read aloud the extract which says about it.
- Why do people start tracing their family histories?
- What recommendations does the author give to discover your roots?
Text 35
HOW TO BE HAPPY
- Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.
Dr Richard Carlson is thought to be an internationally famous expert on happiness. Tens of millions of copies of his self-help guides have been sold around the world. These books try to help people deal with the many difficulties of life so that they can become happy and feel strong inside themselves.
Dr Carlson is a qualified psychologist, also he is naturally optimistic and has always had a deep interest in the idea of happiness. When he finished his university studies, he began giving lessons on how to be happy to small groups of people. Dr Carlson enjoyed that work but he wanted to try and help more people. Fie got an opportunity to do this when he began writing articles about happiness for a newspaper. He then had the idea of putting his ideas into book form.
One of the secrets of happiness, Dr Carlson believes, is to approach problems in stages, breaking the problem down into parts that can be solved bit by bit. «Problems often seem so large that you feel shocked,» Richard Carlson says. «It’s much better to stop a moment and see things in perspective.»
Another advice is to develop a feeling of inner strength. You must consciously try to be positive about things, seeing problems as challenges. When you have a habit of being positive and optimistic, a lot of your problems either become unimportant, or else they disappear altogether.
Dr Carlson also stresses that it is very important for people to take responsibility for their own happiness. When you realize this, it can give you a sense of power. Instead of blaming others we should learn how we ourselves can change to improve the situation. As a result your personal relations will improve and you will feel happier.
Dr Carlson also recommends people to develop a sense of presence. What he means is that we should always be focused on whatever it is that we are doing at any particular time. If you are successful at doing this, others will respect you.
Millions of people have benefited from Dr Carlson’s common sense approach to happiness. He manages to make complex issues easier to deal with.
A psychologist [saɪ`kɔlǝʤɪst] психолог
2. Dr Carlson is considered an international expert on happiness. Read aloud the extract which says about it.
3. Why did Dr Carlson start writing books?
4. What advice for being happy does Dr Carlson give?
Text 36
BULLYING AGAIN?
- Read a part of an interview with Audra Mari, Miss Teen USA, taken by the magazine “Seventeen” and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.
Seventeen: What was your experience with bullying in high school?
Audra Mari: One Sunday, I came home and there was a big picture on the door. It was basically making fun of me because I’m tall. Once the girls prepared a slogan to support a football team. The slogan wishing good luck faced the team, but the back of the slogan read «Go Home Mari». And the whole student section saw it. One time during lunch, I was sitting with all my friends, and a girl came up to me and threw a paper lunch bag at me. She said, «You can eat this for lunch, it is for horses.»
Seventeen: What was going through your head when all of this was happening?
AM: At first, I tried to keep it in and not tell anyone except for my friends because I thought that it’d finish after the first few weeks, but this happened all year. So finally, I told my mum, I told her everything. She talked to the administration, and they brought the girls in and talked to them about it. The girls were punished. So you just have to bring it to the attention of adults.
Seventeen: In spite of all this, you still managed to make it to the Miss Teen USA competition and win it. How did you find the confidence to go for it? AM: You just have to ignore it and have confidence in yourself. I was a three — sport athlete — hockey, soccer, and volleyball — and I gave them up to do my modelling career.
Seventeen: What’s your advice for girls dealing with bullies today?
AM: Stay confident and know that this is not the end of the world, ʊthat you are not going to be in high school for the rest of your life. There are mean girls wherever you go, but you don’t need to be with them when you get older. You’re not in a classroom with them, you’re not eating lunch with them, so look past it and know that it’s going to end. Looking back, I’d say you just need to focus on what you want to achieve and not let people get in your way or upset you. Also, tell a trusted adult, tell all your friends, tell anyone you can. If you keep it inside, it’s just going to eat you.
To bully [`bʊlɪ] дразнить, запугивать
Confidence [`kɔnfɪdǝns] уверенность
2. Mary was cruelly bullied. Read aloud the extract which says about it.
3. How did she react to bullying?
4. What advice does she give to other children?
Text 37
MUHAMMAD ALI
- Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.
