Автор: Егошина Надежда Гермогеновна Должность: учитель английского языка
Учебное заведение: МБОУ "Гимназия № 14 г. Йошкар-Олы"
Населённый пункт: г. Йошкар-Ола, Республика Марий Эл
Наименование материала: методическая разработка
Тема: "MY NATIVE LAND – THE LAND OF WORK AND BEAUTY"
Pronunciation
1.
Write
down
the
transcription
of
the
words
given
below.
Pronounce
them
correctly.
Autonomous, European, area, neighbours,
inhabitants, limestone, industry,
machine building, wood processing, cattle-breading, poultry farming;
surface, landscape, swamp, variety, complexity, influence, ravine, westwards;
temperate, climate, continental, average, precipitation, nasty, peculiarities,
succession;
multi-cultural, representative, comprise, beyond, density, prevail, female;
proclaim, declaration, Supreme, Council, personify, shield, coat-of-arms.
2. Read the words in transcription, then write them in letters.
['faundid]
['bo:də]
[popju:'lei∫n]
[mə'∫i:n]
['indΛstri]
['leηθ]
['kætl]
['sə:fi:s]
[mi:t]
[ə'kə:]
['rævin]
[ək'ti:viti]
Vocabulary: Word Sets
Read the words, add them to the entries in your vocabulary note, learn as many
words as you can. Use these words in the sentences of your own.
Places to live:
Country, monarchy, republic, federation, union, state, kingdom, commonwealth.
Verbs of governing:
To govern, to reign, to rule, to be at power, to be at the head.
Heads of the country:
A monarch, a queen, a king, a president, a governor general.
Reading: cross-cultural note
Read about one more area the population of which belongs to the Finno-Ugric
world.
Karelia: The Island of Wonders
The Island of Kizhi is very small – 7 km long and about a half km wide. It is
situated in the lake of Onega in Karelia. A lot of visitors come here to have a look
at the Museum of wooden folk architecture and ethnography.
The picturesque ensemble includes 29-cupola pyramidal Cathedral of
Transfiguration (1714), a tent Bell-tower, designed by S.O. Petrukhin (1874), 9-
cupola Pokrovskaya Church. All the wooden houses were built by the Russian
skilled workmen without using any nails. They worked only with the help of an
axe and a chisel. The cupolas are of different size and give the cathedral a fairy-tale
look.
We don’t know anything about the genius man who built this wooden miracle.
There is a legend that the church was created by Master Nestor. Having built it, he
threw his axe into Lake Onega with the words, “There has never been, there isn’t
and there will never be anything like that”.
The central building – The Cathedral of Transfiguration – doesn’t have
counterparts anywhere in the world. There was nothing similar to it not only in the
history of the Russian architecture but in the world architecture as well. The domes
are made of aspen trees which are of golden hue in the sun and become very firm
in the course of time.
The composition is many-tier and is the most complicated among the preserved
Russian wooden cathedrals. The porch with two staircases gives the church a
picturesque look and makes it similar to a simple peasants’ house of the North. The
interior of the church also gives a feeling of being at home rather then in a temple.
People from every corner of the world keep coming here. They speak different
languages but all agree in one point: Kizhi is incomparable!
Read the text again and say if it’s true or false:
1.
The Island of Kizhi is famous for its huge size.
2.
Kizhi is an old village in Finland.
3.
The famous cathedral was built by the foreign architects.
4.
The cathedral was built by Master Nestor.
5.
The builders used very simple tools to erect the church.
6.
There are a few similar cathedrals in the countries of Western Europe.
7.
The cupolas were covered with pure gold to glitter in the sunshine.
8.
The cathedral looks magnificent.
9.
The museum of architecture is a favourite tourist destination.
Discussion
1. Do you agree with the following?
He who loves not his country, can love nothing (George G. Byron).
The more I see other countries, the more I love my own (Mme de Staёl).
The man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to
find it (J. Moore).
Motherland isn’t around you, it’s inside you. Motherland is a part of you and you
are a part of it.
What is Motherland? A simple combination of sounds or a powerful country with
great history?
2. Which places of interest would you recommend in your Republic to someone
who says: “I just want to relax and have a good rest”; “I’ve never been to the Art
Gallery”; “I would like to try horse riding”; “I don’t know anything about the
Mari national cuisine”.
3. Comment on the following:
“I don’t know any other country which possesses such huge lyrical power and
which is so touchingly picturesque with all its sadness, calmness and vast spaces as
the middle part of Russia” (K.G. Paustovsky).
“Island of Sakhalin”
“… but you feel here the absence of something important, … there are no old icons
and ancient furniture; you feel the lack of the past, the lack of customs and
traditions; …in winter evenings you can’t hear a cricket … so you feel the lack of
Motherland” (A.P. Checkov).
“You can’t take your Motherland together with you on the soles of your boots” (J.
Danton).
“I sometimes condemn my native country, but I feel pity when a foreigner shares
this opinion with me” (A.S. Pushkin).
Creativity
Sing a song.
Oh, Lovely Land
(Words by J.S. Wallace; Music by P.W. Sweetman)
1.Oh lovely land whose mountains run
From peak to peak to seek the sun,
And where we take the sacred fire
Of life and love to raise them higher.
Oh Canada, promised land,
This is the dream our fathers planned,
And though the rich have ravished you,
We swear to make this dream come true.
2. Oh lovely land where April rains
And April suns break ancient chains,
And where we too such bounties share,
Forever free, and ever fair.
A Minute for Fun
Read the jokes and retell them to your friends.
1. An American in London pub was boasting about the splendour of the Rocky
Mountains.
“You seem very proud of them,” said a Londoner.
“So am I,” said the American, “because my ancestors put them up.”
The Londoner thought this over for a few minutes and then asked: “Ever heard of
the Dead Sea?”
“Sure,” replied the American, “I know all about the Dead Sea.”
“Well, then you must have known that my grandfather was the man who killed it.”
2. Nostalgia… It is a situation when you remember how nice it was to sit in front
of the cozy fire place but you vaguely remember who sawed the fire-wood for it.
Research Work
Investigate the topic. Prepare a report. Be ready to answer the questions.
Possible topics for research work
1. Some interesting facts in the history of our republic.
2. Tragic pages of war time.
3. Outstanding people in the history of Mari El.
4. Modern heroes of Mari El.
5. Republic on the map of the world: its peculiarities.
Case Study
Explore the situation. Try to find the way out.
Tanya Grigoryeva, a student of 10A Form, Gymnasium # 14, spends each summer
at her Granny’s in the village of New Karamas (Volzhsky Region, Mari El). Last
year the teacher of History suggested that she should take part in the contest of
projects devoted to the native cities / villages.
Tanya willingly agreed and made up her mind to tell the jury of the competition
about her ancestors’ birthplace. It turned out that the settlement had a ling history.
It was first mentioned in the official papers in 1795. It contained 20 houses at that
time. Since then the village began to develop rapidly:
The year
The number of houses
The number of people
1795
20
---
1839
42
142
1867
67
410
1881
80
---
1887
---
536
1919
146
803
In 1898 a school was opened in the village. The new building of the school was
constructed in 1926-1927, it consisted of two classrooms. In 1939 in the primary
school studied 108 pupils. In 1962 the school got the status of a secondary school.
While looking through the data, Tanya found out, that e few decades ago the
village was prosperous, was growing quickly. Now it is a small village (in 2009
there were less than 90 houses, where about 323 people live) with no prospects for
further development. The library and the club stopped their work. Only 18 students
study at school now.
Tanya decided to accompany her project with the photos she took the previous
summer. Looking at them she couldn’t help thinking: “The place is gorgeous! It’s
really God’s country. The surroundings look fantastic! “The village is buried in
verdure. Vast fields, sweet-scented meadows, full of flowers dancing in a breeze,
little ravines overgrown with fragrant herbs, small clear ponds – all this lure people
who have a strong desire to visit this wild but so mysterious land. Not far from the
village (1.5 km) floats the river Ilet – one of the longest and full-floating rivers in
the Republic. Here you can swim, dive, sunbathe, travel in a boat, go fishing,
collect pebbles and shells. It’s one of the cleanest rivers of the Republic. It is fed
up by numerous underground water springs. The water in the river is crystal and
doesn’t freeze in winter.
The thick forest (1 km away) surrounds the village. In winter it invites you to ski,
to breathe frosty air; in spring – to listen to birds’ twitter, to enjoy the aroma of the
first flowers; in summer – to cool in the shadow of the trees, to pick up juicy
berries; in autumn – it supplies us with mushrooms, charms with variety of
colours. All these attractions make the place the real pearl of the Mari Land.
Having enjoyed the photos, Tanya went on writing her project. She had to work out
the practical part of the work: to answer the question how to revive the village and
how restore it to life.
What do you think will be the answer to the last question of the project?
What ways of reviving the former prosperous village will the girl offer?
Do you agree that the possible way out can be based on the reasonable usage
of the unique nature of this land?
Unit 2. Yoshkar-Ola – the capital of Mari
El
Pronunciation
1. Divide the words into two columns. In the first column put down the words with
the sound [e], in the second one – the words with the sound [æ].
Impressive, reflect, land, every, west, event, band, fact, attic, bank, erect,
revolution, convent, cattle, end, modern, dwelling, capital, activity, afraid, legend,
resident, second, and, family, effort, member, matter.
2. Practice the sound [e]. Learn the rhyme by heart.
Grizzly Bear
If you ever, ever, ever meet a Grizzly Bear,
You must never, never, never ask him where
He is going,
For if you ever, ever dare
To stop a grizzly bear,
You will never meet another grizzly bear.
3. From the words given choose the words with the short sounds and write them in
the first column. Then choose the words with the long sounds and place them in the
second column.
[i] [i:]
Street, oak-tree, storey, live, built, which, weekend, city, biggest, sheep, rich,
military, team, activity, three, leading, inhabitant, visit, beginning, been, initiative,
treated, theatre, region, real, village, evening.
4. Practice the sound [i:]. Learn the rhyme by heart.
Every time I climb a tree
(by David McCord)
Every time I climb a tree
Every time I climb a tree
Every time I climb a tree
I scrape a leg
On skin a knee.
Every time I climb a tree
I find some ants
Or dodge a bee
And get the ants
All over me.
5. From the words given choose the words with the short sounds and write them in
the first column. Then choose the words with the long sounds and place them in the
second column.
