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THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA

 

Text I.

 

Venerable Bede (673-735), a Benedictine monk, is often called the father of English history. His “Ecclesiastical History of the English People” was written in Latin, dated events from the birth of Christ and reflected Bede’s own wisdom and the ideas of his time. After his death King Alfred translated this book from Latin into English.

Ecclesiastical History of the English People

(fragment)

 

‘Britain is rich in grain and timber; it has good pasturage for cattle and draft animals, and vines are cultivated in various localities. There are many land and sea birds of various species, and it is well known for its plentiful springs and rivers abounding in fish. There are salmon and eel fisheries, while seals, dolphins, and sometimes whales are caught. There are also many varieties of shellfish, such a mussels, in which are often found excellent pearls of several colours: red, purple, violet, and green, but mainly white. Cocles are abundant, and a beautiful scarlet dye is extracted from them which remains unfaded by sunshine or rain; indeed, the older the cloth, the more beautiful its colour. The country has both salt and hot springs, and the waters flowing from them provide hot baths, in which the people bathe separately according to age and sex.

 

Ireland is broader than Britain, and its mild and healthy climate is superior. Snow rarely lies longer than three days, so that there is no need to store hay in summer for winter use or to build stables for beasts. There are no reptiles, and no snake can exist there, for although often brought over from Britain, as soon as the ship nears land, they breathe its scented air and die. In fact, almost everything in this isle enjoys immunity to poison. (…) The island abounds in milk and honey, and there is no lack of vines, fish, and birds, while deer and goats are widely hunted”.

 

(translated by Leo Sherley-Price, from “What is the English we read” , MSU, 2003)

 

Exercises

 

1. Match the words from the text with their synonyms in the second list.

 

be rich in raw wood

grain abound in

timber resistance

immunity meadow

pasturage caws and sheep

cattle place

draft animals dry grass

locality cereal

hay cart horse

 

2. Give the list of fish species/animals mentioned in the text. Can you add more names?

3. Give the list of colors mentioned in the text. Add as many colors as possible. Speak about gradations. You can make it a team play.

4. Which facts given by Venerable Bede seem unreal? Why? Discuss in a group.

 

 

