Sinteza Limba Engleza(2)

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SINTEZA LIMBA ENGLEZĂ

ENGLISH LANGUAGE FOR DAILY USE

Cursul practic (obligatoriu/opţional/facultativ) de limba engleză dedicat studenţilor anului I destudiu îşi propune să fixeze şi să aprofundeze cunoştinţele de limba engleză generală dobândite destudenţi în învăţământul preuniversitar, în vederea pregătirii acestora pentru înţelegerea şiaprofundarea practicilor de succes din domeniul de specializare.

Pentru studenţii de la programul de studiu ID activităţile tutoriale se desfăşoară prin întâlniri faţăîn faţă cu coordonatorul de disciplină sau cu tutorele conform programării prevăzută în calendaruldisciplinei.

Activităţile tutoriale pentru disciplina Limba engleză – curs practic sunt următoarele: Introducing yourself (1h) Introduction to the British civilisation (1h) Social network sites – between theory and practise (2h)

Bibliografie generală Obligatorie:

Barbu A.M., Chirimbu S., English Practice for Daily Use, Editura Fundaţiei România de Mâine,

Bucureşti, 2007. Bondrea E., Mihăilă R. (Coord.), Aspecte ale civilizaţiilor europene, Editura Fundaţiei România de

Mâine, Bucureşti, 2009.

Facultativă: Banciu V., Chirimbu S., Aspecte ale vieţii britanice, EUO, Oradea, 2013.Barbu A.M., Chirimbu S., Discurs cotidian în limba engleză, Editura Fundaţiei România de Mâine,

Bucureşti, 2011. Bondrea E., Mihăilă R. (Coord.), Dicţionar poliglot de termeni comunitari, Editura Fundaţiei România

de Mâine, Bucureşti, 2006. Chirimbu S., English Language within a Business Context , Editura Stef, Iaşi, 2011. Chirimbu D., Chirimbu S., Critu A., Marea Britanie între tradiţie şi realitate, Editura Doxologia, Iaşi,

2013.

Obiectivele cursului

însuşirea şi aprofundarea formelor şi structurilor gramaticale de bază legate de timpurileverbale şi concordanta timpurilor;

dezvoltarea competenţelor lingvistice: citire, ascultare, exprimare orală şi scrisă; îmbogăţirea vocabularului cotidian în limba engleză.

Competenţe conferite

La sfârşitul cursului studenţii vor fi capabili: să înţeleagă sensul global al unui mesaj scris sau ascultat în limba engleză; să folosească un limbaj adecvat pentru a descrie activităţi cotidiene; să participe activ la interactiuni verbale bazate pe limbaj cotidian; să decodeze corect un mesaj scris prin diferenţierea informaţiilor generale de detaliile

specifice; să redacteze diferite tipuri de texte; să identifice şi să îşi exprime opiniile personale asupra unor aspecte de civilizaţie britanică /

europeană;

să identifice timpurile verbale şi să le utilizeze în contexte adecvate.



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Resurse şi mijloace de lucru

Resursele de lucru sunt reprezentate de bibliografia obligatorie şi facultativă, precum şi dematerialele suplimentare încărcate pe platforma Blackboard pe parcursul fiecărui semestru.

Pe lângă cursul în format F.R., studenţii dispun pentru studiul individual şi de material publicat pe Internet sub formă de sinteze şi teste de autoevaluare. În timpul convocărilor, în prezentarea

cursului vor fi folosite echipamente audio-vizuale, metode interactive şi participative de antrenare astudenţilor pentru conceptualizarea şi vizualizarea practică a noţiunilor predate. Vor fi desfăşurate şiactivităţi tutoriale prin dialog la distanţă, pe Internet, dezbateri în forum, răspunsuri online laîntrebările studenţilor în timpul e-consultatiilor, conform programului fiecărui tutore.

Activităţile tutoriale se vor desfăşura în săli cu dotări multimedia şi vor conţine scurte expuneriteoretice, activităţi intercative, prezentări PowerPoint. Ỉn plus, studenţii pot urmări activităţile tutorialedifuzate la Televiziunea TVH (emisiunea „Universitaria”).

Structura cursului (2013-2014)

Cursul practic de limba engleză este structurat în 14 unităţi de învăţare cu următoarelecomponente:

Unitatea de învăţare 1. HELLO!Unitatea de învăţare 2. I’M A STUDENTUnitatea de învăţare 3. CAREERUnitatea de învăţare 4. GOING ON A HOLIDAYSUnitatea de învăţare 5. THE UNITED KINGDOM 1Unitatea de învăţare 6. THE UNITED KINGDOM 2Unitatea de învăţare 7. THE EUROPEAN UNION 1Unitatea de învăţare 8. GOING SHOPPINGUnitatea de învăţare 9. CAN MONEY BUY HAPINESS?Unitatea de învăţare 10. EATING OUTUnitatea de învăţare 11. COMMUNICATIONUnitatea de învăţare 12. THE USA 1

Unitatea de învăţare 13. THE USA 2Unitatea de învăţare 14. THE EUROPEAN UNION 2

Teme de control (TC)

Tema de control 1: Choose a job advertsement from a newspaper / specialized web site and writean Application Letter and a Curriculum Vitae for it.

Tema de control 2: Write a short essay about how you see yourself 10 years from now on; referto your possible personal and professional achievements. (20-25 lines)

Vor fi exploatate din punct de vedere lingvistic, gramatical, funcţii ale limbii, traduceriitextele reproduse în paginile următoare (Unităţile 1-14).

Metoda de evaluare

Evaluarea studenţilor este de tip electronic, folosind platforma Blackboard (test grila conţinând20 de itemi), precedat d e două teme de control / prezentarea orală a unui portofoliu.



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UNIT 1

1. Identify yourself using the following questions:a) What is your name?

b) When and where were you born?

c) Where do you live? Where are you living now?d) Who do you live with?e) What are your hobbies?f) Which zodiacal sign were you born under? Do you know any of its main characteristics?g) Do you have a job? If the answer is positive describe it in a few words.

2. Reading objective

Greetings in every day lifeTen minutes to 8. I am going to the office. In front of the elevator door, my neighbour greets me:

“Morning”. “Morning”, I reply absent-minted.After 9 hours I meet his uncle in the very place I’ve met him this morning. “Afternoon”, I say.

“Afternoon”, he answers.7 o’clock p.m. I’d like to watch the news. But grandpa has a terrible headache.“Have to go to the chemist’s to buy some pills for him”, I say to myself.“Good evening”, I say. The chemist asks me smilingly:“Good evening. What can I do for you?”“I need something against a terrible headache”, I answer. She gives me a plastic bottle with some

pills.“Twenty lei”, she adds.“Here you are. Thank you. Good night”.“Good night”, she says.Our entire social life is marked by greetings. People’s greetings are connected with either certain

moments of the day or with certain events.

The greetings we utter in our everyday life are: 6-12 a.m. : “Good morning” to which we reply “Good morning”. In the informal speech we

use the short form “Morning”. 12-6 p.m. : “Good afternoon”, which will be answered the same way. After 6 p.m. : “Good evening” and “Good night”. No matter the hour we can say “Hello” when we meet somebody and “Goodbye” when we

leave a place or, more informally, “Hi” and “Bye”What do you say if you meet someone you’ve never met before? You’ll have to introduce

yourself to the person whom is sitting next to you at a workshop/symposium or conference.You will say your name and surname “My name is Elizabeth Parker”.You may be introduced to an unknown person by one of your acquaintances: “Robert, this is

Elizabeth Parker.” Robert will say “Hello, Elizabeth”. You can answer: “Hello, Robert”. The interest

shown by the speaker is obvious in the question “How are you?”, which is generally answered “Verywell, thank you”, “Fine”, “Not bad”.

A polite person says: “Nice to meet you” if you see that person for the first time or “Nice to seeyou”, if you know the speaker well.

If you arrive at a company for an appointment, your introduction will be more official. You’ll beexpected to say not only your full name, i.e. name and surname – Sebastian Chirimbu – but also thereason why you are there.

“My name’s Sebastian Chirimbu. I have an appointment with Mr. Smith at 8.30 a.m.”, or “Can Iintroduce myself?” “I’m Sebastian Chirimbu from the Spiru Haret University, Department of ForeignLanguages”.

If a person who knows both speakers is there he will say: “I don’t think you know each other, doyou? Sebastian, this is Robert White, our new marketing assistant manager. Robert, this is SebastianChirimbu, the English trainer I’ve told you about”.



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If you introduce a person who is visiting your organisation, be it school, college or office, toyour colleagues, you’ll say: “Mr. White, may I introduce my colleague, Daniel Green to you. Daniel,this is Ms. Samantha”.

After saying your name clearly, you add: “How do you do?”, sentence which has no particularmeaning, it’s simply a greeting.

If you are welcoming a visitor, you’ll be more polite than when welcoming an old friend:“Mr. Green? How do you do?”“How do you do, Miss Parker?”“Do come into my office. I’m very pleased to meet you again”Compare the above conversation, which is polite, formal with the following quite informal one:“Hi, you must be Laura”.“Oh, no, Liz, I haven’t seen you for ages!”“Since we graduated. In the 1996. Makes 17 years ago.”“How are things going?”

Reading comprehension:a. According to the text, what are the greetings we utter every day?

b. What can we say when we meet somebody for the first time?

3. Practise introductions after the following models:

I’m Martin Grüber from Bonn, Germany. I’m a German citizen although my mother comes fromRomania. I live at Number 10 Weisstrasse Street. My parents and I live in a large house. I’m the only child.My family is rather small. My uncle and aunt are both clerks. My cousin is a football player. I work as aconsultant in a large software company. I like playing sports, climbing mountains, reading novels and

poetry and speaking English. I also like travelling both inside Germany and abroad. So far, I’ve visitedsome Eastern and Western European countries. I also visited Romania, the USA, Canada, Japan, China andThailand. I’d like to travel all over the world. I consider that all countries are very interesting from many

points of view. They really deserve to be visited.

I’m Ioana Pavelescu from Ploieşti, Romania. I’m 23 years old. I’m a Romanian. I live at Number12, Iancului Street in a block of flats at the 3 rd floor, apartment no 22. My telephone number is 021.2506421. I have a large family. My dad is a businessman and my mum is a teacher. I also have twoyounger sisters who are pupils at an elementary school in Bucharest. My uncle is an economist, myaunt is an accountant and my cousins are both doctors. I’m a student. I love speaking English andlistening to English pop music, which is a great way of learning new words and every day expressions.I also like listening to music and travelling a lot both inside Romania and abroad. I visited someWestern European countries. In future, I’d like to visit some countries from other continents, such asCanada or the USA. I know they are very interesting. Now, I’d like to give you some more detailsabout my family. My father speaks English and Russian very fluently. He wants me to speak it wellenough so that I can join his company after graduating university. But I’d rather work in publicrelations in the near future.



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UNIT 2

2.1. Lead in

Before reading the text of this learning unit let’s answer a few questions connected to the topic:Do you remember which your favorite subject in school was? What about the subject you liked

the least?What would you appreciate at a teacher? What attitudes/ behavior of the teacher might prevent

you from learning?Why did you apply for the faculty where you are now a student? What do you know about Spiru

Haret University?What useful things do you expect to learn in the next three years?Why is it important for you to learn English / a foreign language in general?

2.2. Reading objective

Studying in the UKWhen we think about studying in the UK, the names of two famous universities, Cambridge and

Oxford, definitely come to our mind. However, these two, although among the best known in theworld, are not the only ones which make the pride of an old, tradition based educational system.

Speaking about the British education in general, one of the first things to be noticed is that thereis no unitary system of education, but two systems: one covering England, Wales and Northern Irelandand one covering Scotland, but the core organizational principles and the main examinations are thesame all over the country.

If you decide to study in the UK you have to know that higher education is divided into twosectors: further education and higher education proper. Further education is offered by schools orcolleges to both young people between the ages of sixteen and eighteen and adults; it teaches skillsvaluable in the work market such as Communication and Technological skills or sometimes they

prepare people for University admittance. Students who choose this type of education receive aVocational Diploma and Universities such as London Metropolitan University cooperate with

employers from all the spectrum of the marketplace in order to teach useful skills.Higher Education is offered by Universities. There are about ninety universities in England, themost notable being Oxford and Cambridge known collectively as Oxbridge. These two institutionswere established in the thirteenth century, and have a rich and distinguished history. They arecurrently ranked in the top ten best universities according to Times Magazine and they receive the beststudents from all over the world. Anyone may apply for a place at these universities and should they

be considered suitable by the admissions committee they will receive both a place and in some casesfinancial help. The tuition fees of students from underprivileged backgrounds are paid entirely by thestate.

Higher education includes both the teaching and the research activities of universities, and as faras teaching is concerned, it includes both the undergraduate level and the graduate levels.

Undergraduate degrees take three years to complete in England, Wales and Northern Ireland,

while at Scottish universities they last four years. At the graduate level, a master's degree is normallyobtained in a single year, a research master's degree takes two years and a doctoral degree is oftencompleted in three years.

Professional courses, such as medicine, veterinary medicine, law and teaching, usually areundertaken as five-year undergraduate degrees.

UK universities are popular all over the world and about 270,000 foreign students come to studyin England every year. One of the features which makes UK Universities so popular with people fromall countries, backgrounds and cultures it’s the fact that high diversity and cultural exchanges aretraditionally encouraged among the student body.

Degrees and GraduationThere is a three-level hierarchy of degrees (Bachelor, Master, Doctor ) currently used in the

United Kingdom. A graduate student is an individual who has completed a bachelor's degree (B.A.,



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B.S./B.Sc., or another similar programme) and is pursuing further higher education, with the goal ofachieving a master's degree (M.A., M.S./M.Sc., M.Ed., etc.) or doctorate (Ph.D., Ed.D., D.A., D.Sc.,D.M.A., Th.D., etc.)

Reading Comprehension1. What are the two types of higher education you can attend in the UK?2. What degrees can you get at the end of each higher education cycle in the UK?3. Why are foreign students attracted by British universites?

2.3 Translation Practice (English→Romanian) A. Education is an important part of British life. There are hundreds of schools, colleges and

universities, including some of the most famous in the world.Education is free and compulsory for all children between the ages of 5 - 16. Some children are

educated at home rather than in school.Children's education in England is normally divided into two separate stages. They begin with

primary education at the age of five and this usually lasts until they are eleven. Then they move tosecondary school, there they stay until they reach sixteen, seventeen or eighteen years of age. Find out

what year (grade) you would be in England.Teachers in primary schools (4-11 year olds) are always addressed by their surname by parentsand pupils alike, always Mr, Mrs. or Miss Smith… In secondary schools (11-16 years), teachers areusually addressed as Miss or Sir.

Education is important in England, as it is Wales and Scotland too. British children are required by law to have an education until they are 16 years old. Education is compulsory, but school is not,children are not required to attend school. They could be educated at home.

1996 Education Act of the UK . Section 7 of the 1996 Education Act states: "The parent of

every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable-

(a) to his age, ability and aptitude, and

(b) to any special educational needs he may have, either by regular attendance at school or

otherwise."

