Чтение и понимание английских текстов

чтение и пониМание 
английских текстов

учебно-методическое пособие

составители
Н.В. вальковская, М.Ю. илюшкина

3-е издание, стереотипное

Москва
Издательство «ФЛИНТА»   
2017

УДК 811.111(075.8)
ббк 81.2Англ-923
ч-77

р е ц е н з е н т ы: 
Э. а. л а з а р е в а, доктор филологических наук, 
профессор кафедры теории архитектуры и профессиональной коммуникации
(уральская государственная архитектурно-художественная академия);
е. н. а л и м о в а, доцент кафедры иностранных языков 
(уральский государственный экономический университет)

н ау ч н ы й  р е д а к т о р
М. о. г у з и ко в а, кандидат исторических наук, 
заведующий кафедрой лингвистики и профессиональной коммуникации 
на иностранных языках урФу

ч-77 
чтение и понимание английских текстов [Электронный ресурс]:
учеб.-метод. пособие / сост. н. в. вальковская, М. Ю. илюшкина ;
науч. ред. М. о. гузикова. — 3-е изд., стер. — М. : ФЛИНТА, 2017. 
— 44 с.

ISBN 978-5-9765-2621-1 

учебно-методическое пособие включает пять разделов с аутентичным 
текстовым материалом на английском языке, который сопровождается 
комментариями и методическими указаниями по выполнению заданий на 
понимание текстов и развитие навыков извлечения важной информации. 
пособие может быть использовано как для самостоятельной, так и для 
групповой подготовки специалистов по английскому языку.
для студентов старших курсов и слушателей магистратуры с уровнем 
владения английским языком не ниже B1 по европейской системе 
уровней владения иностранным языком (Common European Framework of
References for Languages).
УДК 811.111(075.8)
ббк 81.2Англ-923

ISBN 978-5-9765-2621-1 

© Вальковская Н. В., Илюшкина М. Ю.,

составление, 2017
 © Издательство «ФЛИНТА», 2017 

Table of conTenTs

Предисловие ................................................................................................................4

Unit 1. Building a Strong Foundation ...........................................................................6

Unit 2. Structure ............................................................................................................9

Unit 3. Language and Style ......................................................................................... 11

Unit 4. Reading between the Lines ..............................................................................15

Unit 5. Posttest.............................................................................................................19

answer Key .................................................................................................................38

bibliography ...............................................................................................................43

Предисловие

в связи с активной интеграцией россии в единое европейское 
образовательное пространство на первый план при подготовке 
студентов вузов выходит развитие компетенций, которые позволят 
им полноценно функционировать в качестве субъектов международного образовательного и профессионального пространства. 
необходимыми являются навык работы с текстом и умение анализировать структуру, лексические и синтаксические связи. кроме 
того, освоение навыков чтения текстов на иностранном языке — 
неотъем лемая часть профессиональной деятельности будущих 
магистров и необходимое условие успешной сдачи любых языковых или профессиональных международных экзаменов. 
с целью формирования и развития данной компетенции программа магистрантов предполагает индивидуальное чтение статей 
по основной специальности. первоочередная задача этого учебнометодического пособия — научить чтению больших объемов текстов, их пониманию и грамотному извлечению значимой информации. в пособии излагаются основные принципы и стратегии 
работы с текстовым материалом, а также  предлагается отработать 
эти навыки на практике, анализируя и разбирая предложенные 
отрывки неадаптированных английских текстов. 
в пяти разделах пособия представлены экономические тексты 
разной сложности и задания к ним на закрепление полученных 
знаний. для самопроверки можно обратиться к разделу «ключи 
к выполнению заданий», размещенному в конце пособия.
благодаря исчерпывающему изложению теоретического материала с использованием функциональных примеров на английском 
языке данное пособие может быть использовано как для занятий 
в группе, так и для самообразования в качестве дополнения к курсу 

делового английского языка соответствующего уровня. тексты, 
предложенные в пособии, представляют собой линейку учебных 
технологий, обеспечивающих реализацию программы языкового 
образования студентов экономических специальностей. 
данное пособие также поможет расширить словарный запас 
и ввести в обиход многочисленные слова и выражения, которые 
отсутствуют в большей части базовых учебников, но постоянно 
звучат в современной английской речи. чтение текстов и выполнение заданий на их понимание сделает устный и письменный 
английский язык обучающихся идиоматичным и современным. 

Unit 1 
bUilding a sTrong foUndaTion

In order to solve a crime, a detective cannot just get the facts of 
the case, just discover the motive, just decipher difficult clues, or just 
distinguish between fact and opinion. to be successful, a detective must 
do all these things at the same time. Similarly, reading really can’t be 
broken down into these separate tasks. Reading comprehension comes 
from employing all these strategies simultaneously. This unit gives you 
the opportunity to combine these strategies and take your reading comprehension skills to the next level.

These are the strategies to help you build a strong foundation:
– Find the facts in what you read. Look for the basic information 
that is being conveyed in the paragraphs: the who, what, when, where, 
and how.
– Find the main idea. Look for topic sentences and how they express 
an assertion about the subject of the paragraph. The main idea must be 
general enough to encompass all other sentences in the paragraph; it is 
the thought that controls the paragraph, and the other sentences work 
to support that main idea.
– Determine the meaning of words from context. Look for clues 
to determine meaning in the words and sentences surrounding the unfamiliar word or phrase.
– Distinguish between fact and opinion. A fact is something known 
to be true, whereas an opinion is something believed to be true. Practice 
distinguishing between the two and see how good paragraphs use facts 
to support opinions.

