ПОЛЕЗНЫЕ ССЫЛКИ

APPENDIX

ТЕКСТЫ ДЛЯ ЧТЕНИЯ И ПЕРЕВОДА

Abkhasia

Speaking at a press conference in Moscow, Igor Akhba, the Representative of the Republic of Abkhasia in Russia, said, 'Georgia is preparing for a military operation in Abkhasia'. Mr. Akhba believes that an intervention may begin under the excuse of fighting terrorists. Georgian mass media have been spreading rumours about the presence in Abkhasia of Vakhabites and other terrorist groups. It is far from being true. Mr. Akhba said he had information that preparations for a military intervention were at full swing while Georgian spies were active in the republic. The conflict with Georgia is entirely due to the country's aggressive stand. As to its relations with the Russian Federation, Abkhasia wants to cooperate in both economy and defence. The Representative supposed that Georgia was an enimy not just to Abkhasia but also to Russia because of the difficulties in North Caucasus. If Tbilisi attack, Russia should support Abkhasia both financially and militarily. 'Abkhasia, Mr. Akhba continued saying, will always be friendly toward Russia. As to the republic's independence it is entirely up to her people'.

New Orlean

Regardless of new order made by city major “Go out now or we take you out by force” New Orlean citizens ( about 10000 people) still refuse to leave their homes after the tragedy, caused by “Katerine” Hurocane and the break-through of the drain-levee. The major warns that all measures and precautions are made for their own sake and safety, since the waters are toxic. Besides, there is another danger of gas leakage in the city. No data of evacuated people was reported as yet, however. The Police pains are directed toward people who are free-willing to be rescued from their homes. Apart from that, police forces are not subordinated to the major of the city, and they have not got the order from their military authorities to force people out. As the New Orleans aboriginal citizen Denis Resutto told us, he had enough food and water to supply his family, so he won’t leave his property, pets and possessions on his own will. It was typical reaction of local folk ignoring the official order. President Bush meanwhile in Washington declared that he ordered to star a special investigation of the reasons for the catastrophy. The rescuers are still looking for bodies with special equipment and specially trained dogs. The death toll could reach the horrible number of 10000 people! “All members of the Government are responsible for the tragedy, – the Senator Susan Collins blames. The Army Corps of Engineers started to block the gap with hundreds of sandbags and rocks in order to close the 60 meters high hole in the Levee. “The stormy wave swamped over 80 % of the city which is below sea- level The floodwaters started to recede gradually, but only 5 out of 148 pumps are functioning. How long it takes the pumps to drain the city totally depends upon the conditions of the pumps and whether they were properly submerged”, - the Army Corps stated.

Ukranian Revolution

Extraordinary scenes in Ukraine Hundreds of thousands have come out to the streets to support Vladmir Putin's candidate at the country's election in Ukraine: Pro-western leader called on army and police to join his revolution as thousands of supporters confronted the police outside the presidential palace. After the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, more than 200,000 anti-government demonstrators cheered on Viktor Yushchenko and called for his rival to accept electoral defeat. The demonstrators looked like a sea of orange flags surrounding the presidential building in Kiev, where they were met by the police line. The demonstrators shouted "Police, join the people!" but the security forces pushed back the crowds as they bent against the cordon around the building. Opposition deputies said t hey would not encourage the demonstrators to storm the palace. Earlier, in a symbol of their defiance, the deputies held a swearing-in ceremony in the parliament at which Mr Yushchenko took the oath. His allies in the chamber sang the national anthem and he opened a window and addressed the crowd outside. The crisis in Ukraine erupted after Viktor Yanukovich, who favours closer ties with Russia, declared victory in a presidential run-off held at the weekend. The poll was widely condemned as false by western mass media. Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, congratulated the pro-Moscow candidate and called for law and order to be held.

Japanese train crash kills dozens

A train has derailed and hit a building in Japan, killing 50 people and injuring about 300 in the country's worst rail crash in four decades. The commuter train came off the tracks at Amagasaki near Osaka, 410km (255 miles) west of Tokyo, and the front two carriages rammed into a building. The train company said it was investigating the cause of the crash. Some passengers said the train appeared to have been travelling too fast and began to shake before it derailed. "The train overran a stop at the previous station and so it backtracked, so I guess the driver was in a hurry because the train was running late," one survivor told Japanese television. Survivors tell of chaos The train company, West Japan Railway, confirmed that the driver had overshot the stop, and said the accident was under investigation. "The priority for now is to rescue the passengers," the firm's president, Takeshi Kakiuchi, told reporters. The crash happened at 0920 (0020 GMT), shortly after the morning rush hour. The train was carrying almost 600 passengers.