[o] [o:]
Shot, god, small, corner, observe, honoured, correspond, swan, more, called,
province, fortress, origin, all, tall, wall, installed, corner, object, complex,
Orthodox, shop, floor, adorn, restore, order, convent, war, launched.
[Λ] [a:]
Sculpture, subject, sound, start, mother, park, psaltery, succession, love, Mum,
reconstruction, planted, fountain, governor, part, Sunday, large, carving,
Assumption, mark, republic, art, handicraft, puppet, drama, staff.
6. Practice the sound [a:]. Learn the rhyme by heart.
The telephone
(by Alfred H. Miles)
Friends a hundred miles apart
Sit and chatter heart to heart,
Boys and girls from school afar
Speak to mother, ask papa.
Vocabulary: Word Sets
Read the words, add them to the entries in your vocabulary note, learn as many
words as you can. Use these words in the sentences of your own.
The City:
Office building, crosswalk, department store, pedestrian, traffic cop, sidewalk.
Public Transportation:
Subway, token broth, fare box, conductor, platform, track, turnstile.
Highway Travel:
Overpass, trailer, road sign, truck, van, tollbooth, center lane, hitchhiker.
Houses:
Ranch house, porch, shutter, chimney, gutter, lawn mower, drainpipe.
Cross-cultural note: reading
Read about one more area the population of which belongs to the Finno-Ugric
world and fill in the gaps with the right word.
The ancient capital of Hungary
Budapesht – “the pearl on the Danube” – is one of the most beautiful world
capitals. It is … (1) into the list of the “World Heritage of the Mankind” compiled
by UNESKO.
In the 19-th century there … (2) 3 towns on the site of the modern capital. They
were Buda, Pesht and Obuda. They were united into one city in 1873. Buda had
been the capital of Hungary since the 14 century. But the Turkish invaders … (3)
the city in the middle of the 16 century. The oldest building in Buda is Matyash
Cathedral; the most magnificent one – the former Royal Palace. Today it … (4) the
National Gallery, the History Museum, the largest library. Not far from it you can
see the Monument to the soldiers who gave their lives in the World War II in the
battles against fascism. It’s … (5) the Monument of Liberation.
In the centre of Pesht you can see the Square of Heroes, the Museum of the Fine
Arts, the Central Exhibition Hall. Here the citizens ... (6) the weekends visiting the
Zoo, the Circus and the Amusement Park.
Buda and Pesht are connected by 8 wonderful bridges. In the morning (during the
rush hours) the bridges … (7) with buses and cars. The bridge called Margit-Khid
… (8) against the current and connects the island of Margit to the city. The bridge
called Lantskhid (means “a chain”) … (9) on the chains between the arches. The
third one - Erzhbet – is rested only on the banks.
1. includes / including / included / include
2. are / is / were / had been
3. destroying / are destroying / were destroyed / destroyed
4. house / houses / was housed / had been housed
5. calling / calls / were called / called
6. are enjoying / enjoyed / will be enjoying / enjoy
7. are crammed / crammed / cram / were crammed
8. appears / appeared / will appear / will be appearing
9. hung / hang / hangs / hanging
Discussion
1. You want to persuade your friend to visit your native city. What reasons would
you give? Support your answer with specific details.
2. Imagine that you are going to visit the capital of our Republic. You only have
time to go to two places. Which one would you choose?
3. Do you agree with the following:
A man without Motherland is like a nightingale without a song.
If people are not rooted in their native place, they become like rolling stones and
resemble the plant which is called tumble-weed (S. Likhachyov).
It is not enough to be a genius. You have to live in the capital city (A. Davidovich).
In a big city you can watch more, in a small town you can hear more.
You should seek for solitude in big cities (Rene Dekart).
Paris is populated loneliness (Fransua Moriak).
In a little town even a monotonous rain is an entertainment.
Comment on:
Nostalgia
1. …arrive our refugees, exhausted, frightened and hungry. Little by little they
calm, get replete, settle down. They seem ready to start a new life, but all of a
sudden they become dim. Their eyes loose their luster; drop their languid hands
and their souls fade – the souls constantly directed to the East… They are thinking
only of what is happening there, are interested only in what comes from there …
(Teffi).
How do you understand the word
“nostalgia”? Have you ever
experienced such a feeling? When?
2. Culture is born in provincial towns, degenerates in the capitals, then returns in
this state to province. (Ch. Vortsell).
Creativity
1. Sing a song. Then try to compose your own song about the place you’d like to
be.
Place to be
(Words and music by Malvina Reynolds)
1. Everybody has a place to go,
Everybody wants a place to be,
When birds fly they’re swimming in the sky,
While fish are swimming in the sea.
2. Everybody has a place to go,
Everybody wants to be somewhere,
Lobsters live at the bottom of the sea,
While I’m at the bottom of the air.
2. Draw a map of your town. With the help of pictures, photos, special signs show
the places you are going to take to your foreign visitor.
3. Try your hand at translating.
На Родине
Разлука не проходит без следа – она всегда в душе останется.
И вот опять вернулся я сюда – где зорька по-особому румянится.
Все так же Мокша быстрая поет, барашки-волны резво катятся.
Березы в роще водят хоровод в своих извечно белых платьицах.
Ромашки мне качают головой, как будто шепчут сокровенное:
Ты не забыл нас, дорогой; благодарим за чувство верное. (В. Панов)
Glossary:
1.
разлука – separation, parting
2.
проходить – to go, to pass, to elapse
3.
зорька – dawn
4.
румяниться – blush crimson, flush red, rouge
5.
барашки (на воде) – white horses, white-caps
6.
ромашка (полевая) – ox-eye daisy
7.
кивать головой – to nod one’s head
8.
сокровенное – innermost, inmost
9.
хоровод – circle dance
10.верный – faithful, loyal
11.благодарить – to be grateful, to express gratitude, to thank
Render the main ideas of the poem in English
A Minute for Fun
Read the jokes and retell them to your friends.
1. There is no place like home if you don’t have enough money to go somewhere
else.
2. A man without an address causes suspicion, a man with two addresses causes
even more suspicion (G.B. Shaw).
Research Work
Investigate the topic. Prepare a report. Be ready to answer the questions.
Possible topics for research work
1. My native city in the past.
2. The Street I live in: its past and present.
3. Unfamiliar heighbours.
4. Outstanding people who live next door to you.
5. Burning problems of the district: how to solve them.
6. Community work for teenagers: pros and corns.
Case Study
Explore the situation. Try to find the way out.
Anna Ivanovna Dolgireva was born in the village of Fokino (Sovetsky Region,
Mari El). The village is on the bank of the river Ronga and like many children
Anya liked to swim there in summer and to ski down the hills of the river bank in
winter. After leaving secondary school in the settlement of Ronga, she entered the
Teachers’ Training Institute in Yoshkar-Ola. Since 1960 she began to work as a
teacher in school # 1 in the settlement of Sovetsky.
Mostly all her life Anna Ivanovna spent in the country. She likes nature very much,
is in the habit of going to the forest to pick up mushrooms and berries. She is fond
of working in the garden, kitchen garden or in the field digging, planting, weeding,
mowing, etc. She used to have a cow and some sheep, some poultry: chickens and
geese. So fresh milk, homemade butter, cottage cheese were also on the home
menu. But more than that she got accustomed to people, to her heighbours: the
majority of them are so simple, cheerful, kind and always helpful.
It happened so that Anna Ivanovna’s daughter, after graduating from the Institute,
stayed in the capital, got married. A year after the marriage a son was born. Anna
Ivanovna was very glad when the young married couple invited her to Yoshkar-
Ola. The son-in-law seemed to be so reliable and sincere to Anna Ivanovna. But
soon the happy life came to an end. The spouses divorced, her daughter was left
alone with a small child, with no place to live in. Anna Ivanovna asked her to
return home, but the young woman didn’t want to live in the village. Instead of it,
she suggested that Anna Ivanovna should sell her cottage in the countryside and
buy a flat in the capital city. Her daughter had been persuading her for a long time,
saying that it was easier to find a job here, it was more interesting and comfortable
to live in the city, and at last she was a success. Anna Ivanovna agreed, but in the
heart of hearts she was still hesitating. She kept asking herself what she would be
doing in the city apartment, how she would adapt to a new kind of life. To share
her troubles she once came to her bosom friend Nina Grigorievna Bogomolova.
They have known each other since childhood and can trust each other the deepest
secrets …
Do you think Nina Grigorievna will be for or against moving to the capital?
What arguments will she put forward?
How do you think Anna Ivanovna can get her daughter to come back? Does
she have to do it?
Don’t you think that Anna Ivanovna’s daughter is a bit selfish and even cruel
towards her old mother?
What way out from the situation can you offer?
Unit 3. Mari painting and architecture
Pronunciation
1. Silent letters (they are unpronounced). Cross out the silent letters.
Glove, world, fence, solemn, unite, guide, ploughed, ditch, writer, board, plaque,
scene, apple, right, who, honestly, night, calm, whirling,
foliage
,
high
,
white,
gamut, rhythm, mighty, folk, whom, sketch, daughter.
2. From the words given choose the words with the short sounds and write them in
the first column. Then choose the words with the long sounds and place them in the
second column.
[u] [u:]
Full, blue, hue, look, gloomy, truth, Universe, cruelty, under, mood, wood, drew,
put, study, during, whom, human, truthfully, two, futurism, grateful.
3. Practice the sound [u:]. Learn the rhyme by heart.
The Camel’s hump
(by R. Kipling)
The Camel’s hump is an ugly lump
Which well you may see at the Zoo;
But uglier yet is the hump we get
From having too little to do.
Vocabulary: Word Sets
Read the words, add them to the entries in your vocabulary note, learn as many
words as you can. Use these words in the sentences of your own.
The verbs:
To draw, to paint, to depict, to show, to introduce, to represent, to design.
Genres:
A landscape, a still-life, a seascape, a portrait, a battle picture, a caricature.
Pictures and art instruments:
A picture, a painting, a canvas, a brush, water colours, oil colours, chalk, crayons.
Colours:
Maroon, crimson, azure, emerald, purple, violet, indigo, ochre.
Cross-cultural note: reading
Read about a famous Mari painter.
