Сколько в мире языков
На скольких языках говорят сегодня народы Земли? Ответ на
этот вопрос, подготовленный международной организацией “ Лин
гвистическая обсерватория”, поражает: оказывается, в мире насчиты
вается более десяти тысяч языков! Только на Африканском континен
те их почти три тысячи...
Впрочем, самых распространенных языков не так уж много -
всего десять. Это пекинский диалект китайского языка (его считают
своим не менее 726 миллионов человек), английский (427 миллионов),
испанский (266 миллионов), хинди (182 миллиона), арабский (181
миллион), португальский (165 миллионов), бенгали (162 миллиона),
русский (158 миллионов), японский (124 миллиона) и, наконец, не
мецкий, который считают для себя основным 121 миллион человек.
Ряд языков, прежде всего английский, расширяет свои “сферы
влияния”. Уже в начале XXI века, по прогнозам ученых, опублико
ванным американским журналом “Тайм”, на английском будут гово
рить примерно 1,5 миллиарда людей - почти четверть человечества.
“Никогда еще не было языка, на котором бы говорило так много лю
дей и в таком-множестве мест,” - отмечает профессор Дэвид Кри
сталл.
4 Tell the following dialogues in English.
A. - Послушайте, мистер Иванов. Вы говорите по-английски очень хо
рошо.
, - Спасибо, хотя я так не думаю. Иногда мне очень трудно понять
англичан или американцев. Особенно, когда они говорят быстро.
- Я думаю, что говорить на иностранном языке легче, чем слушать
и понимать.
- Совершенно согласен.
B. - Я собираюсь в Канаду. Ты знаешь, на каком языке там разговари
вают?
- Я уверен, что большинство говорит по-английски.
- Почему большинство?
- Потому что часть населения говорит по-французски.
- Здорово. Я знаю немного и английский, и французский.
C. - Я думаю, рабочим языком на конференции будет русский.
- А как с английским?
- Полагаю, что вы сможете говорить по-английски тоже.
D. - Кто-нибудь в твоей семье говорит по-английски?
- Моя сестра. Но, к сожалению, она не хочет говорить со мной, по-
46
тому что я говорю по-английски очень плохо.
E. - Я бы очень хотел говорить по-английски хорошо.
- Если ты хочешь научиться говорить на иностранном языке, ты не
должен бояться делать ошибки. Говори по-английски как можно
больше.
F. - Ты умеешь говорить по-немецки?
- Да, кроме того, я говорю по-французски, по-испански и учусь го
ворить по-итальянски.
- Здорово. Я бы тоже хотел знать иностранные языки. Но они дают
ся мне нелегко.
G. - На каком иностранном языке ты говоришь?
- К сожалению, я могу говорить только по-русски. Но я мечтаю
научиться говорить на каком-нибудь иностранном языке.
5 Answer the following questions.
1.
Who is the rector of your Institute? 2. Who is the chief of your
speciality chair? 3. What's your dean's name? 4. Who is your group tutor?
5. How many faculties are there in your Institute? 6. How many chairs are
there in it? 7. What subject is your favourite? 8. Have you many friends in
your group? 9. Are you satisfied with your studies at the Institute? 10. Do
you like to study at the Institute? II. Where did your father (mother)
study? 12. What are you going to do after graduating? 13. In what field are
you going to work? 14. Will you need English in your future work? 15. Is
English easy for you? Do you like it? 16. Do you enjoy your studies?
17. Do you get a scholarship (grant)? 18. Would you like to study at some
other University? 19. Do you spend your weekends and holidays with your
group-mates? 20. Do you hope to pass all your session exams? 21. Do you
have parties at the Institute? 22. When is your group birthday? 23. Are you
proud of your Institute (group)?
6 Make up a dialogue on the following situation: you meet your
classmate. You entered different Universities. Speak about your Universi
ties.
7 Do written translation o f the following texts
A. Cambridge University
1. What University was taken as a model for the University o f Cam
bridge?
2. What famous scientist worked there from 1669 till 1702?
The University of Cambridge was founded in the twelfth century and
before the beginning of the thirteenth it was almost a recognized centre of
47
education. The University was formed on the model of European continen
tal universities, in particular that of Paris. At first there were neither col
leges nor professors in the modem sense of word. Lectures and oral exami
nations were conducted in Latin. Until the fifteenth century the history of
Cambridge was not as significant as that of Oxford. But by the end of the
seventeenth century the University was the home of Sir Isaac Newton -
professor of mathematics from 1669 till 1702 whose influence was deep
and permanent.