British children are required to attend school until they are 16 years old. In England, compulsoryschooling currently ends on the last Friday in June during the academic year in which a pupil attainsthe age of 16. Current government proposals are to raise the age until which students must continue toreceive some form of education or training to 18. This is expected to be phased in by 2015.

At the age of 16, students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland take an examination called theGCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education). Study of GSCE subjects begins at the start ofYear 10 (age 14-15), and final examinations are then taken at the end of Year 11 (age 15-16).

In state schools English, Mathematics, Science, Religious Education and Physical Education arestudied during Key Stage 4 (the GCSE years of school); in England, some form of ICT and citizenshipmust be studied and, in Wales, Welsh must be studied. Other subjects, chosen by the individual pupil,are also studied.

In Scotland, the equivalent of the GCSE is the Standard Grade.

After completing the GCSE, some students leave school, others go onto technical college, whilstothers continue at high school for two more years and take a further set of standardized exams, knownas A levels, in three or four subjects. These exams determine whether a student is eligible foruniversity.

B. “Spiru Haret” University-21st Century University- Established in 1991, today “Spiru Haret”University comprises 23 accredited faculties with over 43 specializations.

“Spiru Haret” University has a complex structure which reflects a diversity of specializations-from law, public administration and economic studies to architecture and veterinary medicine, from

philosophy, journalism, sociology and psychology to history and international relations, frommathematics and informatics to drama, music and physical education. But the most important aspect isthe fact that in terms of the content of studies, teaching methodology, the Faculties of “Spiru Haret”University have reached European standards .Students working for their first degree at our university



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are called undergraduates. When they take their degree we say that they graduate and then they arecalled graduates. If they continue studying at “Spiru Haret” University, after they have graduated,they are called Post- graduates.

“Spiru Haret” has a highly-educated staff – the teaching quality at “Spiru Haret” relies, first ofall, on the activity of highly dedicated professors with excellent methodological skills. Moreover,

many of them are personalities well known nationally and internationally. Another aspect, just asimportant as the one mentioned above, is the fact that “Spiru Haret” has a permanent staff of professors, which ensures the continuity of teaching.

A national, cultural and academic television station that broadcasts live and recorded lectures,debates, syntheses and seminars, TH2O represents a major advantage that “Spiru Haret” University has in

promoting distance learning, a form of attendance that has come up to a standard of EU countries….To theyoung people who choose to attend one of our faculties and specializations we only wish them good luckwith the exams, as “Spiru Haret” University is a guarantee for their success in life. The long, medium andshort term objectives set by “Spiru Haret” University and Romania’s Tomorrow Foundations are meant toadd new dimensions to our academic community. They regard the fulfillment of high quality cultural tasksand the improvement of a kind of educational system whose essential attributes should be modernity andcompetitiveness, dynamism and flexibility, so as to adequately and efficiently meet the requirements raised

by the integration of Romanian higher education into the European higher education and research area.(Adapted from „Monitorul Oficial” –

Official Bulletin, July 2002)C. There are forty-seven universities in Britain and thirty polytechnics, plus 350 colleges and

institutes of higher education. Undergraduate courses normally take three years of full-time study,although a number of subjects take longer, including medicine, architecture and foreign languages(where courses include a year abroad). They lead in most cases to a Bachelor’s degree in Arts orScience (BA or BSc). Students of law, architecture and some other professions can take qualificationsthat are awarded by their own professional bodies instead of degrees. There are various postgraduatedegrees, including Master of Arts or Philosophy (MA or MPhil) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).Universities accept students mainly on the basis of their “A” levels, although they may interview themas well. At present, students who have been accepted by Universities or other institutions of higher

education receive a grant from their local authority, which covers the cost of the course, and maycover living expenses, books travel, although parents with higher incomes are expected to make acontribution. Before 1990 the grant was paid back, but since then a system of loans has beenintroduced.

(Adapted from Britain Explored, Longman, 1998)



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UNIT 3

3.1. Lead in

How do you feel about working and being a student at the same time?

What kind of job would you like to have as a student?Have you ever been to an interview? Why do you think you were / were not successful?When applying for a job, the first step is usually to send an Application Letter (or Covering

Letter) and a Curriculum Vitae. What are the role and function of each?


The Curriculum Vitae and the Application/ Covering LetterWhen you have decided to find a job, the first step is to read the ads for vacancies in different

newspapers, magazines, on specialised internet sites or to contact a recruitment agency. Then, afteryou have selected some position that might suit your wishes and experience you need to write anApplication Letter and a Curriculum Vitae.

Read the following model of application letter and decide what its main communicativefunctions are. The letter is written by a student of marketing who graduated an economic college andalso worked for eight months as a market research trainee for a company in Bucharest.

Advertisement: BEST FASHION Ltd, a multinational company providing expertise, human

resources and equipment for the clothing industry requires Assistant Manager (Ref. 095MK) for its

Marketing Department. Applications are accepted from students and recent graduates of marketing

and / or related fields. Applicants should be reliable and enthusiastic, willing to work in teams and

able to meet deadlines. Fluent English is a must while knowledge of French or German would be a

plus. E-mail or fax your covering letter and CV to Mr. Paul Densfield, Human Resources Manager,

tel./fax 021 3113030, e-mail [email protected]. Only shortlisted candidates will be

contacted.

APPLICATION LETTER

Attn. of: Mr. Paul DensfieldHuman Resources ManagerBest Fashion Ltd.

Dear Mr. Densfield,

Ref.: 095MK (Assistant Manager Vacancy)

I am writing to apply for the position of Assistant Manager that you advertised in “Romania Libera”

newspaper on 15 June 2006 as I believe it offers the career challenge which I am seekingAs you will see from my Curriculum Vitae, I currently study Psychology and Marketing at “SpiruHaret” University and last year I graduated from a theoretic college (humanities specialization) , whichoffered me a strong background in the field.I would like to highlight the following skills which I believe would add value to your organisation:- basic practical marketing skills and team work abilities developed by working for a market researchcompany as well as theoretical marketing knowledge acquired as a student of marketing;- ability to meet deadlines and to work under pressure developed as a market research trainee;- fluency in English acquired by attending an intensive Business English Course and working in anEnglish speaking environment for almost a year.I have a genuine interest in marketing and I would appreciate the opportunity of an interview to discusswhy I believe I am an eligible and suitable candidate for the vacancy you advertised.I look forward to hearing from you.



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Yours sincerely,Andrei PopescuTel. 021 222 2020, 0720304050E-mail: [email protected]

CURRICULUM VITAE – Eupropass Format

PERSONALINFORMATION

Replace with First name(s) Surname(s)

[All CV headin s are o tional. Remove an em t headin s]R EPLACE WITH HOUSE NUMBER , STREET NAME, CITY, POSTCODE,

COUNTRY

REPLACE WITH TELEPHONE NUMBER REPLACE WITH MOBILE

NUMBER

STATE E-MAIL ADDRESS

STATE PERSONAL WEBSITE(S)

REPLACE WITH TYPE OF IM SERVICE REPLACE WITH MESSAGING ACCOUNT(S)

Sex Enter sex | Date of birth dd/mm/yyyy | Nationality Enter nationality/-ies

WORK EXPERIENCE

[Add separate entries for each experience. Start from the most recent.]

EDUCATION ANDTRAINING

[Add separate entries for each course. Start from the most recent.]

PERSONAL SKILLS

[Remove any headings left empty.]

JOB APPLIED FORPOSITION

PREFERRED JOBSTUDIES APPLIED FOR

Replace with preferred job / job applied for / studies applied for / position(delete non relevant headings in left column)

Replace with occupation or position held

Replace with employer’s name and locality (if relevant, full address and website)

▪ Replace with main activities and responsibilities

Replace with dates(from - to)

Business or sector Replace with type of business or sector

Replace with qualification awardedReplace with EuropeanQualification Framework (or other)

level if relevant

Replace with education or training organisation’s name and locality (if relevant,country)

Replace with dates(from - to)

▪ Replace with a list of principal subjects covered or skills acquired



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ADDITIONALINFORMATION

Mother tongue(s) Replace with mother tongue(s)

UNDERSTANDING SPEAKING WRITINGOther language(s)

Listening ReadingSpoken

interaction

Spoken

productionReplace with language Enter level Enter level Enter level Enter level Enter levelReplace with name of language certificate. Enter level if known.

Replace with language Enter level Enter level Enter level Enter level Enter level

Replace with name of language certificate. Enter level if known.

Levels: A1/2: Basic user - B1/2: Independent user - C1/2 Proficient userCommon European Framework of Reference for Languages

Communication skills Replace with your communication skills. Specify in what context theywere acquired. Example:▪ good communication skills gained through my experience as sales

manager

Organisational / managerialskills

Replace with your organisational / managerial skills. Specify in what contextthey were acquired. Example:▪ leadership (currently responsible for a team of 10 people)

Job-related skills Replace with any job-related skills not listed elsewhere. Specify in whatcontext they were acquired. Example:▪ good command of quality control processes (currently responsible for

quality audit)

Computer skills Replace with your computer skills. Specify in what context they wereacquired. Example:▪ good command of Microsoft Office™ tools

Other skills Replace with other relevant skills not already mentioned. Specify in whatcontext they were acquired. Example:▪ carpentry

Driving licence Replace with driving licence category/-ies. Example:▪ B



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ANNEXES

In Romania, there are different sources of job information (just use them to get the proper job): – newspaper advertisements: the classified section of newspapers is a major source of job

openings. Two kinds of classified advertisements are listed in newspapers: signed and blind. A signed

advertisement includes the name of the firm placing the advertisement. A blind advertisement does notshow the firm’s name. In many cases only a telephone number or a post office box number is given ina blind advertisement. Private employment agencies must place signed advertisements;

– employment agencies; – placement offices and instructors: most schools and colleges have placement counsellors that

aid students in career planning; – friends and relatives.

3.3 Identify the steps for a job apllication process. Then translate the text ointo Romanian:

The job application processBefore you apply for a job with a particular company, find out all you can about the company.

This information is needed for two major reasons. First, you need to know if you meet your career

goals by working for this company. Secondly, you need to know as much about the company as possible in order to be prepared for the interview. One question often asked in the interview is “Whydo you want to work for this company” Unless you know something about the company, you cannotsatisfactorily answer this question.

When a company needs to employ new people, it may decide to advertise the job or position in anewspaper. People who are interested can then apply for the job by sending in a letter of application or

covering letter (US cover letter ) and a curriculum vitae or CV (US resumé ) containing details of theireducation and experience. In some cases a company may prefer to do this initial selection after askingcandidates to complete a standard application form. The company’s human resource department willthen select the applications that it considers the most suitable and prepare a shortlist of candidates orapplicants who are invited to attend an interview.

Publications

PresentationsProjects

ConferencesSeminars

Honours and awardsMemberships

References

Replace with relevant publications, presentations, projects, conferences,seminars, honours and awards, memberships, references. Remove headingsnot relevant in the left column.

Example of publication:▪ How to write a successful CV, New Associated Publishers, London, 2002.

Example of project:▪ Devon new public library. Principal architect in charge of design, production, bidding and construction supervision (2008-2012).

Replace with list of documents annexed to your CV. Examples:▪ copies of degrees and qualifications;▪ testimonial of employment or work placement;▪ publications or research.



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UNIT 4

4. 1. Lead in

1. When was the last time you went on a trip? Where did you go?

2. Do you have a favourite holiday destination?3. What makes a perfect holiday destination?4. If you won a trip at a contest would you rather choose to visit to visit a large city or a desert

island?5. What specific points would you include in a sightseeing tour of Romania for foreigners?


Travelling in the UKThere are a lot of places worth visiting if you go on a trip to The United Kingdom. Besides the

well known destinations such as Stonehenge, Stratford upon Avon or Oxford, the capital cities of its provinces should be on your sightseeing list. It goes without saying that any tourst to The UK shouldstop for at least a few days in London, but there are other capital cities that you shouldn’t miss either.

Just like any other country in the world, officially, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has just one capital city, London. However, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland,the other three countries (besides England) that are included in the UK, have their own capital cities.

LONDON – the capital of England and the UK, is the world's ninth-largest city and it is situatedon the banks of the river Thames, in the south-east of England. London is made up of two ancientcities which are now joined together: the City of London (known as Londinium during Roman times)and the City of Westminster.

The City of London or “the City” is the business and financial heart of the United Kingdomwhile The City of Westminster, is the place where the Parliament and most of the Government

buildings are located. Here tourists can visit Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of theQueen and of the Royal family.

BELFAST is the capital of Northern Ireland. As this part of the UK has a certain degree oindependence, the Government and the Legislative Assembly of Northern Ireland are located here.The city consists of seven "quarters", the historic centre of Belfast being situated in the CathedralQuarter.

CARDIFF – the capital city of Wales is the most important commercial and industrial centre ofthis part of Britain as well as the seat of the National Assembly for Wales. Tourists can visit the veryold Cardiff Castle which was started during Roman times. The Norman and Victorian influences arealso present in the architecture and decorations of the castle.

EDINBURGH – the capital city of Scotland is the seventh largest city in the UK and the secondlargest city in Scotland, after Glasgow. As the other capitals described above, it is also the seat of theScottish Parliament. It is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe due to its numerous medieval andGeorgian buildings and monuments. Something that few people know is that Edinburgh is situated on

two extinct volcanoes, one of them right in the City Center on which Edinburgh Castle is built.

Reading comprehensionA. Answer the following questions:1. Where is London situated?2. Which are the two ancient cities that gave birth to London?3. What is Edinburgh famous for?

4.3 Translation Practice (English→Romanian)

New Year's Day is a public holiday in the United Kingdom on January 1 each year. It marks thestart of the New Year in the Gregorian calendar. For many people have a quiet day on January 1,



21

which marks the end of the Christmas break before they return to work. However, there are somespecial customs, particularly in Scotland.

What do people do?

On New Year's Eve (December 31), just before midnight, many people turn on a television toshow pictures of one of the four clocks on the Clock Tower on the Palace of Westminster, or Houses

of Parliament, in London counting down the last minutes of the old year. At midnight, as the NewYear begins, the chimes of Big Ben, the bell inside the Clock Tower, are broadcast to mark the start ofthe New Year. Champagne or other sparkling wines are often served at this point.

Many people hold parties at home or go out to pubs or night clubs. These parties often continueinto the early hours of the morning. Hence, for many people, New Year's Day is time for recoveringfrom the excesses of the night before. For others, it is the last day of the Christmas holiday beforethey return to work. Some take the opportunity to carry out home improvements or to go for a walk inthe country. In many places around the United Kingdom's coast, groups of people dress up in fancycostumes and run into the cold sea.

Many people make New Year's resolutions. These are promises to themselves that they will leada better life in some way in the coming year. Common New Year's resolutions include stoppingsmoking, losing weight, eating more healthily, getting more exercise or spending less money. Some

types of resolution that would lead to a healthier lifestyle are supported by government advertisingcampaigns.

In some areas, there are a number of customs associated with New Year's Day. In Scotland many people sing the song 'Auld Lang Syne' at midnight as New Year's Day begins. In Scotland andnorthern England, it is customary to go first footing. This is the first person to enter a house onJanuary 1. There are many traditions and superstitions associated with first footing. A male first-footer

brings good luck, but a female bad luck. In different areas there are different traditions about whetherthe first footer should have fair or dark hair, whether the person should bring coal, salt or other thingsand what food or drink that person should be served after arrival.

