Popularnonaukowe i akademickie

The Riddle of the Sands - With Audio Level 5 Oxford Bookworms Library

Childers, Erskine

A level 5 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Retold for Learners of English by Peter Hawkins. When Carruthers joins his friend Arthur Davies on his yacht Dulcibella, he is expecting a pleasant sailing holiday in the Baltic Sea. But the holiday turns into an adventure of a different kind. He and Davies soon find themselves sailing in the stormy waters of the North Sea, exploring the channels and sandbanks around the German Frisian Islands, and looking for a secret - a secret that could mean great danger for England. Erskine Childers' novel, published in 1903, was the first great modern spy story, and is still as exciting to read today as it was a hundred years ago.

The Riddle of the Sands Level 5 Oxford Bookworms Library

Childers, Erskine

A level 5 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Retold for Learners of English by Peter Hawkins When Carruthers joins his friend Arthur Davies on his yacht Dulcibella, he is expecting a pleasant sailing holiday in the Baltic Sea. But the holiday turns into an adventure of a different kind. He and Davies soon find themselves sailing in the stormy waters of the North Sea, exploring the channels and sandbanks around the German Frisian Islands, and looking for a secret - a secret that could mean great danger for England. Erskine Childers' novel, published in 1903, was the first great modern spy story, and is still as exciting to read today as it was a hundred years ago.

The Sacred and Film. Darren Aronofsky\'s Transcendent Cinema

Marcin Kępiński

The book about the transcendent cinema of Darren Aronofsky takes the reader on a journey through the selected filmography of this outstanding American director. A monograph devoted entirely to his extraordinary work, which among film experts and film audiences has both a group of devoted admirers and critics. A strong, even anarchist accent falls here on the type of film hero presented, living on the margins of society and consciously rejecting its normative structures. The films, as well as the literature to which the book refers, are an expression of a critical attitude towards symbolic violence and the imposition of creatively limiting cultural norms on the individual, requiring such ordering such and no other understanding and experiencing the surrounding world. An astute observer of Darren Aronofsky's work will notice the existence of metaphysical problems in it, sometimes directly directed towards religious issues. We can call this kind of cinema transcendent. This cinema is only seemingly pessimistic in its meaning. It is worth looking for mythical stories to try to hear and understand what they have to offer us. It is worth turning to transcendence and trying to express the inexpressible, also in the art of film, as does Darren Aronofsky, who wants to be a trustee of great mythical narratives. These features, so characteristic of the director, can be seen, to a greater or lesser extent, in all his films, especially those referred to in this monograph. It will be interesting for the reader who expects from contemporary cinema something more than unsophisticated entertainment and wants to go beyond its ludic dimension.

The Scarlet Letter - With Audio Level 4 Oxford Bookworms Library

Hawthorne, Nathaniel

A level 4 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Written for Learners of English by John Escott. Scarlet is the colour of sin, and the letter 'A' stands for 'Adultery'. In the 1600s, in Boston, Massachusetts, love was allowed only between a husband and a wife. A child born outside marriage was a child of sin. Hester Prynne must wear the scarlet letter on her dress for the rest of her life. How can she ever escape from this public shame? What will happen to her child, growing up in the shadow of the scarlet letter? The future holds no joy for Hester Prynne. And what will happen to her sinful lover - the father of her child?

The Scarlet Letter Level 4 Oxford Bookworms Library

Hawthorne, Nathaniel

A level 4 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Written for Learners of English by John Escott Scarlet is the colour of sin, and the letter 'A' stands for 'Adultery'. In the 1600s, in Boston, Massachusetts, love was allowed only between a husband and a wife. A child born outside marriage was a child of sin. Hester Prynne must wear the scarlet letter on her dress for the rest of her life. How can she ever escape from this public shame? What will happen to her child, growing up in the shadow of the scarlet letter? The future holds no joy for Hester Prynne. And what will happen to her sinful lover - the father of her child?

