Lesson 4 - R&W, Culture - MY FUTURE

READING

Read the text entitled „Could you live abroad?“ and insert questions that summarize the paragraphs. There is one additional question you don’t need.

1. What Do You Hope to Get from Your Time Abroad?
2. Are Your Expectations Realistic?
3. How Can You Prepare Yourself?
4. Would You Mind Being a Foreigner?
5. Why Do You Want to Go?
6. What Are You Worried About?

COULD YOU LIVE ABROAD? By John P. Seely

Living abroad isn’t for everyone. Some find it hard to be separated from family and friends and this situation is so painful that it sours their entire stay. Others thrive on the new challenges, thrill to the novelty, and gain enormous satisfaction from dealing successfully with each new problem. They have a sense of achievement and personal growth. Before making a decision, determine your motives. Consider all aspects of your decision. The difficulty of living abroad and the things you are going to miss while being away from home as well as the benefits of being abroad should be carefully thought over.
1. If you are going away to a remote country because you have fallen unhappily in love then you are going away for the wrong reasons. You might regret your decision later. The more positive reasons you have for going the more likely you’ll make a success of it.
2. It seems absolutely essential that you set yourself a goal that you want to achieve. The more you want to get out of your time abroad the more focused you will be. The inevitable problems will occur but if you are prepared for them they will not spoil your stay. If you are going abroad to work your reasons should be clear. As a student you might find that a new degree will change your situation at University when you come back.
3. Make sure your list of expectations doesn’t resemble a list of New Year resolutions that won’t even last the first week. You cannot learn a new language in a few months and adapt to new culture and lifestyle in a week. Be reasonable and give yourself time.
4. If it’s communication you are worried about then learn as much of the language before you go and then promise yourself you’ll enroll in more classes as soon as you arrive. If your concern is about diet or health talk to someone who has been there and can give you advice on the lifestyle in the country you are planning to visit. Be prepared and seek answers to all questions that make you feel scared.
5. Do you mind being stared at? Followed around by giggling kids? If you are away from tourist areas and obviously not local then you may be of considerable interest. If you are the only foreigner for miles then you will stand out which can be very tiring if you sometimes need solitude.
Finally, track down some people who have spent time in your proposed destination. Don’t be put off by possible difficulties and hardships. Try to work out strategies to deal with the problems that might come your way. Then you will be better able to appreciate what life has to offer. You even can be so fascinated that you‘ll never want to come back to your home country. http:/www.transitionsabroad.com/publications/magazine/0409/could_you_live_abroad.shml

Answer

1. What Do You Hope to Get from Your Time Abroad? (2)
2. Are Your Expectations Realistic? (3)
3. How Can You Prepare Yourself? (not used)
4. Would You Mind Being a Foreigner? (5)
5. Why Do You Want to Go? (1)
6. What Are You Worried About? (4)

• Ćwiczenie 1 aqm

Find words in the text that mean:

1. be similar to
2. postpone
3. laugh in a silly way
4. look fixedly
5. severe suffering
6. put a high value on
7. a place you want to reach
8. something that cannot be avoided

Answer

1. resemble
2. put off
3. giggle
4. stare at
5. hardships
6. appreciate
7. destination
8. inevitable

• Ćwiczenie 2 aqm

WRITING Using formal and informal register:

In English there is a great difference between formal and informal register and the rules are quite rigid. We use different styles especially in letter writing but also while writing essays, report etc.

Characteristics of Formal and Informal Style:

Formal style: passive voice is often used, complex sentences, use of participles, non-colloquial English, advanced vocabulary, impersonal style, short forms are not accepted

Informal Style: use of colloquial English, idiomatic expressions, use of idioms, personal style, use of short forms, chatty descriptions

• Ćwiczenie 3 aqm

Here you will find an example of a formal letter. Read it carefully and than change it into an informal letter using an appropriate language.

Dear Ms. Smith,

Thank you very much for the letter dated 25 February concerning the opening of our office in Paris. I feel obliged to inform you how the proceedings are going on here since I started my job. Please accept my sincere apologies for not writing sooner but I have been busy settling down in my new post and I really have not had a suitable opportunity.

I managed to find comfortable lodgings. It is a small place not far from the office so I do not need to use my car.

I have become familiar with my surroundings and have been using my French a lot that I must admit is improving considerably every day.

I hope to see you in our Paris office next month so we would have an opportunity to discuss some details concerning the running of the office and my job here. I would also like some information about the particulars of your stay here. I understand our secretaries could settle this.