Text II. Christmas in the Trenches, 1914 By the end of November 1914 the crushing German advance that had swallowed the Low Countries and threatened France had been checked by the allies before it could reach Paris. The opposing armies stared at each other from a line of hastily built defensive trenches that began at the edge of the English Channel and continued to the border of Switzerland. Barbed wire and parapets defended the trenches and between them stretched a "No-Mans-Land" that in some areas was no more than 30 yards wide. The Germans seem to have made the first move. During the evening of December 24 they delivered a chocolate cake to the British line accompanied by a note that proposed a cease fire so that the Germans could have a concert. The British accepted the proposal and offered some tobacco as their present to the Germans. The good will soon spread along the 27-mile length of the British line. Enemy soldiers shouted to one another from the trenches, joined in singing songs and soon met one another in the middle of no-mans-land to talk, exchange gifts and in some areas to take part in impromptu soccer matches. The high command on both sides took a dim view of the activities and orders were issued to stop the fraternizing with varying results. In some areas the truce ended Christmas Day in others the following day and in others it extended into January. One thing is for sure - it never happened again. Frank Richards was a British soldier who experienced the "Christmas Truce". We join his story on Christmas morning 1914: "On Christmas morning we stuck up a board with 'A Merry Christmas' on it. The enemy had stuck up a similar one. Platoons would sometimes go out for twenty-four hours' rest - it was a day at least out of the trench and relieved the monotony a bit - and my platoon had gone out in this way the night before, but a few of us stayed behind to see what would happen. Two of our men then threw their equipment off and jumped on the parapet with their hands above their heads. Two of the Germans done the same and commenced to walk up the river bank, our two men going to meet them. They met and shook hands and then we all got out of the trench. Buffalo Bill [the Company Commander] rushed into the trench and endeavoured to prevent it, but he was too late: the whole of the Company were now out, and so were the Germans. He had to accept the situation, so soon he and the other company officers climbed out too. We and the Germans met in the middle of no-man's-land. Their officers was also now out. Our officers exchanged greetings with them. One of the German officers said that he wished he had a camera to take a snapshot, but they were not allowed to carry cameras. Neither were our officers. We mucked in all day with one another. They were Saxons and some of them could speak English. By the look of them their trenches were in as bad a state as our own. One of their men, speaking in English, mentioned that he had worked in Brighton for some years and that he was fed up to the neck with this damned war and would be glad when it was all over. We told him that he wasn't the only one that was fed up with it. We did not allow them in our trench and they did not allow us in theirs. The German Company-Commander asked Buffalo Bill if he would accept a couple of barrels of beer and assured him that they would not make his men drunk. They had plenty of it in the brewery. He accepted the offer with thanks and a couple of their men rolled the barrels over and we took them into our trench. The German officer sent one of his men back to the trench, who appeared shortly after carrying a tray with bottles and glasses on it. Officers of both sides clinked glasses and drunk one another's health. Buffalo Bill had presented them with a plum pudding just before. The officers came to an understanding that the unofficial truce would end at midnight. At dusk we went back to our respective trenches. (from eyewitnesstohistory.com) Exercises 1. Finish the sentences: “The line of the trenches went from … to …” – “The trenches were defended by … and …” – “The first move was made by …” – “They proposed a cease fire so that the Germans could … “ – “Enemy soldiers exchanged gifts and took part in …” – “One of the German officers said that he wished he had a camera to …” “Officers of both sides clinked glasses and drunk …” – 2. Explain the world “truce”. Look at the mind map below and explain the meaning of collocations given in it. Propose more combinations with the word. To denounce - Armed - Truce To violate - Uneasy -   - Of God   3. Can you find any elements of informal style in Frank Richards’ story? Give examples.     Text III.   Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill (1874 – 1965) was a British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the great wartime leaders and served as Prime Minister twice (1940–45 and 1951-55). A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, a writer, and an artist. To date, he is the only British prime minister to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature. Read the fragments from his wartime speeches widely known in the UK. "Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat" "I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this Government, I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many long months of toil and struggle. "You ask what is our policy. I will say, it is to wage war with all our might, with all the strength that God can give us, to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. "You ask what is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory. Victory at all costs. Victory in spite of all terror. Victory however long and hard the road may be. For without victory there is no survival." (First speech as Prime Minister, House of Commons, 13 May 1940)   "Be Ye Men of Valour" "Today is Trinity Sunday. Centuries ago words were written to be a call and a spur to the faithful servants of Truth and Justice: 'Arm yourselves, and be ye men of valour, and be in readiness for the conflict; for it is better for us to perish in battle than to look upon the outrage of our nation and our altar. As the will of God is in Heaven, even so let it be.'" (First broadcast as Prime Minister, 19 May 1940)   "Never Surrender" "We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing-grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender!" (House of Commons, 4 June 1940, following the evacuation of British and French armies from Dunkirkas the German tide swept through France) "Their Finest Hour" What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilisation. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may more forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their Finest Hour.' (House of Commons, 18 June 1940, following the collapse of France. Many thought Britain would follow) "War of the Unknown Warriors" This is no war of chieftains or of princes, of dynasties or national ambition; it is a war of peoples and of causes. There are vast numbers, not only in this island but in every land, who will render faithful service in this war but whose names will never be known, whose deeds will never be recorded. This is a war of the Unknown Warriors; but let all strive without failing in faith or in duty, and the dark curse of Hitler will be lifted from our age." (BBC Broadcast, London, 14 July 1940) (from http://www.winstonchurchill.org)   Exercises  
  1. Churchill was a brilliant speaker. What rhetorical devices did he use speeches to make them more dramatic? Give examples from the text.
 
  1. Can we find any elements of poetic style in the Churchill’s phrase:
  “But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science”   . Can you explain it? Can you put it in other words using more usual lexis?  
  1. Explain the meaning of the word “valour”. Give synonyms to it.
 
