Read and translate the following passages, then describe yourself, your friends and members of your family.

 

***

 

I’m five foot height. I’m not sure what that is on the metric scale — I think it’s one meter seventy, or something like that. So I’m quite tall. I’m overweight I think, although people say I’m not. I don’t know how much I weigh, cause I always find it too depressing to weigh myself. I don’t feel I take as much exercise as I should. I used to go to a gym, but I found it really boring. My main exercise is walking — I walk everywhere — and swimming, which is fine for giving you good stamina and broad shoulders, and it’s good for your heart and lungs. I have very short hair. I had it cut recently because if you go to swimming every day, which I try to, then it’s much more convenient to have really short hair. It doesn’t get in the way, you can dry it really quickly, you don’t have to take gel and all sorts of hair products to the swimming pool every time you go. It’s light brown. It’s much fairer in the summer, and in the winter it gets darker. I have blue eyes. I wear contact lenses — well I wear one, in one eye.

 

***

 

I think I’m quite easy-going. I get more stressed out than I used to, but I think it’s just the pressure of work, as journalism can be quite stressful. As a journalist, you always have deadlines. You have to write something by a certain time and if you don’t get it done, then the editor gets really mad. I think I’m quite shy, I never really used to like meeting people, and got quite shy and nervous and had nothing to say for myself, but now I feel much more comfortable. If you have a job or something you can tell people about, you can have self-confidence.

 

***

 

I’m not particularly religious. My family isn’t religious at all. We never went to church. The only times I’ve been to church recently were weddings and funerals. I remember when I was little though, I used to really love singing. At the age of about seven, I wanted to go to church because I wanted to sing the hymns, as they have good tunes. So my attitude to life is not particularly religious, although I do believe in some kind of spiritual life. In the spiritual world. I find the Eastern religions much more appeal­ing. I think reincarnation is a fascinating subject and I believe in it to some extent. I feel you always have to keep an open mind, be prepared to learn new things and meet new people, and always try to live in the best way that you can and not hurt other people.

 

***

 

Maria has a very gentle personality. She has a passionate interest in music, and also in poetry and literature. She is very open-minded, and as­similates new ideas very easily. I’m not as disciplined as her, and I am not so good at being tidy in appearance, or keeping my clothes in the right place, or putting all my things away, and I think that on the whole, I’m not such a tidy person as she is. It seems natural to her to keep everything in its place. When she does something, she does it very carefully, precisely and accurately. I think that I’m more lazy than her overall.

 

***

 

My father is very hard working, but I think that he uses this as a shield against other parts of his life. For a long time, he cut off his feelings by pouring all of his energy and attention into his work. Generally, he has quite a depressive personality. He lets things get on top of him, things make him sad very easily, and he finds it very hard to let go of his sadness. He has quite and addictive personality. He smokes a lot of cigarettes, and drinks a lot of coffee and tea all day. He has very unusual sleeping pat­terns. Sometimes he stays up all night working, and in the daytime he sleeps.

 

***

 

One of my friends, Anita, is a Tibetan Buddhist, and has a very strong personality. Indeed, she is quite a special person. She is 23 years old, has 2 children aged four and three, and somehow manages to fulfill all of the re­sponsibilities of being a mother, a career woman, and a full-time student at a Buddhist University. Sometimes she has to hire a baby-sitter during the day-time, but these instances are getting rare now. She seems to have so much energy, and never stops doing things. I really don’t know how she can fit so much into her life. She is a really full-power person. In all situa­tions she seems to be able to keep a level head. She is younger than me but she is very wise, and if I’m in trouble of feeling sad, or if I need adviсe, I always go to talk to her. In business matters, she’s also a very wonderful person to know. She’s very straightforward, clear, and very honest. I’ve known her for 3 years now. Our friendship doesn’t stop growing.