Names of baby-animals and birds

You know that a baby-cat is a kitten. A young panther (пантера) and a rabbit (кролик) is a kitten too. A baby-dog is a puppy; a baby-fox is a pup too. A young chicken is a chick. Young horses, zebras and donkeys (ослики) are called colts ( жеребёнок).( koult) Young cows, as well as elephants, giraffes, buffalos (бизоны) and even whales ( киты) are called calves (calf) (телёнок)(kaef). Young tigers, lions and wolves to your surprise are called cubs. You know that a young sheep is a lamb (ягненок). A young deer is a fawn (fon). A young goat or an antelope is a kid. A young kangaroo is a Joey (dzoui). A young pig is a piglet, you know. A baby-bird may be correctly called a nestling ( neslin), because it sits in a nest. But baby-duck is called a duckling, a baby-eagle an eaglet, a baby-owl (сова) an owlet (aulit). It’s really strange, but young seals (морской котик) are known as pups.

Twenty rules for writing detective stories

(Originally published in the American Magazine (1928-sep), and included in the Philo Vance investigates omnibus (1936). by S.S. Van Dine (pseud. for Willard Huntington Wright) THE DETECTIVE story is a kind of intellectual game. It is more — it is a sporting event. And for the writing of detective stories there are very definite laws — unwritten, perhaps, but none the less binding; and every respectable and self-respecting concocter of literary mysteries lives up to them. Herewith, then, is a sort Credo, based partly on the practice of all the great writers of detective stories, and partly on the promptings of the honest author's inner conscience. To wit: 1. The reader must have equal opportunity with the detective for solving the mystery. All clues must be plainly stated and described. 2. No willful tricks or deceptions may be placed on the reader other than those played legitimately by the criminal on the detective himself. 3. There must be no love interest. The business in hand is to bring a criminal to the bar of justice, not to bring a lovelorn couple to the hymeneal altar. 4. The detective himself, or one of the official investigators, should never turn out to be the culprit. This is bald trickery, on a par with offering some one a bright penny for a five-dollar gold piece. It's false pretenses. 5. The culprit must be determined by logical deductions — not by accident or coincidence or unmotivated confession. To solve a criminal problem in this latter fashion is like sending the reader on a deliberate wild-goose chase, and then telling him, after he has failed, that you had the object of his search up your sleeve all the time. Such an author is no better than a practical joker. 6. The detective novel must have a detective in it; and a detective is not a detective unless he detects. His function is to gather clues that will eventually lead to the person who did the dirty work in the first chapter; and if the detective does not reach his conclusions through an analysis of those clues, he has no more solved his problem than the schoolboy who gets his answer out of the back of the arithmetic. 7. There simply must be a corpse in a detective novel, and the deader the corpse the better. No lesser crime than murder will suffice. Three hundred pages is far too much pother for a crime other than murder. After all, the reader's trouble and expenditure of energy must be rewarded. 8. The problem of the crime must he solved by strictly naturalistic means. Such methods for learning the truth as slate-writing, ouija-boards, mind-reading, spiritualistic se'ances, crystal-gazing, and the like, are taboo. A reader has a chance when matching his wits with a rationalistic detective, but if he must compete with the world of spirits and go chasing about the fourth dimension of metaphysics, he is defeated ab initio. 9. There must be but one detective — that is, but one protagonist of deduction — one deus ex machina. To bring the minds of three or four, or sometimes a gang of detectives to bear on a problem, is not only to disperse the interest and break the direct thread of logic, but to take an unfair advantage of the reader. If there is more than one detective the reader doesn't know who his codeductor is. It's like making the reader run a race with a relay team. 10. The culprit must turn out to be a person who has played a more or less prominent part in the story — that is, a person with whom the reader is familiar and in whom he takes an interest. 11. A servant must not be chosen by the author as the culprit. This is begging a noble question. It is a too easy solution. The culprit must be a decidedly worth-while person — one that wouldn't ordinarily come under suspicion. 12. There must be but one culprit, no matter how many murders are committed. The culprit may, of course, have a minor helper or co-plotter; but the entire onus must rest on one pair of shoulders: the entire indignation of the reader must be permitted to concentrate on a single black nature. 13. Secret societies, camorras, mafias, et al., have no place in a detective story. A fascinating and truly beautiful murder is irremediably spoiled by any such wholesale culpability. To be sure, the murderer in a detective novel should be given a sporting chance; but it is going too far to grant him a secret society to fall back on. No high-class, self-respecting murderer would want such odds. 14. The method of murder, and the means of detecting it, must be be rational and scientific. That is to say, pseudo-science and purely imaginative and speculative devices are not to be tolerated in the roman policier. Once an author soars into the realm of fantasy, in the Jules Verne manner, he is outside the bounds of detective fiction, cavorting in the uncharted reaches of adventure. 15. The truth of the problem must at all times be apparent — provided the reader is shrewd enough to see it. By this I mean that if the reader, after learning the explanation for the crime, should reread the book, he would see that the solution had, in a sense, been staring him in the face-that all the clues really pointed to the culprit — and that, if he had been as clever as the detective, he could have solved the mystery himself without going on to the final chapter. That the clever reader does often thus solve the problem goes without saying. 16. A detective novel should contain no long descriptive passages, no literary dallying with side-issues, no subtly worked-out character analyses, no "atmospheric" preoccupations. such matters have no vital place in a record of crime and deduction. They hold up the action and introduce issues irrelevant to the main purpose, which is to state a problem, analyze it, and bring it to a successful conclusion. To be sure, there must be a sufficient descriptiveness and character delineation to give the novel verisimilitude. 17. A professional criminal must never be shouldered with the guilt of a crime in a detective story. Crimes by housebreakers and bandits are the province of the police departments — not of authors and brilliant amateur detectives. A really fascinating crime is one committed by a pillar of a church, or a spinster noted for her charities. 18. A crime in a detective story must never turn out to be an accident or a suicide. To end an odyssey of sleuthing with such an anti-climax is to hoodwink the trusting and kind-hearted reader. 19. The motives for all crimes in detective stories should be personal. International plottings and war politics belong in a different category of fiction — in secret-service tales, for instance. But a murder story must be kept gemütlich, so to speak. It must reflect the reader's everyday experiences, and give him a certain outlet for his own repressed desires and emotions. 20. And (to give my Credo an even score of items) I herewith list a few of the devices which no self-respecting detective story writer will now avail himself of. They have been employed too often, and are familiar to all true lovers of literary crime. To use them is a confession of the author's ineptitude and lack of originality. (a) Determining the identity of the culprit by comparing the butt of a cigarette left at the scene of the crime with the brand smoked by a suspect. (b) The bogus spiritualistic se'ance to frighten the culprit into giving himself away. (c) Forged fingerprints. (d) The dummy-figure alibi. (e) The dog that does not bark and thereby reveals the fact that the intruder is familiar. (f)The final pinning of the crime on a twin, or a relative who looks exactly like the suspected, but innocent, person. (g) The hypodermic syringe and the knockout drops. (h) The commission of the murder in a locked room after the police have actually broken in. (i) The word association test for guilt. (j) The cipher, or code letter, which is eventually unraveled by the sleuth.

