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

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Keeping Fit

The fitness boom of the past decades led to a big rise in the numbers of people participating in sports and activities. Those who pursue the latest fitness fashion are convinced that staying in good physical form requires much more than regular exercise and balanced meals. For anyone who really wants to be healthy, fitness has become an integral part of their lives. A lot of health and fitness clubs, and public leisure centres that were created in many countries indicate the popularity of sports during the past thirty years. These centres with their swimming pools, sunshine beach, water slides, and tropical plants and gyms are very popular among the people. Families can spend their holidays at huge indoor water parks. In such places everybody will have much fun.

There are many opportunities for keeping fit. First of all it is necessary to do exercises. People of different ages can design exercises that will fit them. Running, jumping, swimming, bending and stretching are among the most popular exercises. Many people prefer jogging, which is the cheapest and the most accessible sport. Walking is a very popular activity too. For example, popular running competitions are now held everywhere. Lots of people want to see if they can run faster than everyone else. The big city marathons have become sporting events. Television and newspapers report about them in detail. In order to keep fit some people do aerobics or yoga; others prefer some kind of weight training in a gym. People can easily learn more about fitness through popular books and videos that are sold almost everywhere. A healthy body becomes a fashion, an ideal of the life of today. Even moderate physical activity can protect against heart disease and strokes as well as improve general health and the quality of life. Everyone can benefit from being a little more active. Making small changes like using the stairs instead of the lift or walking or cycling instead of taking the bus can help people live a more active, healthier and enjoyable life. Many sports activities have become part of daily life. Football has always been the most popular sport among boys. Playing football is healthy; football also brings people close because in order to win people have to work as a team.

Unfortunately, many people do not take enough exercise to keep themselves healthy. According to the statistics nowadays 60 percent of men and 91 percent of women are below activity levels necessary for a fit and healthy life. Many men and women are overweight.

Looking For a Flat

– Well, this is the flat. It’s vacant at the moment. I’m afraid the previous owners didn’t look after it very well, so it’s not in perfect condition.

– Mmm…

– As you can see it’s in need of some decoration and repair. There are four rooms altogether: kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom. This is the living room. It hasn’t been decorated recently.

– Yes, it certainly needs doing up… All the wallpaper is coming off the walls, and it’s very cold and damp. How is the flat heated?

– Well, there’s an open fireplace, but it could be taken out and central heating could be installed.

– Mmm… It’s not very large. I want to put up some shelves for books and things.

– What is that up there? Is that a hole in the ceiling?

– Oh, yes. I’m afraid it is. I didn’t notice that the last time I was there.

– Well, that will definitely need seeing to before it does any damage to the property.

– Yes, of course. But I do think the flat has potential. It could look very good if it’s done up nicely.

– Well, I’m certainly interested. Obviously, I’ll need to talk it over with my husband. You say it’s vacant. Does that mean we could move in immediately?

– Yes, the flat is empty so you could move in when you’re ready.

– Well, I’ll certainly think it over and if we decide to make an offer I’ll call you tomorrow. Thank you for showing me round the flat.

– No trouble, Mrs. Jones. We hope to hear from you tomorrow then. Goodbye.

– Goodbye.

My Household Duties

We all live in the society and that's why each of us should have not only rights and wishes but also responsibilities. That's how the world is created. And this dependence is being retraced not only on a large scale but everywhere: at school, at work, at home and so on. Each of us has his own responsibilities in all spheres of everyday life. Everybody seems to like to come to a clean flat with already cooked tasty food and friendly people. But that's not an easy thing to be achieved, because parents are usually busy with their work and children – with their studies and only a little time is left for housework.

The same situation exists in our family. That's why I think that it's not a bad idea to have a subdivision of duties at home. I am always very short of time because of my studies and I cannot help my Mummy much to keep the house. My brother is only 8 and he can't help much, too. And my Dad is always busy with his work. So, as you see, my Mum is doing almost all housework. But still we all are trying to help as much as possible.

I have some household duties which every person has to do every day. So I always make my bed, clear away the dishes and wash them up and take out the rubbish, no mater how busy I am. That doesn't take much time at all. I have no pet and that's why I'm more free then some of my friends. Pets are necessary and important but they take too much time to look after.

But when I’m more or less free my usual round of duties is larger. Once a week I help my Mummy to dust the furniture, vacuum the carpets, sweep and wash the floor, water the flowers and put everything in its places. Actually, it is the only time when I'm happy about living in a two-room flat – it doesn't take me the whole Saturday evening to do everything. So, that's my usual weekly round of duties and it's not very difficult to keep the house if you do it regularly.