  1. Find in the text English equivalents to the following combinations:
  ß íå ìîãó íè÷åãî ïðåäëîæèòü, êðîìå; ïðèñêîðáíûé ñïèñîê ÷åëîâå÷åñêèõ çëîäåÿíèé; ïîáåäà ëþáîé öåíîé; ÷åãî áû íàì ýòî íè ñòîèëî; âûæèâàíèå õðèñòèàíñêîé öèâèëèçàöèè; óïàñòü â òåìíóþ áåçäíó; íåèçâåñòíûå âîèíû.   5. Look for some more Churchill’s sayings or some extra materials about his personality. Make presentation.   THE USA     BRIEF HISTORY OF THE USA FIRST COLONIES. The first Europeans to establish colonies in North America were the Spanish. In 1565 Pedro Menendez de Aviles founded a settlement at St Augustine, Florida, the first permanent European settlement in what is now the USA. The first English attempts to colonize North America was made in 1578-1785 by Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Walter Raleigh.. They found what they thought was a suitable place for a colony. Queen Elizabeth the 'Virgin Queen' allowed to call the place Virginia. Shortage of food, disease and conflict with the natives caused many deaths among the colonists (1). In 1612 John Rolfe began growing tobacco. Exports of tobacco soon became the mainstay of the Virginian economy. Another English colony – New England - was founded by a group of people fleeing religious persecution. They set out in a ship called the Mayflower and arrived on 11 December 1620. Half of the colonists did not survive the first year in North America. Unlike the southern states, which were overwhelmingly agricultural, New England developed ship building industry and fishing, exported timber and barrels. In 1624 the Dutch West India Company founded a colony called New Netherland. The British captured New Netherland in 1664 and renamed it to New York in honor of the king's brother the Duke of York. Maryland was founded as a haven for Catholics and soon became another tobacco growing colony. The Carolinas were settled after 1663 and became a slave state (from the end of the 17th century many African slaves were transported to work on the plantations). Georgia was founded in 1732 when George II gave it a charter. NO TAXATION WITHOUT RESPRESENTATION. As the North American colonies grew tension with Britain was inevitable. As early as 1651 the British Parliament passed a navigation act stating that any goods grown or made outside Europe must be transported to England in English ships. In 1763 the Royal Great Proclamation sought to ban any further westward expansion and was ignored by the colonists. In 1764 the British Prime Minister passed the Currency Act of 1764 banning the issue of paper money in the American colonies. More offence was caused by the Stamp Act of 1765, which imposed duty on legal documents, newspapers and playing cards. The Americans believed that since they were not represented in the British parliament it had no right to impose taxes on them. In October 1765 a number of colonies sent delegates to a 'Stamp act Congress' to organize resistance. Imports of British goods were boycotted, rioters attacked tax collectors. The British government was forced to back down. By March 1770 all duties except those on tea were removed. THE BOSTON MASSACRE AND THE BOSTON TEA PARTY. In March 1770 a group of people in Boston threw snowballs at British soldiers. The soldiers opened fire, killing 5 people and wounding 6. The British failure to execute anybody for the massacre outraged American opinion. In 1773 the British East India Company sent tea to the American colonies to sell. Three ships were sent to Boston with 298 chests of tea. On 16 December 1773 men dressed as Indians boarded the ships and threw the tea into the sea. THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. Finally in September 1774 a Continental Congress met to decide policy. The Congress denounced British interference in American affairs and asserted the right of colonial assemblies to pass laws and raise taxes as they saw fit. The American colonies had militias made up of civilians and they resisted the British. The Continental Congress met again in May 1775 and agreed to raise an army. George Washington was made its commander in chief. George III refused to compromise and declared that all the American colonies were in a state of rebellion. In May 1776 Congress decided that royal government should cease and government should be 'under the authority of the people'. On 11 June Congress appointed a committee to write a Declaration of independence. It was signed on 4 July 1776. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR. The British won the battle of Long Island and captured New York, However Washington won victories at Trenton and at Princeton. The Americans were defeated at Brandywine, but they won a decisive victory at Saratoga in October. Saratoga convinced the French that the Americans might win the war. As a result they declared war on Britain, their traditional enemy in 1778. Spain (1779) and the Dutch (1780) followed them. The war continued till September 1783 when the Treaty of Paris ended it. THE FOUNDATION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. In 1777 Articles of Confederation were drawn up which joined the states into a loose federation. The first Congress met in 1789 and George Washington became the first President. In 1791 ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights were ratified. In the 18th century the population of America was boosted by immigrants from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Germany. The USA expanded westward: Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio were admitted. In 1803 American territory was greatly increased by the Louisiana purchase from Napoleon. There was now no bar to the USA spreading across the continent to the Pacific Ocean. More and more states were added to union: Indiana , Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas and Michigan. In 1818 Andrew Jackson led a force into Florida (although it was Spanish territory). Florida became a US state in 1845.The American economy grew rapidly. In the South cotton expanded after the invention of the cotton gin in 1793. Trade and commerce grew rapidly In the North. Coal mining and manufacturing industries boomed. The canal from the Hudson River to Lake Erie was completed in 1825. The first railroad was built in the USA in 1828. TEXAS JOINS THE USA. In the 1820s the Mexican government welcomed Americans who wished to settle in its thinly populated territory of Texas. However in the American settlers soon quarreled with their Mexican masters. A force of Mexicans under Santa Anna besieged about 189 men in the fortress at Alamo. All the defenders were eventually killed. On 21 April 1836 Texan troops under Sam Houston routed the Mexican army at the battle of San Jacinto. Texas became independent. The US annexation of Texas led directly to war with Mexico. Finally in 1848 Mexico ceded New Mexico and California to the USA. California was admitted to the union as a state in 1850 (2), THE INDIAN WARS . As the USA expanded westward there were many wars with the Indians. President Andrew Jackson in 1830 signed the Indian Removal Bill which forced Indians east of the Mississippi River to move to Oklahoma. One tribe, the Seminoles of Florida, resisted deportation. In the 1850s the USA also fought wars with the natives of the Northwest; afterwards they were forced onto reservations. THE USA IN THE MID-19TH CENTURY. By1860 the population of the USA was 31 million. New states (Iowa, Wisconsin, Kansas) were added. However the rapidly growing nation was torn apart by the issue of slavery. In the northern states slavery was gradually abolished and the USA became divided into 'free states' and 'slave states'. North and south were also divided over tariffs. The northern states began to industrialize in the early 19th century and wanted tariffs to protect their industries. Southerners remained an agricultural society and objected to tariffs because they bought goods from the north or from Europe and tariffs made them more expensive. THE OUTBREAK OF CIVIL WAR. The civil war was finally provoked by the election of Abraham Lincoln as president. His policy meant that in future free states would outnumber slave ones. (Later, in 1862, Lincoln will make the Emancipation Proclamation, which will be followed in 1865 by the 13th amendment banning slavery). As a result of his election South Carolina left the union in1860. