Номер 3, страница 18 - гдз по английскому языку 11 класс учебник часть 1 Демченко, Бушуева

3. a. Read the text and say which stereotype surprised you most and why.

Nine stereotypes all Americans hate

Boastful, arrogant, loud, fat, drunk – Americans have heard it all. But is there any truth in these stereotypes?

1. Americans are loud and nasty. Americans are accustomed to this stereotype. This is partly due to the majority of young American students backpacking or studying abroad. But when it comes to day-to-day conversations, Americans aren't a particularly loud group of people.

2. Everyone is racist. It’s easy to assume that all Americans are racist. But since the 1980s, interracial marriage rates have increased, with 87% of men and 85% of women approving of marriage between Caucasians¹ and African Americans. That means every four in five people agree with interracial marriage today, a wild improvement since the 1960s.

3. Americans only care about themselves. The world is full of selfish people. But when it comes to helping others, Americans are usually among the first to come to the rescue, especially during a natural disaster, when other countries are in need.

4. Americans are stupid, uneducated people. While there's a misconceived notion that all Americans are unintelligent, the statistics show otherwise. In 2020, 90.1 percent of adults had at least a high school diploma (or GED), while nearly 36 percent held a bachelor’s or higher degree. Also, 83 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds, 78 percent of ages 30-49, 81 percent of ages 50-64, and 80 percent of people over 65 years of age read for pleasure.

5. Americans don't respect nature. According to the WDPA, the US currently has over 34,000 protected areas covering a total of more than 1.8 million square miles of land and sea. That’s 13 percent of the land area and 41.1 percent of the total marine area in the US. President Obama has established the largest protected place on the planet (at a whopping 582,578 square miles) alongside the first marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean.

6. Every American owns a gun. Only 36 per cent of adults own a firearm or live with someone who does, which brings the gun rate to a near 40-year low. That's the lowest rate of gun ownership since the mid-1970s.

7. Americans are rude. This stereotype has likely stemmed from open-mouth laughing or public nose blowing, the product of culturally unaware American travellers. But while these actions seem ‘rude’ to foreigners, Americans are in fact quite polite. They are more likely to smile at, help, or acknowledge a stranger; they don’t wait for introductions and will happily chat with someone in the elevator.

8. Americans are all obese, overweight, and obsessed with fast food. While it’s true that obesity and weight gain is a major issue in the States – two out of three adults are considered overweight or obese – the US has made several efforts to battle this growing epidemic. Schools are cutting calories, improving nutritional content, and reducing portion sizes, providing healthier choices to kids; employers receive a return on investment in health care savings when they promote wellness, and four states have passed laws requiring restaurants to include calorie counts on menus.

9. Americans don’t travel. A rumour¹ once circulated that only ten percent of the American population holds a valid passport. This led to a widespread idea that Americans don’t travel and that they don’t know the outside world. But according to the State Department, 46% of the 324 million-large population have a valid passport.

adapted from theculturetrip.com

b. Read the text again and discuss with your partner which stereotype could offend you if you were an American.

3. a. Прочитайте текст и скажите, какой стереотип удивил вас больше всего и почему.

Ответ: The stereotype that surprised me the most was number 5, Americans don’t respect nature. I was surprised to learn that the US has over 34,000 protected areas covering more than 1.8 million square miles of land and sea. This factual information directly contradicts the common perception and showcases a significant national effort towards conservation, which I hadn't associated with the US on such a large scale.

Перевод: Стереотип, который удивил меня больше всего, был номер 5, Американцы не уважают природу. Я был удивлен, узнав, что в США более 34 000 охраняемых территорий, покрывающих более 1,8 миллиона квадратных миль суши и моря. Эта фактическая информация прямо противоречит общепринятому представлению и демонстрирует значительные национальные усилия по сохранению природы, которые я не ассоциировал с США в таком большом масштабе.

b. Прочитайте текст еще раз и обсудите с вашим партнером, какой стереотип мог бы вас обидеть, если бы вы были американцем.

Ответ: If I were an American, the stereotype that could offend me is number 4, Americans are stupid, uneducated people. This is a sweeping generalization that dismisses the intelligence and educational achievements of millions of individuals. It's insulting because it ignores the fact that, according to the text, 90.1 percent of adults have at least a high school diploma and nearly 36 percent hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Перевод: Если бы я был американцем, меня мог бы обидеть стереотип номер 4, Американцы глупые, необразованные люди. Это широкое обобщение, которое пренебрегает интеллектом и образовательными достижениями миллионов людей. Это оскорбительно, потому что игнорирует тот факт, что, согласно тексту, 90,1 процента взрослых имеют как минимум диплом о среднем образовании, а почти 36 процентов — степень бакалавра или выше.