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ЭКЗАМЕН ПО ИНОСТРАННОМУ ЯЗЫКУ
(письменно)

Экзамен по иностранному языку на историческом факультете проводится в письменной форме. Можно сдавать по собственному выбору один из европейских языков (английский, французский, немецкий, итальянский или испанский). Насчет других языков лучше заранее спросить на Дне открытых дверей.

В последние годы задание было следующим (задания могут варьироваться и изменяться):

• Перевести письменно (со словарем) с иностранного языка на русский предложенный текст. (Текст: средней трудности; общеисторической, страноведческой или общекультурной тематики; объемом 1600-1800 печатных знаков.)
• К этому тексту надо задать письменно на иностранном языке пять вопросов разного типа.
• После этого надо написать краткое сочинение на иностранном языке по заданной теме. (Сочинение объемом 1-2 страницы в рамках тематики, предусмотренной программой.)

Продолжительность письменного экзамена — четыре часа (240 минут) без перерыва.

Во время экзамена разрешается пользоваться словарем (англо-, французско-, немецко-, итало-, испанско-русским). Пользование электронными словарями категорически запрещено. Приемная комиссия не обеспечивает абитуриентов словарями.

При выставлении оценки учитываются смысловые, грамматические, стилистические и орфографические ошибки. Оценка выставляется по 5-балльной шкале.

За нарушения процедуры экзамена, использование шпаргалок и электронных средств ставится оценка „неудовлетворительно“ (2).

Попробуйте одалеть образцы вступительных заданий:

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Had Wyatt succeeded, Mary's reign would have gone down to history, like that of the only previous woman ruler in England, as a time of anarchy and civil war. His failure spared the country this ordeal, but at the cost of hardening the Queen's determination to go through with her programme. A month after Wyatt had vainly tried to stop her, Mary was married by proxy to Philip. She had to wait another five before they could be wedded in person in Winchester Cathedral. That was in July. Four months more, and the Queen touched a summit of ambition and achievement. On 24 November the long-awaited papal legate arrived in London. On the 29th both Houses of Parliament petitioned for reunion with Rome, and on the following day, after the King and Queen had interceded for their realm, the legate pronounced its absolution from schism. It was just twenty years since the passing of the Act of Supremacy. The new King was a foreigner, but the new Legate was a descendant of English kings. Reginald Pole's unswerving loyalty to his Church had brought his mother and brother to the block and earned him an attainder for treason and twenty years' exile from his native land. In 1549 he had narrowly missed being elected Pope. But Mary's accession had opened to him the prospect of realizing a more cherished ambition, that of reconciling his country with Rome. The Emperor would not let Pole leave for England until after Philip had established himself there, and even then there were certain obstacles to be overcome. In law Pole was a traitor, and until Parliament had removed this disability he could not enter the country. Mary did her best to secure the return of men of the 'wise, grave, and catholic sort' to the Parliament which met in November 1554, and it was to prove the least intractable of her reign. But although, unlike its predecessor, this Parliament consented to reunion with Rome, it too set its face resolutely against any restoration of Church lands.

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But with the best will in the world Philip could not have avoided mistrust, and he would have been more or less than human if he had not sought to turn his wife's affection to his own ends. He had married her solely to bring England into the Habsburg combine, and although in theory England preserved her liberty of action the marriage had none the less aligned her with the Imperialist bloc and against its enemy, France. The French King thus became the natural ally of all opponents of the Marian-Philippine regime and his hand was seen in every rebellion and plot against it. When in January  1557 a brief truce between France and the Habsburgs dissolved into a fresh war, only a determined effort of self-abnegation on Philip's part, and of self-assertion on Mary's, could have kept England at peace. Since leaving England Philip's conduct had been such as to convince all but his doting wife that he no longer felt a shred of conjugal duty. But the marriage, loveless and sterile as it was, remained his strongest political asset, and in the spring of 1557 he came over to claim the dividend. Mary, who still clung desperately to the hope of a child, was overjoyed, and in his presence her doubts and scruples melted away. When her counsellors obstinately opposed the war, she summoned them individually to her room and threatened them, 'some with death, some with the loss of their goods and estates, if they did not consent to the will of her husband. It was Tudor language, but put to such a use as no other Tudor would have dreamt of. And it might have failed of its purpose if a hare-brained adventurer, Thomas Stafford, had not chosen this moment to resurrect the distant claim to the throne which had brought his grandfather, Buckingham, to the block in 1521, and if the King of France had not chosen to support his enterprise. This display of French arrogance destroyed the Council's will to resist their imperious Queen, and in June 1557 war was declared.