Indian Ocean tsunami

We express our deep regret to the countries hit by the catastrophe. We express our support to those who are still waiting for information and looking for the lost bodies of their loved ones. We suffer with those who have lost friends and family members. We must compensate the destruction and loss of property. The grief associated with this disaster is universal. It touches every country all over the world. People who have been affected directly and indirectly by disaster Experience hard psychological reaction, including fear, anxiety, sadness, emotional numbing, sleeplessness, and headaches. Reactions may also include distrust of other people and a loss of confidence in themselves. All the countries affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami, Need the support of international community. Health professionals should provide treatment for trauma victims.

Why Teach English?

Teaching English is a challenging and rewarding opportunity in itself, and also a means to attaining other goals. For example, it enables those who want more than a superficial tourist's view of a country to find work so they can settle in for a longer stay. If you choose to teach English overseas, you will also benefit on your return from the fact that many companies and graduate schools value international experience. Individuals who have lived overseas are able to offer an international perspective and awareness that is an asset in both the classroom and the professional world. If you choose to teach English in the United States, you can make a difference by teaching English to individuals whose personal, academic or professional lives will be enhanced by the skills acquired in your classes. Whatever your ultimate goals, the self-knowledge and cultural awareness gained by living and working in another part of the world, or with individuals coming from other cultures, will be invaluable. I speak English perfectly well. Why do I need a certificate to get a job? In the past, especially in countries that were cut off from a supply of native speakers of English, any American could simply ask for a job teaching English and be given one. Today, school administrators are more particular about the qualifications of the individuals they hire. Being a native speaker of English does not automatically confer the ability to teach the language. Teaching English is a challenging job that requires not only creativity, patience, and intellectual curiosity, but also an understanding of English grammar and knowledge of language-teaching techniques. A TEFL Certificate shows prospective employers that you possess the professional tools to teach English successfully. Not only will you be a more attractive candidate to employers, but your skills, knowledge and teaching experience will make you more comfortable, confident and effective as a teacher. Earning a TEFL Certificate will also enable those interested in further study to acquire practical experience before investing many thousands of dollars in a graduate program. Many universities will grant graduate credit for the work completed in a TEFL Certificate program. I'm confused by all these terms: ESL, EFL, TEFL, TESL, and TESOL. What do they mean? How are they different? All of these terms refer to teaching English to individuals who are not native speakers of the language. ESL stands for English as a Second Language, and TESL stands for Teaching English as a Second Language. EFL refers to English as a Foreign Language, and TEFL, as you would expect, to Teaching EFL. In general, ESL is used to refer to teaching English in an English-speaking country, and EFL to teaching English in a country whose official language is not English. TESOL, which stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, is becoming more commonly used because it encompasses both TEFL and TESL. Most EFL/ESL training programs now use the standard label of "TEFL Certificate Program" for their courses in teaching English. What kinds of people enroll in a TEFL Certificate program? Our program attracts people with varied backgrounds, including college students and recent graduates, career changers, and retired people. Some want to begin a long career, while others want to live overseas for a period of time, or to volunteer at a community organization. Some have never taught before, while others have some teaching experience but want to qualify for a new area of teaching. For all of these people, a TEFL Certificate program provides the fundamental skills necessary for good language teaching.