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas followed it. Together they formed the Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis(1808-1889) became the President. Fighting began on 12 April 1861. The unionists’ north outnumbered the Confederate south 4 to 1 in men of military age. Besides the south suffered from disunity. In May 1864 both sides suffered heavy losses at the Battle of the Wilderness in Virginia. Finally on 9 April 1865 Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appotomax Court House. Lincoln was assassinated on 15 April 1865. Andrew Johnson took his place. The southern states were gradually re-admitted to the union and allowed to send senators and representatives to Congress again (2). THE SPANISH WAR. In 1898 the USA fought a war with Spain. In the 1890s Cuba rebelled against Spanish rule and the Spanish dealt with the rebels very harshly which enraged American public opinion. On 25 April 1898 the USA went to war. On 1 May Spanish ships were destroyed in Manila Harbor. US soldiers landed in the Philippines and they captured Manila on 13 August. US soldiers landed in Cuba and captured Santiago on 17 July. By a peace treaty, which was signed in Paris on 10 December 1898, Cuba became independent while the USA took the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam. WORLD WAR I. When the First World War began in 1914 the USA remained neutral. However Germany alienated American public opinion on 7 May 1915 when a German submarine sank the liner Lusitania, without warning. Among the 1,198 people killed were 128 Americans. Nevertheless Woodrow Wilson fought the 1916 election partly on the slogan 'he kept us out of the war'. However on 1 February 1917 Germany began unrestricted submarine warfare. That meant that any neutral ship attempting to trade with Britain was a target for submarines. On 6 April 1917 the USA declared war on Germany. Conscription was introduced. By September 1918 the US commander General John J. Pershing was able to begin actions against the Germans. German troops were pushed back until Germany surrendered on 11 November 1918. THE 1920s. For most people (not all) the 1920s were a time of prosperity. Cars, radios, refrigerators, irons and fans became common. Americans enjoyed the highest standard of living in the world. The eighteenth amendment that came into force in 1920 banned the 'manufacture, sale or transportation' of alcohol. However people simply made alcohol illegally. Prohibition boosted organized crime as gangsters tried to control the supply of alcohol. Prohibition ended in 1933. THE WALL STREET CRASH AND THE DEPRESSION. In 1929 the American economy began to falter. Demand for new cars fell and house building slowed down. However the stock market continued to boom in the late 1920s. Many people bought stocks with borrowed money. As a result the stock market became inflated. Prices rose to a very high level. Inevitably, some people began to sell. On 24 October 1929, known as Black Thursday, panic selling began and prices fell catastrophically, an event known as the Wall Street Crash. Business confidence disappeared. By 1932 about 25% were unemployed. President Hoover persuaded employers to maintain wages at their present levels. He also increased spending on roads, bridges and public buildings. However Hoover believed in what he called 'Rugged individualism'. He believed too much state help would make people dependent. For the unemployed life during the depression was very harsh. Many were reduced to attending soup kitchens run by charities. (The soup was sometimes called 'Hoover stew'. Hoover became deeply unpopular and in 1932 Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected President. THE NEW DEAL. Roosevelt assured the American people that the only thing they had to fear was fear itself. He promised the American people 'A New Deal'. At first Roosevelt persuaded Congress to pass a number of laws in a hectic period known as 'The Hundred Days'. All the banks in the USA were closed by law. The Emergency Banking Act of 9 March 1933 meant they would only open again if the Federal government declared they were solvent. This measure persuaded people it was safe to deposit their savings in banks. The Federal Emergency Relief Act was passed to help the unemployed: the states were given grants to provide work like repairing roads and improving parks and schools. The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 tried to raise the price of farm produce by reducing supply. In 1935 the Social Security Act created old age pensions and an unemployment insurance scheme. In 1938 a Fair Labor Standards Act created a minimum wage. Despite all of Roosevelt's efforts the depression only ended with the coming of war (2). WORLD WAR II. On 7 December 1941 the Japanese attacked the American Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor. The next day Congress declared war on Japan. On 11 December 1941 Germany and Italy declared war on the USA. The USA mobilised all its resources for war. Industrial output doubled during World War II and by 1943 there was full employment. The American public suffered less than people in other countries because the USA escaped occupation of air raids. The USA's massive industrial strength made the defeat of the Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) inevitable. Roosevelt died on 12 April 1945. THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE. After World War II the USA was the richest and most powerful nation in the world. However relations between the USA and the Soviet Union quickly cooled after 1945. By 1947 the Cold War had begun. The USA provided massive aid for Europe, which was devastated by war. It was called the Marshall Plan after Secretary of State George C. Marshall. The aid was given in 1948-1951 andt greatly assisted European recovery. However in 1950 the USA was drawn into the Korean War. McCARTHYISM IN THE USA. The early 1950s was the era of McCarthyism. At that time there was a great fear of communist infiltration. In 1946 Winston Churchill announced that an 'iron curtain' was descending across Europe. In 1949 the Russians exploded an atomic bomb. Into this atmosphere of fear stepped Senator Joseph McCarthy who claimed that he had a list of communists employed by the State Department. McCarthy then began a witch-hunt in which many people lost their jobs. In December 1954 McCarthy lost his support in the Senate. JOHN F. KENNEDY. In the early 1960s Kennedy strengthened the US armed forces. He also committed the USA to landing a man on the moon by the end of the decade and created the Peace Corps. In his foreign policy Kennedy agreed to a plan to send 1,500 Cuban refugees to overthrow Cuba. The refugees landed at the Bay of Pigs in 1961 and were quickly routed by the Cuban forces. After that fiasco came the Cuban missiles crisis. The USSR placed long-range missiles on Cuba that were capable of hitting the USA. In 1963 Kennedy signed a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. He was assassinated on 22 November 