Topics for Oral and Written Composition

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1. The more you do the more you can do.

2. Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.

3. You must run very fast to stay where you are.

4. " No reading is worthwhile unless you enjoy it." (S. Maugham)

5. " Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some
few to be chewed and digested." (F. Bacon)[10]

Test

Theme: Books and readers

Translate the given words and phrases.

· Запретить издание книги ____________________________________________

· Том ____________

· Издавать книгу _______________________________

· Нарушать авторские права ___________________________

· Опубликовать ________________________________________

· Указатель ____________________________________________

· Телефонная книга ____________________________________

Write down short information about your favourite book or any book you like (5-6 sentences).

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Make up 5 sentences about books or readers using Present Simple form.

· _______________________________________________________________________

Answer the following questions.

· Do you like reading? Why? Why not?

· Reading help to enrich our vocabulary, doesn’t it?

· What do you prefer: to read a book or to watch TV? Why?

· Do you fancy comic books?

· Who is your favourite author? Why?

Put down idioms containing the word “book” and translate them.

· _______________________________________________________________________

Form 5 types of questions and a negative sentence.

He is constantly reading aloud the classical English literature.

· _______________________________________________________________________

Translate the sentences.

· Romeo (Montague), who is in love with Rosaline, goes to a party in an effort to forget her or to ease his broken heart.

· He decides that he loves her anyway and they confess their love for each other during the very famous " balcony scene" in which they agree to secretly marry the next day.

· At the same time, the Capulet's are planning Juliet's marriage to Paris.

· This is the story of a boy who used to be a wolf and a girl who was becoming one.

· We all know the story of the Star-Crossed lovers, family rivalry and tragedy.

· When Juliet's potion wears off, she awaken's to find her lover's corpse.

Actor –актер, деятель, личность Director –режиссер, постановщик, руководитель Cameraman –оператор, фотограф Producer –продюсер, поставщик, изготовитель Film-goer –кинозритель Star –звезда Audience –публика, зрители Cast –состав исполнителей Role –роль Film –фильм, пленка Dialogue –диалог, разговор, беседа Message –основная тема, идея Montage –монтаж Part –часть, роль

CINEMA: ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Ex.1. Read the words and answer: what do they have in common?

Ex.2. Read and translate the text about the well-known actor, producer, director.

Charlie Chaplin

Born Charles Spencer Chaplin
16 April 1889(1889 -04-16)
Walworth, London, England

Died 25 December 1977 (aged 88)
Vevey, Switzerland

Occupation Actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, composer, mime

Years active 1895–1976

Spouse(s) Mildred Harris (m. 1918–1921) «start: (1918)–end+1: (1922)»" Marriage: Mildred Harris to Charlie Chaplin" Location: (linkback: http: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chaplin)
Lita Grey (m. 1924–1927) «start: (1924)–end+1: (1928)»" Marriage: Lita Grey to Charlie Chaplin" Location: (linkback: http: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chaplin)
Paulette Goddard (m. 1936–1942) «start: (1936)–end+1: (1943)»" Marriage: Paulette Goddard to Charlie Chaplin" Location: (linkback: http: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chaplin)
Oona O'Neill (m. 1943–1977)

Sir Charles Spencer " Charlie" Chaplin, (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was an English comic actor and film director of the silent film era who became one of the best-known film stars in the world before the end of the First World War. Chaplin used mime, slapstick and other visual comedy routines, and continued well into the era of the talkies, though his films decreased in frequency from the end of the 1920s. His most famous role was that of The Tramp, which he first played in the Keystone comedy Kid Auto Races at Venice in 1914. From the April 1914 one-reeler Twenty Minutes of Love onwards he was writing and directing most of his films, by 1916 he was also producing, and from 1918 composing the music. With Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D. W. Griffith, he co-founded United Artists in 1919

Chaplin was one of the most creative and influential personalities of the silent-film era. He was influenced by his predecessor, the French silent movie comedian Max Linder, to whom he dedicated one of his films. His working life in entertainment spanned over 75 years, from the Victorian stage and the Music Hall in the United Kingdom as a child performer, until close to his death at the age of 88. His high-profile public and private life encompassed both adulation and controversy. Chaplin's identification with the left ultimately forced him to resettle in Europe during the McCarthy era in the early 1950s.

