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People Like Electronic Announcers
Computers are being given elocution lessons so that they can announce the comings and goings of French trains in regional accents. Computer-controlled synthesized voices are said to be more reassuring for passengers than man-made announcements from railway staff.
According to a survey, travellers bristle when they hear announcements in the refined tones adopted at airports. What they like best is a deep voice with a touch of regional homeliness, even when they know it comes from an electronic throat. Apparently, not even the voice of the stationmaster can produce the effect as well as computers.
Experiments to find the perfect electronic announcer were started two years ago when the station in the Champagne town of Rheims was used for tests. Those were considered a success but after trying out the voice at other stations it was found that the reassuring effect was increased if regional accents were added.
The generalised use of synthetic announcers will be put into effect during the next few months but the reason is not entirely psychological. The synthesiser is considered more reliable and flexible. It will not depend on recorded messages: the announcements will be put together on computer keyboard just before they are needed.
In the meantime, the voices are being put into service elsewhere, including information offices. Already, travellers at Paris Austerlitz can consult an experimental audio-visual information robot that chats away in four languages. Ticket offices
are also to be equipped with. automatic dispensers that respond to travellers oral commands because half of the system's passengers are said to prefer talking to an inanimate object that does not answer back or go on strike.
But there are no statistics available on the train drivers reaction to electronic voices.
Some drivers on main line services are now getting their instructions from robot voices, linked to/with ' centralised computers who nag them when they go too fast.
Vocabulary.
announce - объявлять, извещать
announcement - объявление
announcer - диктор
elocution - красноречие, ораторское искусство
coming - прибытие
going - отбытие, уход
reassuring - убедительный
staff - кадры, сотрудники
survey - исследование
bristle - здесь: сердиться
refined - рафинированный, очищенный
adopted - принятый
touch - здесь: оттенок
throat - горло
apparently - очевидно
stationmaster - начальник ж/д станции
increase - увеличиваться
add - добавлять
put* into effect - вводить в дейcтвие
entirely - абсолютно, полностью
reliable - надежный
flexible - гибкий
depend (on) - зависеть (от)
keyboard - клавиатура
in the meantime - а тем временем
put* into service - вводить в действие
chat - разговаривать
be equipped (with) - быть оборудованным
respond (to) - реагировать (на)
oral - устный
include - включать
inanimate - неодушевленный
strike - здесь: отбивать, парировать
linked to - подсоединенный к
Comprehension Check.
Ex. Answer the following questions.
1. What is the function of electronic announcers?
2. Why are they introduced at French railway stations?
3. What kind of experiment was conducted two years ago?
4. When will the results be put into effect?
5. Will the announcements be recorded beforehand?
6. What will ticket offices be equipped with?
7. Are there any statistics available on train drivers' reaction?
8. What instructions do train drivers get from centralised computers?
Topics to discuss.
1. Elocution lessons to computers.
2. Travellers' preferences concerning voices of announcers.
3. Synthetic announcers and their future.
4. Train drivers and centralised computers.
Text 4
Here are two extracts from a chapter in a book. Read them both and then
answer the questions.
Part 1. GESTURES.
A gesture is any action that sends a visual signal to an outlooker.
To become a gesture, an act has to be seen by someone else and has to communicate (передавать, сообщать) some piece of information to them. It can do this either (либо) because the gesture deliberately (намеренно) sets out to send a signal - as when he waves (махать) his hand - or it can do it only incidentally (случайно, непреднамеренно) - as when he sneezes (чихать). The hand-wave is a Primary (основной) Gesture, because it has no other existence or function. It is a piece of communication from start to finish. The sneeze, by contrast (напротив), is a secondary (вторичный), or Incidental Gesture. Its primary function is mechanical and is concerned (быть связанным с) with the sneezer's personal breathing (дыхание) problem. In its secondary role, however, it cannot help but transmit (передавать) a message to his companions, warning (предупреждать) them that he may have caught a cold (простыть).
Most people tend to limit their use of the term "gesture" to the primary form - the hand-wave type - but this misses (упускать) an important point. What matters (фвляться важным) with gesturing is not what signals we think we are sending out, but what sygnals are being received (получать). The observers (наблюдатели) of our act will make no distinction (различие)
between our intеntional (преднамеренный) Primary Gestures and our unintentional, incidental ones. In some ways, our Incidental Gestures are more illumination (соединение) of the two, if only the very (сам) fact that we do not think of them as gestures, and therefore (следовательно) do not
censor (отслеживать)and manipulate them so strictly (строго). This is why it is preferable (предпочтительно) to use the term "gesture" in its wider meaning as an "observed (наблюдаемый) action".