Public life

New Year's Day is a bank holiday. If January 1 is a Saturday or Sunday, the bank holiday fallson Monday, January 2 or 3. Nearly all schools, large businesses and organizations are closed. In some

areas stores may be open, although this varies a lot. Public transport systems do not usually run ontheir normal timetables. In general, public life shuts down completely on New Year's Day.

Background

Now the start of a new calendar year is marked in the winter on January 1. However, this wasdifferent in the past. From the earliest times in Europe, winter festivals have been held around or justafter the winter solstice (December 21). These have now developed into the Christmas and New Yearcelebrations that are now held. However, before the present Gregorian calendar was adopted inEngland, in 1752, the Julian calendar was used. According to the Julian calendar, the administrativeyear began on March 25.

The Julian calendar was introduced in the Roman Empire 45 years before the birth of Christ. Theaverage length of a year in this calendar was slightly shorter than the actual length of a solar year. Forthis reason, by the 1700s, the official dates of the winter, spring, summer and autumn equinoxes hadmoved about ten days from the days on which the actual equinoxes fell. This meant that a correction tothe date had to be made, when England changed over to the Gregorian calendar. Hence, in 1752,Wednesday, September 2 was followed by Thursday, September 14.

This had important consequences for the tax, or fiscal, year. The British tax authorities and manylandlords were unhappy about potentially “losing” 11 days’ worth of revenue. For this reason, the1752-1753 tax year did not end on March 24 but April 4 and so still lasted for 365 days. Anothercorrection was carried out in the calendar in 1800 and again the tax year was adjusted so that it stilllasted for the full 365 days. Since then the tax year in the United Kingdom has stated on April 6. Thistax year was also used in the Republic of Ireland until 2001, when the start of the tax year was movedto coincide with the start of the calendar year on January 1.



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UNIT 5

5.1. Lead in

1.What comes to your mind when you think about Britain / about London?2.What is the official and full name of Britain?

3. Name a few important cities from the UK.4. What do you know about the weather in the UK?5.What specific points would you include in a sightseeing tour of Romania for foreigners?

5..2. Reading objective

What’s in a Name?There is a number of names used to describe the country whose language you are trying to study,

which might lead to confusions: Britain, Great Britain, The United Kingdom, the UK, England.Great Britain is made up of three separate countries - England, Wales and Scotland. England is

the dominant country, but the peoples of Scotland and Wales have kept a strong sense of nationalidentity. It is important to remember that the terms Great Britain and England refer to different

political entities; they are not interchangeable, and to say England when you mean Britain could causeoffense if you are in Wales or Scotland. Scotland has a separate parliament and church, plus its ownsystems of law, banking and education. Wales has its own National Assembly- although it doesn’tenjoy as much autonomy as the Scottish parliament.

The United Kingdom (UK) consists of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and somesemiautonomous islands such as the Isle of Man. The island of Ireland consists of Northern Irelandand the Republic of Ireland (also called Eire).

Geographically speaking, the British Isles is the name given to a group of about 5,000 islandsoff the north-west coast of Europe, situated between the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, more

precisely between the latitudes 50ºN and 61ºN. The archipelago consists of the large islands of GreatBritain (the largest island of Europe) and Ireland and several smaller island groups :the OrkneyIslands, the Shetland Islands, the Hebrides, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Man

as well as numerous other very small islands.Together, Great Britain (made up of England, Scotland and Wales), Northern Ireland and thesmaller islands mentioned above form what is officially called The United Kingdom of Great Britainand Northern Ireland (the UK).

The Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandThe United Kingdom flag was officially adopted on the 1st of January 1801. Just like the country

itself, it is made up of more different flags put together: the flag of England (St. George's Cross - thecentered red cross bordered in white), St. Andrew's Cross of Scotland (the diagonal white cross on the

blue field), and the cross of the Patron Saint of Ireland (diagonal x-shaped red cross).National AnthemThe National Anthem of the country is "God Save the Queen". When a male monarch is on the

throne of England, it becomes "God Save the King."

Public HolidaysIn England, Wales and Northern Ireland, public holidays are often called bank holidays. When

an anniversary day that is usually a bank holiday falls on a weekend, the date of the bank holiday is postponed and declared for a following weekday. This new date is termed a 'bank holiday in lieu' ofthe actual anniversary day. In this way, public holidays are not 'lost' on years when they coincide withweekends (which will already be a day off for many people).

Increasingly, there are calls for public holidays on the patron saints' days in England, Scotlandand Wales (Northern Ireland already has St Patrick's Day as a holiday). An online petition sent to thePrime Minister received 11,000 signatures for a public holiday in Wales on St. David's Day; theScottish Parliament has passed a bill creating a public holiday on St. Andrew's Day although it must betaken in lieu of another public holiday; campaigners in England are calling for a bank holiday on St.George's Day; and in Cornwall there are calls for a public holiday on St. Piran's Day.



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Reading comprehension:A. Answer the following questions:1. Which are the three components of the British flag?2. What is the title of the British National Anthem?3. Name an important holiday in each of the British territories.

5.3 Translation Practice (English →Romanian) There are currently around 61 million people living in the UK (National Statistics Online –

March 2009). Despite the UK being a relatively small surface area, experiences of living here canvary greatly. The UK is a highly multicultural society with no official language. However, English isthe main language and the de facto official language but there are other languages spoken; in Wales,English and Welsh are both widely used by officialdom, and Irish and Ulster Scots enjoy limited usealongside English in Northern Ireland. Additionally, the Western Isles council area of Scotland has a

policy to promote Scottish Gaelic. The traditional UK culture has changed somewhat over the last 50years and incorporates elements of other cultures due to its diversity. The following sections providean insight into typical UK culture as it stands today.

Many people enjoy spending social time in pubs (public houses) in the UK. It gives people an

opportunity to chat to friends and enjoy an alcoholic drink. Usually there is no table service in UK pubs and you must order your drinks at the bar and pay for them immediately. It is not usual to tip the barman every time you have a drink as it is in the USA and the legal age to drink in a pub is 18 years.

Should you or a family member decide to settle permanently in this country you will need toapply for naturalization as a British citizen or for indefinite leave to remain. Part of this processrequires you to take a test to show that you know about life in the UK. If you live in England,Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, you can do this in two ways: by taking the Life in the UK Test or

by taking combined English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and citizenship classes.



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UNIT 6

6. 1. Lead in

1. What is the name of the present British Monarch? What about the Prime Minister?2. What do you know about the British political system?


The UK. Political System

The monarchy of the United Kingdom (commonly referred to as the British monarchy,) is theconstitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories. Monarchy is the oldestform of government in the United Kingdom. In a constitutional monarchy, an elected Parliamentmakes and passes laws, and the Sovereign plays a ceremonial and representational role.

The present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II , has reigned since 6 February 1952. She and herimmediate family have various official, ceremonial and representational duties. As a constitutionalmonarch, the Queen must follow the advice of government ministers. Britain is governed by HerMajesty’s Government in the name of the Queen.

The Queen is Head of State and an important symbol of national unity in the United Kingdom.Her official title in the UK is " Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of

Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the

Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith".The monarch is also the head of the church, commander in chief of the Armed Forces (the Royal

Navy, the British Army, and the Royal Air Force), accredits British High Commissioners andambassadors, and receives diplomats from foreign states.

The king or the queen has the prerogative to summon and to dissolve the Parliament. Each new parliamentary session is marked by the State Opening of Parliament, during which the Sovereign readsthe Speech from the Throne in the Chamber of the House of Lords, outlining the Government'slegislative agenda. The Queen is also metaphorically called Fount of Justice, from whom justice in theUnited Kingdom derives.

The Queen has a special relationship with the Prime Minister, the senior political figure in theBritish Government, regardless of their political party. Although she is a constitutional monarch whoremains politically neutral, the Queen gives a weekly audience to the Prime Minister at which she hasa right and a duty to express her views on Government matters. If either The Queen or the PrimeMinister are not available to meet, then they will speak by telephone. These meetings, as with allcommunications between The Queen and her Government, remain strictly confidential.

The Parliament. In the uncodified Constitution of the United Kingdom the legislative power isexercised by the two Houses of Parliament , the House of Lords and the House of Commons, locatedin Westminster Palace.

The House of Commons. The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the

United Kingdom and represents its dynamic power. The Commons is a democratically elected body,consisting of 659 members, who are known as " Members of Parliament " or MP’s and who are

publicly elected. The party with the largest number of members in the Commons forms thegovernment. Members of the Commons (MPs) debate the big political issues of the day and proposalsfor new laws. The Commons alone is responsible for making decisions on financial Bills, such as

proposed new taxes. The Lords can consider these Bills but cannot block or amend them.The House of Lords. The House of Lords is the upper chamber of the Parliament of the United

Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords". It is not democratic in any sense at all butits existence is a centuries old tradition. Members of the House of Lords are mostly appointed by theQueen, a fixed number are elected internally and a limited number of Church of England archbishopsand bishops sit in the House. The Lords act as a revising chamber for legislation and their workcomplements the activity of the Commons. The House of Lords is also the highest court in the land:the supreme court of appeal. A group of salaried, full-time judges known as Law Lords carries out this

judicial work.

The Government. The Executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.



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Following a general election, the Queen invites the leader of the majority (or largest, in the absence ofan overall majority) party represented in the Commons, to form a government on her behalf.Government ministers are invariably members of the House of Commons, but sometimes members ofthe House of Lords are appointed. These are at a disadvantage since it is in the Commons that thegovernment is expected to explain its conduct of affairs. All government ministers, even the Prime

Minister, who are members of the Commons, continue to represent the parliamentary ‘constituencies’which elected them. After a general election, the leader of the party which has the most seats in theHouse of Commons becomes Prime Minister, who chooses the Chancellor of the Exchequer (for theTreasury), the Foreign Secretary (for foreign affairs), the Home Secretary (for domestic affairs), andothers, to form the Cabinet. The composition of governments can vary both in the number of ministersand in the titles of some offices. The Prime Minister is, by tradition, First Lord of the Treasury andMinister for the Civil Service. The Prime Minister’s office is located at 10 Downing Street in centralLondon.

The doctrine of collective responsibility means that the Cabinet acts unanimously even whenCabinet ministers do not all agree on a subject.

The UK is a multi-party system and since the 1920s. The two largest political parties have beenthe Conservative Party and the Labour Party, before the Labour Party rose in British politics, while the

Liberal Party was the other major political party along with the Conservatives. Though coalition andminority governments have been an occasional feature of parliamentary politics, the present electoralsystem used for general elections tends to maintain the dominance of these two parties, though eachhas in the past century relied upon a third party to deliver a working majority in Parliament.

The political party system has evolved since the eighteenth century, and since the first half of thenineteenth century has been essentially a two-party system. Today, this two-party contest is betweenthe Conservative Party (still known by their previous nickname, the ‘Tories’) and the Labour Party,which emerged at the end of the nineteenth century as a result of the introduction of universal suffrageand the decline of the Liberal Party.

The Conservative Party is the party of the Right, identified with the idea of economic freedomand until 1979 with the idea of resistance to change. It gives emphasis to the importance of law andorder, and the maintenance of strong armed forces to protect British interests.

The Labour Party is preeminently the party of social justice, though its emphasis is less onequality than on the achievement of well-being and opportunity for all members of the society.

The Liberal Party, which traces its origins to the eighteenth century ‘Whigs’, merged with thenew Social Democratic Party in 1988 to become the Liberal Democrats, after fighting the 1987election unsuccessfully as an alliance of both parties. It is the party keenest on constitutional andelectoral reform. It also prides itself on being less tied to either capitalist or union interests, and beingfree to offer more radical policies.

Reading comprehensiona. Answer the following questions:1) After a general election, who becomes Prime Minister?2) Whom does the Prime Minister choose for the Treasury?3) What do all the ministers chosen by the Prime Minister form?4) What does the doctrine of collective responsibility mean?5) Which are the most important British parties?6) When was the universal suffrage introduced? What did that mean?7) What are each party’s main interests / goals?

b. True or false?1. The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme

legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories.2. The Parliament is located in London.3. Parliament alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other

political bodies in the UK and its territories.4. At its head is the Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II.



26

5. The parliament is bicameral, with an upper house, the House of Lords, and a lower house, theHouse of Commons.

6. The Queen is the third component of the legislature.7. The House of Lords includes two different types of members: the Lords Spiritual and the

Lords Temporal .

8. The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Treaty ofUnion by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland passing Acts of Union.9. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the

political leader of the United Kingdom and the Head of Her Majesty's Government.10. Current Prime Minister David Cameron was appointed on 11 May 2010.11. Current Prime Minister is Gordon Brown helped by Tony Blair.

6.3 Translation Practice (English →Romanian) Monarchy is the oldest form of government in the United Kingdom. In a monarchy, a king or

queen is Head of State. The British monarchy is known as a constitutional monarchy. This means that,while The Sovereign is Head of State, the ability to make and pass legislation resides with an electedParliament. Although the British Sovereign no longer has a political or executive role, he or she

continues to play an important part in the life of the nation. As Head of State, The Monarch undertakesconstitutional and representational duties which have developed over one thousand years of history. Inaddition to these State duties, The Monarch has a less formal role as 'Head of Nation'. The Sovereignacts as a focus for national identity, unity and pride; gives a sense of stability and continuity; officiallyrecognizes success and excellence; and supports the ideal of voluntary service. In all these roles TheSovereign is supported by members of their immediate family.

The British Sovereign can be seen as having two roles: Head of State, and 'Head of the Nation'.As Head of State, The Queen undertakes constitutional and representational duties which havedeveloped over one thousand years of history. There are inward duties, with The Queen playing a partin State functions in Britain. Parliament must be opened, Orders in Council have to be approved, Actsof Parliament must be signed, and meetings with the Prime Minister must be held. There are alsooutward duties of State, when The Queen represents Britain to the rest of the world. For example, The

Queen receives foreign ambassadors and high commissioners, entertains visiting Heads of State, andmakes State visits overseas to other countries, in support of diplomatic and economic relations.



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UNIT 7

7.1. Lead in

1. How would you define the European Union?2. Do you happen to know how many countries have joined the European Union so far?

3. Think of some advantages / risks generated by or related to the European membership, for youas an individual and for our country.


Introduction to the European UnionHistoric StepsThe idea of a united Europe was at first just a dream in the minds of philosophers and

visionaries. Victor Hugo, for example, imagined a peaceful “United States of Europe” inspired byhumanistic ideals.

After World War II a few courageous statesmen (Konrad Adenauer, Winston Churchill, Alcidede Gasperi, Robert Schuman) decided to put an end to international hatred and rivalry in Europe and to

build a long lasting peace.Robert Schuman (French Foreign Affairs Minister) took up an idea originally conceived by Jean

Monnet and on 9 May 1950 proposed setting up a European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC),which was a big success. It was the start of an extraordinary and ever tighter cooperation amongEuropean states.

Today’s European Union is the result of half a century hard work. In no other region of theworld have sovereign countries pooled their sovereignty to this extent and in so many areas of crucialimportance to their citizens. The EU has created a single market in which people, services, goods andcapital move around freely.