1963. THE VIETNAM WAR. In the early 20th century the French ruled Vietnam but in 1941 it was occupied by the Japanese. Nevertheless after World War II the French tried to rule Vietnam again. Senator John Kennedy said that the USA had 'allied itself to the desperate effort of the French regime to hang on to the remnants of an empire'. He was soon proved right. In 1954 the French were utterly defeated. Vietnam was split, communist forces spread in its southern part. In the 1960s American policy in Vietnam was influenced by the 'domino theory', which said that if one country fell to communism neighboring states would also fall. American involvement in Vietnam really began in 1961 when Kennedy sent the first soldiers and increased after August 1964 when North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked US warships. As a result American forces in South Vietnam rapidly increased and reached half a million by the end of 1967. The Vietnam War became increasingly unpopular at home. From 1965 onwards anti-war demonstrations were held. From 1970 President Nixon slowly withdrew US troops from South Vietnam proposing to let the South Vietnamese defend themselves. The last US troops left in 1973. WATERGATE. On 17 June 1972 five men broke into the Democratic Party Headquarters in the Watergate Building. The five were arrested. Later two other men, both former White House officials, were also arrested. All the men worked for the Committee for Re-election of the President or CREEP. The seven men were all convicted but at the sentencing in March 1973 one of them claimed the White House had arranged a 'cover up' of its involvement in the break in. Nixon firmly denied that he was personally involved. In July 1974 the Supreme Court ordered him to hand over all relevant tapes. On 5 August 1974 Nixon surrendered tapes which made it clear that he was involved in an attempted 'cover up'. Having lost all support Nixon resigned on 9 August 1974. THE USA TODAY. In 2001 the USA suffered a terrorist attack. It participated in military operations in Afghanistan, Irak, Libya. The consequences of global economic crisis are still actual for American economy. Today the population of the USA is 306 million. In 2008 it was estimated that 12.5% of the US population lived in poverty. (After “Brief History of the USA” by by Tim Lambert from: http://www.localhistories.org ) Notes: 1. In the 17th century it was not safe to drink water, it was too dirty. At first colonists were forced to use corn to make an alcoholic drink. Later beer and cider were common. For ordinary people rum became a popular drink in the late 17th century. In the 18th century tea became popular. In the early 17th century colonists relied mainly on corn for food. Later in the 17th century other grains like rye, wheat and barley were grown. Colonists also grew vegetable like onions, turnips, parsnips and carrots. Average life expectancy at birth was only 35. Out of all people born about 35-40 % died before the age of 16. However if you could survive to your mid-teens you would probably live to your 50s or early 60s. 2. The population of California boomed when a gold rush occurred. Gold was discovered at Sutters Mill in 1848. In the fall of 1848 newspapers in the East published the news that gold could be found in California and a gold rush began. The huge wave of migrants created a huge demand for industries products and the Californian economy prospered 3. When Rutherford Hayes was inaugurated as President in 1877 he withdrew troops from the south. The former confederate states were then left to go their own way without any interference from the north. In the south white people re-asserted their rule and black people were forced to become subservient. Between 1890 and 1908 black people were deprived of the right to vote in all the former confederate states. Later in 1866-1867 the Ku Klux Klan was formed to terrorize black people. 4. In 1940 Germany conquered Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium and France. In response Roosevelt started to expand American armed forces. Although American public opinion was opposed to joining the war Roosevelt declared that America must be 'the arsenal of democracy'. In January 1941 he introduced the lend-lease bill to Congress. It empowered him to sell, lend or lease arms, food or any other supplies to any country whose defense he deemed vital to the United States. At first lend-lease applied only to Britain but in August Roosevelt extended it to Russia. US troops also occupied Iceland.     Extensive reading Text I.   Christopher Columbus Discovers America, 1492   Columbus led his three ships - the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria - out of the Spanish port of Palos on August 3, 1492. His objective was to sail west until he reached Asia (the Indies) where the riches of gold, pearls and spice awaited. Columbus's journal of his first voyage to America has been lost. However, we do have an accurate abstract of the journal written by Bartolome de las Casas in the 1530s. Las Casas was an historian and Columbus's biographer who had access to the original journal of the voyage. We join Columbus's account as his expedition approaches the islands of the Bahamas. Throughout the account, Columbus refers to himself in the third person as the "Admiral": "Thursday October 11. After the Admiral had spoken he saw the light once or twice, and it was like a wax candle rising and failing. It seemed to few to be an indication of land; but the Admiral made certain that land was close. When they said the Salve, (Salve Regina) which all the sailors were accustomed to sing in their way, the Admiral asked and admonished the men to keep a good look-out on the forecastle, and to watch well for land; and to him who should first cry out that he saw land, he would give a silk doublet, besides the other rewards promised by the Sovereigns, which were 10,000 maravedis to him who should first saw it. At two hours after midnight the land was sighted at a distance of two leagues." Columbus ordered the three ships to halt and wait for daylight before venturing further. His journal continues: "Friday October 12. On Friday they arrived at a small island of the Lucayos, called, in the language of the Indians, Guanahani. Presently they saw naked people. The Admiral went on shore in the armed boat, and Martin Alonso Pinzon, and Vicente Yanez, his brother, who was captain of the Niña. The Admiral took the royal standard, and the captains went with two banners of the green cross, which the Admiral took in all the ships as a sign, with an F and a Y and a crown over each letter, one on one side of the cross and the other on the other. Having landed, they saw trees very green, and much water, and fruits of diverse kinds. The Admiral called to the two captains, and to the others who leaped on shore, and to Rodrigo Escovedo, secretary of the whole fleet, and to Rodrigo Sanchez of Segovia, and said that they should bear faithful testimony that he, in presence of all, had taken, as he now took, possession of the said island for the King and for the Queen his Lords, making the declarations that are required, as is now largely set forth in the testimonies which were then made in writing." Shortly after landing, many of the island's inhabitants assembled on the beach and Columbus gave them gifts of red hats and beads. The natives reciprocated with gifts of parrots, cotton and other goods. In describing the natives, Columbus wrote: "They go as naked as when their mothers bore them, and so do the women, although I did not see more than one girl. They are very well made, with very handsome bodies, and very good countenances. (from eyewitnesstohistory.com)
 
