Single out the given words according to 1) the words that are used in American English; 2) the words that are used in British English.

1. apartment building – a large building containing many apartments; 2. dust-bin – a container for household refuse, especially one kept outside; 3. tuxedo – a man dinner jacket; 4. bill (for meal payment) – a list of things eaten showing the total amount that must be paid; 5. pram – a four-wheeled carriage for a baby, pushed by a person on foot; 6. zip-code – a postal code consisting of five or nine digits; 7. chemist – a person who is authorized to dispense medicine drugs; 8. vacation – an extended period of recreation, especially one spent away from home or in traveling; 9. period – a punctuation mark (.); 10. tram – a passenger vehicle powered by electricity conveyed by overhead cable, and running on rails laid in a public road; 11. gasoline – a liquid obtained especially from petroleum, used mainly for producing power in the engines of cars, aircraft, etc.; 12. trolley (for shopping) – a low two-wheeled or four-wheeled cart or vehicle, especially one pushed by hand; 13. flashlight – a small electric light carried in the hand to give light; 14. car park – an area or building where cars or other vehicles may be left temporarily.

Give analogous opposition to the given words in the other variant of English.

10. Read the following passage. Draw up a list of terms denoting the university teaching staff in Great Britain and in the USA. What are the corresponding Russian terms?

Q:But speaking of universities, we’re also got a different set of labels for the teaching staff, haven’t we?

M: Yes, in the United State, for example, our full time faculty, which we call staff incidentally – is arranged in a series of steps which goes from instructor through ranks of assistant professor, associate professor to that of professor. But I wish you’d straighten me out on the English system. Don for example, is a completely mysterious word and I’m never sure of the difference, say, between a lecturer and a reader.

Q: Well, readers say that lecturers should lecture and readers should read! But seriously, I think there’s more similarity here than one would imagine. Let me say, first of all, that this word don is a very informal word and that it is common really only in Oxford and Cambridge. But corresponding to your instructor we’ve got the rank of assistant lecturer, usually a beginner’s post. The assistant lecturer who is successful is promoted, like your instructor and he becomes a lecturer and this lecturer grade is the main teaching grade throughout the university world. Above lecturer a man may be promoted to senior lecturer or reader, and both of these – there’s little difference between them – correspond closely to your associate professor. And then finally he may get a chair, as we say – that is a professorship, or, as you would say, a full professorship. It’s pretty much a difference of labels rather than of organization, it seems to me.

(From a Common Langusage

by A.H. Marckwardt and R. Quirk)

Study the semantic structure of the following words and state what lexico-semantic variants (LSV) of these words are specific to British English or American English. Give analogous oppositions to these LSVs in the other variant of English or Standard English.

1. tin - 1. a soft light silver metal, often used for covering iron or steel. 2. a closed light container for a food or drink product that you open with a tin opener. 2a. a metal container with a lid, used for storing things. 2b. a metal container used for cooking food in an oven.

2. coach – 1. a long comfortable vehicle for carrying a large number of passengers, especially on long journeys. 1a. one of the sections of a train. 1b. an old-fashioned vehicle that is pulled by horses. 2. someone who trains a sports player or team. 2a. someone who teaches a special skill, especially one connected with performing such as singing or acting. 3. a less expensive type of seat on a plane or train.

3. cupboard – 1. a tall piece of furniture, usually attached to a wall and used for storing things, with shelves inside and one or two doors at the front. 2. a very small room with no window used for storing things.

4. flat – 1. a set of rooms for living in, usually on one floor of a large building. 2. a flat surface or part of something. 3. a musical note that is one semitone lower than a particular note. 3a. a written symbol for showing that you must play or sing a note a semitone lower. 4. (pl) a low flat area of land, usually wet land near a large area of water.

5. caravan – 1. a vehicle that people can live and travel in on holiday. 1a. a vehicle that Romanies live in, sometimes pulled by a horse. 2. group of people and vehicles traveling together, especially in a desert.

6. interval – 1. a period of time between two events. 2. a short break between the parts of something such as a play or concert. 3. a space or distance between two things. 4. (technical) a difference in pitch between two musical notes.

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 2069