I look forward to hearing from you

Yours sincerely, Tom Crowel

Now, please write a letter starting with Dear Jane. Use all the information that you found in formal letter.

Dear Jane,
..................
..................
..................
..................
Love Tom

Culture

Read these definitions of the word COOL and then tick the ones that are correct;

1. not hot

   Dobrze

2. calm, not excited

   Dobrze

3. not much

   Źle

4. impressive

   Dobrze

Now read the text about the term COOL BRITANNIA and fill each gap with one of the alternatives given to complete the text:

COOL BRITANNIA

Princess Diana, Oasis, Tony Blair, Spice Girls, David Beckham – you probably 1. heard/learnt/listened to all these names but what do they have 2. together/in common/common for? The immediate answer is that they are all British but they were also a part of COOL BRITANNIA. This term 3. was written/was using/was used in the late 1990s to describe the 4. contemporary/temporary/permanently culture of the United Kingdom. The phrase is an obvious pun on the title of the patriotic song „RULE, BRITANNIA!“

This catchphrase began 5. to disappear/to come up/to appear in the British press near the end of the 1996. It was then when Newsweek declared London to be the „coolest capital city on the planet“. The phrase was 6. highly/widely/wide used in the media and in advertising.

To the extent that it did not have any real meaning the phrase 7. referred/referring/refered to a fashionable London scene with a new generation of pop groups and style magazines, fashion designers, and a surge of new restaurants. It also 8. described/mentioned/functioned the mood in the mid-1990s movement of British pop. Then the phrase began to be used so frequently that everybody seemed to be „sick of it“ and finally by 2000 it was being used 9. highly/mainly/chiefly in a mocking or ironic way. The British again became proud of their country and culture. „Cool Britannia“ was also a registered trade mark for one of Ben&Jerry’s 10. ice-creams/ice-cream/icecream designed for the British market. They were vanilla with strawberries and chocolate-covered shortbread, though this product has now been withdrawn.

Based on: http://www.worldwidewords.org/turnsofphrase/tp-coo1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_Britannia
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/ilove/years/1996/fashion2.shtml

Answer

1. heard
2. in common
3. was used
4. contemporary
5. to appear
6. widely
7. referred
8. described
9. mainly
10. ice-creams

Hackers, viruses and protection

Here is the quiz for you to check your knowledge of computer terms. In each sentences the first letters of the words are given.

1. C………v…… is a small program which has been written with the intention of causing damage to systems.
2. The virus is activated by opening an infected f……. .
3. H……… is a person who uses computers for enjoyment in order to gain access to the contents of a computer’s memory without permission.
4. Some recent worms can be activated by reading an …….. .
5. K..…… M………. is the world’s most celebrated computer hacker and served five years after breaking into the computer systems of several multinational corporations.
6. Never open an e-mail a………… from someone you don’t know
7. There are many programs called v…… c…... that will check your system for known viruses.
8. If you do not already have any virus protection software, you should install some and set it immediately to s…….. your hard drive.
9. New viruses are released every day and it is important to regularly u…… your software so that its database includes information concerning the new viruses.
10. T…… S..…… is a Japanese scientist and computer security expert based in the United States who gained fame when he tracked down and helped to arrest criminal Kevin Mitnick.

Answer

1. computer virus
2. file.
3. hacker
4. e-mail
5. Kevin Mitnick
6. attachement
7. virus checks
8. scan
9. Update
10. Tsutomu Shimomura

Protect Your Computer from Viruses & Spies

Protect your computer from Hackers! Take these simple precautions:

Here you have 6 different tips how to protect your computer. How would you number them according to their importance?

• Always be careful about what you download.
• Install protection software – now!
• Find out what’s NOT a virus and don’t clog up the Internet spreading false alarms.
• Block PORN and other spam, as well as viruses, with a program.
• Beware of spies, hackers and key loggers that can spy into your computer.
• Never open an attachment in an email unless you are sure you understand what it is and why it’s been sent to you.

Based on http://gnwda.org/protection.htm
http://www.misnet.co.uk./infocentre/av-information.htm
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/viruses/intro_viruses_wh…

Answer

1. NEVER open an attachment in an email UNLESS you are sure you understand what it is and why it’s been sent to you.
2. Install protection software – now!
3. Block PORN and other spam, as well as viruses, with a program.
4. Find out what’s NOT a virus and don’t clog up the Internet spreading false alarms.
5. Beware of spies, hackers and key loggers that can spy into your computer.
6. Always be careful about what you download.