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Unit 1 About the UK

Scottish Humour

The Scottish people have a reputation according to The Scottish people have a reputation according to which they are very stingy. This is not true, of course, as anyone who visited Scotland will tell you. The Scottish people are very clever and simple, and they also have a na­tural sense of humour.

1.     One Friday a farmer's wife went to town as usual to sell her butter and eggs. "What are you giving for a dozen of eggs today?" she asked the grocer.

"Sixpence," was the short reply.

"Sixpence a dozen! That is a very small price indeed!"

"Yes, but we grocers had a conference yesterday, and we decided that we could not give more than sixpence for the eggs."

The farmer's wife shook her head very sadly but took the money and went away. Next Friday the farmer's wife came to town as usual. When the grocer looked at the eggs, he said, "Your eggs are very small this week."

"Well," she said, "our hens had a conference yesterday, and they decided that sixpence is such a small price that they must not try so hard to lay large eggs³ for it."

2.     A Scottish gentelman was spending his holiday in Vi­enna*. The town was very beautiful, and his guide was a very beautiful young lady, too. She was his guide in the town and in the country. "I will have the best memories of her," he thought.

Before he left he decided to give her some gift to thank her for her kindness. He wanted to be sure that the present was something that she liked, and he asked her what pre­sents she liked best of all.

"You know very well," she said, "that I like to look beautiful and to have beautiful things. Give me something for my neck, for my ears or my fingers!"

Next morning the Scottish gentelman appeared with a present.— A diamond ring? A golden bracelet? — No, a piece of soap!

Unit 2 School is not only learning

 Flowers are Red

           A little boy went, first day to school, he got his crayons and he started to draw. He put colours all over the paper, because colours are what he saw. And the teacher said, "What are you doing, young man?" "I'm painting flowers", he said.

She said, "It's not the time for art, young man. Anyway flo­wers are green and red." It's important, young man, to see things as they are in reality. "Have you any difficulties with understand­ing me?" And she said, "Flowers are red, young man, green leaves are green. And there's no need to see flowers any other way that the way they always have been seen."

But the little boy said, "There are so many colours in the rain­bow, so many colours in the morning sun, so many colours in the flowers, and I see everyone."

So the teacher said, "You're a naughty boy! Do you want to show me your independence? Leave your childish things at home! It's important for you to understand that there are ways that things should be, and you'll paint flowers the way they are, so repeat after me."

And she said, "Flowers are red, young man, green leaves are green, and there's no need to see flowers any other way that the way they always have been seen."

But the little boy said, "There are so many colours in the rain­bow, so many colours in the morning sun, so many colours in the flowers, and I see everyone." ,

Then the teacher became angry and put him in the corner. She said, "It's for your own good, and you don't come out till you get it right and you're answering like you should."

Finally he got lonely, frightened thoughts filled his head, so he went to the teacher and this is what he said: "Flowers are red, green leaves are green, there's no need to see flowers any other way than the way they always have been seen."

Time went by like it always does, and they moved to another town. The little boy went to another school, and this is what he found. He found the teacher there was smiling. She said, "Paint­ing should be fun. There are so many colours in the flowers, so let's paint everyone."

But the little boy painted flowers in neat rows of green and red, and when the teacher asked him why, this is what he said: "Flowers are red, green leaves are green, there's no need to see flowers any other way that the way they always have been seen."
         
                                           Like Teacher, Like Students

The phone rang on Dr Allen's desk. "Hello," she said picking up the phone.

"Dr Allen here. "Oh, good morning, Dr Allen," a voice said. "It's Jenny Ander­son here, Professor Smith's secretary. It's about that meeting on Monday. You are definitely coming, aren't you?" "The meeting. Yes, of course", Dr Allen said looking in her dairy. "It's at eleven, I see." "Well, no. We had to change the time," Jenny Anderson said. "It's going to be at twelve. I'm sure I told you." "But I've got a lecture at twelve," Dr Allen said.

