engleza cp sem ii

7/23/2019 Engleza CP Sem II

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ENGLISH PRACTICAL COURSE3

rdyear, 2

ndterm

Adina Tudosescu

INTRODUCTION

Standing as the second part of a unitary one-year course, the cluster of learning unitsto be covered during the second term naturally pursue much the same coordinates of design asthe ones shaping and structuring the contents of the first term, and namely:- various activities targeted upon actualising, refining and/or supplementing certain areas ofknowledge within the fields of (derivational) morphology, syntax and semantics by means ofrestructuring, reshaping, and resizing information in accordance to a strictly appliedorientation, and thus creating a functional interface with theoretical disciplines;- a focus upon improving and diversifying the students training in translation practice, withthe entailing beneficial effects upon the enriching of specialised language vocabulary in

various domains;- exercising the abilities involved in the complex analysis of content and in text commentary,activating the deductive, intuitive and communicative skills, testing coherence and logical

processes in ideation and argumentation, stimulating the creative potential. In closerelationship with the last issue, the structure of the course will also include: elements (andexercises) of academic writing, topics (and guidelines) for essays and/or debates.

OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE

The characteristic of the course being the pre-eminently applied dimension, its centralgoal resides in enhancing linguistic performance at lexical-semantic, grammatical (phonetic,morphological, syntactic), and stylistic levels. In order to improve actualising abilities, boththe systematic acquisition of new information, and the sustained activation, development andintegration of already acquired knowledge are going to be envisaged. By means of the diversethematic content and the selected texts, a certain benefit in terms of students general cultural

background is also targeted.

GENERAL OUTLINE OF THE UNITS AND MODULES

The macro-structural organisation of the course consists of three broadlyencompassing units(see Contents of the course). These units are all internally articulated inconformity to an iterative sequence of didactic modules (the text, vocabulary, grammar,translation, essay / debate modules), the methodological characteristic of which resides in

their more often than not presupposing an integrative level in what concerns the basic skills(reading, listening, speaking, writing). Therefore, a unit will (in general) contain:a) a text of 1-2 pages constituting the nucleus of the unit, and representing the object of acomplex analysis (lexical and grammatical aspects, relevant stylistic features, contentcommentary , which text will be preceded by introductory requirements featuring athematically orienting role, andfollowed by a set of assignmentsmeant to facilitate and guidethe analysis;

b) vocabulary study and practice;c) the grammar section (brief theoreticalpresentation / revision and exercises);d) 1-2 supplementary texts (of variable length), dealing with topics related to the one of themain text, and which can be used on various purposes (for translationtasks, as starting pointfor additional lexical-grammatical applications or for comments / debates, as furtherinformation and reading);e) indicated topics for essays / debates (which may be accompanied by suggested guidelines,landmarks or possibly necessary references);f) 1-2 texts for translation into English;


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g)N.B.:The last two units scheduled within this second term will also include a special sectiondevoted to the presentation and acquisition of some basic elements (viz. principles andtechniques) in academic writing, with the suitable diminishing of volume and complexity inthe other components.

CONTENTS OF THE COURSE

(Second term)

UNIT V:THE SUPERNATURAL. ANSWERS FROM BEYOND REALITY

- The Canterville Ghostby Oscar Wilde- The Monkby Matthew Gregory Lewis;A Night at a Cottageby Richard Hughes

- Grammar: Gender; Adverbial Clauses

UNIT VI:SCIENCE. ANSWERS FROM REALITY

- The Five Frontiers of Spaceby Edward C. Stone- Earliest Fire Sheds Light on Hominidsby Nadja Neumann

- Academic writing: Essays (I and II)

UNIT VII:LAW, CULTURE, AND CONVENTIONS. ANSWERS FROM THE OTHERS

- How a Law-less Data Haven Is Using Law to Protect Itselfby Gary Slapper- Crome Yellowby Aldous Huxley; Of the Effects of Customby David Hume

- Academic writing: Scientific papers, reports, studies

UNIT V

THE SUPERNATURAL. ANSWERS FROM BEYOND REALITY

Preliminaries1. Comment upon the multi-faceted nature of what is generically referred to as thesupernatural, and upon the richness and significance of its associated cultural dimension(beliefs and practices).2. Would you also include religion, and the formidable impact it had upon the development ofhuman civilisation, within a more encompassing analysis of the concept, and its implications?3. Enlarge upon the psychological and social causes of the recourse to supernaturalexplanations.

A. from The Canterville Ghostby Oscar Wilde

The day had been warm and sunny; and, in the cool of the evening, the whole family went

out to drive. They did not return home till nine oclock, when they had a light supper. Theconversation in no way turned upon ghosts, so there were not even those primary conditionsof receptive expectation which so often precede the presentation of psychical phenomena.[] No mention at all was made of the supernatural, nor was Sir Simon de Cantervillealluded to in any way. At eleven oclock the family retired, and by half-past all the lights wereout. Some time after, Mr. Otis was awakened by a curious noise in the corridor, outside hisroom. It sounded like the clank of metal, and seemed to be coming nearer every moment. []He put on his slippers, took a small oblong phial out of his dressing-case, and opened thedoor. Right in front of him he saw, in the wan moonlight, an old man of terrible aspect. Hiseyes were as red burning coals; long grey hair fell over his shoulders in matted coils; hisgarments, which were of antique cut, were soiled and ragged, and from his wrists and ankles

hung heavy manacles and rusty gyves.My dear sir, said Mr. Otis, I really must insist on your oiling those chains, and have

brought you for that purpose a small bottle of the Tammany Rising Sun Lubricator. [] Ishall leave it here for you by the bedroom candles, and will be happy to supply you with more


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should you require it. With these words the United States Minister laid the bottle down on amarble table, and, closing his door, retired to rest.

For a moment the Canterville ghost stood quite motionless in natural indignation; then,dashing the bottle violently upon the polished floor, he fled down the corridor, uttering hollowgroans, and emitting a ghastly green light. Just, however, as he reached the top of the greatoak staircase, a door was flung open, two little white-robed figures appeared, and a large

pillow whizzed past his head! There was evidently no time to be lost, so, hastily adopting theFourth Dimension of Space as a means of escape, he vanished through the wainscoting, andthe house became quite quiet.

On reaching a small secret chamber in the left wing, he leaned up against a moonbeam torecover his breath, and began to try and realise his position. Never, in a brilliant anduninterrupted career of three hundred years, had he been so grossly insulted. [] All his greatachievements came back to him again, from the butler who had shot himself in the pantry

because he had seen a green hand tapping at the window pane, to the beautiful Lady Stutfield,who was always obliged to wear a black velvet band round her throat to hide the mark of fivefingers burnt upon her white skin, and who drowned herself at last in the carp pond at the endof the Kings Walk. [] And after all this, some wretched modern Americans were to come

and offer him the Rising Sun Lubricator, and throw pillows at his head! It was quiteunbearable. Besides, no ghost in history had ever been treated in this manner. Accordingly, hedetermined to have vengeance, and remained till daylight in an attitude of deep thought.

The next morning, when the Otis family met at breakfast, they discussed the ghost at somelength. The United States Minister was naturally a little annoyed to find that his present hadnot been accepted. I have no wish, he said, to do the ghost any personal injury, and I mustsay that, considering the length of time he has been in the house, I dont think it is at all politeto throw pillows at him a very just remark, at which, I am sorry to say, the twins burst intoshouts of laughter. Upon the other hand, he continued, if he really declines to use theRising Sun Lubricator, we shall have to take his chains from him. It would be quiteimpossible to sleep, with such a noise going on outside the bedrooms.

For the rest of the week, however, they were undisturbed, the only thing that excited anyattention being the continual renewal of the blood-stain on the library floor. This certainly wasvery strange, as the door was always locked at night by Mr. Otis, and the windows keptclosely barred. The chameleon-like colour, also, of the stain excited a good deal of comment.

Some mornings it was a dull (almost Indian) red, then it would be vermilion, then a richpurple, and once when they came down for family prayers, according to the simple rites of theFree American Reformed Episcopalian Church, they found it a bright emerald-green. Thesekaleidoscopic changes naturally amused the party very much, and bets on the subject werefreely made every evening. The only person who did not enter into the joke was littleVirginia, who, for some unexplained reason, was always a good deal distressed at the sight of

the blood-stain, and very nearly cried the morning it was emerald-green.The second appearance of the ghost was on Sunday night. Shortly after they had gone tobed they were suddenly alarmed by a fearful crash in the hall. Rushing downstairs, they foundthat a large suit of old armour had become detached from its stand, and had fallen on the stonefloor, while, seated in a high-backed chair, was the Canterville ghost, rubbing his knees withan expression of acute agony on his face. The twins, having brought their pea-shooters withthem, at once discharged two pellets on him, with that accuracy of aim which can only beattained by long and careful practice on a writing-master, while the United States Ministercovered him with his revolver, and called upon him, in accordance with Californian etiquette,to hold up his hands! The ghost started up with a wild shriek of rage, and swept through themlike a mist, extinguishing Washington Otis candle as he passed, and so leaving them all in

total darkness. On reaching the top of the staircase he recovered himself, and determined togive his celebrated peal of demoniac laughter. This he had on more than one occasion foundextremely useful. It was said to have turned Lord Rakers wig grey in a single night, and hadcertainly made three of Lady Cantervilles French governesses give warning before their