 

 



Exercises  
  1. Describe the behavior of Columbus and his crew after their landing, and the behavior of the island’s inhabitants.
 
  1. Explain the meaning of the following words:
  testimony reciprocate countenance What is the field they are usually used in? What kind of style is that?   Text II.

 

  United States Declaration of Independence (1776) by the United States of America in Congress Assembled  

 

 

WHEN in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness—-That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience has shown, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security. Such has been the patient Sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The History of the Present King of Great-Britain is a History of repeated Injuries and Usurpations, all having in direct Object the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World. (…)

Signed by Order and in Behalf of the Congress,
JOHN HANCOCK, President.

(from http://www.usahistory.info)

Exercises

 

  1. What are the main principles the Declaration contains?

 

  1. What made Americans announce Independence from the British Crown?

 

 

  1. Study the text and pick out words and word combinations which are still in use when we speak about politics. Which can be useful for the philosophical talks?

 

  1. Which lines in this fragment can be treated as key words containing the main idea of the declaration? Compare answers, discuss them in a group.

 

Text III.

 

Out in California

Out in California, on January 24, 1848, John W. Marshall, a carpenter, was building a grist mill on the South fork of the American River; and on this particular day he stopped and picked up a small yellow stone that had been washed down from the wooded hills above the present city of Sacramento. Was it gold? He couldn’t tell. So he gave it to a workman’s wife, who was boiling some home-made soup. She tossed the stone into the kettle of boiling fat and lye.

After being cooked all day, the nugget gleamed like a tiger’s eye, and the next morning at daybreak John W. Marshall leaped on his horse and hurried pell-mell forty miles down the canyon to the ranch house of his employer, John A. Sutter.