A convenient way to distinguish (различать) between Incidental and Primary Gestures is to ask the question: Would I do it if I were completely (абсолютно) alone? If the answer is NO, then it is a Primary Gesture. We do not wave, wink (подмигивать) or point (указывать) when we are by ourselves; not, that is, unless we have reached the unusual condition of talking animatedly to ourselves.
Comprehension Check.
Ex. Answer the following questions.
1. What is a gesture?
2. What is needed for a signal to become a gesture?
3. What is the difference between intentional and incidental gestures?
4. What do a sneeze and a wave of the hand have in common?
5. What kind of gesture is a yawn (зевание)?
6. What kind of gesture is a raised fist (поднятый кулак)?
7. How can we distinguish between Incidental and Primary actions?
Topics to Discuss.
1. Two types of gestures.
2. Meanings of intentional gestures.
Text 5
Part 2. SYMBOLIC GESTURES.
(from "Manwatching" by Desmond Morris).
A Symbolic Gesture indicates (обозначать) an abstract quality (качество) that has no simple equivalent in the world оf objects and movements (движения). How, for instance (например), would you make a silent sign for stupidity (глупость)? You might tap (постучать) your forefinger
(указательный палец) against your temple (висок), but this lacks (не хватать) accuracy (точность), since you might do precisely (точно) the same thing when indicating that someone is brainy (мозговитый). All the tap does it to point to (указыть на) the brain. To make the meaning (значение) more clear, you might instead twist (повертеть) your forefinger against your temple, indicating a "screw loose" (болтики развинтились). Alternatively, you might rotate (покрутить) your forefinger close to your temple, signalling that the brain is going round and is not stable (стабильный).
Many people would understand these temple-forefinger actions, but others would not. They would have their own local, stupidity gestures, which we in our turn (в свою очередь) would find confusing (приводить в замешательство), such as tapping the elbow (локоть) of the raised forearm, flapping (шлепать) the hand up and down in front of half-closed eyes, rotating a raised hand, or laying one forefinger flat across (поверх) the forehead (лоб).
The situation is further complicated (осложняться) by the fact that some stupidity signals mean totally (абсолютно) different things in different countries. To take one example, in Saudi Arabia stupidity can be signaalled by touching (касаться) the lower eyelid (веко) with the tip (кончик) of the forefinger. But this same action, in various other countries, can mean disbelief (неверие), approval (одобрение), agreement, mistrust (недоверие), scepticism, alertness (настороженность), secrecy, craftiness (сноровка), danger or criminality. The reason for this apparent (видимый) chaos of meanings is simple enough. By pointing to the eye, the gesturer is doing no more than stress (подчеркивать) the symbolic importance of the eye as a seeing organ. Beyond (помимо) that, the action says nothing, so that the message can become either: "Yes, I see", or "I can't believe my eyes", or "I like what I see", or almost any other seeing signal you care to imagine. In such a case it is essential (существенно) to know the precise (точный) "seeing" property (свойство) being represented by the symbolism of the gesture in any particular culture.
So we are faced (стфлктваться с) with two basic problems where Symbolic Gestures are concerned (затрагивать): either one meaning can be signalled by different actions, or several meanings may be signalled by the same action, as we move from culture to culture. The only solution (решение) is to approach (подход) each culture with an open mind and learn their Symbolic Gestures as one would their vocabulary (словарный запас).
Comprehension Check.
Ex. Answer the following questions.
1. What is a Symbolic Gesture?
2. What meanings can be designated (обозначаться) by tepmple-forefinfer actions?
3. What is needed to be understand Symbolic Gestures rights?
4. How many different signs does the writer describe for stupidity?
5. Why should we learn the gestures of different countries?
Topics to Discuss.
1. Examples of Symbolic Gestures.
2. Symbolic Gestures in different cultures.
Text 6
Do men and women speak the same languages?
Do men and women understand the same things from the spoken word? Judging by the misinterpretation, misunderstanding and general mystification that can arise from a single simple sentence, there are grave reasons for doubt. In fact, I would put it even stronger. Do we even speak the same language?