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month was up. He accordingly laughed his most horrible laugh, till the old vaulted roof rangand rang again, but hardly had the fearful echo died away when a door opened, and Mrs. Otiscame out in a light blue dressing-gown. I am afraid you are far from well, she said, andhave brought you a bottle of Dr. Dobells tincture. If it is indigestion, you will find it a mostexcellent remedy. The ghost glared at her in fury. [] The sound of approaching footsteps,however, made him hesitate in his fell purpose, so he contented himself with becoming faintly

phosphorescent, and vanished with a deep churchyard groan, just as the twins had come up tohim.On reaching his room he entirely broke down, and became a prey to the most violent

agitation. The vulgarity of the twins, and the gross materialism of Mrs. Otis, were naturallyextremely annoying, but what really distressed him most was, that he had been unable to wearthe suit of mail. He had hoped that even modern Americans would be thrilled by the sight of aSpectre In Armour, if for no more sensible reason, at least out of respect for their national

poet Longfellow over whose graceful and attractive poetry he himself had whiled away manya weary hour when the Cantervilles were up in town. []

For some days after this he was extremely ill, and hardly stirred out of his room at all,except to keep the blood-stain in proper repair. [] The terrible excitement of the last four

weeks was beginning to have its effect. His nerves were completely shattered, and he startedat the slightest noise. For five days he kept his room, and at last made up his mind to give upthe point of the blood-stain on the library floor. If the Otis family did not want it, they clearlydid not deserve it. They were evidently people on a low, material plane of existence, and quiteincapable of appreciating the symbolic value of sensuous phenomena. The question of

phantasmic apparitions, and the development of astral bodies, was of course quite a differentmatter, and really not under his control. It was his solemn duty to appear in the corridor oncea week, and to gibber from the large oriel window on the first and third Wednesdays in everymonth, and he did not see how he could honourably escape from his obligations. It is quitetrue that his life had been very evil, but, upon the other hand, he was most conscientious in allthings connected with the supernatural.

For the next three Saturdays, accordingly, he traversed the corridor as usual betweenmidnight and three oclock, taking every possible precaution against being either heard orseen. He removed his boots, trod as lightly as possible on the old worm-eaten boards, wore alarge black velvet cloak, and was careful to use the Rising Sun Lubricator for oiling hischains. I am bound to acknowledge that it was with a good deal of difficulty that he broughthimself to adopt this last mode of protection. However, one night, while the family were atdinner, he slipped into Mr. Otiss bedroom and carried off the bottle. He felt a little humiliatedat first, but afterwards was sensible enough to see that there was a great deal to be said for theinvention, and, to a certain degree, it served his purpose. Still, in spite of everything, he wasnot left unmolested. Strings were continually being stretched across the corridor, over which

he tripped in the dark, and on one occasion [] he met with a severe fall, through treading ona butter-slide, which the twins had constructed from the entrance of the Tapestry Chamber tothe top of the oak staircase. []

A few days after [], as she was running past the Tapestry Chamber, the door of whichhappened to be open, Virginia fancied she saw some one inside, and thinking it was hermothers maid, who sometimes used to bring her work there, looked in to ask her to mend herhabit. To her immense surprise, however, it was the Canterville Ghost himself! He was sitting

by the window, watching the ruined gold of the yellowing trees fly through the air, and thered leaves dancing madly down the long avenue. His head was leaning on his hand, and hiswhole attitude was one of extreme depression. Indeed, so forlorn, and so much out of repairdid he look, that little Virginia, whose first idea had been to run away and lock herself in her

room, was filled with pity, and determined to try and comfort him. []I am so sorry for you, she said, but my brothers are going back to Eton to-morrow, andthen, if you behave yourself, no one will annoy you.


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It is absurd asking me to behave myself, he answered, looking round in astonishment atthe pretty little girl who had ventured to address him, quite absurd. I must rattle my chains,and groan through keyholes, and walk about at night, if that is what you mean. It is my onlyreason for existing.

It is no reason at all for existing, and you know you have been very wicked. Mrs. Umneytold us, the first day we arrived here, that you had killed your wife.

Well, I quite admit it, said the Ghost petulantly, but it was a purely family matter, andconcerned no one else.It is very wrong to kill any one, said Virginia, who at times had a sweet Puritan gravity,

caught from some old New England ancestor.Oh, I hate the cheap severity of abstract ethics! My wife was very plain, never had my

ruffs properly starched, and knew nothing about cookery. [] However, it is no matter now,for it is all over, and I dont think it was very nice of her brothers to starve me to death,though I did kill her.

Starve you to death? Oh, Mr. Ghost, I mean Sir Simon, are you hungry? I have a sandwichin my case. Would you like it?

No, thank you, I never eat anything now; but it is very kind of you, all the same, and you

are much nicer than the rest of your horrid, rude, vulgar, dishonest family.Stop! cried Virginia stamping her foot, it is you who are rude, and horrid, and vulgar,

and as for dishonesty, you know you stole the paints out of my box to try and furbish up thatridiculous blood-stain in the library. First you took all my reds, including the vermilion, and Icouldnt do any more sunsets then you took the emerald-green and the chrome-yellow, andfinally I had nothing left but indigo and Chinese white, and could only do moonlight scenes,which are always depressing to look at, and not at all easy to paint. I never told on you,though I was very much annoyed, and it was most ridiculous, the whole thing; for who everheard of emerald-green blood?

Well, really, said the Ghost, rather meekly, what was I to do? It is a very difficult thingto get real blood nowadays, and, as your brother began it all with his Paragon Detergent, Icertainly saw no reason why I should not have your paints. As for colour, that is always amatter of taste: the Cantervilles have blue blood, for instance, the very bluest in England; but Iknow you Americans dont care for things of this kind.

You know nothing about it, and the best thing you can do is to emigrate and improve yourmind. My father will be only too happy to give you a free passage, and though there is aheavy duty on spirits of every kind, there will be no difficulty about the Custom House, as theofficers are all Democrats. Once in New York, you are sure to be a great success. I know lotsof people there who would give a hundred thousand dollars to have a grandfather, and muchmore than that to have a family ghost.

I dont think I should like America.

I suppose because we have no ruins and no curiosities, said Virginia satirically.No ruins! no curiosities! answered the Ghost; you have your navy and your manners.Good evening; I will go and ask papa to get the twins an extra weeks holiday.Please dont go, Miss Virginia, he cried; I am so lonely and so unhappy, and I really

dont know what to do. I want to go to sleep and I cannot.Thats quite absurd! You have merely to go to bed and blow out the candle. It is very

difficult sometimes to keep awake, especially at church, but there is no difficulty at all aboutsleeping. Why, even babies know how to do that, and they are not very clever.

I have not slept for three hundred years, he said sadly, and Virginias beautiful blue eyesopened in wonder; for three hundred years I have not slept, and I am so tired.

Reading comprehension and comments

1.What is the role of the initial mentioning of the fact that those primary conditions of receptiveexpectation were not met?

2.What is the authors attitude toward commonplaces and clichs? Consider both the universe ofBritish aristocracy and the life and ways of modern Americans.


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3.Has the contrast and cultural clash between these two categories become a clich in itself?4.Are there any elements in the story that not only support this idea, but also give a hint about

Wildes being aware of this aspect, and including it among the targets of his irony?5.Enlarge upon the psychological and social archetypes and clichs employed in the story.6.Which of the archetypal characters eventually turns out to be profoundly atypical?7.Wilde is perhaps best known for his love of paradoxes. Think of the normal antagonism a

commonplace in itself between traditionalism and adaptability, consider also your answer to the

previous question, and identify the paradoxical situation, if any.8. Comment upon the rich cultural tradition related to ghosts or other forms of spiritual persistence

after death. How is this kind of immortality perceived and considered?

B. Vocabulary study and practice

1. Look up the meaning(s) of the following words or phrases in a dictionary:

Ns:clank, coil, manacle, gyve, wainscot, pea-shooter, pellet, peal, wig, oriel, free passage, heavy dutyVs:to allude, to groan, to whiz, to glare, to gibber, to rattle, to furbish

As / Avs:oblong, wan, fell, weary, sensuous, forlorn, petulant, horrid2. a) There are several colours and shades mentioned in the text. Taking into consideration the

fact that the field of colour terms is at the same time extremely suitable for the analysis, and, as

a natural consequence, most frequently studied and illustrated, supply your own taxonomy of

the colours and shades that you know. b) Enrich the result after consulting dictionaries and/orother sources. Be sure you include the colours and shades in the text. c) Support the hyponymy

and incompatibility relations within the hierarchy by supplying the accompanying componential

analysis for each item.

3. After you have performed the tasks in 2., try your ability to construct hierarchies by

supplying a tentative taxonomic classification of supernatural beings. Ground the relative

position that you confer to each item upon the confrontation of associated clusters of distinctive

features, as the latter culturally appear to characterise each such imagined creature.

C. Grammar

1. Gender

1.1. Refresh your knowledge regarding gender marking and gender-related problems of

collocability in English by consulting the already covered first year courses.2. Adverbial Clauses

2.1. Identify the Adverbial Clauses in the text, and specify their type. (Optional: Perform the sametask, considering the Adverbial Clauses in one of the previously covered texts.)

