1. How can we say that something belongs to popular culture and some other phenomenon does not? Where is the borderline beyond which high culture begins? Do you think that one has to be controversial to be popular? (think of TV shows etc.)
1. Jak można powiedzieć, że coś należy do kultury popularnej i niektóre inne zjawisko nie? Gdzie jest granica, poza którą zaczyna się kultury wysokiej? Czy uważasz, że trzeba być kontrowersyjnym być popularny? (pomyśl o telewizyjne itp.)
Is high culture only for the intellectual elite?
High culture = requires intellectual effort and education, museums, ancient art works, literature, the theatre, the opera, classical music, ballet.
High culture is usually defined by art/theatre/opera critics.
The definition of high and popular culture changes with time, for example in various historic periods reading poetry / literature of a particular author was like listening to a popular pop group today. NOW popular means mass.
Is popular culture for the undemanding/stupid masses?
Popular culture = accessible to everyone, mass culture, pop music, movies, TV and reality shows. Mindless (bezmyślne )entertainment.
Popular culture can be easier to understand than high culture – especially the modern art.
The borderline when something requires intellectual effort, shows ethical values, gives us personal development = high culture.
BUT There are no clear boundaries between high and popular culture. Each person needs to decide for themselves.
Controversy = a part of an artist’s life – most of the classical artists we learn about today, were seen as controversial in their times.
Controversy nowadays = cheap entertainment (printed in tabloids and gassip columns), just a way for tabloids to make money, even a small thing is presented as huge and important news.
Popular and high culture were a way to distinguish between the higher and lower classes of society.
2. What do you know about unemployment in Poland? Why is unemployment a serious problem? What measures should the government take to counteract unemployment? What are the possibilities of finding a job? Where can you look for a job?
2. Co wiesz na temat bezrobocia w Polsce? Dlaczego bezrobocie poważny problem? Jakie środki należy podjąć rząd, aby przeciwdziałać bezrobociu? Jakie są możliwości znalezienia pracy? Gdzie można szukać pracy?
I know that the unemployment in Poland is on high level about 13 %.
This is a big problem for the people and their families, because …
Why is it a problem?
Problem for the people/workers and their families: lack of money / financial problems.
Personal and professional consequences
People need financial help
Prolonged unemployment – people get depressed and discouraged, have emotional problems
Problem for the economy – people don’t spend money, there is no development in industry or services
The government
Reduce Lower taxes o encourage private initiative
Pass bills making it easier for individuals to open their businesses (tax law, administrative producers)
Attract foreign investment and invest in various areas of economy
Professional training – help increase qualifications / re-train
Where to look for a job - Job center
3. Is technology a blessing or a curse? Justify. Which inventions do you think were the most important ones in the history of humankind?
3. Jest technologia błogosławieństwo czy przekleństwo? Uzasadnić. Jakie wynalazki myślisz były najważniejsze w historii ludzkości?
Advantages of technology / blessing
Makes our lives easier (automation of daily lives: office work, kitchen appliances, industry, design and production)
Makes our daily duties more efficient, we are not too tired and have more time to be more creative, solve problems
We can do more work, be more productive
New technologies provide entertainment in our lives
Disadvantages of technology / curse
Automation of industry is reducing the number of workplaces
We become more and more dependent on technology – we can’t live without electronic gadgets, we start a day with a computer
Technology wastes our time, we spend too much time playing computer games, browsing silly sites
Technology is a waste of money, we buy gadgets or devices we don’t really need many devices do the same thing
Learning to use technology can be difficult, devices become more and more complicated
The most important inventions
Inventions that changed the course of history or made our lives much easier e.g. steam engine, car, computer, printing press, washing machine.
4. Is consumerism only a temporary trend or are we already a consumer society ? What are the advantages and disadvantages of rising consumption of goods? What is its effect on an individual, family, business etc.?
