Books and stories

Task 1. Read the text and fill in the table.

Reading in My Life

Reading is a part of education and the way of understanding the world. In the world of reading there are the questions that are always asked and answered. They are — why we are reading, what we are reading and where and how we are reading.

Reading educates a person, enriches the intellect. Books help to mould a person’s character and form the moral values. Besides, books bring pleasure and delight. Thanks to books we learn to express our thoughts and feelings more exactly. The book is a faithful and understanding friend — it can be put aside and taken up again at any moment.

The most popular types of stories that are developed in modern literature are a myth (something that isn’t true, but is believed by lots of people), a legend (a fiction story about historical figures), an urban legend (a modern (untrue) story where the origins are unknown), a tale (a story), a fairy tale (a story with an unusual characters or actions), a saga (a long story that goes through generations), an account (the facts of what happened), an eye witness/firsthand account (account by someone who was there at the time), a report/ newspaper report (a factual account).

They are represented in the following kinds of books as fiction (non-fact), historical fiction (a story about an event of person in the past), a detective story (a story about a detective), a crime story (about breaking law), a murder mystery/whodunit (a crime story where someone is murdered and the detective has to find the killer), a thriller (a fast-paced story with scary moments), teen fiction (fiction especially aimed at and about teenagers), children’s fiction (stories for children), biography (the story of someone’s life, written by another person), autobiography (the story of someone written by that same person), memoirs (the story of the past — especially written by politicians or public figures), romance (love story), science fiction (fiction about new inventions, aliens, or strange worlds), adventure stories (an account about smb’s adventures), short story (a complete story in a few pages), ghost story (a story about ghosts or haunting), a novel (a longer story with many characters and events).

We can find all kinds of books in the libraries. When a reader comes to a library for the first time, he fills in library card and the librarian helps to choose something to read. The reader is allowed to borrow books for a certain number of days. If you need to find a book, you go to the catalogues. Today many libraries have online catalogues. The reading rooms in the public libraries are open to all who wish to work there. We should not make notes in library books or dog’s ears in the pages. However, today many people choose to download the book from the Internet and read it from the screen of the computer or pocket-book.

Why are we reading?	__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________
What are we reading?	__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________
Where and how are we reading?	__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Task 2. What type of reader are you? Find the most appropriate column to describe your reading habits and learn what type of reader you are.

How You Read	Type of Reader
I read when I have to, but to understand the text I need to re-read the passages. I’m not much of a reader.	Basic — you’ve developed some ability to understand specific information.
I am a keen reader and often read for aesthetic pleasure or to get the necessary information. However, if given a choice, I’ll prefer watching a good film.	Intermediate — you are a keen reader, who has an ability to search for specific information and make generalizations.
I am an avid reader or a bookworm. I deep into the books in libraries, bookshops or at home. I’m interested in all kind of books — from poetry to encyclopaedias.	Advanced — you can find, understand, summarize, explain the ideas from the book and learn from specialized reading materials.

Task 3. Choose a book for review. Review it using the tables.

Do You Know Which Are The Most Read Books In The World?

All of us love to read a good book, but could you name the 10 most read books in the world? Over the last half century hundreds of thousands of books have been produced, but only a select few have become the most popular and most read books in the world. Here you will discover some of the greatest pieces of literary work by highly talented authors.

This is a list of the 10 most read books in the world over the last fifty years. The figures show the number of books printed and sold but does not take into account multiple readings of the same book.

There are a few book titles that have had more copies printed than some of these books, but a vast number of those books were not sold, which of course means that they did not get read.

Number Ten Most Read Book.
‘The Diary of a Young Girl’ by Anne Frank — 27 Million Copies

‘The Diary of a Young Girl’ is the English version book that is based on the writings from a diary, which was written by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The book is now considered one of the key texts of the twentieth century.

Number Nine Most Read Book.
‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill — 30 Million Copies

‘Think and Grow Rich’ is a motivational book written by Napoleon Hill. It is a personal development and self-improvement novel that was inspired by a suggestion that he received from the Scottish-American billionaire Andrew Carnegie.

Number Eight Most Read Book.
‘Gone With the Wind’ by Margaret Mitchell — 33 Million Copies.

‘Gone with the Wind’, a romantic drama by Margaret Mitchell. It is set in Georgia during the American Civil War and follows the life of Scarlett O’Hara, the daughter of an Irish immigrant plantation owner.

The novel won the coveted Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into a film of the same name that won an Academy Award.

Number Seven Most Read Book.
‘Twilight’ — the saga by Stephenie Meyer — 43 Million Copies

‘Twilight’ is the first book in an extremely popular young adult series written by Stephenie Meyer. The story is about a young girl who falls in love with a vampire. This is a saga that is full of romance and action.

She says ‘First, he was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him’.

Number Six Most Read Book.
‘The Da Vinci Code’ by Dan Brown — 57 Million Copies

‘The Da Vinci Code’ is a fiction novel written by American author Dan Brown. The story follows the investigations of Robert Langdon after a murder in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

He discovers an intriguing possibility that Jesus Christ may have been married to Mary Magdalene and fathered a child with her. ‘The Da Vinci Code’ has been made into a movie starring Tom Hanks.