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Elizabeth had to choose, then, between 'Catholicism with its Pope and the creed for which Cranmer and Ridley died'. She was well aware of the benefits which would flow from a decision for Catholicism. At home, everything and everybody could be left practically undisturbed; the burnings would have to stop, but that would gratify all but a few bigoted bishops. Abroad, she would be free to make her peace with the Pope (and doubtless have the little matter of her legitimacy set right), to bind Philip of {Spain firmly to her cause, and to extort a favourable peace from Henry II - might she not even recover Calais? - as the price of Mary Stuart's succession. It was a prospect with which a Catholic Queen might hope to seduce all but the staunchest Protestant. The loss of Calais, it was said, had emptied English churches; a diplomatic triumph on this scale would help to refill them. Why did Elizabeth turn away from these tempting vistas? We know, of course, that she did her shameless best not to lose sight of them altogether. But she had to choose, and she chose against Rome. Elizabeth always hated medicine of any kind, and Papal Supremacy, however diluted, would have been a bitter draught, too bitter, perhaps, for this daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, to swallow. The doctrinal issue was less clear-cut. But there a staunch heart might have overborne a neutral conscience. For Elizabeth, too, had suffered under Mary. She had been the Protestants' hope then, and some of them were dangerously near to making her their idol now. She could not desert them. Pride and loyalty, two fundamentals of Elizabeth's nature, were thus engaged, and both fought against Catholicism. So did a third - courage. To conciliate the Catholic Powers might have seemed then, as to conciliate the Axis was to seem later, the way to pluck the flower safety from the nettle danger. But what would this safety cost, and what would it be worth?

The battle of Hastings

Harold's predecessor Edward the Confessor had at first probably designated William, a cousin, as his heir but on his deathbed granted the kingdom to Harold, the most powerful man in the kingdom. Harold was crowned king the next day. On September 27 William crossed to England unopposed, with an army of 4,000 to 7,000 cavalry and infantry and moved eastward towards Hastings. Harold, learning of his landing on about October 2, hurried southward and by October 13 was approaching Hastings with about 7,000 men, many of whom were half-armed, untrained peasants. At dawn on October 14 William moved toward Harold's army. William disposed his army for attack, archers in front, infantrymen behind, and the knights in three groups to the rear. Harold's English army, lacking archers and cavalry, prepared for defence on the protected summit of the ridge. His men provided an excellent target for William's archers, who opened the Norman attack but suffered heavily from English slings and spears. William therefore threw in his cavalry, which was so badly beaten by the English infantry that it fled. William checked its flight and throughout the day launched on the English position a series of cavalry charges and flights of arrows. He managed to draw considerable numbers of Englishmen from their position and annihilated them. Gradually the English were worn down; two of Harold's brothers fell, and in the late afternoon he himself was killed. The leaderless English fought on until dusk, then broke, leaving William the winner of one of the most daring gambles in history. After the battle his army moved to London, where William was crowned king on December 25.

New York

In 1605 the first Europeans are known to come to Manhattan from Holland. They bought the island from the Native Americans for a few trinkets worth about $26 today. Manhattan, the smallest island in New York is the name of an island which forms the heart of New York. It lies at the mouth of the Hudson River. East of it runs the East River, which divides the island from Long Island. Although fewer than two million of the city's eight million people live on the island, it is in essence what the world regards as "New York City". Here is the heart of America's business and culture; it is the city of skyscrapers. Looking from the harbour, you see the clusters of tall buildings in the financial districts.

For the visitor New York means skyscrapers, the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, tremendous traffic, dazzling neon advertisements. Central Park, Times Square, Harlem, the avenues and famous streets - and all these are to be found in Manhattan. Manhattan is full of parallel rows of buildings, those running from north to south being called avenues while those running from east to west are called streets. The avenues and streets have only numbers instead of names. Wall Street from its very inception became the market place of money. It was here that a walled stockade was erected to repel Indians, hence its name. As the city expanded the stockade was dismantled as of no further use, but the market place for the purchase of bonds and securities remained. During normal business hours the district is a veritable beehive of teeming office workers hurrying to and fro about their business.

