2 Collana Diretta Da Dario Calimani
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UNIVERSITÀ CA’ FOSCARI DI VENEZIA LINGUE STRANIERE A FINI SPECIALI 2 Collana diretta da Dario Calimani Da molti anni, lo studio della lingua straniera — per lo più inglese — a fini speciali ha avuto per oggetto primario la lingua commerciale. Ogni altro ap- proccio, anche negli ambiti universitari più diversi, si è spesso dovuto servire di testi di carattere generico, sia sul piano linguistico che su quello dei contenuti. A rendere pressante, per ogni ambito professionale e culturale, la necessità di comunicare nelle maggiori lingue europee con precisa cognizione dei diversi lessici specialistici, è l’ormai diffusa realtà del “villaggio globale” e delle sue più dirette implicazioni. Da queste considerazioni, e da esperienze pluriennali di insegnamento uni- versitario, deriva l’esigenza di agili strumenti didattici, improntati a fini pra- tici e funzionali piuttosto che genericamente culturali, per un insegnamento della lingua più funzionale alle aree disciplinarie dei diversi Corsi di laurea. Una nuova strategia didattica che, coniugando insieme competenze linguisti- che diverse, ha come scopo primario la concentrazione dell’impegno e l’incisività del risultato. La presente collana intende rispondere a queste esigenze. Lo studente adulto potrà così acquisire rapida padronanza di strutture grammaticali, lessico di base e forme idiomatiche, appropriandosi al tempo stesso del lessico speciali- stico del suo specifico campo di interesse. Una finalizzazione sempre più mirata della didattica delle lingue straniere sembra ormai il passaporto d’obbligo per un laureato alle porte dell’Europa. Dario Calimani Volumi della collana: English for the Arts English for Economics English for History and Philosophy English for Welfare Services Volumi in preparazione English for Science Deutsch für Geisteswissenschaftler Le discours historique et philosophique en Français Geraldine Ludbrook English for History and Philosophy Cafoscarina Geraldine Ludbrook, English for History and Philosophy © 2000 Libreria Editrice Cafoscarina ISBN 978-88-85613-90-4 Cover illustration: William Hogarth, Scholars at a Lecture, or Daur Vaccum (1737) Libreria Editrice Cafoscarina srl Dorsoduro 3259, 30123 Venezia www.cafoscarina.it Tutti i diritti riservati CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 9 UNIT 1 THE BRITISH LEGAL SYSTEM ........................................................... 13 The Constitutions of Clarendon Present simple and continuous – State and dynamic verbs – Formal negation UNIT 2 THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT ............................................................... 31 The Good Parliament of 1376 Past simple and continuous – Past perfect – Used to – Would – Unreal pasts UNIT 3 THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND ............................ 49 Thomas Cranmer, Letter on Henry’s VIII’s Divorce – The Act of Supremacy Present perfect simple and continuous – Archaic adverbs – Time expressions UNIT 4 THE ENGLISH BIBLE ............................................................................. 67 The King James Bible (1611) Passive voice – Impersonal passive structures I – Aspects of Early Modern English UNIT 5 THE NEW SCIENTIFIC METHOD ....................................................... 81 Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan Nouns – Possessive forms – Make and do – As and like UNIT 6 THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION .............................................................. 99 Statement of the Levellers - Women’s Petition Infinitive and -ing forms – Impersonal passive structures II UNIT 7 BRITISH EMPIRICISM ........................................................................ 115 David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature Indefinite and definite articles – Statement and contrast: verbs, adverbs and modifying connectors 6 GERALDINE LUDBROOK UNIT 8 EXPLORATION AND EXPANSION .................................................... 133 Joseph Banks, The Endeavour Journal 1770 Word functions – Compound nouns – Hyphens – Acronyms – Clipping – Blending – Eponyms UNIT 9 MONEY AND BANKS ............................................................................ 151 Adam Smith, The Wealth Of Nations. Adjectives: order, comparison – Formal and informal vocabulary – Comparing UNIT 10 THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION ..................................................... 167 William Radcliffe, On Power Looms Adverbs: formation, position, comparison – Describing trends UNIT 11 DARWIN AND NATURAL SELECTION ............................................ 185 Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species Modal auxiliary verbs – Future time: will, shall, be going to, be to UNIT 12 UTILITARIANISM ................................................................................. 203 John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism Direct and indirect speech – Modifying connectors: addition – Indirect ques- tions – Need UNIT 13 LOGIC ...................................................................................................... 221 Karl Popper, The Logic of Scientific Discovery Hypothetical sentences – Cause and effect – Emphasis I – Referencing UNIT 14 THE NEW HISTORY.............................................................................. 241 Simon Schama, The Embarrassment of Riches Relative clauses – Emphasis II – Prepositional and phrasal verbs UNIT 15 MORAL QUESTIONS ............................................................................ 257 Colin Allen, Animal Consciousness Pronouns – Political correctness – Electronic citations ENGLISH FOR HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY 7 FOR FURTHER READING Francis Bacon, Novum Organum ............................................................... 274 John Evelyn, The Great Fire of London .................................................... 278 Thomas Sprat, History of the Royal-Society of London.............................. 283 John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding ....................... 288 Daniel Defoe, (On) The Education Of Women .......................................... 293 T.H.Huxley, Evolution and Ethics ............................................................. 297 Emmeline Pankhurst, My Own Story ......................................................... 302 P.F. Strawson, Self, mind and body ........................................................... 307 APPENDICES APPENDIX I Irregular Verbs ............................................................. 313 APPENDIX II Prefixes and Suffixes ................................................... 316 APPENDIX III Numbers .................................................................... 318 APPENDIX IV False Friends .............................................................. 321 APPENDIX V Weights, Measures and Money ................................... 326 APPENDIX VI A Short History of the English Language .................. 330 APPENDIX VII Some Useful Websites ................................................ 341 KEY TO EXERCISES ............................................................................ 343 INTRODUCTION English for History and Philosophy has been written for university students whose knowledge of English is limited to what they have learned in a general language course, but whose needs are increasingly directed towards specific language skills. It aims at providing students with the linguistic proficiency necessary to deal confidently with the kind of English text they may find themselves required to read during their undergraduate studies or when in- volved in post-graduate research. Every attempt has been made to create a flexible study tool, combining authentic reading material, a practical review of relevant grammar points, and some contrastive analysis to provide greater clarity for Italian students. The first part of the book is made up of fifteen units, each of which opens with a short text introducing the topic of the unit and placing it in a cultural and historical context. The themes have been chosen with the specific objec- tive of introducing the Italian student to aspects of British institutions and culture that they may not have encountered in their previous studies. A sec- ond longer reading passage provides an authentic text related to the issue un- der examination. A chronological layout has been chosen for the presentation of the various topics, touching on significant moments in British history and thought, which has permitted the introduction of a wide range of linguistic questions: from historical aspects, including archaic vocabulary, spelling and grammar, to contemporary issues, such as American English, neologisms, and political correctness. Each reading passage is accompanied by a glossary of the most difficult words, compiled with attention to the common problems faced by Italian students. Words that often confuse students due to their similarity to Italian while having a different meaning in English are indicated with an asterisk. Appendix IV contains a list of the most common of these so-called ‘false friends’. Where extremely technical vocabulary is found, the glossaries have been subdivided to provide sets of specialist words. At the end of each unit, there is a short list of further useful words related to specific topics, to which the student is invited to add. All the irregular verbs in the glossaries are supplied with their past forms, and Appendix I lists the most common irregular verbs. Notes on each passage draw attention to other difficulties, clarifying them or referring students to other parts of the book where more detailed information can be found. This