UZBEKISTAN: All Protestants "face persecution, whether registered or not"

"The court took no account of the church's views and the verdict means only one thing: it thinks the Church doesn't exist." one Protestant involved in the case told on 9 November. "This means the judicial system has again – on the usual basis – committed the rudest violation, disregarding the arguments of the church's lawyer." The Emmanuel Church was the last legal Protestant Church in north-west Uzbekistan, and has faced an intense campaign by the authorities to close it down However, the church is continuing its battle to be allowed to function legally, and intends to present its case to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Uzbek government's human rights centre, the general prosecutor's office and even the National Security Service secret police. While admitting that difficulties exist for believers of all faiths in Uzbekistan, he claimed such problems are being resolved, though he gave no evidence for this. "There are no problems that can't be resolved," he told Forum 18, "it's just a question of time." Asked why official obstructions to free religious practice have gone on for many years he responded: "They can't be solved in a day."

INTERVIEW WITH CLARK EDDY

Hi Clark and welcome to Madonna’s confessionstour.com ! Before we discuss your work for Madonna and your amazing contribution to her new world tour, let’s talk about you! Where do you come from and how did you come to direct and edit music videos? Well, it’s a privilege to be here. This question could lead to a very long answer, but I will try to condense it. As far as where I come from, I grew up in New England. Throughout school I spent a lot of time in the darkroom, and after graduating from college in 1991 I moved to Los Angeles, following my college friend Angus Wall, (Rock paper Scissors, then and now a respected and successful editor) to the west coast. After a year spent at 525 Post learning various edit systems while logging tapes in the tape vault, I went freelance as an editor – music videos primarily. Directing came as a progression from editing. You’ve edited one of the Destiny’s Child most recent videos, Stand Up For Love. As the video was directed by Matthew Rolston, the guy who also directed Madonna’s Power Of Good-Bye, we need to ask you if it has something to do with you working on her new tour? Is Matthew a friend of yours? I have worked with Mathew on a few music videos over the years and I have a great respect for him. Perhaps that has something to do with me working on this tour?…I really can’t say. Talking about Madonna’s new world tour, you are behind the background videos used during the Future Lovers and Get Together numbers. What was the concept behind them and was it your first time creating background videos for a tour? Regarding Get Together, I can only take credit for making changes to an existing edit and conforming the final cut to a higher resolution format suited for streaming to the tour screens. Future Lovers is a piece conceived by Steven Klein, whereby horses emerge from a barren landscape and are tempted and tamed by Madonna. What was it like to work with Steven Klein’s footage? Did you & Steven discuss the editing process before you started? Have you worked with Steven before? Were you impressed with the footage when you first saw it? Working with Steven was a true pleasure. This was my first time working with Steven, and before we started editing I met with Steven at his house, looked through all the footage, and discussed ideas. To say that I was impressed with the footage would be an understatement – the images are beautiful. Most of the time, we get to hear about the way a director works but the editor’s part can be also considered as one of the most important job in making the finalized movie or video a success. Which of them do you like the most? Is there one more easier to achieve than the other? I enjoy both aspects of the process. I’d have to say though that when I’m directing I always look forward to the editorial process. It’s where all the pieces fall into place – like a jigsaw or crossword puzzle – and solving the puzzle is always gratifying. Even if you’ve seen the footage a million times over, when you have a good cut you know it…you feel it. Is there one more easier to achieve than the other?...in terms of a career path? I would say that editing would lead to directing and would be a natural progression to follow. Editing systems and software are more accessible today than they have ever been, so it is easy to learn the technical skills. Editing a Madonna video means that your work will be watched by millions of people worldwide. Does it have an impact on you when you’re about to create one? Well, I like to assume that everything I work on has the potential to be viewed by a global audience. I try to be as meticulous as possible with the shots and footage selected, and with the emotions and connotations conveyed in what I help create. Madonna is known for being a perfectionist and someone who knows exactly what she wants. What was her level of