In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Chaplin the 10th greatest male screen legend of all time. In 2008, Martin Sieff, in a review of the book Chaplin: A Life, wrote: " Chaplin was not just 'big', he was gigantic. In 1915, he burst onto a war-torn world bringing it the gift of comedy, laughter and relief while it was tearing itself apart through World War I. Over the next 25 years, through the Great Depression and the rise of Adolf Hitler, he stayed on the job.... It is doubtful any individual has ever given more entertainment, pleasure and relief to so many human beings when they needed it the most". George Bernard Shaw called Chaplin " the only genius to come out of the movie industry".[11]

Ex.3. Answer the questions.

· What was the real name of Charlie Chaplin?

· What was his occupation?

· What was his most famous role?

· What happened in 1999?

· How does the author describe the personality of Charlie Chaplin?

· Name the works of Ch. Chaplin.

· What was his main achievement?

Ex.4. Do you have any favourite actor or actress? Please tell about him or her.

Ex.5. Read and translate the table. Add new words and phrases.

Ex.5. Read and translate the texts. Define the genre of these ones.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is fantasy-lite. With its PG rating and aversion to anything shocking or overly grotesque, it's the bastard stepchild of The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. A dull, meandering storyline and visuals all-but destroyed by a second-rate 3-D conversion make this movie inferior to its predecessors, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. The " quest" element, a common fantasy staple, is uninspired and perfunctory, and there's a growing sense throughout the movie that there's no real point to any of what is occurring. This isn't much a problem in C.S. Lewis' source novel, an allegorical children's fable about faith and the fantastical, but it does not translate well to a motion picture.

In 2005, following the success of The Lord of the Rings and the early Harry Potter films, Disney decided they wanted their own fantasy franchise. Instead of choosing something newer and edgier, they went with C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, a lightweight in the genre, but one that could deliver two key demographics: younger children and church-going Christians. The latter group was specifically targeted because of Lewis' religious reputation and his admission that his beloved books were Christian allegories.[12]

On a number of levels, The Tourist seems to exist in an alternate universe.

First, it may be the only movie ever to feature a bad performance by Johnny Depp, one of the best actors working in films. Who knew he could be wooden and unconvincing in a role?

And Angelina Jolie, his love interest in this laughably bad romantic thriller, may be even worse. Jolie comes off like a cross between an alien and an impeccably attired mannequin. Her range of facial expressions goes from wide-eyed and serious to wide-eyed with a slight smile.

The plot has more holes than a pair of Crocs and the entire tale doesn't have an iota of believability. What makes this all the more hard to fathom is that The Tourist was directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who made one of the decade's best films, the Oscar-winning foreign film of 2006, Germany's The Lives of Others. The marriage of von Donnersmarck, Depp and Jolie — along with a supporting cast of actors such as Paul Bettany, Rufus Sewell and Timothy Dalton and a gorgeous Venice setting — would seem to be a no-brainer.[13]

Ex.6. Write down the review of your favourite film. Use previous exercise as a sample.

Ex.7. Fill in the table.

Items	Australia	Germany	Great Britain	Russia	The United States of America
1.The year of the birth of cinematography.
2. The largest film studios.
3. The greatest film directors.
4. The famous actors.
5. The most popular films.

Ex.8. Guess the film profession.

1. You tell the actors what to do: you are

a) Director
b) Producer
c) Cameraman

2. Your uncle is financing the film. What is he called?

a) The director
b) The producer
c) The bank manager

3. Your sister created the story and wrote the actors’ words. She is:

a) A scriptwriter
b) An editor
c) A playwright

4. The person who puts all the different pieces of the film together is called:

a) A cameraman
b) An editor
c) A scriptwriter

Ex.9. Write down 20 sentences. Choose one of the following themes:

Cinema: its past, present and future.

