Text 1: Introducing yourself

Hello, my name is Sveta. I am 19 years old. I am a student of psychology at the State University. I liked Biology, Chemistry and Literature at school. I always wanted to be a psychologist, like my mother. My grandmother is a doctor. She is a psychiatrist. I entered the Department of Psychology because I wanted to help people with their soul problems. I like my studies a lot now. I live with my family. It is very convenient but sometimes I want more freedom.

 

Hi, I am Kate. I am a first year student at Duke University, USA. I am 22. I have been working as a secretary for a physician for two years. I worked as a sales person in a real estate agency before. I have enough money for college now. Duke is a private university and very expensive too! But it is a great school with an excellent reputation. Diploma in Psychology from Duke will be very important for my career.

 

Hello, everyone. My name is Josh. I am British, more exactly, Welsh. My parents are farmers. It is a very rare profession in the UK. I don’t want to be a farmer. I want to be a psychologist. I want to help people with their problems. I want to live in a big city. That is why I study in London. I study psychology at the University of Westminster, in the heart of central London. I live in a student dormitory with a roommate from Brazil. I want to rent a flat in the city center, but it is very expensive.

 

Hi! My name is George Atkinson. I am a health psychology post-graduate student from New Zealand. I am student of the University of Auckland, department of Medicine and Health sciences. Health psychology is about understanding human behavior in the context of health and illness. This is a two year program. I will have a degree of Master of Sciences when I graduate.

 

Vocabulary

psychology – психология

biology – биология

chemistry – химия

literature – литература

like my mother – какмоямать

psychiatrist – психиатр

to enter – (зд.)поступить

soul – душа

convenient – удобно

physician – врач-терапевт

salesperson – менеджерпопродажам

realestateagency – агентствонедвижимости

diploma – диплом

moreexactly – точнее, вернее

Welsh – валлиец (коренной житель Уэльса)

that is why –вотпочему

student dormitory – студенческоеобщежитие

post-graduate student – магистрант

Department of Medicine and Health sciences – факультетмедициныиздравоохранения

behavior – поведение

illness – заболевание

DegreeofMasterofSciences – степеньмагистраестественныхнаук

 

Exercise 1: Answer the questions

1. What subjects did Sveta like at school?

2. What does Sveta’s grandmother do?

3. Where does Sveta live?

4. What University does Kate go to?

5. What did Kate do before entering the college?

6. Is a diploma in psychology important for Kate?

7. Where is Josh from?

8. What is his nationality?

9. What do his parents do?

10. What university does Josh go to?

11. What kind of student is George?

12. What does he study?

 

Exercise 2: Translate the sentences into English

А. Я студентка факультета психологии. Я учусь на первом курсе. В нашей группе 15 человек. Я любила в школе химию, физику и биологию. Я не люблю литературу и иностранные языки. Я люблю музыку, дискотеки и хорошие вечеринки.

 

Б. Меня зовут Наташа. Мне 18 лет. Я любила в школе рисование, музыку и историю. Мне очень нравятся исторические фильмы. Мне очень нравится психология, я всегда хотела стать психологом. Я живу со своими родителями недалеко от университета. У меня есть друг. Ему 20 лет, он тоже студент. Он живет в моем доме.

 

В. Меня зовут Марина. Я студентка третьего курса журналистики. Мне 19 лет. Утром я хожу на лекции, а вечером работаю ди-джеем на радиостанции. Мне всегда нравилась рок-музыка. У меня своя программа на радио.

 

Text 2: What is psychology?

Psychology studies people: how they think, how they act, react and interact.

Psychology is concerned with all aspects ofbehavior and the thoughts, feelings and motivations behind such behavior.

In a sense, you are already a psychologist: we all are. We all are interested in what makes people nervous, and how this understanding can help us to solve major problems in society.

Studies in psychology give you knowledge how to go from being an “ amateur psychologist” to a professional one.

How can you learn the science about behavior? How can you use it to improve people’s quality of live? How can you put your knowledge to good use in a career?

If you tell your friends you are interested in psychology, common reactions might be “Well, can you tell what I’m thinking then?” or “Psychology? That’s all just logics, isn’t it?” Because we know our behavior we all have theories about it.

To study psychology you have to learn scientific methods: observing, measuring, testing, using statistics to show that what you find is reliable evidence. But psychologists do not simply collect evidence to explain people’s behavior; they use their understanding to help people with difficulties.

For example, psychologists are concerned with practical problems such as:

How can we ease the effects of parental divorce on children?

How can we minimize accidents on roads, rails, in the air?

How can the courts ensure that eyewitness testimony is reliable?

How should people act on a date – what do others find attractive?

How can we help people overcome depression, stress or phobias?

 

Vocabulary

toact –вести себя, действовать

toreact – реагировать

tointeract – взаимодействовать

tobeconcernedwith – заниматься чем-либо, заботиться о чём-либо

thoughts – мысли

feelings – чувства

motivations – мотивы, побуждения

inasense – в некотором смысле

tosolvemajorproblems – решитьосновныепроблемы

society – общество

knowledge – знания

amateur – любитель, непрофессионал

science –наука

qualityoflive – качество, уровеньжизни

toputtogooduse – находить хорошее применение

common –обычный, распространённый

scientificmethods – научныеметоды

observing – наблюдение

measuring – измерение

testing – тестирование

tousestatistics – использовать статистику

reliableevidence – достоверныеданные

tocollectevidence – собирать доказательства

toease – смягчать, смягчить

parentaldivorce – разводродителей

tominimize – свести к минимуму

accidents –несчастные случаи

rails –рельсы, железные дороги

courts –суды

eyewitnesstestimony –свидетельства очевидцев

onadate – насвидании

attractive – привлекательный

phobias –фобии, страхи