Текст книги "Basic Course Reader (Сборник текстов для базового курса по английскому языку) "

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The long hair and tastes in dress of the musicians became popular in different countries. The freshness and excitement of the earliest days of rock 'n' roll and simple but engaging lyrics of John Lennon and Paul McCartney kept the group at the top of popularity charts for several years. They won recognition from the music industry in the form of awards for performances and songs. Soon they became not only popular, but rich as well. With the money they earned they could experiment with new musical forms and arrangements. The result was a variety of songs ranging from ballads to complex rhythm tunes and songs of social comment. Their music inspired hundreds to create new music.

In 1969 at Woodstock, near New York a great rock festival attracted nearly half a million young people. Most of them were hippies, who shocked the world with their beards, long hair, old jeans and their calls for peace and love. They came to listen to such new stars as Jimmy Hendrix and Joe Cocker. They sang about the war in Vietnam and about violence in the world. The music performed at Woodstock had a tremendous influence on the development of the culture of the youth. The young people rose in protest against the mercantile society. The ideals of the hippies are still living in many hearts. In the middle of the 1990s the Woodstock festivals were revived. But today Woodstock is no longer a great party it used to be in 1969. Young people who come to Woodstock today simply want to see the violent youth of their parents.

The mid-1970s witnessed great changes in the music. The gentle mood of the 1960s was gone. The music became violent and aggressive. This was a protest of the new generation, not peaceful pacifist protest of Woodstock, but protest aimed at the negation and destruction of the existing order. Hard rock, heavy metal and punk became popular among the young. Such groups as "AC/DC", "Kiss", "Black Sabbath", and "Sex Pistols" shocked the public by their music and behaviour. Although music of such kind still has its fans, the peak of its popularity has decreased.

Music that developed in the 1970s and 1980s had its own peculiarities. Melodies were simple and often unoriginal, different group would easily borrow the popular melodies written by competing groups. Young people would not listen alone to their favourite bands; they would rather have a get-together or a party or go to a disco club. The new music styles that appeared in the 1980s were aimed at dancing and disco clubs, thus rhythm and beat became more important than the melody.

Multiculturalism found its expression in the music. In the 1980s young people started to listen to different kinds of music and they were not afraid of choosing what they really loved. No single style or set of styles can be attributed to the 1980s and 1990s. The best world to characterize what was going on in the world of music at that time is diversification.

The epoch found its best expression in techno music. A British band "Depeche Mode" was the first to express the realities of a complex and constantly changing society through highly elaborate music. This was the music of technological advance and breakthrough, the message of the rhythm was the dependence of our civilization on the machines that were able to do everything faster and better than humans do.

The 1990s witnessed further changes in the world of music. Pop music became extremely fashionable among young people. Madonna, Michael Jackson, and "Spice Girls", and "Backstreet Boys" give an example of what teenagers preferred to listen. At the same time a powerful opposition to the pop music appeared. Rave, techno, rap, chaos, and acid styles were gaining momentum in the 1990s. Young people who preferred this kind of music would never attend a pop show because of a general disgust and hatred for pop music.

The music of the 20-th century did a lot to change the outlook of the people, brought some positive social changes. It still plays a great role in the life of the people of the 21st century. Everything either happy or tragic that occurs in our life is set to music.

A Day of the Ballet Dancer’s Life

I wake up at nine o'clock most mornings because I usually go to bed quite late. As I get out of bed, all my bones click, reminding me of the familiar ache that follows exercises. Every day I have to go through a certain amount of pain. A ballet dancer's life may seem glamorous but most of it is very hard work. As you develop as a dancer, you stretch your body to the limit, and that means that you have to suffer a little more, too, mentally as well as physically, because you are constantly trying to improve your technique, discovering new things and struggling to master them.

Luckily, I live quite near the Ballet School so I can walk to work. I have to be there at 10.30, including Saturdays, because we perform almost every evening. A lot of my work is simply routine. The morning class lasts for an hour and a quarter. Then we have a quick break for a quarter of an hour before the rehearsal for the performance later in the day. We generally finish about 1.30 and I go home for lunch and a rest.