4. Konsumpcjonizm jest tylko chwilowy trend czy jesteśmy już społeczeństwo konsumpcyjne? Jakie są zalety i wady wzrastało zużycie towarów? Jaki jest jej wpływ na indywidualnej, rodzina itp. biznesu?
Consumerism – we earn money only to consume goods and services.
if we buy more and more products / good and services we help companies and the economy to grow
we motivate producers to construct new ideas / invetions to attract people’s attentions
increased consumption leads to competition and increases the quality of services
The inventions make our lives easier and more enjoyable (e.g. smart phones, mobile internet)
We help create more workplaces (someone needs to produce what we want to buy)
Nowadays we buy new shoes / phone/ car not because our old ones broke, but because the trend has changed and our old ones are not fashionable (artificially accelerated obsolescence)
if we concentrate only on buying more and more stuff, we become addicted to the things we buy / buying
we loose sight of the important emotional and intellectual values (e.g some women want to marry a rich man not because they love him, but because he’s rich, children only focus on what presents they get from their parents)
We stop noticing the people around us (instead of meeting friends and discussing things we meet with friends to shop or watch movies).
We turn into consumers with only one purpose in life: to buy.
5. What is advertising? Do you think it is necessary at all or you would call it an unproductive industry? Do you think that advertisements distort the truth?
5. Czym jest reklama? Czy uważasz, że jest to w ogóle konieczne lub mogłoby to nazwać bezproduktywne przemysłowych? Czy uważasz, że reklamy zniekształcać prawdę?
Advantages
informative (ab. new goods)
inform about social campaigns
creates market for goods – they are cheap
Disadvantages
boring
time-consuming
disturb watching times / programmes
create artificial demand (we buy what we don’t need)
ads distort the truth
stupid
Distort the truth
before and after
comparisons
product endorsement by famous people
product placement
trendsetting
6. What is nuclear power? Are you for or against it? Justify. What are the dangers of relying on nuclear energy? Suggest some alternative sources of energy.
6. Co to jest energia atomowa? Jesteś za czy przeciw? Uzasadnić. Jakie są zagrożenia związane z opierając się na energii jądrowej? Zaproponować kilka alternatywnych źródeł energii.
Good
cheaper source of energy
good alternative to other natural resources (crude oil, gas, coal) – they are scarce
clean in comparison with other sources
Bad
thermal pollution and radiation
radioactive waste products – difficult to recycle
high price: high costs of a single safety facility
great danger of disaster: natural disaster, terrorist threats – more serious results
Alternative sources:
Windpower, wind farms, solar energy, photovoltaic cells, natural gas, geothermal energy
7. In what situations are we most subject to stress? What are the consequences of adopting a stressful lifestyle? How to cope with stress most effectively?
7. W jakich sytuacjach jesteśmy najbardziej podlega stresu? Jakie są konsekwencje przyjęcia stresujący tryb życia? Jak radzić sobie ze stresem w najbardziej skuteczny?
When?
Exams, job interview, all kinds of changes
Consequences
Health problems: heart, digestive system (stomach problems, indigestion), stroke, heart attack
Prolonged stress, depression
How to cope with it?
Doing something you like / relaxes you
Relaxation techniques – meditation, breathing, music
8. Are books a thing of the past? Why are e-books so popular? Compare advantages and disadvantages of traditional books and e-books.
8. Są książki do przeszłości? Dlaczego e-książki tak popularne? Porównaj zalety i wady tradycyjnych książek i e-książek.
Books
+ have a good feeling to them: it’s nice to hold them, flip pages
+ give the reader a sense of tradition, add to the experience
- take a lot of room
- Use a lot of paper
E-books
+ more practical, takes lees places, can take more books on one devices (e-book reader)
+ cheaper than traditional books
+ more and more people have electronic portable gadgets that allow them to read anywhere: on the bus, on the train
- reading on electronic devices damages our eyes
- we need electricity to use readers and be able to read
9. What is ‘cyber-addiction’? What are the negative consequences of “webaholism”? What makes on-liners addicted to the Net? Are you addicted to the Internet?
