11th grade, homework for Wednesday

№ 16

  I.  1. Read the extract and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.

MR WEMMICK’S “CASTLE”

Wemmick’s house was a little wooden cottage in the middle of a large garden. The top of the house had been built and painted like a battery loaded with guns. I said I really liked it. I think Wemmick’s house was the tiniest I had ever seen. It had very few windows and the door was almost too small to get in.

‘Look,’ said Wemmick, ‘after I have crossed this bridge, I raise it so that nobody can enter the Castle.’

The ‘bridge’ was a plank¹ and it crossed a gap about four feet² wide and two feet deep. But I enjoyed seeing the smile on Wemmick’s face and the pride with which he raised his bridge. The gun on the roof of the house, he told me, was fired every night at nine o’clock. I later heard it. Immediately, it made an impressive sound.

‘At the back,’ he said, ‘there are chickens, ducks, geese, and rabbits. I’ve also got my own little vegetable garden and I grow cucumbers. Wait until supper and you’ll see for yourself what kind of salad I can make. If the Castle is ever attacked, I will be able to survive for quite a while,’ he said with a smile, but at the same time seriously.

Then Wemmick showed me his collection of curiosities. They were mostly to do with being on the wrong side of the law: a pen with which a famous forgery³ had been committed, some locks of hair, several manuscript confessions written from prison.

‘I am my own engineer, my own carpenter, my own plumber and my own gardener. I am my own Jack of all Trades⁴,’ said Wemmick, receiving my compliments. Wemmick told me that it had taken many years to bring his property to this state of perfection.

 ‘Is it your own, Mr. Wemmick?’

‘Oh yes, I have got a hold of it a bit at a time. I have absolute ownership now. You know, the office is one thing, and private life is another. When I go to the office, I leave the Castle behind me, and when I come to the Castle, I leave the office behind me. If you don’t mind, I’d like you to do the same. I don’t want to talk about my home in a professional manner’.

¹ plank [plæŋk] брус, доска

² feet [fiːt] — мн. ч. от foot — мера длины, равная 30,48 см

³ а forgery [ˈfɒdʒərɪ] подделка документа

⁴ Jack of all Trades мастер на все руки

2.  ‘An Englishman’s home is his castle’. Read aloud the extract which proves this idea.

3.  What do we understand about Wemmick’s home life?

4.  Why does Wemmick call himself Jack of all Trades?

II. Listen to a part of the interview with a thirteen-year old writer, Sally Myers, and answer the questions below.

1. What made Sally write the book?

2. What did Sally’s Dad think about the book?

3. How did Sally’s life change after publishing the book?

          III.     Let’s talk about tourism.

11th grade, homework for Tuesday

Imagine that you are two tourists in Belarus and one of you have an unlimited credit card and the other has only 50$, how are you going to travel and what would you like to visit in Belarus. Make a good dialogue.

№ 15

  I.  1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.

MAKE YOUR HOME GREENER

Residential buildings are responsible for consuming 27% of the total amount of energy consumed within Europe and are the biggest source of global warming in the world. This is a fact that has, until recently, been overlooked by lawmakers trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, who have concentrated their efforts on industry and transport. The EU has now passed a new law which intends to cut considerably carbon dioxide emissions¹ from buildings. This means that each of us can now save the planet from the comfort of our own homes.

The first things we can do are simple and easy. We can block up draughts², switch off unnecessary lights and make sure cold and hot water taps are not left running. The next step requires more planning and some expense, but as well as saving energy, we will also save on bills. Many homes have window and roof insulation³ but it is rarely enough. Full insulation can have a dramatic effect on energy consumption. We should use energy efficient light bulbs. These are usually expensive to buy but consume less than half the energy of standard bulbs. These bulbs last much longer than conventional light bulbs reducing the consumption of resources. Also, thermal solar panels are very efficient. They are capable of providing all the hot water you need.

We can install a ‘grey’ water recycling system. At present water used to flush the toilets is of the same drinkable quality that comes out of the taps⁴. This is an unnecessary waste of energy used in water purification. A grey water recycling system cleans water that has been used for washing and sends it through the toilet system reducing the use of clean drinking water.

New buildings have more energy saving features in their design. They can have a wooden structure, extensive insulation, electronic environmental controls, triple glazing⁵, a non­polluting heating system and a turf⁶ roof. However, it is how we deal with our present homes that will determine housing’s contribution to global warming. It’s down to each of us, so get insulating!