You must have heard about Muhammad Ali — probably the most famous athlete and one of the best-known people in the world. But what do you actually know about his life?
He was the first three-time heavyweight boxing champion of the world. He was known for his powerful hands as well as for his poetry. His ability to compose rhymes while boxing impressed many people. He could be callcd the first rapper. He won an Olympic gold medal and later threw it into a river in protest against racism in America.
Ali’s interest in boxing began when he was 12. He was living in a poor black neighbourhood in Louisville, together with his parents and brother Rudy. One day, when his new bicycle got stolen, Ali reported the fact to a local policeman, Joe Martin. He was furious and said that he was going to beat up the thief*. Martin was the boxing coach at the Louisville’s Club and he also had a TV show called ‘Tomorrow’s Champions’. Seeing fire in Ali’s eyes, he suggested that the boy learned to fight.
Ali passionately devoted himself to amateur boxing. He trained hard and soon became famous in his hometown. Within the next few years, he won 100 of his 108 matches. At 18, he became Olympic gold medalist and very soon he signed a good professional contract.
In the 1960s, Ali became one of the most disputable figures in his country. He refused to serve in the American army in Vietnam for religious reasons and, as a result, he lost his championship belt. He was also sentenced* to five years in prison, but later the sentence was cancelled by the Supreme Court.
Muhammad Ali retired from boxing in 1981 and soon afterwards he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. However, he remained active in various fields and he has not been forgotten. In 1999, he was named Sportsman of the Century by one of the biggest sports magazines. In the same year, Ali’s daughter Laila made her debut as a boxer despite her father’s earlier comments against female boxing.
A thief [`Qi:f] вор
to be sentenced [`sentǝnst] to быть приготовленным к тюремному заключению
to cancel [`kænsl] отменять
2. Muhammad Ali is a world-famous boxer. Read aloud the extract which says about it.
3. What encouraged Ali to take up boxing?
4. How did his sporting career develop?
Text 38
FAIRY TALES TEACH US A LOT
- Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.
For hundreds of years, and perhaps even thousands of years, adults have told traditional fairy tales to their children. The stories have been handed down from one generation to another. They have become a fundamental part of our culture.
In early versions of fairy tales there is much more cruelty and violence than in the stories published for children today. The case of ‘Cinderella’ is a good example.
In this variant, Cinderella’s step-sisters are very pretty (rather than ugly, as they are in the modern version). But they are much more cruel. Cinderella works like a slave and has no bed to sleep in. Her step-sisters throw her food into the fire. Cinderella has to pick it out of the fire-place so that she can eat.
When news comes that there is going to be a big party so that the prince can choose a future wife, naturally Cinderella is told that she can’t go. Cinderella visits her real mother’s grave and cries. Her tears fall on the ground and a tree grows. From the branches of the tree, beautiful clothes fall down. So when Cinderella finally goes to the party, she looks beautiful and the prince falls in love with her.
The prince comes looking for Cinderella bringing with him the golden shoe that Cinderella was wearing. Cinderella’s sisters try on the shoe but it doesn’t fit. To make it fit, one sister cuts off her toes; the other cuts off her heel. Their mother says: «You won’t need to walk when you become queen!»
Eventually, the prince finds Cinderella and the story ends happily.
Even if there is violence and cruelty in fairy stories, they all have elements that make them forever popular. They are simple stories which usually involve some form of cruelty or injustice. Good people become victims and must work impossibly hard to try to solve their problems and find happiness. Children who identify with the hero or heroine may sometimes be encouraged to try to find solutions to their own problems. In any case, the stories have a happy ending and give children great pleasure.
A grave [`greɪv]могила
Toes [`tǝʊz] пальцы ног
A heel [`hi:l] пятка, каблук
A victim [`vɪktɪm] жертва
2. Are fairy tales part of our culture? Read aloud the extract which says about it.
3. What happens in the old version of «Cinderella»?
4. Why do people like fairy tales?
Text 39
HAVE YOU READ?..
