Grammar: Subjective Infinitive Construction

(Complex Subject)

This church is known to have been built in the 11^th century

 

Compare: It is known that this church was built in the 11^th century.

Известно, что эта церковь была построена в 11 веке.

 

Verbs and word combinations used in sentences with Complex Subject:

a)	in Passive:
	is/was believed	—	полагают, считают / полагали, считали
	is/was known	—	известно / было известно
	is/was expected	—	ожидают / ожидали
	Our city is known to have been founded in 1703.
	Известно, что наш город был основан в 1703 году.
b)	in Active:
	seems / seemed	—	кажется / казалось, по-видимому
	appears / appeared	—	кажется / казалось, по-видимому
	proves / proved	—	оказывается / оказалось
	happens / happened	—	оказывается / оказалось
	Some musical genresappear to be based on national traditions.
	Некоторые музыкальные жанры, по-видимому, основываютсяна народных традициях.
c)	word combinations:
	is likely	—	вероятно
	is unlikely	—	маловероятно
	is sure / certain	—	обязательно, несомненно
	The country’s exports are likely to increasenext year.
	Экспорт страны, вероятно, возрастет в следующем году.

 

5.28. Find the proper Russian translation.

1. Our representative is reported to have delivered a speech at the conference.

а) наш представитель сообщил, что произнес речь на конференции;

б) сообщают, что наш представитель произнес речь...

в) сообщают, что наш представитель произнесет речь...

2. He seems to know English well.

а) ему кажется, что он знает английский хорошо; б) казалось, что он знает английский хорошо;

в) кажется, он знает английский хорошо.

 

5.29. Translate the sentences.

1. The church is supposed to have been built in the 11^th century. 2. He is believed to be working on his new book. 3. The weather appears to be improving. 4. They were heard to discuss the possibility of using the new techniques. 5. This writer is said to have published a new novel. 6. The sun is considered to exert (оказывать) some attractive force on the earth. 7. They are supposed to have been working at the problem since December. 8. He proved to be a good musician. 9. They are likely to come soon.

 

5.30. Read a sentence and then write another sentence with the same meaning.

Example: It is expected that the government will lose the election.→ The government is expected to lose the election.

1. It is reported that two people were seriously injured in the accident → Two people …

2. It is said that three men were arrested after the explosion → Three men …

3. It is said that he is 105 years old. → He …

4. It is expected that the strike will begin tomorrow. → The strike …

5. It was supposed that the train would arrive at 11.30 but it was 40 minutes late. → The train …

 

5.31. Read the text and say what kind of art you are interested in.

 

PAINTING

Art is the product or process of arranging items (often with symbolic meaning) in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect. It includes music, literature, film, photography, sculpture, and paintings.

In a broad sense, all art is the opposite of nature: this meaning is embodied in the contrast between “artificial” – that is created by people – and “natural”.

 

Notes:

embody v – воплощать

 

5.32. Now match the words from A with their definitions from B.

A	B
1. a portrait	a. a painting of part of the countryside
2. a self-portrait	b. a painting of inanimate objects, e.g. fruits
3. a landscape	c. a painting of a person
4. a still-life	d. a painting that is not realistic
5.an abstract painting	e. a painting of plants, buildings
6. a seascape	f. a painting of the artist by himself/herself
7. a cityscape	g. a painting of an ocean, sea, waves

 

5.33. Match the names of the following artists with the country they are from and the style they painted their masterpieces.

1. Raphael Santi A. Spain a. Impressionism

2. Kandinsky B. England b. Renaissance

3. Turner C. Italy c. Cubism

4. Rembrandt D. Russia d. Romantism

5. Gainsborough E. Netherlands e. Expressionism

6. Van Gogh F. England f. Suprematism

7. Andy Warhol G. France g. Realism

8. Picasso H. Netherlands h. Baroque

9. Malevich I. USA i. Post-Impressionism

10. Renoir J. Russia j. Pop Art

 

5.34. Guess if these statements are true, false or the information is not stated in the text. Then read the text and check your answers.

1. The High Renaissance style was founded in the 17-th century.

2. Leonardo da Vinci was not only a great artist but also a great thinker.

3. Only eighteen paintings of Leonardo came down to us.

4. Leonardo invented new kinds of paints.

5. Leonardo’s innovations made his paintings look lifeless.

6. Three of Leonardo’s paintings are in the Louvre Museum.

 

 

THE GREATEST OF ALL TIMES

LEONARDO DA VINCI (1452-1519)

Part 1

The High Renaissance style was founded by one of the most gifted individuals ever born. Leonardo da Vinci fulfilled the Renaissance ideal of the Universal Man. He was not only a great painter and sculptor, but also the outstanding architect, an inventor, an engineer, a musician, and a leading physicist, botanist, anatomist, geologist and geographer of his time.

Leonardo was born in 1452 in the town of Vinci, near Florence, Italy. In 1466, his family moved to Florence where at the age of 15 he went to work with a famous artist and by 20 he was a master painter. Leonardo’s fame as an artist is based on eighteen paintings that came down to us, some of them incomplete, some damaged as a result of his experimental techniques.