¹ carbon dioxide emissions [ˈkaːbən daɪˈɒkˈsaɪd  ɪˈmɪʃnz] выбросы углекислого газа

² а draught [draːft] сквозняк

³ insulation [ˌɪnsjʊˈleɪʃn] изоляция, утепление

⁴ a tap [tæp] кран

⁵ glazing [ˈɡleɪzɪŋ] вставка стекoл

⁶ turf [tзːf] торф

2.  What energy saving features in the design of the building are used nowadays? Read aloud the extract which says about it.

3.  What can we do to cut carbon dioxide emissions from buildings?

4.  What is considered to be an unnecessary waste of energy used in water purification?

II. Listen to the tour guide and answer the questions below.

1.  What sort of tour is it?

2.  What will the tourists see on the tour?

3.  Why does the tourist ask to return the money?

III. Let’s talk about national character and stereotypes.

5 QUESTIONS

CARD 16 -Tourism

What are the reasons for travelling?

 How do you prefer to travel?

What kind of trip would you offer a foreigner to discover Belarus?

What questions would you ask a tour guide on a tour of London?

What do you think are the best holiday destination? Give me some advice.

11th grade, homework for Monday

WHO are you on holidays? What do your holiday habits say about you?

Pampered princess

You're at your happiest when you're relaxing in the spa, indulging in beauty treatments, or simply curled up in a fluffy bathrobe sipping a fruit tea. You've worked hard all year, so it's time to put those freshly pedicured feet up and let everyone else take care of you. After all, you deserve it.

Action addict

You're not the average holidaymaker, and following the typical tourist trail is never enough for you. You can't sit still for a minute – even on holiday. Whether it's extreme sports or going right off the beaten track, you see every trip as an adventure.

Hippie at heart

You're a free spirit and love discovering far-flung places. Whether travelling alone or with an equally laid-back companion, it's all about going where the mood takes you. You've got your guidebook and your roll-up mattress, and the rest can take care of itself.

Culture vulture

You don't just want to visit a country — you want to immerse yourself in it. You see all the sights, learn the language and find out about the history of a place. If you find the time to sit down, it's because you're sampling the local cuisine — no English menu for you, thanks very much!

Lazy cruiser

You like to take things at a slower paceon holiday — doing as much or as littleas you please. You love being out on theocean waves, and you enjoy exploringnew places, but you're equally happysitting on deck taking in a beautifulsunset.

Beach bum

You're in your swimwear almost as soon as the plane touches down — and once you're on that sunlounger, you won't be moving far. Reaching for your pinacolada is about as energetic as you get, and why not? That's what holidays are for, aren't they?

Happy camper

You like to get away from it all, and you'll happily swap your creature comforts for a sleeping bag if it means waking up to bird song every morning. Whatever you fill your days with, you'll do it at your leisure. And if it happens to pour with rain, it's all part of the fun.

City slicker

You love the buzz of the city and you'drather hit the shops than the beach anyday. You're happy to take in the famoussights and tick all the touristy boxes, butyou've got to bring back a few souvenirs, right? It's the best way to explore a 

new city ...

Form 11, homework for Monday

№ 14

I.         Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.

Video Blogger

In April 2007, a 16­year­old English boy named Charlie McDonnell was studying for his exams. But he was bored, so he turned on his computer and started surfing the web. He soon found a website called YouTube and within minutes he was watching a video of another teenager sitting in his bedroom and talking to his computer about how bored he was. ‘I could do better than that!’ thought Charlie. So, using a cheap computer and a webcam, he made his first video blog and posted it on YouTube under the name Charlieissocoollike.

A few days after the first video Charlie found that he had 150 subscribers. Encouraged by this, he went on to make more videos. A month later Charlie’s audience grew and he started to get hundreds of video messages from his fans. “It was really strange,” says Charlie. “I’d been talking to my computer for a month and suddenly my computer started talking back to me!”

His next big success came a few months later when Oprah Winfrey, the famous American TV host, showed one of Charlie’s comedy videos called How to be English on her programme, which made him popular in the USA too.

Charlie also realised he could use his fame to help people less fortunate than himself. To celebrate his 18th birthday, he raised £5,000 for cancer research. He raised four times as much when he co­presented a live show on the Internet. He stayed awake for 24 hours performing challenges from viewers. All the money went to the children’s charity UNICEF¹.

But what is the secret of his popularity? “I just make videos that I would want to watch,” he says, “and I’m not trying to sell anything. I’m just trying to talk with people and that’s it for me.” His honesty and modesty are perhaps the main reasons why Charlie is so well liked. And of course, he is a talented song writer, camera man, actor and singer.

And if you were wondering how Charlie did in his exams back in 2007...well, he passed with nine A grades and one B! He says that he wants to go on to study at university in the future but decided to try and make a career on YouTube before that.