Zosim Lavrentyev: Portrait of Mother
Z. Lavrentyev, a prominent Mari painter, works a lot in the genre of portrait. The
heroes of his canvases are people of labour. They attract us by their beauty and
nobleness, moral purity and their unlimited ability to work. Z. Lavrentyev was one
of the first artists who presented his native village with a collection of his
paintings. They made the foundation of the local Museum of Military and Labour
Glory. Among his paintings is the portrait of his mother (1970), whose light and
lyrical image is especially dear for the author.
In the portrait one can feel home warmth and particularly cozy atmosphere, which
immediately influences the viewer. In the foreground we can see Christina
Matveevna who’s got a bit tired and is sitting on the edge of the bed, having a short
rest from the household worries. The woman is wearing a light dress with the
flowery pattern; her head is covered with a white kerchief.
There is something supernatural, heavenly in the image of the old woman; her kind
round wrinkled face seems to be lighted up by her son’s brush. But in front of us is
sitting not an angel, but the real woman who has lived a complicated life. Merry
lights are burning in her eyes; the inner beauty of the woman is reflecting in the
simple expression of her face. Her hands are resting on her knees; toil-hardened
from hard continuous work; they are with large, like old roots, knots which testify
to the fact that the woman has had a difficult fate, typical for many women of that
generation. The author makes the viewers worship these firm strong industrious
hands. They convey the main philosophy of our life; they are the symbol, the main
criterion in evaluating people and their achievements.
The white dress with blue flowers, the light green pillows, the hand made
patchwork blanket, wallpaper of golden hue on the walls of the room create the
major and cheerful sounding.
The portrait is placed in the very centre of the artist’s workshop and is framed with
fifty silvery metal bells which were given to the painter by his friends on his 50-th
birthday.
Complete the
table with the proper adjectives and nouns.
Adjective
Noun
pure
purity
able
location
glory
natural
beautiful
wise
difficulty
typical
expression
Discussion
1. Comment on the following:
“A painter is like a poet” (A.K. Savrasov).
“A picture is a window to the inner world of the artist” (K. Allikmets).
“Art is a dialogue in which the partner keeps silence” (G. Landaw).
“A picture is an enigma that the artist creates for himself” (S. Ezhi Lets).
2. Do you agree with the following?
Your girl friend considers that a visit to a Picture Gallery is a waste of time. It’s
better to walk along the city or go shopping. What’s your opinion?
“Science makes you calm, but the aim of art is to prevent you from getting calm”
(J. Brak).
Creativity
1. Be a designer! Create a model. Read the text about the Mari painter and
sculptor Ph. Shaberdin. Pay special attention to the description of his composition
“Mushrooms”. Try to create your own model “Mushrooms”.
The procedure:
1.
Prepare a sheet of cardboard and some plasticine.
2.
Cut a base from a piece of the cardboard. Cover it with green plasticine.
3.
Take a piece of yellow plasticine. Make a mushroom’s “leg”: first make a
ball, then give it a “pear-like” shape.
4.
Take a piece of brown plasticine. Make a ball. With the help of a thread
divide it into two parts. Each part will be the mushroom’s “head”.
5.
In the centre of each “head” make a hollow and fix a “leg” here.
6.
Place all the mushrooms on the base.
7.
Use dry herbs, moss, twigs, seeds to decorate the whole model, to make it
look more realistic.
8.
Design the appearance, the expression of the “face”, the posture of each
mushroom according to the text.
2. Be a reporter! You’ve just visited an art exhibition. Write an article to the local
newspaper about your impressions.
A Minute for Fun
Read the jokes. Retell them to your friends.
The King and the critic
There was a king who thought that he could paint very well. His pictures were
very bad but the people were afraid of the king. They all said they liked the
pictures very much. One day the king showed his pictures to a great painter. The
famous artist told the king that the canvases were awful and that he would never be
an outstanding painter. The king got angry and sent the critic to prison. After two
years the king wanted to see the painter again. The king talked to the painter and
even invited him to dinner. After dinner he showed his new “masterpieces” to the
painter and asked about his opinion. The painter didn’t answer. He turned to a
soldier who was standing near him and said, “Take me back to prison.”
A useful bit of advice
“I can easily paint a picture in a day but it takes me a year to sell it,” complained a
young artist to a celebrated one. “Do it the other way round,” said the famous artist
dryly. “Spend a whole year on a picture, and you’ll be able to see it in a day.”
Sold
Friend: “Have you sold anything lately?”
Artist: “Yes, I have.”
Friend: “What was that?”
Artist: “My overcoat and my Sunday suit.”
Opinions
To paint pictures is a profession, to sell them – an art.
Painting is the art you can look at, sculpture is the kind of art you can walk around,
architecture is the kind of art you can walk through.
Research Work
Investigate the topic. Prepare a report. Be ready to answer the questions.
Possible topics for research work
1. Modern Mari painters: works, achievements, peculiarities.
2. Art exhibitions in the Mari National Gallery.
3. My favourite picture: its history.
4. How to become an artist (about Art College in Yoshkar-Ola).
5. Ethnofuturism: a new trend in painting.
Case Study
Explore the situation. Try to find the way out.
Unit 4. Mari national literature
Pronunciation
1. Mark the main stress in the words below.
Literature, language, appearance, peculiarities, predetermined, conversational,
inheritance, ethnographic, admiration, theological, meditation, unification,
expressive, phenomenon, compiling, development, prominent, published,
awakening, constructive.
2. Sentence stress. The words in bold are strongly stressed. Read the sentences with
the appropriate logical stress.
The main character in the book is a journalist Dmitry Lashmanov.
All the plot collisions are connected with her actions and tricks.
The conflict of the novel lies in her inner sufferings.
The Mari writer is looking for the
sources of the life philosophy of his
characters in national traditions, in folk moral laws.
The new type of epic understanding of the spiritual development of the Mari
people is clearly seen in the novels of A. Yuzykain.
The heroic pages of the Great patriotic war will
never disappear from our
memory.
It is still the inexhaustible source of the writers’ thoughts.
Vocabulary: Word Sets
Read the words, add them to the entries in your vocabulary note, learn as many
words as you can. Use these words in the sentences of your own.
Books:
A novel, a detective story, a love story, a sonnet, verses, belletristic, memoirs.
Verbs:
To write, to compose, to make up, to create, to complete, to finish, to translate.
Adjectives:
Humorous, thrilling, exciting, interesting, amazing, superb, fantastic, brilliant.
Cross-cultural note: reading
Read about a famous writer from Finland.
The magic man from Finland
Tsikarias Topelius (1818-1898) was born in Finland. His father was a famous
scientist and a doctor. He used to collect old Finnish ballads called
runas. The
family language was Swedish (Finland used to be a part of Sweden up to 1809).
But young Tsikarias learned the Finnish language listening to his nurse’s fairy-
tales. His childhood was accompanied by the magic creatures but when he grew up
he started writing fairy-tales himself. His stories were translated into different
languages and made him famous all over the world. Due to them he was called the
magic man from Finland.
One of his most well-known characters is Sampo who
lived in the North of Finland – in Lapland.
Turning the pages
If you have a look at the map you’ll see that Finland is wearing a white cap on its
head – it’s a country called Lapland. How amazing this country is! The sun doesn’t
set off for half a year and during the other half of a year you see the bright stars in
the sky both at day-time and at night.
Winter here lasts for long ten months – almost for the whole year! But the local
people are not afraid of the cold. They like to ski, skate, sledge. They live in small
houses built not of bricks but from the reindeer skins. Such a house is called
chum.
The main domestic animal in Lapland is a deer. It looks like a horse but its head
with large bright eyes is decorated with branchy horns.
Choose the right variant:
1. T. Topelius is a famous
doctor scientist poet writer
2. He was born in
Sweden Norway Finland Switzerland
3. He learned the Finnish language
from his teacher at school
from his Mum who sang folk songs to him
from his nurse who told him stories
from TV programs
4. His stories were translated into
the Finnish and the Swedish languages
the Russian language
many world languages
some foreign languages
5. One of his famous characters is
a little girl from Lapland
a little boy from Lapland
the boy’s parents
Santa Claus
Discussion
1. Comment on the following:
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be
chewed and digested” (Francis Bacon).
“When I had money I bought books, when I didn’t have money I bought clothes
and food” (E. Rotterdamsky).
2. Do you agree with the following?
“Reading books means that you think with the help of another man’s head
instead of your own” (A. Schopenhauer).
“The author writes only one half of the book, the other half is written by the
reader” (J. Conrad).
“Real writers meet their characters only after they have created them in their
books” (E. Kanetty).
Creativity
1. Read the beginning of a Mari folk tale “An Owl and a Fox”.
Once Mother Owl gave birth to five little owls and arranged a nest for them
high in the tree. A fox was running by one day. “Hey, Owl, give me one baby
bird or I’ll climb the tree and eat all your children!” The Owl got frightened,
burst into tears bitterly and did as the Fox ordered. The fox grabbed the little
owl and rushed to the distant lake. The owl is sitting in the tree and crying. A
magpie is flying past the tree…
Create your own ending of the fairy tale. Compare different versions. Which
one is more interesting? Unusual? Funny?
Illustrate your fairy tales with pictures.
Write down the script to the most interesting fairy tale. Act it out.
2. Create a dialogue with your favourite literary character. Act it out.
A Minute for Fun
Read the jokes. Retell them to your friends.
1. Mother asked her small daughter who was reading a book:
“What are you reading, dear?
“I don’t know,” answered the girl.
“You don’t know? You were reading aloud, so you must know.”
2. Customer: “I would like a book, please.”
Bookseller: “Something light?”
Customer: “That doesn’t matter – I have my car with me.”
3. A young author had called on a publisher to inquire about the manuscript he
had submitted. “That’s quite well written,” admitted the publisher, “but my firm
only publishes work by writers with well-known names.” “Splendid!” shouted
the caller in great excitement. “My name’s Smith!”
4. Friend: “What are you looking so blue today?”
Writer: “I met a fellow today who had never heard of Shakespeare.”
Friend: “Well, you needn’t worry about that.”
Writer: “Of course, not, but it filed me with melancholy and made me fear
that, perhaps, some day, I, too, may be unknown.”
5. A poet was walking with his friend in the street, reciting some of his verses.
The friend, seeing at a short distance a man yawning, pointed him out to the
poet, saying, “Not so loud, he hears you.”
6. Editor: “Did you write the poem yourself?”
Young man: “Yes, every line of it.”
Editor: “Then, I’m glad to meet you, Mr. Byron. I thought you were dead
long ago.”
Research Work
Investigate the topic. Prepare a report. Be ready to answer the questions.