Founding TreatiesThe ground rules of the European Union are set out in a series of treaties:The Treaty of Paris, which set up the above mentioned European Coal and Steel Community

(ECSC) in 1951, signed by six European states: France, The Federal Republic of Germany, Italy,Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg, considered the EU founding members.The Treaties of Rome, which set up the European Economic Community (EEC), replacing the

former ECSC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957. The EEC came as anatural continuation of ECSC, as the six member states decided to enlarge and deepen theircooperation. The EEC was based on a common market in awide range of goods and services. Customsduties between the six countries were completely removed on 1 July 1968 and common policies –notably on trade and agriculture – were also set up during the 1960.

The founding treaties were subsequently followed by the Single European Act (1986) signed inLuxembourg and The Hague, by the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht, 1992) which makes thename “European Union” official, the Treaty of Amsterdam and the Treaty of Nice. All of these treatieshave created very strong legal ties between the EU’s member states and have offered a legal frame for

important European matters such as EU institutions functioning procedures, the rights of Europeancitizens, trade, defence policies, the European Currency Unit, etc.

EnlargementSo successful was the EEC initiated by France The Federal Republic of Germany, The

Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg that Denmark, Ireland and The United Kingdom decidedto join the Community. This first enlargement from six to nine members took place in 1973. Newsocial, regional and environmental policies were introduced and the European Regional DevelopmentFund (ERDF) was set up in 1975. In 1981 Greece joined the Community, followed by Spain andPortugal in 1986. The future European Union was thus being built little by little. Three morecountries, Austria, Finland and Sweden joined the EU on 1 January 1995. The Union now had 15members and was on the way for its most spectacular achievement yet – replacing its nationalcurrencies with a single European currency, the euro. On 1 January 2002, euro notes and coins came



28

into circulation in 12 EU countries (‘euro area’). The euro is now a major world currency, having asimilar status to the US dollar.

Soon after the European Union grew to 15 members another 12 countries began knocking at itsdoor. The EU welcomed this opportunity to help stabilise the European continent and to extend the

benefits of European unification to the young democracies in Central and South-Eastern Europe. For

ten of the candidate countries negociations were completed in Copenhagen, at the end of 2002 andstarting from May 2004 the EU enlarged to 25 members, by welcoming the Czech Republic,Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus and Malta as full members.

Romania and Bulgaria became EU members on 1 January 2007, after the implementation of allthe 31 chapters of the Community Acquis.

The European Union’s SymbolsThe idea of a “citizens’s Europe” is very new. Making it a reality means, among other things,

obtaining popular support for symbols that represent shared European identity. That is why theEuropean Union has a very special anthem – Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, from Symphony 9, aCelebration Day – 9 May and a flag (a circle of 12 golden stars on a blue background).

Things like the introduction of the euro, the European model of passport (in use since 1985) and

the EU model driving licences also contribute to the creation of a sense of belonging to a commonspace.

“We are not bringing together states, we are uniting people” said Jean Monnet back in 1952.More than half a century of integration has had an enormous impact on the history of Europe and

on the mentality of Europeans. The member state governments, whatever their political colour knowthat only by joining forces and pursuing a shared destiny can their ancient nations continue to makeeconomic and social progress and maintain their influence in the world.

Reading Comprehension1. Who were the initiators of the European Union?2. Name, in chronological order, the main treaties that have forged the identity of the European

Union.

3. When was the European single currency introduced?4. Which European countries joined the Union in:- 1951:

__________________________________________________- 1973:

___________________________________________________- 1981:

___________________________________________________- 1986:

___________________________________________________- 1995:

___________________________________________________- 2004:

___________________________________________________- 2007:

___________________________________________________4. Which are the main areas of cooperation between members states?5. Which are the EU’s symbols?

7.3 Translation Practice (English →Romanian)

Already in the 1920s some politicians (such as Briand and Stresemann) tried to achievereconciliation between France and Germany as the basis for establishing a durable peace in Europe. A

few intellectuals, such as Fritz von Unruh in Germany, even talked and wrote about a union of sorts



29

between France and Germany. However, the Great Depression and the rise of the Nazis wrecked theirefforts.

After WW2 there were fresh efforts, however. Initially, the countries actively involved wereFrance, West Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries. The move also had the support of Churchill.It began in 1951 with European Coal and Steel Community which created a common market for coal

and steel amongst 6 member-states (West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands andLuxembourg).The next step was a customs union - the European Economic Union (1957) - with tax

harmonization in some areas. It was also felt that economic interdependence would strengthen peace.The first expansion occurred in 1973 when Britain, the Irish Republic and Denmark joined. The EUhas continued to expand and now consists of 27 countries with an overall population of about 492million people (2007). Additional countries are clamouring for admission. After all, nothing succeedsmore than success. Britain appears to be a reluctant member. It has still not succeeded in finding a

post-imperial role for itself. Moreover, at key junctures many British politicians have badlyunderestimated the potential of the EU - and still do so.



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UNIT 8

8.1. Lead in

1. How frequently do you go shopping? What do you buy most often?

2. Do you prefer super/hypermarkets or small shops? Explain your answer.3. Which is the most extravagant thing you have ever bought?4. Which is the most expensive thing you have ever bought?5. How important is it for you to buy branded products? Which are your reasons for (not) buying

no name products?6. Can you define FMCG, durables, white goods, brown goods?7. How much does advertising influence your buying choice?

8.2 Reading objective

One of the most successful brands exported by Britain, known all over the world, is the famousMarks & Spencer. There are a few M&S stores in Romania as well, selling clothes; However clothesare just one of the company’s product lines, as it also sells food.

Marks and Spencer plc (also known as M&S) is a British retailer headquartered in the City ofWestminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread acrossmore than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products. M&S wasfounded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in Leeds.

In 1998, it became the first British retailer to make a pre-tax profit of over £1 billion, though afew years later it plunged into a crisis which lasted for several years.

The company was founded by a partnership between Michael Marks, a Litvak Jew from Slonim,Poland (now in Belarus), and Thomas Spencer, a cashier from Yorkshire. The next few years sawMichael Marks open market stalls in many locations around the North West of England. In 1894,Thomas Spencer invested in Marks' activities and they opened their first store, in partnership, inManchester.

Marks and Spencer, known colloquially as "Marks and Sparks", "Markies", or "M&S", made itsreputation in the early 20th century on a policy of only selling British-made goods (a policy eventuallydiscontinued in 2002). It also accepted the return of unwanted items, giving a full cash refund if thereceipt was shown, no matter how long ago the product was purchased, which was unusual for thetime. It adopted a 90-day returns policy in 2005 but on 12 April 2009 the refund policy changed onceagain to 35 days.

The company put its main emphasis on quality, for most of its history having a reputation foroffering fair value for money. M&S has historically been an iconic retailer of 'British Quality Goods’.

Reading comprehension:1. How old is the M&S brand?2. Who created it?

3. What does M&S sell?4. Which have been its refund policies which changed in time?

8.3 Translation Practice (English →Romanian) Oxford Street is undeniably the West End's main shopping attraction. Start at Marble Arch -- the

westernmost end -- for an enormous branch of budget clothes chain Primark and designer departmentstore Selfridges. As you walk the length of the famous street toward Tottenham Court Road, you'llnotice that the quality of shops goes downhill, especially east of Oxford Circus. Think bargain

basement tat and cheap souvenirs, and you have the idea. Topshop remains an Oxford Street must-visit(the branch here is the largest clothes shop in Europe), and a giant New Look close to Marble Archoffers yet more great value clothes. You're certainly very brave to attempt Oxford Street at theweekend; weekday mornings are best for your sanity.



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Oxford Street is also a great starting point for hitting the more interesting shopping areas, such asaffluent Marylebone. If you're looking for some extreme shopping adventures, this is where London'stop plastic surgeons are based -- and it's impossible not to fall in love with the quaintness ofMarylebone's main street. The street's chocolate shops and interiors brands ooze luxury; make sureyou pop into Rococo, 45 Marylebone High St. (tel. 020/7935-7780; www.rococochocolates.com), for

some chocolate samples -- they're sometimes free.Regent Street -- home to an Apple Store -- crosses Oxford Street at Oxford Circus. Regent Streetshopping is more toward the high end of "high street," typified by the affordable luxury of chain shopssuch as Mango and French Connection. Boutique lifestyle shop Anthropologie is a relatively newaddition, but is expensive in comparison to its U.S. equivalent. Head south from Oxford Circus for theworld-famous Liberty department store. Inside a mock-Tudor building, Liberty is a London landmark.You're now at the top of Carnaby Street, and although it's not quite the Sixties' style mecca it oncewas, it's worth a stroll -- especially if you veer off into the Newburgh Quarter. The area is also home toKingly Court, a gorgeous little piazza of independent shops and vintage boutiques -- the cafes aregenerally overpriced, but do provide a great perch to sit and people-watch.

Parallel to Regent Street, the Bond Street area connects Piccadilly with Oxford Street, and issynonymous with the luxury rag trade. It's not just one street, but a whole area, mainly comprising

New Bond Street and Old Bond Street. It's the hot address for international designers -- Donna Karanhas two shops here, and Tiffany is quite at home nestled among designer jewelry shops. A slew ofinternational hotshots, from Chanel to Versace, have digs nearby. Make sure you stop off at DoverStreet Market -- not a market at all, but actually a designer shop housing all sorts of fashionable folkunder one roof.

Burlington Arcade (Tube: Piccadilly Circus), a glass-roofed Regency passage leading offPiccadilly, looks like a period exhibition, and is lined with 35 mahogany-fronted intriguing shops and

boutiques. Lit by wrought-iron lamps and decorated with clusters of ferns and flowers, its small,upscale stores specialize in fashion, gold jewelry, Irish linen, and cashmere. If you linger there until5:30pm, you can watch the beadles (the last London representatives of Britain's oldest police force), intheir black-and-yellow livery and top hats, ceremoniously place the iron grills that block off the arcadeuntil 9am, at which time they remove them to start a new business day. Also at 5:30pm, the Burlington

Bell is sounded, signaling the end of trading. Make sure to catch the clock at Fortnum and Mason -- itmoves on the hour in a rather lovely display.

Nearby Jermyn Street (Tube: Piccadilly Circus), on the south side of Piccadilly, is a tiny two- block street devoted to high-end men's haberdashers and toiletries shops; many have been doing business for centuries. Several hold Royal warrants, including Turnbull & Asser, 71-72 Jermyn St.(tel. 020/7808-3000), where HRH Prince Charles has his PJs made. A bit to the northwest, Savile Rowis where you'll find London's finest men's tailors.

The West End theatre district borders two more shopping areas: the still-not-ready-for-prime-time Soho (Tube: Tottenham Court Rd. or Leicester Sq.), where the sex shops are slowly morphinginto cutting-edge designer boutiques -- check out clothing exchange Bang Bang, 9 Berwick St. (tel.020/7494-2042), for designer bargains -- and Covent Garden, a shopping masterpiece stocked withfashion, food, books, and everything else. The original Covent Garden marketplace has overflowed its

boundaries and eaten up the surrounding neighborhood; it's fun to shop the narrow streets. Just offtrendy Neal Street and Seven Dials, Neal's Yard is a stunning splash of color on rainy days if you'relooking to buy foodstuffs from Neal's Yard Dairy. Monmouth Street is somewhat of a local secret.Many shops here serve as outlets for British designers, selling both used and new clothing. In addition,stores specialize in everything from musical instruments from the Far East to palm readings. Makesure, too, to take in Charing Cross Road and get your nose into one of the many secondhand

bookshops. You can't avoid Foyles (and nor should you), but the smaller shops have some greatoptions and well-priced first editions if you're particular about your Pulitzers.

West London

If you're heading west, the first place you should find yourself in is Notting Hill. Of course, oneof the main draws for shopping in West London is Portobello Market. Every Sunday, the whole of

Portobello Road turns into a sea of antiques, cool clothing (and even cooler shoppers), and maybeeven a celebrity or three.



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Some of the best boutiques in London are also here. The independent shopping scene thrives;this is an area where people want to be unique, but still look expensive and groomed. Expect one-off,vintage-style dresses, quirky homewares, and more than a handful of retro record shops. Stick toPortobello for antiques, but head to Westbourne Grove and Ledbury Road for boutiques.

The area is also full of organic and fancy food stores, with Whole Foods having its flagship

home here. They take their food very seriously in West London: It does come at a price, but thequality is good so make sure you pick up a few bits. Pop into Melt on Ledbury Road for luxurychocolate, or head to one of London's top cupcake bakeries, the Hummingbird Bakery at 133Portobello Rd. (tel. 020/7851-1795).

West London is also home to two American-style shopping malls. Westfield takes up residencein Shepherd's Bush and Whiteleys sits in Bayswater. They're huge, they have everything, and they're

busy. If it's raining and you still want your high-street shops, head here. Just don't expect to findanything special or out of the ordinary.

Southwest London

The home of Harrods, Knightsbridge is probably the second-most famous London retail district(Oxford Street just edges it out). Sloane Street is traditionally regarded as a designer area, but thesedays it's more "upscale high-street," and nowhere near as luxurious as Bond Street . This is where you

can grab some aromatherapy from Jo Malone, 150 Sloane St. (tel. 0870/192-5121;www.jomalone.co.uk; Tube: Sloane Sq.), a haven for bespoke perfumes.

Walk southwest on Brompton Road -- toward the V&A Museum -- and you'll find Cheval Place,lined with designer resale shops, and Beauchamp Place (pronounced Bee-cham). It's high end, but witha hint of irony. Expect to see little lapdogs in handbags.

If you walk farther along Brompton Road, you'll connect to Brompton Cross, another hip areafor designer shops made popular when Michelin House was rehabbed by Sir Terence Conran,

becoming the Conran Shop. Seek out Walton Street, a tiny snake of a street running from BromptonCross back toward the museums. Most of the shops here specialize in nonessential luxury products,the kind a severe Victorian moralist might dismiss as "vanities and fripperies." You'll also be nearKing's Road (Tube: Sloane Sq.); once a beacon of Sixties cool, this is now a haven for designer clothesand homewares. About a third of King's Road is devoted to independent fashion shops, another third

houses design-trade showrooms and stores for household wares (Scandinavian designs are prominent),and the remaining third a mix of dress shops and shoe boutiques. The clothes shops tend to suit a moremature customer (with a more mature budget), but you'll have fun shopping here if you remainoblivious to shop assistants who can be on the snooty side.

Finally, don't forget all those museums in nearby South Kensington. They have fantastic andexclusive gift shops. If you're looking for jewelry and homewares, the V&A and the Design Museumare must-visits. The Science Museum shop is perfect for inquisitive youngsters. Make sure to view thecollections, too. They're free, and have some world-class exhibits.

Kensington High Street (Tube: High St. Kensington) is the hangout of the classier breed of teen,one who has graduated from Carnaby Street. While there are a few staples of basic British fashionhere, most of the stores feature items that can be described as modern classics with a twist. Think

black, well cut, and tailored, with a fun edge for the youngsters. From Kensington High Street, youcan walk up Kensington Church Street. Like Portobello Road, this is one of the city's main shoppingavenues for antiques, offering everything from antique furniture to Impressionist paintings.