¹UNICEF [ˈjuːnɪsef] Детский фонд ООН

2.  Charlie says how the idea of making a video crossed his mind. Find this extract and read it aloud.

3.  How did he become popular?

4.  Why do people like Charlie?

II.  Listen to Huan, a Chinese man, speaking about moving out and answer the questions below.

    1. Why do young people prefer to live with their parents in Hong Kong?

    2. How did Huan’s parents react to his decision?

    3. What are the advantages of living on your own? 

III. Let’s talk about national character and stereotypes.

+READ THE TEXT (OUR NEXT EXAMINATION TOPIC IS TOURISM) 

don't try to translate everything, just get the main idea of the text and be ready to tell what this text is about

As another holiday season approaches, it’s time to defend tourists. They need it. Scarcely anyone has a good word for them. They overrun places, ruining them, and among the cultured classes, no one admits to being a tourist. They are all travellers. As if we weren’t all tourists most of the time. So, well, the case for the defence:

Exploitation 

Tourists are renowned for spoiling places. However, travellers are the people that got there first. If they didn’t wander off to unexplored spots, writing and talking about them on their return, the rest of us would be in ignorance. Later, at some stage – generally around the opening of the first Holiday Inn franchise – volume turns travellers into tourists. Then travellers get very upset – hear them complaining about the crowds at Machu Picchu. But why would, or should, travellers deny such obviously enriching experiences to others? There is no evidence – merely the arrogance of travellers – to suggest that the quality of appreciation is any the less because tourists turn up in large groups.

Economics 

No surprise that the locals worldwide have embraced tourism – going to work in the new hotel, opening guest rooms of their own, and running pleasure trips in their fishing boats. Obviously, they lost something in the process, but they were going to lose it anyway. They gained financial security – their families doubtless have health insurance and flat-screen TVs, just like you and me. It is easy to romanticize shepherds and fishermen when you’re only passing through. Then you go home, and they’re still selling single goats and bringing fresh water from five miles away. By wishing to leave the world untouched, travellers do nothing for economic development. By contrast, tourists – with all their varying needs – bring cash in buckets. 

Fun A short time ago, I saw a documentary following a group travelling around Mongolia. They were eating yak. This looked to me like the worst holiday ever. They maintained, though, that they were having a wonderful time. I was thrilled for them – until one started going on about how this was a real experience, far better than the second-hand superficiality of the tourist holiday. Now, as far as I’m aware, there’s no moral or qualitative hierarchy of holiday pleasures. Flying to Alicante is in no way inferior to flying to Ulan Bator. It’s just a different departure gate. If people wish to go riding in Mongolia, that’s fine, and a matter of personal taste. Just don’t let them look down on my holiday activities, for example, playing midnight crazy golf in Benidorm. We all enjoyed ourselves; none of us was a better person for it, just happier – and that’s all there is to say. 

Conviviality 

Tourists like one another. Travellers apparently don’t like anybody, unless they are natives. The presence of other visitors at the temple, mountaintop, or jungle clearing compromises the authenticity. And they get especially irritated if the other visitors are fellow Britons. I’m generally delighted to run into other Britons, especially in places where I don’t master the language (in other words, almost everywhere). They represent the possibility of conversation, a considerable relief from pointing at stuff and smiling stupidly. And, while travellers are busy standing off from humanity, tourists are having a great time together. The purest expression of the tourist experience is, perhaps, the package holiday – reviled by all, except anyone who has ever been on one. I have had the best of times on coach trips throughout Europe. There’s no room here to detail the benefits, except one – and that’s built-in good company. I’ve lost count of the occasions I’ve been in a hotel bar after a fine day, sharing most convivial moments with fellow passengers. Across the bar, lone-travelling couples have looked on, as jealous as hell. We coach-trippers have been moved by the Alhambra or Delphi, we’re doing our bit for the hotel trade, quite a lot for the bar trade, and generally we are an economic good. The tourist is me. I feel no shame. 

1. 1.      Do you agree with the writer's defence of tourists?
   2.      Do you consider yourself to be more of a tourist than a traveller, or vice versa?
   3.       Has tourism had a significant effect where you live? Has it been positive or negative?

11th FORM- homework for Wednesday

OUTSTANDING PEOPLE -CARD 15

questions

Tell me about some outstanding people who changed the world.

Do you think a genius is made or born?

What questions would you ask a famous writer?

Do you think it’s important to know the history of your motherland?

Do you think is it an advantage to be famous?

№ 13

  I.  1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.

THE STRESS OF COMMUTING¹

In today’s modern world, people are constantly looking for ways to avoid stress and improve their lifestyle. Too much stress can lead to a variety of illnesses from headaches to high blood pressure. Simple things, such as driving to and from work on a daily basis, can be such a stressful experience that many people are left feeling totally exhausted. Cars can give normally peaceful people a feeling of power that can make them more aggressive.