 

2. Interview your partner and your teacher and find out as much as possible about him/her? Then find out (asking questions) which of the students:

 

Gets up at 7: 00	Likes chocolate	Is from a small town	Is married	Has a dog
Lives in a hostel	Likes to go bowling	Favourite color is green	Has more brothers than sisters	Favourite class is English
Drinks coffee	Eats health food	Free	Likes to swim	Sometimes forgets to brush teeth
Takes shower in the morning	Is wearing black shoes	Wears contact lenses	Is dating someone from another country	Eats lunch at 12 noon
Likes fast food	Is afraid of spiders	Speaks more than two languages	Never eats supper	Keeps to a diet
Likes watching football matches	Is shy	Plays the piano	Wants to be a teacher	Can drive a car

 

Text B

 

Pre-text activity 2:

Do you know:

1. The origin of the word «psychology»?

2. The subject-matter of psychology?

3. The place of psychology in the system of sciences?

4. The primary activities of a community psychologist, an engineering psychologist and a personality psychologist?

1. Read and translate the text:

 

SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY

 

Psychology as a science studies mental activity and human behaviour. Psychologists study basic functions such as learning, memory, language, thinking, emotions, and motives. They investigate development throughout the life span from birth to death. They are involved in mental and physical health care. They treat people who are emotionally distressed.

Psychology occupies a strategic position between natural and social sciences on the one hand, and between sciences and humanities, on the other.

 

Diagram to illustrate the place of psychology among the sciences

And humanities

 

I. Natural Sciences Physics Chemistry Pharmacology Mathematics   II. Social Sciences Anthropology Sociology Economics Political Science Linguistics

Zoology — Neurophysiology and Anatomy — Psychology

III. Humanities Philosophy Literature History of Art Religion   IV. Applications Education Law and criminology Management Medicine Psychiatry

 

Each of the subjects listed in the four groups has its own relationship with psychology. For example, knowledge of physics and chemistry is necessary to provide a scientific basis for experimental psychology. Psy­chology is also closely linked to sociology. But whereas sociologists direct their attention to groups, group processes, and social forces, social psy­chologists focus on group and social influences on individuals. Psychology and biology are also closely connected. Physiological psychologists inves­tigate the role of the brain and the nervous system in such functions as memory, language, sleep, attention, movement, perception, hunger, anger and joy. On the other hand, psychologists took much from the theory of knowledge, logic and philosophy of science. Besides, psychology sepa­rated from philosophy.

The word «psychology» is derived from the Greek word meaning «study of the mind or soul». So in the definition of psychology there are three basic words: «science», «behaviour», «mental processes».»Science» means rational investigation of processes and phenomena. By «behaviour» psychologists mean everything that people and animals do: actions, emo­tions, ways of communication, developmental processes. «Mental proc­esses» characterize the work of the mind and the nervous system.

2. Study this table:

 

Specialist	Primary activities
Clinical psychologist	Assesses and treats people with psychological problems; conducts research
Counseling psychologist	Counsels people with adjustment problems and pro­motes achievement in educational and work settings; combines research, consultation and treatment
Industrial psychologist	Combines research, consultation, and program devel­opment to enhance morale and efficiency on the job
Educational psychologist	Develops, designs and evaluates materials and proce­dures for educational programs
Social psychologist	Studies how people influence one another
Developmental psychologist	Studies change in behaviour with age
Experimental psychologist	Conducts research
School psychologist	Establishes programs, consults, treats youngsters’ problems, and does research in the school setting
Cognitive psychologist	Studies mental processes
Community psychologist	Treats distressed people within the community; initi­ates community action and develops community pro­grams to enhance mental health
Engineering psychologist	Designs and evaluates environments, machinery, training devices, programs, and systems to improve relationships between people and environment
Personality psychologist	Studies how and why people differ from one another and how those differences can be assessed
Psychological psychologist	Studies the physical bases of behaviour and cognition
Psychometric psychologist	Develops and evaluates tests; designs research to measure psychological functions

 

3. Answer the following questions:

1. What basic functions do psychologists study?

2. What position does psychology occupy among the sciences and hu­manities?

3. What basic words are there in the definition of psychology? What do they mean?

4. Why is there a great number of different specialists in the field of psychology?

5. Which group of psychology experts is the largest?

4. Give English equivalents for:

Память; мышление; естественные науки; гуманитарные науки; внимание; восприятие; определение; общение; лечить; оценивать; ок­ружающая среда.