involvement creating the Future Lovers and Get Together background videos? Did she provide you with notes or specs? Did you have to present her with different versions and then work from her feedback? M is very adept at making decisions. She knows immediately when she likes or dislikes something, and in my experience she had very good feedback on how to fine tune the visuals. Once Steven and I had assembled a rough edit, we presented it to her in her dressing room and immediately received constructive feedback, and I continued to return for meetings until we reached an approved edit. In opposition to a dance routine, a video cannot easily be updated or changed if Madonna doesn’t feel comfortable with it, while on the road… So your work needs to perfectly fit the concept behind her performance. Did you get to preview the associated choreographies in order to find some inspiration? Did you attend some of the rehearsals to preview/test your work and then finalize it? Yes, I looked at some rehearsal footage shot early on, and then Steven and I returned to shoot some more. I lined up the dance routine with the edit of Future Lovers so that we could know what would be taking place on stage in conjunction with what images would be on the screens. This was a very important aspect of assembling the piece, and ultimately the dance choreography shaped the structure of the visuals rather than the other way around. Being able to attend rehearsals, and having the ability to edit on location, was invaluable. Madonna’s Confessions Tour is on the road until late September and can be considered as one of her biggest success to date. Did you attend the show? What it feels like to see your work while standing in the middle of her fans and having it as part of her show? I attended the friends and family show. It is very gratifying indeed to finally sit back and enjoy – a bit nerve-wracking at first only because you want it to go over well, but exciting indeed! We all have dreams that we want to come true. What is your biggest Madonna related dream and would you be ready to let her know about it? With respect to the current Confessions Tour, I’d have to say that “Live to Tell” gave me the biggest chills. We all dream of the best possible future for our children: "How will they hear?" she asks. "When will they learn? How will they know?" Thank you very much for your time and contribution to the site. We’re very happy to know more about the guy behind the big screen! Before you leave, could you answer our famous 4 questions? 1) What did you have for breakfast this morning? Interesting question. Today, Sunday 10 July, being a day of international sports, breakfast seemed to last for a few hours. I had espresso and a croissant at 6am while watching Stage 8 of the Tour de France, toast with marmite and a cup of PG tips as Federer and Nadal hammered out the men’s final at Wimbledon (not that I am British but my wife is!), and some leftover pasta with pesto as Italy faced of with France for the World Cup. It seemed like a good day to take my culinary cues from the breakfasts of champions. 2) What is your zodiac sign? Scorpio. 3) Bath or Shower? Shower, preferably, but bath time with my two boys (4 year old & 2 year old) with all the bubbles and squirt guns is pretty fun! 4) If you could change the world in one way, how would you? Respect. Respect yourself. Respect your peers. Respect the earth.

Our manners

Our manners are based on respect for other people. Here are some rules for correct behavior in public places, and, of course, at home. Always say “please” and “thank you”; Don’t attract attention to yourself; Don’t wear dirty or shabby clothes; Don’t speak too loud or laugh too loud; Don’t give way to anger, tears or other emotions; Never eat anything in the street; Do not push your way through crowds; Never stare at people or point your finger at them; Do not ridicule or laugh at anyone in his presence; Do not kiss or embrace in public places; Don’t put your fingers into your mouth, nose etc; Don’t criticize or comment; Don’t talk too much about yourself and don’t ask too many questions; Don’t be rude; Don’t use slang, jargon or gestures; Don’t sneeze and blow your nose; Be polite and considerable!!!

HOW DID APRIL FOOL GET STARTED

No one is absolutely sure how April fool got started. Most countries seem to have a day when people play tricks on each other. It is a special fun for the children. Some people believe that trick days began in India. People there celebrate a spring holiday called holy. They fill a bamboo pipe with color powder and blow it at other people. Sometimes they fill the pipe with water and blow. No one knows why all kinds of jokes are allowed on this day. Sometimes children wake their parents with the shouts the house is on fire. When they see alarm on their faces they shouted again April fool. At school people try to pin notes to the backs saying “I’m a fool“ Even television joins in the fun on this day. Once they told a story of a building that had been built upside down. It was done by mistake they said. And many people believed. They forgot about the date.