Fortunately, there are various means of public transport to choose from within modern towns and cities. Sometimes, all we need to do is to change a few of our long­standing habits in order to discover a much more comfortable way of life. By simply planning journeys, not only can we save time and money, but we can also reduce stress levels dramatically. By using public transport everybody wins. Most towns and cities are well­covered by bus, tram and metro services. While making use of these services, you are also helping against increasing levels of pollution.

Public transport systems have improved considerably in recent years and there is now more focus on environmentally friendly forms. For example, old tram systems have been reintroduced into many European cities, making movement across large areas much faster and ‘cleaner’.

Another way of reducing levels of both stress and pollution is an introduction of an environmentally friendly network of cycle tracks. The aim of building cycle tracks is to motivate people to use their bicycles instead of their cars. So, next time you see your neighbor or colleague waiting at a bus stop as you drive by, don’t feel sorry for him because he will, no doubt, arrive at the office much earlier than you as you will still be fighting to find a parking space.

Or you might consider another way of getting to work. Carpooling² is a relatively new and convenient system when several people arrange to share one private car to get to work. And some companies have already introduced a plan where those who carpool get preferential parking in the company garage.

¹ commuting [kəˈmjʊːtɪŋ] ежедневные поездки на работу в город из пригорода и обратно

² to carpool [ˈkaːpuːl] ездить на одной машине, подвозить по очереди

2.  The network of public transport has improved lately. Read aloud the extract which says about it.

3.  How can we help reduce pollution?

4.  Why is carpooling convenient?

     

II. Listen to the advice how to make a good friend  and answer the questions below.

    1.   How do people feel if they have no friend?

    2.   What qualities does a good friend have?

    3.   Why is it good to be a real friend?  

III. Let’s talk about international cooperation.

Form 11, hometask for Tuesday

CLASSWORK 
https://learningapps.org/myapps.php?displayfolder=1441192

Questions CARD 14 STEREOTYPES

1) Who is a typical Englishman?

2) Describe a typical Belarusian as tourists see us

3) Imagine that you write to your British pen-friend, what question will you ask him about seterotypes?

4) People tend to believe the stereotypes and to be biased towards other nations. What is your opinion?

5) American is a country of contrasts, approve or disapprove. 

QUESTION:  IS BELARUS WORTH VISITING OR IS IT JUST A BIT OF A FAD?

№ 12

  I.  1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.

AMELIA

Possibly the most famous female pilot ever, Amelia Earhart was born in 1897 in Kansas, the USA. Amelia had a difficult and unsettled childhood. Her family travelled a great deal so her father could find work. Although she often missed school, Amelia was nevertheless considered to be very bright academically. She enjoyed reading and poetry as well as sports, especially basketball and tennis.

After graduating from high school, instead of going to college, Amelia decided to study nursing. During the First World War, she worked as a military nurse in Canada. When the war ended she became a social worker back in America and taught English to immigrants. In her free time, Amelia enjoyed going to air shows and watching aerial stunts¹, which were very popular during the 1920s. Her fascination with flying began when, at one of those shows, she took a ten­minute ride, and from that moment on she knew she had to learn to fly.

Amelia took on several odd jobs to pay for the flying lessons and after a year, she had saved enough money to buy her own plane. She organised cross­country air races for women pilots and formed a now famous women pilots’ organisation, called the ‘Ninety­Nines’. One day Amelia received an invitation to be the first woman ever to make the flight across the Atlantic from Canada to Britain. Amelia made the flight in 1928 and, although she was only a passenger and two men flew the plane, it made her a celebrity. She also met there her future husband, George Putman, a publisher, who arranged the flight and organised all the publicity.

In 1932 Amelia and George decided Amelia should make the Atlantic crossing from America to Britain alone. She broke several records on this flight; she became the first woman to fly the Atlantic solo, the only person to have flown it twice and she established a new transatlantic crossing record of 13 hours and 30 minutes. Understandably, she became even more famous as a result earning respect for women pilots all over the world by proving that women could fly as well as men, if not better.

¹ an aerial stunt [ˈeərɪəl ˈstʌnt] фигура высшего пилотажа

2.  How did Amelia get interested in flying? Read aloud the extract which says about it.

3.  What invitation did Amelia receive one day?

4.  Why did Amelia become famous?

II.  Listen to the conversation between Nancy and her mum and answer the questions below.

1. What do Nancy’s parents worry about?

2. Why does Nancy refuse to do household chores?

3. What arguments does Mum use to make Nancy clean the room?  

      

III. Let’s talk about mass media.