5. Give all possible derivatives of the following words:

 

psychology	science	relate
human	perceive	observe

 

6. Discuss the following questions:

1. Who or what influenced on your decision to take up psychology?

2. What psychology specialist would you like to be and why?

7. Develop the following situations making up dialogues:

1. You are going to enter the Psychology Faculty but your parents ob­ject. You are trying to persuade them that psychology is one of the basic fields of knowledge.

2. Ask you friend if they know the differences in the specialities of a psychologist, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. If they don’t, enlighten them.

3. You are interviewing a famous psychologist. What possible ques­tions could you ask about the development of psychology as a separate dis­cipline.

8. Translate into English:

Понятие «психология» образовано из двух греческих слов: «psy­che» — душа и «logos» — слово, учение. Оно имеет два значения: психология как наука и психология как совокупность особенностей характера, внутренний мир человека. Именно во втором смысле мы говорим о психологии того или иного человека, группы людей, даже животных, особенно наших домашних кошек и собак. Такое понима­ние легло в основу житейской психологии, которая обобщает и закре­пляет опыт многих поколений людей, наш собственный жизненный опыт, оно лежит в основе нашего представления об окружающих нас людях, о самих себе, о причине поступков, мотивах поведения, успе­хах и неудачах. Всякий человек, даже никогда специально не изучав­ший психологию, постоянно объясняет свои собственные поступки, слова и поведение других людей. И эти объяснения основываются на его представлениях о мотивах поведения, мыслях, чувствах, ощуще­ниях, эмоциях. Без этого нормальная жизнь людей невозможна.

9. Speak on the following topic:

«Psychology is my future profession.» Don’t forget to give information about yourself and your character. Say what or who influenced your de­cision to become psychologist and what field of psychology you are going to major in.

Unit 2

 

CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE

NATIONAL STEREOTYPES

 

Learn these words:

 

deceptive	обманчивый	broad-shouldered	широкоплечий
strong-willed	волевой	petty	жалкий
weak-willed	слабовольный	coward	трус
mediocrity	посредственность	poor build	плохое телосложение
fragile	хрупкий	courage	мужество
ingenuity	изобретательность	complexion	цвет лица
constitution	телосложение	thrifty	экономный
greedy	жадный	lavish	щедрый
open-handed	великодушный	spendthrift	транжира
dimples	ямочки	rude	грубый
simpleton	простак	harsh	неприятный/грубый
wilful	упрямый	capricious	капризный
skinny	худой	pointed chin	острый подбородок
mole	родинка	hooked nose	крючковатый нос
cruel	жестокий	cunning	хитрый
generalization	обобщение	to «pigeon-hole»	анализировать
cling tenaciously	цепляться за предубеждения	«square»	консервативный
withdrawn	замкнутый	superficial	поверхностный
hedonistic	гедонистический	hidebound	ограниченный
insular	замкнутый	superior	самодовольный
reserved	сдержанный	suspicious	подозрительный
lousy	отвратительный	diligent	старательный

 

Text A

 

Pre-text activity 1:

Do you think it is worth judging by appearances? Give your reasons.

1. Read and translate the text:

Appearances are deceptive. It is a common truth; practically everyone has met at least someone whose character and appearance differ radically.

When one sees a tall, broad-shouldered youth, one expects him to be strong-willed and brave. One thinks: «A model to follow! » How often a good-looking individual turns out to be petty, weak-willed or even cow­ardly. Then one thinks: «A mediocrity».

At the same time everyone knows that a lot of great people were of a poor build: short and fragile. It did not stop them from displaying intelli­gence and courage. Ingenuity does not depend on one's complexion or con­stitution.

