2018-02-13
563
№16 THE PROBLEM WITH HAPPINESS
1 Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about
Most people want to be happy. Some people even spend lots of money to learn to be more positive. But perhaps the search for happiness isn't always a good thing. Some scientific research shows that you cannot force yourself to be happy. Research has also shown that being in a negative mood can sometimes be an advantage. Joseph Forgas is a scientist at the University of New South Wales in Australia, He has studied how happy and negative moods affect people's lives. Professor Forgas has found that people in a negative mood know more about the world and they are more careful when making important decisions. "A positive mood is good for creativity and quick thinking," says Forgas. "But negative moods connect people with reality."
In some experiments, Professor Forgas found that people in a negative mood didn't easily believe rumours*, but happy people are more likely to believe them. Other tests showed that people in a negative mood were better at remembering events that they had seen. People in a bad mood were also better at expressing their opinions on serious subjects.
Forgas has also found a connection between the weather and people's moods. When the weather is bad, people tend to have a negative mood. When the weather is good, people are happier. Forgas also found that on rainy days, when people were negative, their memory was improved.
Other experiments by Forgas show that happy people are more selfish than unhappy people. Forgas says: "Happy people think more about their own needs than the needs of other people."
Some people are pleased about the results of Forgas's research. "Today, if you aren't happy people think there is something wrong," says Michael Collins, a journalist. "This is why Forgas's research is so important. Certainly, happiness is a good thing. But we do not have to try to be happy all the time."Forgas told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: "Positive mood is not always a good thing. People in a negative mood make fewer errors. Even they remember events more clearly and they are often better at communicating."
rumours* -слухи
2 What does Joseph Forgas do? Read aloud the extract which says about it
3 What are the results of Forgas' studies?
4 Do people find the results of the research important? Why?
№17 DO YOU ENJOY EATING BREAKFAST?
1 Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about
When was the last time you had a proper breakfast before you went to work or school in the morning? Probably it was a long time ago. Most people do not have time to eat breakfast. And many people do not want to eat breakfast as soon as they get up. Perhaps an hour later, they are starving. But by then they are at school or work and there is no time to stop and eat anything until lunchtime.
However, if you could eat a decent breakfast, you would probably be able to do your work much better. This is especially true of schoolchildren because their brains are still developing. If children do not eat well, their brains will not function as well as they should. Their school work will be less effective. Children need iron*, for example. Iron is found in bread and in many breakfast cereals and it helps concentration. Research shows that if children do not eat the right kind of food, or if they do not eat breakfast, they can have problems at school.
Research supports the view that school breakfasts help schoolchildren perform better at school. One study by Michael Murphy, a psychologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, USA, studied breakfast programmes at three schools. Dr Murphy and his colleagues found that the children who had the breakfasts provided by the school generally did better at school, particularly in Maths, than the children who had no breakfast. In one school, scores in Math tests rose by 16 %. In another school there was an increase of 10 % in Maths and Reading tests. Teachers said that the children concentrated on their lessons am behaved better than before, they were generally happier and more hard-working.
Studies have shown that it is not difficult to organize school breakfast. The breakfasts help everybody, it seems: parents, teachers and the children themselves. The children's favourite breakfasts are toast and jam, and cereals such as cornflakes. The most important thing of all is that children are happier, healthier and learn more.
2 The article says that most people are too busy to have breakfast. Read aloud the extract which says about it
3 Why is it important for schoolchildren to have breakfast?
4 What are the results of the experiment?
№18 MOBILE PHONES
1 Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about
From children to senior citizens, mobile phones have become a craze* as a way of staying ahead with the technology. With our fast lifestyles, we have no time to meet our relatives or friends and are left with the only option of talking over the phone. Here comes the need of mobile phones, which allow us to stay connected wherever we are and whenever we need to.
Everybody today owns at least a basic mobile phone. What makes it easy to use is its user-friendly nature, small size and its numerous attractive features. However, people are always eager to replace their mobile phones with the latest models having more advanced features.
As the technology is scaling new heights, mobile phones are becoming cheaper and cheaper and the customer is getting more for less. A great way of amusing yourself is by playing games on your mobile phone. If you want to store your precious moments, you can use its video recording feature. Mobile phones can become expressions of who we are by getting mobile ringtones, wallpapers, which turn your phone into a unique device.