Leonardo’s art surpassed the achievements of his time. He created a new, more realistic style of painting. At that time, when artists painted people, they looked flat. People painted by Leonardo looked real. He invented “aerial perspective” and three-dimensional existence of colours due to specific using of a dark background. His principle of grouping figures within an imaginary pyramid, linked by their gestures and emotions, became a High Renaissance compositional rule. His famous masterpiece, the Madonna on the Rocks (Louvre, Paris) exemplifies all these ideas of his style.

Often, da Vinci decorated religious buildings, like churches and monasteries. In 1495, he created another of his great painting, the Last Supper, on the dining room wall of a monastery. It took him three years to complete it. People admire it for the bright colours that Leonardo used and the vivid emotions of the people in the scene.

Leonardo’s power as an artist and thinker is evident in the Last Supper and the Mona Lisa, his two most famous works. There are two Leonardo’s paintings in the Hermitage Museum. They are the Madonna with a Flower and the Madonna Litta.

Notes

gifted – одаренный a masterpiece – шедевр

to surpass – превосходить, опережать evident –очевидный

a background – фон

 

Keys to the exercises.

5.32. 1–c, 2–f, 3–a, 4-b, 5-d, 6-g, 7-e

5.33. 1-C,b; 2-D/J,e; 3-B/F,d; 4- E/H,g; 5-B/F,h; 6- E/H,i; 7- I,j; 8-A,c;

9-J/D,f; 10-G,a

5.34. 1 - F, 2 – T, 3 – T, 4 – NS, 5 – F, 6 - NS

 

LITERATURE

5.35. Read the text and say what main kinds of literature exist. Give examples of books written in different literary genres.

In the ancient oral traditions, before stories and poems were written down, literature had a mainly public function – mythic and religious. Oral literature included folk tales, legends, proverbs and ancient epics, such as the Greek Odyssey. Poetry had an advantage over prose those days – it was easier to memorize.

As literary works came to be preserved in writing, and then printed, their role became more private, as a means for the expression of emotions. There appeared lots of different literary genres. Among them are adventure stories, detective stories, biographies and autobiographies, fantasy, science fiction, novels, historical novels and others.

Prose is sometimes defined as “words in their best order” and poetry as “the best words in their best order”.

 

5.36. Here are the names of some famous writers and poets. Say what countries they are from: Russia, England, Scotland, America, Belarus, the Ukraine.

 

William Shakespeare, Mikhail Lermontov, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie, Conan Doyle, Vasil Bykov, Anton Chekhov, Ray Bradbury, Yanko Kupala, Alexander Pushkin, Jack London, Ernest Hemingway, Ivan Turgenev, Taras Shevchenko, Robert Burns

 

5.37. Read the texts about two great writers and add more facts of their lives.

F.M.DOSTOEVSKY (1821-1881)

 

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky is a Russian novelist who is considered by many people to be one of the greatest writers ever. His first novel, Poor Folk, appeared in 1846. In 1849 he was arrested for his socialist beliefs, and was sent to a prison settlement in Siberia for four years. In 1859, he published the humorous Village of Stepanchikovo, and The House of the Dead in 1861, recalling his prison experiences. He lived abroad for a period, but returned to Russia in 1871.

Crime and Punishment, 1866, The Idiot, 1868, and the great work of his last years, The Brothers Karamazov, 1880, all show his genius for psychological analysis of character and creating narrative tension.

CHARLES DICKENS (1812-1870)

Charles Dickens is a British writer whose novels made him the most popular British writer of the 19^th century, and are still very popular today. When he was only 12, his father was imprisoned for debt and Charles had to go to work in a factory, as did the hero of his David Copperfield, 1849.

At the age of 17 he became a reporter, but only when he was 22, he found permanent work on the staff of a London newspaper. The publication of the first number of the Pickwick Papers, 1836, made him famous. This was followed by Oliver Twist, 1838, Nicholas Nickleby, 1839, and others.

His books contain humorous characters with unusual names, many of whom have become very well known. But they also show how hard life was in Victorian England for poor people and children, especially in his later novels Dombey and Son, 1848, Hard Times, 1854, Great Expectations, 1861.

 

5.38. Examination Task. Collect information about any widely-known painter, writer or architect and give a short talk about them. Decorate your project with pictures. Write about: what works he is famous for, a place where he lived, when he lived, what innovations he brought into art.

CULTURE SHOCK

5.39. Read the text below and answer the questions:

1. Have you been to another country? What things did you find strange?

2. What things do you think people will find strange about our country?

When people travel to other countries, they find that many things are different from their own country - the weather, the food, the times that shops are open, and so on. Often this upsets people and they feel lonely, depressed and homesick. This is called culture shock. Here are some things that visitors to Britain find strange.

Shops close at 5.30, which is much earlier than in many other countries. Most pubs and restaurants close at 11 pm. Visitors who like to go out late in the evening find this strange.

Young people can't go into pubs even with their parents until they are 16 and they can't buy alcoholic drinks till they are 18.

People in Britain usually live in small families and they are generally quiet. Visitors who normally live in large families or groups can feel lonely.

Of course, there are also lots of good things about Britain that people like. And remember that visitors to your country will find your lifestyle strange, too.

When you visit other countries you should accept the way that people do things there. Because something is different, it doesn't mean that it's better or worse. It would be a very sad world if everything was the same, so don't let culture shock spoil your visit to another country. Enjoy the differences.