NATIONAL STEREOTYPES
Learn these words:
| deceptive | обманчивый | broad-shouldered | широкоплечий |
| strong-willed | волевой | petty | жалкий |
| weak-willed | слабовольный | coward | трус |
| mediocrity | посредственность | poor build | плохого телосложения |
| fragile | хрупкий | courage | мужество |
| ingenuity | изобретательность | complexion | цвет лица |
| constitution | телосложение | thrifty | экономный |
| greedy | жадный | lavish | щедрый |
| open-handed | великодушный | spendthrift | транжира |
| dimples | ямочки | rude | грубый |
| simpleton | простак | harsh | неприятный/грубый |
| wilful | упрямый | capricious | капризный |
| skinny | худой | pointed chin | острый подбородок |
| mole | родинка | hooked nose | крючковатый нос |
| cruel | жестокий | cunning | хитрый |
| generalization | обобщение | to “pigeon-hole” | анализировать |
| cling tenaciously | цепляться за предубеждения | “square” | консервативный |
| withdrawn | замкнутый | superficial | поверхностный |
| hedonistic | гедонистический | hidebound | ограниченный |
| insular | замкнутый | superior | самодовольный |
| reserved | сдержанный | suspicious | подозрительный |
| lousy | отвратительный | diligent | старательный |
Text A:
Pre-text activity 1:
Do you think it is worth judging by appearances? Give your reasons.
1. Read and translate the text:
Appearances are deceptive. It is a common truth; practically everyone has met at least someone whosecharacter and appearance differ radically.
When one sees atall,broad-shouldered youth, one expects him to bestrong-willed and brave. One thinks: “Amodel to follow!” How often agood-looking individual turns out to bepetty, weak-willed orevencowardly. Then one thinks: “Amediocrity”.
At the same time everyone knows that a lot of great people were of a poor build:short and fragile. It did not stop them fromdisplaying intelligence andcourage.Ingenuity does not depend on one's complexion or constitution.
Plump or fat people create an impression of generous and kind personalities. Strangely enough, not rarely they may be thrifty or even greedy. One usually thinks: “A scrooge!”
On the other hand, thin or slim nervous ladies often tend to be lavish. They like to buy and never think twice when they pay. One thinks: “I would call her open-handed and Mother would call her a spendthrift”. Yes, mothers are always stricter in judgements.
Has it ever happened to you that you come to an important office and see an important boss? You immediatelyevaluate his looks:“Round-faced, small narrow eyes,dimples on the cheeks and anupturned nose. What akind-hearted person! A simpleton!”You tell the boss of your troubles and expect immediate help. But the boss appears to berude,harsh andwilful. You never get your help and think: “Astoneheart and aniron fist”.
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When someone sees a delicately built pretty blonde with curly hair, blue eyes, a straight nose and a high forehead, one is inclined to think that the beauty is intelligent and nice. It may be disappointing to think later “What a stupid, capricious, impolite bore"
On the contrary, when one sees askinny brunette withugly irregular features — a hooked nose, pointed chin, close-set eyes and thin lips, strange thoughts come to one's head; because it is theimage of evil people — cruel andcunning. It may be a relief some time later to find her aclever, gentle andgood-mannered lady and think: “Whatcharm! A heart of gold!”
Another general misconception lies in the fact that children are always expected toresemble their parents. And parents like it when childrentake after them. Relatives like to comparemoles, theshape of noses, etc. The greatest compliment is: “ They are as like as two peas”. The greatest disappointment is tofind nothing in common. We want to deny people theirexclusiveness. We don't want to admit that nature has selected other options from an enormousgenetic funddeveloped over generations. Why do we like ourcopies? Who knows!
Nature likes to play tricks on us. But don't you think it is a present on the part of nature? Life becomes not a boring routine, but a brilliant kaleidoscope of characters and appearances which often clash.
2. Discuss the following questions:
1. Do you agree that appearances are deceptive? Tell your classmates about your own experience.
2. Does character influence people’s appearance?
3. Do you think that good looks can help people in their life?
4. Do you think people should improve their appearance or is it better to leave it as it is?
5. Why do you think lots of people don’t give up their bad habits (smoking, drinking alcohol, overeating) in spite of the fact they affect their appearance?
6. How do you choose your friends? What influences in your choice?
3. Match the words with their definitions:
1. bad-tempered 1) you always arrive on time.
2. determined 2) you are always happy.