Marshall rushed into the house, locked the door and pulled the yellow nugget from his pocket. Sutter stared at it, wide-eyed with excitement.

It was gold, and he knew it. A pure nugget of glistening gold. His wildest dreams had been transcended. He would soon be lord of all creation, the richest man in the world.

Sutter attempted to keep the discovery a secret. But he might as well have tried to prevent the very stars from shining in their orbits. He had unleashed a force that was destined to shake the continent. Within a day all the men on Sutter’s ranch left their appointed tasks and, in a mad frenzy of greed, were scratching and digging and panning for gold.

In a week the whole countryside was in a turmoil. Ranches were deserted. Everything was in chaos. Cows were left bellowing to be milked, calves bawled in vain for their mothers, while wolves slaughtered the bleating sheep.

Excited men, with picks and shovels, were soon making from $ 200 to $1000 between sunrise and sunset. One cut of the spade and a couple of shakes of the sieve and, presto! Nuggets worth thousands lay at your feet – a fortune made in a minute.

Telegraph wires flashed the sensational news across the continent and convulsed the United States with excitement.

Workmen left their shops, soldiers deserted from the army wholesale, farmers abandoned their lands, merchants locked their shops. The gold-diggers were on the move. The locust swarm of humanity took wings and headed for the golden land beyond the sunset.

In the spring of 1849 a mighty cavalcade trekked out of Independence, Kansas, the last outpost of civilization. Youth was in the saddle, youth thrilling to the quest of a new adventure. From the Missouri River to the snow-packed summits of the Sierra Nevada, there flowed a long, unbroken line of wagon-trains, drawn by horses and slow-moving oxen. The prairie was riotously green with spring and rollicking songs rolled from wagon-train to wagon-train.

Countless thousands of others were coming by sea. Packed into whaling-ships and cargo-boats, they rounded Cape Horn under whining sails and creaking masts. Smashed and pounded by hurricanes off the Straits of Magellan, racked by raging fevers, smitten with scurvy, their ranks decimated by cholera, the gold diggers sailed on, as irresistible as the sweep of the mighty Pacific.

(from: “Little-Known Facts about Well-Known People” by Dale Carnegie)

 

Exercises

 

 

1. What was the everyday life of ordinary people in the Wild West? Can we learn any details of it from the text?

Find the words for:

- buildings

- activities

- animals

- tools

- transport (land/sea).

 

2. In the text there are some verbs describing sound.

Match them with the source given in the text:

Verb Noun

bellow masts

bleat cows

bawl sails

rollick sheep

creak calves

whine youth (young people)

 

Can we make any other pairs with the same words?

 

3. Work with the dictionary and make mind maps for the following polysemantic words.

 

decimate (v) pick (n, v) round (n, v, adj)

 

5. What actions of a gold-digger are described in the text?

 

Listening

Robert Bucholz . History of England from the Tudors to the Stuarts (lectures)

(http://www.thegreatcourses.com)

 

Listening 1

History of London

1. Listen to the fragment from the lecture.

2. Try to fix dates and figures while listening. After listening tell what they refer to. Compare answers.

3. Listen again and check yourself.

4. Speak about the text. Give summary of it.

 

Listening 2

The Civil Wars 1642-1649 in England

 

1. You are going to listen to the lecture describing the Revolution of 1642-1649. Before you listen remember the main events of the time.

2. Try to fix names of social groups participating in the Revolution on both sides.

3. What impressed you most in the story? Retell this episode.

http://www.usahistory.info

eyewitnesstohistory.com

http://www.britannia.com/history/

http://www.great-britain.co.uk/history/history.htm

http://www.thegreatcourses.com

 

THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA

 

Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. We don’t know much about the man. He was born in Italy but lived in Spain for a long time. He was a seaman and made many sea voyages. Most people in Columbus’ days thought that the earth was flat and they did not believe that beyond the Atlantic Ocean lay India. In 1492 the King and the Queen of Spain gave him money to go to India. He decided to sail west as he was sure that our planet was round. There were 3 caravels: the Santa Maria, the Nina and the Pinta. After sailing 4000 miles he reached some land. Columbus thought that it must be India but it was not. It was a new land - a new continent. It was America. Columbus named the land they had reached San Salvador. People began to speak about the land as “the New World”. European people came to the New World for many reasons. Some hoped to find gold and silver. Priests and missionaries came to bring the Christian religion to the Indians. Among those who came for freedom was a small group of English people called Pilgrims. They wanted to start a new life and to have no religious problems they had in England. In 1620 on the ship “Mayflower” they landed in the north-east of America. They set up a colony and called that part of the country “New England”.
       
   
 
 

 

 


Pilgrims

 

Answer the questions:

1. Who discovered America and when?

2. Who sent Columbus to India?

3. What do you know about his man?

4. Why did he decide to go west?

5. What was the name of the new land?

Pilgrim [’pilgrim] –

Mayflower – “

Can you find the following Columbus Day words?