My favourite film and my favourite actor (male/female)

Why do I like cinema?

My favourite type of films.

Ex.10. Read the following text about the first silent films.

Silent Movies

Talk to people who saw films for the first time when they were silent, and they will tell you the experience was magic. The silent film, with music, had extraordinary powers to draw an audience into the story, and an equally potent capacity to make their imagination work. They had to supply the voices and the sound effects, and because their minds were engaged, they appreciated the experience all the more. The audience was the final creative contributor to the process of making a film.

The films have gained a charm and other worldliness with age but, inevitably, they have also lost something. The impression they made when there was no rival to the moving picture was more profound, more intense; compared to the easily accessible pictures of today, it was the blow of a two-handed axe, against the blunt scraping of a tableknife.

The silent period may be known as " The Age of Innocence" but it included years unrivalled for their dedicated viciousness. In Europe, between 1914 and 1918 more men were killed to less рифове than at any other time in history.

In publications of the time, one reads horrified reactions against films showing " life as it is". You did not leave the problems at home merely to encounter them again at the movies. You paid your money initially, for forgetfulness.

Gradually movie-going altered from relaxation to ritual. In the big cities, you went to massive picture palaces, floating through incense-laden air to the strains of organ music, to worship at the Cathedral of Light. You paid homage to your favourite star; you dutifully communed with the fan magazines. You wore the clothes they wore in the movies; you bought the furniture you saw on the screen. You joined a congregation composed of every strata of society. And you shared your adulation with Shanghai, Sydney and Santiago. For your favourite pastime had become the most powerful cultural influence in the world — exceeding even that of the Press. The silent film was not only a vigorous popular art; it was a universal language — Esperanto for the eyes.

(From: " Hollywood, The Pioneers" by Kevin Brownlow. Abridged.) [14]

Ex.11. Answer the following questions:

1. Why did the audiences of silent movies appreciate them so much? 2. What makes the author think that the first movies provided the audiences with a sort of escape from reality? Do you agree with this point of view? 3. Why does the author call the first cinema-houses " Cathedrals of Light"? Do you think that this comparison can be applied to modern cinema-houses? 4. Are there many people nowadays for whom cinema is a favourite pastime? Can we claim that cinema is still the most powerful cultural influence exceeding even the press? 5. Do you think that the advent of sound killed the silent movies? [15]

Ex.12. Explain what the author means by the following:

1. The films have gained a charm and other worldliness with age
but, inevitably, they have also lost something.

What have the films gained? Are their achievements mainly associated with the progress of science and technology? What have they lost?

2. The impression they made when there was no rival to the moving picture was more profound, more intense compared to the easily accessible pictures of today.[16]

Ex.13. There are three main functions of the first silent movies singled out by the author in this extract. Pick them out and enlarge on them. Do you think that these functions are performed by modern films as well? [17]

Ex.14. Read the essay by J.B. Priestley and single out the author's main idea on the function of art.

Disturbing?

What has been puzzling me for some time now is this. Why does everything worth reading, hearing, looking at, have to be disturbing? That is according to all reviewers and critics. Among the men and women who count, the pacesetters in taste, the highest term of praise is disturbing.

But now I must ask a question that will show how far out of touch I am. Why do I have to be disturbed all the time? Why do the newer novelists and playwrights (sometimes on TV too) and their critics and admirers think it is necessary I should be disturbed? Why should disturbing be the term of highest praise now? Why am I supposed to regard this as the strongest recommendation? What do they think I ought to be disturbed out of? Where the devil do they imagine I've been all my life — lolling in a rose-garden? However, let's forget me and consider the public in general. Why do they have to be disturbed all the time? For my part I can't believe it is necessary.

There are of course a certain number of stupidly complacent people in this country who would be better after a jolt or two. Oh yes, such people exist and no doubt they ought to be disturbed.