Possible topics for research work
1. The unknown pages in the life of .. (a writer, a poet).
2. How the novel / poem / story … by … was created.
3. The distinguished style of … (the name of the author). His ability to describe
nature / people / emotions, etc.
4. My favourite writer / poet and his works.
5. Humour in the Mari fairy tales.
6. The interpretation of the idea of happiness in the Mari fairy tales.
Case Study
Explore the situation. Try to find the way out.
Marina is 14 years old. She lives with her Mum in Proletarskaya Street, not far
from school # 7. She is very kind, reliable, friendly, witty and cheerful in spite of
her terrible diagnosis: infantile cerebral paralysis, which makes her life hard and
sometimes even unbearable.
She can hardly walk, she mostly moves in a wheelchair. Such people are now
called “people with limited physical abilities.” “Fortunately my mental and
learning abilities are not limited,” smiles the girl. She studies two foreign
languages, is good at painting, enjoys listening to music. But her most prominent
gift is poetry.
“I’ve been reading books since the early childhood. It was my Granny who taught
me to read at the age of four,” said the girl. At the age of 11 she discovered poetry
for herself. Like many teenagers she took up writing poems. To improve this skill
(“talent” her Mum says), she studies the best samples of Russian and Mari verses.
Most of all she likes the poems by Valentin Kolumb whose works were translated
into different foreign languages. His poems opened the new colourful world to the
girl; she felt as if she was traveling all over the world and meeting many new
friends. It helped her to survive, to cope with every day problems of her, far from
being merry, life.
The library (the main source of information) was in the next house. It took Mum 5
minutes to call on it and to take the books carefully chosen by the librarian,
Seraphima Ivanovna by name. She was a kind woman in her late 50-s, she
sympathized with the disabled girl very much and sometimes even brought the
books to her herself, when Marina’s mum was ill or just pressed for time. She did it
during her lunch break or after office hours.
Last week Marina’s mum went to the library as usual but on the door she saw a
note. It said the library was closed and would never be opened again. A new
boutique was going to be located here. Rather upset, Mum came back home. She
didn’t tell Marina the truth but was thinking hard in search of the way out. The
matter was that books were the only source of joy and merry mood for her
daughter to say nothing about the development of her poetic gift. The central
library was too far from their house. She could visit it only once a month that, of
course, was not enough for the girl.
Mum couldn’t find the answer to the problem: how to help her daughter?
What do you think the possible solutions to the problem are?
If you were in Mum’s place whom would you ask to help?
Unit 5. Mari national music and dances
Pronunciation
1. Voiced and voiceless endings. Decide which of these words has a voiced ending
and which one has a voiceless ending.
Times, belonged, accompanied, celebrations, tunes, strength, instruments,
organized, dog’s, both, drums, Nowadays, sticks, hangs, distances, lovers,
managed, melodies, means, nut-tree planks, reeds, strings, perforated, forefathers,
ceremonies, happiness, grooms, brides, Prize, named, programmes, symphonies.
2. Practice the sound [z]. Learn the rhyme by heart.
The Rose family
(by R. Frost)
The rose is a rose
And was always a rose,
But the theory now goes
That the apple’s is a rose,
And the pear is and so’s
The plum, I suppose.
3. Practice the sound [d]. Learn the rhyme by heart.
Young and Old
(by Ch. Kingsley)
When all the world is young, lad,
And all the trees are green;
And every goose a swan, lad,
And every lass a queen;
Then hey for boots and horse, lad,
And round the world away;
Young blood must have its course, lad,
And every dog his day.
4. Match the words to the phonetic transcriptions.
1. composer
A. ['voukəl]
2. soloist
B. ['loriit]
3. violoncello
C. [kəm'pəuzə]
4. orchestra
D. ['t∫eimbər]
5. sonata
E. [sə' na:tə]
6. chamber
F. ['vəukəl]
7. musician
G. ['səuləuist]
8. vocal
H. [mju'zi∫ən]
9. laureate
I. [vaiələn't∫eləu]
10. recorded
G. ['o:kistrə]
Vocabulary: Word Sets
Read the words, add them to the entries in your vocabulary note, learn as many
words as you can. Use these words in the sentences of your own.
Musical Instruments:
Harp, banjo, cello, flute, oboe, trumpet, organ, harmonica, accordion, saxophone.
Rock group:
Synthesizer, keyboard player, bass guitarist, lead guitarist, drummer, soloist.
Ballet:
Curtain, scenery, stage, orchestra, podium, conductor, baton, dancer, prima.
Cross-cultural note: reading
Read about a famous Hungarian dance.
Chardash
Chardash is a traditional Hungarian folk dance. Its name was derived from the
Hungarian word “charda” which meant “an inn”, “a tavern”. Having appeared in
Hungary, chardash as a dance was widely spread all over Hungary and in all
nearby countries: Slovakia, Slovenia, Moravia, Croatia, Transylvania by Gypsy
musical bands.
There are different versions about the origin of this dance. According to one
opinion, it can be connected with the Hungarian musical style called
“verbunkosh”, characteristic for the Hungarian Army of the XVIII century. The
others consider
chardash to develop from the dance of the
gaiduki, first the
shepherds, then the Hungarian soldiers.
The distinguished feature of
chardash is a considerable variation of tempo. The
dance starts with the slow lyrical introduction and finishes in a rather quick, swift
rhythm of a pair dance. Its musical measure is two quarters or four quarters. Both
men and women take part in this dance. The female participants are dressed in the
traditional wide skirts of red colour which acquire special, dome-like form during
the whirling movements.
A lot of composers applied to the theme of
chardash in their work. Among them
were F. List, I. Brams, I. Shtraus, V. Monti and others. An Italian violinist,
composer and conductor V. Monti, for example, was the author of ballets,
operettas, instrumental and vocal plays. But he became famous due to a short (it
lasts only 4, 5 minutes) composition called
“Chardash”. It is a small play for a
violin and a mandolin accompanied by the piano. It is based on the Hungarian folk
dance melodies.
Say whether it’s True, False or Not Stated
1.
Chardash is a famous Hungarian song.
2.
Chardash was performed in the taverns and inns in the past.
3.
The dance is performed in the slow tempo.
4.
It lasts for two quarters of an hour or four quarters of an hour.
5.
V. Monti became famous for performing chardash.
6.
F. List applied to the theme of chardash four times.
Discussion
Comment on the following:
“The folk song is the most precious sample of the people’s art” (P.I. Chaikovsky).
“Music should correspond to our inner task” (V. Levi).
“I’d always been fond of music. If I didn’t listen to it for long, I missed it” (I.
Repin).
“Music is the only art, which penetrates in the man’s heart so deeply, that it can
depict the movements of his soul” (Stendal).
“Music is dear for us because it is the deepest expression of our soul, the harmonic
reflection of its joys and sorrows (R. Rollan).
Do you agree with the following?
“Among the pleasures of life only love is stronger than music” (A.S. Pushkin).
“The real character of a person is found out by his amusements” (Reynolds).
“Life seems to be a mistake without music” (F. Nitsshe).
“Music makes our habits more noble” (Aristotel).
Creativity
1. Try your hand at translation.
Спасибо, музыка
Спасибо, музыка, за светлые леса…
Они звучат под осень, как оркестры,
Мы все еще не верим в чудеса,
А ты творишь их запросто и честно.
Как дети, что любуются водой,
Стекающей по камушкам со склона,
Ослепшие, стоим мы над тобой,
А ты над нами, выше на два тона. (А. Козловский).
2. Read the instructions and try to perform an ancient Mari dance.
“Bagpipe”
(an ancient dance of the Mari people in Toryalsky Region)
The brief content of the dance:
A drummer enters the stage and begins to drum, inviting boys and girls for a dance.
The drummer is joined by the boys who are coming from the left and right. They
imitate playing bagpipes and turn to different sides as if looking for the girls. The
girls appear and the dance begins – not very fast, full of dignity and mutual respect.
The description of the movements:
1.
Toryalsky tap - dance
It is performed by girls.
The starting point – position number six for feet. The arms are placed in front of
the chest, bending in elbows.
1.
Raise the right leg. Stamp the right foot and at once stamp the left foot.
2.
Raise the left foot. Stamp the left foot and at once stamp the right foot.
3.
The movements are repeated. The girls’ arms are soft, floating from right to
left.
2. Bows with a bagpipe
It is performed by boys.
The initial position – bend the right knee holding a bagpipe in the hands.
1.
Bend the body down.
2.
Raise the body. Lift the head up and right. The bagpipe is lifted too.
3.
Bend the body to the right.
4.
Bend the body to the left. Lift the head up and left.
5.
The movements are repeated.
3. Lateral march crosswise
It is performed by girls.
The starting point – position number six for feet. The arms are lifted in front of the
chest.
1.
Make a step by the right foot to the left, crosswise the left foot, slightly
bending it.
2.
The left foot is raised to the tiptoe.
3.
The right arm is drawn to the right.
4.
The left arm is in front of the chest.
5.
The hand is bent to the right shoulder.
6.
Make a step by the left foot to the right.
7.
The right foot is raised to the tiptoe.
8.
The toes of both feet are taken inside.
9.
The movements are repeated.
Backward march
It is performed by boys.
1.
Bend the knees, perform half squatting.
2.
Make a step by the left foot back.
3.
Stretch sharply the right leg forward.
4.
Turn the knees of the both legs apart.
5.
Make a step by the right foot
6.
The movements are repeated.
7.
Make four steps, turn around oneself.
A Minute for Fun
Read the jokes. Retell them to your friends.
1. “Do you think my son has a bright future in music?”
“Yes, he is very good at polishing the brass instrument.”
2. Once a young man asked Mozart how to write symphonies. “You are still very
young. I think you must begin with writing ballads,” said the great composer. The
young man said: “But you began to write symphonies when you were very young,
only ten years old!” “Yes, I did,” Mozart answered, “but I didn’t ask anybody how
to do it.”
3. Mother: Mary, where is Jenny?
Mary: She is in the house. She is playing a duet on the piano.
Mother: A duet? How can she play a duet alone?
Mary: Oh, I played it with her, but I finished my part first.
4. He: “I don’t know what’s the matter. I never danced so poorly before.”
She: “Oh, then you have danced before?”
5. “My wife used to play the piano a lot, but since the children came she doesn’t
have time.”
“Children are a comfort, aren’t they?”