Ballet dancers have to look after themselves more than actors. I get my shoes ready when I arrive at the theatre and do my own hair and make-up. Then I change into my costume and do a few exercises. It is a ritual, the same every time, but the funny thing is that I always feel nervous before a performance. I'm no worried about worrying. A little stage fright helps to concentrate.

Of course ballet offers a lot of rewards. When things go well, and people come to the dressing-room after work, with bouquets of flowers; I feel happy, particularly like matinees because children come. It's lovely for them to see you in your make-up. You recognize their excitement in their eyes and at moments like that you forget all the routine and only feel the magic you have tried to convey to them.

After an evening performance, I go out with my friends and have a quiet, late dinner. I don't usually get home before midnight. Then it's not easy to get to sleep. I go over the whole performance in my mind, asking myself: "Was it all right?" And the next day, the same thing begins again.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Television

Television is one of the greatest achievements of the 20-th century. It is the most popular part of mass media. Today every family has a TV-set. TV has changed much since the time of its invention and so has its role. There have been numerous debates concerning advantages and disadvantages of television. When TV first appeared its main purpose was to give official information to people. It was supported by the government. Now television plays a big role in every civilized society. Today television gives people a possibility to be well informed and enjoy "civilized pleasures." The programmes are various and people have a chance to select what they want to see. Television provides great opportunities for education. There are programmes devoted to specialized subjects. With the help of TV it is possible to learn foreign languages, to know a lot of wonderful things concerning the world of flora and fauna. TV teaches the ideals of democracy and political argument. Watching television can be compared with reading books. It provides an outlet for creative talents. By the beginning of the 21st century TV had become a coloured world network. Numerous programmes people can receive by satellite or cable. Now this medium of communication allows people to see and speak with each other if they are separated by thousands of kilometres. TV is a unifying force and that our planet in reality is a small world. Previously innovations were promoted on TV. TV shocked, surprised and stimulated. It brought ballet, opera, and theatre to big masses of people. It was even in the vanguard of new drama. Moreover, TV can keep children quiet. If they are noisy their mothers turn on the set. If people do not like TV they do not buy it or switch it off.

At the same time there are a lot of arguments against TV. It is said that only three generations have grown up with television, but they managed to forget how to spend their free time without television. Its role is increasing not because it is an entertainer or informant, but because of the grip it has on many people. It is called a "living room monster" or "one-eyed monster." It is established that the biggest viewers are pensioners and housewives. The latter watch TV while their husbands are at work. In total they spend five hours daily sitting before the "boxes." Children watch commercials, horror films or films of violence. TV prevents children from creating their abilities. They get accustomed to TV to such an extent that they watch it all the time. To force their children away from their favourite evening programmes to their homework has eventually become the main problem of the parents of different countries.

Moreover, TV is damaging for health. It has bad effect on the eyes, particularly of children. The physicians proved that if children do not watch TV their eyesight improves. But if children do not watch TV they find themselves without anything to talk about at school, where comedians and singing stars are major topics during breaks between classes. The same is true about some adults. Sometimes TV programmes become the topics of common interest of the people and without, them they have nothing to talk about.

Nowadays some people watch television programmes from about six in the morning to the early hours of the next day. It means that contemporary people for various reasons depend upon television. They watch everything from news and sports reports to dramas, educational and entertainment programmes. Today some people become TV addicts and feel unhappy if they fail to find another way of passing leisure time. Free time is regulated by television. TV occupies our free time. Instead of going to the theatre or reading books people watch TV. People rush home, gulp food to be in time to watch their favourite programmes. Very often programmes are bad, as TV cannot keep pace with demand. People have stopped reading books and depend on TV pictures. Spoken words become more important that the written ones. TV cuts people from the real world. The virtual world becomes more important. TV is absolutely irrelevant to real living. No surprise that television is often called "chewing gum for men's brains." People become lazy, instead of doing sports they watch TV. Television takes free time of the people. Instead of joining a choir or playing football or reading books people watch various programmes. Dinnertime is often pressed by television if it is not in the kitchen. If people are deprived for various reasons of watching their favourite programmes they feel inconvenience. The best thing is to watch only selective TV programmes and not to be governed by them. Only few people today can live without television. It should be said that television continues to play an important part in the human life despite increasing influence of the Internet, video games and other high-technology sources of information.

