Vocabulary 1 Файл

VOCABULARY NOTES
1. historic adj исторический (имеющий историческое значение, вошедший в
историю), е.g. historic place, date, speech, event, battle, etc. 1812 was a historic year for
Russian people.
historical adj исторический (связанный с историей, имеющий отношение к
истории), е.g. historical materialism, science, principles, method, approach (to);
historical novel, picture, play, film; historical department, museum, etc.
history n история, е.g. the history of our country, the history of the language; a
history lesson; the History Museum.
Note 1: In names of academic subjects no article is used, е.g. History of the English language is a
difficult subject
Note 2: The Russian word история has several English equivalents: а) история (ход развития чегол.) — history, е.g. This town has an interesting history.; b) рассказ, повествование — story, е.g. I don't
like stories of such kind. He told us the story of his whole life.; с) происшествие — event, е.g. Tell us
something about this strange event. But: A funny thing happened to him. (С ним произошла забавная
история.) There's a pretty kettle of fish! (Вот так история!)
2. worth n ценность, е.g. It's a discovery of great worth. This information is of no
worth.
worth adj predic стоящий; worth smth., е.g. This picture is not worth the money
you've paid for it. This problem is not worth our attention. This job is not worth the time
we've spent on it.; worth doing smth., е.g. This film is worth seeing. Books of that kind
are not worth reading. This problem isn't worth discussing. His illness is hardly worth
troubling about.; worth while, е.g. It isn't worth while seeing the film. It isn't worth while
sitting here till 5 o'clock. It is worth while trying to catch the train, I think it's worth while
speaking to him about it. Cf.: This book is worth reading. — It is worth while reading this
book.
worthy adj достойный, е.g. She is a very worthy woman.; to be worthy of smth.,
smb., е.g. His behaviour is worthy of great praise.
unworthy adj недостойный
3. masterpiece n шедевр
piece n 1. кусок, ps a piece of chalk (wood, paper, etc.)
Syn. lump, slice. A slice is a thin, flat piece cut off from anything, as a slice of bread
(cheese, lemon, ham, etc.). A lump is a small specially shaped or shapeless piece, as a
lump of sugar (butter, etc.).
to pieces на куски, е.g. The cup fell and was broken to pieces.
2. отдельный предмет, часть, е.g. a piece of furniture; a, piece of poetry
(стихотворение); a piece of painting (картина); a piece of advice (совет); apiece of
news (новость);
3. монета, е.g. a two-shilling piece, a gold (silver) piece
Syn. coin (used more often than piece)
4. human adj человеческий, свойственный человеку, е.g. a human nature, the
human body, human affairs, a human being (человек); hu'mane adj гуманный,
человечный
Ant. cruel
inhuman adj бесчеловечный, as inhuman treatment
humanity n (uncountable) 1. человечество, as a crime against humanity
Syn. man'kind n (uncounfable). But 'mankind мужчины, мужской пол
2. гуманность, человечность, as to treat people with humanity
the Humanities гуманитарные науки; syn. the Arts, е.g. Are you interested in the
Humanities (the Arts) or in the Exact Sciences (естественные науки) ?
5. to strike (struck, struck) υt 1. ударяться, бить; to strike smb., to strike smb.
(smth.) on smth. е.g. He struck the boy a violent blow. The man struck Lanny on the
face. He struck his fist on the table.
Syn. to hit (hit, hit), е.g. Why did he hit the boy?; to hit one's hand (foot, head, etc.)
on smth., е.g. I hit my head on the low shelf.
Note: strike and hit may be used in the same sense — to strike or to hit smb. — but care should be
taken to use the proper verb m traditional word combinations such as to strike a match чиркнуть
спичкой, e, д. Somebody struck a match so that we couid see each other.
2. бить (о часах), е.g. It has just struck half past four. This tower clock strikes the
hours.
3. поражать, удивлять, а д. We were struck by bis strange behaviour. It struck me
that he had grown so old. Many things might strike us as unusual in a foreign country.
