The Book of Genesis

1. Give synonyms to the words deep (2) and firmament (6-8).
2. Match words from the text with their definitions:

yield conquer, subjugate, or tame

abundant sovereignty, control

replenish produce or return as a fruit, profit, result

subdue fill up again, renew

dominion existing or available in large quantities

1. What first living creatures created are mentioned in the text?
2. What is the Russian equivalent to behold? What style does it mark?
3. Does the picture given in the Book of Genesis correspond with modern scientific theories? To what extent?

Text II

Religion in the United Kingdom and the USA

^{Religion in the United Kingdom provides an overview of the various Christian churches and other religious faiths in the countries of the present-day United Kingdom since the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The Acts of Union 1707 ensured that there would be no "Papist" succession, as well as confirming a link between church and state that still remains in England.}

^{According to the 2001 UK census, Christianity is the major religion, followed by Islam, Hinduism, Neo-Paganism, Sikhism, Judaism and Buddhism in terms of number of adherents. Though each country of the United Kingdom has a long tradition of Christianity that pre-dates the UK itself, in practice all have relatively low levels of religious observance and today are secular societies.}

^{The largest religious group in England is Christianity, with the Church of England (Anglican) the Established Church: the church is represented in the UK Parliament and the British monarch is a member of the church (required under Article 2 of the Treaty of Union) as well as its Supreme Governor. The Church of England also has the right to draft legislative measures (related to religious administration) through the General Synod that can then be passed into law by Parliament.}

^{The Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales is the second largest Christian church with around five million members, mainly in England. Catholics in the United Kingdom are served by their own clergy and do not belong to the Roman Catholic dioceses but are still in full communion with the Bishop of Rome.}

^{There are also growing Orthodox, Evangelical and Pentecostal churches, with Pentecostal churches in England now third after the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church in terms of church attendance.}

^{There is no Patron Saint of the United Kingdom as the individual countries each have their own patron saint:}

^{England - Saint George}

^{Ireland (including Northern Ireland) - Saint Patrick}

^{Scotland - Saint Andrew}

^{Wales - Saint David}

^{Between 2004 and 2008, the Office for National Statistics reported that the number of Christians in Great Britain (rather than the UK as a whole) fell by more than 2 million. The single largest age-cohort in the Christian population is in those over 70 years of age.}

Religion in the United States is characterized by both a wide diversity in religious beliefs and practices, and by a high adherence level. According to recent surveys, 83 percent of Americans claim to belong to a religious denomination, 40 percent claim to attend services nearly every week or more, and 58 percent claim to pray at least weekly. A majority of Americans report that religion plays a "very important" role in their lives, a proportion unusual among developed nations. The majority of Americans (76%) identify themselves as Christians, mostly within Protestant and Catholic denominations, accounting for 51% and 25% of the population respectively.^[Non-Christian religions (including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism etc.), collectively make up about 3.9% to 5.5% of the adult population. According to the American Religious Identification Survey, religious belief varies considerably across the country: 59% of Americans living in Western states (the "Unchurched Belt") report a belief in God, yet in the South (the "Bible Belt") the figure is as high as 86%.^[

^(from http://en.wikipedia.org)

Exercises

^{1. Practice right pronunciation of the words (write down transcriptions if necessary) :}

^{Christianity Judaism}

^{Islam Buddhism}

^{Hinduism Orthodox}

^{Neo-Paganism Evangelical}

^{Sikhism : Pentecostal}

^{Find Russian equivalents to them.}

^{2. Match two parts to make word combinations:}

^{link by 2 million}

^{represented between church and state}

^{draft in the Parliament}

^{fall legislative measures}

^{secular society}

^{3. Tell the difference between the words religion and faith.}

^{4. Explain the meaning of the word clergy. Can you give any family root words to it? Can you give any synonyms to it?}

^{Text III}

Date: 2015-01-11; view: 1130