Censorship

Let us suppose that you are in the position of a parent. Would you allow your children to read any book they wanted to without first checking its contents? Would you take your children to see any film without first finding out whether it is suitable for them? If your answer to these questions is “yes”, then you are either extremely permissive or just plain irresponsible. If your answer is “no”, then you are exercising your right as a parent to protect your children from what you consider to be undesirable influences. In other words, by acting as a censor yourself, you are admitting that there is strong case for censorship.

Now, of course, you will say that it is one thing to exercise censorship where children are concerned and quite another to do the same for adults. Children need protection and it is the parents’ responsibility to provide it. But what about adults? Aren’t they old enough to decide what is good for them? The answer is that many adults are, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that all adults are like yourself. Censorship is for the good of society as a whole. Highly civilized people might find it possible to live amicable together without laws of any kind: they would just rely on good sense to solve their problems. But imagine what chaos there would be if we lived in a society without laws! Like the law, censorship contributes to the common good.

Some people think that it is disgraceful that a censor should interfere with works of art. Who is this person, they say, to ban this great book or cut that great film? No one can set himself up as a superior being. But we must remember two things. Firstly, where the genuine works of art are concerned, modern censors are extremely liberal in their views – often far more liberal than a large section of the public. Artistic merit is something that censors clearly recognize. And secondly, we must bear in mind that the great proportion of books, plays and films which come before the censor are very far from being “works of art”.

When discussing censorship, therefore, we should not confine our attention to great masterpieces, but should consider the vast numbers of publications and films which make up the bulk of entertaining industry. When censorship laws are relaxed, unscrupulous people are given a license to produce virtually anything in the name “art”. One of the great things that censorship does is t prevent certain people from making fat profits by corrupting the minds of others. To argue in favour of absolute freedom is to argue in favour of anarchy.

Football

The full official name of 'soccer' (as it is called in the USA and sometimes in Britain) is 'association football'. This distinguishes it from other kinds such as rugby football (almost always called simply 'rugby'), Gaelic football, Australian football and American football. However, most people in Britain call it simply 'football'. This is indicative of its dominant role. Everywhere in the country except south Wales, it is easily the most popular spectator sport, the most-played sport in the country's state schools and one of the most popular participatory sports for adults. In terms of numbers, football, not cricket, is the national sport, just as it is everywhere else in Europe.

British football has traditionally drawn its main following from the working class. In general, the intelligentsia ignored it. But in the last two decades of the twentieth century, it has started to attract wider interest. The appearance of fanzines is an indication of this. Fanzines are magazines written in an informal but often highly intelligent and witty style, published by the fans of some of the clubs. One or two books of literary merit have been written which focus not only on players, teams and tactics but also on the wider social aspects of the game. Light-hearted football programmes have appeared on television which similarly give attention to 'off-the-field' matters. There has also been much academic interest. At the 1990 World Cup there was a joke among English fans that it was impossible to find a hotel room because they had all been taken by sociologists!

Many team sports in Britain, but especially football, tend to be men-only, 'tribal' affairs. In the USA, the whole family goes to watch the baseball. Similarly, the whole family goes along to cheer the Irish national football team. But in Britain, only a handful of children or women go to football matches. Perhaps this is why active support for local teams has had a tendency to become violent. During the 1970s and 1980s football hooliganism was a major problem in England. In the 1990s, however, it seemed to be on the decline. English fans visiting Europe are now no worse in their behaviour than the fans of many other countries.

Attendances at British club matches have been falling for several decades. Many stadiums are very old, uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous. Accidents at professional football matches have led to the decision to turn all the country's football grounds into 'all-seater' stadiums. Fans can no longer stand, jump, shout and sway on the cheap 'terraces' behind the goals (there have been emotional farewells at many grounds to this traditional 'way of life'). It is assumed that being seated makes fans more well-behaved.