R F L I O T S N H S · ocean  
X B U N S P A I N A · king  
A P K D W E H P L N · sail  
Y M Q I K A N V W T · Pinta  
G Q E A C I I E C A · queen  
E U D R Z R N T S M · Columbus  
N E W M I D A G A A · America
O E O T W C P V I R · ship  
A N R B N M A R L I · Santa Maria  
C O L U M B U S Q A · Spain  
S O D I D F T E O P · India  
X Q U I G S H I P L · new + world  
R O C E A N Z W I S · Nina  

 

Two words in each line are merged together. Find the original.

 

A t l O c n t e i a c n       a                    
                                       
N o r w l e d W           w                    
                                       
N A o m r e h r i c a         t                    
                                       
S M a n r t i a a     a                          
                                       
S n Q p o u i e e a f n       e                    

 

True or False?

1. Christopher Columbus was Spanish.

2. Columbus was a sailor.

3. Columbus wanted to travel to Asia.

4. The King and the Queen of Spain helped him with his trip.

5. Columbus discovered America in 1498.

6. Columbus didn’t know he was in America.

 

Match the following phrases from the video.

1. to celebrate a) American Indians.  
2. He thought that the Earth b) anniversary  
3. He sailed west c) found land.  
4. After two months he d) was not land.  
5. Native Americans were called e) on his ship.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYFySjjHKhw#at=312

500 years ago there were people on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean but neither knew about the other. On the western side, our side, the people had reddish brown skins and lived in the huts, or wigwams. On the eastern side, in Europe, the people were white skinned. They had learned how to build houses and large sailing ships but they still didn’t know much about the rest of the world. In fact, most of them believed the earth was flat. Then one day, a mapmaker named Christopher Columbus had an idea.

Columbus: Do you know what? I think the world isn’t flat at all, I think it’s round, like a ball.
Men: Did you hear what he said? Did you hear what he said? He said that the world is round! He is crazy! He is mad! He is insane!
Columbus: I think the world isn’t flat at all, I think it is round, like a ball.
Men: The world is flat as the brim of your hat and that is very plain.
Columbus: I know that I’m right. Oh, I know that I’m right when I say that the world is round. Oh, I’m right.
Men: You’re wrong.
Columbus: I’m right. My thinking is sound, and I’ll prove the world’s round, it won’t take very long!

But it did take long. Seven long years before Columbus could convince a King or a Queen to let him try out his idea. Then, Queen Isabella of Spain agreed to supply the ships and men for his trip.

Columbus: I will discover a shortcut to India and bring back some of the great wealth I find there. And I can do it, for I know the world is round. And instead of going east to India, I shall sail west and reach India around the other way. It will be a shorter and cheaper way, for I’ll do it all by sea.

Queen Isabella provided Columbus with three ships: the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. And on August 3rd, 1492, they set sail across the unknown Atlantic.

Columbus: High on the foaming tide over the ocean Onward our ships will ride onward my sailors.

The ships sailed onward, but two long months after they started there was still no sign of land ahead.

Men: Turn back, Columbus! Turn back, Columbus!
Columbus: We’ll not turn back until we find India. Onward, men!

By October 10th, the sailors and the crew were ready to take matters into their own hands.

Men: If Columbus won’t do as we ask, we’ll put him in chains. And we’ll turn the ships around ourselves. Wait! Have you heard? One of our men has just seen a branch in the ocean. What of it? It had fresh berries on it. That means we’re near land! Hurray!

Two days later, the ships reached land and Columbus and his crew saw the people with reddish brown skins, who lived there.

Columbus: Oh, I think it is rather surprising That they should have reddish brown skins. But now since we have landed in India Then these people must be Indians. We’ll call this part of India San Salvador, and I take possession in the name of the King or Queen of Spain.

The people Columbus called Indians were very friendly, and they gave Columbus and his men many gifts, but not the rich jewels and gold for which they had come. For Columbus really wasn’t in India at all. He was on one of the islands off the coast of America. But because of Columbus’ mistake, the natives of America have been called Indians, ever since. Columbus visited other islands near San Salvador, looking for the great wealth of India. And then he, and some of his men, returned to Spain.

Men: Hurray! Hurray! Hurray for Admiral Christopher Columbus! Hurray! Hurray!

Columbus had no trouble getting ships and men for his second voyage, but he still hadn’t the slightest idea that he was headed for the vast continent of America, and that he would have had to cross it and sail over the Pacific Ocean, before he could reach India by travelling west. The men of Europe were no longer afraid of the ocean. Columbus made two more voyages, and other explorers followed.

But each year on October 12th, we celebrate Columbus Day, the anniversary of that day in 1492, when Columbus first sighted the land of the new world, America.

 
 



Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1738


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