At that time there was built a number o f laboratories for the natural
sciences, among them the Cavendish Laboratory.
B. Oxford University
1. Where was the first University o f Great Britain established?
2. How many colleges are there at Oxford now?
There axe about 50 universities in Britain nowadays and three of
them - Oxford, Cambridge and London are unique universities with sev
eral-hundred-year-old history. The first reference to Oxford as a town was
made in 912. It's difficult to be certain why the first University was estab
lished at Oxford and not anywhere else. Perhaps a variety of factors were
important here. The place was far from the centre, the land was cheap and
readily available and it was far from the political life of the country.
First there were only about 60 chapels (церковь) and a student was
living and studying in one of these chapels learning theology, logic and
rhetoric.
Oxford University of today is a federation of 48 colleges, each
largely independent. The colleges admit students, organize programs, stu
dents' work and residence, laboratories, libraries and term examinations,
while the University is in charge o f organizing final examinations and con
fers degrees. Forty colleges of 48 admit only men, two colleges are mixed
and six colleges are only for women.
C. London University
1.
What is the difference between colleges in London and Oxford
and Cambridge?
O f the full-time students now attending English universities three
quarters are men and one quarter women. Nearly half of them are engaged
in the study o f the arts subjects such as history, language, economics or
law, the others are studying pure or applied sciences such as medicine, den
tistry, technology, or agriculture.
The University of London, for instance, includes internal and exter
nal students, the latter coming to London only to sit for their examinations.
The colleges in the University of London are essentially teaching institu
48
tions providing instruction chiefly by means o f lectures, which are attended
mainly by day students. The colleges o f Oxford and Cambridge, however,
are essentially residential institutions and they mainly use a tutorial method
which brings the tutor into close and personal contact with the student.
These colleges, being residential are necessarily far smaller than most of
the colleges o f the University of London.
D. Would You Like to Study in Oxford?
Oxford is called “the city o f dreaming spires”.
Oxford is also the home of Morris car factories, which became
Rover. The alternative name is ‘the city of screaming tyres’.
The conflict is ancient between town and gown (the students still
wear cloak-like academic gowns). The town apprentices used to protest
against the University students from the 13* century onwards. Hence the
Oxford Colleges are built like castles, with only one entrance door in a high
wall.
Each o f the 38 colleges is a complete community, where the students
live, pray, eat, have their leisure, their ‘pub’, their libraries, and their tutori
als with their teachers.
Students applying to Oxford apply to a college and are accepted as a
member of that college, rather than o f a University faculty such as philoso
phy or history. They can therefore change subject very easily.
E. Life at Oxford
Studying at Oxford can seem very leisurely. Undergraduates have
only 1 or 2 compulsory hours per week when they must attend a tutorial
with 1 or 2 fellow students and their college tutor. Yet for each tutorial they
are expected to write a 5000 or 8000 word essay, and that requires a lot of
work!
In between reading and writing the essays, students have many very
active clubs and societies. For some students their recreation is actually
their chosen profession. For most University students, their success in the
degree all depends on the exams at the end of the first and third years. The
final exams are held in the Examination Schools, and the male students
must wear white shirt with white bow tie, black suit, socks and shoes, black
gown and mortar board. The female students wear black shoes, trousers or
skirt and gown, white blouse, black tie and mortar board.
While wearing this clothes they have ‘right of way’ and can cycle
through red traffic lights and go the wrong way in one-way streets! To es
tablish their right of way they simply have to shout “Schools!”, meaning
they are going to the Examination Schools building.
49
F. Can You Study at Oxford?
Yes. There are several language schools you can come to in the
summer and at times of year.
From your University you may be able to transfer to Oxford to do a
year’s study. Or, after your degree in your own country, you could apply to
Oxford to study for a degree there.
There is some ancient rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge, and
that rivalry is reflected in the language too. The squares within colleges are
called 'courts' in Cambridge, and 'quads' in Oxford. Oxford college servants
are called 'scouts', whereas in Cambridge they are 'bedders'. The punts (flat-
bottomed boats) which students pole along the rivers have a 'Cambridge
end' and an 'Oxford end'.
