Grammar Revision: Phrasal Verbs and Prepositions

 

Exercise 4. Choose the correct particle or preposition. Translate the sentences.

 

1. In China many adult children continue to live with their parents because of a tradition of caring __________ parents in their old age.

a) for

b) about

 

2. Japanese people vary their language depending __________ situations and conversational partners.

a) from

b) on

 

3. Many women do not want to give ___________ work when they have children.

a) up

b) out

 

4. The single most important thing to be aware of when visiting the UK for the first time is the sheer diversity of cultures that you will come __________.

a) across

b) up with

 

5. Australians are usually very interested ___________ hearing about other places and cultures.

a) in

b) of

 

6. ___________ visitors, the German sense of humour can be baffling __________first.

a) For … at

b) With... --

 

7. In Germany you ought to get to work __________ time; punctuality means honesty.

a) in

b) on

 

8. A good way to break the ice in France is to talk about things that France is known __________ abroad.

a) about

b) for

 

9. Non-verbal communication is made __________ of four main categories: kinesics, proxemics, paralanguage and chronemics.

a) up

b) out

 

10. Different cultures can take significantly different approaches __________ personal space, and a lack of cultural understanding can make some individuals uncomfortable and insult others.

a) to

b) for

 

Vocabulary to learn

 

1. achievement

2. affluence

3. arm oneself with

4. be in charge of

5. bow

6. collectivist culture

7. come across

8. courtesy

9. cultural relativism

10. dismiss

11. emphasise

12. equality

13. explore

14. get frustrated / frustration

15. give up

16. globalised society

17. hierarchy

18. individualist culture

19. insult sb

20. introspective

21. join a club

22. lose temper

23. noteworthy feature

24. obligation

25. observant

26. offend sb / offensive

27. open-minded

28. place emphasis on

29. place stress on

30. quit

31. rebel

32. refuse

33. responsible for

34. rewarding

35. security

36. self-awareness

37. self-confidence

38. self-sufficiency

39. turn out

40.welfare

UNIT 6

 

Controlled Practice: Russian Culture

 

READING

 

Exercise 1. What do you know about your own culture? Read encyclopedia entries about Russia and answer the questions.

1. What information could be useful for a tourist from a different culture?

2. What information is of general interest?

 

RUSSIAN CULTURE

The 19th century is generally regarded as the high point of Russian art, especially literature. Beginning with the poet Alexander Pushkin, the author of Eugene Onegin, and continuing with writers such as Michael Lermontov, Nikolai Gogol, Ivan Turgenev, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Leo Tolstoy, as well as the playwright Anton Chekhov, Russians produced some of the world’s great classic literature. In the graphic arts Russia is best known for its elaborate religious art, much of it dating back to the 10th century. In the performance arts Russians have been world leaders, especially such names as Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Prokofiev, Igor Stravinsky, and Dmitri Shostakovich in classical music and Sergei Diaghilev, Vaslav Nijinsky, Anna Pavlova, Rudolph Nurieyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov in ballet. Russians are very proud of their high culture, and such activities as attending the ballet are commonplace, even among ordinary people, in a nation where the word “uncultured” has long been an insult.

RUSSIAN HOLIDAYS

Many folk holidays, which are often accompanied by traditional foods, have gained popularity and have become vital elements of popular culture. Festivities generally include street carnivals that feature entertainers in traditional Russian dress.

Maslyenitsa, the oldest Russian folk holiday, marks the end of winter; a purely Russian holiday, it originated during pagan times. During Maslyanitsa (“butter”), pancakes—symbolizing the sun—are served with caviar, fish, honey, and other garnishes and side dishes.

Baked goods are ubiquitous on Easter, including round-shaped sweet bread and Easter cake. Traditionally, paskha, a mixture of sweetened curds, butter, and raisins, is served with the cake. Hard-boiled eggs painted in bright colours also are staples of the Easter holiday.

The Red Hill holiday is observed on the first Sunday after Easter and is considered the best day for wedding ceremonies. In summer the Russian celebration of Ivan Kupalo (St. John the Baptist) centres on water, and people usually picnic or watch fireworks from riverbanks.

Russia also has several official holidays, including the Russian Orthodox Christmas (January 7), Victory Day in World War II (May 9), Independence Day (June 12), Constitution Day (December 12), and Women's Day (March 8).

 

TRADITIONAL FOOD

Although a wide array of imported packaged products are now found in Russian cities, traditional foods and ingredients remain popular, including cabbage, potatoes, carrots, sour cream —the principal ingredients of borsch, the famous Russian soup made with beets. Kvass is also very popular. It is a traditional beverage that can be made at home from stale brown bread. On a hot summer day, chilled kvass is used to make okroshka, a traditional cold soup with cucumbers, boiled eggs, sausages, and salamis.

ETIQUETTE

One of the most common standards of etiquette has to do with how to address others. Russians use a formal second-person plural form of you to address elders (except for their grandparents and parents), as well as persons of higher social status, casual acquaintances, and strangers; they use an informal second-person singular to address family members, close friends, and colleagues of equal status. Also, it is expected that one address a stranger or casual acquaintance with the full name and patronymic, a kind of “middle name” formed from the person’s father’s first name. Because Russians lived for so long under authoritarian rulers, they make wide distinctions between public and private behavior. In public, Russians tend to be reserved and formal; in private, they are much warmer and more cordial.

adapted from Encyclopedia of the World’s Nations and Cultures, and from

Encyclopedia Britannica

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