History of Basketball

Basketball is an extremely popular all around the world. The object is to put a ball through a hoop, or basket, and thus score more points than the opposing team. Teams comprise of ten players, with a maximum of five on court at any one time. Substitutions are unlimited during the course of the game. Although basketball can be played outdoors, it was invented to serve as an exciting indoor exercise for the winter months in a northern climate. It quickly became a spectator sport, however, and now attracts large audiences to gymnasiums and arenas, especially in the United States, South America, and Europe.

The sport is played on the amateur level by schools, colleges, other groups, and, since 1936 by national teams in the Olympic Games. It also is played by professional athletes, notably in the United States and Europe.

The foremost American championships contended for are those of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for professionals, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for colleges. Britain has National Associations for each country and the English Basketball Association (EBBA) runs amateur national competitions, the National Basketball League (NBL) is run by Basketball League Ltd for professionals. International competition is organized by the Federation of International Basketball (FIBA).

The Early Days...

It all started with two peach baskets in a YMCA in Massachusetts. In 1891 James A. Naismith (1861-1939), a leader of the Springfield YMCA, was thinking about ways of providing exercise for the young men in his care. As a physical education instructor he taught gymnastics, however he was looking for something new. He had the idea of nailing peach baskets onto the balconies as goals, at either end of the gymnasium and throwing a soccer ball into it from below. So a National and International game was born. In 1892 he published the first booklet containing the basic rules, almost unchanged today (although expanded upon considerably!). These rules were adopted by the YMCA and the Amateur Athletic Union. Word spread quickly amongst YMCA's in the Eastern United States about this new game. It took off so rapidly that the first intercollegiate game was played in 1897, and the first professional league in the following year. The Eastern Intercollegiate League was formed shortly afterwards, in 1902. Women also took up the game before 1900. The growing popularity of basketball resulted in improvements in equipment and skills. The metal hoop was introduced in 1893, and backboards in 1895. The soccer ball was replaced by the first basketball. As playing skills also became more sophisticated, the game attracted more and more spectators. Until the late 1930s, scores were low, sometimes in single digits. After each score, opposing centers (one of the five positions, the others being two guards and two forwards) lined up in the middle of the court and jumped for the ball. Then the team that got the ball would pass or dribble until a player was about 3 m (10 ft) from the basket before trying a shot. The slow pace did not inhibit the growth of the game, however. By the 1920s, basketball was being played all over the United States, and tournaments were being conducted in high school and college gymnasiums. Most states held high school championships for boys.

The Rise of the Modern Game

Several events in the 1930s spurred the growth of the game as a spectator sport and at the same time made basketball more exciting for the players. The first of these came in the 1932-33 season (basketball seasons tend to run from Autumn through to Spring) rules designed to speed up play were adopted. It became mandatory, under penalty of losing possession, to move the ball past midcourt in less than ten seconds. In addition, no player was permitted to remain within the foul lanes for more than three seconds. Then in 1934 a New York sportswriter, Ned Irish, persuaded the promoters at New York's Madison Square Garden, a large arena, to schedule doubleheaders between college teams. These events proved successful, and similar promotions followed in other cities. Before long, colleges began building their own arenas for basketball. Another significant advance occurred in 1936, when a Stanford University team traveled from California to a Madison Square Garden promotion to challenge the eastern powers in the "cradle of basketball." Opponents and fans were stunned by the Stanford style of shooting–one-handed while jumping, which contrasted to the prevalent method of taking two-handed shots while standing still. One Stanford player, Hank Luisetti, was so adept at the "jump shot" that he could outscore an entire opposing team. The new style gained universal acceptance, and basketball scores rose remarkably. In the 1937-38 season the center jump following each field goal was eliminated. At the end of the next season, Madison Square Garden brought in college teams from around the nation for the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), a postseason playoff that was adopted (1939) on a wider scale by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Although the NIT is still held annually, the NCAA tournament serves as the official intercollegiate championship. The University of Kentucky (coached, 1930-72, by Adolph Rupp), St. John's (in New York), the University of North Carolina, Western Kentucky, Kansas University, and Indiana University have been among the leading college basketball teams for years. From 1964 to 1975 the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), coached by John Wooden and led by the centers Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton, dominated the intercollegiate play-offs, winning the title an unprecedented 10 times in 12 years. The 1,250 college teams in the United States now draw about 30 million spectators per season. Although women have played the game since the 1890s, and even though a few states (Iowa, for instance) have shown great participatory and spectator interest in secondary-school women's basketball for some decades, significant growth and serious recognition of women's basketball in the United States and elsewhere did not occur until the 1970s. Almost all U.S. states now hold girls' high school tournaments, and basketball is the fastest-growing women's intercollegiate sport.