But sometimes I have some other things to do. When my Mum is away from home I do the cooking and washing up, buy food and plan my meals. Actually, I can't say that I am really heaped with housework. But sometimes I am too lazy to do even my part of work and start arguing about it. Sure, then I feel guilty and try to correct the situation by doing some extra one.

Let's Have a Picnic

Picnics are popular with women and children and some men who know how to make a fire. Children are fond of picnics chiefly because, as a rule, there are no tables at picnics and consequently no table manners. Since picnic lunches are always just about the same and therefore require little imagination, women do not have to trouble about thinking up a meal. Much depends, of course, upon the day. Typical picnic weather is of three kinds: either, it is dark and threatening with occasional showers in the morning, clearing in the afternoon, or it is hot and clear in the morning, with thunder showers in the afternoon; or there is a steady drizzle all day long. But as most of the lunch is prepared ahead of time, nothing much can be done about it. After all, there is not much choice between eating a picnic lunch that has waited a day or two and getting a soaking. Picnic grounds are usually situated on a body of water, or at some high altitude. One of these features is essential, for no picnic can be a success unless the children have something to fall into, or fall off. Also, a body of water naturally suggests taking fishing tackles along. No fish was ever known to have been caught on a picnic, but fishing serves as an excellent excuse for getting out of the way while the heavy work is being done. Quite the most important feature of the picnic is the lunch. Fried chicken is always popular ... Then there should be hard-boiled eggs. Almost everything else that comes in a can or a paper bag is good for a picnic lunch. These containers are very important as, after the contents have been eaten, they are thrown about and identify the picnic ground. Beer, too, should be brought along to remind you that you left the bottle-opener at home. However, there is always at least one person present who knows how to open a bottle on a rock. As soon as the food and other equipment have been unpacked it is in order to start a fire. Collecting wood provides occupation for people who do not know how to amuse themselves. After the lunch has been eaten a picnic is mostly over. But there is always the possibility of someone nearly getting drowned or running into a hornets' nest or twisting an ankle. However, you must remain until well into afternoon, or you may not appear to have had a good time. To make matters worse, someone will suggest singing.

In Review: Lobster Alice

The University of Northern Iowa Theatre Department ended its first main stage production of the season this weekend with playwright Kira Obolensky’s Lobster Alice. The show followed the life of Mr. John Finch, an employee of the Walt Disney Animation Studios in his quest to bring the film Alice in Wonderland to life. Mr. Finch finds inspiration for his lead character in his secretary Alice.

Mr. Finch’s whole world is thrown upside down when Salvador Dali, the famous surrealist painter of the droopy clocks, invades his workspace. Dali’s personality and view of life upsets the valance that John Finch knows in his everyday life. But, in the end, with a little help from Salvador Dali, Mr. Finch comes out of his comfort zone and professes his love to his secretary Alice.

Obolensky brings a comic angle to the very real collaboration between Salvador Dali and Walt Disney in the creation of the film Destino back in 1946. The script is art all by itself, but with the imagination from UNI Theatre designers, the production of Lobster Alice truly came to life.

Director Cynthia Goatley chose this play because of the title. At a very young age Goatley instantly became a fan of Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass. She was familiar with Alice and ordered the play because it sounded unusual. When Goatley found out that Salvador Dali was in the script, she knew the production process would be an “interesting” one.

“Kira Obolensky’s surreal romance has entertained, challenged, exhausted, and invigorated us these past six weeks or so as we have delved into our own surreal take on the world as well as Dali’s and the other characters.”

Four different actors took on the role of Salvador Dali. Brianne Waychoff was one of the four Dalis. Waychoff found the opportunity to play this role to be very “interesting.”

“I have always loved Dali’s art,” Waychoff said. “Just having the opportunity to portray someone that I respect so much has been really uplifting. I thought spreading the role out in four actors added that element of surrealism.”

“We have chosen to express the many sides of Dali through the actual physical choice of using four of them,” Goatley said.

Not only did the show have “interesting” character choices, the design elements for the production also emphasized the many sides of Dali. Scenic Designer Brad Carlson was able to morph the stage as the play progressed. The office floors began to slant, the clock on the wall broke and drooped, and white bunny rabbits popped out of desks.

“I really enjoyed the way the set changed along with the progression of the play,” said Jeff Johnson, a Senior Theatre major. “All of the elements really added to the experience of the play.”

The Theatre UNI production of Lobster Alice encompassed the talented deign efforts of many and the “interesting” historical story of the Walt Disney/Salvador Dali collaboration of the film Destino. If you didn’t see the show, you should have. The UNI Theatre department has a reputation of outstanding performances and design.