Insider Tip: Kensington might scream money, but there are still places to pick up a bargain. Thecharity shops here (particularly along Kensington Church Street) are full of designer bargains. Afterall, where else is London's upper crust going to drop off last season's clobber? It might not be goodenough for them, but if you're looking for cut-price Gucci and Pucci, that's where you'll find it. That'snot to say you'll be paying pennies for your wares (the people who work here aren't stupid), but youcan pick up a vintage bargain and do your bit for charity at the same time. There's nothing better thanvirtuous shopping, is there?

Herne Hill (Train: Herne Hill) and Dulwich (Train: North Dulwich) merge slightly, and bothattract a "yummy mummy" crowd -- that's middle-class mothers with posh buggies, in case you're

wondering -- but the shops also benefit from a local community vibe. It's certainly worth browsing



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here, in preference to Clapham -- which apart from a few gems such as Lisa Stickley, is unlikely towow you.

The best place for shopping in London's far southwest is Chiswick (Tube: Turnham Green),which has always had a thriving artsy community. This is where you'll find modern little galleries onthe corner of residential streets, and unique homewares retailers such as Eco as well as pop-up stores

(temporary shops). It's still a mostly residential suburb, but there's always something new happeninghere, especially when it comes to shopping. Start your browsing along Devonshire Road and followyour senses.

On the Outskirts -- The outskirts of South London are a bit of an odd bag, because the shoppingareas are so widely separated. You can easily get to each area by train or bus (usually from LondonBridge or Victoria stations), but you can't hop between them very easily like you can in the center oftown. One place to head is Crystal Palace (Train: Crystal Palace) for its cute collection of vintageshops and indie stores. Check out the Bookseller Crow, 50 Westow St. (tel. 020/8771-8831;www.booksellercrow.co.uk), for unique children's books, and then Crystal Palace Antiques.

The South Bank

Apart from Gabriel's Wharf, the South Bank isn't really a shopping destination on its own --although the area is slowly getting a facelift. The OXO Tower, Bargehouse St. (tel. 020/7021-1600;

Tube: Waterloo), now has a collection of upscale boutiques in its lower floors, and Hay's Galleria, 2Battle Bridge Lane (tel. 020/7403-3583; Tube: London Bridge), by the Tooley Street entrance toLondon Bridge station, is cute, if rather empty (you'll find a toyshop and a ubiquitous Starbucks, butnot much else). Borough Market brings foodie crowds south in their droves, as does Tate Modern withits fabulous shop for artsy visitors and locals.

Something delightful happens to the area over Christmas, however. There's a Christmas Market,which stretches along the whole South Bank, offering festive delights. Everything from food toChristmas decorations can be bought, all before taking a trip to see Santa himself. There's also a SlowFood Market in winter (visit www.slowfood.org.uk), offering roasted meats and chutneys and foodsthat you'll want to savor.

The City & East London

The financial district itself doesn't really offer much in the way of shopping -- especially at the

weekend, when everything tends to be shut. However, a new shopping center, One New Change, isattracting a rich crowd for its luxury goods. It's opposite the eastern end of St. Paul's Cathedral. You'llalso find a handful of tailors in the area, and there are several high-end brands in the nearby RoyalExchange (www.theroyalexchange.com; Tube: Bank). Unless you're often suited up for work,however, it's really not a shopping destination by itself.

Wander west from St. Paul's and you'll wind up in the jewelry district around Hatton Garden(Tube: Chancery Lane). On Saturdays it's a sea of nervous men hunting the perfect engagement ring. Ifyou're not in the market for fancy finger adornments, Lamb's Conduit Street is a short stroll fartherwest. It's a beautiful street, full of history -- and now independent shops and restaurants. Make sureyou pop to Persephone for unique literature, and pick up food goodies from Kennards, 47 Lamb'sConduit St. (tel. 020/7404-4030; www.kennardsgoodfoods.com), next door.

Continue your adventure farther east on Commercial Street (Tube: Liverpool St./Train:Shoreditch High St.), Shoreditch. This is where you'll find the best vintage shops in the city. They'reon almost every corner, and new ones seem to appear every day, alongside pop-up stores just here forthe weekend. Make sure you hit Absolute Vintage and the smaller Blondie around the corner, on theway to the antiques market in Spitalfields.

A short stroll north, Columbia Road is more than just a flower market; in many ways, the mainattractions are the artist studios that line the street. Head up every single one of those staircases yousee. If the door is open, you're allowed in. You'll find artists at work and shops such as JessicaChorley, 158a Columbia Rd. (tel. 07708/921550; www.jessiechorley.com; Train: Shoreditch), sellinghandmade notebooks and jewelry. Once you're done with the studios and shops -- Ryan Town sellsfabulous papercuts -- everything at the flower market will be going cheap come 3pm.

North London



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Shoppers should split north London in two: Camden (Tube: Camden Town) has its heavy metaland Goth shops; Primrose Hill (Tube: Chalk Farm) and its surrounds has perfect little streets full oflocal finds. The two could not be more different, but that doesn't mean either is less enticing.

Camden could never be dull. Even if the bustling high street with its black leather-clad crowdsisn't your thing, it's worth a stroll just for the spectacle: street-food stalls and Goths in full make-up at

lunchtime against a backdrop of Camden Lock and the canal. Camden Market itself has changedsomewhat since a fire in 2008. The refurbishment has tidied things up a little, although many wouldargue that some of the charm has gone with it. The stalls are back, the Stables area is more exciting,and everything is just perhaps a little more refined; it still has some rough Camden charm, but also awider appeal, whether you're looking for neon industrial clubwear or handmade jewelry. It's best toavoid the food stalls, though.

Primrose Hill is Camden's northern neighbor, and the Cinderella to North London's ugly sister.Everything is pretty, perfect, and rather posh. The original cupcake Primrose Bakery, 69 GloucesterAve. (tel. 020/7483-4222; www.primrosebakery.org.uk), is here, and the area is popular with fashioncelebs such as Kate Moss and Sadie Frost. Designer stores, chi-chi art galleries, and overpriced clothesare what you'll find in this part of town. Some might claim that there's not much substance, but ifyou're willing to search, there are great frocks in Anna, 126 Regent's Park Rd. (tel. 020/7483-0411;

www.shopatanna.co.uk), and beautiful interiors shops for any budget.Angel -- in Islington, south and east of Camden -- bridges the gap between indie and vintage

cool, and luxury and boutique style. Head to Camden Passage for the best of vintage (we favor othershops over Decorexi). The weekend market stalls are interesting, but the real charm lies in the street'ssmall shops. Upscale vintage and specialized antiques flank both sides, leading up to Essex Road andUpper Street. Both these major thoroughfares have shops lining them: Essex Road is good forindependent designers; Upper Street sticks to high-street and specialist chains such as Joy and OliverBonas, 147-148 Upper St. (tel. 020/7424-5305; www.oliverbonas.com). Make sure you walk southfrom Angel along St. John Street; My Sugarland is a beautiful shop showcasing the very best inwomen's clothing.

Greenwich

Although many London stores now open on Sundays, the best weekend shopping is still the

stalls of Greenwich's flea and craft markets. The ideal way to arrive is to float downstream on a boatfrom Embankment or Westminster piers. The trip takes about a half-hour. Both the DLR station (CuttySark) and the pier are minutes from the indoor craft market, which is held Wednesday throughSunday. Greenwich town center isn't very big: Follow the signs -- or the crowd -- and you'll find it.Greenwich Market is bursting with art and crafts, both global and local. The shops around the outsideof the market are also worth a look, and make sure to walk through the food market when you're done,if only to try the churros filled with dulce de leche (milk caramel).

You're now only 5 minutes from Greenwich rail station, on Greenwich High Road, from whichthere's a train back to the center of London every half-hour until about 11:30pm. Make sure you checkout the shops around the rest of Greenwich first. Buy pies and tarts at Rhodes Bakery, 37 KingWilliam Walk (tel. 020/8858-8995; www.rhodesbakery.co.uk), or vintage accessories and retro musicfrom Beehive, 322 Creek Rd. (tel. 020/8858-1964). Booktime, 227 Greenwich High Rd. (tel.020/8293-0096) is great for bargain books.



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UNIT 9

9. 1. Lead in

1. If you could save, invest or spend 1,000 euros in just one day what would you do with it?Explain your answer.

2. Does it matter if a wife earns more than her husband?3. Were you given or did you earn your pocket money as a child? What about now?4. What was the first thing you saved up for and bought yourself?5. What can’t money buy?6. What do you understand by plastic money?7. How many ways of paying for a product do you know?


Can Money Buy Happiness?

The following questions and answer make up an imaginary interview that sum up the realanswers to the same questions, given by more hundreds of people, as part of an opinion survey abouthow important money is in our life.

Q: Were you given or did you earn pocket money as a child?A: I was given two shillings a week by my father, but on condition that I behaved myself. If I

didn’t behave well, I didn’t receive it. Parents were much stricter in those days.Q: What was the first thing you saved up for and bought yourself.A: A set of toy soldiers. Not the plastic ones you get nowadays, but little metal ones, beautifully

hand painted. It took me nearly a year to save up for them. If I’d known that they would be valuableantiques today, I would have kept them. They would probably be worth a fortune now.

Q: It’s impossible to have too much money – do you agree?A: Yes. If you have dreams, money makes them possible. Personally, I can’t imagine having too

much money. I’m always broke. Anyway, if I ever felt I had too much money, I’d give it away tocharity.

Q: Would you prefer fame or fortune?A: Being practical, I’d say fortune, but if I were single, with no kids and no responsibilities, I’dgo for fame.

Q: If you could buy yourself a skill, a talent or change in your appearance, what would youchoose?

A: Well there are lots of things I’d like to be better at, but if I had to choose one, I ‘d like to be a brilliant football player.

Q: What can’t money buy?A: Happiness. I tend to think that once I have enough money to buy some new clothes or get a

better car, then I’ll be happy. But it never works out like that.

Reading comprehension?

1. What did the respondent first save up money for?2.What would the respondent choose between fame and fortune? Why?3. What can’t money buy according to the text?

9.3 Language in use

I. Paying and bargaining. If a product you want to buy has no price label you may ask : How much is it ? or How much does it cost ? The shop assistant can ask you : What method of payment do

you you prefer : cash, by cheque or by credit card ?

If you go shopping in an ellegant boutique in the centre of a large city it is quite probable that bargaining is not accepted. But if you go to small shops, to bazaars in Greece, Turkey or the MiddleEast the shopkeepers will be happy to haggle and most of them speak English.



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If you don’ agree to their price you can say something like : I’ll buy this for … (sum) . or : How

much is that if I buy two ? , I’ll buy a T-shirt as well if you give me the jeans for 10 euros.

Now imagine you are a customer. What would you say if you want to buy the following for alower price: a) a shirt (initial price 25 euros) for 15 euros ; b) a gold bracelet (initial price 100 euros)for 80 euros.

II. Stating preferences. When you go shopping (and not only) you may need to express your preferences.

Comparing things often involves making a choice. If we are comparing different cars, items ofclothing, etc for example, we often state our preferences at the same time. Here are some useful waysof stating what you prefer:

As far as I’m concerned, the best …

From my point of view, the best … I’d go for this one because …

I’d much prefer that one because …

This one is preferable because …

I’d rather have that one because …

Decide how you would use these expressions to talk about a) a dress / a pair of trousers / a suit /a computer you want to buy; b) different things to eat and drink. (Perhaps look at a restaurant menuand decide what dishes to select.)

9.4. Translation practice (English →Romanian)

'The best things in life are free, But you can give them to the birds and bees, I want money,That's what I want, That's what I want.'' In 1959, these words were written by Barrett Strong in a songcalled ''Money (That's What I Want).'' The song was later made famous throughout the United Statesand the UK when The Beatles covered it in 1963.

One year later, The Beatles again topped the charts with the hit song, ''Can’t Buy Me Love.''When asked about the meaning of the lyrics, Paul McCartney said, ''The idea behind it was that all

these material possessions are all very well, but they won't buy me what I really want.'' However,when reflecting on the perks that money and fame had brought him, he was to later comment: ''Itshould have been 'Can Buy Me Love.' ''

Paul McCartney and The Beatles are not the only ones who have contradictory views around theage-old question, ''Can money buy happiness?'' Put another way, ''Does money, or lack thereof,impact how happy we are?'' Psychologists, philosophers and ordinary folks have debated this questionfor years.

In the last decade, the field of psychology took a dramatic turn from only looking at mentalillness, to exploring what makes people feel fulfilled, engaged and happy. This Positive PsychologyMovement has produced an expansive amount of researchers who are looking at things such ashappiness, positive emotions, optimism and healthy character traits. At some point, every one of these

top researchers explored the effects of money on happiness and positive emotions.What we are finding out is that happiness is the ultimate currency. Not only do happy peopleenjoy life more and have more fun, but they also practice positive lifestyle habits and have strongerimmune systems. When faced with illness, happier and more optimistic individuals have been shownto be more proactive in their medical care, more compliant with treatment and medication, havequicker recoveries and show better health outcomes. So, if we want to be healthier and happier, it’sworth figuring out where money comes into play.

When we talk about happiness, we need to look at it from two separate aspects--life satisfactionas a whole vs. moment-to-moment moods. I can be satisfied with my overall life, yet still havemoments when I am not happy. Vice versa, some folks can be dissatisfied with their currentcircumstances and wish for change, but still have many moments of joy throughout the day.Interestingly, money affects our feelings about both aspects of happiness.



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UNIT 10

10.1. Lead in

1. How many meals do you have daily?2. Are you a good cook? What can you cook best?

3. Ask your desk mate about his/ her favourite food/ drink. Then tell him/her what to cook ifhe/she invites you to have dinner together.

4. What do you think about being a vegetarian?5. In terms of food, what comes to your mind when you think of the following countries: the

USA, France, Austria, Japan, China, Greece, Turkey, the UK?6. Can you add any more countries to the list above? What food/ drink are they famous for?7. What Romanian traditional dishes would you recommend a foreigner?


British Food and Cuisine

British cuisine has always been multicultural, a pot pourri of eclectic styles - in ancient timesinfluenced by the Romans and in medieval times by the French. During Victorian times good oldBritish stooge mixed with exotic spices from all over the Empire. The Britons learnt quite a lot fromthe colonies. In London especially, one can not only experiment with the best of British, but the bestof the world as there are many distinct ethnic cuisines to sample, Chinese, Indian, Italian and Greekrestaurants are amongst the most popular.

Among English cakes and pastries, many are tied to the various religious holidays of the year.Hot Cross Buns are eaten on Good Friday, Simnel Cake is for Mothering Sunday, Plum Pudding forChristmas, and Twelfth Night Cake for Epiphany.

Some traditional dishes such as roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, Cornish pasties, steak andkidney pie, bread and butter pudding, treacle tart, spotted dick or fish and chips, remain popular. Roast

beef is still the national culinary pride. It is called a "joint," and is served at midday on Sunday withroasted potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, two vegetables, a good strong horseradish, gravy, and mustard.