They ought to be, but they won't be. Not for them the " disturbing" novels, plays, films, painting, sculpture, music. They keep well away from such things. They take care to guard their complacency.

When we move away from these people to the population at large, the very notion of a general complacency that needs a shock is laughable. Never have the English felt more disturbed. They wonder day and night where the money's to come from and where it goes to. Crime increases and the prisons are overcrowded. Mental homes are packed out and psychiatrists desperately overworked. People take barbiturates and pep pills as they took acid drops when I was young. They spend not hundreds but thousands of millions on gambling, amusements, cigarettes and booze, not out of confidence or any excess of joy but largely out of an attempt to cope with worry, anxiety, deep-seated feelings of unease.

What they don't spend their money on is all that work, so fashionable among the intelligentsia, which is praised because it's disturbing. They want, as they say, to be taken out of themselves, not further into themselves. They don't want to pass their evenings being told what life's like, they've had that all day, thank you. And yet, being the children of their ancestors, not some race newly created, when they watch their favourite television series or go to the pictures, they are really groping for what our age has deprived them of—mythology, the timeless world of gods and heroes, unchanging and shining immortals.

Now we come to the inner circle of the educated, the sensitive, the cultured, the people to whom these reviews and notices of novels, plays, films, the visual arts, are being addressed. It is for their sake, to attract their attention, that disturbing is trotted out over and over again, with an occasional change to deeply disquieting.

The truth is of course that these are the very people who have been feeling disturbed for years. Disturbing these people seems to me like watering the Thames. I shall be told of course that the really significant writers and artists of our time are expressing what such people feel. It is their duty to keep right on disturbing the disturbed, just as it is the duty of the intelligent and conscientious critic to single out and recommend whatever will best disturb the disturbed. And to show them whafthey may not have noticed, that what they thought was still dark grey in fact now a deep black.

If the universe were absurd, we'd never realize it, having nothing.to compare it with. Life can be disturbing of course, but it can't be all disturbance, without any point of reference outside it; and I feel it's about time we kept this in mind — while we still have minds.

(From: " Essays of Five Decades" by J.B. Priestley. Abridged.) [18]

Ex.15. Comment on the title of the essay. What does the author mean by the word " disturbing"? [19]

Ex.16. Single out the main arguments given by the author against art being " disturbing". Do you agree with them? If you do, enlarge on his reasoning, giving illustrations from your firsthand experience. If you don't, give your counter arguments. [20]

THE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION

Ex.1. Read and translate the following passages. Then discuss the problem and tell your own opinion.

For 30 years the Crowchester Chemical Company has got rid of its waste by dumping it in the River Crow or by burning it. Most of the people living in Crowchester work for the company, so there have been few complaints. Recently, however, doctors at the local hospital found that cases of throat cancer in Crowchester were 20 times higher than the national average and tests proved that air and water pollution were responsible.

Environment–окружающая среда Pollute –загрязнять Pollution – загрязнение Litter- мусор Chemical waste – химические отходы Cut down forests – вырубать леса Discharge sewage into rivers– сливать нечистоты в реки Dump– свалка Endangered species– исчезающий вид Greenhouse effect – парниковый эффект Habitat– место, среда обитания Green belt– полоса зеленых насаждений Fume– дым, выхлоп

Mrs Mabel Bloxford, the wife of a former employee of the Crowchester Chemical Company who is suffering from throat cancer – Last year when my husband found out that he had cancer, the doctor advised us to leave Crowchester. We planned to buy a farm 50 miles away. But before we could save enough money for the deposit, he lost his job. Now we’ll never be able to get away from here.

Leonard Miles, editor of the local newspaper – For the last 30 years, Crowchester Chemical Company has not only blackened our skies and polluted our rivers, it has been slowly and surely poisoning us in our own homes. Other big companies treat their chemical waste. Not Crowchester Chemical Company. They think that money is more important than our comfort and our health. And the suffering of Crowchester cannot be measured in terms of pounds and pence. 37 people are seriously ill. Hundreds more are living in misery. The Crow River will never again be fit for drinking water. Crowchester Chemical Company must compensate us all for the trouble and the suffering they have brought among us.