Some Famous People Who Studied in Oxford
Kings: Richard Lionheart, Henry V, Charles I, Edward VII, Naruhito
and Masaco, Olav V.
W riters: T.E. Lawrence, Oscar Wilde, Shelley, C.S. Lewis, Graham
Green, Milton, Henry James, Lewis Carrol, Jonathan Swift.
Politicians: Bill Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, Benazir Bhutto, Indira
Gandi.
Thinkers: Erasmus, Hobbes, John Locke, Adam Smith, Walter Ra
leigh, William Penn, Cecil Rhodes.
Entertainers: Kris Kristofferson, Dudley Moore, Michael Palin,
Oxford and Cambridge are the
oldest and most prestigious
universities in Britain. Known
together as 'Oxbridge' (the
word was invented by Lewis
Carroll, the author of 'Alice in
Wonderland' and a lecturer in
mathematics at Oxford), they
have been chosen as national
icons.
The beautiful views of Oxford’s ‘dreaming spires’ have become iconic indeed. It was
Matthew Arnold, the 19thcentury poet, who called Oxford 'that sweet city with her
dreaming spires ’.
Rowan Atkinson, John Schlesinger.
G. Oxbridge
50
HISTORY
O f the two universities Oxford
is the oldest. Nobody knows for
sure when it was founded but
teaching was already going on
there by the early 12th centuiy.
Life was hard at Oxford at that
time because there was con
stant trouble, even fighting, be
tween the townspeople and the
students. Then one day a stu
dent accidentally killed a man
o f the town. The Mayor ar
rested three other students who
were innocent, and by order of
King John they were hanged.
The chapel of King's College, Cambridge, is the
most famous symbol of both the city and the uni
versity.
In protest, many students and
teachers left Oxford and settled
in another little town, and so the
University of Cambridge was
bom. Since then there has been
constant friendly (and sometimes
not-so-fnendly) rivalry between
Oxford and Cambridge.
These Oxford students are leaving the matricu
lation ceremony. They are wearing their fidl
academic dress.
The ‘Backs' of Cambridge (as the part of the
town behind the Colleges is called) have been
described as the loveliest man-made view of
England.
AMAZING FACTS
•
In the early centuries, Ox
ford and Cambridge were the
only universities in the country
- if you wanted a university
education, that's where you
went. But in those days student
life was very different from
what it is now. Students were
not allowed to play games, to
sing or to dance and all the les
sons were in Latin!
•
Until the late 19th
century, only men were al
lowed to be students at the two
universities.
51
•
Both Oxford and Cam
bridge students refer to each
other as 'the other place'. Oxoni
ans (people of Oxford) some
times call Cambridge 'a pale imi
tation of the real thing'. (Cam
bridge's colours are light blue).
Cantabrigians (people of Cam
bridge) refer to Oxford as 'the
dark side' (Oxford's colours are
dark blue).
LOTS AND LOTS OF
COLLEGES
It might seem strange to
_________
you but there isn't really any The bell in the Great Tom tower rings 101 times
university at Oxford or Cam- ш 9 o ’clock every nightfor the first 101 students
bridge. Oxbridge is made up of ofChJ is‘ Ch7 uc\ Co" ? se
The tower
independent colleges. The 'Uni- wasde^
d by S,r Chnstopher Wren.
versity' is just an administra
tive body that organises lec
tures, arranges exams, gives
degrees, etc.
Today, there are 70 col
leges at Oxbridge, and each
college has its name, its coat
of arms and its own buildings,
including a chapel, a library, a
dining hall and rooms for stu-
The Oxbridge buildings are often arranged dents to live in. Each college
round a square of grass. They are called 'quads ’ has its own character and its
in Oxford and ‘courts ’ in Cambridge.
own traditions.
As well as the college libraries, there are two university libraries.
They have the right to have a free copy of every book published in Britain.
TEACHING SYSTEM
Each Oxbridge college has its own staff, known as 'Fellows'. The
Fellows teach the college students either one-to-one or in very small groups
(known as 'tutorials' in Oxford and 'supervisions' in Cambridge). This sys
tem o f teaching is one o f the ways in which Oxford and Cambridge differ
from other universities.
Students also go to lectures that are arranged by the University and
are open to all students.
52
The normal length of the de
gree course is three years, af
ter which the students take the
degree of Bachelor of Arts.
