Bank holidays

Что такое Bank Holidays? Чем эти праздники отличаются от других? Прослушайте текст на английском языке и проверьте понимание с помощью небольшого теста.

    Инструкция

April Fools Day podcast

Сначала прослушайте текст о первоапрельских традициях в Англии без опоры на текст. Затем правильность понимания проверьте с помощью текста приведенного ниже. (Запись 2007 года)

Script

Today is the first of April. The first of April is traditionally called All Fools Day, or April Fools Day. It is a day for mischief, or playing tricks on people; and for getting people to believe things which are not true.
Today is the 50th Anniversary of one of the most famous April Fools Day tricks. It was 1957. BBC television had a weekly documentary programme called Panorama. Panorama was a serious and respected programme, reporting on news events around the world. On 1 April, Panorama included a report about the problems facing spaghetti farmers in Switzerland. There were pictures of people picking spaghetti from spaghetti trees and laying it in the sunshine to dry. But the spaghetti farmers were afraid that a late frost would damage the spaghetti crop, and destroy their livelihood.
Fifty years ago, most British people did not know much about Italian food like spaghetti. Many people apparently accepted the documentary at face value. Some people say that it was many years before they found out that spaghetti does not really grow on trees.(No. Spaghetti really does not grow on trees. It was a joke. Alright?)
The Panorama report was a spoof. Ever since then, it has been common for newspapers to carry spoof stories on 1 April. So this morning, I opened my newspaper eagerly, to find the spoof story. There was a story that the London Transport lost property office had just found the owner of an urn containing human ashes which had been left on the underground eight years ago. Surely that was a spoof? But no, the story was in fact completely true.
And then I found it. I told you in an earlier podcast that our Prime Minister, Tony Blair, is expected to retire later this year. What will he do when he is no longer Prime Minister? According to the Observer newspaper, he will start a new career as an actor. He has been offered a part in a play at a leading London theatre in the autumn. He is already learning his lines. He is practising them with his staff in 10 Downing Street. He has also been offered parts in the BBC’s science fiction programme Dr Who, and in several comedy shows.
But is this really an April Fool spoof? Our Prime Minister is one of the finest actors in Britain today. He can convince people of anything. He can convince himself of anything. Such as that there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Do you know Shakespeare’s play, King Lear? It is about an arrogant and powerful king who decides to retire. He divides his kingdom between his three daughters. But he then argues, first with one daughter and then with the others, until in the end he goes mad. Tony Blair as King Lear? Yes – I think so.

credit: listen-to-english.com

Computer games

Прослушайте беседу о компьютерных играх. Содержание можно использовать не только для пассивного прослушивания. Материал также подойдет для подготовки устного высказывания по теме. Попробуйте сначала сами ответить на следующие вопросы.

-What do you think of computer games? Do you love them or hate them?
-Do you think they’re sad or cool?
-Do you like all games or just some specific ones?
-Do you prefer any games genres more than others?
-Do you play games often, or do you avoid them completely?
-Are they just for boys or do girls play them too?
-Are they just for children, teenagers or adults?
-Do you think they are a good use of your time, or just a total waste of time?
-Are they bad for us, or do they help to keep us fit and teach us skills?
-Are they a good way to connect with people, or are they anti-social?
-Are they immoral or just a bit of fun?
-Can they be the future of entertainment? Will they replace movies as a way to tell a good story?
-Can computer games ever become an art-form?

Также прилагаю текстовый вариант здесь.

Music podcast

Можете пропустить первые три-четыре минуты подкаста, которые не содержат конкретики, и начать слушать дальше. Ниже даны некоторые выражения из беседы.