D.Supplementary texts and assignments

from The Monkby Matthew Gregory Lewis

Follow me! She said to the Monk in a low and solemn voice. All is ready! His limbstrembled, while He obeyed her. She led him through various narrow passages; and on everyside as they past along, the beams of the Lamp displayed none but the most revolting objects;Skulls, Bones, Graves, and Images whose eyes seemed to glare on them with horror and

surprize. At length they reached a spacious Cavern, whose lofty roof the eye sought in vain todiscover. A profound obscurity hovered through the void. Damp vapours struck cold to theFriars heart; and He listened sadly to the blast while it howled along the lonely Vaults. HereMatilda stopped. She turned to Ambrosio. His cheeks and lips were pale with apprehension.By a glance of mingled scorn and anger She reproved his pusillanimity, but She spoke not.She placed the Lamp upon the ground, near the Basket. She motioned that Ambrosio should

be silent, and began the mysterious rites. She drew a circle round him, another round herself,and then taking a small Phial from the Basket, poured a few drops upon the ground before her.She bent over the place, muttered some indistinct sentences, and immediately a palesulphurous flame arose from the ground. It increased by degrees, and at length spread itswaves over the whole surface, the circles alone excepted in which stood Matilda and the

Monk. It then ascended the huge Columns of unhewn stone, glided along the roof, and formedthe Cavern into an immense chamber totally covered with blue trembling fire. It emitted no


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heat. On the contrary, the extreme chillness of the place seemed to augment with everymoment. Matilda continued her incantations. At intervals She took various articles from theBasket, the nature and name of most of which were unknown to the Friar. But among the fewwhich He distinguished, He particularly observed three human fingers, and an Agnus Deiwhich She broke in pieces. She threw them all into the flames which burned before her, andthey were instantly consumed.

The Monk beheld her with anxious curiosity. Suddenly She uttered a loud and piercingshriek. She appeared to be seized with an access of delirium; She tore her hair, beat herbosom, used the most frantic gestures, and drawing the poignard from her girdle plunged itinto her left arm. The blood gushed out plentifully, and as She stood on the brink of the circle,She took care that it should fall on the outside. The flames retired from the spot on which the

blood was pouring. A volume of dark clouds rose slowly from the ensanguined earth, andascended gradually, till it reached the vault of the Cavern. At the same time a clap of thunderwas heard: The echo pealed fearfully along the subterraneous passages, and the ground shook

beneath the feet of the Enchantress.It was now that Ambrosio repented of his rashness. The solemn singularity of the charm

had prepared him for something strange and horrible. He waited with fear for the Spirits

appearance, whose coming was announced by thunder and earthquakes. He looked wildlyround him, expecting that some dreadful Apparition would meet his eyes, the sight of whichwould drive him mad. A cold shivering seized his body, and He sank upon one knee, unableto support himself. He comes! exclaimed Matilda in a joyful accent.

Ambrosio started, and expected the Daemon with terror. What was his surprize, when theThunder ceasing to roll, a full strain of melodious Music sounded in the air. At the same timethe cloud dispersed, and He beheld a Figure more beautiful than Fancys pencil ever drew. Itwas a Youth seemingly scarce eighteen, the perfection of whose form and face wasunrivalled. He was perfectly naked: A bright Star sparkled upon his forehead; two crimsonwings extended themselves from his shoulders; and his silken locks were confined by a bandof many-coloured fires, which played round his head, formed themselves into a variety offigures, and shone with a brilliance far surpassing that of precious Stones. Circlets ofDiamonds were fastened round his arms and ankles, and in his right hand He bore a silver

branch, imitating Myrtle. His form shone with dazzling glory: He was surrounded by cloudsof rose-coloured light, and at the moment that He appeared, a refreshing air breathed

perfumes through the Cavern. Enchanted at a vision so contrary to his expectations, Ambrosiogazed upon the Spirit with delight and wonder. Yet however beautiful the Figure, He couldnot but remark a wildness in the Daemons eyes, and a mysterious melancholy impressedupon his features, betraying the Fallen Angel, and inspiring the Spectators with secret awe.The Music ceased. Matilda addressed herself to the Spirit: She spoke in a languageunintelligible to the Monk, and was answered in the same. She seemed to insist upon

something which the Daemon was unwilling to grant. He frequently darted upon Ambrosioangry glances, and at such times the Friars heart sank within him. Matilda appeared to growincensed. She spoke in a loud and commanding tone, and her gestures declared that She wasthreatening him with her vengeance. Her menaces had the desired effect: The Spirit sank uponhis knee, and with a submissive air presented to her the branch of Myrtle. No sooner had Shereceived it, than the Music was again heard. A thick cloud spread itself over the Apparition.The blue flames disappeared, and total obscurity reigned through the Cave. The Abbot movednot from his place. His faculties were all bound up in pleasure, anxiety, and surprize. Atlength the darkness dispersing, He perceived Matilda standing near him in her religious habit,with the Myrtle in her hand. No traces of the incantation, and the Vaults were onlyilluminated by the faint rays of the sepulchral Lamp.

I have succeeded, said Matilda, though with more difficulty than I expected. Lucifer,whom I summoned to my assistance, was at first unwilling to obey my commands. To enforcehis compliance I was constrained to have recourse to my strongest charms. They have produced


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the desired effect, but I have engaged never more to invoke his agency in your favour. Bewarethen, how you employ an opportunity which never will return. My magic arts will now be ofno use to you. In future you can only hope for supernatural aid by invoking the Daemonsyourself, and accepting the conditions of their service. This you will never do: You wantstrength of mind to force them to obedience, and unless you pay their established price, theywill not be your voluntary Servants.

1. a)Identify and comment upon the typical Gothic elements in the text.b) Enumerate and enlarge upon the most widely spread descriptions of daemons in folklore,

religious literature and fiction.c)Discuss the reasons for the Faustian pact motif appearing as a cultural invariant.

2.Translate the fourth paragraph of the text into Romanian.

A Night at a Cottageby Richard Hughes

On the evening that I am considering I passed by some ten or twenty cosy barns and shedswithout finding one to my liking: for Worcestershire lanes are devious and muddy, and it wasnearly dark when I found an empty cottage set back from the road in a little bedraggledgarden. There had been heavy rain earlier in the day, and the straggling fruit trees still weptover it. But the roof looked sound, there seemed no reason why it should not be fairly dryinside as dry, at any rate, as I was likely to find anywhere.

I decided: and with a long look up the road, and a long look down the road, I drew an ironbar from the lining of my coat and forced the door, which was only held by a padlock and twostaples. Inside, the darkness was damp and heavy; I struck a match, and with its haloed light Isaw the black mouth of a passage somewhere ahead of me; and then it spluttered out, so Iclosed the door carefully, though I had little reason to fear passers-by at such a dismal hour inso remote a lane; and lighting another match, I crept down this passage to a little room at thefar end, where the air was a bit clearer, for all that the window was boarded across. Moreover,there was a little rusted stove in this room; and thinking it too dark for anyone to see thesmoke, I ripped up part of the wainscot with my knife, and soon was boiling my tea over a

bright small fire, and drying some of the days rain out of my steamy clothes. Presently I piledthe stove with wood to its top bar, and settling my boots where they would best dry, Istretched my body out to sleep.

I cannot have slept very long, for when I woke the fire was still burning brightly. It is noteasy to sleep for long together on the level boards of a floor, for the limbs grow numb, andany movement wakes. I turned over, and was about to go to sleep again, when I was startledto hear footsteps in the passage. As I have said, the window was boarded, and there was noother door from the little room no cupboard even in which to hide. It occurred to me rathergrimly that there was nothing to do but to sit up and face the music, and that would probablymean being haled back to Worcester jail, which I had left two bare days before, and where,for various reasons, I had no anxiety to be seen again.

The stranger did not hurry himself, but presently walked slowly down the passage,attracted by the light of the fire; and when he came in he did not seem to notice me where Ilay huddled in a corner, but walked straight over to the stove and warmed his hands at it. Hewas dripping wet, wetter than I should have thought it possible for a man to get, even on sucha rainy night; and his clothes were old and worn. The water dripped from him on to the floor;he wore no hat, and the straight hair over his eyes dripped water that sizzled spitefully on theembers.

It occurred to me at once that he was no lawful citizen, but another wanderer like myself: agentleman of the road; so I gave him a sort of greeting, and we were presently inconversation. He complained much of the cold and wet, and huddled himself over the fire, histeeth chattering and face an ill white. No, I said, it is no decent weather for the road, this.

But I wonder this cottage isnt more frequented, for its a tidy little bit of cottage. Outside thepale dead sunflowers and the giant weeds stirred in the rain. Time was, he answered, therewasnt a tighter little cot in the county, not a prettier garden. A regular little parlour she was.But now no folkll live in it, and theres a very few trampsll stop here either.


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There were none of the rags and tins and broken food about that you find in place wheremany beggars are used to stay. Whys that? I asked. He gave a very troubled sigh beforeanswering. Ghosts, he said, ghosts. Him that lived here. It is a mighty sad tale, and Ill nottell it to you; but the upshot of it was that he drowned himself, down to the millpond. Allslimy he was, and floating, when they pulled him out of it. There are folks who have seen himfloating on the pond, and folks have seen him set round the corner of the school, waiting for

his childer. Seems as if he had forgotten, like how they were all gone dead, the why hedrowned himself. But there are some who say he walks up and down this cottage, up anddown; like when the small-pox had them, and they couldnt sleep but if they heard his feetgoing up and down by their doors. Drowned himself down the pond, he did, and now hewalks.