First — and contrary to the general impression — men use language more. "Like everyone else, I used to believe that women were the talkative sex," says Dale Spender, a sociolinguist. "But when I analysed the results of over one hundred and forty recorded conversations between men and women, the result was quite the opposite. Whether we're talking about social gatherings or business meetings, one element never changes: in any conversation with a man, a woman who talks more than a third of the time is seen as talking too much.
Nowhere is this more obvious than on radio or TV talk shows. One host, Robert Robinson, once said, "It's difficult to find the right kind of woman to participate in my programme. Most of them can't stand up to me and so stay silent. They also find interrupting a bit tricky." On one occasion, a well-known female thinker became so cross and unhappy at being what she regarded as "shouted down" that she remained silent for the last fifteen minutes of the programme. Even those women who are perfectly capable of holding their own are notably less talkative than their male counterparts.
Another female characteristic is the belief that conversation should be a reciprocal exchange rather than an attempt to dominate the other person. According to sociologist Jennifer Coates, "When a woman in a group raises a topic, the others will encourage, sympathise or elaborate. The next female speaker may enlarge on some point, add a personal anecdote, or simply make 'Go on' interjections. But one thing she won't do is flatly contradict the previous speaker and abruptly change the subject. But men in a group with women often get bored with what they see as the slow buildup of a topic." The tried and tested method of avoiding this hazard is by doing what most women hate: interrupting.
"The effect constant interruption has on women is that they become silent," says Dr Coates. It isn't solely that men regard conversation as a contest, there is also a clash of styles. "We all think we know what a question is. But with men and women it triggers different reactions. Men think questions are requests for information, whereas women think they are part of the way in which a co-operative conversation works. If a woman asks a man a question, she's trying to keep the conversation going, while the man thinks this is a request for information, so he gives her a lecture." In social situations, this different view of the polite enquiry can often cause bad feelings. "The woman thinks, 'What is he on about? I didn't want a run-down on company accountancy,' and the man thinks, 'Why is she looking so cross? If she didn't want to know, why did she ask?' "
Although women have much greater sensitivity to what the other person is feeling, it is equally true that, in situations where power is concerned, the male cut-and-thrust style is the norm. "Male language allows them to have clear goals, stick to decisions, answer directly, says Natasha Josefowitz, author of Paths to Power. "Women say 'I think I can', where men say, 'I can'. And though the woman may be right — who knows if she can carry out a particular task until she is doing it? — what employers go for is confidence." In female conversation, this general tentativeness emerges in the use of 'soft' phrases such as 'I wonder if I might ...?', and 'Perhaps this isn't the moment to disturb you but ...' instead of the simpler expressions 'Please may I ...?' or 'Can I come in?'.
Dr Coates believes female politeness involves other factors as well. "Partly it is a recognition that other" people may not be imposed on. If I go next door, I say, 'I hope you don't mind, but could you possibly lend me a pint of milk, please?' not 'Can I have some milk?', which allows my neighbour the freedom to say 'Yes, of course' or 'I'm sorry, I haven't got one.' What it is doing is giving the other person a chance to get out of an obligation without losing face. Partly, too, it is a question of giving what Dr Coates calls 'positive face', which means reassuring others about their own value.
The reason for such discrepancies is something that frequently makes male English a rather different language from the female version of English: most men use language to conceal their feelings whereas women see it as means of revealing their emotions.
Vocabulary
the same - одинаковый, один и тот же
judging by - судя по...
misinterpretation - неверное толкование
misunderstanding - недопонимание
arise* from - возникать
single - один, единственный
grave - серьезный, веский
reason - причина, повод
doubt - сомнение
talkative - разговорчивый, болтливый
sex - пол (мужской, женский)
opposite - противоположный
gathering - собрание, встреча
obvious - очевидный
host - ведущий
interrupt - прерывать
tricky - хирый, ловкий; сложный, трудный
occasion - случай
female - женщина, женский
cross - разг.: сердитый, злой
shout down - заставить (оратора) замолчать
remain - оставаться
capable - способный
hold one's own - держаться на своем
notably - заметно
counterpart - здесь: собеседник
belief - убеждение, вера
reciprocal - взаимный
exchange - обмен
attempt - попытка
dominate - доминировать, верховодить
raise* - поднимать, затрагивать
topic - тема
encourage - поощрять
elaborate - развивать (идею, мысль)
enlarge - распространяться (о)
point - здесь: пункт
interjection - восклицание
flatly - категорически, резко
contradict - противоречтить
previous - предыдущий
abruptly - категорически, резко
avoid - избегать
hazard - здесь: риск, опасность
hate - ненавидеть, не любить
solely - единственно, только
regard - рассматривать
contest - состязание
clash - здесь: столкновение
trigger - здесь: запустить, вызвать
request - просьба, запрос
whereas - в то время как
inquiry - вопрос, наведение справок
cause - вызывать
run-down - здесь: подробный рассказ
accountancy - отчетность, бухгалтерия
sensitivity - чувствительность
equally - в ровной мере/степени
as... is concerned - что касается...
