Фестиваль культуры народов Соединенного Королевства Великобритании и Северной Ирландии

(с использованием аутентичных текстов на основе учебника В.П. Кузовлева Happy English, 8-й класс)

ХОД УРОКА

I. Начало. Приветствие

На фоне музыки на сцену выходят двое ведущих – девочка и мальчик.

Leader 1: Dear Ladies and Gentlemen. We are glad to meet you at our second Festival of Culture devoted to the peoples of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
It has become our tradition to hold such festivals every year. As you know, our last festival was devoted to the culture of the peoples of Russia. You’ve learned a lot about the traditions of the peoples living in our multinational country, you enjoyed their folk songs and dances.
So today we’ll get acquainted with UK customs and its most remarkable people, whose creative work is known all over the world.

Leader 2: And now let’s greet the delegations of today’s festival. We say “welcome” to our guests from England!

Делегации в национальных костюмах, с флагами и эмблемами проходят на сцену.

– We are glad to see you, our guests from Scotland!
– Hello, boys and girls from Wales!
– We are waiting for you, our dear Irishmen!

Leader 1: We hope this festival will be one of the most remarkable events in the cultural life of all peoples. Let’s open our festival!

All the participants sing a song “Auld Lang Syne”.

II. Основная часть

England

Leader 2: We welcome the English delegation!

Pupil 1: Of the four parts which make up Great Britain, England is the largest, the most industrial and most densely populated part of the United Kingdom. Over 46 million people out of the population of the UK live in England.
No part of England is more than 123 kilometers from the sea. It is interesting to note that the sea also has been important in the history of England. It was a good protection against the attacks of outside peoples. Fishing has always been an important industry, as well, especially in the east. The sea has a great effect on the English climate.
There are many rivers in England. The longest is the Severn, the most important is the Thames. The rivers have aided communication and transport of goods.
England is mostly a Lowland country. There are upland regions in the north and the southwest, but the rest of England is almost flat.
In South England, between highlands, lie lowlands. In this part of England were found some of the oldest British settlements and traces of ancient monuments such as Stonehenge. London is the chief city of South England.

Pupil 2: England gave the world many famous people. William Shakespeare, the greatest English poet and dramatist, was born on or about April 23, 1564 at Stratford-upon-Avon in England. Not much is known about Shakespeare’s father, John Shakespeare. He was a man of some importance in Stratford. He was one of the town officers and a dealer in corn, meat, leather, and other products of the farm. The poet’s mother, Mary Arden, was one of the eight daughters of Robert Arden, a rich farmer in the village of Wilmcote, where the Arden farmstead may still be seen. John Shakespeare and his wife lived in a well-built house of rough stone which was two-stories high. The house is still standing. It is now a museum.
William Shakespeare was born here in a small room. He was the eldest son and the third child of the marriage. In England, Shakespeare’s house is one of the most famous.
Very little is known about the life of William, especially about his early years. For several years he went to school in Stratford, at a free school, called Stratford Grammar School. William was sent to school at the age of seven. He studied there for six years and besides reading and writing, he was taught Latin and Greek. But what he did between his fourteenth and eighteenth year is not known.
William Shakespeare lived in Stratford until he was about twenty-one, when he left for London. Then he became an actor and soon began to write plays for the company of actors to which he belonged. Very many of his plays were acted in a London theatre called The Globe.
William Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616, at the age of 52 and was buried in a fine old Parish Church at Stratford.
Some lines from Shakespeare’s plays entered everyday English. For example:

A peace is of the nature of a conquest;
For then both parties nobly are subdued,
And neither party loser. (Henry V)

Who knows another quotation from his plays?

(The pupils recite them one after another)

1. Better a witty fool than a foolish wit. (Twelfth Night)
2. Brevity is the soul of wit. (Hamlet )
3. Cowards die many times before their deaths. (Julius Caesar)
4. Discretion is better part of valour. (King Henry IV)
5. Have more than thou showest. Speak less than thou knowest. (Hamlet)
6. He jets at scars that never felt a wound. (Romeo and Juliet)
7. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. (Hamlet)
8. The fool thinks he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be fool. (As You Like It)
9. There is no darkness but ignorance. (Twelfth Night)
10. The weakest goes to the wall. (Romeo and Juliet)
11. The wish is father to the thought. (King Henry IV)
12. To be or not to be? That is the question. (Hamlet)
13. Wake not a sleeping wolf. (King Henry IV)
14. We know what we are, but know not what we may be. (Hamlet)
15. When clouds appear, wise men put on their cloaks. (Richard III)

Pupil 2: And now will you listen to Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18?

Pupil 3: Sonnet 18

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaving shines,
And often in his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines.
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade.
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

Leader 2: Thank you, our friends from England!