The British BreakfastThe great British breakfast is famous throughout the world! Actually many British people aremore likely to have a bowl of cornflakes or a cup of coffee but the typical English breakfast is a 19thcentury invention, when the majority of English people adopted the copious meal of porridge, fish,

bacon and eggs, toast and marmalade, that has now appeared on English breakfast tables for 100 years.The annual consumption in the United Kingdom is 450,000 tones of bacon, 5,000 tones of sausagesand millions of eggs, so you can see the Great British Breakfast is very much alive and well. It hasretained its popularity as one of the country's favorite meals, and survived a whole series of eatingtrends and food fads. Nowadays the great British breakfast consists of toast with jam or marmalade,

pastries, fresh orange juice, freshly brewed coffee, a choice of cereals, porridge, stewed fruit ,scrambled egg, streaky and back bacon, black pudding or grilled mushrooms.

Tea

Tea, that most quintessential of English drinks, came relatively late to British shores. Althoughthe custom of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium BC in China, it was not until the mid17th century that the beverage first appeared in England. It was the Portuguese and Dutch traders whofirst imported tea to Europe, with regular shipments by 1610. England was a latecomer to the tea trade,as the East India Company did not capitalize on tea's popularity until the mid-18th century. It was theLondon coffee houses that were responsible for introducing tea to England. One of the first coffeehouse merchants to offer tea was Thomas Garway, who owned an establishment in Exchange Alley.He sold both liquid and dry tea to the public as early as 1657. Three years later he issued a broadsheetadvertising tea at £6 and £10 per pound (ouch!), touting its virtues at "making the body active andlusty", and "preserving perfect health until extreme old age". Tea gained popularity quickly in thecoffee houses, and by 1700 over 500 coffee houses sold it.. By 1750 tea had become the favored drinkof Britain's lower classes. Nowadays , it is Britain’s favorite drink and it is also a meal in the

afternoon, consisting in cookies, other sweets and of course tea.



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Reading comprehension1. What does a traditional English breakfast consist of?2. Enumerate a few traditional English dishes.3. Why is tea not only a drink but also a meal?

10.3 Translation Practice ( English →Romanian)

A. Potatoes have a unique place in the British diet. We each eat around 130kg every year; boiled, baked, roasted, mashed and chipped, the humble spud is a familiar, much loved part of mealtimes.What is surprising, though, is that although there are around 500 varieties of potato, only about 80varieties are grown commercially, so only a few are well known and available in Britain'ssupermarkets.

We're all familiar with delectable Jersey Royals, with their wonderfully distinctive flavor; Caraare excellent for baking; King Edwards are superb roasted, mashed or chipped; Maris Piper are dryand floury and good for all methods of cooking, while the dense, moist flesh of Charlottes makeswonderful potato salad.

But how many of us have come across Lady Christl, Dunbar Rover or Mr Little's YetholmGypsy? These old-fashioned potato types are now deemed 'heritage' or 'gourmet' varieties and are hardto find, although you may be lucky and come across them at farmers' markets or from a specialistgrower.

The trouble is that these heirloom potatoes are not cosmetically perfect. Even the Prince ofWales had his organic potatoes rejected by the supermarkets because they weren't shiny enough! Hesold them to South Gloucestershire County Council instead, who supply them to local schools. It's notsurprising that many people think of potatoes as bland and insipid if they can only buy flawless,

perfectly shaped specimens with little flavor.The supermarkets may offer us a choice beyond just 'White' or 'Red' nowadays, but there's still a

terrific range of potatoes with unique flavors and textures far beyond those currently available.Fortunately, some supermarkets are dipping a cautious toe in the water and are offering a few

'heirloom' varieties. I discovered some Shetland Blacks in the supermarket recently. These small, purplish/black-skinned potatoes have yellow flesh and a floury texture and are very tasty baked orsautéed.

Different potatoes have their own distinctive taste and their texture varies considerably too, soit's important to cook them correctly. A potato may be described as having a waxy or floury texture.Floury potatoes tend to break up when boiled, so are best baked, roasted or chipped, while waxy

potatoes are moister and have less starch, so are good for boiling and in potato salad and layered potato dishes.

Some old-fashioned varieties date back a century or more and come in an amazing range ofshapes, colors and interesting flavors. I'm going to try and track down as many unusual varieties as

possible, not only for their unique flavors, but also to experience a true taste of our culinary history.

B. Britons eat out much more than they used to—which means their diets are even worse thanthose figures suggest. The average Briton eats just three grams of green vegetables in a restaurant eachweek. He dines out on 44 grams of chips and 75 grams of meat.

Engels was partly right about the reasons for this: harried working mothers have less time tocook. Steady advances in technology—not just freezers and microwave ovens but better containers for

processed food—mean they do not need to. Above all, people have far more choice. The speed withwhich Britons have abandoned foods like cabbage suggests they never liked them much. Brusselssprouts were once such a staple that they were part of the basket of goods used to calculate inflation.Sprout consumption has fallen by more than four-fifths since 1974.

But if worries about changes in what people eat are well-founded, fears about the decline ofcooking and family meals are much less so. Britons are no worse in the kitchen than they were in the

past. They are just no better. Most people can rustle up about seven different meals and simply repeatthem, says Jon Firth of Kantar World panel, a market-research firm. That is not all that different from



39

1950s family meals in which the same dishes—Sunday roasts, leftovers made into cottage pies,sausage and mash—featured every week. And today’s repertoires might at least feature once-exoticdishes such as pasta.

Nor has the tradition of family eating declined as much as is commonly supposed. Britons havenever eaten together as much as they like to think. People interviewed in the 1970s about their

childhoods in the early 20th century often remembered meals without parents. Posh mothers werecommonly off doing charity work; working-class fathers were on unsociable shifts. People still sitdown to a roast Sunday lunch, a meal rarely eaten in solitude, 14 times a year on average.

Mealtimes are no longer conventional or clearly defined. People eat often and quickly. Onestudy comparing Britain and Spain found that about 40% of Spaniards were eating at 2.50pm andabout 30% at 9.30pm. At no point in the day were as many as 20% of Britons eating. Over the years,

peaks in sewage flow have greatly diminished, notes Rob Smith, chief sewer-flusher for ThamesWater.

Still, include the number of hours spent eating out, and the total time that families spend togetherover food has stayed remarkably constant over the years, says Peter Jackson, a geographer who studiesfamilies and food at Sheffield University. Britons eat badly and erratically. But they do it together.

10.4. Language in use

Ordering food. Talking to the waiter.If you go abroad you may want to eat out, so it would be useful to know a few words coonected

to ordering food. Read the following short dialogues between a guest and a waiter and then build yourown dialogues.

a) A : Hello, sir !B : Hello. Can I have a have sandwich, please ?A : Yes, of course. Here you are. Anything else ?B : No, thanks.A : Fifty nine cents, please.

B : Thanks. Keep the change.A : Thank you, sir. b) A : Hello, I’m John Howard. I have booked a table for six for 9p.m. tonight.B : Hello, sir. Just a moment to check your booking…. You’re right, table for six, near the

window, 9 p.m.. The waiter will see you off at your table.C : Hello, ladies and gentlemen, follow me. This way, please… this is your table… and here are

the menus. Enjoy your evening.c) A : Are you ready to order, madam ?B : Yes, I’d like two tuna salads, two chocolate icecreams and a white coffe for my friend.A : Sure, madam. Anything else ?B : A glass of still water for me, please.A : OK, madam.

B. Thank you.d) A : Yes, sir ?B : A coffee, please.A : Black or white ?B : Sorry ?A : Black or white ? Milk ?B : Ah ! Black please. No milk.A : Sixty pence, sir.B : Thanks.

Now imagine you are hungry and you go to a nice restaurant in London. How do you order yourfood ? You can also think of a menu.



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UNIT 11

11..1. Lead in

1. How is communication different now from what it was a) 20 years ago; b) 50 years ago; c)150 years ago; d) 1000 years ago?

2. What new communication devices do you think will be invented in the next 25 years?3. The Internet is among the most important inventions of the 20th century. What are its main

uses? What do you, as a student, use it for?4. Are you a member of social networ sites? How have they changed the way we conceive

communication? What do you use them for mainly? What are their other possible uses?


Social Network Sites

Since their introduction, social network (or networking) sites have attracted millions of users,who have integrated them into their daily routines. As statistics say, most of SNS-s users are youngand very young people who become members of such sites for socializing, keeping in touch withfriends and making new friends. But private issues are not the only ones discussed on SNS-s. Publicones (such as politics, social problems) are of interest for SNS-s members.

Regarding a possible definition of a social networking service, it is an online service, platform,or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people,who, for example, share interests and/or activities. A social network service essentially consists of arepresentation of each user (often a profile), his/her social links, and a variety of additional services.Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, activities, events, and interests within theirindividual networks.

The main types of social networking services are those which contain category places (such asformer school year or classmates), means to connect with friends (usually with self-description pages)and a recommendation system linked to trust. Popular methods now combine many of these, withFacebook and Twitter widely used worldwide, Nexopia (mostly in Canada); Bebo, VKontakte, Hi5,

Hyves (mostly in The Netherlands), Draugiem.lv (mostly in Latvia), StudiVZ (mostly in Germany),iWiW (mostly in Hungary), Tuenti (mostly in Spain), Nasza-Klasa (mostly in Poland), Nyx.cz (mostlyin Czech Republic), Decayenne, Tagged, XING, Badoo and Skyrock in parts of Europe;] Orkut andHi5 in South America and Central America; and Friendster, Mixi, Multiply, Orkut, Wretch, renren andCyworld in Asia and the Pacific Islands and Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Orkut are very popularin India.

Social networks or social communities such as Facebook, Hi5.com, YouTube, MySpace, Xing orFriendster are currently the most popular ways of meeting people. These networks meet the young

people’s needs of communication, help them develop / find their identity, (re) present themselves, practice peer-group experiences, offer them spaces of freedom, experimentation and crossing any boundaries. The popularity of these communities could be explained by children and young people’sneeds to be noticed, recognized and to become popular. They want to be seen and, in the same time, to

see how appreciated and sympathized they are – or how they seem to be.

Reading comprehension:1.How would you define a social network site?2.What are its main functions?3.What needs ane expectations of young people (and not only) do they satisfy?


Telephoning. Making and changing arrangements.1. Complete the following conversations with phrases from the list below:Dialogue 1:

A: _______________________



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B: Good morning! Could I speak to Ms. Reynolds, please?

Dialogue 2:A: I need Mr. Stevens’ number, please.B: ______________________________

Dialogue 3:A: _____________________________B: Yes, hold the line one moment and I’ll put you through.

Dialogue 4:A: I’m afraid he’s in a meeting at the moment.B: ______________________________

Dialogue 5:A: ___________________________B: Mihai Ionescu from Flamingo electronics.

Phrases:a) OK. I’ll call back later. Thank you.

b) Hello, RB Advertising. Can I help you?c) Just a moment, sir. I’ll look it up for you.d)Hello. Extension 4521, please.e) Who’s calling, please?

2. Unscramble the sentences below so as to obtain three coherent telephone conversations:Dialogue 1:

____ A: Oh, good morning, Miss Smith! ____ B: Mr. Hartley? Good morning! ____ A: Good. See you the. Good bye.

____ B: I’m ringing to remind you about the meeting tomorrow. 10 a.m., at your office asarranged?

A: 10a.m., that’s right.

DIALOGUE 2: ____ A: Right. I’m looking forward to seeing you. goodbye. ____ B: Oh, hello, Mr. Williams, nice to hear from you! ____ B: I’m afraid I can’t today. What about tomorrow? ____ A: Hello! Ms. Lester? This is Tom Williams speaking, from RB Advertising. ____ A: I called to see if we can discuss a business proposition that our company wishes to

make. ____ B: Yes, 1 p..m. is OK. See you tomorrow. ____ A: Actually I hoped we could meet and talk about it. How about me coming to your office

later today? ____ B: I see. Could you be more specific? ____ A: Tomorrow will be fine. Let’s say 1 p.m., if it’s suitable for you, too.

Dialogue 3: ____ A: Would it be possible for you to meet us on Tuesday afternoon instead? ____ B: Hello, John Andrews speaking, from Durham Building. ____ A: Hello, Mr. Andrews. ____ A: I’m calling on behalf of my boss. He is very sorry he won’t be able to meet you this

afternoon.

____ B: OK, I’ll be waiting for your call. Good bye, then. ____ B: Let me check my diary… I’m afraid I can’t. What about Wednesday morning?



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____ B: Oh, I see. ____ A: Wednesday morning is all right. However I’ll call you back later on to confirm. ____ A: Thank you. Goodbye.

3. Together with your desk mate imagine a few short telephone conversations in which: a) you

ask for an extension; b) you want to speak to someone but the line is busy / the person is not in theoffice; c) you make an arrangement to meet someone tomorrow at 4 p.m.; d) you try to change anarrangement already made.

11.4 Translation practice (English →Romanian)

Who can turn around your day with a kind word or a smile?At my local coffee shop, there is a barista who always makes my day. She greets me with a big

smile, always has a compliment at the ready and is sincerely interested in my life. I love getting coffeefrom her. If I am having a crap time, she makes it a bit brighter. She does this for all of her customers.She knows their names, their orders, and their lives. My barista is a shiny beacon of positivity and joy.

There is push-pull effect in all communication. The way you communicate can pull peopletoward you like a magnet or repel people away like a deadly scorpion hiding in the rug. Every time

you open your mouth, the question needs to be asked: “is what I am about to say going to pull peoplein or push them out of my life?”

Luckily, there are 11 inspired minds (and one fictional rabbit) who can guide us to haveimproved communication and better relationships in these 12 brilliant quotes:

1. “You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life” ~Zig Ziglar

A well-timed positive word or compliment can change the course of someone’s day.2. “Who you are is speaking so loudly that I can’t hear what you’re saying” ~ Ralph Waldo

EmersonBeing authentic to who you are speaks volumes. People are drawn to authenticity and

vulnerability. Coming off like a slimy, fake used-car dealer (or Kardashian) pushes people away.3. “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all” ~ Thumper from Bambi

Negative words traumatize and leave an impression that can last for days. If the communicationis going to do harm, take Thumper’s advice.

4. “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than youcan in two years by trying to get other people interested in you” ~ Dale Carnegie

“You” is the most important word in any conversation. Minimize the “I” and the “Me” and focuson the “you.”

5. “What will they think of me? Must be put aside for bliss” ~ Joseph CampbellPut aside your worries about what other’s will think of you and just serve others with your

message.6. “I speak to everyone in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the

university” ~ Albert Einstein

Treat everyone with respect no matter their status.7. “Don’t be embarrassed by your failures. Learn from them and start again” ~ Sir RichardBranson

Miscommunications and misunderstandings happen! You learn much about how youcommunicate through your mistakes and you learn a lot about the person you are talking to as well!

8. “The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said” ~ Peter DruckerThe ability to read the emotions and nonverbal communication of another person increases

understanding and elevates relationships.9. “Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say

something” ~ PlatoSpeak with a purpose, not just to fill-up a silence. Remember: silence is a gift that allows self-

reflection.



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10. “Be sincere; be brief; be seated” ~ Franklin D. RooseveltAmen!11. “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between

lightning and a lightning bug” ~ Mark TwainWords are powerful! When you chose just the right word, you increase understanding ten-fold.

