What is this thing called Love?

Family Relations in Different Cultures

Практикум по культуре общения

Методические материалы

для студентов 3 курса факультета иностранных языков

заочная форма обучения

специальность

Вологда

«Русь»

Объяснительная записка

Предлагаемые материалы предназначены для самостоятельной работы студентов английского отделения 3 курса заочного отделения для изучения темы «Семья, семейные отношения». Данные материалы являются дополнением к учебнику Аракин В.Д. и др. Практический курс английского языка. 4 курс.- 5-е изд. Перераб. и доп. – М., 2008. В летнем семестре изучаются уроки 5 (H. Munro. The Lumber Room.) и 8 (Ch. Morley. Thursday Evening).

В содержание изучаемого материала входят общие теоретические вопросы построения семьи и проблемы семейных отношений в рамках а) отношения супругов, б) отношения между супругами и их родителями, в) отношения между взрослыми детьми и родителями, г) отношения между внуками и бабушками и дедушками, д) проблема «отцов и детей», е) проблемы эмансипации женщины. Перечисленные проблемы выносятся на экзамен.

Предлагаемые задания выполняются как в устной, так и в письменной форме. Тексты в приложении даны для обязательного письменного перевода.

Содержание и требования к устному экзамену по данной теме:

ü На экзамене должно быть представлено 7-минутное монологическое высказывание по одному из выше перечисленных вопросов.

ü Студенту предлагается русский текст объемом 2500-3000 знаков для свободного перевода и комментария к нему

ü Высказывание должно быть логично, грамотно и построено в соответствии со стилем высказывания с использованием изученного вокабуляра

ü Преподаватель имеет право задать дополнительный вопрос по содержанию русского текста, а также по содержанию высказывания для уточнения позиции

ü Передача менее 80% содержания русского текста или его комментария оценивается не выше «удовлетворительно»

Task 1.

You are going to read a magazine article about love. Choose the most suitable heading from the list A-I for each part (1-7) of the article. There is one extra heading which you do not need to use.

A. Two magic substances.

B. Finding someone who matches us physically.

C. Two feelings that are easily confused.

D. We don’t want to get hurt.

E. A silly experiment.

F. It’s hard to resist.

G. We like what we know.

H. Spot the difference.

I. Most of us feel it.

What is this thing called Love?

According to a 1991 survey, at any one time about one in ten of us describe ourselves as 'madly in love'. Love is remarkably common; in the survey only one in five of the 1, 000 people interviewed said they were 'not really in love', with most of the rest admitting to some kind of romantic involvement. So what is this feeling called love? To many researchers the classic symptoms of butterflies in the tummy, rapid pulse rate and legs turning to jelly are far from mysterious. Many believe it can all be explained by our biochemistry.

(1) Scientists believe the excitement of that fatal attraction is created by adrenaline - the same hormone that is produced when we are under stress. When stimulated, the adrenal glands also produce a hormone called cortisone, whose side-effects include feelings of great happiness.

(2) Eyes give away the fact that you are in love, or at least very much attracted to someone because adrenaline enlarges or 'dilates' your pupils. Having large pupils also means that we are more appealing to others. Desmond Morris, a scientist who studies human behaviour, proved this point by showing a picture of a woman to a large number of men. He then told them that she had a twin sister, but presented the same woman with her pupils dilated. When the men were asked which of the twins they'd like to take out for the evening, most chose the one with larger pupils.

(3) In another study, scientists used two bridges over the Capilano River in British Columbia. One was a very dangerous-looking bridge which was 70 metres above the river, while the other was a solid concrete bridge. An attractive female researcher stopped men coming off each bridge. She managed to give them her phone number while she pretended to get them to fill out a questionnaire. Many more of the men who had crossed the dangerous bridge later phoned the researcher to ask her out than those who had crossed the safe bridge. This made researchers think that love is much like any other emotional state. Because their adrenaline is flowing and their hearts are beating fast, people believe they are in love even if they are actually only a bit frightened.

(4) But how do we select our partners from all the thousands of possible people? People are often attracted to others who have a lot in common with them - even if they don't always realise that they have anything in common. We give out unspoken messages about ourselves every day from the way we walk, talk and hold ourselves. It's not just the way we dress, but our posture, facial expressions, movements, tone of voice, accent and so on. If you put a group of people who don't know each other in a room together and ask them to pair up. They will naturally choose partners who are of similar family background, social class and upbringing. We are all looking for something familiar though we may not be aware of exactly what it is.

(5) Facial attractiveness is a big influence on our choice of partners, too. People have long-lasting relationships with others of a similar level of attractiveness. In a recent study, researchers took a selection of wedding photos and cut them up to separate the bride and groom. They then showed them to people who were asked to rate how attractive each person's face was. When the researchers put the photos back into pairs they found most of the couples had been rated at similar levels.

(6) Aside from our ability to rate others, each of us carries a rough estimate in our heads of how facially attractive we might be. We realise subconsciously, that if we approach someone who is much better looking than we are, we run the risk of being rejected.

(7) Whatever the explanation for how and why we fall in love, one thing is clear: nature has made the whole process as wonderful and as addictive as possible. Perhaps that's why so many of us are at least a little bit in love most of the time.

Task 2

Look up the new words and choose three items to adapt for your pupils to read and to discuss. (Adaptation is no longer than 150 words.

Task 3

Read the following text about marriage and say what difference there exists between marriages.