Look at the statements below and decide which function each statement describes

In pairs, discuss the following.

Read the passage below and say if there is something you agree or disagree with.

Why read books?

Is it worth reading books, since nowadays there are so many other forms of entertainment? Some people say that even paperback books are expensive, and not everyone can borrow books from a library. They might add that television is more exciting and that viewers can relax as they watch their favourite programmes. All that may be true, but books are still very popular. They encourage the reader to use his or her imagination for a start. You can read a chapter of a book, or just a few pages, and then stop. Of course, it may be so gripping that you can’t stop! There are many different kinds of books, so you can choose a crime novel or an autobiography, or a book which gives you interesting information. If you find it hard to choose, you can read reviews or ask friends for ideas. Personally, I can’t do without books, but I can give up television easily enough. You can’t watch television at bus stops!

1 Would you agree with the writer who regards reading as a form of entertainment?

2 Are there any other functions that reading or books can perform? What are they, if any?

3 Which side of reading appeals to you most: entertaining, informative, educational, psychological, emotional, developmental or other?

4 As a future teacher, what would you recommend your students to read in Russian, Belarusian, English? Why?

5 What would your answer to the title of the story be?

1 Reading is not only limited to bridging the information gap for academic purposes.

2 The more you read, the wider your horizons.

3 Reading may arouse deep emotions and improve our mood.

4 It can make us sentimental or optimistic and remove us from dull thoughts.

5 Reading stirs people’s imagination, fills their minds with new ideas, makes them think and inspires to greater efforts.

6 Reading creates a special spiritual world that is very important for one’s development as a human being.

7 Collecting books can be an exciting experience, pastime and/or hobby.

8 Reading is an excellent means of entertainment and relaxation.

5 Look back at Ex. 2 and Ex. 4 and find words and expressions in italics which mean the following. Which of them are [1] phrasal verbs?

- books in soft cover - exciting and interesting - smth you need badly - stop doing smth - a big difference between the situations, amounts, etc. - the limit of your ideas, knowledge, etc. - to make someone have a strong feeling or reaction - to encourage someone by making them feel confident and eager to do smth - rest - an article in a newspaper or magazine that gives an opinion about a new book, play, film, etc.

……………………………. ……………………………. ……………………………. ……………………………. ……………………………. ……………………………. ……………………………. ……………………………. ……………………………. ……………………………. ……………………………. ……………………………. ……………………………. ……………………………. ……………………………. ……………………………. …………………………….

6 Below are names of most popular literary genres. Can you match them with their definitions?

a short story	- the story of your own life which you have written yourself, especially about your involvement in important political or military events
a novel	- a piece of writing that expresses emotions, experiences, and ideas, especially in short lines using words that rhyme
a poem	- a long written story in which the characters and events are usually imaginary
a fable	a children's story in which magical things happen
a fairy tale	a short piece of writing giving someone's ideas about politics, society etc.
a play	- a short piece of writing in which the writer tells a story
an essay	- a story that is written to be performed by actors, especially in a theatre
memoirs /`memwɑːz/	- a book about someone's life, written by another person
biography	- stories about events in the future which are affected by imaginary developments in science, for example about travelling in time or to other planets with life on them
an autobiography	- a short story in prose or verse which is written so that a moral may be learnt from it.
science fiction (sci fi)	- a book in which you write down the things that happen to you each day
a diary/`daɪəri/	- a book in which someone writes about their own life

² Listening Comprehension

4 As is known, stories may vary according to the subject matter and include thrillers, mysteries, horror stories, ghost stories, spy stories, crime storie s, adventure stories, detective stories, love stories, etc. and, of course, sci fi stories and fairy tales.

Дата добавления: 2014-12-23