Some courses, such as medi
cine or languages, may be one
or two years longer. The stu
dents may work for other de
grees as well.
SOCIETIES
There are lots and lots of so
cieties at Oxbridge: debating
clubs, drama societies, phi
losophy societies, language
clubs, political clubs of all
colours, cinema clubs, in fact,
for almost every activity un
der the sun!
DID YOU KNOW?
• Oxbridge has 35,000
students from the UK and all
over the world.
• Oxbridge graduates of
ten become powerful and suc
cessful members in British
society, and many leading
people in professions such as
the law and politics have tradi
tionally
been
'Oxbridge-
educated'. O f 54 British Prime
Ministers, 40 studied at Ox
bridge!
SPORT
Sport is a very important part
of Oxbridge life. Colleges
within each university often
Oxbridge students like punting.
compete with each other in various tournaments (for example, rowing,
punting, chess, etc.), but will happily pool their talent to form university
teams for competitions against the greater 'enemy' (Oxford or Cambridge as
the case may be).
Do you remember the episode in the first Harry
Potter film, when Harry, Ron and Hermione are
looking up information about the Sorcerer’s
Stone? It was filmed in Oxford's Bodleian li-
bn
Most of the dining halls at Oxbridge are wonder
ful. In the picture, you can see the dining hall of
the famous Christ Church College, Oxford,
which was used as the inspiration for the Hog-
warts dining room in the Harry Potter films.
53
The most famous com
petition between the two uni
versities is the Boat Race, a
rowing race which takes place
every year on the River
Thames. Ifs a popular national
event and is shown on televi
sion.
Members of Trinity College, Cambridge, have
seen 31 Nobel Prize winners pass through their
Every year at sunrise on May
morning the choir o f Magda
len College, Oxford, gather on
the top of Magdalen Tower to
sing a Latin hymn. The tradi
tion goes back to the first days
of the tower, at the end of the
15th century, and has gone on
ever since. Oxbridge is full of
curious old traditions like this.
ARE YOU OXBRIDGE MATERIAL?
Why don't we just have one ear in the middle o f our face? What per
centage of the world's water is contained in a cow? Why can't you light a
candle in a spaceship? O f all 19th-century politicians, who was most like
Tony Blair? If you can answer any of these questions then you are Ox
bridge material.
Interviews are the key to getting into top universities, and potential
students are often asked challenging questions. With such questions, the
interviewers hope to determine the student's originality, logical thinking
and quick-wittedness. Each year, about 26,000 students go for interviews at
Oxbridge but only 26% are successful.
54
8 Read and translate
How to Give a Lecture
(after D. Hicks)
“Yes,” said Ann, “I thought I ought to take every chance o f improv
ing my education, so I went on to Mr Hawker’s lecture on Universal His
tory. I slipped in just as Felicity was introducing him. It was a remarkable
performance. He didn’t begin at once, but waited for absolute silence. First
he walked to one side of the room and glared at that section of the audience
until they stopped clearing their throats. Then he marched to the other side;
and o f course as soon as they saw him coming, all those people began to
cough like a tank full of seals. The noise rose until it was quite deafening,
then gradually died away. Having reduced everybody to obedience, Mr
Hawker began to look for his notes, which he seemed to have lost. There
were one or two isolated coughs, at which he looked up with a cold frown,
but mostly we sat and watched him, hardly daring to breathe. At last he
found his notes, and at that point he began to cough himself, but he refused
to delay his start: the beginning o f the lecture was delivered between his
paroxysms, so it sounded rather confused.
“His technique was interesting. He had that reading desk - you
know, the one that stands on a pedestal. It was almost as tall as himself; he
gripped the edge and hugged it to his chest and leaned over it to talk. As his
lecture warmed up, he swayed forwards until he and the desk were just
about to overbalance on to the people in the front row. Then he swayed
backwards until he almost toppled into the fire. The audience was fasci
nated. A dozen times Felicity started to her feet to catch him, but each time
he righted himself. I swear I saw her hair going grey during the lecture.
