Ways to Avoid Studying

Read and discuss the following text.

Explain the words and word combinations in bold in the text.

5) Fill in the correct preposition or particle, then make sentences:

1) to drift … sleep; 2) to improve the chance … reaching university; 3) devotion … learning; 4) obsession … education; 5) to put smb … too much stress; 6) to spend (money) … smth; 7) zeal … doing smth; 8) to be crucial … smth; 9) to catch … … smb; 10) to stay … of smb; 11) commitment … education; 12) to make sacrifice … smb; 13) to get smb … the exam; 14) a ticket … success; 15) approach … smth; 16) path … prosperity.

6) Answer the questions:

1. Why do many Korean schoolchildren get very tired?

2. Why do Korean schoolchildren have to study so much?

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of such devotion to education?

The Six-o'clock-In-The-Evening-Enthusiastic-Determined-And-Well-Intentioned-Studier-Until-Midnight is a person with whom you are probably already familiar. At 6 o'clock he approaches his desk, and carefully organises everything in preparation for the study period to follow. Having everything in place he next carefully adjusts each item again, giving himself time to complete the first excuse: he recalls that in the morning he did not have quite enough time to read all items of interest in the newspaper. He also realises that if he is going to study it is best to have such small items completely out of the way before settling down to the task at hand.

He therefore leaves his desk, browses through the newspaper and notices as he browses that there are more articles of interest than he had originally thought. He also notices, as he leafs through the pages, the entertainment section. At this point it will seem like a good idea to plan for the evening's first break – perhaps an interesting half-hour programme between 8 and 8.30 p.m.

He finds the programme and it inevitably starts at about 7.00 p.m.

At this point, he thinks, Well, I've had a difficult day and it's not too long before the programme starts, and I need a rest anyway and the relaxation will really help me to get down to studying...' He returns to his desk at 7.45, because the beginning of the next programme was also a bit more interesting than he thought it would be.

"At this stage, he still hovers over his desk tapping his book reassuringly as he remembers that phone call to a friend which, like the articles of interest in the newspapers, is best cleared out of the way before the serious studying begins.

The phone call, of course, is much more interesting and longer than originally planned, but eventually the intrepid student finds himself back at his desk at about 8.30 p.m.

At this point in the proceedings he actually sits down at the desk, opens the book with a display of physical determination and starts to read (usually page one) as he experiences the first pangs of hunger and thirst. This is disastrous because he realises that the longer he waits to satisfy the pangs, the worse they will get, and the more interrupted his study concentration will be.

The obvious and only solution is a light snack. This, in its preparation, grows as more and more tasty items are piled onto the plate. The snack becomes a feast.

Having removed this final obstacle the desk is returned to with the certain knowledge that this time there is nothing that could possibly interfere with the following period of study. The first couple of sentences on page one are looked at again... as the student realises that his stomach is feeling decidedly heavy and a general drowsiness seems to have set in. Far better at this juncture to watch that other interesting half-hour programme at 10 o'clock after which the digestion will be mostly completed and the rest will enable him to really get down to the task at hand.

At 12 o'clock we find him asleep in front of the TV. Even at this point, when he has been woken up by whoever comes into the room, he will think that things have not gone too badly, for after all he has had a good rest, a good meal, watched some interesting and relaxing programmes, fulfilled his social commitments to his friends, digested the day's information, and got everything completely out of the way so that tomorrow, at 6 o'clock...

2) Transcribe and pronounce correctly the following words:

excuse (n, v), browse, inevitably, to hover, reassuringly, determine, determination, disaster, disastrous, interfere, stomach, drowsiness, digest (v), digestion.

3) Find the English equivalents for the following in the text:

отговорка, избавиться/отделаться от чего-л. (2 варианта), засесть за работу/заняться делом (3 варианта), пролистывать/просматривать (3 варианта), (внешне) демонстрируя решимость, препятствие, мешать чему-л., сонливость, пищеварение, выполнить свои (социальные) обязательства по отношению к кому-л.

4) For each question choose the correct answer А, В, С or D:

1. The student in fact reads the newspaper in order to (a)find out what is on TV, (b) avoid beginning work, (c) be able to work continuously without a break later, (d) keep up-to-date with world events.

2. The students starts planning his first break (a) when he sits down at his desk at 6 o'clock, (b) after working for a very short period, (c) while he is reading the newspaper before starting work, (d) at 7 p.m.

3. After he watches television, the student's study period is further delayed because (a) he has to make an important phone call, (b) he phones a friend to avoid starting work, (c) he realises he won't be able to concentrate unless he calls his friend first, (d) he finds what his friend says on the phone very interesting.

4. What does 'this final obstacle' (paragraph 9) refer to? (a) the feast he has just eaten, (b) the pangs of hunger and thirst he was experiencing earlier, (c) the phone call he made earlier, (d) feeling tired.

5. The text suggests that the next day the person (a) will be able to study more efficiently, (b) will not attempt to study, (c) will do exactly the same thing., (d) will feel guilty about wasting a whole evening.

6. Which best describes the writer's attitude to the student he is describing? (a) He is angry with him. (b) Не is gently poking fun at him. (c) He feels sorry for him. (d) He doesn't care about him.

7. The writer thinks that the reader (a) will have had some similar experiences of avoiding studying, (b) will be amazed by the behaviour of this lazy student, (c) will immediately resolve to be a better student, (d) will feel guilty about all the times they have allowed themselves to be distracted.

5) Discuss:

1. In what ways, if any, does this person sound like you?

2. How is this text connected to the previous one?

Дата добавления: 2014-12-29