The stranger sighed again, and I could hear the water squelch in his boots as he movedhimself. But it doesnt do for the likes of us to get superstitious, I answered. It wouldnt dofor us to get seeing ghosts, or manys the wet night wed be lying in the roadway. No, hesaid; no, it wouldnt do at all. I never had belief in Walks myself. I laughed. Nor I that, Isaid. I never see ghosts, whoever may.

He looked at me again in his queer melancholy fashion. No, he said, expect you dont

ever. Some folks dont. Its hard enough for poor fellows to have no money to their lodging,apart from ghosts scaring them. Its the coppers, not spooks, that make me sleep uneasy, Isaid. What with coppers, and meddlesome minded folk, it isnt easy to get a nights restnowadays.

The water was still oozing from his clothes all about the floor, and a dank smell went upfrom him. God! man, I cried, cant you ever get dry?

Dry? He made a little coughing laughter. Dry? I shant ever get dry, be it wet or fine,winter or summer. See that! He thrust his muddy hands up to the wrist into the fire,glowering over it fiercely and madly. But I caught up my two boots and ran crying out intothe night.1. a)Compare the ghost in this story with the Canterville ghost.

b)Consider the setting and the circumstances. Are the primary conditions of receptive expectationmet in this case?

c)Nevertheless, is there any denial-of-expectation element that secures the final surprise?d)Read also the text in the reverse translation module of this unit, characterise Leslie and Keats

spirits, and make an attempt to sketch a ghost typology.2.Translate the first two paragraphs of the text into Romanian.

E.As a preparation for an open oral debate, put down some ideas related to the topic:

The paradox between reality and game of the intellect.

F. Translate the following text into English:

Pe vremuri auzeam csufletele rposailor dau de tire cui vor ele csunt acolo btnd uor

n lemnul mobilelor. Am ncercat i eu, dar nu e aa de uor. Deseori am senzaia perfectcam minile i trupul ntregi ca odinioar. Dar cu minile acestea n-am reuit smic, la noi nodaie, nici mcar o firimiturde pine de pe podea. i czuse nevesti-mi n timp ce mnca,lacrimile iroindu-i pe obraz. Privea firimitura cu o curioas insisteni, dacar fi vzut-odintr-o datcum se mici se plimbpe podea, ar fi neles ceu eram cel care o mpingea.Dar nu am reuit s-o fac.

Cnd sunt stpnit de asemenea gnduri, simt n jurul meu o mulime de fiine care ar vreasmajute.

Degeaba ncerci cu minile, mi-a optit clar una dintre acestea. Concentreaz-i gndulasupra aciunii fizice pe care vrei s-o provoci, mi-a spus.

Hai, las firimitura aia, a intervenit atunci altcineva, asta-i o treabprea grea. Fiecarelucru, la timpul lui. Deocamdat, mulumete-te cu ceva pocnituri n ua dulapului!

Mcar de-areui, zisei, mi-ar plcea grozav.


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Foarte bine! Atunci fii atent la ce-i spun eu. Svedem Uit-te la lemnul acestui dulap.E fcut din

E de brad, l ntrerupsei eu, nu aveam bani scumpr unul mai bun! Asta nu ne privete. E fcut din materie, nelegi? Din acea materie pe care noi, dintr-un

anumit punct de vedere, n-o mai avem. Din multe puncte de vedere, dupprerea mea, i spusei.

Nu tocmai! rspunse el, cu trie. Mai trziu vei nelege cntre fiina ta cea de-acum icea dinainte e doar o uoardeosebire. Oricum, mai nti de toate gndete-te cnchipuireata e mai uoar, mai fluiddect substana din care e alctuitaceastmobili cgndul tu

poate trece prin acest miez al lemnului ca vntul care trece printre spicele de gru i lencovoaie, frca ochiul s-l poatvedea.

Hm! Nu e chiar aa uor! fcui eu. Ba nicidecum! Plimb-i gndul printre milioanele de molecule din care e fcutaceast

scndurde lemn, f-o cu trie, cu energie, n sus i n jos, n toate direciile. Ineria i se vatulbura i, pentru o clip, echilibrul su va simi intervenia acestei noi energii.

n acea clip, simii cn grupul nostru mai intra cineva. Lsai biatul n pace! zise acesta. De ce l mpingei s nvee astfel de jocuri? Sunt

attea alte lucruri mai folositoare pe care va trebui sle deprindncet-ncet. Ei, i totui v rog, ineam att de mult s-i dau Patriciei un mic semn de viadin

parte-mi, protestai eu. []Dar fusese destul acel gest de protest al meu, ca odaia cu dulapul i cu nevast-mea s

dispardin ochii mei i ca eu smtrezesc singur, doar cu acela care intrase n vorbultimul. Nu e cazul s-i sperii nevasta cu ciocniturile tale prosteti, mi zise. Ei poftim! Btile mele prosteti! N-ai vzut cum se jeluie? Ce n-ar da ea sprimeasc

un semn de viade la mine i-ar face cruce i ar scuipa ca de frica dracului! rse el. Nu cred! Tocmai acum, cnd mstrigtoatziua: Leslie! Leslie! Las-o sse rcoreasc. N-are nici un rost ste nvri zi i noapte pe lngea. Te va uita.

Tu vei avea cu totul altceva de fcut acum. Nu vreau smuite! Cnd eram cu ea, nu se uita de loc la mine, mi i fcea n ciud:

purta plrie i mnui! Acum tii ca inut la tine. Ar trebui s-i fie destul. Dar cine eti tu, de te interesezi att de mine? Eu sunt Keats, adiccel ar crui nume a fost scris n ap A, da, cel din col, de pe aleea mea, cel cu dafinul nflorit? i-am vzut numele scris pe

piatr. i e multvreme de cnd ? Doar atta tii despre mine, de dafinul meu? Da, am sosit aici de puin timp, nu te-am ntlnit pnacum. Rvneam la copacul tu,

plin de flori; mi-am dorit ntotdeauna o grdinicu verdea. De cnd eram mic, mcrampe gardurile grdinilor sau mi bgam nasul n crpturile din zid, s pot privi toate acelefrumusei pe care nu le puteam avea i care mumpleau i de bucurie, i de tristee. Am scrisi versuri pe tema asta, zisei.

Da, tiu. Te cunosc de mult, mi spuse Keats. Tu pe mine? Cum asta? Nu-mi aduc aminte sne fi cunoscut. Tu n-ai cum s-o tii, fiindceu m-am apucat s-i bat prin dulapuri, n timp ce scriai. A, adictu erai pe atunci Sigur, din cnd n cnd maplec scitesc prin caietele poeilor; mi place. Poezia ta cu

tristeea nu e rea.Luki GalactionDoamna de pe podul de fier


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UNIT VI

SCIENCE. ANSWERS FROM REALITY

Preliminaries

1. Comment upon the covert dichotomy (or, at least, distinction) between science (exact

sciences) and humanist disciplines. Focus upon the causes of this psychological patterning.2. Comment upon the significance of the dissociation that resulted in the modern ascend ofthe syntagm science and technology.

A. The Five Frontiers of Spaceby Edward C. Stone

NASA was formed at the dawn of the Space Age as part of the U.S. investment to create aspace-faring capability. Today the United States is indeed a space-faring nation, and it is hardto imagine a future in which it does not remain so. Even if there was no longer a NASA, wewould continue to develop and deploy more advanced global positioning, communications,weather, reconnaissance, and systems in space.

Given that the United States is and will be a space-faring nation, what is the role of NASA

in space today? Although the Space Age began 46 years ago, it is still the newest realm ofhuman activity. There remains much to learn. A primary role for NASA is to expand thefrontiers of this new realm in order to foster increasing activity and broader involvement.Expanding the frontiers of space also serves the national interest by providing opportunitiesfor international partnerships.

There are five frontiers to this new realm of human activity:1. The physical frontier going where robotic systems or humans have not been.2. The knowledge frontier discovering and understanding natural phenomena.3. The engineering / technology frontier developing the innovative engineering andtechnology required to expand the other frontiers.4. The human frontier addressing the physiological, psychological, and other aspects of

effective human activity in space.5. The applications frontier developing and demonstrating new uses of space.These frontiers are immense, so choices must be made. Among the criteria for such choices

is the extent to which a program or project significantly expands one or more of thesefrontiers, thereby contributing to the achievement of a long-term goal.

The actual rate of learning or pushing the frontiers is another important measure of thevalue of individual programs. This is an important criterion for choosing a program. It is alsoimportant in deciding to discontinue an activity when the important questions have beenanswered and the rate of learning has become only incremental or is no longer commensuratewith the cost and risk.

In general, space science has long-range goals and roadmaps that are periodically revisited

in the light of new knowledge, new capabilities, expected rate of learning, and estimated costand risk. It also has processes for identifying the best ideas for addressing those goals.Therefore the following focuses on human space-flight.

The human exploration of Mars would clearly expand the physical frontier for humanspace-flight and could serve as a long-range goal in determining the value of specificinvestments in the human space-flight program. With proper planning and preparation, thehuman exploration of Mars would also expand the science frontier. This should be aninternational goal with a general time frame but not a commitment to a specific date.

Sending humans to Mars would require significantly expanding the engineering /technology and the human frontiers while continuing the scientific exploration of Mars with

precursor robotic missions. In the near term this suggests that the human frontier should be ahigh priority for the International Space Station. The capabilities and use of the International


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Space Station should be optimized to achieve timely and significant progress in understandingthe most important factors affecting human effectiveness and safety during long exposures inspace. There will also be opportunities for the International Space Station to contribute to thescience and applications frontiers.