The Secret Garden - With Audio Level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library

Hodgson Burnett, Frances

A level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Retold for Learners of English by Clare West. Little Mary Lennox is a bad-tempered, disagreeable child. When her parents die in India, she is sent back to England to live with her uncle in a big, lonely, old house. There is nothing to do all day except walk in the gardens - and watch the robin flying over the high walls of the secret garden . . . which has been locked for ten years. And no one has the key.

The Secret Garden Level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library

Hodgson Burnett, Frances

A level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Retold for Learners of English by Clare West Little Mary Lennox is a bad-tempered, disagreeable child. When her parents die in India, she is sent back to England to live with her uncle in a big, lonely, old house. There is nothing to do all day except walk in the gardens - and watch the robin flying over the high walls of the secret garden . . . which has been locked for ten years. And no one has the key.

The Self Industry: Therapy and Fiction

red. Jarosław Szurman, Agnieszka Woźniakowska, Krzysztof Kowalczyk-Twarowski

Publikacja dotyczy problemów powstałych na styku literatury i psychologii, w szczególności terapeutycznej funkcji tekstów, zarówno w odniesieniu do ich autorów, jaki i do czytelników. Autorzy poszczególnych artykułów poddają analizie różnorodne teksty kultury powstałe w dziewiętnastym i w dwudziestym wieku, pokazując, że nie tylko psychologia dostarcza narzędzi do odczytania (niekiedy na nowo) tekstów literackich, ale i literatura pomaga w zrozumieniu problemów z dziedziny psychologii.

The Shakespearean Tide. Studies in the Dynamics of Human Time

Jacek Mydla

Książka przybliża czytelnikowi problematykę czasu jako tkanki utworu dramatycznego na przykładzie wybranych sztuk Williama Szekspira, tych, w których czas pełni szczególnie istotną funkcję. Przedmiotem rozważań były sztuki o bardzo różnym charakterze, od komedii romantycznej poprzez dramat historyczny i tragedię po późne „romanse”. Każdy z rozdziałów był próbą syntetyzującego wniknięcia w tekst sztuki, który traktowano jako fundament świata literacko wykreowanego, z nastawieniem na ukazanie doniosłego znaczenia czasu, nie tylko jako elementu budującego konkretną czasoprzestrzeń („kalendarz” świata przedstawionego), lecz także jako swoiście ulotnego bytu, nieuchwytnego a jednak warunkującego dynamikę ludzkiej egzystencji (postawy, decyzje, plany, intrygi, itd.). Szczególną uwagę poświęcono tzw. przekleństwu narodzin, tj. osobliwej postawie życiowej zwróconej przeciwko czasowi organicznemu i retoryce ją wyrażającej. Przekleństwo narodzin, jak to sugeruje autor książki, jest charakterystyczne dla tragicznej wizji ludzkiej egzystencji. Okazuje się, iż w swej późnej twórczości Szekspir usiłuje przezwyciężyć ciążące na wielkich tragediach przekonanie o bezsensowności („próżności”) prokreacji i wypracowuje dynamiczną retorykę dramaturgiczną umożliwiającą wyrażenie afirmacji biologicznej strony życia, w tym szczególnie związków między członkami rodziny jako przejawów owej „biologii”, które w tragediach wydają się skażone. Książka pozwala czytelnikowi na zetknięcie się z pulsującym życiem, ale również dramaturgią specyficznie ludzkiego istnienia, tekstem literackim. Namacalny staje się kunszt, z jakim dramaturg wydobywa na jaw to, co istotne w niestałym świecie ludzkich postaw i dążeń, które zawsze i w sposób zasadniczy odniesione zostają do czasu. Skupienie analiz wokół zagadnienia czasu staje się zatem okazją do ponownego przemyślenia – bez groźby osunięcia się w drętwy filozoficzny dyskurs – zasadniczych dla człowieka, „egzystencjalnych”, problemów i dylematów.