“Mr Hawker’s notes consisted o f the proofs o f his new book - those
long strips of paper that printers send you. He pulled these out o f his pock
ets as a conjurer pulls out coloured ribbons, and when he had read out bits
of them he stuffed them back - into his jacket pockets, his breast pockets,
his waistcoat pockets and even his trousers pockets. O f course there were
occasions when he couldn’t find exactly the passage he wanted; but the
time wasn’t wasted, because he would take out a short stub of pencil and
correct mistakes in the printing. Several times he spent a minute or two
hunting down the pages for mistakes, while we sat quietly; and it always
meant changing his glasses, because he had different pairs of specs for glar
ing at us and for reading print. I say glaring at us; but he didn’t actually do
that. He had evidently been told that a good lecturer should make his talk
more personal by picking out one member of the audience and addressing
him or her directly. Mr Hawker picked out old Mrs Berry, and stared at her
all the time he was speaking. In the end she became so conscious that she
crept out o f the room. He was puzzled, but he soon found a new victim -
55
Gwyn’s reaction was different: he lit his pipe and turned sideways to the
lecturer.
“The reading desk has one of those adjustable pedestals, and it began
to slide down without Mr Hawker’s noticing. His lecture was getting into
its stride, and he was bullying the audience without mercy, hugging the
desk all the time; but he sank lower and lower until he crouched down al
most at floor-level. From this lowly position he spoke on the most elevated
subjects until the bell rang for dinner. He took no notice at all, but went on
speaking louder than ever. After a while Ulla, in the hall outside, got impa
tient, and rang a prolonged peal on the bell. “What’s that noise?” asked Mr
Hawker sharply. When we told him, he laughed scornfully. “Can’t have
dinner yet!” he said, “can’t stop my talk in the middle.” Felicity was mag
nificent. She rose to her feet and moved a vote o f thanks to the lecturer,
saying, what a pity it was that after he had given us so much food for
thought our thoughts should turn to food. We all clapped out hands and
shouted, and Mr Hawker was hustled into the dining-room, with the proofs
still hanging out of all his pockets.
“What did he say in the lecture? Well, really - I can’t tell.
I was far too fascinated by the way he said it.”
9 Enjoy yourself.
1. At a college examination a professor asked: "Does the question
embarrass you?"
-"Not at all, sir", replied the student, "not at all. It is quite clear. It is
the answer that bothers me!"
2. It was reported to the Dean that one o f the students was in the
habit of absorbing more liquor than was good for him. The Dean deter
mined to do his duty and look into the matter. Meeting the young man un
der suspicion in the yard after breakfast one day the Dean marched up to
him and demanded: "Young man, do you drink?"
"Why, Why, Why," stammered the young man, "why, Dean, not so
early in the morning, thank you."
3. One o f the guests turned to a man by his side to criticize the sing
ing of the woman who was trying to entertain them. "What a terrible voice!
Do you know who she is?" "Yes," was the answer, "She is my wife." "Oh, I
beg your pardon. Of course, it isn't her voice, really. Ifs the stuff she has to
sing. I wonder who wrote that awful song?" "I did", was the answer.
4. Professor: Who's the Speaker o f the House?
Student: Mother.
5. Hitchhiker
"Thanks for the lift," said the hitchhiker as he took off his knapsack
and climbed into the front seat of the air-conditioned patrol car beside
Sheriff Monahan. "I've been standing on this road for more than an hour! In
56
this terrible heat! Hope you aren't going to arrest me for hitchhiking."
"Not today," replied the sheriff. "I'm too busy."
The hitchhiker sighed in relief. He took a chocolate bar from his
knapsack, broke off a piece and offered it to the sheriff.
"No, thanks," said the police officer, accelerating the car.
"Are you chasing anyone?" asked the hitchhiker.
"Four men have just robbed the First National Bank. They've escaped
in a big black sedan."
"Really? I saw a black sedan about ten minutes ago. It had four men
in it. They nearly ran me off the road. It was the first car I saw in an hour.
But they took a left turn. They're going west, not north!”
Sheriff Monahan braked the patrol car and turned it around. The
hitchhiker began peeling an orange, putting the peel tidily into a paper bag.
"It's terribly hot today. Must be 45 degrees in the shade," said the
sheriff.
"Must be," agreed the hitchhiker. "Wait -you've passed the turnoff -
where are you going?"
"To the police station," replied the sheriff.
Why did Sheriff Monahan decide to take the hitchhiker to the police
station?
The hitchhiker's sto/y is not true. He said that he had been standing
for more than an hour in forty-five degree heat, but he «broke off a piece of
chocolate». In such heat the chocolate bar would have been soupy! The
young man was one of the robbers, left behind to misdirect the police.
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