One of the challenges for human space-flight is choosing programs that will significantlyincrease the rate of learning associated with expanding the frontiers critical to human space-

flight so that it is commensurate with the investment and the risk. An effective way toincrease the rate of learning is to proceed with a series of smaller steps rather than with theoccasional, much larger step represented by a single system designed to address manydifferent and often competing objectives. Each step should focus on an aspect of theengineering and technology or human frontier that is crucial to making a human mission toMars feasible, affordable, and safe. The exact steps will evolve as we learn, but the overalldirection will be guided by the long-term goal of the human exploration of Mars.

Expanding the frontiers means learning by going new places and trying new things. Doingwhat has not been done before will entail risk, but that will be acceptable if we are learningwhat is critical to expanding the frontiers, rather than only incrementally improving what wealready know and do. That does not mean, however, that institutionally driven risks are

acceptable.Addressing challenging engineering / technology issues on reasonable time scales (e.g. 5

years) will motivate students and attract the talented workforce needed to tackle hardproblems. This is important because there are now many more challenging opportunities inengineering and science than there were at the beginning of the Space Age. As a result, thereis much more competition for the brightest and best, and the human space-flight programmust offer a higher rate of learning to attract a new generation of technical staff.

Experience with the space science program also suggests that if the human space-flightprogram was structured to produce more learning, additional funding would follow becausethe value to the long-range goal of human presence on Mars would be apparent and the

progress visible. The challenge for the human space-flight program in the next two decades isto take the steps on the frontiers of space that will make human exploration of Mars not just adream but inevitable.

(in:Issues and Opportunities Regarding the U.S. Space ProgramA Summary Report of The Workshop on National Space Policy March, 2004)

Reading comprehension and comments

1.Can you integrate the contextual valence and meanings of the term frontier, as employed in thistext, within an ampler cultural circumscribing of the concept? Do you consider it a matter of linguisticcoincidence that it occurs here? What do you know about the spirit of the Frontier, and its role inshaping the becoming of America?

2.What do you know about the race for the Moon in the sixties?3. What do you know about the present-day exploration of Mars?


1. Look up the meaning of any unknown word or phrase in a dictionary.

2. Afterwards, try and find their synonyms and/or opposites among the words and phrases that

you had already known.

C.Supplementary text and assignments

Earliest fire sheds light on hominidsby Nadja Neumann

Ancient hearths unveiled as nearly 800 millennia oldYou could travel back 790,000 years and still find someone to light your fire:

archaeologists have collected evidence that early humans mastered fire much earlier than

previously thought.


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There is already good evidence for hearths that are 250,000 years old, and it was widelybelieved that the first controlled handling of fire occurred 400,000 to 500,000 years ago.

But an analysis of burned remains carried out by Naama Goren-Inbar of the HebrewUniversity, Jerusalem, and her team now proves that fire was tamed at least 300,000 yearsearlier than that.

The researchers have spent the past 15 years unearthing and sorting sediments at a site

called Gesher Benot Yaaqov in Israel. The site is of particular interest to archaeologistsbecause it was an old crossroads between Asia and Eurasia. It is also waterlogged, whichmeans that any ancient remains are extremely well conserved.

The team sorted flint and wood from the 790,000-year-old site into burned and unburnedmaterial. They found that burned material made up less than 2% of the total and wasconcentrated at specific locations in the site, suggesting the fires that created it were startedand controlled by early humans.

Goren-Inbar sees the study as a breakthrough in terms of understanding the evolution ofhominids: the fact that they were using fire so early tells scientists a great deal about theirabilities and behaviour at the time.

Hearth desire

As well as providing protection against wild animals, fire would have enabled hominids tocook their food, stay warm during the winter and possibly improve their weapons.

Chris Stringer from the Natural History Museum in London, UK, suggests that the use offire would have enriched the hominids social lives too. People may have gathered aroundcamp-fires, staying awake longer and interacting more than before.

He also points out that this first use of fire correlates with the time that hominids arethought to have entered colder areas such as Europe and Northern China, suggesting that firehelped hominids to explore environments that were previously too hostile.

Goren-Inbars analysis suggests that, as well as using fire, inhabitants of the site in Israelwere collecting plant food, hunting and processing meat.

The team plans further analysis of the sites material to determine which species ofhominid was responsible for the fires. Homo erectus,Homo ergasterandHomo sapienswereall around at the time, and all were able to walk upright, had large brains and were alreadyusing tools made of stone.

in:Nature News Service / April, 30, 2004 / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2004

1. a) What do you think of the continuous back-shift re-dating that contemporary anthropologicaldiscoveries bring about?

b)Comment upon the cultural symbolism of fire.2.Translate the text into Romanian.

D. Proofread and revise one of your first term essays from the ulterior perspective

offered by the guidelines in academic writing included in this unit.

E. Translate the following texts into English:

tiina este ca o tafet n care fiecare alergtor preia tora de la cei care l-au precedatimediat, pentru a o duce mai departe. Toate achiziiile tiinei sunt mereu reconsiderate iinserate n noul context i n noul limbaj pe care tiina le elaboreaz. Aceast situaie adeterminat pe unii s afirme c tiina nu aparine culturii, deoarece n tiin totul se

perimeaz. Ce valoare culturalar putea avea un concept, un rezultat, o teorie, un model alcror destin este de a fi nlocuite ce altele, pentru ca acestea din urmsaibaceeai soart?

Numai c nlocuirea unor concepte, modele sau teorii tiinifice nu se manifest n sensulrenunrii la ele ca la nite obiecte inutile, pe care le aruncm n lada de gunoi, ci n sensulinserrii lor ntr-un cadru mai cuprinztor, ntr-un context nou, n care le citim mereu i mereu

altfel. S-a perimat teorema lui Pitagora sau conceptul de numr prim? S-a perimat teoriagravitaionala lui Newton? Numai lectura lor se mbogete i se precizeazmereu.


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Transformarea necontenita limbajului tiinei poate da uneori impresia canumite faptemai vechi au fost uitate; ele pot deveni, ntr-adevr, de nerecunoscut la prima vedere, dar o

privire mai atentne va dezvlui o legturorganiccu etapele anterioare. Adevrul este cdestul de multe fapte rezisti acum n forma lor din urmcu doumii de ani; o bunpartedin matematica colarintrn aceastcategorie.

Solomon MarcusInvenie i descoperire

ntr-adevr, cultura contemporan, precumpnitor tiinific, pare s fi ajuns astzi nimpasul la care sfrise cultura teologic a Evului Mediu: trebuie s explice cu mijloace

perfecte o lume imperfect. Teologia se bloca n problema Theodiceii, anume cum poateface un Creator, desvrit i bun, o lume totui plinde rele, iar tentativele de-a rspunde la oasemenea problemduseserla gnosticism i erezii, n antichitate, spre a zgudui apoi dintemelii lumea cretin. Ceea ce s-a ntmplat cu logos-ul divin ncepe sse ntmple cu logos-ul matematic n lumea contemporan. Sfie matematicienii teologii lumii noastre?

Nu sunt chiar ei, cci pstreaz, dincolo de blocri, sau stimulai tocmai de ele, o suveraninventivitate. Dar s-ar putea ca teologii zilelor noastre s fie creatorii formalismelor de totfelul, inspirai de matematicieni. Iar aa cum teologii de alt dat, nemulumii deimperfeciunile realului, se refugiau adesea n lumea ierarhiilor ngereti, teologiicontemporani fac i ei un fel de angelologie, trgndu-se tot mai mult nspre fpturiledesvrite ale tehnicii, puse pe lume de tiina nou. Dacrealitatea, societatea, limbile suntimperfecte, cu att mai ru pentru ele par teologii cei noi a spune.

Constantin Noica Scrisori despre logica lui Hermes

F. Guidelines in academic writing

Essays I

When writing a short or medium-sized essay, the following fundamental principlesare tobe observed:

1)lexical and grammatical accuracy;

2)articulated internal organisation (in terms of structure, function and cohesion);3)stylistic appropriateness.1)In order to be lexically and grammatically accurate:

- check up in a dictionary the spelling and the meaning(s) of anyword (collocation) which isnot quite familiar to you;- avoid repetitions and/or stylistically inappropriate choice of words, idioms, etc see also3) by carefully making use of synonyms or equivalent expressions, an ability which also

presupposes a steady process of enriching your vocabulary (reading, lexical exercises, etc);- verify your grammar, proofreading the written text, and, whenever necessary, consulting theliterature on the morphological or syntactic aspect in question;- it is also advisable to avoid very long complex sentences, and to pay a special attention to

such issues as the use and sequence of tenses, irregular forms, agreement, asemantic(expletive) subjects, anaphors, etc, these being the areas of the highest risk of errors;- check punctuation.

2) The general organisation of a piece of academic writing (an essay, a report, variousother types of assignments) is grounded on the three basic elements of structure (theintroduction, the development, the conclusion), which are mapped onto the units of content(sentences and paragraphs), in order to convey various descriptive, narrative, analytic,argumentative, etcfunctionssee further , the overall cohesionbeing secured by logical andformal connectives.- The introduction contains the initial (brief) formulation of the topic. This statement of the

problem (and, possibly, the comments on the way it is to be treated) represent what is

sometimes called the thesis.