6. Mrs. Green: “Why do you advise Miss Johnson to go abroad to study music?
You know she has no talent.”
Mr. White: “Well I know, but you see, she lives next door to me.”
7. Johnson: “It must be awful for an opera singer to realize that he can never sing
again.”
Jackson: “Yes, but it is much more awful if he doesn’t realize it.”
8. A concert of folk songs is a concert when there are more people on the stage
than in the hall.
9. Dancing is a kind of art which means that you can jerk back your foot quickly,
before your partner tread on it.
Research Work
Investigate the topic. Prepare a report. Be ready to answer the questions.
Possible topics for research work
1. My favourite Mari composer. The peculiarities of his music.
2. How the first Mari opera was created.
3 Music in the first Mari ballet.
4. The history of the music school in Yoshkar-Ola.
5. The outstanding folk group Izi Pomash.
6. The prominent dance group Mari El and its creativity.
Case Study
Explore the situation. Try to find the way out.
Tamara Petrovna is a former teacher of the French language. Now she is retired but
is still active and energetic, with an optimistic look on life and delicate sense of
humour. Tamara Petrovna is a talented person. She possesses a wonderful voice
and she has been singing in the choir of veterans for many years. The repertoire of
the choir was various: Mari, Ukranian, Russian folk songs. The members of the
group used to take part in different concerts and were always warmly welcomed by
the audience. They were pleasant to look at (they were wearing special stage
dresses) and gorgeous to listen to (each song sounded divine).
But now everything has changed. The choir was dismissed, its musical director
was made redundant. Now the former singers are deprived of the opportunity to
meet, to see each other, to communicate. Besides, they can’t present the listeners
with their splendid performances any more. Though Tamara Petrovna’s husband
used to joke at her hobby (“A concert of folk songs is a concert when there are
more people on the stage than in the hall”, he used to say), now he is also upset and
advices the women to clear out what the matter is. Tamara Petrovna also asked
herself: “What is the reason for dissolving the choir? “Who is guilty of it?’ Not
finding the answers to the questions, she decided to take some active steps. First
she wrote a letter to the local Department of Culture but the answer didn’t come.
Then she decided to apply to the Presidential Public Reception Office which exists
in Yoshkar-Ola in Gagarin Street…
What other ways of solving the problem can you offer?
Do you think it’s possible to revive the choir?
Unit 6. Mari national crafts
Pronunciation
1. Find pairs of the rhyming words.
Coral, intelligence, sign, batten, stool, tableware, birch, trunk, utility, moral,
creativity, skill, case, where, composition, stitch, used, design, fruit, traditional,
harmonize, drunk, lace, conditional, cart, tool, creativity, organize, pattern, search,
diligence, art, tradition, which, accused, drill, root.
2. Look the words up in the dictionary and write down the transcription. Read the
words correctly. Mind the stress.
Spontaneously, peculiarities, farmstead, specific, sacred, purpose, ensemble,
ancestors, sacrifice, phenomenon, architecture, spiritual, cultivated, process,
importance, otherwise, harvest, folklore, experience, moisture, approximately,
symbolize, harmony.
Vocabulary: Word Sets
Read the words, add them to the entries in your vocabulary note, learn as many
words as you can. Use these words in the sentences of your own.
Sewing:
Thread, pattern, button hole, hem, seam, zipper, stitch, pin, needle, thimble.
Needle crafts:
Knitting, embroidery, crochet, weaving, quilting, skein, yarn, wool.
Workshop activities:
Jigsaw, saw, wrench, hammer, scraper, screwdriver, wire, vise, router, nail, glue.
Cross-cultural note: reading
Read about the ancient handicraft of one more Finno-Ugric nation.
The delicate art
(Mordovian lace)
At the end of the 19-th century the hard-working Mordovian women wrote one
more page in the history of the Mordovian Republic – it is the lace page. Different
kinds of lace were exported from a small town of Temnikov not only to both
Russian capitals but to England, France, Egypt as well.
Where did this Handicraft come from? It isn’t typical for the Mordovian land. On
the initiative of a well-to-do merchant E. Demidova a special workshop began its
activity. At first there were 20 women worked under one roof, then the number
increased up to 140.
Later, following E. Demidova’s advice the workshop was accompanied by a
special school where the young girls were taught the secrets of this art.
The assortment of the workshop was various: table-cloths, napkins, handkerchiefs.
During the first decade the work-shop participated in numerous exhibitions and its
production was also rewarded gold, silver, bronze medals.
Write the words in the plural and explain the rules:
page, woman, advice, activity, roof, decade, handkerchief, table-cloth, medal.
Use the words written above as a plan and retell the story as close to the text as
you can.
Discussion
Comment on the following:
“We eat to please ourselves; we dress to please the others”.
“Fashion is a kind of guided epidemic” (G.B. Shaw).
“You have the right to think differently from your epoch, but you don’t have the
right to wear other clothes” (Maria Eshenbax).
Do you agree with the following words?
“Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six
months” (Oscar Wilde).
“If a student isn’t taught to create anything at school, then in adult life he will only
be able to imitate somebody and to copy something” (L.N. Tolstoy).
“Fashion is possible to buy, style is necessary to have” (E.V. Chase).
Creativity
Look at the scheme. Follow the instructions and create a doll. Then translate the
instructions into English.
Куклы финно-угров
Изготовление Вепсской куклы
В основе этой куклы - столбик из ткани льняной или ситцевой, скатывается
столбик тугим и ладным, таким, чтобы кукла могла стоять, как на своих
ногах! Сразу этот столбик делится на три части, ниточкой обвивается то
место, где поясок носят - это с начала получается - пополам… После сверху
набрасывают квадратик белой ткани, и после - это место обвивается. Без
всякого узелка-то место, где горло бывает, обережные куклы-то делают без
ножниц железных и игл. И никаких узлов - только обвить ниткой и заправить
ее кончик палочкой-клинышком так, чтобы не развилась.
Квадратик сложить
косыночкой, он образует пару рук. С той стороны, где предполагается перед,
вкладываются под косыночку шарики, чтобы и грудь была. Их раньше,
говорят, делали из очесов льна или конопли, а сейчас вкладываю комочки
ваты или комочки ткани. Теперь обвить ниткой на поясе, перекинуть через
плечико наискосок, после обвить горло, и через плечико - вернуться на
поясок, должно получиться такое перекрестье.
Вот и основа готова,
теперь куклу можно нарядить. Нарядить ее в нижнюю юбку, чтобы пышна
была да осаниста, после - юбку - сверху, да и головной убор, такой, на какой
душа развернется. Кусочки ткани сами подсказывают, что за головной убор
получится. Здесь и платочек, попросту подвязанный под подбородочком
может быть, а то и замысловатая кика… Что еще-то надо? Поясок поярче-
покрасивее, вот и готова кукла.
Glossary:
1.
base – основа
2.
a column - столбик
3.
to roll – скатывать
4.
to wind, to twine – обвивать
5.
a knot – узел
6.
a needle – игла
7.
scissors – ножницы
8.
a mascot – оберег, талисман
9.
a thread – нитка
10.hemp or flax – конопля или лен
11. a belt – пояс
A minute for Fun
Read the joke. Retell it to your friends.
“A modern dress is like a piece of a barbed wire: It protects the territory, but allows
to observe everything in detail” (Denny Key).
Research Work
Investigate the topic. Prepare a report. Be ready to answer the questions.
Possible topics for research work
1. History of Festivals of the national clothes in Yoshkar-Ola.
2. My teacher of handicraft: her abilities and plans.
3. The Mari School of handicrafts “Harmony”: its activities and traditions.
4. Museum of handicrafts in Yoshkar-Ola and Kozmodemyansk.
5. The process of making a basket / a wooden bowl, etc.
6. Mari embroidery: its past and present.
Case Study
Explore the situation. Try to find the way out.
A waste of time?
Natalya Smyshlyaeva lives in Yoshkar-Ola. She has an unusual hobby. She is fond
of making different toys. She enjoys crocheting. Her toys are unique, unusual –
you can’t find such things anywhere. A lion, a giraffe, a hare, a bear, a hedgehog –
the complete hand made Zoo. The work isn’t easy at all. It requires a lot of time,
effort, patience, creativity and money. But the toys are so charming that everybody
is happy to get such a present.
Natalya’s husband grumbles and even makes rows: she spends a lot of time and
cash on her hobby but earns nothing. He advices her to make one and the same
toy^ the work will be quicker, the results will be bigger. He thinks she should sell
the souvenirs at a reasonable price. Once he was so annoyed that he even threatens
Natalya with a divorce.
Natalya doesn’t want to lose her family but she has come to a very important
conclusion: when creativity stops, the work doesn’t bring you pleasure. Not
everything is measured by money in our life. As one more argument for her hobby
Natalya takes scientific data. Psychologists are sure that hobby which is not
connected with work makes a man happy. It is the most simple and effective
preventive measure against stress and depression.
Natalya is going to persuade her husband to join her in this affair as she is of the
opinion that similar interests consolidate people, strengthen the relationships and
make them firm and stable. At present she is trying to keep peace in her soul and in
her family but in vain so far …
What is the way out in your opinion?
Do you agree she should give up her hobby?
Do you think that she should follow her husband’s advice?
Do you think it is possible to make her husband change his mind?
Unit 7.
Mari national cuisine
Pronunciation
1. Read the sounds and the words.
[a:]: part, apart, art, ask, tart, large, basket;
[ai]: divide, right, time, widely, pie, in spite, like;
[i]: dish, fish, pickled, drink, origin, influence, historic, distinct, tradition;
[i:]: beetroot, cuisine, bee-keeping, feature, cereals;
[e]: event, century, bread, hemp, meadow, ethnic, vegetable, recipe;
[ei]: nation, date, game, bake, bakery, potato, taste, prevail, pancake.
2. Practice the sound [i:]. Learn the rhyme by heart.
A Cradle Song
(by W. Blake)
Sleep, sleep, beauty bright
Dreaming over the joys of night
Sleep, sleep: in the sleep
Little sorrows sit and weep.
3. Practice the sound [ai]. Learn the rhyme by heart.
The Lion
(by O. Nash)
Oh, weep for Mr and Mrs Bryan!
He was eaten by a lion,
Following which, the lion’s lioness
Up and swallowed Bryan’s Bryaness.
Vocabulary: Word Sets
Read the words, add them to the entries in your vocabulary note, learn as many
words as you can. Use these words in the sentences of your own.