Scotland

Leader 1: And now we are the guests of the beautiful country of Highlands and lochs...

Pupil 4: The most interesting and beautiful part of Scotland – and of the whole of Britain, perhaps is the north and west, or the region usually called “the Highlands and islands”.
The Highlands are in the north of Scotland. This is a region of mountains and rivers, small towns and villages. The Highlands are a country of great sea-lochs.
Many tourists journey to the west coast of Scotland. On their way they see Loch Lomond, one of the largest and most famous of Scottish lakes, and many other beautiful lakes. When they get back to their hotels, they are glad to have “high tea” which takes the place of tea and dinner.
A lot of Scottish family names start with “Mac” or “Mc” – like Macdonald, Macmillan, or McHale. And “Jock” is a popular Scottish name for John, or Jack.
Some men in the north of Scotland wear a kilt every day, but in other parts or the country, most Scots wear the same clothes as the English.
The brightest representative of Scottish poetry is Robert Burns. We can’t but admire his poem “My Heart Is In the Highland”. Will you listen to it?

Pupil 6: My Heart’s In the Highlands

My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here;
My heart’s in the Highlands a-chasing the deer;
A-chasing the wild deer, and following the roe;
My heart’s in the Highlands, wherever I go.
Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North;
The birth-place of Valour, the country of Worth;
Whatever I wander, whatever I rove,
The hills of the Highlands for ever I love.
Farewell to the mountains high covered with snow;
Farewell to the Straths and green valleys below;
Farewell to the forests and wild-hanging woods;
Farewell to the torrents and loud-pouring floods.
My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here;
My heart’s in the Highlands a-chasing the deer;
A-chasing the wild deer, and following the roe;
My heart’s in the Highlands, wherever I go.

Pupil 5: Robert Burns, a well-known and popular Scottish poet was born in 1759. His name stands high in world literature. Robert Burns grew up in a very poor Scottish family. From his father, Robert got his great understanding of people and from his mother, he learned the old songs and ballads of his country. Robert Burns began to write at the age of 15. He wrote many poems in English but the kind of English verse which was very modern at that time did not suit him and his best verses are written in the dialect of Scotland. With deep understanding he showed the life he knew and his simple words which he made sound beautiful filled the very heart of every reader.
Many people of my country are fond of his love songs and poems. Here is one of them.

Pupil 4: And now enjoy our Scottish folksong “My Bonnie!”

A group of pupils sing a song.

My Bonnie

1. My bonnie is over the ocean,
My bonnie is over the sea,
My bonnie is over the ocean,
O bring back my bonnie to me.

Chorus:

Bring back, bring back,
Bring back my bonnie to me, to me.
Bring back, bring back,
О bring back my bonnie to me.

2. Last night as I lay on my pillow,
Last night as I lay on my bed,
Last night as I lay on my pillow,
I dream’d that my bonnie was dead.

Chorus:

3. О blow, ye winds over the ocean,
О blow, ye winds over the sea,
О blow, ye winds over the ocean,
And bring back my bonnie to me.

Chorus:

4. The winds have blown over the ocean,
The winds have blown over the sea,
The winds have blown over the ocean,
And brought back my bonnie to me.

Leader 1: Oh, we see that the Scots are rather sentimental people. Our dears, we love you very much! Good luck! Bye-bye!

Wales

Leader 2: I suppose, you know the proverbs “Small rain lays great dust” and “Little pigeons can carry great messages”. It’s about you, our dear Wales! You are welcome!

Pupil 7: Hello, dear friends! I’m from Wales. I’d like to tell you a few words about my country.
We call our country Cymry, and ourselves we call Cymry, a word which has the same root as “comrade” (friend). The population of Wales is over three million people.
Wales is a highland country of old, hard rocks. North Wales is a country of mountains and deep valleys. South Wales is a land of high hills and wide valleys. The pride of Wales in scenery is Snowdonia, the region of high mountains. Snowdon is the highest mountain in England and Wales.
Except for coal, our mineral resources are limited, and include gold, silver, lead and copper. South Wales is more developed: coal-mining, steel production, electronics, electrical engineering and chemicals can be found here.
The capital of Wales is Cardiff, the largest city in Wales. It is an important industrial city and a port. It is also an administrative and educational center.
The second largest city in Wales is Swansea, where mainly steel production can be found. Since World War II there has been intensive development in the metals industries especially in the south and south-east.
The Welsh people, especially in rural areas, are fond of folk music, singing, poetry and drama. Welsh literature is one of the oldest in Europe. There are many choirs in Wales, the standard of singing is high and the love of good music is widespread. Now there is a growing movement to restore the Welsh culture through the revival of Eisteddfod. This, historically, took the form of the gathering of bards occuring in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Now Eisteddfod is a festival of Welsh culture. It includes competitions in prose, poetry and singing.
In the evenings when it is dark and babies are in their beds we like to tell them our folk tales. Here is one of them.

