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Е. В. Захарова язык и культура великобритании в условиях европейской интеграции предисловие данное учебное пособие

Вид материалаУчебное пособие
Unit xi. the country of frustration and unrest
Ii. vocabulary focus
Iii. interpretation
Iv. speaking personally
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UNIT XI. THE COUNTRY OF FRUSTRATION AND UNREST



I. READING COMPREHENSION


A. Pre-reading Task. Answer the following questions:


1) What are the words ‘Belfast’, ‘IRA’, ‘Northern Ireland’ associated with?

2) Do you happen to know when Northern Ireland became part of the UK?


B. Now read and translate the text. You can make use of the following words and word-combinations:


Be composed of – состоять из чего-либо

Claim – утверждать, заявлять

Paramilitary – военизированный

Militant – воинственный, воинствующий

Imply – подразумевать, предполагать

Affinity – близость, «духовное» родство

Frustration - разочарование

Outbreak – вспышка, внезапное начало (войны, насилия и т.д.)

Hostilities – военные действия, состояние войны

Warring – воюющие

Outweigh – перевесить

Flee – бежать, убегать, спасаться бегством

Reconciliation – примирение

Voluntary – добровольный

Peer group – группа равных (по положению, возрасту)


Nowhere has the sense of conflict with the English been stronger than in Northern Ireland, where the population is composed of Protestants and Catholics. The Protestants do not feel English, though some would call themselves British and almost all claim Ulster (as most Protestants prefer to call Northern Ireland) as an integral part of Britain. They are known as ‘Unionists’ or ‘Loyalists’, a more militant term implying support for a paramilitary group. The Catholic population feels more Irish than British and most, calling themselves Nationalists, would prefer to be more clearly separate from Britain or at any rate closer links with the Irish Republic. Some call themselves Republican, implying support for Sinn Fein and the IRA (the Irish Republican Army). Today there are approximately 900,000 Protestants and 680,000 Catholics in Northern Ireland. There are 3.5 million Irish south of the border, in the Republic, with whom many Catholics feel an affinity. Both communities and the people of the Republic have great frustration with British policy.

Behind the historical record, social and economic factors continue to influence events. One of the most important of these has been the voluntary and involuntary segregation of the two communities. Within a year of the outbreak of the troubles in the 70s which brought about hostilities between the Protestant and Catholic communities, walls and wire-mesh fences were erected to separate the warring communities. Mixed communities separated as the pressures of sectarian identity outweighed individual neighbourliness. In many cases mixed areas became battlegrounds for the youths of both groups. Many threatened families and individuals fled their homes out of fear, a process still happening at the end of the 90s, making intercommunity reconciliation much harder. However, much of the segregation is also voluntary. Where Catholics became a majority, for example, in Derry and also central Belfast, Protestants tend to leave, feeling more secure in still predominantly Protestant areas. Yet housing in mixed middle-class areas of Belfast is in great demand by both communities.

Education has always been segregated and barely 10 per cent of children attend integrated schools. Much of the resistance to integration has been because the Catholic Church has strong views regarding education. Yet generally speaking Catholic children tend to perform more poorly than their Protestant counterparts. Integration might remove this difference, thereby improving parity of career opportunity. As importantly, if Catholics and Protestants do not learn to relate to each other creatively as children they are almost bound to develop and perpetuate entrenched sectarian loyalties. Continued segregation militates against forging a spirit of reconciliation. According to opinion polls, more than half of both communities believe that integrated schooling and residential areas should be encouraged by government. But what most people wish and what they do remains in contradiction.

Another crucial factor has been the high level of unemployment, affecting the Catholic community most. Unemployment in both communities has a political as well as an economic consequence. Young men with few prospects, little education and peer group are the easiest to recruit into paramilitary forces.


C. What problems does the text touch upon?

Number them in the same order that they are dealt with in the text:


II. VOCABULARY FOCUS


A. Translate the following words into Russian:


Segregation; to bring about; wire-mesh fences; to erect; neighbourliness; out of fear; housing; to perform poorly; parity; to forge a spirit of reconciliation.


Reproduce the situations in which they are given in the text.


B. Find the English equivalents in the text:


Неотъемлемая часть; во всяком случае; к югу от границы; приблизительно; социально-экономические факторы; оказывать влияние; давление чего-либо; поле боя; чувствовать себя в безопасности; пользоваться большим спросом.


