The
family as a social institution is presentin all cultures. A family
can be defined as a set of persons related by blood, marriage (or some
agreed-upon relationship) or adoption who share the primary responsibility for
reproduction and caring for members of society.
Although
the organization of the family can very greatly, there are certain general
principles concerning its composition, descent patterns, residence patterns,
and authority patterns.
In
today's world, marriage is subjected to the same stresses as other cultural
institutions. Technological change seems to be affecting everything. People
want what is new, what is novel, what is exciting. Trade in the old; buy the
latest model. Get a new car, get a new television, get the newest computer. A
popular song is a hit today, forgotten tomorrow. Change has become a way of
life. Without a backward glance, we change jobs, change careers, change where
we live. Not surprisingly, we change our marriage partners, too. In the United
States, the marriage rate is 10.6 per 1,000 people. The divorce rate is 5.3
per 1,000, one divorce in every two marriages. Of course, this figure does not
include unhappy couples. Where society offered stability, instability has
become a way of life. And we are hooked.
Скачать весь спецкурс "Новосибирск" одним файлом можно здесь Unit 1. Pre-history and history of Novosibirsk.
In 1993 the biggest city of Asian part of Russia Novosibirsk was 100 years of age.
Novosibirsk (Novonikolayevsk) was born in the point of intersection of the mighty Siberian River Ob and Trans-Siberian Railway built according to the rescript of Russian emperor Alexander the 3-rd.
The city appeared at a crossing of trading routes - a river and railway - was developing at a superfast rate of growth unprecedented for Siberia and Russia. Even the first city head V.Zhernakov marked, that Novonikolayevsk had got a nickname "American city". Later on Novosibirsk was named "Siberian Chicago". New development of Novosibirsk has been continued in the twenties, when the city became the center of new administrative formation - the vast Siberian territory. According to designs of talented Siberian architects with prof. A.Kryachkov at the head many buildings, nowadays monuments of architecture, have been erected in the center of city.
"The sense of beauty will save the world" (N. K. Roerich)
Nikolai Roerich
The name of the Russian painter Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich (1874-1947) occupies an honorable place in the history of our own country's and the world culture of the XX century.
The range of N. K. Roerich's activities is extraordinarily wide. A painter, archaeologist, ethnographer, lawyer, geographer, poet, historian, philosopher, scientist, traveller, fighter for peace, defender of cultural values of all nations and, invariably, Man, who has devoted his whole self to the ideal of common good.
Up to recently the Novosibirsk Conservatory of Music was the first and the only music higher educational institution in Siberia and the Far East. Young people devoted to music study here to become professional musicians in each sphere of music art, composition, experts in music. A fair number of graduates become teachers of music schools and colleges, they are members of music organization and work in musical theatres all over Russia and abroad.
The Conservatory of Music was opened in 1956 to admit 58 students. Now the students body is about 800. One can hear good music all day long in the day time and at night. The Conservatory of Music stands in the very centre of the city in Sovjetskaya Street, 31. On the left-hand side is the monument dedicated to M. Glinka — the first composer of Russian National Style, whose name our conservatory bears. On the right-hand side is the Central Post-Office.
Ex. 1. Read the text and discuss the following questions:
Akademgorodok — a new town of science and culture.
A trip by bus from Novosibirsk to Akademgorodok is indicative of concentration of scientific institutions. The driver announcing the stops will call out: «Thermophysics», which means that the bus has arrived at the institute conducting research on heat and mass transfer and new problems of energetics. The next stop is «Chemistry», that is, one of the five chemical institutes of the center, then come «The computer centre», «Nuclear physics», «Hydrodynamics» and «Economics and industrial organization». One doesn't see much from the window of a bus. That's why we invite you to have a walk around the township and see for yourself what is going on in the Town of Science. Akademgorodok has one more specific feature — it is one of the few towns in the world built right in the middle of the forest.
The closeness of the town to Novosibirsk, a large cultural centre, is an additional blessing. Actors of the best Siberian theatres often visit the town and scientists see the plays, operas, ballets and other performances, and stars on tour also rarely miss the town.