The Old Woman and the Yarn

After a Welsh fable

Cast:

Old Woman
Her children and grandchildren.

Place. A large room. In the middle of the room stands an armchair. An old woman is seated in the armchair. There are not less than twenty people in the room of every age from ten to thirty.

Old Woman: (addressing them all) My dear children and grandchildren! For a long time now you have been quarreling with each other almost every day. We have not had a quiet day in the house. Is everybody present?

Shouts of “Yes, Granny! Yes, Mother!”

Old Woman: Now listen to me and do as I ask you! Each of you bring me a ball of yarn.

Each boy, girl, man or woman comes up to the Old Woman and hands her a ball. She puts them into a basket which stands at her side on the floor.

Old Woman: Now let the youngest and the feeblest of you come forward.

A small child comes forward with a “Here I am, Granny”.

Old Woman: (takes a ball of yarn and ties the child’s hands with a single thread) Try and break it, dear!

Child: (breaking the thread) Here you are, Granny. It’s easy to break!

The Old Woman tries a different thread but each time the Child breaks the thread easily. After this the Old woman takes a thread from each of the balls and twists them together to form a cord.

Old Woman: You have seen how easily it was even for the weakest of you to break a single thread, and now I want the strongest of you to step forward, and I shall tie his hands with this cord formed of many threads.

The biggest Man steps forward and tries to break the thread but cannot do so.

Old Woman: See now, my dears, how much stronger threads are when united.

Strongest Man: Yes, Mother, we see now that (everybody joins in) – unity is strength.

Northern Ireland

Leader 1: Thanks a lot! No distance can break real friendship. It is about our friends from Northern Ireland. You are welcome!

People 8:

Show me the Scotsman who doesn’t love the thistle,
Show me the Englishman who doesn’t love the rose,
But show me a true-hearted son of old Ireland
Who doesn’t love the spot where the shamrock grows.

Pupil 9: Ireland is the second largest of the British Islands lying in the Atlantic off the west coast of Great Britain.
The island of Ireland is politically divided into two parts: Northern Ireland (Ulster), which forms part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, capital Belfast and the Republic of Ireland – a separate state named EIRE in Irish; its capital is Dublin.
Ireland is a very beautiful country.
There is an old legend about Ireland. The legend tells us that the famous green Isle was at one time hidden under water.
It was known, however, that the island could be saved from the sea only by burying a piece of iron in its heart as soon as it appeared out of the water. Since that time iron was believed to be a luck-bringing metal.
When another seven years passed and the island appeared out of the water, a certain brave man came to it and buried his sword in its heart. After that the island was not swallowed up by the waves again. Because of this legend the island came to be known as iron-land or Ireland. It is because of this tradition that iron is always believed to be lucky by the Irish, and when a piece of iron is found in the form of a horseshoe, it is put up for luck above the house door.

Pupil 10: We, Irishmen, like merry games. Come play with us! The rules of this game are:
On the saucer there are some pieces of cheese. The leading pupil is to close his eyes. One of the pupils puts a piece of cheese into his mouth. When the leading pupil opens his eyes, everybody smiles, saying: cheese”. The leader is to guess who has cheese in his mouth.
Who wants to be the leader?

The participants play the game.

III. Conclusion

The Leaders are on the stage.

Leader 2: Our Second Festival of Culture of the Peoples of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has come to an end.

Leader 1: We say “Thank you!” to all the participants of our holiday. We thank you, our dear guests, for your supporting encouragement. And in recollection of this festival, please take our souvenirs. It is also one of the oldest traditions to give such presents to friends. A sweet as a present means that everything in your life will be without sorrow.

Leader 2: See you before long at our third festival of the peoples of the USA and Canada! Be happy! Good luck!

Leader 1: Bye!

Everybody sings a song “Auld Lang Syne” by Robert Burns.

Auld Lang Syne (Days Long Ago)

(in modern English)

Should old acquaintances be forgotten
And never be remembered?
Should old acquaintances be forgotten
And days long ago.

Chorus:

For days long ago, my dear,
For days long ago
We’ll drink a cup of kindness yet
For days long ago!

And surely you’ll have your pint tankard
And surely I’ll have mine.
And we’ll drink a cup of kindness yet
For days long ago.

Chorus

We two have run about the hills
And pulled the daisies fine
But we’ve wandered many a weary mile
Since the days long ago.

Chorus

We two have paddled in the stream
From morning sun till dinner-time
But the broad seas have roared between us
Since the days long ago.

Chorus

And here’s my hand, my trusty friend,
And give me your hand too,
And we will take an excellent good-will drink
For the days of long ago.