Practice

P a s s a g e
Robert Johnson is the best blues guitarist of all time. There is little 
information available about this legendary blues guitarist, and the information is as much rumor as fact. What is indisputable, however, is Johnson’s tremendous impact on the world of rock and roll. Some consider 
Johnson the father of modern rock: His influence extends to artists from 
Muddy Waters to Led Zeppelin, from the Rolling Stones to the Allman 
Brothers Band. Eric Clapton has called Johnson the most important blues 
musician who ever lived. Considering his reputation, it is hard to believe 
that Johnson recorded only 29 songs before his death in 1938, purportedly 
at the hands of a jealous husband. He was only 27 years old, yet he left an 
indelible mark on the music world. Again and again, contemporary rock 
artists return to Johnson, whose songs capture the very essence of the 
blues, transforming our pain and suffering with the healing magic of his 
guitar. Rock music wouldn’t be what it is today without Robert Johnson.

1. According to the passage, from what musical tradition did Robert Johnson emerge?
a) rock and roll
b) jazz
c) blues
2. Johnson died in
a) 1927
b) 1938
c) 1929
3. True or False: Johnson influenced many rock artists, including 
Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones.
4. Johnson’s cause of death was
a) heart attack
b) old age
c) murder
5. Indelible means
a) permanent, impossible to remove
b) fleeting, brief
c) troubling, disturbing

6. The main idea of this paragraph is best expressed in which sentence in the paragraph?
7. Indicate whether the following sentences are fact or opinion:
a) Robert Johnson is the best blues guitarist of all time.
b) Eric Clapton has called Johnson the most important blues 
musician who ever lived.
c) Rock music wouldn’t be what it is today without Robert 
Johnson.

Unit 2 
sTrUcTUre

Like an architect designing a building, a writer must have a blueprint—a plan for how he or she will organize the passage. There are 
several ways that authors may organize their information and ideas:
chronological order. Ideas are arranged in the order in which they 
occurred (or in the order in which they should occur).
order of importance. Ideas are arranged in order of increasing 
importance (least important idea to most important idea) or in order of 
decreasing importance (most important idea to least important idea).
compare and contrast. Ideas are arranged so that parallel aspects 
of item A and item B are compared and contrasted either in block style 
(AAAABBBB) or point-by-point style (ABABABAB).
cause and effect. Ideas are arranged so that readers can see what 
event or series of events caused something to take place or what effect 
an event or series of events had.

Practice
Although writers often rely on one particular structure to organize 
their ideas, in many cases, writers use a combination of these structures. 
For example, a writer may want to compare and contrast the causes of 
World War I and those of World War II; or a writer may want to describe, 
in chronological order, the events that led to (caused) the failure of the 
computer system. Look at how writers may combine these strategies in 
the following passage . In addition, continue to strengthen your reading 
comprehension skills by including strategies from Unit 1:
– Finding the facts.
– Determining the main idea.
– Defining vocabulary words in context.
– Distinguishing between fact and opinion.

P a s s a g e
There were several reasons behind our decision to move to Flemington. The first occurred about 18 months ago when Mark and I decided 
to start a family. We were living in a one-bedroom apartment and we 
knew that we wanted to move into larger quarters before we had a baby. 
We began to look at houses. Then, much sooner than expected, I got pregnant. Soon after that, Mark’s company announced that they were relocating to Flemington, which was in a less expensive part of the state, about 
90 miles south of us. Mark’s company had been good to him, and they 
were one of the few around with excellent benefits, family friendly policies, and a child-care center on site. With a baby on the way, these things 
were imperative for us. Since I ran my graphic arts business from home, 
I wasn’t bound to any particular place, so we began looking at real estate 
in Flemington and also did some research on their school system as well 
as the overall community. We were very excited about what we found—
reasonable housing costs, great schools, and a lively town. Mark then 
accepted the relocation offer and we found a beautiful old Tudor house. 
We’ll be moving about a month before the baby is due. Let’s hope she 
doesn’t decide to come early.

1. Which two organizational strategies does this writer use?
a) chronological order
b) order of importance
c) compare and contrast
d) cause and effect
2. Imperative means
a) trivial, unimportant
b) luxurious, lavish
c) pressing, crucial
3. What prompted the initial decision to move?
4. What happened after the initial cause set things in motion?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

Unit 3 
langUage and sTYle

Point of view is the perspective from which the writer speaks. 
Sometimes, writers use the first-person point of view (I, me, my, we, 
our, us) to express their personal feelings and experiences directly 
to the reader. This point of view creates a sense of intimacy between 
the reader and the writer because it expresses an extremely subjective 
perspective. When writers use the second-person point of view, they 
address the reader directly by using the pronoun you. This point of view 
is often used to give directions and to make the reader feel directly 
involved in the action described by the writer. The third-person point 
of view is the objective perspective of a “third person,” someone who 
is not directly involved in the action or ideas expressed in the passage. 
This point of view establishes a distance between the reader and writer 
and uses the pronouns he, his, him; she, hers, her; it, its; and they, them, 
and their.
Diction refers to the specific words chosen by the author to express 
his or her ideas. Because words have both a denotation (exact or dictionary meaning) and a connotation (implied or suggested meaning), 
as well as an emotional register, the words an author chooses are very 
significant. Authors, like politicians, must choose their words carefully 
to express exactly the right idea with exactly the right impact.
Style is the manner in which the writers express their ideas in 
writing. Style is composed of three main elements: sentence structure, 
degree of description and detail, and degree of formality. Some writers use a very formal style; others may write in a casual style. Certain 
styles are best for particular audiences or purposes. For example, a high 
degree of formality with specific details but without any unnecessary 
description would be appropriate for business, where time is money and 
writers should get to the point as quickly as possible.