The Shields of the Empire: Eastern Roman Military Elites during the Reigns of the Emperors Theodosius II, Marcian and Leo I. Byzantina Lodziensia XLVII

Łukasz Pigoński

When the emperor Valentinian III murdered the general Flavius Aetius, it has been observed that he had 'cut his right hand with his left', and the story of the fall of the 'last Roman' has been put in the greater context of the subsequent dissolution of the Roman Empire in the West. However, a similar deed committed by the emperor Leo in the East in 471, when he ordered the killing of the general Aspar, certainly did not gain such a legendary status. The underappreciated story of the survival of the Eastern Roman Empire in the turmoil of the fifth century is however no less dramatic, and the role that powerful military leaders played in those events was certainly paramount. This publication aims to reconstruct the involvement of the Eastern Roman military elite in various matters of the state on the wider background of political history marked by the reigns of the emperors Theodosius II (408-450), Marcian (450-457), and Leo I (457-474). On its pages, the author presents the history of the numerous wars in which the Empire found itself entangled in during that uneasy time, as well as the periods of conflict and cooperation between the generals and the emperors. The focus is not only on the military elite as a group, but also on outstanding individuals, such as generals Plintha, Flavius Zeno, Aspar or Zeno-Tarasikodissa, the aforementioned emperors and their civilian advisors. The result is a comprehensive study and a novel interpretation of the nearly seven decades of turmoil that, contrary to what happened in the West, curiously did not result in the collapse of the Eastern Roman state; perhaps, as the author argues, in no small part due to those military leaders, who were serving and protecting it.

The Star Zoo Level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library

Gilbert, Harry

A level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library graded readers. Written for Learners of English by Harry Gilbert In our world today a hummingbird is a small, brilliantly coloured bird that lives in the tall trees of tropical forests. In the far distant future, Hummingbird (Hummy for short) is a girl of sixteen who lives somewhere in the Galaxy, on a planet called Just Like Home. She has the name 'Hummingbird' in big letters on all her clothes, but she has never seen a real hummingbird. She has never seen any living animal or bird at all. The Book of Remembering says that there were once many animals on a planet called Earth, but that was before the Burning, a long, long time ago . . .

The Thirty-Nine Steps - With Audio Level 4 Oxford Bookworms Library

Buchan, John

A level 4 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Retold for Learners of English by Nick Bullard. 'I turned on the light, but there was nobody there. Then I saw something in the corner that made my blood turn cold. Scudder was lying on his back. There was a long knife through his heart, pinning him to the floor.' Soon Richard Hannay is running to his life across the hills of Scotland. The police are chasing him for a murder he did not do, and another, more dangerous enemy is chasing him as well - the mysterious 'Black Stone'. Who are these people? And why do they want Hannay dead?

The Thirty-Nine Steps Level 4 Oxford Bookworms Library

Buchan, John

A level 4 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Retold for Learners of English by Nick Bullard 'I turned on the light, but there was nobody there. Then I saw something in the corner that made my blood turn cold. Scudder was lying on his back. There was a long knife through his heart, pinning him to the floor.' Soon Richard Hannay is running to his life across the hills of Scotland. The police are chasing him for a murder he did not do, and another, more dangerous enemy is chasing him as well - the mysterious 'Black Stone'. Who are these people? And why do they want Hannay dead?

The Three Strangers and Other Stories - With Audio Level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library

Hardy, Thomas

A level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Retold for Learners of English by Clare West. On a stormy winter night, a stranger knocks at the door of a shepherd's cottage. He is cold and hungry, and wants to get out of the rain. He is welcomed inside, but he does not give his name or his business. Who is he, and where has he come from? And he is only the first visitor to call at the cottage that night . . . In these three short stories, Thomas Hardy gives us pictures of the lives of shepherds and hangmen, dukes and teachers. But rich or poor, young or old, they all have the same feelings of fear, hope, love, jealousy . . .

The Three Strangers and Other Stories Level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library

Hardy, Thomas

A level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library graded readers. Retold for Learners of English by Clare West On a stormy winter night, a stranger knocks at the door of a shepherd's cottage. He is cold and hungry, and wants to get out of the rain. He is welcomed inside, but he does not give his name or his business. Who is he, and where has he come from? And he is only the first visitor to call at the cottage that night . . . In these three short stories, Thomas Hardy gives us pictures of the lives of shepherds and hangmen, dukes and teachers. But rich or poor, young or old, they all have the same feelings of fear, hope, love, jealousy . . .

