Hundreds of englishes

A friend of mine recently tried to download a new programme from the internet. But she soon had a problem. She had selected English as the variant of the programme that she wanted. But then she had to choose from a whole list of different 'Englishes': International English, Universal English, American English, European English, South African English... Whatever happened to ordinary English English? My friend wanted to know.

Languages are like living things. They change and grow. In the case of English, the process of change is becoming faster and faster. New forms of the language are being created, partly because more and more people are now speaking English and partly because of new forms of communication such as email. About 400 million people in various countries of the world use English as a first language. About 600 million people use English as a second language. In addition to these people, there are millions of people who are learning English for use at work or when they travel. It is not surprising that the language has changed to suit local needs, as a result there are many types of English with their own vocabulary and a characteristic sentence structure.

You might think that there are not really big differences between British and American English. Well, that is not really true. British people always find American English a little strange and sometimes totally incomprehensible.

Canadians officially use British spelling and usage, but in reality they are very influenced by American English. Once when 1 was visiting Vancouver, I asked a bus driver if he was going to the centre. I meant, of course, the city centre. He looked at me as though I were mad. "But this is the centre," he said. In reality, we were about 10 miles from the city centre. However, we were at a bus stop outside a shopping centre. Fortunately, I remembered just in time that for north Americans 'downtown' is the word to indicate the city centre, so the problem was solved.

2. The author's friend had a problem while working on the computer. Read aloud the extract which says about it.

3. Why is English changing much more than other languages?

4. How much do the variants of English differ?

Ответы на вопросы

1.This text is about different variants of English. Languages are like living things. They change and grow. New forms of the language are being created.

2. (1-ый абзац.) A friend of mine recently tried to download a new programme from the internet. But she soon had a problem. She had selected English as the variant of the programme that she wanted. But then she had to choose from a whole list of different 'Englishes': International English, Universal English, American English, European English, South African English... Whatever happened to ordinary English English? My friend wanted to know.

3.English is changing much more than other languages because more and more people are now speaking English and partly because of new forms of communication such as email.

4.There are many types of English with their own vocabulary and characteristic sentence structure.For example British people always find American English a little strange and sometimes totally incomprehensible.

FAMILY HISTORY

"Researching family history is a true passion rather than just a hobby for many people", says Julie Mason. "It is wonderfully exciting when you learn more about the ancestors."

Julie began researching her family's past in order to find out her roots. She says: "When you discover your roots, it gives you understanding who you are." John Paul Thompson, has a different reason for wanting to research his family's history. "After my father died I found myself with photo albums full of old photographs with no labels. 1 wanted to find out more about the others." Some of the things that people discover about their families can be very surprising. When Jean Sandwell researched her family history she had a very big shock. She found out that she had been adopted as a baby. After she had accepted this situation, Jean tried to find her real parents. "I discovered that my mother emigrated to Australia in 1966," says Jean. "In 1982 I went to Australia to meet her. It was a very emotional experience for both of us."

So what is the best way to start researching your family history? "Interview all your family members before it is too late," says Julie Mason. "Make a basic family tree of your close family and step by step make it bigger. Of course, it is not easy to have accurate information from relatives about things that happened in the distant past. It is quite normal for different family members give different versions of the same events. It is very important to chcck everything."

Public records in local libraries and in national archives are also important to the family historian. Old newspaper reports are often kept on in local libraries. Sometimes, researching your family history can be lonely work. Remember that you can find a lot of help on the internet. Of course, it is not easy to trace your family history a long way back and you must be very patient. Believe me, in the future, your children, and their children may be very grateful to you for recording it.

Jean Sandwell made a shocking discovery. Read aloud the extract which says about it.

Why do people start tracing their family histories?

What recommendations does the author give to discover your roots?

Ответы на вопросы

 

1.This text is about the importance of researching our family’s past. We can learn a lot of interesting things about our family.In the future our children & their children may be very grateful to us.

2. 3абзац.

3.They want to know more about their ancestors.

4.We should interview all our members, make a basic family tree of our close family & step by step make it bigger. We should check everything what our relatives say.

HOW TO BE HAPPY

Dr Richard Carlson is thought to be an internationally famous expert on happiness. Tens of millions of copies of his self-help guides have been sold around the world. These books try to help people deal with the many difficulties of life so that they can become happy and feel strong inside themselves.

Dr Carlson is a qualified psychologist, also he is naturally optimistic and has always had a deep interest in the idea of happiness. When he finished his university studies, he began giving lessons on how to be happy to small groups of people. Dr Carlson enjoyed that work but he wanted to try and help more people. Fie got an opportunity to do this when he began writing articles about happiness for a newspaper. He then had the idea of putting his ideas into book form.

One of the secrets of happiness, Dr Carlson believes, is to approach problems in stages, breaking the problem down into parts that can be solved bit by bit. "Problems often seem so large that you feel shocked," Richard Carlson says. "It's much better to stop a moment and see things in perspective."

Another advice is to develop a feeling of inner strength. You must consciously try to be positive about things, seeing problems as challenges. When you have a habit of being positive and optimistic, a lot of your problems either become unimportant, or else they disappear altogether.

Dr Carlson also stresses that it is very important for people to take responsibility for their own happiness. When you realize this, it can give you a sense of power. Instead of blaming others we should learn how we ourselves can change to improve the situation. As a result your personal relations will improve and you will feel happier.

Dr Carlson also recommends people to develop a sense of presence. What he means is that we should always be focused on whatever it is that we are doing at any particular time. If you are successful at doing this, others will respect you.

Millions of people have benefited from Dr Carlson's common sense approach to happiness. He manages to make complex issues easier to deal with.

2. Dr Carlson is considered an international expert on happiness. Read aloud the extract which says about it.

3. Why did Dr Carlson start writing books?

Ответы на вопросы

 

1.This text is about how to be happy. Dr. Carlson gives pieces of advice how to be happy.I think the most important is to feel strong inside ourselves, to be optimistic & positive.

2. (1-ый абзац.) Dr Richard Carlson is thought to be an internationally famous expert on happiness. Tens of millions of copies of his self-help guides have been sold around the world. These books try to help people deal with the many difficulties of life so that they can become happy and feel strong inside themselves.

3.He wanted to try & help more people.

4.To approach problems in stages, breaking the problem down into parts that can besolved bit by bit.To develop a feeling of inner strength.We should try to be positive,seeing problems as challenges. It is also very importantfor people to take responsibility for their own happiness.