Number Five Most Read Book.
‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho — 65 Million Copies

‘The Alchemist’ was published in 1987 and became a Brazilian bestseller, it has gone on to sell 65 million copies world-wide, becoming one of the best-selling books in history. The Alchemist has been translated into more than 67 languages, winning the Guinness World Record for most translated book by a living author.

Paulo Coelho is not only one of the most widely read, but also one of the most influential authors writing today.

Number Four Most Read Book.
‘The Lord of the Rings’ by J. R. R. Tolkien — 103 Million Copies

‘The Lord of the Rings’ is an epic fantasy story written by the philologist J. R. R. Tolkien. The novel started out as a sequel to his earlier, far less complex children’s fantasy story ‘The Hobbit’, but evolved into a much larger work.

‘The Lord of the Rings’ has been made into a film trilogy that consists of three live action fantasy epic films; ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’, ‘The Two Towers’ and ‘The Return of the King’.

Number Three Most Read Book.
‘Harry Potter’ by J. K. Rowling — 400 Million Copies

‘Harry Potter’ is a fantasy series of seven novels by British writer J. K. Rowling, the majority of which have been made into action packed movies.

Children and adults alike have been fascinated by this fiction character and cannot get enough of the young hero’s adventures.

Number Two Most Read Book.
‘Quotations from the Works of Mao Tse-tung’ — 820 Million Copies

The quotations from the works of Mao Tse-tung, or as it was commonly called, the ‘Little Red Book’ of Mao Tse-tung, was a personal explanation to the people of China of the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party.

Number One Most Read Book.
‘The Bible’ — 3.9 Billion Copies

‘The Bible’ still remains at the top as the most read book in the world.

‘The Bible’ is the account of God’s action in the world and his purpose with all creation. The writing of ‘The Bible’ was accomplished over sixteen centuries and is a quite amazing collection of sixty six books containing the messages of God.

How It Looks	This is a paperback / hard covered / pocket book / illustrated book. It was published in … with a circulation of … copies.
Genre Short Description Audience	This is a … about … who… It is targeting at…
Characters Language	The main characters of the book are… They are well-drawn / round / true-to-life. The dialogues are really good. The writer’s language is stylistically diverse / simple / cliché-ridden
Setting (Time/Place)	The story is set in… It takes place in…
Plot	At the beginning … but then/later… …meanwhile… Eventually… In the last part we can see…
Special Details	The book focuses our attention on… What strikes me about the book is the fact that… The book reminds me of… I’m fascinated with…

General Impression of the Book It’s my belief / I am convinced that…
Positive	Neutral	Negative
Broadens outlook, develops taste, gives relaxation, evokes thoughts, has an impact on…, it is a true observation of life, of peculiar interest to those who…	Ordinary, leaves you aside, slow.	Incomprehensible, full of contradictions, it’s beneath criticism.
A remarkable book, charming, charis­matic, enjoyable, moving, sensitive, intriguing, original, thought-provoking, gripping.	Predictable, usual, casual plot.	Boring, tiresome, weak, static, uninteresting, out­dated, cliché-ridden, obso­lete.
Out of common! I could not put it down! You’ll be thrilled with it!	I’m in two minds about it. I’m ambivalent about...	It’s not my cup of tea. I’m not keen on this genre.

Task 4. Read the text. For questions (1–7) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

The Man Booker Prize

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is awarded every year for a novel written by a writer from the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland and it aims to represent the very best in contemporary fiction. The prize was originally called the Booker-McConnell Prize, which was the name of the company that sponsored it, though it was better-known as simply the ‘Booker Prize’. In 2002, the Man Group became the sponsor and they chose the new name, keeping ‘Booker’.

Publishers can submit books for consideration for the prize, but the judges can also ask for books to be submitted they think should be included. Firstly, the Advisory Committee give advice if there have been any changes to the rules for the prize and selects the people who will judge the books. The judging panel changes every year and usually a person is only a judge once.

Great efforts are made to ensure that the judging panel is balanced in terms of gender and professions within the industry, so that a writer, a critic, an editor and an academic are chosen along with a well-known person from wider society. However, when the panel of judges has been finalized, they are left to make their own decisions without any further involvement or interference from the prize sponsor.

The Man Booker judges include critics, writers and academics to maintain the consistent quality of the prize and its influence is such that the winner will almost certainly see the sales increase considerably, in addition to the £50,000 that comes with the prize.

1 The Republic of Ireland ________.

A is in the Commonwealth

B is not in the Commonwealth

C can’t enter the Man Booker Prize

D joined the Booker prize in 2002

2 The Man group ________.

A was forced to keep the name ‘Booker’

B decided to include the name ‘Booker’

C decided to keep the name ‘Booker-McConnell’

D decided to use only the name ‘Booker’

3 Books can be submitted ________.

A by publishers

B by writers

C by judges

D by the sponsors

4 Who advises on changes to the rules?

A The sponsors.

B The judging panel.

C The advisory panel.

D Publishers.

5 The judging panel ________.

A doesn’t include women

B includes only women

C is only chosen from representatives of the industry

D includes someone from outside the industry

6 The sponsors of the prize ________.

A are involved in choosing the winner

B are involved in choosing the judges

C are not involved at all

D choose the academic for the panel of judges

7 The consistent quality of the prize ________.

A is guaranteed by the prize money

B is guaranteed by the gender of the judges

C is guaranteed by the make-up of the panel of judges

D is guaranteed by the increase in sales of the winner

Дата добавления: 2014-11-29