But surely you can cancel your lecture - just for once," Jenny Anderson suggested. "The meeting's very important as you know." "I've got an idea. I'll record my lecture beforehand - and then I'll be able to come to the meeting".

"Wonderful," said Jenny Anderson. "I'll tell Professor Smith you'll be there, then."

At five to twelve on Monday morning Dr Allen went along to the lecture room. There were about twenty students waiting there for her. "I'm sorry," she told them, "I won't be able to give my lecture today." The students looked sur­prised. Dr Allen explained that she had an important meeting. "However," she went on, "although I can't be with you myself, my voice can!" She gestured towards the cassette recorder on the table. "You see, I've recorded my lecture and you can listen to it while I go to my meeting. So, in a way, I'll be in two places at once! One of the miracles of modern science!" Feeling rather pleased with herself, Dr Allen switched on the cassette recorder and left."Bu

The meeting in Professor Smith's office finished a little early so Dr Allen decided to go back to the lecture room. She stood for a moment outside the door, listened to her own voice. Then very quietly, she opened the door. To her surprise, the room was empty. But then, as she looked around, she saw a number of small cassette recorders - all 'listening' to her lecture!

"Well," she thought, "if I can be in two places at once, so can they!" 

Answer the questions

1. What problem did Dr Allen face one day?

2.  What plan did Dr Allen think of to be able to attend the meeting?

3.  Did she realize her plan?

4.  Were the students surprised at the words that she wouldn't be able to give the lecture that day?

5.  What did she see in the auditorium when she came after her important meeting?

   
                     Truth is Always Strange, Stranger than Fiction!

                                                                                              

I would like to tell you a story about my uncle Theo. He's my oldest uncle, a tall, thin, grey-haired man whose thoughts were always on learning and nothing else. He's quiet and gentle and absent-minded and with about as much sense as a child where money is concerned.                                                                        

Well, he applied for a post in Camford University. It was a very good post and there were hundreds of candidates who applied for it, and about fifteen, including Theo, were asked to be interviewed.                                                     

   Now Camford is a very small town; there is only one hotel in it, and this was full. Theo shared the room with a man who was a self-confident fellow, called Adams, about twenty years younger than Theo, with a loud voice, and a laugh that you could hear all over the hotel. But he was a clever fellow all the same.

As a result of the first interview, the number of the candidates was reduced to two, Uncle Theo and Adams. They decided to make their final choice after each candidate had given a public lecture in a college lecture- hall.

For three days Uncle Theo never left his room. He worked day and night at that lecture almost without eating or sleeping. Adams didn't seem to do any preparation at all.

The day of the lecture arrived. They all went into the lecture-hall and Theo and Adams took their seats on the platform. Theo discovered, to his horror, that the typewritten copy of his speech had disappeared! The Dean called Adams first. With despair in his heart, Theo watched Adams calmly take the stolen speech out of his pocket and read it. And how well he read it! When Adams finished there was a great burst of applause. Adams bowed and sat down.

Now it was Theo's turn. But what could he do? With a burning face he could only repeat, word for word, in a low dull voice the lecture that Adams had spoken so eloquently. There was hardly any applause when he sat down.

The Dean and the committee went out to decide who the successful candidate was, but everyone was sure what their decision would be. Adams leaned across to Theo and patted him on the back and said smilingly: “Hard luck, old fellow, but after all, only one of us could win.”

Then the Dean and committee came back. Gentlemen, the Dean said, the candidate we have chosen is Mr. Theo Hobdell. Uncle Theo had won! The audience were completely taken by surprise, and the Dean continued: “I think I ought to tell you how we arrived at that decision. We were all filled with admiration at the learning and eloquence of Mr. Adams. But you remember, Mr. Adams read his lecture to us. When Mr. Hobdell's turn came, he repeated that speech word by word from memory. Now a fine memory is absolutely necessary for this post, and what a memory Mr. Hobdell must have! That is why we decided that Mr. Hobdell was exactly the man we wanted!”

