VOCABULARY PRACTICE

I. Read and translate the text using a dictionarylf necessary.

II. Find In the text the English equivalents of the following:

 

изучать человеческие взаимоотношения; изучение; обществен­ное поведение; влияние общественных отношений на; область исследования; заниматься (интересоваться) чем-либо; источни­ки информации; внешние черты; главная цель; выявить приме­ры; дать объяснения чему-либо; социальный контекст; полагать­ся на; творческое мышление; осознание (осведомленность); дать новое понимание; повседневная жизнь; область знаний; акаде­мические дисциплины; особая ориентация; исследовать способы; важность; международные отношения; работа правительства; при­менение силы и власти; исследовать личность; в отличие от; под­черкивать (выделять); подход к; рассматривать с точки зрения; наоборот; сосредоточить внимание на; общественная деятельность; общественные явления; увеличивать (усиливать); здравый смысл; мудрость; сведение — сведения; важно отметить (подчеркнуть); проверить (испытать); исследовать.

 

III. Supply the missing words or word combinations choosing among those given below.

 

1) The sociologist has... of examining human interactions. 2) Sociology is the... study of social behavior and human groups. 3) As a field of study, sociology has an... scope. 4) Sociologists are not... to just recognize this fact. 5) Thus... simply accepting this fact as it is, sociologists study and analyze it thoroughly. 6) This term... the body of knowledge obtained by methods... systematic observations. 7) Sciences are... divided into natural and social ones. 8) Natural science is the study of... of nature. 9) Social science is the study of... of human society. 10) Sociologists... examine our... with people. 11) Let us examine different approaches to the... of gambling. 12) Participants in gambling... friendship groups. 13) For such persons gambling is.... 14) In our daily life we... common sense to get us through.... 15) Each piece of information must be analyzed... other data.

in relationship to, rely on, a form of recreation, establish, issue, scientifically, social relations, various aspects, physical features, commonly, refers to, based upon, instead of, content, extremely broad, systematic, a distinctive way, unfamiliar situations.

 

IV. Studythe following word combinations and use them in sentences of your own:

to focus on, to have some influence on, to influence smth, to deal with, to be concerned with, to report news, to involve doing smth, passionate desire, to see in person, to attempt to do smth, shared feelings, in a critical sense, to be interested in smth, to obtain, to include, to have a common focus on, to remain in existence, an approach to, to view smth from several perspectives, at least, at times, to seem like.

COMPREHENSION EXERCISES

 

I. Reread the text and answer the following questions.

 

1) What does sociology focus on as a field of study? 2) What and who does it deal with? 3) What differs the work of a journalist from that of a sociologist? 4) What are the main goals of the sociological perspective? 5) Why is the sociological imagination very important in doing sociological research? 6) What types are the sciences commonly divided into? 7) What differs natural science from social science? 8) What social sciences do you know and what do they study? 9) What differs sociology from other social sciences? 10) Why should a social scientist view social phenomena from different perspectives? 11) What is common sense? 12) How should common sense be used by social scientists?

 

II. Define the following key terms and memorize the definitions:

 

sociology, sociological perspective, sociological imagination, science, natural science, social science, common sense.

 

III. Speak on sociologyand its aspects in brief and illustrate your report withsituations or examples of your own.

 

IV. Comment on the following topics, viewing them from the sociological perspective:

 

1) Gambling.

2) Passionate desire of fans to see their stars in person.

3) Why aren't we interested in outstanding scientists as passionately as we are in movie and rock stars?