Professional Basketball

From 1898 on, many attempts were made to establish professional basketball as a spectator sport-but success did not come until 1946. The best of the early efforts was made by the Harlem Globetrotters, an all-black team that toured first only the United States and then internationally to play local professional or semi-professional teams. The Globetrotters, founded in 1926, were not affiliated with a league. Their style was and is often showy because, at least into the early 1950s, they could dominate all opponents. In 1946 serious professional basketball had acquired a following among American sports fans, who wanted to see the former collegians in action. That year the Basketball Association of America, with teams from the United States and one from Toronto, began competing in large arenas in the major cities. Another professional league, the National Basketball League, was already in existence, with many franchises in medium-sized midwestern cities. The two leagues merged in 1949 as the National Basketball Association (NBA) and pared away the weaker franchises.

Modern Times

With the signing of the country's best collegians through what was called a player draft, the NBA could display both talent and balance. The NBA's greatest spurt of growth occurred in the 1960s and '70s. Although the Boston Celtics, led by Bill Russel, Bob Cousy, and John Havlicek and coached by Red Auerbach, won 11 of 13 NBA titles beginning in 1957, fans also closely followed such stars as Philadelphia's Wilt Chamberlain, Cincinnati's Oscar Robertson, and Los Angeles's Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. The NBA of the 1970s and 1980s exhibited a welcome balance of power: from 1970 until 1988 no team won consecutive NBA titles, though the New York Knicks (with Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, and Bill Bradley) won twice; the Boston Celtics, 5 times (3 with Larry Bird); and the Los Angeles Lakers, 6 times (5 with Magic Johnson).

In the 1970s the NBA expanded from 9 teams to 22. Some of the new franchises were acquired when the American Basketball Association (1968-76) merged with the NBA. Also, a Dallas franchise was added in 1980; Charlotte, Carolina, and Miami, in 1988; and Minnesota and Orlando, in 1989. During the late 1970s and early 1980s several women's professional leagues were begun; all of them failed financially. Women in the USA are currently under the WNBA. The NBA today enjoys a massive worldwide following, and European basketball is fast emerging to challenge the domination of the Americans.

Hobbies

The author of an article in a Polish newspaper has counted 1019 personal interests and ways to spend one's free time. The most popular hobbies are philately, collecting view-cards, coins, stamps badges and books. It's impossible to describe all these 1019 hobbies known in the world. The main thing is that they enrich our knowledge in some particular field, broaden our outlook and help us to relax.

A hobby is a favourite pastime of a person. Hobbies differ like tastes. If you have chosen a hobby to your liking, lucky you are: you have made your life more interesting.

Numerous hobbies can be subdivided into four large classes: doing things, making things, collecting things, and learning things.

The most popular of all hobby groups is doing things. It includes a wide variety of activities, everything from gardening to traveling and from chess to volleyball. Gardening is one of the oldest man's hobbies, especially in some countries (Britain, for example). A relatively new hobby which is becoming more popular is computer games.

Making things includes drawing, painting, making sculpture, designing costumes, and handicrafts. Some hobbyists write music. Two of the most famous hobby painters were President Eisenhower and Sir Winston Churchill.