Kitchen:
Steamer, can opener, saucer pan, blender, pot, stove, oven, cutting board.
Kitchen Verbs:
Stir, grate, pour, peel, carve, break, beat, slice, chop, cut, simmer, bake, fry, boil,
whisk, mix, roast, grill, sprinkle, cover, stuff, shred, grind, mince, dice, garnish,
stew, beat.
Meat:
Beef, pork, mutton, goose, chicken, liver, kidney, tongue, ham, bacon, chops, ribs.
Fruit:
Grapes, mango, papaya, grapefruit, lime, prune, date, raisin, watermelon, fig.
Vegetables:
Cauliflower, watercress, lettuce, spinach, celery, asparagus, eggplant, yam, garlic.
Seafood:
Filet, lobster, shrimp, clam, oyster, mussel, scallop, crab, octopus, slug.
Cross-cultural note: reading
Read about the peculiarities of the Hungarian cuisine.
Hungarian cuisine
In the past, before their arrival to the valley of the Carpathians, the Magyars
cooked food simply, without much ado. Their main products, meat and vegetables,
they cut in small pieces and boiled in water together with numerous species. If they
roasted meat, they garnished it with various piquant saucers.
Former nomads were real experts in seasonings. Tarragon, savory, thyme, parsley –
the list of the herbs used in cooking was rather long. But the real flourishing of the
Hungarian cuisine began after the discovery of the New World.
Modern Hungarian cuisine is known for the sharp taste of many dishes due to
adding pepper, capsicum, cayenne, onion, red and green paprika, tomato sauce,
sour cream and hot saucers like ketchup. The appearance of paprika was especially
important for the Hungarian cuisine. It came to the country simultaneously from
the West, together with Columbus and his followers and from the East, through the
Ottoman Empire. Paprika has become the visiting card of the Hungarian culinary
art.
The classical samples of the Hungarian cuisine are the dishes which combine the
features of the first and second courses. Boiled and stewed dishes prevail over fried
and grilled ones. On a daily menu in each Hungarian family soup is a must.
One of the most famous Hungarian dishes is a thick soup called goulash. Its
traditions date back into the nomadic past of the Magyars. For its excellent taste
goulash is often called “tsar peasant soup” and it is not an exaggeration.
Chroniclers said this soup was cooked both in the King’s palace and in the
shepherd’s hut.
One Hungarian chef, Laiosh Elets by name, opened “The Academy of the
Goulash”. In the restaurant with such an unusual name the skilled master and fan
of the national cuisine offers to his visitors more than 30 recipes of the famous
soup – goulash. Laiosh insists that the original Hungarian goulash, though it is not
a dietetic dish, helps to reduce stress and cures some diseases.
Besides, you will never forget the taste of the fish dishes and goose liver, cooked in
different ways.
For dessert the Hungarians eat rolls and pancakes ( “gundel”) with whipped cream.
Gourmets will highly evaluate sweet paste made from chestnuts with cream.
It goes without saying any menu here is accompanied with a wide range of wines.
World famous are “Tokai” and “Surkebarat”, “Rizling” and “Merlo”, “Kabarne”
and “Terley”, “Bull’s blood” and “Tsvaigelt”.
Say if it is true, false or not stated
1. The Magyars used to cook food simply, without much ado.
2. While cooking the Magyars used a lot of species.
3. While preparing the traditional courses the Magyars sang traditional folk songs.
4. The visiting card of the Hungarian cuisine is paprika.
5. The Hungarian house wives often cook fried dishes.
6. One of the most famous Hungarian dishes is a thick soup called goulash.
7. Goulash is cooked to cure pneumonia.
8. The Hungarian cuisine offers a lot of recipes of fish dishes.
9. A typical Hungarian has a sweet tooth.
10. For dessert the Hungarians like to eat sweet paste made from chocolate.
11. The Hungarians are real experts of grape wines.
Discussion
1. Express your attitude to the cafes and restaurants of the national cuisine.
2. Comment on the following: “Tell me what you usually eat, and I’ll tell you how
long your life will be”, “We are what we eat”, “We eat to live but not live to eat”,
“One man’s meat is another man’s poison”.
3. Do you agree with the following?
Dinner table is the only place where we are never bored from the very first minute.
Don’t put off till supper what you can eat at dinner time” (A.S. Pushkin).
An overeater digs out his grave with the help of his own teeth.
Cooking is a pleasure, unfortunately a daily one.
4. You have to spend some time on a desert island. You can take your favourite dish
with you. What will it be? Explain your choice.
Creativity
Try your hand at cooking. Use the recipe from the Estonian cuisine.
Fried Sprat in Marinade
Ingredients: fresh sprat – 500 g, wheat flour – 25 g, oil – 25 g.
Marinade: carrots – 100 g, parsley – 30 g, onions – 100 g,
tomato paste – 100 g, fish broth – 200 g, oil – 30 g, vinegar (3%) – 100 g, sugar –
10 g, sweet-pea, salt, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf – to your taste.
Cooking:
Peel and wash the fish, sprinkle with some flour. Oil the frying pan, put the pieces
of fish into it and fry from both sides.
Marinade:
Shredded vegetables mix with tomato paste and stew for 7-10 minutes. Then pour
the fish broth, add the spice, vinegar and boil it for 20 minutes. Finally put salt and
sugar to your taste. Cool the prepared marinade up to 35º C, put the fried fish into
it and leave it in a fridge for 24 hours.
A Minute for Fun
Read the jokes. Retell them to your friends.
1. Mother: I hope you didn’t take a second piece of cake at yesterday’s party?
Dick: No, I took two pieces the first time.
2. Mother: I left two pieces of cake in the cupboard this morning, Johnny, and now
there is only one piece there. Can you explain this?
Johnny: It was so dark, Mamma, I didn’t see the other piece.
3. “Now, Jack dear, if I do all the cooking for a month, what will I get?”
“You get my life insurance and your freedom.”
4. “Whisky is your greatest enemy.”
“Are we not told to love our enemies?”
“Yes, but not to swallow them.”
5. “What is a balanced diet?”
“A piece of cake in each hand.”
6. “Your husband is too fond of strong coffee,” said the doctor. “You mustn’t let
him have it. He gets too excited.”
“But, doctor, you should see how excited he gets when I give him weak coffee.”
7. Nothing makes the taste of home-made dishes better than the price list in the
restaurant.
8. The worse the chefs cook, the more polite the waiters should be.
Research Work
Investigate the topic. Prepare a report. Be ready to answer the questions.
Possible topics for research work
1. Mari cuisine in the past.
2. My Granny’s favourite recipes.
3. The profession of a chef: for and against.
4. National cuisine: a healthy way of eating?
Case Study
Explore the situation. Try to find the way out.
A difficult dilemma
Kate Stepanova is the only child in the family. Mum says she is the apple of her
eye. Any Kate’s desire is a must for her relatives. Her mum is especially good at
coking and she does her best to treat her daughter with something tasty. As a result
her “little” 18-year-old daughter is a “bit” overweight – 92 kg.
No doubt Kate has a resolute character. Not being able to hear funny nicknames
from the girls and indifferent looks of the boys, she makes up her mind to keep to a
diet. She started her program 3 months ago and made certain progress. She became
slimmer but the health problems began. The doctor told her that her ration was too
strict all her illnesses were due to the lack of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins
and minerals. Besides she needed fresh air badly.
At the family summit it was decided to send the girl to her Granny to the village
for popper and quick treatment. When Granny saw her granddaughter, she burst
out crying: “Where is my plump rosy-cheeked lively girl? This pale with dark
spots under the eyes languid girl isn’t my Kate”. But Kate’s granny was also a
woman of character and she decided to improve the situation at once, “First,” - she
said, - “you need proper meals. I’ll treat you with our national Mari dishes. They
are nourishing and delicious. For breakfast you’ll have pancakes –
koman melna.
They are prepared from oatmeal, yeast, egg’s yolk. These products are rich in
Vitamin B. To get calcium you’ll eat cottage-cheese balls and drink unskimmed
milk and yoghurt.” The Granny looked at the girl, signed and continued: “For
dinner I’ll cook a famous Mari soup “Liver puree” with melted butter. They will
provide you with Vitamin D. The lack of this vitamin causes depression, bad mood,
toothache. For the second course I’ll serve potatoes, cabbage, carrots, onions
sprinkled with parsley and a piece of pork. This dish is called “The Mari Stew”.
These products will supply you with Vitamins A, E, fats and proteins. As for
dessert, you’ll have black currant ice-cream. This berry contains vitamin C which
will stimulate your appetite.” Granny though a bit and kept on speaking: “For
supper I’ll bake your favourite sweet buns to replace your supply of carbohydrates
and you’ll drink my famous tea with thyme and chamomile to sleep as much as
possible.”
Kate was shocked. She couldn’t utter a word. Then the gift of speech came back to
her and she pleaded: “Stop, Granny, don’t do that! Or my previous effort will be in
vain and all my plans will fail I’ll be fatter than I used to be.” But Granny was
inflexible. “Tastes differ,” she says. “The beautiful person should be well-fed and
healthy.”
Is Granny right?
What do you think Kate’s choice will be?
Do you agree that traditional national cuisine can be not only tasty and
nourishing but also healthy? Can you give an example?
What should people do to keep fit?
Is a well-balanced diet the only condition of being slender?
Can you name vitamins, minerals without which a person can’t exist? In
what traditional national dishes you can find them? Where else are they
contained?
Render the text in English
Толстушка – новая гастрономическая звезда!
Культ худобы и стройности захватил весь мир. Античные статуи – это,
конечно, прекрасно, но зачем же себя мучить? Специально для тех, кто любит
себя таким, как есть, в Йошкар-Оле открылся ресторан «Толстушка».
«Перестаньте стесняться своих форм!» - к этому призывает вся атмосфера
ресторана. Кто сказал, что объемные люди некрасивы, непластичны,
неталантливы? Доказательством обратного служат расторопные полные
официанты, пышнотелые танцовщицы, солидного сложения метрдотель.
Красный и бежевый цвета, множество портьер, картин и канделябров,
оригинальная сервировка – аппетит вызывает уже само оформление зала.
Ресторан радушно встречает своих гостей. «Полный понедельник» бесплатно
приглашает людей, чьи фигуры никак не влезают в маленькие размеры
одежды. В «Зажигательный Вторник» гурманов радуют выступления
артистов. В пятницу и субботу – «Шоу толстушек» - восточные, русские,
марийские народные танцы.
