A woman as seen by the chemist

Symbol: Wo

Accepted atomic weight: 120

Physical properties: Boils at nothing and freezes in a minute. Melts when pro­perly treated. Very bitter if not used well.

Occurrence: Found wherever man exists.

Chemical properties: Possesses great affinity for gold, silver, platinum and precious stones. Violent reaction if left alone. Able to absorb great amounts of food matter. Turns green when placed beside a better looking specimen.

Uses: Very ornamental, useful as a to­nic in acceleration of low spirits, and as an equalizer in the distribution of wealth. It is probably the most effective income reducer known.

Caution: Highly explosive in inexperi­enced hands.

Task 1 Check up for comprehension.

1. What is it: science, popular science, or a joke?

2. How does the author produce the humorous effect?

Task 2 Translate the text into Russian, indica­ting the words and word combinations which are to be found in serious scientific writing, but are used figuratively here.

Task 3 There is an English word woe, begin­ning with the same two letters as the word woman. Can you infer the meaning of this word, from the above description?

Task 4 Write down a small article which is called «A man as seen by a chemist». Use the pattern of this text.

 

Ex 10 Add phrases in the dialogue.

Mary: Hello, Bill.

Bill: Hello, Mary.

Mary: How...........

Bill: My brother? Oh, he's fine.

Mary: Who............

Bill: ’hat was probably his new girl­friend.

Mary: What.............

Bill: Rosemary.

Mary: How long......

Bill: They first met about three weeks ago, I think.

Mary: Where..............

Bill: At a disco, I think, or perhaps in a pub. I’m not really sure.

Mary: Why..................

Bill: Well, he never told me, that’s why.

Mary: When.................

Bill: Me? Oh, some time last week.

Mary: What..................

Bill: She’s a really sweet girl — much too good for John.

Mary: What....................

Bill: Oh, it’s just that he’s such a fool and she’s obviously a very sensible girl.

Mary: Are..........................

Bill: Me? You must be joking! Of course not!

 

Lesson 20

The lexical theme: Famous people.

Ex 1 Read the text:

Frida Kahlo was born in Coyoacan, Mexico in 1907. However, she claimed her birth date as 1910, the year of the Mexican Revolution, saying that she and modern Mexico had been born together.

When she was six years old she contracted polio and spent nine months confined to her room. As a result, her right leg was very thin and made her walk in a strange way. When she returned to school, the children teased her. From then on, she always concealed her right leg.

When she was eighteen, she was seriously injured in an accident between a streetcar and a bus: a metal handrail pierced her body. Over the years she underwent thirty-two major operations and suffered enormous pain for the rest of her life.

She was her father’s favourite daughter, and he called her his dove.

She married a famous muralist, Diego Rivera, when she was twenty. He was forty-two and had been married twice before.

She told a journalist, “When I was seventeen (subtracting three years from her age) Diego began to fall in love with me. My father didn’t like him because he was a communist and because they said it was like an elephant marrying a dove.

They had a stormy relationship. Her husband was often unfaithful and even had an affair with Cristina, Frida’s younger sister.

In January 1939 she travelled to Paris where she met Picasso. He bought one of her self-portraits.

In April, on her return to Mexico, Frida and Diego began divorce proceedings. Frida was devastated and for a while stopped wearing the traditional Mexican dresses that Diego loved so much. Ironically, she painted some of her most powerful works during her separation from Diego. The couple remarried in December 1940.

In 1946 she had surgery on her spine, and in 1953 her right leg was amputated below the knee.

Frida was never able to have children. She said, “My painting carries within it the message of pain.” And when asked why she painted herself so often, she replied “Because I am all alone.”

She died in July 1954, barely two weeks after taking part in a communist demonstration.

Vocabulary:

to contract polio – заболеть полиомиелитом

to be confined – быть взаперти

to tease - дразнить

to conceal – прятать, скрывать

to be injured – пострадать, быть раненным

an accident – несчастный случай

a metal handrail- поручень

to undergo – переносить (операцию)

pain - боль

to suffer- страдать

a muralist – мастер по фресковой живописи

unfaithful - неверный

divorce proceedings – бракоразводное разбирательство

to be devastated – быть подавленным, угнетенным

to remarry – вступить в повторный брак

surgery – операция, хирургия

spine - позвоночник

within - внутри

barely - едва, прямо, лишь

Task 1 Complete these sentences about Frida Kahlo’s tragic history of ill-health:

a) When she was 6 years old she contracted polio / an accident.

b) She spent nine months confined to travelling / her room.

c) When she was 18 she was heavily / seriously injured in an accident.

d) Over the years she underwent / tolerated 32 major operations.

e) In 1946 she had illness / surgery on her spine.

Task 2 Replace the words in bold with words from the box to make five new sentences:

badly, an unknown virus, survived, laser treatment, a wheelchair

a) He / She contracted a tropical disease.

b) He / She was confined to his / her bed.

c) He / She was slightly injured.

d) He / She had a major operation.

e) He / She had an operation on his / her spine.

Task 3 Work with a partner. Can you name any other famous people who have suffered from serious health problems?

For example: Christopher Reeve (the actor who played Superman) was seriously injured in a horse riding accident several years ago and has been confined to a wheelchair ever since.

Task 4 Discuss any aspects of her life that you can see depicted in the three paintings below:

“Frida and Diego Rivera” “Self-portrait with cropped hair”

(1931) (1940)

“Roots” (1943)

Task 5 How would you describe these three paintings by the Mexican artist? Work with a partner and discuss what you think might be the story behind each picture.