male - мужчина, мужской
clear goal - четкая цель
stick* to - придерживаться (чего-то)
carry out - выполнять, осуществлять
particular - определенный, тот или иной
confidence - доверие; уверенность
tentativeness - опробирование, эксперимент
emerge - возникать, появляться
soft - мягкий
I wonder - интересно (+ вопрос)
disturb - беспокоить
politeness - вежливость
involve - включать
recognition - признание
impose - здесь: обязывать
pint - пинта = 560 г
freedom - свобода
get* out - выйти из.., избежать
obligation - обязательство
lose* - терять, проигрывать
reassure - убеждать
value - ценность, цена
discrepancy - разногласие, противоречие
frequently - часто
conceal - скрывать, утаивать, прятать
whereas - в то время как
means - средство
reveal - открыть, обнаружить
Comprehension Check.
Ex. Answer the following questions:
1. What can be arisen from a single simple question?
2. Who uses language more - men or women?
3. What is Dale Spender's professional viewpoint on this issue?
4. What does Robert Robinson say about women's talkativeness?
5. What is another well-known female characteristic?
6. How do women feel and behave when being interrupted?
7. How do men and women react when being asked a question?
8. What is the difference between male and female language?
9. What factors does female politeness involve?
Topics to discuss.
1. Male and female reaction to questions.
2. Male and female language.
3. Male and female talkativeness.
Text 7
"The FIRM"
by John Grisham
(an abstract about learning foreign languages)
Ray and Mitch are Americans; at the described moment Ray is a prisoner,
while Mitch - his younger brother - is a lawyer, who has just graduated
from Harvard Law School.
Mitch had not been to Brushy Mountains (= prison) in three years. Three years and three months. They'd exchanged letters twice a month, every month, for eight years now.
"How's your French?" Mitch finally asked. Ray's Army test scores had revealed an amazing aptitude for languages. He had served two years as a Vietnamese interpreter. He mastered German in six months while stationed there. Spanish had taken four years, but he was forced to learn it from a dictionary in the prison library. French was his latest project.
"I'm fluent, I guess," Ray answered. "It's kinda hard to tell in here I don't get much practice. Evidently they don't teach French in the projects, so most of these brothers here re unilingual. It's undoubtedly the most beautiful language."
"Is it easy?"
"Not as easy as German. Of course, it was easier to learn German since I was living there and everybody spoke it. Did you know that fifty percent of our language comes from German through Old English?"
"No, I didn't know that."
"It's true. English and German are first cousins."
"What's next?"
"Probably Italian. It's a Romance language like French and Spanish and Portuguese. Maybe Russian. Maybe Greek. I've been reading about the Greek isles. I plan to go there soon." ......
A guard walked behind Mitch. "Three minutes," he said.
"What can I send you?" Mitch asked.
"I'd like a real favor, if you don't mind."
"Anything."
"Go to the bookstore and look for one of those cassette courses on how to speak Greek in twenty-four hours. Tha plus a Greek-to-English dictionary would be nice."
"I'll send it next week."
"How about Italian too?"
"No problem."
Vocabulary to the Text.
exchange - обменивать (ся)
finally - наконец
scores - мн.ч. очки, баллы
reveal - открывать, обнаруживать
amazing - восхитительный
aptitude (to) - склонность (к)
master - овладевать
force - принуждать, заставлять
latest - последний (по времени)
evidently - очевидно
unilingual - говорящий на одном языке
undoubtedly - несомненно
since - поскольку
Comprehension Check.
Ex. Answer the following questions:
1. Who are the main characters in this scene?
2. What is the age difference between the brothers?
3. What are their positions?
4. What aptitude does Ray have?
5. How did he know about it?
6. How many languages does he know?
7. What other languages does he plan to master?
Topics to discuss.
1. Ray and his aptitude.
2. Comparison of the languages.
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