Syn. to surprise, to astonish, to puzzle
Nоte: to be struck means "to be filled suddenly with a strong feeling of surprise". That distinguishes
the verb to strike from its synonyms to astonish and to surprise; to astonish is stronger in meaning
than to surprise, е.g. I shouldn't be surprised if it rained. I'm not surprised at seeing you here, I've been
told about your arrival. I was astonished at seeing him so changed. I was struck by his sudden death.; to
puzzle means "to make a person think hard before finding an answer", e.g. His letter puzzled me. (= I
didn't know why he had written it)
striking adj, as striking likeness (news, contrast) stricken pp. terror-stricken;
horror-stricken; panic-stricken
Note: the verb to strike has homonyms: a) strike υi бастовать, b) strike n забастовка,
е.g. All the railway workers joined the strike.; to go on strike объявлять забастовку
6. circular adj круглый, круговой, е.g. There is a circular railway running round
Moscow. A circular staircase led to the top of the tower.
circulate υ 1. циркулировать, е.g. Blood circulates in the body.; 2. передаваться,
распространяться, е.g. Bad news circulates quickly.
circulation n 1. циркуляция, е.g. The circulation of air is rather bad here, that's why it
is stuffy.; 2. распространение, обращение (денежное), е.g. Only silver and copper
coins are in circulation now.
blood-circulation n кровообращение
circle n 1. круг, окружность, е.g. It's almost impossible to draw a circle without a
pair of compasses (без циркуля).; 2. группа, круг людей, е.g. Не belonged to the
business circle of the town.
ESSENTIAL VOCABULARY (I)
Words
ancient adj
finance n
piece n
astonish υ
flood n
possibility n
built-up adj
historic adj
pound n
circle n
historical adj
puzzle υ
circular adj
human adj
sea level
circulation n
humanity n
settlement n
coin n
(the) Humanities
slice n
commerce n
lump n
stretch υ
currency n
mankind n
strike υ
double-decker n
masterpiece n
striking adj
entertainment n
Parliament n
traffic n
exhibit υ
parliamentary adj
worth n, adj
worthy adj
Word Combinations
to break to pieces
to go on a tour
to turn smth.
to have a possibility for
to
to strike a match
to be worthy
to strike a blow
a piece of advice
to go on strike
fine and applied arts
to be a surprise to smb.
to take a trip
into smth.
a panorama (view) of
be
a
surprise to
to stand for smth.
of smth.
Proper Names
Roman
the Victoria and Albeit Museum
the Thames
Constable
Londinium
the Natural History Museum
Westminster
the Science Museum
Whitehall
the Museum of London
Downing Street
Hyde Park
Fleet Street
the Serpentine
St. Paul's Cathedral
Marble Arch
South Kensington
Kensington Gardens
Regent's Park
Exercises
1. Fill in a suitable word or phrase: a) surprise, astonish, strike, puzzle:
1. I won't be ... if he gets a "five", he is a very bright boy. 2. We were ... by the
contrasts between wealth and poverty in Delhi. 3. His question ... me. I didn't know how
to answer it. 4. I was ... to meet him in town, I was sure he had not come back yet. 5. His
cruelty... us. We always thought that be was kind and sympathetic.
b) piece, lamp, slice:
1. Pick up the ... of the broken cup and throw them out. 2. Give me a... of paper. I'll
show you how to make a boat for the child. 3. I'd like to take one more ... of cake. May I?
4. I never put more than two ... of sugar into my tea. 5. I need a short ... of string to tie the
parcel with. 6. I'd like to have a ... of lemon with my tea.
c) historic or historical:
1. Red Square is a ... spot: many ... events took place in it. 2. In his ... novels Walter
Scott gave a wonderful description not only of ... events, but of whole ... epochs. 3. The
ninth of May is one of our most important... dates: we celebrate our ... victory in World
War II. 4. There are many ... monuments in Moscow.