Think of your own sentences with them.


C. Match the words which collocate with each other:

1. warring a. opportunity

2. career b. part

3. integrated c. consequences

4. economic d. communities

5. integral e. schooling


D. Match the words which are close in their meaning:

1. frustrated a. factional

2. militant b. constituent

3. sectarian c. fondness

4. integral d. embittered

5. affinity e. belligerent


E. Match the words having the opposing meaning:

1. militant a. broad-minded

2. integral b. inspirited

3. affinity c. tolerant

4. sectarian d. dislike

5. frustrated e. peripheral


F. Match the words and their meanings:



1. a natural understanding and sympathy between people
a. outweigh

2. an annoyed or impatient feeling that you get when you are prevented from doing what you want

b. outbreak

3. using extreme and sometimes violent methods to achieve political or social change
c. frustration

4. the sudden start of war, disease, violence etc
d. affinity

5. to be more important, useful or valuable than smth else
e. militant


.


G. Translate the following sentences into Russian


1) The sort of affinity that exists between the twines is very rare.

2) He expressed his frustration at not being able to talk openly.

3) The militant group claimed to have killed two soldiers.

4) An outbreak of food poisoning led to the deaths of five people.

5) The possible benefits outweigh the risks involved.


H. Insert prepositions where necessary (for; with; in; of; from; about; at):

1) to be composed __ smb/smth

2) to imply __ smth

3) to give support __ smb

4) to be separated __ smth/smb

5) to feel an affinity __ smb

6) to influence __ smb/smth

7) to bring __ hostilities

8) to be __ demand

9) to effect __ smb

10) __ the end


I. Complete the sentences using the words in the box:

integrated warring integral reconciliation community

affecting fear claim erected segregated

unemployment fled hostilities crucial threatened

brought outbreak


1) Education has always been ___ and barely 10 per cent of children attend __ schools.

2) Within a year of the ___ of the troubles in the 70s which __ about __ between the Protestant and Catholic communities, walls and wire-mesh fences were ___ to separate the __ communities.

3) Almost all __ Ulster as an ___ part of Britain.

4) Many ___ families and individuals ___ their homes out of ___, making intercommunity ____ much harder.

5) Another ___ factor has been the higher level of ___, ___ the Catholic ___ most.


J. Complete the following sentences:


1) A feeling of liking and caring about someone or smth is called

a. affectation

b. affection

c. affect


2) A person who shows his love and care is

a. affected

b. affecting

c. affectionate


3) Unfriendly or threatening behaviour or feeling towards someone is

a. hostilities

b. hostility

c. hospitality


4) The policy of keeping people from different groups, especially different races, separate is called:

a. separation

b. segregation

c. segmentation


5) A group of people who use extreme or violent method to achieve smth can be called:

a. military

b. militarized

c. militant


III. INTERPRETATION


A. Answer the questions:


1) Do you think that the conflict with the English is so grave in Northern Ireland only due to the fact that the population there is composed of Protestants and Catholics?

2) Why do you think both communities feel frustration with British policy.?

3) How do you understand ‘voluntary and unvoluntary segregation’ of both communities?

4) What effects did it have?

5) What makes intercommunity reconciliation so hard to achieve?

6) It’s common knowledge that Catholic children in Northern Ireland tend to perform more poorly at school than their Protestant counterparts. How can this fact be accounted for?


B. Paraphrase the following statements. Comment on them:


1) Continued segregation militates against forging a spirit of reconciliation.

2) If Catholics and Protestants do not learn to relate to each other creatively as children, they are almost bound to develop and perpetuate entrenched sectarian loyalties.

3) Behind the historical record, social and economic factors continue to influence events.


IV. SPEAKING PERSONALLY


Discuss with your partners the following problem:


How is unemployment connected with social and political unrest?


While speaking about people’s emotions in such situations and their actions you can use some adjectives given below.

Arrange them in 3 columns according to their meaning:

annoyance
indignation
embarrassment



upset; bewildered; cross; confused; discomposed; disconcerted; irritated; furious; exasperated; wrathful; vexed; perturbed; fuming; abashed; mad; desperate; fierce; violent; futile; extreme; biased; quarrelsome; prejudiced.