Whatever may be said against mobile phones their advantages have always scored over their disadvantages. They have proved useful for every purpose. Nothing is as comfortable as a mobile phone for communicating over a distance. You cannot be present at the same time at more than one place, but if required you can just make use of your mobile phone and get your work done.
Mobile phones have definitely become the most vital part of our lives. It is hard to imagine life without mobiles. Indeed, mobile phones keep you connected round the clock. They are now inexpensive, easy to use, comfortable and equipped with almost every latest feature you desire. Today, a technologically advanced mobile phone can perform as many tasks as well as that of a personal computer. Even remote countries have started having mobile phone services.
а craze - идея фикс, пунктик
2 The author explains why people need mobile phones nowadays. Find this extract and read it aloud
3 What features can be found in modern mobile phones?
4 Why are mobile phones a vital part of our life?
№19 CULTURE SHOCK
1 Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about
Are you sure that you are a polite person? Good manners are important across the globe, but that doesn't mean they are the same all over the world. That's what Marta Ingram, who is English, understood when she married Alexander, who is Russian.
When I first met Alexander and he said to me, in Russian, "Naley mne tchai — pour me some tea." I got angry and answered, "Pour it yourself." Translated into English, without a 'Could you?..' and a 'please', it sounded really rude to me. But in Russian it was fine — you don't have to add any polite words.
However, when I took Alexander home to meet my parents in the UK, I had to give him an intensive course in pleases and thank yous (which he thought was completely unnecessary), and to teach him to say sorry even if someone else steps on his foot, and to smile, smile, smile.
Another thing which Alexander just couldn't understand was why people said things like, "Would you mind passing me the salt, please?" He said, "It's only the salt, for goodness sake! What do you say if you want a real favour?"
He watched in amazement when at a dinner party in England we had to eat some really disgusting food and I said, "Mmm... delicious." In Russia people are much more direct. The first time Alexander's mother came to our house for dinner in Moscow, she told me that my soup needed some flavouring. After that when we argued about it my husband said, "Do you prefer your guest to lie?"
Alexander complained that in England he felt like a 'village idiot', because in Russia if you smile all the time people think that you are mad. In fact, this is exactly what my husband's friends thought of me the first time I went to Russia because I smiled at everyone, and translated every 'please' and 'thank you' from English into Russian.
At home we now have an agreement, if we are speaking Russian, we can say "Pour me some tea", and make just a noise like a grunt when I get it to him. But when we are speaking English he has to add a 'please', a 'thank you', and a smile.
2 What did Marta Ingram understand when she met Alexander? Read aloud the extract which says about it.
3 Can you prove that the Russian and the English ideas of good manners are different?
4 What sort of decision did Marta and Alexander make?
№20 YOUNG BUSINESSMAN
1 Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about
Martin Halstead is a normal English teenager who lives in Oxford with his Mum and Dad. There is only one unusual thing about Martin - at the age of 18 he set up his own airline!
Martin got his passion for flying when he boarded a plane for the first time at the age of six. Ever since Martin has wanted to be a pilot.
Only a year ago Martin was just a student at an Oxford college and was preparing for his final exams in Business, History and English. However, his desire to become a pilot was so strong that he sent an application to Oxford Air Training School before taking his college exams. Martin wasn't very confident that he would get a place but much to his own surprise he was successful. Martin says: "To my surprise, I was given a chance to start at Oxford Air Training School almost immediately. Both my parents and the head of the college could see how much I wanted to become a pilot, so they supported my decision to leave college without taking my final exams."
Martin started his flying course last January. He says: "Last summer I was chatting to my friend and said, as a joke, that my only chance to get a job in that field was to have my own airline."
And that was how it all began. Martin's original plan was to fly between Oxford and Cambridge. Oxford and Cambridge are the two most famous and important university cities in the UK. Although the two cities are not too far from each other, they are not well connected by road or train. However, Martin has now changed his mind. His airline, Alpha One Airways, now plans to fly between Southampton and the Isle of Man.
Where did Martin get money to start his business? Well, he got some money from his Grandmother and also had some savings from doing part-time jobs, Although Martin refuses to say exactly how much money he needed to start the business, he says it wasn't very much.
So, what is next? Martin says: "I hope that this is just the beginning and in the future I will be able to fly to other places." Good luck, Martin!
2 The author mentions Martin's plan of starting the airline. Find this extract and read it aloud
3 What made Martin leave college and start studying to become a pilot?
4 How did Martin manage to find money for starting his business?