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- The development is the main body of the presentation, analysis or discussion, in other wordsthe detailed approach to the thesis. It consists of a logically ordered set of main ideas, each ofwhich is variably detailed, but obligatorily accompanied by the minimally necessaryillustrations and/or arguments, comments.N. B.: Do not deal with more than one main idea within one and the same unit of content(paragraph).

- The conclusion is a summary of the points tackled in the development, in support of a finalreiteration of the thesis.Each part of the writing employs particular language structures and uses, in accordance

with the specific purpose of communication (or function): describing, defining,exemplifying, classifying, analysing, comparing, arguing, etc.

Each function is rendered as sentences and paragraphs, these material units of contentbeing linked or joined together by connectives (or transitions), viz. words or phrases thatindicate a logical relationship, and thus support the cohesion of the writing. Connectivesgenerally group within three basic types: a) the ANDtype; b) the ORtype; c) the BUTtype.a) The discussion, argument, or comment in the development of the topic may be astraightforward one, in which case ideas sequentially accumulate, and the logical relationship

requires ANDtype connectives.These ones may indicate:

- listing:1. enumeration:first(ly), second(ly), first and foremost, last but not least, next, lastly,

finally, to begin with, and to conclude, etc;2. addition:

a) reinforcement also, further, moreover, in addition, etc orb)equation equally, likewise, similarly, etc;

- transition (regarding, as for, as far as is / are concerned, etc);- summation (therefore, thus, to conclude, etc);- apposition (i.e., in particular, in other words, etc);- result (accordingly, hence, consequently, etc);- inference (in that case, otherwise, etc).

b) Sometimes alternative solutions, views are also employed, there being a need forconnectives of the OR type. (After the alternative has been considered, the main line ofargument is to be resumed.)

These connectives may signal:- reformulation (better, rather, etc);- replacement (alternatively, on the other hand, etc).c) As usually required by the desideratum of an objective survey, the opposite position,arguments, etc are to be considered or referred to. This triggers the involvement of the BUT

type connectives. (Similarly, there has to be an ulterior return to the main thesis, for the sakeof consistency.)This type indicates:

- contrast (conversely, on the contrary, instead, etc);- concession (however, nevertheless, still, despite that, even if, etc).

Summing up, the general organisation of the piece of writing will be as follows:introduction [a] supporting information [a] main development (also [b] alternatives, [c]opposite arguments) [a] conclusion.

3)Stylistic appropriateness resides in the correct choice (considering the type and topic ofassignment, the targeted audience, etc) of the cluster of multi-levelled linguisticcharacteristics that corresponds to a certain stylistic register (or degree of formality).

Some authors list five such degrees (styles): frozen (used in print or declamation); formal(detaching the emittent from the receiver); consultative (background information is supplied,vocabulary is carefully chosen); casual (shared information is presupposed, relaxed speech);intimate (indicates a close relationship).


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Newmark (1988) distinguishes eight levels of formality. For illustrating them, we supplyhis example:- Officialese level: The consumption of any nutrients whatsoever is categorically prohibited inthis establishment.

- Official: The consumption of nutrients is prohibited in this establishment.- Formal: You are requested not to consume food in this establishment.

- Neutral:Eating is not allowed here.- Informal:Please dont eat here.- Colloquial: You cant feed your face here.- Slang:Lay off the nosh!- Taboo:Lay off the f---- nosh.A second scale refers to degrees of language simplicity versus complexity, and it has sixlevels: simple, popular, neutral, educated, technical, opaque technical.The third scale captures emotional tone, and it has four levels: intense, warm, cool or factual,and cold understatement.

Despite this variety of style classification and criteria, the central recommendation remainsto avoid lower stylistic registers in writing, and in academic essays in particular. In terms of

characterising features at various linguistic levels of analysis, this roughly means: carefullychosen vocabulary (more Latin etymons, specific terminology, less idiomatic expressions,etc), frequent unrestrictive use of Simple Present, explicit connectors, no contracted forms orelliptical constructions, passive, existential, and impersonal constructions, non-agentiveinanimate / abstract subjects, more numerous and complex relationships of subordination, etc.N. B.: Elevated vocabulary does not mean excessive use of (unnecessary) rare or highlyspecialised words.

Written assignments and exercises

1. Write a short essay (1-1 p.) on the topicReligious education in schools, identifying and specifyingthe elements of internal organisation. Verify and outline the observing of the three principles.

2.Render one and the same idea in different stylistic registers (e.g. formal, neutral, and informal).Essays II

According to a widely accepted general classification, the following main typesof essaysare to be distinguished: 1) narrative; 2) descriptive; 3) discursive (analytic andargumentative), each type posing certain specific problems.

Thus, narrative essays require a special attention in terms of point of view, temporalsequencing of events, and amount of comments (if any).

As far as descriptive essays are concerned, the key aspects regard spatial displaying, andidentification of perceptually (and/or emotionally) relevant / salient features / properties.

In both cases, various mental associations and logical processes (parallelisms, analogies,

comparisons, contrasts) can be also employed.Analytic and argumentative essays equally make extensive use of the basic discursivetools, viz. definition, exemplification, and classification.

Definitions can be more or less accurate and/or expanded, depending upon (situational)context, amount of available information, purpose, degree of complexity / technicality of theconcept to be defined, etc. In everyday usage, functional enough (though imperfect)definitions seem to be usually centred upon what is most salient in perceptual terms. Forinstance, a tree may be more often defined in terms of its branches and leaves, although thesecan be optional at different periods in the life of the tree, than in terms of trunk or root, inspite of the fact that a tree must have them in order to be a tree.

It appears therefore that more or less rigorously vs. suitably chosen distinctive features

play in all cases and situations an important role in the logical processes associated withdefining.


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The principles according to which these features are organised and exploited in providingscientific or simply tidy definitions can be summed up under the form of two mainrequirements that any definition has to meet: the identification of the 1) genus proximusandthe specification of 2) differentia specifica. These two issues practically constitute theminimally necessary parts of a definition. In semantic terms, this can be represented as theintersection between the vertical, hierarchical relation of hyponymy, and the horizontal,

contrastive relation of incompatibility. This is to say that one has to determine theimmediately superior (inclusive) category to which the concept to be defined belongs, and theopposing feature(s) securing its distinction from other items subordinated to the samedominating category.

e.g.: A laptop is a portable [2] computer [1].It appears evident that defining is a process in close relationship with classifying.

Definitions are also to be supported by exemplifications, i.e. the providing of actualisations ofthe concept, of its particular instantiations.

e.g.: Being a portable computer, the laptop is an electronic device, which also incorporatessome mechanical parts.

e.g.: Examples of cutlery, i.e. of tools for preparing and eating food, are: the spoon, the

knife, etc.Frequent mistakes in defining consist in giving an example instead of a definition, omitting

either general class or distinctive characteristic, providing circular definitions.e.g.: Means of transport are for instance cars, trains, etc.

A biologist studies plants and animals.A biologist is a university graduate.Syntax is (the science) about syntax.

Mistakes in exemplification may consist in choosing an atypical representative, whileerrors in classification usually reside in making use of a higher than immediately dominantcategory.

e.g.: games, as for instance skeetThe spider is an animal.

Written assignments and exercises

1. Define and illustrate: illness, sky-scraper, pollution.2.Comment upon your most frequent mistakes in defining, classifying, and illustrating.


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UNIT VII

LAW, CULTURE, AND CONVENTIONS. ANSWERS FROM THE OTHERS

Preliminaries

1. Comment upon the relationship between law and convention. Is law a convention that has

become compulsory? How can this transformation come to be? Which is the place / role ofculture in this?2. How would you interpret the title of this last unit? Think of the other titles, too.

A. How a Law-less Data Haven Is Using Law to Protect Itselfby Gary Slapper

When is a state not a state? When it is a playground on stilts in 30 ft of water, some mightsay, looking out at Sealand, the worlds newest self-proclaimed state, off the Suffolk coast.

The Government has apparently allowed itself to be painted into a corner over anintriguing issue of international law. A story that began in an apparently risible way inSeptember 1967, and was nothing much more than a minor item of local news about a smalleccentric family, has metamorphosed into an international incident.

For at the very time when Parliament has just passed the Regulation of InvestigatoryPowers Act, which allows private computer information to be monitored where serious crimeor breaches of national security are involved, a putative state without any such laws orconcerns is threatening the interests of the Government off the port of Felixtowe.

During the Second World War Britain established an artificial island on the high seas. Itwas equipped with radar and heavy armaments and was occupied by 200 servicemen. Theirtask was to guard the approaches to the Thames Estuary where convoys of shipping wereassembled.

After the war the island was abandoned. Then in the winter of 1966, a former major, RoyBates, took possession of the outpost known as Roughs Tower. On September 2, 1967, Batesand his family hoisted their own flag and later declared the existence of the Principality of

Sealand.The island was outside the then existing three-mile territorial waters of Britain. Thejuridical status of the Principality of Sealand is now the subject of heated legal and politicalcontroversy.