Jules César et les Gaulois

La société gauloise était barbare, mais non sauvage. Intelligents, sensibles à la beauté des mots, curieux de la vie romaine, les Gaulois se montraient bons artisans et soldats courageux. Pourtant tout observateur impartial, au début du I^er siècle avant Jésus-Christ, aurait pu prévoir qu'ils ne demeureraient plus longtemps libres. Un Etat fort ne tolère pas à ses côtés la survie d'un Etat faible, que l'anarchie met à la merci des conquérants. Les Gaulois étaient capables d'héroïsme, non de discipline ni de persévérance. Des factions divisaient non seulement tribus et clans, mais les familles mêmes. Les haines de clans étaient parfois si vives que l'aristocratie de certaines tribus appelait les Romains. Ceux-ci ne pouvaient éprouver de scrupules à s'emparer d'un pays que ravageaient les guerres privées et dont les frontières n'étaient pas protégées. Il semblait évident que, le jour où un général romain déciderait de conquérir les Gaules, l'opinion publique le soutiendrait.

En 58 avant J.-C., le proconsul des deux Gaules était Jules César, politicien de quarante-deux ans qui avait autant d'ambitions que de génie. César depuis longtemps regardait mourir la république romaine. Il pensait que l'aristocratie républicaine ne pouvait pas durer et qu'un homme, un jour, devrait prendre le pouvoir à Rome. Il voulait être ce chef. Mais pour accomplir ce grand dessein, il lui fallait du prestige et une armée. Le proconsulat des Gaules pouvait lui donner l'un et l'autre.

L'alliance franco-russe

L'alliance franco-russe, tant désirée par les Français, mit cinq ans à se faire. Autocrate, Alexandre III éprouvait «mépris et dégoût» pour un gouvernement républicain. Mais, quand il vit l'Allemagne dénoncer le traité (1890) et renouveler la Triple Alliance (1891), il signa avec la France un engagement de collaboration politique au cas où la paix serait menacée (août 1891). Puis, après plus de deux ans de difficiles négociations, il ratifia une convention militaire (décembre 1893). C'est cette convention secrète qui constitue ce qu'on appelle le traité d'alliance franco-russe. L'alliance franco-russe était uniquement défensive: elle ne devait jouer que dans le cas où l'Allemagne attaquerait la France ou la Russie, et elle était fondée sur le maintien du statu quo territorial en Europe. Mais elle semblait rétablir l'équilibre des forces en Europe. La France voyait enfin le terme de son long isolement, pendant que la Russie trouvait en France les capitaux nécessaires au développement de son industrie et à sa politique d'expansion en Extrême-Orient.

L'alliance franco-russe était à peine conclue que la question d'Orient se rouvrait, par suite de la politique du sultan Abd ul-Hamid à l'égard des chrétiens. Abd ul-Hamid s'affirmait le protecteur de l'islam. Non seulement il fit construire le chemin de fer de La Mecque qui permettrait aux pèlerins de visiter plus facilement la Ville sainte, mais encore, pour complaire au fanatisme musulman, il fit - ou laissa - massacrer les chrétiens de son empire par centaines de milliers.

Die Beziehungen der Kiewer Rus zu Byzanz und Europa

Zwischen Byzanz und der Rus existierten ständige Handelsbeziehungen. Aus der Kiewer Rus gingen Felle, Fisch, Wachs, Honig, Juweliererzeugnisse, Lederwaren, Metallarbeiten und andere Produkte sowie Sklaven nach Byzanz. Die russischen Kaufleute brachten aus Byzanz Brokat, Seidenstoffe, Wein, orientalische Gewürze und andere Waren, die der Adel zu kaufen wünschte. Das Zentrum des damaligen Welthandels war die Stadt Konstantinopel. Es war jedoch ein Handelsplatz, der nicht allen Völkern zugänglich war; nur derjenige konnte mit Konstantinopel Handel treiben, der sich in diesem oder jenem Grade der Macht des Byzantinischen Reiches unterworfen oder gewaltsam seine Anerkennung als gleichberechtigter Partner erzwungen hatte. Diesem Zweck dienten die Kriegszüge der Rus gegen Byzanz. Sie waren ein Versuch, Byzanz zu zwingen, die Kiewer Rus als gleichberechtigten Handelspartner anzuerkennen.

Im Jahre 907 führte der Kiewer Fürst Oleg seinen siegreichen Feldzug gegen Konstantinopel durch. In dem Friedensvertrag von 911 heißt es unter anderem, dass die russischen Gesandten und Kaufleute das Recht erhalten, Konstantinopel aufzusuchen und zollfreien Handel zu treiben.

Unter Swajtoslaw (957-973) und seinem Sohn Wladimir erlangte der Kiewer Staat besondere Stärke, so dass gleichzeitig auch seine internationale Rolle noch weiter wuchs.

