Section 1. “Culture growth” and “Invention”.

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 487.

Page 73 – 74

Words:

to appreciate

to originate

to predict

to fashion

to exceed

to multiply

to warn

to adjust (to)

to occur

to be available

to handle

to speed up

eventually

rudimentary

customary

efficient

recently

Phrases:

for purposes of convenience

in the very recent past

to select an arbitrary starting date

over time

according to this chronology

written language

the printed word

to be alive = to live

to reach the present level of development

to be exceedingly slow

to change rapidly

to grow through invention of ... or through diffusion of ...

to be widely available

from outside the culture

to attach a far broader meaning

to the term

to come into being

within given societies

by modern standards

the former and the latter

to occure through the process of invention

to take on new urgency

major advances

to fashion superior tools

to come into use

to enlarge the culture base

is to be found

Commentaries and notes:

1. ... how much of what we customarily think of as culture today (1) has appeared (2) in the very recent past– 1 – подлежащее, выраженное придаточным предложением; 2 – сказуемое; (см. Part II “A Grammar Workbook” стр. 271) in the very recent past– в самом недалеком прошлом.
2. lifetimes– periods of life; 62 – year lifetimes = periods of life 62 years long each.
3. ... of the total timeôit has taken for human culture to reach its present level of developmentô(1) – 1 – придаточное определительное предложение, в котором употреблен инфинитивный оборот, вводимый предлогом for (for-phrase) (см. Part II “A Grammar Workbook” стр. 175 – 176).
4. ... only recently has culture begun to change rapidly– инверсия, вызванная вынесением наречия “only” в начало предложения, вспомогательный глагол сказуемого “has” стоит перед подлежащим “culture”, за которым идет смысловая часть сказуемого “begun”.
5. almond-shaped rocks– камни миндалевидной формы.
6. to fashion tools= to form tools.
7. Neanderthal [niǽndəta:l]
8. With both stones and bones as materials and with some knowledge of how to affix handles, the rate of invention of new tools began to speed up.– зд. “with” имеет значение “при наличии”.
9. A very simple process from the modern perspective (1), these developments took about 400,000 years. – 1 – является приложением к “these developments”, подразумевается being a very simple process.
10. major advances= sufficient progress.
11. according to an observable exponential principle – согласно соблюдаемому принципу экспоненты.
12. the warning has taken on new urgency– это предупреждение вновь приобрело настоятельный характер.

Exercises:

1. Find Russian equivalents for:

rudimentary; to affix handles; to fashion superior tools; eventually; to occure through the process of invention; an observable exponential principle; to come into use; currently; to originate; to make them more efficient to use; to be arbitrary; for purposes of convenience; we customarily think; over time; to appreciate the lenght of the period by modern standards; in such a fashion as to produce smth.; one dramatic way of representing the growth of culture; to take on new urgency; major advances; it is to be found; to select arbitrary starting date.

2. Find English equivalents for:

ускорять; расширять культурную базу; быть доступным; в самом недалеком прошлом; предсказать; со временем; внутри данного общества; печатное слово; непрофессионалы; предупреждение; придавать более широкое значение термину; извне данной культуры; жизненный цикл; они вошли в употребление; чрезвычайно медленно/быстро; безошибочно; для удобства; по современным стандартам; в конце концов; мы привыкли считать; произвольно; первый и последний.

3. Answer the questions on the text:

1. Can we unmistakably establish how old culture is and how much of culture as we see it today has appered in the very recent past?

1. In what way can we represent the growth of culture over time?
2. What does the term “lifetime” mean? And in which lifetime has Alvin Toffler placed man?
3. How many lifetimes did man spend in caves?
4. What has existed for the last 70 lifetimes? What about the printed word?
5. How can one explain the fact that the growth of culture was exceedingly slow in the beginning and has begun to change rapidly only recently?
6. What do layman refer to when they use the term “invention” and what do sociologists mean by this term?
7. What does the number of new possible combinations of cultural elements depend upon?
8. What did man learn to do gradually and slowly with almond-shaped rocks during the period of 400 000 years?
9. When did major advances become possible?
10. According to what principle did culture begin to grow when the potential number of the combinations of existing cultural elements multiplied, i.e. when the cultural base was enlarged?
11. What have writers been predicting for a long time now?

4. Match the words from the left column with their definitions on the right:

5. Make your own sentences using the phrases and word combinations from Exercise 1 and words from Exercise 4.

6. Complete the table:

7. Choose the synonims from the right column for the words on the left:

8. Translate the following sentences into Russian. Paraphrase them so as to make them more adjusted to your own speech without losing their meaning:

1. A very simple process from the modern perspective, these developments took about 400 000 years.

2. With both stones and bones as materials, and with some knowledge of how to afix handles, the rate of invention of new tools began to speed up.

3. Over the past few centuries the rate has speeded up to the point where rapid change is normal and expected.

4. It still is difficult to appreciate the lenght of the period during which it (culture) has grown and how much of what we customary think of as culture today has appeared in the very recent past.

5. All of modern technology has developed in less than 1/2500th of the total time it has taken for human culture to reach its present level of development. (См. Part II, “A Grammar Workbook” p. 175. Инфинитивный оборот, вводимый предлогом for (“for-phrase”)).

6. In order for diffusion to operate on a substantial scale, there must be separate societies that have existed long enough to have elaborated distinctive ways of life.

7. One dramatic way of representing the growth of culture over time is to select an arbitrary starting date.

8. The explanation for this situation is to be found in the fact that culture grows in two ways.

9. If communal living and equal sharing on any scale are to become part of the American way of life, it will represent a radical break with the past and will require re-organization of much of the remainder of American life. This is not to say that it will not happen.

9. Complete the following sentences using the text:

1. Culture grows in two ways: through ... and ... .

2. Neanderthal man discovered that bones ... .

3. To sociologists an invention is ... .

4. Any one date that might be established as the beginning of human culture ... .

5. For hundreds of thousands of years, the growth of culture accured chiefly through ... and it was ... .

10. Translate from English into Russian the definitions of the terms “culture” and “way of life” given in the “Glossary” and from Russian into English the definitions of “культура” and “образ жизни”. Compare the definitions and comment on them.

11. Translate the text without using a dictionary:

When a group of people establish a way of life in which there are generally accepted modes of conduct and beliefs their behaviour and morality is described as their culture.

A culture will include speech, dress, food and general behaviour; but, perhaps more importantly, it will include thought process.

A country will generally share a cultural pattern and so we may refer to the British culture or French culture but there will usually be differences between the behaviour and beliefs of groups within any single country based on such facts as class, age or ethnic background. In Britain it has been usual to distinguish between “working class” and “middle class” cultures, although such a distinction is now becoming progressively blurred.

The term “community” is sometimes used to describe all the people that share a similar culture, but it usually refers to a closer sense of identification between individuals in terms of cooperation and a sense of belonging. For most practical purposes it is better to think in terms of a community as sharing a territory well known to all its members whether this is a monastery or a set of city streets and to distinguish this social grouping from a culture.

A community implies shared needs in terms of such factors as schools, safe roads, housing and protection; there is therefore a need for cooperation.

A common culture is one way in which such cooperation is ensured, although different cultures within a society may bring variety and colour to our lives, provided that there are certain shared values to prevent disorder.

12. Give the main idea of the texts “Culture growth” and “Invention”.