Sports

Sports in Britain

The British are a sports-loving nation. Cricket, soccer, rugby, tennis, squash, table tennis, badminton, canoeing and snooker were all invented in Britain. The first rules for such sports as boxing, golf, hockey, yachting and horse-racing also originated from Britain. The most popular sports that people take part in, rather than watching, are angling, snooker and darts.

Cricket is very much the English game. A match can take five days – and still end in a draw. A form of cricket was being played 250 years ago.

Football began as a contest between neighbouring villages – with no limit to the number on each side, no fixed pitch and almost no rules. The Football Association drew up the rules of the modern game in 1863 and in 1888 12 clubs joined together to form the first Football League. England won the World Cup in 1966. Rugby and football became two separate sports when the rules bid down by the Football Association said that only the goalkeeper could handle the bail. Two kinds of rugby are played in Britain. Rugby Union is played by amateurs in teams of 15 in the south of England and in Wales (where it is the national sport). Rugby League is played by professionals in teams of 13 in the north of England.

Golf was probably invented in Holland, but has been played in Scotland for at least 400 years. At first, it was played with balls made of wood, then of leather stuffed with feathers.

The first rules for tennis were drawn up by the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club when it held its first tournament in the London suburb of Wimbledon in 1877. Wimbledon is still the world's most famous tennis event. There are a lot of sports and games which are popular both among youngsters and grown-ups. 25 million of grownup people take part in sports. Sport is on the programme of all state and private schools and universities. Nearly all schools have sports grounds and swimming pools. Indeed, sport is a part of everyday life in Britain.

Sports in America

Americans pay much attention to physical fitness. Many sports and sporting activities are popular in the USA. People participate in swimming, skating, squash and badminton, tennis, marathons, track-and-field, bowling, archery, skiing, skating etc. But the five major American sports are hockey, volleyball, baseball, football and basketball. Basketball and volleyball have been invented in America.

There is a large choice of sports in America. This can be explained by the size and variety of the country. Another reason of the popularity of sports is the people's love of competition of any kind. One more reason is that Americans use sports activities for teaching social values, such as teamwork and sportsmanship. AH this explains why Americans have traditionally done well in many kinds of sports.

Every high school offers its students many sports, such as wrestling, rowing, tennis and golf. There are no separate «universities» for sports in the USA. Students of any higher educational establishment are trained in different kinds of sports. Many colleges and universities are famous for their sports clubs. There are sports facilities at every school. Some unusual kinds of sports originated in America. They are windsurfing, skate-boarding and triathlon. Triathlon includes swimming, bicycle racing and long-distance-running. Now these sports are becoming more and more popular in Europe.

Indeed, sport is a part of life of an average American.

The Olympic Games

The Olympics have a very long history. They began in 776 BBC, and took place for nearly 1 200 years at Olympia, Greece. The citizens of all the Greek states were invited to take part in the games. The prizes were wreaths made of branches of olive trees. Ancient Olympic Games were a great athletic festival and included many different lands of sports: running, boxing, discus throwing, wrestling, the pentathlon (five different sports) and others. In 394 A.D. the games were stopped by the Roman Emperor Theodosius.

Only fifteen years later, in 1894, a Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, managed to persuade people from fifteen countries – to start the Olympic Games again. The International Olympic Committee was set up in 1894, and the first of the modern series of the Games took place in Athens two years later, in 1896. There were competitions in many kinds of sports: running, jumping, and boxing. All the nations of the world were invited to send their athletic teams. From then the Olympic Games have been international and the number of events on the programme have increased.

In these games only amateurs or non-professional athletes can take part. Each country sends teams for as many different events as possible. The winners of each event are given a certain number of points. The International Olympic Committee decides where each Olympics will take place. They ask a city (not a country) to be the host.

The Olympic Games are attended by thousands and thousands of people every time they are held. They provide an opportunity for lovers of sports of all nations to meet together.

Television

Television hasn’t been with us that long, but we are already beginning to forget what the world was like without it. Before we admitted the one-eyed monster into our homes, we never found it difficult to occupy our spare time. We used to enjoy civilized pleasures. For instance, we used to have hobbies, we used to entertain our friends and be entertained by them, and we used to go outside for our amusements to theatres, cinemas, restaurants and sporting events. We even used to read books and listen to music. All that belongs to the past. Now all our free time is regulated by the “goggle box”. We rush home or gulp down our meals to be in time for this or that programme. We have even given up sitting at table and having a leisurely evening meal, exchanging the news of the day. The monster demands and obtains absolute silence and attention. If any member of the family dares to open his mouth, he’s quickly silenced.