Als es im Byzantinischen Reich zu einem Aufstand gegen den Kaiser Basileious II. kam, musste er sogar Wladimir um Hilfe bitten. Das daraufhin nach Byzanz gesandte russische Heer spielte bei der Zerschlagung des Aufstandes die entscheidende Rolle.

Die Entdeckungsfahrten

Zu den vielen Seefahrern, die im 15. Jahrhundert einen Seeweg nach Indien suchten, gehörte auch Christoph Kolumbus.

Er stammte aus Italien und lernte schon in seiner frühen Jugend, ein Schiff zu rühren. Eifrig vermehrte er seine Kennmisse. Er las Reiseberichte anderer Seefahrer und studierte die Schriften der Wissenschaftler. Auch ihn lockten die Schätze der fernen Länder. Er hoffte in Indien Reichtum und hohes Ansehen zu erlangen. In ihm reifte der Plan, Indien zu erreichen.

An einem Augustmorgen des Jahres 1492 begann die Fahrt ins Ungewisse. Bald sahen die Seeleute nur noch den Himmel und das Meer. Den Weg wies ihnen der Kompaß. Die Mannschaft war stets voller Erregung. Die Ungewissheit ihres Zieles beängstigte sie. Die Matrosen begannen zu zweifeln, ob sie ihre Heimat je wiedersehen. Als die Angst zunahm, drohten sie, ihren Admiral ins Meer zu werfen, wenn er nicht bald umkehrt. Aber Kolumbus verstand es immer wieder, die Seeleute zu beruhigen. Jeden Abend gab er den Matrosen die zurückgelegte Entfernung an. Er nannte falsche Zahlen, geringere Entfernungen, damit sie sich nicht noch mehr ängstigten. Am 12. Oktober 1492 betraten die Spanier nach 72-tägiger Seefahrt eine Insel. Kolumbus nannte sie San Salvadore. Die Schiffe segelten noch mehrere Monate. Dabei entdeckte Kolumbus die Inseln Kuba und Haiti.

1493 kehrte Kolumbus mit einigen verschuchterten Indianern an Bord nach Spanien zurück. Dort bereitete man ihm einen begeisterten Empfang. Noch dreimal überquerte Kolumbus den Ozean. Dabei entdeckte er weitere Inseln und das amerikanische Festland. Kolumbus starb im Jahre 1506. Er erführ nie, dass er einen neuen, großen Erdteil entdeckt hatte.

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Ingenti ricchezze affluirono nei palazzi reali di Crosso e di Festo, i cui resti ci rivelano una societa' brillante e lussuosa, amante dei begli abiti dalle fogge pittoresche, dei gioielli, degli spettacoli di circo.

Probabilmente, i principi di Crosso giunsero per qualche tempo a dominare anche talune zone costiere della Grecia. Cio' sarebbe adombrato dalla leggenda del tributo imposto da Minasse ad Atene. E quanto al Minotauro, va detto che il toro occupa spesso un posto importante in quel che possiamo indovinare della religione dei Cretesi: dovevano adorare una divinita' femminile, le cui immagini sono spesso accompagnate da un serpente, ma altresi' una divinita' maschile, raffigurata spesso insieme con un toro. Forse erano un rito religioso anche i giochi di circo, i quali sono raffigurati come pericolose acrobazie di donne e uomini sui tori. Evidentemente, la leggenda del Minasse conserva un ricordo confuso di tutto questo.

La vita doveva scorrere pacifica nei palazzi monoici, tant'e' vero che essi non sono cinti da mura difensive. Ad un certo punto, pero', dovettero esser distrutti, verso il 1400 a.C. Un terremoto? Oppure un'invasione? Dopo un periodo di abbandono, infine, gli stessi palazzi, nello stesso luogo, vennero ricostruiti, ma piu' piccoli e stavolta con fortificazioni. Dunque, una civilta' piu' povera e bellicosa si era impiantata nell'isola, dopo quella dei tempi aurei.

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Gli Egiziani erano molto religiosi: adoravano numerose divinita', fra le quali aveva la preminenza il Sole, e veneravano alcune di queste sotto la forma di animali. Cosi', avevano un grande rispetto per la cicogna, il gatto, il coccodrillo, lo sparviero, lo scarabeo, e, particolarmente, per il famoso bue nero detto Api.

Ma tutta la civilta' egiziana e' imbevuta di spirito religioso e di elevato sentimento del bello. Osservate, ad esempio, qualcuna delle grandi opere - le piramidi, le sfingi, gli obelischi - scampate alla distruzione del tempo. Che cosa esprimono questi grandiosi monumenti che ancor oggi possiamo ammirare? Essi esprimono, appunto, un forte spirito religioso e un maestoso senso della bellezza: le piramidi erano tombe di re; le sfingi, simboli religiosi; gli obelischi, monumenti commemorativi.