A group of American business entrepreneurs, led by Sean Hastings, 31, is setting up theworlds first offshore data haven on the island. The computer experts come from theAnguilla-based firm HavenCo Ltd and are keen to launch the only place in the world that canoffer almost complete anonymity and privacy to anyone who wants to conduct e-business

beyond the gaze of the authorities. Clearly, this matter is of grave concern to the police, theInland Revenue and the intelligence services. The son of Roy Bates, Prince Michael, 47, has

been reported as saying: It is about freedom and liberty and making it easier for people to do

business in private and to express themselves freely.The commonly accepted criteria among jurists for determining whether an entity is a state

are taken from thejus gentium the law of nations. This law is derived from the Institutes ofJustinian, the major treatise written by the command of the Roman Emperor Justinian and

published in AD 533. One thorny problem for the Government is that according to the threemajor criteria of statehood, Sealand does appear to have a good claim.

The requirements are: a national territory; a people coming together as a nation; and asovereign state authority. It does not matter that it is only 932 sq yd in size because there is nominimum area legally articulated for something to be a state. Vatican City is classified as astate even though it is minuscule. Neither is there a requirement that the population risesabove a certain minimum. Nor is it an argument that the structure was created by theGovernment as it was legally terra nullis abandoned land when it was taken over. Article1 of the Montevideo Convention on Rights and Duties of States, signed in 1933, itemises the


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same criteria as the jus gentium, plus the capacity to enter into relations with other states.Sealand appears also to have satisfied this criterion. If Sealand is an independent state, itcould legitimately claim its own coastal waters and regulate its own airspace. TheGovernment is also in difficulties over this because on two occasions it has appeared toendorse the idea that Sealand is both beyond its jurisdiction and has the status of a state.

In 1968 the Royal Navy expressed concern over Bates presence on Sealand and sent in

some boats. Bates fired warning shots at them and was then prosecuted in a Crown Court. Heargued that the newly named Sealand was beyond British jurisdiction and this was acceptedby the trial judge.

Then in 1978, three years after Sealand declared itself a sovereign principality, Dutch andGerman businessmen came over with a business proposition. However, while they were there,they took the fortress and Prince Michael prisoner. He was freed in a counter-attack from theair by King Roy and the businessmen were taken as PoWs. When Germany asked Britain tointervene, it was told that the fortress was beyond British jurisdiction.

Students of the relationship between law and realpolitik will be watching developmentshere closely. The spectacle of a new state with no laws appealing to international law to

protect it against an ancient state overflowing with laws cannot help but be intriguing.

( The Times August, 8, 2000 )Reading comprehension and comments

1.If you were a statesman, would you support or at least approve such an initiative as the one in thestory? As an ordinary citizen, what do you think?

2.Comment upon whether there should be a limit that actions performed in the name of principleslike free initiative and entrepreneurship cannot exceed or not.

3.Democracy is usually defined as the freedom to think or do whatever one wishes to, provided thatone does not by this interfere or restrict the same freedom in others. Can a radical interpretation of this

principle come instead to affect the indirect exponents of the others, like the state and its institutions?


1. Look up the meaning of any unknown word or phrase in a dictionary.2. Afterwards, try and find their synonyms and/or opposites among the words and phrases that

you had already known.

3. The verb assembleis used in the text in one of its possible (but all closely related) meanings.

Consider also other verbs in the semantic field of actions of joining an combining, like: mingle,

mix, shuffle, blend, amalgamate, merge, fuse. a) Supply their componential definitions in terms of

the following suggested semantic features: [ dissolving], [ chemical combination], [ tobacco,

drinks, colours], [ melting], [ obtaining an alloy], [ sinking], [ cement], [ images],

[ companies, banks], [ cards], [ also used figuratively], etc. b) Fill in the blanks, using these

verbs: 1. The view is splendid; only Nature can such colours. 2. Brass is obtained in this furnace,by copper with zinc. 3. He doesnt like anybody to when he and his friends are having theirpoker game, and he always the cards almost solemnly. 4. Our board is not against the idea of

with a larger company, but we cannot accept taking over. 5. To hydrargyrum does not mean simply this chemical element with another, but obtaining a new substance, a compound evincingcompletely different properties.

C.Supplementary texts and assignments

fromCrome Yellowby Aldous Huxley

For some time past Marys grave blue eyes had been fixed upon him. What have you beenwriting lately? she asked. It would be nice to have a little literary conversation. Oh, verseand prose, said Denis just verse and prose.

Prose? Mr. Scogan pounced alarmingly on the word. Youve been writing prose?Yes. Not a novel? Yes. My poor Denis! exclaimed Mr. Scogan. What about? Denis

felt rather uncomfortable. Oh, about the usual things, you know. Of course, Mr. Scogangroaned. Ill describe the plot for you. Little Percy, the hero, was never good at games, but


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he was always clever. He passes through the usual public school and the usual university andcomes to London, where he lives among the artists. He is bowed down with melancholythought; he carries the whole weight of the universe upon his shoulders. He writes a novel ofdazzling brilliance; he dabbles delicately in Amour and disappears, at the end of the book,into the luminous Future.

Denis blushed scarlet. Mr. Scogan had described the plan of his novel with an accuracy

that was appalling. He made an effort to laugh. Youre entirely wrong, he said. My novelis not in the least like that. It was a heroic lie. Luckily, he reflected, only two chapters werewritten. He would tear them up that very evening when he unpacked.

Mr. Scogan paid no attention to his denial, but went on: Why will you young mencontinue to write about things that are so entirely uninteresting as the mentality of adolescentsand artists? Professional anthropologists might find it interesting to turn sometimes from the

beliefs of the Blackfellow to the philosophical preoccupations of the undergraduate. But youcant expect an ordinary adult man, like myself, to be much moved by the story of hisspiritual troubles. And after all, even in England, even in Germany and Russia, there are moreadults than adolescents. As for the artist, he is preoccupied with problems that are so utterlyunlike those of the ordinary adult man problems of pure aesthetics which dont so much as

present themselves to people like myself that a description of his mental processes is asboring to the ordinary reader as a piece of pure mathematics. A serious book about artistsregarded as artists is unreadable; and a book about artists regarded as lovers, husbands,dipsomaniacs, heroes, and the like is really not worth writing again. Jean-Christophe is thestock artist of literature, just as Professor Radium of Comic Cuts is its stock man ofscience.

Im sorry to hear Im as uninteresting as all that, said Gombauld. Not at all, my dearGombauld, Mr. Scogan hastened to explain. As a lover or a dipsomaniac, Ive no doubt ofyour being a most fascinating specimen. But as a combiner of forms, you must honestly admitit, youre a bore.

I entirely disagree with you, exclaimed Mary. She was somehow always out of breathwhen she talked. And her speech was punctuated by little gasps. Ive known a great manyartists, and Ive always found their mentality very interesting. Especially in Paris.Tschuplitski, for example I saw a great deal of Tschuplitski in Paris this spring...

Ah, but then youre an exception, Mary, youre an exception, said Mr. Scogan. You areafemme superieure. A flush of pleasure turned Marys face into a harvest moon.

1. Comment upon how conventional iterativity can come to transform the questions of existence, andexistence itself, into banality and boredom.2.Translate the first three paragraphs of the text into Romanian.

Of the Effects of Customfrom A TREATISE OF HUMANNATUREby David Hume

Nothing has a greater effect both to encrease and diminish our passions, to convert

pleasure into pain, and pain into pleasure, than custom and repetition. Custom has twooriginal effects upon the mind, in bestowing a facility in the performance of any action or theconception of any object; and afterwards a tendency or inclination towards it; and from thesewe may account for all its other effects, however extraordinary.

When the soul applies itself to the performance of any action, or the conception of anyobject, to which it is not accustomed, there is a certain unpliableness in the faculties, and adifficulty of the spirits moving in their new direction. As this difficulty excites the spirits, itis the source of wonder, surprize, and of all the emotions, which arise from novelty; and is initself very agreeable, like every thing, which inlivens the mind to a moderate degree. Butthough surprize be agreeable in itself, yet as it puts the spirits in agitation, it not onlyaugments our agreeable affections, but also our painful, according to the foregoing principle,that every emotion, which precedes or attends a passion, is easily converted into it. Hence


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every thing, that is new, is most affecting, and gives us either more pleasure or pain, thanwhat, strictly speaking, naturally belongs to it. When it often returns upon us, the noveltywears off; the passions subside; the hurry of the spirits is over; and we survey the objects withgreater tranquillity.

By degrees the repetition produces a facility of the human mind, and an infallible source ofpleasure, where the facility goes not beyond a certain degree. And here it is remarkable that

the pleasure, which arises from a moderate facility, has not the same tendency with that whicharises from novelty, to augment the painful, as well as the agreeable affections. The pleasureof facility does not so much consist in any ferment of the spirits, as in their orderly motion;which will sometimes be so powerful as even to convert pain into pleasure, and give us arelish in time what at first was most harsh and disagreeable. But again, as facility converts

pain into pleasure, so it often converts pleasure into pain, when it is too great, and renders theactions of the mind so faint and languid, that they are no longer able to interest and support it.And indeed, scarce any other objects become disagreeable through custom; but such as arenaturally attended with some emotion or affection, which is destroyed by the too frequentrepetition. One can consider the clouds, and heavens, and trees, and stones, howeverfrequently repeated, without ever feeling any aversion. But when the fair sex, or music, or

good cheer, or any thing, that naturally ought to be agreeable, becomes indifferent, it easilyproduces the opposite affection. Custom not only gives a facility to perform any action, butlikewise an inclination and tendency towards it, where it is not entirely disagreeable, and cannever be the object of inclination. And this is the reason why custom encreases all activehabits, but diminishes passive, according to the observation of a late eminent philosopher. Thefacility takes off from the force of the passive habits by rendering the motion of the spiritsfaint and languid. But as in the active, the spirits are sufficiently supported of themselves, thetendency of the mind gives them new force, and bends them more strongly to the action.1. Comment upon the antagonism between the effects of habitude upon sustained activities on the onehand, and upon emotions on the other hand.2.Translate the first paragraph of the text into Romanian.