9. Co to jest "cyber-addiction"? Jakie są negatywne konsekwencje "webaholism"? Co sprawia, że on-wkładki uzależniony od sieci? Czy jesteś uzależniony od Internetu?
Addicted to / hooked on
Spend time on the net / browse the net
Consequences:
Harmful to family and social life, lack of interaction with people in real life
Harmful to professional life / schoolwork
Browsing + community websites – take up a lot of our time
Online shopping – waste of money, can’t be taken to extreme levels
Health issues: sleep deprivation and exhaustion, depression, eyesight, deterioration
Effortless ability to contact friends
Possibility of resuming contact with long lost friends
Communication – faster and easier
Virtual communication replaced the “real” interaction – impersonal
Why addicted
Being online is anonymous and easier for people who have problems with social interaction
Internet is an escape from problems of daily lives
There are many interesting things online – they attract our attention
10. What do you know about the European Union? Are you satisfied with the fact that Poland joined EU? Why/ Why not? What are the advantages and disadvantages of being the EU member?
10. Co wiesz o Unii Europejskiej? Czy jesteś zadowolony z faktu, że Polska przystąpiła UE? Dlaczego / dlaczego nie? Jakie są zalety i wady bycia członkiem UE?
Aims:
Common economic policy (trade, taxes)
Common social policy (employment, free movement of people)
Common agricultural policy
Culture, education, industry
Common foreign policy
Disadvantages
Excessive bureaucracy
Threat to identity and independence of individual member states
EU accused of imperialism
A crisis in one of the countries influences other member states
Good 4 Poland:
Financial support: development founds (science, various fields of public life) and subsidies (agriculture)
Stronger position in European politics and increase of international status
Problematic 4 Poland
We have to adjust our legal system to European norms (new bills and acts)
To get money / subsidies we have to meet various formal requirements (bureaucracy)
11. Genetic modification is a new technology and therefore not very well researched yet. To what extent could it be dangerous? In what ways may GMF (genetically modified food) affect people’s health and lives?
11. Modyfikacja genetyczna to nowa technologia, a więc nie bardzo dobrze zbadane jeszcze. W jakim stopniu może to być niebezpieczne? W jaki sposób może GMF (żywność modyfikowana genetycznie) wpływają na ludzkie zdrowie i życie?
We don’t know the effects of GMF – could be very dangerous, but could have no effects / be natural
GMF could solve world hunger – we can produce how much crops we want
We need less pesticides and herbicides – more resistant crops
We can add more vitamins and nutrients to plants (iron) and even medicines
Genetic modification – can change nutritional values of food, e.g. how much protein there is
Genes can transfer to weeds and produce weeds resistant to herbicides
Using less fertilizer to produce more crops – larger profits
12. What would you like to do when you leave university? What would you take into account when looking for a job? Do you consider working abroad? Why /why not? What are the expectations of Polish students as far as career prospects are concerned?
12. Co chcesz robić po opuszczeniu uczelni? Co wziąć pod uwagę przy poszukiwaniu pracy? Czy uważacie Państwo, praca za granicą? Dlaczego / dlaczego nie? Jakie są oczekiwania polskich studentów w miarę możliwości zawodowe obawiają?
13. What are the so called community websites? Why do you think they've grown so popular? How do you think they've changed human communication and interaction? What are the advantages of such websites? Do they have any drawbacks? How do they work? How are they similar to and different from one another? Choose 2-3 community websites and compare them (e.g. www.myspace.com, www.nasza-klasa.pl, www.facebook.com, www.twitter.com, www.lastfm.com, www.goldenline.pl). Are you an active user of any of them? Why/Why not?