Whole generations are growing up addicted to the telly. Food is left uneaten, homework undone and sleep is lost. The telly is a universal pacifier. It is now standard practice for mother to keep the children quiet by putting them in the living room and turning on the set. It doesn’t matter that the children will watch rubbishy commercials or scenes of sadism and violence – so long as they are quiet.

There is a limit to the amount of creative talent available in the world. Every day television consumes vast quantities of creative work. That is why most of the programmes are so bad: it is impossible to keep pace with the demand and maintain the high standard as well. We become utterly dependant on the two most primitive media of communication: pictures and the spoken word.

Television encourages passive enjoyment. We become content with second-hand experiences. It is so easy to sit in our armchairs watching others working. Little by little, television cuts us off the real world. We get so lazy, we choose to spend a fine day in semi-darkness, glued to our sets, rather than go out into the world itself. Television may be a splendid medium of communication, but it prevents us from communicating with each other. We only become aware how totally irrelevant television is to real living when we spend a holiday by the sea or in the mountains, far away from civilization. In quiet, natural surroundings, we quickly discover how little we miss the hypnotic tyranny of King Telly.

The Mobile Homes

Living in a mobile home is becoming more and more popular. These mobile homes aren't just trailers, which are perhaps fine for spending a week-end in, or for a short vacation, but rather small for a longer time. These are, in fact, real homes. Up to 10 meters long, they have to be towed by a truck. In spite of being smaller than a house, they can have up to five rooms. They are beautifully designed, air-conditioned and are fitted with all kinds of equipment —a refrigerator, toilet, bath and television, sometimes even a dishwasher and a washing-machine. Connecting water and electricity, plugging in a telephone and putting up a television antenna – all these don't take long. Then the mobile home has all the advantages of a permanent home – warm, hygienic, constant hot water – complete and comfortable.

But it has several extra advantages. The most important one is this: if you don't like your neighbours, you simply unplug everything, and tow your home to another site. This doesn't mean, however, that the people who live in these homes are permanently "on the move". Most of them stay in the same place for years. But they know that if they wanted to, they could move away the next day.

Keeping a dog is difficult for people who live in a flat. Here, you just open the door and let him out. And the children enjoy being able to play right outside the door. Living in the country is much healthier for them, too. If a man wants to change his job, he doesn't need to worry about finding a new house or flat. He simply tows his mobile home to the place where his new job is. New models come out every few years. Just like cars. If you have the money, you sell your mobile home and buy the latest model. You'll have no difficulty in selling your old one – there's a big market for second-hand homes.

Most people who live in mobile homes would prefer a permanent house if they had enough money. However, mobile homes are much cheaper to buy than houses. And yet, the low cost is deceptive as builders often use cheap materials and this means that doors, windows, paintwork and equipment soon have to be repaired. The prices of permanent houses rise over the years, but if you sell a mobile home again after five years you will not get more than half the price back. The owners often have to pay high ground rents for their sites and there may well be extra charges for connecting water, electricity and so on.

The Newspaper

The newspaper is perhaps the only truly popular mass media. Like other mass media such as networked computers and televisions, newspapers provide all the news and information one might need. Unlike the other mass media, however, newspapers are inexpensive, conveniently available, and easy to carry. For most of us, reading the newspaper has become an indispensable part of our daily routine. We can be found with our faces buried in these voluminous, word-filled pages wherever we are throughout our day, waiting for the bus, working at the office and even going to the bathroom.

The newspaper is a powerful tool, capable of alternately enlightening us and molding our opinions. The newspaper provides us with detailed information about nearly every event that has taken place around the world. It satisfies our curiosity and often helps clear the fog that hangs over many complex and sensitive issues. If one reads three different local newspapers on the same day, one can see clearly their different political agendas. All devote the front page to either praising the candidates they support and the stories they are in favor of, or to bombarding their opponents with tons of harsh words. Moreover, they do this with little regard to the effects of their biased "reporting." The fact is that a lot of controversial messages we see in newspaper headlines are eventually proved untrue.

Furthermore, people convinced by the newspaper reports blindly follow their lead, holding demonstrations and protesting against government bureaus and important private financial organizations, often leading to the collapse of the private firms and putting the whole country in great danger. Today, the function of our daily newspapers is a largely positive one, and we need them as a source of information on current events. We must be watchful, however, to ensure that they are not being used to manipulate us.

The Role of TV in Our Life

TV is one of the best inventions the man has ever made. We are beginning to forget what the world was without TV. Everybody knows what a great force TV is in the world today. Thanks to TV we get a great amount of information. It gives wonderful possibilities for education. It enriches our intellect. We also become better informed by watching documentaries, science programmes, and discussions and by learning the most important issues of the day.