D. Proofread and revise another one of your first term essays from the ulterior

perspective offered by the guidelines in academic writing included in these two last

units.

E. Translate the following text into English:

n pdure are faima unui ins de vaz, cum i-o fi creat aceastfaimiarnu pot pricepe, itoate animalele se dau bine pe lngmine, ca mai apropiat lui, ca safle ce mai face Maestrul.Ce-a mai zis Maestrul, ce-a mai mncat, ce-a mai rumegat? Maestrul a binevoit s facaprecieri asupra vremii? Cum mai e vremea, dupopinia Maestrului? i tot felul de nerozii deastea. (E i pdurea asta o ntflea!) nchipuii-v cte lucruri interesante trebuie sscornesc, pentru a ine sus steagul (al Maestrului, na), sfiu gata n orice clipsdau cte unrspuns de srmnlupii, vulpile, coofenele, mele-n coad.

Nu se mai gsete zmeurcu fric. (Aceasta e chiar o opinie a Ursului.) Dar pornind dela aceastconstatare a sa, pe care o spun la nceput, ca aperitiv, ncep storn la minciuni, caremai de care mai gogonate. Nu numai cnu se mai gsete, dar nici n-o s se mai gseascvreodat. V-ai lins pe bot, adio zmeurcu fric, pentru c, anul viitor, pdurea o sfie tiat,transformatn butuci i mutatla ora. i asta n-ar fi nimic, am mai vzut noi pduri tiate,dacmai nti nu s-ar face recensmntul tuturor dobitoacelor, cu nsemnarea exacta loculuiunde se afl fiecare, n aa fel nct, atunci cnd se purcede la transferul pdurii, pleci cucopacul tu cel mai apropiat. De ce, de ce? ntrebau alarmate vulpile mai ales. Simplu ca

bun-ziua. Pentru a se crea, acolo la ora, un microclimat. Ca pdurea snu rmnsingur, i

ca totul sfie ca mai-nainte. Cum ca mai-nainte? ntreabveveriele. Ca acum. Pi cum caacum, dacspui ca mai-nainte, nu vezi cn-ai logic?


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Vrei s spunei c Maestrul ar fi lipsit de logica cea mai elementar, asta vrei sinsinuai?

Susine Maestrul toate bazaconiile astea? Nu numai cle susine, dar e n stare sse i supere dacaude cnu-i crezut pe cuvnt.

tii cum a fost anul trecut, cnd zicea svfacei provizii de ap, cn-o sploutrei luni itoate dobitoacele s-au pus pe spat fntni i dupaceea a plouat trei luni ncontinuu.

Nu-i bun exemplul, pentru cnu s-a nimerit. Putea sse nimereasci mai ru. (Astea le-am dat iar ca vorbe ale Maestrului.)Cea mai frumoasteorie a Ursului (de fapt a mea, dar nu puteam s-o dau ca original, cci

eu nu am ncun nume i deocamdat, vreo civa ani, sunt obligat slucrez n colectiv) afost aceea cpmntul nu se nvrtete, cum susin unii, ci merge drept. Pmntul acesta e unfel de potecprin univers i cine a mai pomenit poteci nvrtindu-se? n schimb luna, care emai mic, merge drept, dar din cnd n cnd face un cot, n aa fel nct se poate spune cmerge n formde L, asta pentru ce ndrgostitde el, de Pmnt, adic, dar el o ine drept,

pe poteca lui i de-asta nu se ntlnesc niciodat, i de-asta ne merge nouru, pentru ctrimsub o nefericire cosmic.

La chestia asta, toi pesimitii din pdure m-au pupat, arpele n-a pierdut ocazia de-a

strecura puin venin: Eu niciodatn-am dat doi bani pe lun-lumina.Iatce fac eu toatziua, cum trebuie s-mi storc creierii ca s-i in sus steagul (iar scap

cratia, de-astdatpot s jur c intenionat). i de-asta el, cnd iese din vizuin, e celebrugata i toi se reped s-l salute, considernd un noroc al lor de-a intra cu fundul n mrcinicnd trece el.

Dar are i pri bune. Habar n-are pe ce lume triete. Crede c tot ce zboarpe sus, cutalang sau fr, se mnnc i, n adncul sufletului su, zace o dragoste de via i desemeni ct n apte. N-ar fi n stare scalce o furnic, toate fiarele care i se plng gsesc ovorbbun, chit ceste invariabil aceeai: mor, mor, mor!

Marin Sorescu Viziunea vizuinii

F. Guidelines in academic writingScientific papers, reports, studies

The basic framework of a scientific paper follows the same main principles of internalstructuring that were presented when discussing essays, the major difference consisting in thenecessity to order the elements of information strictly pyramidally, i.e. from the mostencompassing issue to the most particular aspect.

This is due to the fact that the considerable increase in the amount of information triggers amore evident graduality of the latter in terms of generality versus specificity.

A research paper usually consists in:1. Preliminaries (title, acknowledgements, contents, list of figures / tables);2. Introduction (abstract, statement of the problem);3. Main body (review of the literature, design and methods of the investigation,

presentation of the investigation, results);4. Conclusion (summary of the investigation and results);5. Extras (bibliography, appendices).


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

a) Obligatory

- Duescu-Coliban, T. (2005) Aspects of English Morphology. Nominal and VerbalCategories, Second Edition, (Edited by Janeta Lupu), Bucureti: Editura Fundaiei Romniade Mine.

- Lupu, J., Ionescu-Buzea, O. i Birtalan, A. (2007) English Practical Course for FirstYear Students, Bucureti: Editura FundaieiRomnia de Mine.

- erban, D. (2006) The Syntax of English Predications, Bucureti: Editura FundaieiRomnia de Mine, p. 80-202.

- erban, D. i Drguin, D. (2007) English Practical Course for Second Year Students,Bucureti: Editura FundaieiRomnia de Mine.

- Tudosescu, A. (2008) Elements of English Syntax and Semantics, Bucureti: EdituraFundaieiRomnia de Mine.

b) Supplementary

- Jordan, R. R. (1990)Academic Writing Course, second edition, London: Thomson Publishing

Company.- Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G. and Svartvik, J. (1980) A Grammar of Contemporary

English, ninth impression, London: Longman.- Swan, M. (1995)Practical English Usage, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.- Vianu, L. (2006) English With A Key. Exerciii de retroversiune i traducere, Bucureti:Editura Teora.- Wellman, G. (1992) Wordbuilder, second edition, Oxford: Heinemann.- *

** (1994) (Coord. G. Niculescu)Dicionar tehnic englez-romn, second edition, vols. 1-2,

Bucureti: Editura Tehnic.- *

** (1997) Prosper with English English for Science and Technology, Bucharest: The

British Council and Cavallioti Publishing House.- * ** (1998) Collins Cobuild English Grammar, eighth impression, London: Harper CollinsPublishers.- *

** (2001) Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, third edition,

Birmingham: Harper Collins Publishers.

c) Online resources

-Ask.com,http://uk.ask.com/, [2008].-Britannica Concise, http://concise.britannica.com, [2008].- Cambridge Dictionaries Online, http://dictionary.cambridge.org/, [2008].- Chambers Reference Online,http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk/chambers/features/chref/chref.py/main?title=21stquery=%s, [2008].- Columbia Encyclopaedia,http://www.bartleby.com/65/, [2008].-Encarta, http://encarta.msn.com/, [2008].- The Free Dictionary by Farlex,http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Dictionary.htm, [2008].- The Idiom Connection: English Idioms and Quizzes,http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/6720/and http://www.idiomconnection.com/, [2008].-Merriam-Webster Online Search, http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/, [2008].-Merriam-Websters LearnersDictionary.com, http://www.learnersdictionary.com, [2008].- OneLook Dictionary Search, http://www.onelook.com, [2008].-Rogets Thesauri, http://www.bartleby.com/thesauri/, [2008].- Semantic Rhyming Dictionary,http://www.rhymezone.com/, [2008].

- Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/wikipedia:Quick_index, [2008].- WordNet: A Lexical Database for English, http://wordnet.princeton.edu/, [2008].- Wordsmyth,http://www.wordsmyth.net/, [2008].- *

** (2007)ESL/EFL Grammar Resources, http://www.d-oliver.net/grammar.htm, [2008].

- ***(2007) Online English Grammar,http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/index.cfm, [2008].


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EVALUATIONform for the second term:examination.

Third year students in thepartial attendanceand distance learningsections will haveto perform several tasks of individual work during the term, as an indispensable form oftraining and self-evaluation. These tasks consist in solving the exercises, and completing thevarious other assignments contained in all the units of the course, together with as many as

possible corresponding or equivalent requirements included in the recommended and/oravailable sources.

For students attending day classes, the tasks during the term will reside in thesequential fulfilment of all assignments and exercises included in the course, as well as in

performing the various other class or homework activities weekly indicated and checked upby the leader of the seminar.

The second term evaluation form for students in all three sectionsmainly consists ofa final examination, the requirements of which are aimed at testing the suitable acquisition ofthe entire range of specific abilities that had been envisaged as objectives of the course.

engleza cp sem ii

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