Plump or fat people create an impression of generous and kind person­alities. Strangely enough, not rarely they may be thrifty or even greedy. One usually thinks: «A scrooge! »

On the other hand, thin or slim nervous ladies often tend to be lavish. They like to buy and never think twice when they pay. One thinks: «I would call her open-handed and Mother would call her a spendthrift». Yes, mothers are always stricter in judgements.

Has it ever happened to you that you come to an important office and see an important boss? You immediately evaluate his looks: «Round-faced, small narrow eyes, dimples on the cheeks and an upturned nose. What a kind-hearted person! A simpleton! » You tell the boss of your troubles and expect immediate help. But the boss appears to be rude, harsh and wilful. You never get your help and think: «A stone heart and an iron fist».

When someone sees a delicately built pretty blonde with curly hair, blue eyes, a straight nose and a high forehead, one is inclined to think that the beauty is intelligent and nice. It may be disappointing to think later «What a stupid, capricious, impolite bore»

On the contrary, when one sees a skinny brunette with ugly irregular features — a hooked nose, pointed chin, close-set eyes and thin lips, strange thoughts come to one's head; because it is the image of evil people — cruel and cunning. It may be a relief some time later to find her a clever, gentle and good-mannered lady and think: «What charm! A heart of gold! »

Another general misconception lies in the fact that children are always expected to resemble their parents. And parents like it when children take after them. Relatives like to compare moles, the shape of noses, etc. The greatest compliment is: «They are as like as two peas». The greatest disap­pointment is to find nothing in common. We want to deny people their ex­clusiveness. We don't want to admit that nature has selected other options from an enormous genetic fund developed over generations. Why do we like our copies? Who knows!

Nature likes to play tricks on us. But don't you think it is a present on the part of nature? Life becomes not a boring routine, but a brilliant kalei­doscope of characters and appearances which often clash.

2. Discuss the following questions:

1. Do you agree that appearances are deceptive? Tell your classmates about your own experience.

2. Does character influence people’s appearance?

3. Do you think that good looks can help people in their life?

4. Do you think people should improve their appearance or is it better to leave it as it is?

5. Why do you think lots of people don’t give up their bad habits (smoking, drinking alcohol, overeating) in spite of the fact they affect their appearance?

6. How do you choose your friends? What influences your choice?

3. Match the words with their definitions:

1. bad-tempered	1) you always arrive on time.
2. determined	2) you are always happy.
3. lazy	3) you do what you say you will do.
4. reliable	4) you say exactly what you think.
5. cheerful	5) you don’t think about the needs of others.
6. frank	6) you have a strong wish to get what you want.
7. mean	7) you are unkind, or not willing to spend money.
8. selfish	8) you easily become angry with others.
9. considerate	9) you tell the truth and obey the law.
10. honest	10) you understand the feelings of others.
11. punctual	11) you try to avoid work if you can.
12. sympathetic	12) you think of the needs of others.
13. absent-minded	13) like to say how good they are at something.
14. adventurous	14) have strong feelings and are easily moved by things.
15. amusing	15) are rude and disrespectful, especially towards people like parents and teachers.
16. bashful	16) are always trying to control others without worrying or caring about how they feel.
17. boastful	17) deliberately try to hurt or harm others.
18. bright	18) are very forgetful because they are too busy thinking about other things.
19. calm	19) are sure of themselves and their abilities.
20. cheeky	20) are easily tricked and tend to believe every­thing they are told.
21. conceited	21) are very clever and learn things very quickly.
22. confident	22) hate having to wait for things and are not tolerant of other people’s weaknesses.
23. creative	23) are very interested and excited about something and this shows in the way they talk or behave.
24. domineering	24) are daring and always ready to take risks.
25. down-to-earth	25) are always friendly and welcoming towards guests.
26. emotional	26) don’t get excited or nervous about things.
27. enthusiastic	27) find it hard to accept or understand new or different ideas.
28. gullible	28) are very funny and make you laugh.
29. hospitable	29) are very practical and honest.
30. impatient	30) have a very high opinion of themselves.
31. malicious	31) find it easy to produce new and original ideas and things.
32. narrow-minded	32) are shy and feel uncomfortable in social situations.

 

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