Task 6 Test your memory! Work with a partner. Look at the three paintings for thirty seconds and try to memorize as many details as possible. Then answer questions of your partner.

Ex 2 Do you know these people?

Famous Britons

1. King Alfred the Great 12. Horatio Nelson

2. Queen Elizabeth I 13. George Gordon Byron

3. Francis Drake 14. Walter Scott

4. William Shakespeare 15. Queen Victoria

5. Oliver Cromwell 16. Charles Dickens

6. John Milton 17. Florence Nightingale

7. Isaac Newton 18. Captain Robert Scott

8. Bonnie Prince Charlie 19. Ernest Rutherford

9. James Cook 20. Winston Churchill

10. James Watt 21. Agatha Christie

11. Robert Burns 22. Margaret Thatcher

Task 1 Prepare a report about the life and activity of one of the mentioned above famous people of Great Britain.

Task 2 Prepare the list of well-known people of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the USA.

 

Ex 3 Read the sentences which describe people’s characters. Write to each characteristic a situation confirming character of this or that person.

1. Uncle David is a warm-hearted and generous man.

2. My cousin is very trustful and always cheerful.

3. Mary is a modest and virtuous girl.

4. Peter is a cunning and dishonest man.

5. My father is a man of character.

6. Michael is a man of no character.

7. My brother is of a somewhat romantic nature.

8. My younger sister is a careless easy-going girl.

9. Liz takes things lightly.

10. My boss is not of a forgiving nature (temper).

Ex 4 Match these words with their opposites.

1. clever introverted

2. extroverted tight-fisted

3. rude courteous

4. cruel gregarious

5. generous kind-hearted

6. unsociable half-witted

 

Ex 5 Read and translate the text:

Claudia has also been featured on the cover of Time Magazine and was the first model ever to be featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine's «10 MostBeautiful Women».

The half-hour tapes, released in January 1996 are distributed worldwide. Claudia recently appeared in her first feature film, Abel Ferrara's «The Black­out» with Matthew Modine, Beatrice Dalle and Dennis Hopper. With a very hectic work schedule, Claudia makes her home on Monaco.

In addition to her editorial work for magazines throughout the world, Claudia Schiffer has strutted the runways for all the top designers and has been featured in campaigns for Chanel, Versace, Valen­tino and Ralph Lauren among others. She is the first and only model to have her wax likeness in the Grevin Museum in Paris.

The native German began her modeling career in 1987 when she was discovered in a German discotheque while still a student. It was not long before she landedthe coveted Guess? campaigns which made her the most sought after model in the world.

In 1995, Claudia hosted the World Music Awards with actor Luke Perry in Monte Carlo. The success of her 1990 swimsuit calendar has been repeated every year, as most surely will her 1997 edition for which her royalties will go to the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. She is also an honorary board member for Dishes AIDS.

She was also named one of People Magazine's «25 Most Beautiful People» and Us magazine. She recently signed a multi — year contract with L'Oreal which is an unprecedented agreement in terms of dimension, longevity and financial impact.

Claudia has also published two books — a pictorial entitled «Memories» and a black & white coffee table book photogra­phed by designer Karl Lagerfeld. Claudiaalso created a series of exercise videos with her personal trainer Kathy Kaehler, «Claudia Schiffer's Perfectly Fit» is a four part series, each focusing on a dif­ferent body part: abs, buns, legs and arms.

At only 27 years of age, Claudia Schif­fer has taken the term super model to a new dimension. An international super­star, the native German has graced thecovers of more than 500 magazines in­cluding Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue and Cosmopolitan. Vanity Fair, whose editorial policy refuses any model on its cover, found it perfectly appropriate to feature a «Princess Claudia» cover and a seven page story as well as prestigious second cover.

Task 1 Place parts of the text in the correct order.

Task 2 Entitle the text.

Task 3 Answer the following questions:

1. How do you understand the phrase «Claudia Schiffer has taken the term super model to a new dimension»?

2. Why is being a fashion model so prestigious nowadays?

3. What fashion magazines do you know? Do you read them?

4. What is the company L'Oreal famous for?

5. Name some top designers who are well-known all over the world. Can you afford wearing fashionable clothes produced by these designers?

6. In what activities do super models usually take part?

Ex 6 Read the word-combinations. Explain meaning of each word-combination, beginning your sentence as follows:

То hate sit still means to be energetic, to like adventures etc. To be romantic means to believe in love etc.

To hate sit still, to like biking, hiking, to be calm, to be cool, to be collected, to be romantic, to be spontaneous, to be handso­me, to be charismatic, to be secretive, to be wary, to be shy, to be sensitive, to be caring, to be honest, to be hardworking, to be reserved, to be secure.

 

Ex 7 Read descriptions of characters of different people. Describe your character.

Nick is a very reserved, polite, energetic and responsible man.

Pamela is a talkative, naughty and light-minded girl. She is very difficult to deal with, she's a bad mixer.

It seems to me Barbara is charming, generous and well-adjusted woman. You can rely on her for sure.

 

Ex 8 Test yourself and discover your personality type:

What it can do

Knowing what the Anagram says about who you really are — and how people perceive you — will give you the edge when it comes to nurturing current rela­tionships, both personal and professional, and forming new ones. Think about it: when a prospective employer asks you to take the quiz, you'll be one step ahead!

Take the quiz

All that's left now is to take the quiz. For the most objective results, Riso sug­gests taking it with the person closest to you.

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