12. “The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the qualityof our lives” ~ Anthony RobbinsIf you are positive and communicate positivity, you will attract more of that into your life.Here’s your challenge: go out today and make a positive impact on someone’s day. Listen. Be

sincere. Smile generously. Be generous in praise and compliments. Communication has power tomake a difference and change lives, or at the very least make someone’s day more luminous.



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UNIT 12

12.1. Lead in

1. What comes to your mind when you think of the USA?2. Enumerate a few reasons why you would like to visit the USA.

3. Think of some positive and some negative aspects of the American civilisation, which, in youropinion, have an effect on your daily life.

4. What comes to your mind when you think about sports in the USA?


The United States of America (also referred to as the United States, the U.S., the USA, orAmerica) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The countryis situated mostly in central North America, where forty-eight states and Washington, D.C., the capitaldistrict, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico tothe south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russiato the west across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. Thecountry also possesses several territories in the Caribbean and Pacific.

At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 310 million people, the UnitedStates is among the largest and most populated countries in the world. It is one of the world's mostethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from manycountries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with a 2010 GDP of $14.780trillion.

How did we come to call this vast territory America? In 1507, German cartographer MartinWaldseemüller produced a world map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere"America" after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci. The former British coloniesfirst used the country's modern name in the 1776 Declaration of Independence. Later on, other officialdocuments used this name as well.

The United States is the world's oldest surviving federation. It is a constitutional republic and

representative democracy, "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law". Inthe American federalist system, citizens are usually subject to three levels of government: federal,state, and local.

The federal government is composed of three branches: legislative (the bicameral Congress,made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, makes federal law, declares war, approvestreaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sittingmembers of the government), executive (the president and the government; the president is thecommander-in-chief of the military forces, can veto legislative bills before they become law, andappoints the members of the Cabinet (subject to Senate approval) and other officers, who administerand enforce federal laws and policies), judicial (the Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose

judges are appointed by the president with Senate approval, conduct trials, interpret laws and changethose they find unconstitutional).

The United States has operated under a two-party system for most of its history. Since themiddle of the 19th century, the major parties have been the Democratic Party, founded in 1824, and theRepublican Party, founded in 1854.

Within American political culture, the Republican Party is considered center-right or"conservative" and the Democratic Party is considered center-left or "liberal". The states of the

Northeast and West Coast and some of the Great Lakes states, known as "blue states", are relativelyliberal. The "red states" of the South and parts of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains are relativelyconservative.

The winner of the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama, is the 44th U.S. president. The 2010 midterm elections saw the Republican Party take control of the House and makegains in the Senate, where the Democrats retain the majority. In the 112th United States Congress, theSenate comprises 51 Democrats, two independents, and 47 Republicans; the House comprises 242



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Republicans and 193 Democrats. There are 29 Republican and 20 Democratic state governors, as wellas one independent.

The USA are many times seen as a symbol of freedom; they are the land where people go toachieve their dreams and the lad which as influenced the world’s culture in a decisive way.

Who hasn’t fallen in love with the American film industry and its stars, who has never eaten in a

fast food restaurant, who has never watched a baseball match (the American national sport), at least inmovies? We are going to end this first presentation of the USA by talking about American sport, promoted by everybody, from the President himself to educational and health policies. Besides baseball, American football and basketball are also very popular among Americans, as well as golfand auto racing.

However sport is not the only important issue when talking about American culture; customs andtraditions, food, holidays are also very present in the Americans’ lives, and not only as they have beensuccessfully exported worldwide. The following Reading objective will be dedicated to them.

Reading comprehension:1. Which are the main two parties in the USA?2. What two structures does the Congress consist of?

3. Which are the three branches of the American federal Government?

4. Enumerate a few aspects of culture / civilization that the USA are famous for.5. Enumerate a few sports popular among the Americans.

12.3. Vocabulary

1. Having a hobby is good both for your physical and mental health. Check the meaning of thenew words from the list below and tell if any of them is your hobby: dancing, visiting museums, doingcrosswords, walking, skiing, listening to music, watching TV, taking photographs, ice-skating,cooking, playing computer games, sailing, painting, swimming, reading, going to the cinema, playingvolleyball, windsurfing, sunbathing, playing cards, fishing.

2. Write play or go in front of the following:

_______ football, _______ iceskating, _______, swimming, ______ windsurfing, _______ golf, _______ baseball, ______ ice hockey, _______ sailing, _______ fishing, _______ tennis, _______walking, _______ dancing, _______ volleyball, _______ skiing.

12.4 Language in use

Inviting. Accepting / refusing an invitation. Apologising .

1. Depending on the addressee, an invitation can be more or less formal. Read the following possible invitations and rank them according to their degree of formality.

a) We’re going to the theatre on Sunday evening and we were wondering if you’d like to joinus. _____

b) If you’re free tonight, why not come round for a drink ? _____c) If you don’t have any plans for the weekend I’d be happy to show you the old town andsome museums. I’m sure you’ll love it. _____

d) Hello, sir. Andreea Popescu speaking, Mr. Howard’s assistant manager. He would like toinvite you to dinner tomorrow evening. Woud that be possible for you ? _____

e) It gives me great pleasure to invite you to the hotel’s inauguration ceremony , on the 20 th next month. ______

f) We would be honoured if you accepted to have supper with the members of our departmentat the company club on Friday evening. _____

g) How about going to a movie on Saturday ? _____

2. Now look at the following thank you expressions. Some of them can be used when accepting,

others when declining an invitation. Use them to build your own answers to the invitations above.



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It’ very kind of you to invite me bu I’ve already got something planned.What a pity. I don’t think I can come. I’ve got some friends coming for dinner.Thank you very muck, that would be nice.Sure, why not ? Thank you for the invitation.That’s very nice of you but unfortunately I’ m busy this weekend.

1. You are an assistant manager and you have to invite a foreign guest : a) to dinner ; b) to lookround the factory ; c) to make a speech at an official dinner ; on behalf of your boss. Together withyour desk mate decide what exactly you can say.

12.5. Translation practice (English →Romanian)

The Story of Helen Keller, The Girl Who Could Not See, Hear or SpeakI’d like you to know the story of Helen Keller, who could neither see nor hear from the time she

was a baby. Yet the brilliant girl was able to overcome all those handicaps, to graduate from a collegewith honors and become a useful citizen.

I must say there was nothing wrong with Helen Keller when she was born. Her father and

mother were very proud of their pretty baby, who tried to say “pa-pa” and “ma-ma”.For nineteen months Helen grew bigger and stronger. She was able to walk when she was a year

old; she could say a few words.But one day the child fell ill. She must have been very ill. For days she was laid up with a high

fever and soon the parents learned that their darling would never be able to see and hear.The little child was now doomed to a life of silence and darkness. She could not hear what was

said to her and did not know how to talk, she was unable to play with other children.When Helen was 6 years old her parents took her to Baltimore and then to Washington to

famous doctors to find out if they could do something to make her hear and see again, but the doctorscould do nothing. The child was hopelessly deaf. Dr. Bell said the Kellers should address the PerkinsInstitution for the blind in Boston and ask if they could send someone to help the child.

It was a wonderful day for Helen Keller when Ann Sullivan arrived in March 1887 to take

charge of the child who could neither hear nor speak. Helen was nearly seven, Ann Sullivan was pasttwenty.

Ann Sullivan found a way to make herself understood. She gave the child a doll, and takingHelen Keller’s hand she slowly spelled out "d-o-l". The child learnt for the first time that things musthave names.

When Miss Sullivan later spelled into the little girl’s hand the word “w-a-t-e-r” and then let thewater from the pumps run over her hand, a new light seemed to brighten the face of the child. Duringthe next 3 months, she learned 300 words and could even put some of them into sentences.

Miss Sullivan loved her pupil who was so quick to learn. She lived with Helen, played with herand worked with her every hour of the day. By means of the hand language, Helen and her teacherwere able to talk to each other.

Helen learned to read books that were printed for the blind with raised letters. She also learned touse the typewriter to write what she wanted to say.When Helen was 10 she was determined that she would learn to speak.

At first she learned only the sounds of the letters of the alphabet, but soon she was able to say wordsand sentences.

In the story of her life Helen Keller writes, “I shall never forget the surprise and delight I feltwhen I uttered my first connected sentence: “It is warm.”

At first she had much difficulty with her speech, but Ann Sullivan understood what Helen tryingto say. Helen practised speaking day after day until at last she developed a clear voice.

Later she was able to speak before large crowds which came to hear her whenever she lectured.At the age of 20 Helen Keller passed all the difficult entrance examinations to Radcliffe College.Helen did extremely well in her classes and was able to keep up with the other students. Helen wrote



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“The Story of My Life” while she was in college. In her writings and lectures Helen did everythingshe could to help and encourage others who were blind.

(From "Short Stories of Famous Women")



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UNIT 13

13.1. Lead in

1. Name a few official or unofficial American holidays which have come to be celebratedworldwide (Romania included).

2. What do you know about these holidays?3. Enumerate a few differences bettween the UK and the USA in terms of culture, civilisation,

language.


American HolidaysAmericans celebrate a variety of holidays throughout the year. Many of them are the same with

those celebrated in many other parts of the world, such as the New Year, Christmas or Easter but thereare also other celebrations which are specifically American.

Martin Luther King Day is a federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday in January. TheReverend Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American promoter of equality among people; he is

recognized for his tireless efforts to win civil rights for all people through nonviolent means.Groundhog Day is February 2 and has been celebrated since 1887. On Grounghog day crowds

gather in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to see if the groundhog sees his shadow after emerging fromhis burrow, thus predicting six more weeks of winter weather.

Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14. The day was named after an early Christianmartyr and on Valentine’s Day Americans give presents like candy or flowers to the ones they love.The first mass produced valentine cards were sold in the 1840’s.

Washington’s Birthday is a federal holiday observed in the third Monday of February to honourGeorge Washington, the first president of the United States. This date is commonly called Presidents’Day and people honour the legacy of past presidents on this date.

Mother’s Day celebrate mothers every second Sunday of May. President Woodrow Wilson whoissued a proclamation in 1914 asked Americans to give a public expression of reverence to mothers onthis day.

Father’s Day celebrates fathers every third Sunday of June. Father’s Day began in 1909 inSpokane, Washington when a daughter requested a special day to honour her father, a Civil Warveteran who raised his children after his wife died.

Independence Day is July 4. This holiday honors the nation’s birthday – the adoption of theDeclaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It is a day of picnics and patriotic parades, a night ofconcerts and fireworks.

Labor Day is the first Monday of September. This federal holiday honors the nation’s working people, typically with parades. For most Americans it marks the end of the summer vacation seasonand the start of the school year.

Haloween is celebrated on October 31. On Haloween American children dress up funny or scary

costumes and go “trick or treating” by knocking on doors in their neighborhood. The neighbors areexpected to respond by giving them small gifts of candy and money.Thanksgiving Day is a federal holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. In the

fall of 1621 the Pilgrims held a three-day feast to celebrate a good harvest. Many people consider thisevent as the nation’s first Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving feast became a tradition when familiesgather together and give thanks to God for the good thing in their lives. The traditional dishes eaten onthis day are roast turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes and pumpkin pie.

Reading comprehension1. What do the Americans celebrate at the end of October?2. What holidays are celebrated in the first two months of the year?3. How do the Americans celebrate Independence Day?



49


Making a date. If you like a person and you want to invite him / her out you have to make a date.These are expressions you can use to arrange to meet someone. Some possible answers are also given.

Oh, um, are you doing anything this evening, by any chance?

Um, I was thinking of going to the cinema this evening, would you like to come?

Er, are you going to be busy this evening? I was wondering if you might like to come to thecinema with me.

I’m going out to the theatre with some friends. Would you like to join us?

YES! That’d be lovely.

I’d love to.

How nice of you, thanks very much.

Mmm, that’s a great idea.

NO! Oh, dear, I’m afraid I’m busy tonight.

Tonight’s difficult. Perhaps tomorrow evening, though.

I’m sorry, I’m expecting some visitors this evening.

This evening’s a bit of a problem. What about tomorrow?

Task: Decide when each of these expressions would be appropriate and what you might say before and after. Think of some possible situations in which you would use each expression.

13.4 Translation Practice (English →Romanian) A. Native American life is different today than it was centuries ago, but there is still a great

degree of pride and independence in Native American life. Pride in one’s tribe, care of the land andrespect for nature characterize native American life, and many Native Americans share these

principles today. Although the history of American Indians on the continent has in later years hasincluded many sad events, Native American pride still remains and Native American life is ideally

filled with pride for one’s roots and love of nature.Many Native Americans today live on reservations, but in generations past, they spanned the

continent and their lifestyles and traditions varied from tribe to tribe as they do today. Some NativeAmericans survived by hunting and gathering and lived in tents, while others lived in complexlonghouses and had a very organized and complex political system. Before white settlers came to thecontinent, Native American life was free of European influences, and Native Americans lived simplyoff the land. They were not yet acquainted with the serious diseases that would later claim many lives,as Europeans brought smallpox against which Native American populations lacked resistance.Although there was often cooperation between tribes regarding farming and trade, other tribes werecontinuously at war with each other, such as the Algonquin and the Iroquois. However, the Iroquoiswould often incorporated conquered tribes into their sophisticated political system and thus enlarge

their nation. Many of these alliances and rivalries were exploited when white settlers landed on theAmerican continent, and some tribes were pitted against others to serve the colonist’s designs.

B. The American Way of life is individualistic, dynamic, pragmatic. It affirms the supreme valueand dignity of the individual; it stresses incessant activity on his part, for he is never to rest but isalways to be striving to "get ahead"; it defines an ethic of self-reliance, merit, and character, and

judges by achievement: "deeds, not creeds" are what count. The "American Way of Life" ishumanitarian, "forward-looking", optimistic. Americans are easily the most generous and

philanthropic people in the world, in terms of their ready and unstinting response to sufferinganywhere on the globe. The American believes in progress, in self-improvement, and quite fanaticallyin education. But above all, the American is idealistic. Americans cannot go on making money orachieving worldly success simply on its own merits; such "materialistic" things must, in the American

mind, be justified in "higher" terms, in terms of "service" or "stewardship" or "general welfare"...



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UNIT 14

14.1. Lead in

Name a few institutions of the European Union.


Structure of the European Union : “The Three Pillars”The EU constitution arises from the totality of rules and fundamental values by which those in

authority perceive themselves to be bound. These rules and values are best summarised in a tripartitestructure metaphorically called a three pillar structure.

The first pillar is made up of the three European Communities (EC, Euratom and ECSC) whichhave been deepened and enlarged by economic and monetary union. At the heart of the EC is thesingle market with its four basic freedoms (free movement of goods, free movement of workers,freedom to provide services and free movement of capital and payments) and its rules on competition.Policy areas for which the Community is responsible include: economic and monetary affairs (centredaround the single European currency, the euro); agriculture; visa requirements, asylum andimmigration; transport; taxation; employment; trade; social welfare, education and youth welfare;culture; consumer protection and health; trans-European networks; industry; economic and socialcohesion; research and technology; the environment; development aid.

