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51
[1] Ever since the telly(l) came to claim pride of place in every parlour, prophets of doom have described the
corruption of the soul and emasculation(2) of the mind bound to result from exposure to the sights and sounds
churned out by the networks.
[2] Youth has been named as the prime victim of the persuaders, although I for one, far from fearing for the
mental welfare of the modern young, envy them their painless access to vivid information about the world in
which they are growing up.
[3] I suspect that television, by preparing young minds for the vagaries(3) of mankind, has made the
business of cutting apron strings and launching into independence far less traumatic than it was when I was a
girl.
(1) telly -television (British English: informal).
(2) emasculation — the process of weakening something: depriving it of its strength and effectiveness.
(3) vagaries — wild or unexpected ideas or actions.
UNIT 3. REGISTER
By «register» we mean the words, style and grammar used by writers (and speakers) in a particular
condition. Official documents, for example, are written in a formal register (i.e., an elevated style). So are
academic articles. A personal note to a friend is usually written in an informal register (i.e., a colloquial style,
suitable for ordinary, or familiar communication: e.g., «You're nuts» is the colloquial equivalent of «You are
insane»).
Members of certain professional groups tend to communicate with each other in a jargon (i.e., a language
including words and expressions known mainly or exclusively to fellow members of their profession). Other
groups of people differentiate between themselves and others by creating their own slang or argot (a style of
expressing themselves and a vocabulary peculiar to members of a particular group: e.g., the slang of teenagers,
or the argot of criminals).
Writers of popular articles often use a mixed register -i.e., they use both formal and informal language in
order to make their writing more lively and/or amusing.
3.1 Reread Text A in Unit 2 above. Consider especially the underlined words and phrases.
A.
How would you describe the register of Text A?
B.
What type of article do you think this excerpt (Text A) was taken from? (Could it be part of: a literary
essay? a chapter of a textbook? a popular essay written by a newspaper columnist?
C. Read Carr's «What is a Historical Fact?» in Part IV.
In what register was that essay written? Where was it published? Is Carr a «popular» writer? Why do you
imagine he might have chosen to write in the style that he did?
UNIT 4. USING RELATIVE PRONOUNS TO FORM COMPLEX SENTENCE *
* See Unit 2 of Appendix (Section V of Part II].
4.1 Combine the following sets of simple sentences to form complex sentences, substituting the relative
pronouns «who», «which», «that», or «whose» for the repeated nouns and noun phrases.
1. a. There are certain historians.
b. The historians have been arguing against Carr's ideas.
c. The ideas have not been accepted by many of his colleagues.
2. a. There are certain historians.
b. The historians have been arguing against Carr.
c. Carr's ideas have not been accepted by many of his colleagues.
3. a. In the past few years we have seen the publishers of a book/ acquitted by the high court.
b. The book was considered unpublishable 30 years ago on moral grounds.
c. The fact (of the publisher's having been acquitted) can only be attributed to a sharp change in public
opinion.