13. Co to są tak zwane strony społeczności? Dlaczego myślisz, że oni się tak popularny? Jak myślisz, że już zmienił ludzką komunikacji i interakcji? Jakie są zalety takich witrynach? Czy mają jakieś wady? Jak one działają? Jak oni są podobne i różnią się od siebie? Wybierz 3/2 społeczności internetowych i porównać je (np. www.myspace.com, www.nasza-klasa.pl, www.facebook.com, www.twitter.com, www.lastfm.com, www.goldenline.pl). Czy jesteś aktywnym użytkownikiem któregoś z nich? Dlaczego / dlaczego nie?
Community websites help people to stay in touch even if they live far away from each other or resume contact with long lost friends
They help you find and connect with new people who have the same ideas / passions as you have.
They allow you to express yourself, we can say whatever we want
Some websites can even help you to became a celebrity
Using community websites we live in an unreal / virtual world – we create an avatar / alter ego
We share our private / intimate/ valuable ideas/ information/ emotions with strangers and loose our privacy.
Community websites are a huge database of people around the world – larger and mightier than the intelligence agencies.
Using these websites we loose the ability to communicate with people in real life – we prefer to meet on-line than in a pub.
Community websites – waste our time, we lose real connections with people, virtual communication replaced the ”real” interaction – impersonal.
I prefer personal contact, talking to people in person, virtual contact is too impersonal.
14. Define what multiculturalism is. What challenges do multicultural countries face? Do you think it is difficult to live in a multicultural society? (Are there any ethnic minorities in Poland? How do they assimilate? How are they perceived by local community?)
14. Określ co jest wielokulturowość. Jakie wyzwania stoją wielokulturowe oblicze krajów? Czy uważasz, że to jest trudne do życia w wielokulturowym społeczeństwie? (Czy istnieją mniejszości etniczne w Polsce? Jak oni przyswajać? Jak są postrzegane przez społeczność lokalną?)
Multiculturalism = many various ethnic groups living together within the boarders of one country.
When two or more groups live together there are usually problems because each group has a different ways of thinking, dealing with problems, moral codes (e.g it is not a crime to kidnap a small girl in a Romani society)
Usually people think “we” (our group) and “they” (the other groups), which can lead to conflicts (e.g. if you don’t agree with us, than you are against us).
Sometimes these groups speak different languages, so it is difficult for them to understand each other.
Sometimes they have different religions and cultural backgrounds which make it difficult for them to get along (e.g. how can a Christian marry A Muslim? How can a German understand jokes and references to classical Polish literature?)
There are some ethnic and religious, minorities in Poland: Romani people, Jews, Muslims, people from Ukraine, Germany, Italy
Living in a multicultural society is a wonderful opportunity to learn new things and ideas and to actually be tolerant of the variaty in skin clour, religion, moral code, etc. And if people are tolerant and trust each other, there will be no need for war.
If the different ethnic and religions group learn from each other, they can find new and wonderful solutions to many problems (e.g. the European countries deciding to use one currency € to simplify trade and tax issues)
They can share ideas and inventions (e.g. one group can teach another how to treat a certain illness)
If these groups come together and live in harmony, they can create a new and higher form of culture and life (e.g. Australia, USA)
15. Sport events have become more commercial over the last few decades. Do you agree? In what ways can they help to promote host countries? What are the advantages and disadvantages of organizing sports events in your country?
15. Wydarzenia sportowe stały się bardziej komercyjne w ciągu ostatnich kilku dekad. Zgadzasz się? W jaki sposób mogą pomóc promować kraje goszczące? Jakie są wady i zalety organizowania imprez sportowych w swoim kraju?
Commercial event = sponsors, advertising – profits are the most important, sportsmen get paid for winning, also: sportsmen advertise various products.
Disadvantages: hooliganism, spending money on stadiums and other structures we don’t need or will be used for only one purpose
Promoting a country:
Many people come not only for the even – they go sightseeing, get to know the country – if they like the experience, they will come back, tell their friends.
+ Development if infrastructure: roads, railway stations in Poznań and Warsaw, renovations of various structures and buildings.