Almost everyone collects something at some period in his life: stamps, coins, matchboxes, books, records, postcards, toys, watches. Some collections have no real value. Others become so large and so valuable that they are housed in museums and galleries. Many world-famous collections started in a small way with one or two items. People with a good deal of money often collect paintings, rare books and other art objects. Often such private collections are given to museums, libraries and public galleries so that others might take pleasure in seeing them.

No matter what kind of hobby a person has, he always has the opportunity of learning from it. By reading about the things he is interested in, he is adding to what he knows. Learning things can be the most exciting aspect of a hobby.

Job Hunting

Searching for a job isn't easy, and hopefully no-one ever said it would be because, believe me, from personal experience it isn't. You tend to get your hopes up that you can walk into the easiest of jobs and you can get paid a lot for quite frankly doing very little and sitting on your ass all day. "No" I hear you say? I was hoping I could find a job that would fund my clothes and CD addiction. I'd had a bad experience with a job but even the money couldn't keep me there. This time last year I was working in a pub/restaurant. There were so many meals and I had to learn all about them in case someone asked me questions. It doesn't sound stressful I know, sounds rather silly. It was on my first day I met my work enemy too, the touch screen till. Instead of the old fashioned tills, it was a computer thing, too hi-tech for me. But you know what? It wasn't that there was anything wrong with the job; it was just my first proper job, where I get my own little pay and everything. Of course, because it was a new world to me, one where I couldn't tug on my Mum's apron strings any longer, I found the situation rather intimidating. I'm quite a shy person as it is and suddenly it was like a rabbit being thrown into a lions den. Surely I didn't stand a chance. It was an overreaction, though, and soon I settled in. In my experience, when you do find a job, the best thing to do is to keep your head down. No-one is saying you can't talk to your colleagues, because at the end of the day communication is vital to provide a good service to your potential customers. It may be scary, nerve-wracking and you may dread your first day like I did. It happens with a lot of things in life, driving for example. The first time is hard, you think it can't get any easier but it will. This logic can be applied to both starting a job (new place, new people) and job-hunting (you think you won't find anything but you will). So, you've decided you want a job, whether it is part or full time, the "rules", well my guidelines pretty much apply for both. Make sure that you apply for a job, that you know you will enjoy. There’s no point doing a job you don't like or that you do not find fulfilling. Try to find a job that suits you and your interests. It would be silly and a waste of time to get a job in a shoe shop if you aren't keen on feet (thinking of myself there and I shudder at the thought of working with feet) or working in a florists if you are allergic to pollen. Be aware of the working hours. If you are at school, college or university and the job is only part time you can't let it affect your school work or to some extent your social life. Look for a job which has hours that are realistic for you and that you can handle. Don't forget that when looking for a job, at least try and find one in your area or perhaps only a bus ride away. There’s nothing worse than having only a four hour shift when it takes two hours to get there. Try to find out the rate of pay/wages you should be expecting if you start the job. You will usually find this out in an interview. If you are giving up your time, while the experience is valuable, the money you get does still have to be decent. Keep your options open. Don't apply for the first job you find. Have a look around and when you do find a number of jobs that are suitable for you try and find out more. As for interviews, they can make or break a job application. There are a lot of things that you need to remember if you do reach that stage. Interviewers are not trying to trip you up. They are looking to see why you are suitable for the job and why they should hire you instead of the person before you. Feel fairly confident but don't be arrogant about an interview. You must have impressed them for them to have offered you an interview; so far you have done fairly well. In a way an interview is the time when you can sell yourself, but the interviewer will most likely see through some things. Don't exaggerate your achievements or in other words claim to be something you are not. It will only backfire on you in the end. It always goes without saying that you should be punctual and well dressed for your interview. This is the last chance you will get and it will leave a lasting impression on the interviewer. Finally, never give up looking; keep your eyes open for vacancies. Always have a copy of your Curriculum Vitae with you when you go out shopping, you never know. Even if there isn't a vacancy notice in the window of a shop you could always go and ask inside. Get your CV's spread around, and then when an opportunity does arise the company has you on their books so to speak.