2. a) Fill in preposition» wherever necessary:
Please remember: traffic ... Britain keeps ... the left! So when crossing a street look
right first then left. If possible cross ... zebra crossings, sometimes indicated ...
flashing orange lights ... either side ... the road.
Speed limit ... Britain is 70 mph (= miles per hour); ... built-up areas 30 mph.
Careful riding is essential as there are many narrow and winding roads.
Roads ... fast long-distance driving are called motorways. The best known is the
motorway ... London and Leeds. Road signs are mostly the same as those used ... the
continent. The same goes ... traffic lights.
b) Speak about the traffic in this country using the word combinations in bold type.
3. a) Explain the meaning of these proverbs. Give their Russian equivalents. Illustrate
one of the proverbs by making up a true to life story:
1. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
2. The game is not worth the candle.
3. An hour in the morning is worth two in the evening.
4. Between two evils 'tis not worth while choosing.
b) Say whether you agree with Lord Goring's opinion that "It is always worth while asking
a question, though it is not always worth while answering one." (O. Wilde. "An Ideal
Husband")
4. Translate the sentences into English, using a) be well worth + ger/n or b) just as... so:
1. He стоит кататься сегодня по Темзе, ветер слишком сильный. 2. Стоит
прислушаться к его совету. 3. Не стоит тратить время на вещи, которыми вы не
интересуетесь. 4. Стоит посетить Музей науки в Лондоне и посмотреть, как дети
занимаются моделированием. 5. Подобно тому как Вестминстер часто обозначает
парламент Великобритании, так Сити — ее финансовый центр. 6. Подобно тому
как
под
«гуманитарными»
науками
подразумевают
историю,
литературу,
иностранные языки, так под «естественными» науками — физику, химию,
ботанику и др.
5. a) Read and translate the text:
Apart from more important news printed on the first page with big headlines in bold
type there are many other sections in the paper. Some people turn at once to classified ads
(called by that name because advertisements are arranged in groups like: "to let",
"property wanted", "situation vacant", etc.). For those who are interested in clothes there
are fashion pages. You can find out what's on by looking in the advertisement guide.
Some like to look through the whole paper reading a headline here, glancing at an
interesting article there, looking at a political cartoon, maybe, or reading some of
business news.
b) Answer the suggested questions:
1. Do you read papers to catch up with the latest news or are you interested in some
particular problems? Why? 2. Where can we find the most important political, business
and cultural news in our papers? 3. In which of our newspapers can you find
advertisements? Are they classified in any way? 4. Are there any political cartoons and
amusement guides in our papers? 5. Are you used to studying a newspaper thoroughly or
just glancing at an article here and there?
6. Translate the sentences into English:
1. Докладчик говорил о будущем человечества. 2. Эта картина всегда привлекает
восетителей музея. 3. Надпись на памятнике озадачила туристов: никто из них не
сталкивался с древнеанглийским языком. 4. Мы удивились, когда узнали, что в
Гайд-парке у Марбл-Арч любой человек может высказывать свои суждения по
любому поводу, часто там можно услышать много чепухи. 5, Вот объявление,
которое вам нужно, 6. Поверьте мне, этот молодой человек достоин вашего
уважения. 7. Теперь в Англии в обращении фунты и пенсы. 8. 1945 год —
исторический год для всего человечества 9. Каждая английская газета имеет
определенный круг читателей. 10. В Лондоне, как и в любом столичном городе с
большим движением, бывают дорожные происшествия. П. С Воробьевых гор
открывается удивительная панорама Москвы. 12 Помещение обогревается горячей
водой, циркулирующей по трубам. 13. Сотни новых домов вырастают во всех
городах нашей страны. 14 Богатая коллекция произведений изобразительного и
прикладного искусства привлекает посетителей этого музея. 15. Экспонаты
Исторического музея в Москве знакомят посетителей с развитием цивилизации на
территории России. 16. Предельная скорость в жилых районах Москвы 60 км/час.