The timing of tone group constituents in the advanced Polish learner's English pronunciation

Andrzej Porzuczek

Książka Andrzeja Porzuczka poświęcona jest analizie relacji czasowych pomiędzy elementami frazy intonacyjnej w wymowie angielskiej zaawansowanego ucznia polskiego. Celem autora było wykazanie i opisanie różnic w tym zakresie między polskim uczniem a rodzimym użytkownikiem języka angielskiego oraz ich interpretacja w kontekście glottodydaktycznym. Część teoretyczna pracy (rozdziały 1—3) omawia historię i stan badań nad prozodią języka mówionego oraz metodologię akustycznych badań mowy. Część praktyczna natomiast (rozdziały 4—7) przedstawia oparte na dyskusji z części teoretycznej założenia metodologiczne, hipotezy badawcze oraz materiał językowy wybrany do analizy, po czym autor w sposób wyczerpujący prezentuje i omawia wyniki swoich badań. Autor zaobserwował m.in.: wyraźnie dłuższy czas trwania elementów nieakcentowanych w wymowie Polaków oraz większą u rodzimych użytkowników języka angielskiego tendencję do wyrównywania czasu trwanie stopy rytmicznej. Badania nie wykazały z kolei wyraźnych różnic w bezwzględnej długości samogłosek i sylab akcentowanych (z wyjątkiem sylab akcentowanych na końcu frazy, gdzie są one znacznie dłuższe w wymowie rodowitych Anglików). Przedstawione w pracy Andrzeja Porzuczka rezultaty badań oraz wykorzystanie zastosowanych w nich metod mogą posłużyć do identyfikacji konkretnych problemów w przyswajaniu obcej wymowy, jak również wprowadzić element obiektywizmu do zazwyczaj impresjonistycznej oceny warstwy prozodycznej wymowy języka obcego.

The Unquiet Grave - Short Stories Level 4 Oxford Bookworms Library

M. R. James

A level 4 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Retold for Learners of English by Peter Hawkins. If you find a locked room in a lonely inn, don't try to open it, even on a bright sunny day. If you find a strange whistle hidden among the stones of an old church, don't blow it. If a mysterious man gives you a piece of paper with strange writing on it, give it back to him at once. And if you call a dead man from his grave, don't expect to sleep peacefully ever again. Read these five ghost stories by daylight, and make sure your door is locked.

The Victorian Royal Nursery, 1840-1865. Creation, Organisation, Staff, Financing

Mariusz Misztal

The Victorian Royal Nursery attempts to shed more light on the nursery for the children of Queen Victoria. It examines the creation, organisation, and financing of the nursery, with a consideration of the most important individuals who looked after the Royal children, namely the medical staff, wet nurses, monthly nurses, permanent nurses, governesses and subgovernesses. The study is based mostly on the numerous unpublished documents from the Royal Archives at Windsor as well as the hitherto little-known or unknown sources like the journal of the royal accoucheur Dr Robert Ferguson or the diary of head-nurse Mrs Ann Thurston. From the review of The Victorian Royal Nursery, 1840–1865: This is an original and important research project […]. In The Victorian Royal Nursery Mr Misztal brings a scholarly, tightly-focussed approach to a part of the Victorian Royal Household which until now has only received passing references in the literature. This superb study gives a full, definitive account of a part of the life of Queen Victoria which has been largely neglected […]. No one has written in such detail about the royal nursery, and that in itself represents a vital contribution to royal scholarship. The new material which Misztal has discovered sheds new light on the Queen’s mental and emotional state after childbirth… This gives substance to Albert’s later fears about Victoria’s mental state and the rumours that she had inherited the madness of King George III. […] The footnotes are excellent and full of additional material [...]. This is an outstanding piece of research. It is a definitive account, and it will become indispensable. Professor Jane Ridley, author of Bertie: A Life of Edward VII and Queen Victoria: A Short Life