E' nell'architettura e nella scultura che l'anima dell' Egitto trovo' la sua piu' alta e potente espressione artistica. Ancor oggi, di fronte ai resti imponenti delle piramidi, dei templi, delle sfingi, degli obelischi innalzati dagli Egiziani tanti e tanti secoli fa, noi siamo conquistati da un sentimento di infinita meraviglia e sentiamo che un popolo che ha saputo innalzare tali grandiosi monumenti deve essere stato certamente un popolo di elevata civiltà'. Cio' del resto ci e' confermato dalla pittura, nonche' da una vasta letteratura pervenuta in grande abbondanza fino a noi, attraverso la cosiddetta scrittura geroglifica.

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Hernán Cortés, quien fue el Conquistador de México por antonomasia, nació en Medellín, Extremadura, en 1485, del matrimonio formado por don Martín Cortés y doña Catalina Pizarro. Siendo de ingenio vivo, su padre quiso que estudiara leyes en Salamanca - uno de los tres caminos vocacionales para los hidalgos de la época: ciencia, mar o casa real-, aunque el mancebo no perseveró en el empeño sino dos años, y sirvió después a un escribano de Valladolid. Volvió a la casa paterna, y alternó el ocio con los lances amorosos, que en una ocasión le iban a resultar fatales al caer de una tapia que escalaba con imprudencia.

Al fin, con acuerdo de sus padres, decidió marchar a Santo Domingo, cuando contaba 19 años.

En la isla española de Cuba, Cortés fue encomendero, conquistador, escribano y cultivador. En Cuba emparentó con Diego Velázquez, al contraer nupcias con Catalina Juárez, hermana de la esposa de éste.

Era Cortés de ánimo esforzado, audaz, decidido, que, como héroe típico del renacimiento, sabía combinar el refinamiento con el arrojo.

Nombrado capitán para ir a tierra firme, se aprestó a reclutar gente y a obtener provisiones suficientes para la armada, aportando de su peculio la mayor parte de los recursos. Y en su estandarte que mandó labrar entonces, se veía una cruz y esta leyenda: 'Amigos, sigamos la señal de la cruz y con ella venceremos".

No obstante, la salida de Cuba fue precipitada y contra la voluntad de Velázquez, porque el gobernador, temeroso de las dotes de mando de su pariente político, quiso despojarlo de la dirección, lo que no pudo llevar a cabo, porque Cortés zarpó del Cabo de San Antón, dejando a Velázquez con su disgusto.

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Los Reyes Católicos organizaron el Estado español moderno mediante la reducción del poder de las Cortes; la profesionalización del ejército; el reclutamiento del funcionariado entre la burguesía culta; la participación real en el nombramiento de los cargos eclesiásticos, y la reforma de la Administración. Crearon para ello, en el seno del antiguo Consejo Real (órgano consultivo que fue, con la Cancillería, instrumento supremo de gobierno), distintas «salas» especializadas: Estado, Hacienda, Justicia, etc.

Tras el fallecimiento de Isabel la Católica, heredaron la Corona de Castilla su hija Juana y el marido de ésta, Felipe I el Hermoso. Muerto Felipe e incapacitada doña Juana por su grave y progresiva enfermedad mental, ejerció la regencia Fernando el Católico, que nombraría heredero de ambos reinos a su nieto Carlos de Gante. Primer soberano español de la Casa de Austria, desde 1516, y emperador de Alemania desde 1519, sería el artífice de la supremacía de España en Europa. Su política fue continuada por su hijo Felipe II, que hubo de hacer frente al expansionismo turco y a la hostilidad de las potencias europeas. Felipe III acordó paces con los enemigos tradicionales del Estado español y, a principios del siglo XVII, se vivieron años de relativa calma. Los Austrias, como los Reyes Católicos, tuvieron que aceptar la tradicional pluralidad del sistema político español. Todo intento centralizador chocaba de inmediato con los defensores de las libertades forales. Desarrollaron para ello un sistema de Consejos, órganos de gobierno herederos de las «salas». El «secreterio», alto funcionario elegido entre los miembros de la burguesía ilustrada, se encargaba de las relaciones con el soberano. Las con-quistas territoriales y las herencias pusieron un vastísimo imperio bajo el control de la Corona de España. Los valores hispánicos se internacionalizaron a través del Imperio y la cultura española logró amplia difusión geográfica.