TV gives an opportunity to see the best actors, sport matches, to meet famous people. TV brings the world to our room. We see people in our country and in other lands and learn about their customs, occupations, traditions, problems. We become cultured people by learning more of the arts. Television helps us to relax after a hard day's work, so we can then cope better with the next day's work. Besides, there is a considerable amount of TV programmes: News, different talk-shows, TV games, concerts and variety shows, sport programmes, feature films, serials and so on and so forth. They are of great entertainment value and provide useful topics for conversation. A lot of these programmes are very popular. For example, News deals with political and social problems of modern society. Their aim is to give analysis of the problems and show different view points. They are concerned with the country's national events, the most topical political problems of the day. Musical Review presents songs, pop groups, folk songs. It is very popular with TV viewers.

Thus, we can say that TV is a great force which attracts millions of people to the screens.

But tastes differ. Some people are against TV. They say that TV is doing a lot of harm. It occupies a lot of free time. People used to have hobbies, to meet with friends, to go to the cinema or theatre, to read books, to listen to music. Nowadays many people sit watching TV hour by hour. They don't read books, they don't do sports, and they begin to forget the art of conversation. Watching TV for a long time may lead to poor health and ruin eye-sight.

But nobody makes you watch TV for hours. You can simply switch off your TV-set. But nobody can deny the fact, that TV is a great force in the world today.

As far as books and computers are concerned, I can say in my firm confidence that computers will never replace books. First because they fulfill different functions. It's true that both books and computers contain information. But one computer is worth the whole library. So perhaps, computers will replace reference books because it's quicker and easier to find the necessary information in the computer than in reference books.

But I'm sure computers can't be compared to fiction. Historical novels, adventure books, detective stories, science fiction, romance, poems, which we read for pleasure or if they are recommended by teachers create a special atmosphere. They take us into the imaginary world of high human emotions, exciting relations. A computer can help you in reading these books without turning the pages but working on the computer demands certain effort. You are to sit straight, not to stoop; you keep your finger on the keyboard. Besides computers have a harmful impact on the eyesight.

Video Gamers May Have Quicker Eyes

NEW YORK – Video game players may spend a lot of time on the couch, but when they're ready to go out they can find their keys quicker than the rest of us, a study suggests.

Researchers found that gamers who devote much of their free time to Grand Theft Auto and Super Mario may be able to scan their environment and spot the target of their search more quickly than non-gamers can. In experiments with college students who were either hard-core video game players or novices, the researchers found that players were quicker to detect target objects on a busy computer screen than their peers were.

The findings, published in the journal Acta Psychologica, suggest that the vigilant watchfulness video games require makes for quicker visual processing. Gamers' brains don't appear to have any specialized search strategy, they're just faster, explained lead study author Dr. Alan Castel, a post-doctorate fellow in psychology at Washington University in St. Louis.

Specifically, both groups of students were similar when it came to the search principle of "inhibition of return." According to Castel, this means that when people look for their keys, they look in one place, and if the keys aren't there, they will look in a number of other spots before giving the original location a second go-around. In the experiments, he told Reuters Health, video gamers used the same search strategy as non-gamers did. "They just executed it faster," he said.

What this means for real life is uncertain. The advantage video game players held over their peers was on the order of 100 milliseconds, Castel noted. It's possible, though, that a gamer's speedier visual processing could make the difference between, for example, crashing a car and averting an accident, according to Castel.

That doesn't mean, however, that people should take up video games to improve their driving records. That 100-millisecond advantage could take a lot of playing time, Castel said; gamers in his study played 6 days a week, on average, for about 2 hours each day.

Video games have been much criticized for their violent content and for contributing to couch-potato lifestyles. This study, Castel noted, doesn't judge video games as "good" or "bad." It just suggests they feed a very particular expertise. The main research interest, according to Castel, is in whether video games, through effects on visual processing, attention and movement, can be useful in rehabilitating the brain – after a stroke, for instance, or in cases of age-related memory loss.

Watching Sports vs. Participating in Sports

Nowadays sport and recreation have become an important feature in the people's life. But tastes differ and different people have different attitudes to sport and recreation. Some people prefer to watch different sports events; others choose to participate in them actively. Watching other people playing is a popular leisure activity. Large crowds attend numerous national and international occasions; millions watch them on television.

Among the most popular sports are football, hockey, basketball, tennis, and motor racing. World Football, Hockey and Basketball Championships attract people from all over the world who cover great distances in order to support their favourite team. Wimbledon Championship is the most important tournament of lawn tennis, while Grand Prix is the major motor racing competition. But of cause the most important sports event is the Olympic Games that take place every four years.