3. lazy 3) you do what you say you will do.
4. reliable 4) you say exactly what you think.
5.cheerful 5) you don’t think about the needs of others.
6. frank 6) you have a strong wish to get what you want.
7. mean 7) you are unkind, or not willing to spend money.
8. selfish 8) you easily become angry with others.
9.considerate 9) you tell the truth and obey the law.
10. honest 10) you understand the feelings of others.
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11.punctual 11) you try to avoid work if you can.
12. sympathetic 12) you think of the needs of others.
13. absent-minded 13) like to say how good they are at something.
14. adventures 14) have strong feelings and are easily moved by things.
15. amusing 15) are rude and disrespectful, especially towards people like parents and teachers.
16. bashful 16) are always trying to control others without worrying or caring about how they feel.
17. boastful 17) deliberately try to hurt or harm others.
18. bright 18) are very forgetful because they are too busy thinking about other things.
19. calm 19) are sure of themselves and their abilities.
20. cheeky 20) are easily tricked and tend to believe everything they are told.
21. conceited 21) are very clever and learn things very quickly.
22. confident 22) hate having to wait for things and are not tolerant of other’s people’s weaknesses.
23. creative 23) are very interested and excited about something and this shows in the way they talk or behave.
24. domineering 24) are daring and always ready to take risks.
25. down-to-earth 25) are always friendly and welcoming towards guests.
26. emotional 26) don’t get excited or nervous about things.
27. enthusiastic 27) find it hard to accept or understand new or different ideas.
28. gullible 28) are very funny and make you laugh.
29. hospitable 29) are very practical and honest.
30. impatient 30) have a very high opinion of themselves.
31. malicious 31) find it easy to produce new and original ideas and things.
32. narrow-minded 32) are shy and feel uncomfortable in social situations.
4. Use the word given in capitals at the end of each line to form a word that fits in the space in the same line.
Jack’s real character
How easy is it to understand another person’s character?
My friend Jack, was once a rather (1)…. person. He was ANNOY
always getting into trouble at school because he was so (2)….. OBEY
In class he was very (3)… and never stopped making TALK
jokes. The teachers all told him he was very (4)…because POLITE
he interrupted them. When I met him he was very (5) … FRIEND
and didn’t want to talk to me at all. People told me that he
stole things, and that he was (6) …. His school work HONEST
was terrible. He didn’t take any (7) … in his writing, he PROUD
never spent enough time doing his homework, and he
was not at all (8)….. One day he saw a gang of boys CONSCIENCE
attacking an old man. Jack hated (9)… and he fought VIOLENT
them all until they run away. He was awarded a medal
for (10) …... After that, people changed their minds about him. BRAVE
6. Develop the following situations making up dialogues:
1. Imagine a friend of yours is flying to London to stay with your English friends.
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They will be meeting him/her at the airport. To recognize him/her they need a description of your friend. They ask you questions about his/her appearance, what sort of clothes he/she usually wears and about your friend’s character to know if they will get on together.
2. Your friend asks you to describe an ideal man or woman (appearance, personality).
Text B.
Pre-text activity 2:
1. People often say such things as “Italians are good lovers’ or “Englishmen are cold-blooded”. What other generalizations of this nature can you think of?
2. Do these generalizations serve any useful purpose? If so, what?
1. Read and translate the text:
NATIONAL STEREOTYPES
We are repeatedly warned to beware of generalizations yet, paradoxically, it seems that the human mind cannot resist categorizing people and things. We love to “pigeon-hole”, to make order out of a universe that frequently seems to us confusing and even chaotic. Nowhere is this tendency more evident that in our willingness to generalize about nationalities. We create national stereotypes and cling tenaciously to our prejudices. To illustrate this point, we shall take a look at the findings of a survey carried out by the market research firm, Parkland Research Europe.
This organization carried out a detailed study of European attitudes by questioning 185 business executives, lawyers, engineers, teachers and other professional people from seven European countries. It revealed many widely-held stereotypes, but also came up with a few surprises.