Are you buzzing?
We’re on top of things
Hearing cosmic sounds coming through the speakers
It captures something of the dystopia of the future
They covered 60s ska tunes
I think The Specials did more cover versions than Madness
The Specials take themselves a little bit too seriously
As good as they were they never made anything that sent a chill down your spine
They were a little bit of a novelty act
See see them bouncing around on Top of the Pops
This is a piece of hardware which is one of the best sequencers
You can sample bits from other records
If you had to give it a genre, what genre would it be?
That’s all we’re going to get for the time being
The ‘Mad’chester scene, which was characteristed by a kind of psychedelic sensibility
Slightly 60s throwback vibe
Almost a slightly parody/jokey way
The Mondays were more into Donovan
They weren’t a retro band they were actually quite modern
They were a cross between a kind of funk/punk/acid house
Just good vibes
Really good lyrics
He didn’t have a traditional singing voice but he really meant what he said
Some things are rhyming, some things are jokes
We had a piano, inherited from our Grandma when she died
I tried the piano, didn’t really appeal to me
I almost got put off music at school
I tried learning the bass – not really much cop
That’s the last vestige of the guy who can’t play music – they become drummers
Drummer jokes:
What do you call a guy who hangs around with a group of musicians? A drummer
How do you know when there’s a drummer at your door? Because the knocking speeds up
How do you know when a drummer’s standing at your door? Because he doesn’t know when to come in
He also wrote his own very sappy 60s music
He did this very cheesy music but to be fair it’s really good. It’s multi-tracked and everything.
I remember once you getting me to bleach your hair
You ended up joining a band
The Genital Fungi
Grandpa Knuckles
We used to do a really heavy death metal song
Amanda X
We were a 3-piece, we were very fucking cool
A cutting riposte to being shunned by a girl
I was into ambient music, atmospheric sort of Aphex Twin music
The other 2 were these hardcore ravers
I can beat-match
This MPC 2000, this Akai piece of kit
It was quite cheap. It was about 250 quid
I remember crawling round on the floor and from the speakers above listening to The Beatles
It reminds me of being in the living room as a four year old
Skellington were a really good band, very sketchy though

Movies

Прослушайте две беседы о кино. Подкасты по времени довольно большие, но можно их слушать по фрагментам, запоминая время, на котором остановили запись. Полезно повторять хотя бы отдельные предложения за диктором. Ниже привожу некоторые вопросы, которые задают слушатели по теме во втором эпизоде. Проанализируйте формы их подачи, учитесь сами по-разному задавать вопросы.
Внимание! После прослушивания (или просто включения) любой части подкаста нужно обновить страницу, чтобы продолжить слушать следующую.

English spoken in some Hollywood movies is very easy to understand while in others it is so difficult. Why?

Everyone likes comedy films so what are the all time best comedy films? Who is his favourite comedian?

What makes a film excellent?

Tell us what the decisive factor of the differences between the Cannes and other movie festivals from your points of views!!

Could you tell us a few titles of movies which could be easy to understand for improving our level of english listening? Which do you think that could be the best way to watch movies for learning english: with original subtitles or with subtitles in our language?

Since when do you think popcorn became a symbol food of movie theater and why? What British food do you think would replace popcorn? Don’t say fish n chips!!

Do you agree that ‘citizen Kane’ is the best film made in the 20th century?

Are people in the UK (or the US) familiar with Russian movies? Did you watch any of those?

What do you think about stereotypes of French movies?

What is an underrated film in your opinion?

Do you like the trilogy of Back to the Future? What do you think about it?

Reading Trends

1. Перед прослушиванием прочитайте пояснения к некоторым выражениям из аудиотекста.
2. Прослушайте текст 1-2 раза и выполните тест.
3. Откройте текст аудиозаписи, расположенный ниже теста, и посмотрите, насколько точно вы поняли содержание.

“As much as I used to” используется, когда говорится о том, что происходило раньше часто, но не происходит так часто сейчас. Пример:This year I’m going to try not to eat as much chocolate as I used to.

“Getting a lot of enjoyment out of” = “I enjoy +Ving” (люблю, получаю большое удовольствие от). Пример:I get a lot of enjoyment out of playing with my dog.

 “I do listen” do добавляется здесь к “I listen” для усиления, чтобы убедить собеседника. Пример: - Why don’t you ever speak in class? - I do speak in class when I’m in small groups, but I’m shy in front of everyone.

Therapeutic - прилагательное от слова  therapy. Характеризует то, что улучшает ваше состояние, самочувствие. Пример: Taking a bath when you are stressed out can be very therapeutic.

Have “a big part to play in” означает "иметь большое значение, быть важным для, играть большую роль в". Пример: My music teacher has a big part to play in how much I love music. The location has a big part to play in the success of a business.

    Инструкция

Script

Todd: Actually I still enjoy newspapers somewhat. I like to eat my lunch and read the newspaper or maybe have a newspaper when I’m taking the bus or the train, so I have something to read, but I don’t buy them as much as I used to.