The second pillar is related to the common foreign and security policy, with the followingdeclared aims: safeguarding the commonly held values, fundamental interests and independence of theEU; strengthening the security of the EU and its member States; securing world peace and increasinginternational security; promoting international cooperation; promoting democracy and the rule of lawand safeguarding human rights and basic freedoms.

The third pillar of the European Union covers the domain of cooperation in justice and homeaffairs. The aim is to offer citizens freedom, security and justice by jointly preventing and combatingcrime (especially terrorism, trafficking in human beings, illicit drug and arms trafficking corruption

and fraud), racism and xenofobia.

The European Union’s Main InstitutionsThe foundations of a united Europe were laid on fundamental ideas and values to which the

Member States subscribe and which are translated into practical reality by the Community’soperational institutions.

The main actors on the Community stage are the European Council and the EC institutions – theEuropean Parliament, The Council of the EU, The European Commission (these three being the mostimportant) , the European Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors. There are also a number ofancillary bodies: the European Central Bank and the European Investment Bank, the Economic andSocial Committee and the Committee of the Regions.

The function of the European Council is to establish policy guidelines for European integration.

The Parliament officially represents the peoples of the Member States. The number of seats maynot exceed 700 and its functions can be divided up into three areas: decision-making functions(legislative function), advisory function (it can be consulted by the Council and the Commission) andsupervisory function (over the Commission). The Parliament also appoints an Ombudsman to whomcomplains about maladministration in the activities of Community institutions.

The European Commission consists of 20 members including 1 President and 2 Vice-Presidents,all elected by common accord of the governments of the Member States for a renewable term of fiveyears. Among its main responsabilities are : initiatives for the further development of Community

policy, monitoring observance and proper application of Community law, administering andimplementing Community legislation, representing the Community in international organisations.

The seat of the European Commission is in Brussels.



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Reading comprehension:1. What does the three pillar structure consist of?2. Which are the EU’s main institutions? Which are the main attributions of each of them?3. Where is the seat of the European Commission? What about the European Parliament?

14.3. Vocabulary

Use the following words and expressions in sentences of your own: fundamental values, singlemarket, free movement of goods, free movement of workers, free movement of capital, singleEuropean currency, taxation, social welfare, rule of law, human rights, home affairs, tyrafficking,xenofobia, ancillary bodies, policy guidelines, Ombudsman, maladministration, observance ofcommunity law, financial instrument(s), non-reimbursement funds.


Agreeing and disagreeingHere are some useful ways of agreeing or disagreeing with someone’s opinion. Notice that you

need to be very polite when disagreeing with someone in English – even someone you know quitewell.

AGREEMENT I couldn’t agree more.

That’s just what I was thinking.

You know, that’s exactly what I think.

I agree entirely.

That’s a good point.

DISAGREEMENT Yes, that’s quite true, but …

I’m not sure I quite agree …

Well, you have a point there, but …

Perhaps, but don’t you think that …

I see what you mean, but …

If you know someone very well you can disagree more directly using expressions like these: I can’t agree with you there.

You can’t be serious!

Come off it!

Don’t be so silly!

Tasks:1. What do you say if you want to agree / to disagree with someone who tells you that: a) Nadia

Comaneci is the most famous sport personality in Romania; c) Hagi was one of the best football players in the world.

2. Here is a series of extreme opinions:“Learning English is pointless.”

“Britain is unpleasant to live in.”“Football is boring.”“Marriage is out of date.”“Space travel is a waste of money.”“Strikes should be made illegal.”“All motorists should be obliged to wear seat belts.”“There should be a 50 km speed limit on all roads.”“English is a very easy language to learn.”Build a short conversation about each topic, using the expressions presented above. Follow this

pattern:A: It says here that learning English is pointless!B: I’m not sure I quite agree, I’d say it was very worthwhile.

A: Why do you think that?





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Appendix 1

BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH

It is widely known that there are differences between American and British English, but it is

also important to remember that there are differences between American English and, well, AmericanEnglish.The English language was introduced to the Americans through British colonization in the

early 17th century and it spread to many parts of the world because of the strength of the Britishempire. Over the years, English spoken in the United States and in Britain started diverging from eachother in various aspects. This led to two dialects in the form of the American English and the BritishEnglish.

Prior to the Revolutionary War and American independence from the British in 1776,American and British accents were similar. Both were rhotic i.e. speakers pronounced the letter R inhard . Since 1776, the accents diverged but English accent in America has changed less drastically thanaccents in Britain. Towards the end of the 18th century, non-rhotic speech took off in southernEngland, especially among the upper class; this "prestige" non-rhotic speech was standardized, and has

been spreading in Britain ever since.To be fair, both American and British English have several types of accents and there is no

one true American or British accent. In British English the present perfect is used to express an actionthat has occurred in the recent past that has an effect on the present moment. For example: I've

misplaced my pen. Can you help me find it? In American English, the use of the past tense is also permissible: I misplaced my pen. Can you help me find it? In British English, however, using the pasttense in this example would be considered incorrect.

Other differences involving the use of the present perfect in British English and simple past inAmerican English include the words already, just and yet . British English: I've just had food. Have

you finished your homework yet? American English: I just had food. OR I've just had food . I've already seen that film. OR I already saw that film.

While some words may mean something in British English, the same word might be

something else in American English and vice versa. For example, Athlete in British English is one who participates in track and field events whereas Athlete in American English is one who participates insports in general. There are also some words like AC, Airplane, bro, catsup, cell phone etc. which arecommon in American English and not used very often in British English. Some words widely used inBritish English and seldom in American English are advert, anti clockwise, barrister, cat's eye.

A majority of the spelling differences between American and British English fall into thefollowing categories:

Latin-derived spellingso -our (British) and -or (American). e.g. colour vs coloro -re (British) and -er (American). e.g. centre vs centero -ce (British) and -se (American). e.g. defence vs defense Greek-derived spellingso -ise (British) and -ize (American). e.g. centralise vs centralizeo - yse (British) and - yze (American). e.g. analyse vs analyzeo -ogue (British) and -og (American). e.g. dialogue vs dialogo Simplification of ae and oe in American English. e.g. gynaecology vs gynecologyThere are also a few differences between British and American English in the use of

prepositions. For example: While the British would play in a team, Americans would play on a team.Another example: While the British would go out at the weekend, Americans would go out on theweekend. Both languages have a slightly different structure of telling the time. While the Britishwould say quarter past ten to denote 10:15, it is not uncommon in America to say quarter after oreven a quarter after ten. Thirty minutes after the hour is commonly called half past in both languages.Americans always write digital times with a colon, thus 6:00, whereas Britons often use a point, 6.00.

While the British would write Mr, Mrs, Dr, the Americans would write Mr., Mrs., Dr.



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Engleza Britanica Engleza Americana TraducereaAerial Antenna Antena

Autumn Fall ToamnaBiscuit cookie FursecBonnet hood CapotaBoot trunk PortbagajBraces suspenders Bretelechemist's drugstore farmaciethe cinema the movies cinematografCotton thread Aţa crossroads intersection intersecţie curtains drapes Perdele

dust-bin trashcan că

ldare de gunoiEngine motor MotorFilm movie FilmFlat apartment apartamentGround floor first floor parterhandbag purse poşeta Holiday vacation vacanţa Ill sick BolnavJug pitcher container cu lichid, ulciorLift elevator LiftLorry truck camion

luggage baggage ValizaMaize corn porumb

Nappy diaper Scutec pavement sidewalk trotuarto peep to peek a trage cu ochiulPetrol gasoline benzina

postman maiman PostasPub bar BarQueue line CoadaRubber eraser Guma de sters

Sweet desert Deserttimetable schedule OrarTin can conservaTorch flashlight lanternatrousers pants pantaloniwaistcoat vest Vestawardrobe closet şifonier Zip zipper fermoar



55

Appendix II

LIST OF IRREGULAR VERBS

BASE FORM PAST SIMPLE PAST PARTICIPLE TRANSLATIONArise Arose Arisen A se ridica, a răsări Be Was, were Been A fiBear Bore Born A (se) naşte Beat Beat Beaten A bateBecome Became Become A deveniBegin Began Begun A începeBend Bent Bent A îndoiBet Bet Bet A pariaBind Bound Bound A legaBite Bit Bitten / bit A muşca Bleed Bled Bled A sângeraBlow Blew Blown A bate (despre vânt)Break Broke Broken A rupe, a spargeBreed Bred Bred A creşte (animale) Bring Brought Brought A aduceBroadcast Broadcast Broadcast A transmiteBuild Built Built A construiBurn Burnt / burned Burnt / burned A ardeBurst Burst Burst A izbucniBuy Bought Bought A cumpăra Catch Caught Caught A prindeChoose Chose Chosen A alege

Come Came Come A veniCost Cost Cost A costaCreep Crept Crept A se târîCut Cut Cut A tăia Deal Dealt Dealt A se ocupa deDig Dug Dug A săpa Do Did Done A faceDraw Drew Drawn A desenaDream Dreamt / dreamed Dreamt / dreamed A visaDrink Drank Drunk A beaDrive Drove Driven A şofa

Eat Ate Eaten A mâncaFall Fell Fallen A cădea Feed Fed Fed A hrăni Feel Felt Felt A simţi Fight Fought Fought A se luptaFind Found Found A găsi Fly Flew Flown A zburaForbid Forbade Forbidden A interziceForget Forgot Forgotten A uitaForgive Forgave Forgiven A iertaFreeze Froze Frozen A îngheţa Get Got Got A obţine Give Gave Given A da



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Go Went Gone A mergeGrind Ground Ground A măcina Grow Grew Grown A creşte Hang Hung Hung A atârnaHave Had Had A avea

Hear Heard Heard A auziHide Hid Hid A ascundeHit Hit Hit A loviHold Held Held A ţine Hurt Hurt Hurt A răni Keep Kept Kept A ţine Kneel Knelt Knelt A îngenuncheaKnow Knew Known A şti Lay Laid Laid A întindeLead Led Led A conduceLean Leant / leaned Leant / leaned A (se) sprijini

Learn Learnt / learned Learnt / learnedA învăţa

Leave Left Left A plecaLend Lent Lent A da cu împrumutLet Let Let A lăsa Lie Lay Lain A (se)întindeLight Lit Lit A aprindeLose Lost Lost A pierdeMake Made Made A faceMean Meant Meant A însemnaMeet Met Met A (se) întâlniPay Paid Paid A plăti Put Put Put A pune

Read Read Read A citiRide Rode Ridden A călări, a merge cu

bicicletaRing Rang Rung A sunaRise Rose Risen A se ridica, a răsări Run Ran Run A alergaSay Said Said A spuneSee Saw Seen A vedeaSeek Sought Sought A căuta Sell Sold Sold A vindeSend Sent Sent A trimite

Set Set Set A apuneShake Shake Shaken A scuturaShine Shine Shone A str ăluci Shoot Shot Shot A împuşca Show Showed Shown A arăta Shrink Shrank Shrunk A (se) micşora Shut Shut Shut A închideSing Sang Sung A cântaSit Sat Sat A sta jos, a se aşeza Sleep Slept Slept A dormiSlide Slid Slid A aluneca

Smell Smelt Smelt A mirosi



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Speak Spoke Spoken A vorbiSpeed Sped Sped A se grăbi, a merge cu

viteză Spell Spelt Spelt A ortografiaSpend Spent Spent A petrece (timp), a

cheltui (bani)Spill Spilt Spilt A vărsa (un lichid) Spin Spun Spun A se rotiSplit Split Split A despicaSpoil Spoilt / spoiled Spoilt / spoiled A strica, a răsfăţa Spread Spread Spread A (se) împrăştia Stand Stood Stood A sta în picioareSteal Stole Stolen A furaSTICK Stuck Stuck A lipiSting Stung Stung A înţepa Strike Struck

StrokeStruckStricken

A bate (despre ceas), Alovi

Swear Swore Sworn A juraSweep Swept Swept A mătura Swim Swam Swum A înotaSwing Swung Swung A (se) legăna Take Took Taken A luaTeach Taught Taught A predaTear Tore Torn A sfâşia Tell Told Told A spuneThink Thought Thought A se gândiThrow Threw Thrown A aruncaUnderstand Understood Understood A înţelege

Wake Woke Woken A (se) treziWear Wore Worn A purtaWin Won Won A câştiga



58

Appendix III

SPELLING RULES

A. Doubling of consonants

Final consonants (except x) are doubled before ending beginning with a vowel letter when the

vowel before it is stressed and spelled with a single letter.

permit permitting, permitted

hot hotter, hottest

There is no doubling when the vowel is unstressed or written with two letters.

enter entering, entered

dread dreading, dreaded

Exceptions:

i. Words ending in certain consonants are doubled also after single unstressed

vowels:

-g -gg- -c ck-

humbug humbugging, humbugged

traffic trafficking, trafficked

ii. British English breaks the rule as regards certain other consonants as well:-l -ll- -m -mm- -p -pp-

signal signalling, signalled (BrE)

signaling, signaled (AmB)

travel travelling, travelled (BrE)

traveling, traveled (AmE)

programme programming, programmed (BrE)

program programming, programmed (AmE)

worship worshipping, worshipped (BrE)

worshiping, worshiped (AmE)Most verbs ending in –p, however, have the regular spellings in both BrE and AmE,

eg: develop, envelop, gallop, gossip.

B. Treatment of –y

i. -y changes to –ie before –s

lady ladies

carry carries

ii. -y changes to –i before -ed



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carry carried

iii. -y changes to –i before –er and -est

easy easier, easiest

iv. -y changes to –i before -ly

heavy heavilyv. -y does not change before -ing

carry carrying

vi. -y does not change if the word ends in vowel + y

play plays, played

boy boys

Exceptions: day daily

pay paid

lay laid

say said

C. Treatment of –e

i. Final –e is regularly dropped before –ing and -ed

shave shaving, shaved

ii. Verbs ending in –ie change –ie to –y before -ing

die dying

iii. Verbs with ending in –ee, -ye, -oe, and often –ge, are exceptions to the rule in that they do

not drop the –e before –ing; but they do drop it before –ed.

agree agreeing, agreeddye dyeing, dyed

hoe hoeing, hoed

singe singing, singed



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Appendix IV

USEFUL EXPRESSIONS WITH PREPOSITIONS

ATat a loss / a profitat a time (when)at all costsat Christmas / Easterat church / the hairdresser’s / schoolat easeat first (sight)at handat home / the officeat lastat leastat lunchat this / any rateat nightat onceat peace / warat presentat seaat the end (place)at the same time (as)at the weekend

at timesat work

BY by accident by air / bus / car / plane / sea / ship

/ train (and other means of transport) by all means by chance by day / night by far by mistake

by post by sight by surprise by yourself (alone)

FORfor a while / timefor everfor goodness’ sakefor heaven’s sakeonce and for all



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FROMfrom A to Zfrom beginning to endfrom head to toefrom morning to night

from time of time

INin a hurryin a loud voice in a sensein a wayin allin any casein bedin commonin dangerin debt

in difficultiesin factin generalin halfin ink / pencilin lovein my opinionin other wordsin particularin prisonin privatein public

in secretin sightin spite ofin stockin tearsin the end (time)in the morningin timein turn

OFahead of

by means ofdozens ofhundreds ofin case ofin front ofinstead ofon account ofon behalf of

OFF

off dutyoff limits



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