- Read the review and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.
Children’s writer Michael Morpurgo tells a very enjoyable story. If you have not yet discovered his books, you will be surprised. The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, for example, was published earlier this year.
Lily Tregenze who is 12, lives on a farm in the village of Slapton with her mother and grandfather. It’s 1943, the middle of the Second World War, and her father is away in the army. Lily’s life centres on her local school, currently filled with people from London sent to the country for safety, and Tips, her beloved cat.
Tips keeps having kittens. But one of Lily’s parents always drowns the kittens, to Lily’s despair, because they cannot keep and feed a lot of cats.
Then, when they have to move to their Uncle George’s farm to make way for the army, Tips disappears. For months it is only the kindness of a young American soldier and his army friend who help Lily search for her cat, that helps her get through the many changes and challenges in her life. And there’s a lovely twist at the end — which I shan’t spoil for you — as the story shoots forward 60 years.
If you like The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips then you will probably also enjoy Michael Morpurgo’s Kensuke’s Kingdom, Billy the Kid, Private Peaceful and many others.
Michael was Children’s Laureate* from 2003 to 2005, an honour which involves telling as many people as possible how important children and children’s books are. lie followed Quentin Blake and Anne Fine. Jacqueline Wilson was Children’s Laureate until 2007.
As well as being an author, Michael Morpurgo, with his wife Clare, runs a charity called Farms for City Children. It enables groups of children to holiday in Devon, in the south west of England, or Wales.
The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo. Published in hardback by Harper Collins. Due out in paperback in February 2006. Also available as an aucliobook, set of 3 CDs read by Michael Morpurgo and actress Jenny Agutter. Duration three hours.
A laureate [`lɔrɪǝt] лауреат
2. The author describes what the book is about. Find this extract and read it aloud.
3. Who helped Lily when her cat disappeared?
4. Why is it an honour to be Children’s Laureate?
Text 40
HOW MUCH SCREEN TIME IS TOO MUCH FOR CHILDREN?
- Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.
Children can spend hours a day looking at computer screens and other digital devices. Some eye care professionals say this leads to an increase in ‘computer vision syndrome’.
Nathan Bonilla-Warford is an optometrist in Tampa, Florida. He says he has seen an increase in problems in children.
«I see a lot more children who are coming into the office either because their parents have noticed that they have headaches or red or watery eyes or discomfort, or because their near-sightedness, appears to be increasing at a fast rate and they’re worried.»
Dr Bonilla-Warford says part of the problem is that children may be more likely than adults to ignore early signs. «Even if their eyes start to feel uncomfortable or they start to get a headache, they’re less likely to tell their parents, because they don’t want to have the game or the computer or whatever taken away.»
Eye doctors offer suggestions like the following which is known as the 20/20/20 rule. «Every twenty minutes, look away twenty feet (about 6 meters) or more for at least twenty seconds from whatever device you’re using.»
Other suggestions include putting more distance between you and the device and using good lighting. Of course, another way to avoid eye strain is to spend less time looking at screens. Many experts say children should spend no more than two hours a day using digital devices — with no screen time for children under two.
But not all eye doctors have noticed an increase in problems in children. Dr David Hunter is an optometrist at Children’s Hospital, Boston. He also is a spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He has not seen an increase in his practice.
«While it is possible to develop tiredness looking at various screens for a long period of time, there’s certainly no evidence that it actually causes any damage to the eyes.»
An optometrist [op`tomǝtrɪst] специалист по коррекции зрения
2. The author explains why children don’t tell their parents if they have some problems with their eyes. Find this extract and read it aloud.
3. What problems do children have when they come to optometrists?
4. Why don’t all eye doctors believe there is a connection between problems with eyesight and digital devices?
n� 1CeEH���>�an style=’mso-spacerun:yes’> 3. What problems do children have when they come to optometrists?
4. Why don’t all eye doctors believe there is a connection between problems with eyesight and digital devices?