Brian Thatcher, a lawyer representing local cancer victims – We are suing for over a million pounds in compensation, and we’re also asking for a court order to close the factory. I’m confident that we shall win. What worries me is that it’s impossible to stop this kind of thing until it’s too late. The Government should have introduced strict pollution controls long ago.

Henry Murdoch, the president of Crowchester Chemical Co. – I do not accept that my company is responsible. We can’t be held responsible. If people choose to work here or live nearby, they must accept the risks. We did not bring the company to the town. The town grew up round the chemical factory. And part of the reason the town is such a thriving community today, is because of my company. Of course, there is a little pollution. There is always pollution in the chemical industry. It can’t be helped because this country needs chemicals. Crowchester needs chemicals too – without this company 3000 people would be jobless.

Veronica Wade, a Member of Parliament – Already many towns are worse than Crowchester. If we don’t act soon, this country will become uninhabitable. Pollution is a crime against society and must be punished. I propose to fix strict limits for discharge of pollution. All companies which exceed the limits negligently will pay heavy fines. All companies which exceed these limits deliberately will be closed and their managers will go to prison.[21]

Ex.2. Read and translate the given text. Who is right in this situation?

Litter

Last weekend Nick West was jogging along a popular path when he stumbled on a broken bottle and injured his leg. He wrote a letter to the editor of the local newspaper complaining about litter.

Nick West. People who leave litter behind them are anti-social. They spoil the countryside and create all sorts of danger for other people. Broken bottles and rusty cans cause serious injuries, especially to children. Old magazines and empty packages help to start fires when fools throw away matches and cigarette butts. Why can’t people be more careful?

Ann Scott, a housewife with two children. Dropping litter is a disgusting habit. If you don’t do it in your won house why should you do it anywhere else? I never drop litter and I don’t allow my children too. Unfortunately, most parents these days don’t bring their children up properly. It’s a mother’s duty to teach her children how to behave and to set a good example herself.

Linda Mitchell, a member of a local anti-litter group. I belong to an anti-litter group. Recently we cleaned up a beach. We collected over 150 tons of garbage. We burned half of it and we sold the rest to scrap dealers for $ 100. We spent that money on litter cans which we placed at regular intervals along the beach. Every local government ought to do same thing.

Nina Haines, a journalist of the local newspaper. The problem of litter reflects a lack of responsibility on all sides. The local government has a duty to provide litter cans and the citizens have a duty to use them. The police have a duty to report people who litter public places and the courts have a duty to punish such people. Last, but not least, the companies which manufacture throw-away products should stop using materials which can’t be burned or recycled.

Fred Hurst, a representative of the local council. There’s not much we can do. There are a thousand square miles of countryside around this town. We can’t afford to supply a million litter cans to empty them regularly. Why should local taxpayers be responsible for litter left by holiday visitors from other towns?

Reg Giles, a local policeman. Littering is a crime and carries a heavy penalty. But the police are too busy preventing serious crime to worry about litter. If someone drops a ton of poisonous chemical waste in the forest, we’ll try to catch him, but we can’t arrest everyone who leaves a few empty cans around after a picnic. We’re policemen, not babysitters.

Albert Greaves, the manager of a soft drinks company. We used to sell drinks in glass bottles and we refunded a little money when empty bottles were returned to us, because we could wash them and use them again. But glass is heavy and breaks easily, so we changed to plastic. It’s cheap, light, strong and unbreakable. Of course, we don’t collect empty bottles because it’s cheaper to make new ones.[22]

Ex.3. Say what do you do personally to protect the environment? Share with other students.

Ex.4. What do you know about global warming? Look at the given pictures. Read and translate the information.

Ex.5. Do you know the notions “to live green” or “act green”? How can you understand it?

Ex.6. Read and translate the text. Retell this text.

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