The Warsaw Group Rytm (1922-32) and Modernist Classicism

Małgorzata Sears

The first monograph of the influential Polish group Rytm to be published in English, this book is a nuanced reconstruction of this forgotten interwar association of artists, and an original contribution to the ongoing debates on the new classicism in Europe. Engaging critically with both recent scholarly works, and early twentieth-century writing, on modernism, classicism, Maurice Denis, and Henri Bergson, it offers a reassessment of the critique of the concepts of decorativeness, style, and rhythm, and poses important questions about the broader historiography of the 1920s in Europe as a whole.   “The book provides a valuable and unique study of the group […]. [It] expands the modernist canon by reinstating Rytm, but it also makes a significant contribution to the ongoing debates concerning ‘modernist classicism’ in European art.”  Christina Lodder, Honorary Professor of Art History, University of Kent and Honorary Fellow, University of York   “Until recently, scholars have tended to downplay more aesthetically ‘traditional’ developments in Eastern European art, focusing almost exclusively on the avant-gardes. Sears’ excellent book is symptomatic of a shift away from such approaches today. She is a leading figure in a revisionist generation who emphasise continuity and hybridity over utopia and rupture.”  Klara Kemp-Welch, Reader in 20th Century Modernism, The Courtauld Institute of Art   Małgorzata Sears is an art historian and artist educated in Poland and the United Kingdom and based in London. She studied fine art in Cornwall (Falmouth) and art history in London (Courtauld Institute of Art), where she was awarded her doctorate and was a Visiting Lecturer. She specialises in Polish interwar art and has a wider interest in European modernism, especially its links to notions of Classicism.

The Wealth of Nations

Adam Smith

Discover the timeless wisdom of Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" a captivating journey into the heart of economics that promises to enlighten and empower readers of all backgrounds. With eloquence and precision, Smith unravels the mysteries of wealth creation, unveiling the profound insights that continue to shape our modern world. Delve into the pages of this groundbreaking work to uncover the secrets of market dynamics, the power of specialization, and the transformative force of free trade. Whether you're a seasoned economist or a curious novice, "The Wealth of Nations" beckons with its promise of newfound understanding and invaluable knowledge. Embark on this enlightening voyage today and unlock the keys to prosperity and progress.

The White Stones Starter Level Oxford Bookworms Library

Lester Vaughan

A Starter level Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Written for Learners of English by Lester Vaughan. 'The people on this island don't like archaeologists,' the woman on the ferry says. You only want to study the 4,500 year-old Irish megalithic stones but very soon strange things begin to happen to you. Can you solve the mystery in time?

The Wind in the Willows - With Audio Level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library

Grahame, Kenneth

A level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Retold for Learners of English by Jennifer Bassett. Down by the river bank, where the wind whispers through the willow trees, is a very pleasant place to have a lunch party with a few friends. But life is not always so peaceful for the Mole and the Water Rat. There is the time, for example, when Toad gets interested in motor-cars - goes mad about them in face . . . The story of the adventures of Mole, Rat, Badger, and Toad has been loved by young and old for over a hundred years.

The Wind in the Willows Level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library

Grahame, Kenneth

A level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Retold for Learners of English by Jennifer Bassett Down by the river bank, where the wind whispers through the willow trees, is a very pleasant place to have a lunch party with a few friends. But life is not always so peaceful for the Mole and the Water Rat. There is the time, for example, when Toad gets interested in motor-cars - goes mad about them in face . . . The story of the adventures of Mole, Rat, Badger, and Toad has been loved by young and old for over a hundred years.

The Witches of Pendle - With Audio Level 1 Oxford Bookworms Library

Akinyemi, Rowena

A level 1 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Written for Learners of English by Rowena Akinyemi. Witches are dangerous. They can kill you with a look, or a word. They can send their friend the Devil after you in the shape of a dog or a cat. They can make a clay picture of you, then break it . . . and a few weeks later you are dead. Today, of course, most people don't believe in witches. But in 1612 everybody was afraid of them. Young Jennet Device in Lancashire knew a lot about them because she lived with the Witches of Pendle. They were her family . . .