Parkland Findings
| Germans | Liked themselves best of all. Most Europeans agreed that the Germans had the highest proportion of good qualities. They considered themselves very tolerant, but nobody else did. They saw themselves as fashionable. Others found them “square”. |
| French | Not really admired by anyone except the Italians. Other Europeans found them conservative, withdrawn, chauvinistic, brilliant, superficial, hedonistic. Also, not very friendly. The French agreed on the last point! |
| British | Mixed reactions. Some found them calm, reserved, open-minded, trustworthy; others deemed them hidebound, insular and superior. Everyone was unanimous that the British had an excellent sense of humour. The British most admired the Dutch. |
| Swiss | Showed considerable lucidity and powers of self-analysis. Saw themselves as serious, trustworthy, but too money-minded and suspicious. Most Europeans agreed. The Swiss liked the Germans best. |
| Italians | Generally considered by everyone to be lazy and untrustworthy, and the Italians agreed! Most also found them to be vivacious, charming, hospitable and noisy. The Italians admired the French and the Dutch. Hardly anyone loved the Italians except the French. |
| Dutch | Most admired people in Europe – except by their neighbours – the Belgians. Everyone agreed that the Dutch are hard-working, thrifty, good-natured, tolerant and business-minded. The Netherlands, however, was not considered a good place to live in. |
| Belgians | Least admired in this group. They see themselves as easy-going and diligent workers. Other Europeans consider them undisciplined and narrow-minded – and lousy drivers! |
| Russians | What do foreigners say about your own national character? Fill in the table. |
2. Discuss the following questions:
1. How would you say your national character is different from that of people in the immediately neighbouring countries?
2. How do you think your character has changed or developed over the years? Are their any aspects of your personality you still don’t like?
3. Which of these traits of character do you most dislike in a partner? Why? Place them in order.
vanity hypocrisy pomposity stubbornness
obstinacy selfishness dishonesty pettiness
arrogance snobbishness timidity possessiveness
shyness meanness rashness aggressiveness
4. Which of these qualities is most important for you in a partner? Why? Place them in order of importance.
compassion vivacity frankness self-assurance
tolerance patience generosity ambition
sincerity imagination passion humility
modesty sensitivity courage creativity
5. Which personal characteristics (good and bad) that you would expect to find in these people?
1) a nurse
2) the chairman of a multinational company
3) an actor
4) a politician
5) a teacher
6) a psychologist
3. Develop the following situations making up dialogues:
1. You are writing a paper on the theme: “Major Personality Characteristics”. You
experience some hardships in your research. You come to your scientific advisor to receive some explanations. Ask him:
- if it is correct trend to divide all people into extroverts and introverts;
- what is meant by personality traits;
- what he thinks whether a personality formation is genetically predisposed;
- what role the family plays in shaping a personality;
- how a social setting influences the personality development;
- at what age the personality character is formed.
2. Your friend is sure that our mood and emotional state depend on the weather and horoscope forecasts. You are not inclined to believe in astrology but still you ask some questions on the subject.
Ask him:
- what his sign of zodiak is;
- what positive characteristics his star sign supposes;
- whom he is like in character: his mother or father;
- if he has got any negative traits;
- if he believes in horoscope forecasts partly or completely;
- what he does to match his star sign.
3. You are making up a questionnaire in order to find out basic personality
characteristics and categorize them.
Ask your respondent:
- how he feels in an unfamiliar situation;
- what helps him feel at ease;
- in what situations he feels shy and worried;
- what he considers to be the necessary qualities to feel comfortable everywhere;
- if he can describe the most pleasant situation in his life;
- what he experiences seeing beggar in the streets.
4. Your friend has just come from England. He had a chance to study there for three weeks. He spoke with a number of the British people noted for their particular features. You are eager to receive information first-hand.
Ask him:
- how he would characterize the English as a separate nation;
- if they are as reserved as they seem to be;
- what are the most distinctive features of their character;
- in what dwellings the British people live;
- why they prefer to live in cottages.
4. Translate into English:
Характер – это индивидуальное сочетание существенных свойств личности, выражающих отношение человека к действительности и проявляющихся в его поведении, в его поступках. Характер представляет собой неповторимое сочетание психологических качеств, индивидуальных особенностей личности, именно характер дает основание для суждения о том, хороший ли это человек или нет.
Слова, движения, действия, отдельные поступки и поведение в целом позволяют понять характер человека, они как бы высвечивают его внутреннее, скрытое от посторонних глаз содержание. Но, с другой стороны, каждое свойство характера приводит в определенных условиях к совершению тех или иных поступков, накладывает печать на все действия, мысли и чувства человека. Народная мудрость гласит: «Каков характер, таковы и поступки».
5. Test yourself:
What’s your number?
1. Do you believe in numerology?
2. What about astrology? Do you read your stars in magazines?
3. What other things might influence our character and future life?