Monica: Yeah, that’s true, I really like the idea of having a newspaper in paper form and I do enjoy opening it up and having a coffee in the morning and reading the newspaper, but I don’t actually do that now.

Todd: So how often do you actually start and finish a book?

Monica: Well, I’ve been reading maybe one or two books a week, recently which is quite a lot for me.

Todd: Yeah, that’s pretty good.

Monica: As I said earlier, it’s really because I have a bit more spare time than I used to so that has changed my reading habits. And when I’m traveling I love reading, so if I’m on a train I love reading a book and if I’m on a plane I prefer to read a book than watch a movie, for example, so I get a lot of enjoyment out of reading books, still.

Having said that I do listen to e-books on the computer...

Todd: Oh, I love e-books.

Monica:...which I love because it’s very therapeutic I think listening to someone reading to you, a bit like when you were little and your mom used to read you a book. I like to do that when I’m really tired and I don’t want to actually physically read a book and I don’t want to even check my e-mail. I just want to lie down and basically listen to a story. Yeah, so I have enjoyed doing that recently and technology has had a big part to play in how much I do that.

The name of America (test)

Прослушайте на английском языке фрагмент из книги H. E. Marshall This country of ours о том, как Америка получила свое название, и выполните тест с выбором ответа TRUE/FALSE. Если вам не все понятно на слух, посмотрите текст в разделе Англоговорящий мир (выделено серым). Если хотите узнать больше по этой теме, прочитайте там главу полностью.

    Инструкция

Как научиться понимать разговорный английский?

В учебных пособиях обычно используется академический английский язык. В подкастах, видео фрагментах, радио и телепередачах дикторы тоже говорят на правильном английском, четко проговаривая все слова. И это понятно. Сначала надо научиться правильному языку, а уже потом при необходимости переходить к усвоению неформальной разговорной речи со всеми ее ньюансами. Понятие о "правильных" сокращениях, встречающихся в разговорной речи, конечно, в учебниках дается, и вас научат, как писать неформальное письмо другу. Этого вполне достаточно, если язык в дальнейшем будет нужен, например, только для деловой переписки, технических переводов или официальных встреч. Однако, если вы смотрите художественные фильмы, читаете современные книги, слушаете песни  или общаетесь с ровесниками в интернете, а тем более, если находитесь в англоязычной стране, то базовых знаний для понимания английской речи вам точно не хватит. В обычном разговоре встречаются слэнг, идиомы, очень много "неправильных" сокращений, плохая грамматика, особенности произношения, пропуск окончаний и даже целых слов. Догадайтесь, о чем идет речь: ”gettin outta here.” Это значит: I am getting out of here (=I am leaving).

Что же делать, если неформальный разговорный язык вам уже просто необходим? Прежде всего почитайте теорию. Об этом подробно написано в статье Языковые особенности английских песен. Затем найдите в интернете аудио с записью спонтанной, т.е. неподготовленной речи. И слушайте, слушайте, слушайте… Например, прослушайте текст "Nick"в разделе "аудирование" и постарайтесь выполнить тест. Читайте комиксы, пойте песни и только потом пробуйте говорить сами. И не забывайте про разницу между британским и американским вариантами языка!

Посмотрите примеры формального и разговорного языка в видео фрагменте.

А из следующем видео вы узнаете что такое elision в разговорной речи, а также познакомитесь с такими распространенными и многозначными словами британского английского, как "fancy" и "cheers".

National Zoo

Прослушайте текст на английском языке о Национальном зоопарке в США. Выполните тест, выбирая ответ TRUE или FALSE (правильно/неправильно).

Are poems good for learning English?

 Прослушайте текст, начитанный носителем языка, и выполните ряд заданий. Ответы смотрите ниже.

1. Read and match the following parts of sentences before listening to the text. Then listen and check yourself.

2. Use these sentences to answer the questions:

1) Why are poems good for learning English?

2) Why are some poems not appropriate for English learning?

Ответы:

1) - g); 2) - c); 3) - d); 4) - e); 5) - b); 6) - a); 7) - f).

For:

 Poems are a fun way to learn English because they are usually short and easy to read.

Poems repeat words and phrases so you see them again and again.

They envolve senses and emotions.

 Poems use visual words that build pictures in your mind.

Against:

Some poems use made-up words, they can be confusing.

Some poems use unusual structures and rhythm patterns.

Some poems use old words that no one uses any more.