Попробуйте блюда национальной кухни в ресторане! Запеченный гусь, борщ
в хлебе, фаршированная щука… и вы не останетесь равнодушными.
Ресторан находится по адресу: ул. Вознесенская, 76
Unit 8. Mari national holidays, customs and traditions, myths and legends
Pronunciation
1. Practice the sounds.
[w]: whit, whip, walk, wish, women, which, were, with, water, within, wood,
wearing, winner, between, award, twig, wandering, Wednesday, wash, wedding,
dwelling, pussy-willow;
[v]: various, village, have, harvest, five, devoted, evil, above, believe, relative,
devil, favourite, collective, themselves, November, vegetables, evening, very.
2. Practice the sound [v]. Learn the rhyme by heart.
The Tide in the River
(by E. Farjeon)
The tide in the river,
The tide in the river,
The tide in the river runs deep,
I saw a shiver
Pass over the river
And the tide turned in its sleep.
3. Practice the sound [w]. Learn the rhyme by heart.
The Wonderful World
(by W. B. Rands)
Great, wide, beautiful wonderful world,
With the wonderful water round you curled,
And the wonderful grass upon your breast –
World, you are beautifully dressed!
The wonderful air is over me,
And the wonderful wind is shaking the tree –
It walks on the water, and whirls the mills.
And talks to itself on the top of the hills.
Vocabulary: Word Sets
Read the words, add them to the entries in your vocabulary note, learn as many
words as you can. Use these words in the sentences of your own.
Animals:
Bat, ant, mouse, squirrel, beaver, rabbit, donkey, lamb, deer, fawn, bull, moose.
Birds:
Pigeon, eagle, seagull, crow, hawk, sparrow, parrot, woodpecker, swan, stork.
Insects:
Caterpillar, butterfly, dragonfly, cricket, grasshopper, cockroach, ant, ladybug.
Trees:
Poplar, willow, oak, pine, elm, eucalyptus, holly, dogwood, redwood.
Cross-cultural note: reading
Read about the folk holiday of the Khanty-Mansi people.
The most popular holiday
(Khanty-Mansi autonomous region)
The Khanty people are often called the Ob’s Ugry as they have been living on the
banks of the magnificent Russian river – the Ob and its tributaries. They are good
hunters and the bear’s holiday is one of the most important.
A bear is considered to be the son of the main God – Torum. But his mother was a
simple woman. That’s why they treat this animal like their brother.
With the help of this holiday people try to redress a wrong for the bear’s murder
and carry out some rituals. The most known is the cult ceremony “Tulyglar”. The
researchers see the aim of this holiday in the desire to reconcile the soul of the bear
and the hunter who killed him. The holiday lasts for 5 days if the bear was a male,
and for 4 days – if female.
The bear is especially undressed (there are some rules of taking away its skin) and
is taken to the village. The bear’s head is placed in the sacred corner of the house
and the process of fortune-telling takes place.
Then people ask for permission for the holiday. Every morning, when the bear is
awaken, people sing a special song and treat the bear with hot porridge. Then
special songs (3-5-7-9) are performed. The plot is simple: the man meets a bear.
The songs are followed by various dances so that the bear can’t do any harm to
people. During this merry holiday up to 300 songs and dances are performed. The
only actors are the men.
Such big attention to the bear is obvious. The bears were hunted for warm skin and
tasty meat. The victory over such a huge, aggressive, dangerous and cunning
predator was highly appreciated and brought fame, glory, recognition to the hunter.
Write down questions to the underlined words in the text.
Discussion
What holidays are celebrated in your family?
Comment on the following:
“Legend is a stepdaughter of history” (E. Ponsela).
“One who governs the past, governs the future” (James Oruel).
“The past is unknown country. Everything is different there” (Leslie Xartly).
“Memory is the only paradise from which we can’t be expelled” (Jan Paul).
Creativity
1. Try your hand at translating:
Что такое «Тулыглап»?
Может след медвежьих лап?
Может песня, может сказка?
Может хитрая побаска?
Может сон? Может храп?
Что такое «Тулыглап»?
(Юван Шесталов)
2. Render the text in English.
В сочельник, под Рождество, - бывало, до звезды не ели. Бывало ждешь
звезды, протрешь все стекла. А звезд все больше…
А какие звезды! …
Усатые, живые, бьются, колют глаза. Звезды разными огнями блещут –
голубой хрусталь, и синий, и зеленый… И звон услышишь – морозный,
гулкий – прямо серебро. Звездный звон, певучий – плывет, не молкнет, звон-
чудо, звон-виденье, славит Бога – Рождество (Шмелев И.С. Лето господне).
Glossary:
1.
сочельник – Christmas Eve
2.
тереть – to rub
3.
блестеть – to sparkle
4.
звон – chime
5.
гулкий – booming, hollow
6.
виденье – apparition
7.
славить – to glorify
8.
колоть – to prick
9.
плыть – to float
3. Be a designer! Create a model “A Holiday Gathering”.
A Holiday Gathering
The aim : to construct the moving figures of people using nature materials
(acorns, twigs, straw).
The procedure :
1.
Select the proper acorns for heads and bodies of the figures.
2.
Cut the pieces of wire (230-250 mm in length) for arms and legs.
3.
Have a look at the real people while dancing, walking, jumping, etc.
4.
Join the parts of the models putting them into different positions.
5.
Fix each model on a match box with the help of glue.
6.
Create a holiday dress for your model using some coloured paper or cloth.
7.
Collect all the models of your classmates and present them in one general
project under the title “A Holiday Gathering”.
4. Be a designer! Create a holiday card.
Application made of straw
The aim: to create a nice card for a holiday.
The procedure:
1.
Take some stripes of straw and glue them to the sheet of paper leaving no
blank space between the stripes. Put it aside to get it dried.
2.
With the help of a pencil draw a pattern of your future card.
3.
Take a pair of scissors and cut out the necessary design.
4.
Put your card under a press.
5. Organize a class exhibition “Our national holidays”.
6. Read about the traditional games of the Finno-Ugric games and try to play.
Master of the hill
(Karelian game)
The game is played on the icy hill. The players are divided into two groups. The
first team is on the top of the hill, the second – at the bottom. The second team tries
to climb the hill, the first team tries to push them down. The winner is the player
who manages to stay on the hill.
Diving for the thing
(game of the Veps people)
The players choose a stone or any other heavy thing. They throw it to the water
from the shore. Then the players race and dive in order to get the thing first.
Riding a deer
(Lappish game)
The role of a deer is performed by an adult (a man). He carries a rider (a little boy)
on his back till he gets tired.
Cocks’ fight
(Mari game)
Choose a vast playground. The players stand on the pole which is on the ground,
one opposite the other. Each player lifts one leg and bends it backward. He can
hold this leg with his hand. The players try to push each other away from the pole.
The looser is the player who stands up on both legs.
Throwing the cones
(game of the Khanty people)
A summer game which is played on a forest glade.
Make a pointed stick from any branch (60 cm). Collect some cones. Draw a line
and put the cones on it. The players drive the sticks into the cones and do their best
to throw the cone as far as they can.
Ducks on the lake
(game of the Mansi people)
The players imitate the behaviour of the ducks on the lake – they “dive”, “drink
water”, “quack”, “fly away”.
Jumps over the straps
(game of the Nenets people)
The players jump over the straps which are drawn between the poles. The winner is
the most dexterous and crafty player.
A minute for Fun
Read the joke. Retell it to your friends.
Guest: I really must be off. I did enjoy our little visit. Do you know when I came
here I had a bad headache but now I have lost it entirely.
Hostess: Oh, don’t you worry. It isn’t lost, I’ve got it now.
Research Work
Investigate the topic. Prepare a report. Be ready to answer the questions.
Possible topics for research work
1. Ethnographic Museum in my school.
2. The most popular Mari holidays.
3. Modern Mari holidays.
4. Tradition is a stepdaughter of history.
5. Mari legends: the idea of happiness.
6. Mari myths – a way of expressing inmost dreams.
Case Study
Explore the situation. Try to find the way out.
Olga Petrovna Kostromina lives in the suburbs of Yoshkar-Ola in a 3-storey house.
Her neighours are friendly and helpful but she especially likes a young married
couple who lives next door to her. A young woman, Svetlana by name, is like a
daughter for her. She teachers her how to keep a household, how to be rational and
reasonable, how to get on well with her husband. Sometimes Olga Petrovna even
gives her a telling off if the young woman doesn’t listen to her advice.
Yesterday Svetlana called on her neighbour and friend, she was in a gloomy mood,
anxious and depressed. After a cup of tea, all of a sudden, she burst out crying. It
turned out that her family was on the edge of divorce. Her beloved husband found,
as he said, a woman who was cleverer, more beautiful than Svetlana. So he was
about to live the family. It was so unexpectedly that at first Svetlana was at a liss.
She was overwhelmed and bewildered: they even hadn’t had any rows or
misunderstanding with her husband. But then she pulled herself together and
decided to fight for her family happiness. She suspected that the reason was
simple: her husband was enchanted. In the newspaper she came across a very
promising advertisement: “Hereditary clairvoyant Lora will bewitch your sweet
heart, return your charmed husband to the family, etc.” Without thinking twice she
decided to ring this lady up but then her natural caution prevailed and she came to
Olga Petrovna to talk things over.
“I believe in extraordinary, extra sensory abilities of people. In my childhood I
used to live at my granny’s, in the countryside. Next to us used to live an old
woman. Everybody called her Dimitreevna, little, kind, with a constant smile on
her lips. People from all over Udmurtia came to her. She treated the sick, told the
fortune. She told my 30-year-old aunt her fortune too. The life proved she was
absolutely right although it was rather difficult to believe her prophecy att hat
time.” Olga Petrovna Stopped talking and the conversation lapsed. She was sitting
deep in thoughts as if felling that emotional experience again. Then she continued:
“I’ve met people with an evil eye who could spoil everything and everybody. My
workmate’s wife used to come to us. “What beautiful flowers you grow, Olga
Petrovna,” she said and the flowers faded the next day. “How many jars of jam
you’ve prepared,” and the jam turned sour for the first time in my life. “How nice
you look,” and in a day I was in hospital, pale and miserable. On coming back
home I asked my husband to hammer a nail above the entrance door. He joked at
me but fulfilled my request. That very evening the woman came again but spent at
least a couple of minutes. Pleading a headache, she went away and never came
again.”
Olga Petrovna poured some tea into her cup and started sipping it as it was rather
hot. Then she broke silence again. “You see, there are different people… But,
frankly speaking, I don’t believe these ads in the newspapers. I’m afraid their only
aim is to rip the clients off. Besides, putting an evil eye on somebody no matter
bad or good the person is, guilty or not, has always been considered a dreadful
sin…” “But what should I do?” cried Svetlana. “Let’s think. Two heads are better
than one…”
Do you believe in evil forces, wizards, goblins?
Do you think Svetlana should resort to the help of black magic?
What advice do you think Olga Petrovna will give to the young woman?
If you were in Svetlana’s shoes, what steps would you take?
Check your progress
Reading
Read the text about a Hungarian composer and chose the right answers.
Frants Legar
Frants Legar, a Hungarian composer and conductor, was born on 30 April, 1870 in
Komarno, Slovakia. He came from a family of a military bandmaster. Among his
ancestors one can find Germans and Hungarians, Slovaks and Italians. At the age
of five Legar knew the notes, played the violin and brilliantly improvised on the
piano. Being 12 he entered the conservatory in Prague and graduated from it in
1888. His unlimited creative abilities were noticed by Anthony Dvorzhak, who
recommended the young fellow to take up composing music.
For a few years Legar worked as an assistant of the main conductor in his father’s
orchestra in Vienna. In 1896 he became the theatrical composer. His first work
“Cuckoo” – an operetta about the Russian way of life appeared in 1895. It was
staged in one of the theatres in Leipzig. The audience was favourably disposed
toward it although it didn’t make a sensation in the musical world. Later Legar
composed a lot of operettas marches, waltzes, sonatas, but his world fame started
due to his operetta “A Merry Widow” (1905).
A few years later Legar wrote: “With this operetta I found my own style towards
which I had longed for in the previous works. The direction of the modern operetta
depends on the peculiarities of the time, the public, the whole range of the
changing social relationships. I think an operetta in a joke mood is of no interest
for today spectators… My aim is to do the genre of operetta more noble. To my
mind the audience should listen and feel sympathy to the characters, but not enjoy
the sincere nonsense.
All in all Legar created more than 20 operettas, full of bright original music. The
prominent characteristic of Legar’s music is its sincere touching lyrism; masterly
melodic richness of orchestration. Paul Knepler once said: “There are three kinds
of musical drama: opera, operetta and Legar”. Legar’s operettas became world
classics and were screened many times. Arias from his operettas are performed by
the best singers, among whom are Hikolas Gedd, Montserat Kabalye, Luchano
Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, etc.
Choose the best answer
1. When was Frants Legar born?
a. At the end of the 18-th century
b. At the end of the 19-th century
c. In the Middle Ages
2. What was his Mum’s occupation?
a. It was connected with music
b. It was in the sphere of fashion
c. There is no information in the text
3. When did Legar start playing music?
a. When he was quiet an old man
b. In his childhood
c. When he met Anthony Dvorzhak
4. What was his first operetta about?
a. It showed the Hungarian way of life
b. It was devoted to Legar’s father
c. It depicted the Russian type of living
5. Was his first work a great success?
a. Yes, it was.
b. No, it wasn’t.
c. It was warmly welcomed but didn’t make a furor.
6. What is Legar’s music famous for?
a. For its sincerity
b. For its tempo
c. For its rhythm
7. What was Legar’s goal in the genre of operetta according to his own opinion?
a. To make the audience laugh
b. To make the audience experience strong emotions
c. To make the audience feel sympathy to the characters
Vocabulary
Read the text about an ancient traditional Estonian game and fill in the gaps.
Kada
In the past Estonian men collected some (1. …) into an old skirt and tied it with a
(2…) . This ball was called kada. With the help of the (3. …) the men pushed the
ball forward to the (4…) village. Residents of the neighbouring settlement tried to
catch the (5. …) and to give them a (6. …).
1. a. waste b. rags c. rubbish d. stones
2. a. scarf b. handkerchief c. rope d. sock
3. a. bats b. legs c. heads d. clubs
4. a. nearly b. nearby c. close d. not far
5. a. strangers b. guests c. mates d. fellows
6. dressing-gown b. dressing-down c. dressing table d. dressing party
Word building
Make up the right form of the word to suit each gap.
Hands find business themselves
Ivan Vladimirovich Podoplelov lives in the (1. ..) of Kilemary
(Mari El). He is considered to be the best (2. …) who is
especially good at making furniture.
Ten years ago he fell (3. …) ill and doctors had to amputate the
toes on his feet. It helped but only for a few years. Then - one
more operation and the (4. …) of both legs.
1. To settle
2. To join
3. Serious
4. To amputate
When a man is healthy and can walk on his own legs, he
doesn’t think about this (5. …). But if a (6. …) comes, it
makes the man look at his previous life at another angle. Some
people, being depressed and (7. …), start drinking alcohol
heavily, others leave this world for another – they devote
themselves to church. Only strong people can find the only
right (8. …) .
Once Ivan called on his friends who were (9. …) in the
workshop. They were turning the door (10. …). He didn’t
notice how he himself took the instruments into his hands. He
began to come here every day, first to help, then he earned
enough money to buy his own tools. He adjusted the lathe to
(11. …) so that he could work sitting on the chair. By and by
his business flourished. He works a bit slowly but the chairs
and armchairs made by this master are highly (12. …) by his
village fellows for good quality. He approves that the young
people also prefer to buy furniture made of wood but not of
plastic. He is sure it looks nice, (13. …) and cozy. (14. …), a
real craftsman creates his masterpieces not for money only, but
for his (15. …). That’s why they live for a long time keeping
the (16. …) of the man’s hands and giving it away to other
people. Perhaps this is the very (17. …) of the human life?
5. Happy
6. Fortunate
7. Hope
8. To solve
9. Business
10. To handle
11. He
12. Evaluation
13. Charm
14. Doubt
15. Pleasant
16. Warm
17. Essential
Grammar
Read the text, open the brackets using the correct verb forms.
Vikenty Phillimonovich Bulygin (1. to be born) in the village of Vasli-Sola
(Toryalsky Region, Mari El). It (2. to be situated) 80 km away from Yoshkar-Ola.
The local inhabitants (3. to be) always hardworking, here; the women used (4. to
weave), to spin the yarn, to sew shirts, to bring up children. The men were busy
with feeding the cattle, with tanning sheep’s skins and basting special shoes called
lapti.
Once father (5. to take) little Vikenty to the forest o bark lime trees. On coming
home Dad made the boy (6. to sit) next to him and do what he himself was going
(7. to do). In four hours the new shoes from bass were ready.
After leaving school, Vitaly (8. to enter) the Pedagogical College in the settlement
of Toryal. Later he (9. to work) as a teacher of Maths and P.E. in the secondary
school. Then a young man joined the Soviet Army, he had (10. to serve) on the
airfield of Shatalovo near Smolensk.
At that time the international situation was alarming as the II World War (11. to
begin). The country defense needed radical modernization. Radio as a means of
connection with planes (12. to come) to the Military Air Forces. Vikenty (13. to
become) a radio operator, soon he (14. to appoint) the head of the radio station at
the airfield. He was under 20 at that time. The crew at the station was
multinational: Sergey Kozlov from Moscow, Grisha Borisov from Kazan, Kolya
Kordun from the Ukraine and the Azerbaijanian Allaz Mamedov. The team (15. to
head) by the Mari fellow Vikenty Bulygin.
The work of the radio operator was very important. He (16. to have) to foresee
everything and to provide the planes with a safe landing under any conditions.
Bulygin was soon a skilled expert and (17. to begin) to teach others. His radio
station (18. to call) Bulygin’s University in the air regiment.
The planes with black fascist crosses (19. to appear) in the sky over Smolensk on
the first day of the war. Vikenty (20. to serve) in the Army for all 5 long war years.
In 1949 he (21. to start) his career in the Navy. He (22. to graduate) from the
Military Political College and (23. to send) to the cruiser as a waarant officer. In
1955 he studied in the Military Political Academy named after V.I. Lenin in
Moscow. Having graduated from it with honours, he arrived to the Northern Navy.
By January 1974 he (24. to serve) in the Armed Forces for 33 years. In 1974 he
(25. to retire) but continued his work as the head of the Civil Defense Committee
at one of the enterprises in Novgorod.
It goes without saying, the feeling of Motherland (26. to start) at the place where a
man was born and (27. to grow up). But id develops in the person on those life
roads where he (28. to investigate) his country. And for all his life Vikenty
Phillimonovich (29. to build) the road to peace: during the war, and later, in
various cities of our big country. And for all his life he (30. to try) to bring up the
feeling of Motherland in those people who were near him.
Writing
Translate the text about a famous Karelian craftsman into English.
Казаков Александр Николаевич
Место и дата рождения: Республика Карелия, г. Петрозаводск, 1 февраля
1961 года
Страна, субъект РФ: Россия, Республика Карелия
Образование: факультет прикладных искусств художественной школы г.
Петрозаводска
Выставки, галереи, вернисажи:
за рубежом (Финляндия, Швеция,
Германия, Америка). Авторские выставки в
Москве, Санкт-Петербурге и
Карелии.
В 1998 г. был отмечен на Зональной выставке "Русский Север" в г. Кирове.
Награждён многими наградами в виде дипломов, грамот, благодарственных
писем и ценных подарков. Неоднократно проводил персональные выставки в
России и за рубежом.
Принадлежность к творческим союзам: Союз художников России,
народный мастер
Виды творчества, жанры: художественная обработка дерева, кости, работа
по бересте, фотография, рисунки. Основные направления – панно, иконы,
изготовление и украшение резьбой мебели, бытовых вещей, украшение
охотничьих ружей и фотографирование
Используемые материалы: дерево, металл, керамика, стекло, кость, береста
и др.
Web-страницы:
2007 года член союза художников России.
Если вас заинтересовали работы, их можно заказать по адресу:
Карелия, 185026 г.Петрозаводск, ул.Сортавальская 5/2, кв.112.
Speaking
Imagine that you on a visit in an English speaking country. Tell your new friends
about
Your native place
The traditions and holidays of the Mari people
About Mari national crafts
About your favourite Mari writer and his works
About your favourite Mari painter and his works
About your favourite Mari musician and his works