                                                       Unit 3 Meals

                                           The Inventive Barman

The other day I happened to finish my work earlier than usual. The weather was charming, so I decided to take a walk. Passing by one of the numerous pubs, it occurred to me that I could do with a pint of beer. "Nothing like a bottle of beer on a hot day like this!" I thought and entered the Golden Bar.

I looked about the place. It was just an ordinary bar. There were not many customers in it. Several men and women were seated at the tables having their lunch, others were standing at the bar, drinking beer.

I took a seat at one of the tables and ordered a pint of bitter. The beer was brought soon, but as I was in no hurry I took my time drinking it. By and by the place was filled with visitors and soon almost every seat was occupied.

Presently I finished my pint of beer and was about to leave the bar when it began to rain. I waited a few minutes, but the rain did not stop. The strange part of it was that there were no clouds in the sky, and yet it was raining hard.

I could not possibly go out -1 had no umbrella or waterproof with me - so I changed my mind and ordered a substantial lunch. I noticed that many people did the same, so the waiter had plenty of work to do.

The rain showed no sign of stopping. It was falling with a cruel persistence, though the sun was shining brightly. I was through with my lunch, had finished a cigar, and yet the rain would not stop. It was beginning to get on my nerves. I saw it was no use waiting any longer, so, prepared for the worst, I went out.

I walked a few steps in a hurry and then stopped in surprise. There was no rain. In fact, there had been no rain! What did I see, you may ask? There wasn't very much to see, after all. Just a few metres from the front door of the bar there was an elderly woman comfortably seated on a chair. She was holding a hose linked to a tap and was watering the pavement in front of the bar assiduously.

A clever dog, that barman was!

Answer the questions

1. What made the author go into the bar one day?

2.  What was the atmosphere in that bar?

3.  Did the weather suddenly change?

4.  Why couldn't the visitor leave the bar?

5. What did he see when he left the bar?

                

                                                      A Table for Two

Christian was working in a restaurant on a London road. One day he saw an old Rolls Royce in a car park. A very fat' lady in a fur coat got out and came into the restaurant. She had with her a small pet dog.

"A table for two", ordered the lady. "This way, madam", said Christian. He was very pleased. "Ladies like that usually give good tips", he thought. "Would you like to order now, madam or will you wait for your friend?" "A friend? I'm alone. The other place is for my dog", said she. At that moment the dog jumped on to the empty chair and sat down. The woman looked at the menu. She ordered a five-course lunch: soup, fish, chicken and rice, fruit with cream and cheese. She also ordered a bottle of the most expensive French wine. "And the dog, madam? " asked Christian. "Fido? Fido always sits at the table with me ". Christian served the lady. While she ate she gave little pieces of meat and fish to Fido. Fido ate them and asked for more. "Oh, dear. I've given so much chicken to Fido but I'm still hungry. Please, bring me some roast duck." Christian brought the roast duck and the lady gave a lot of that to Fido too." Then when she had finished the meal she ordered coffee and a box of the most expensive cigarettes.

"A very nice meal. Now will you please bring me my bill." Christian added up the bill. It came to 10 pounds. The woman looked at the bill. "Ten pounds. That is a lot of money. I'll have to pay by the cheques." The woman signed the cheques and Christian took it straight to the manager's office. "Tell her politely that we don't accept cheques", said the manager. But it was too late. The woman had gone. The manager telephoned the bank at once, but the bank had never heard of the woman. The manager was very angry and called to the police station. Half an hour later the manager called Christian. He was laughing: "They've caught her. And Fido was still hungry. He bit a policeman".

Answer the questions

1. Where did the woman go to have a meal?

2.  Who accompanied the lady?

3.  Why did Christian expect the woman to give him good tips?

4.  Who called the police station?

5. What happened to thewoman at the end of the story?

The Luncheon

by Somerset Maugham

I saw her at the play and during the interval and sat down beside her. It was long since I had last seen her. "Well, it's many years since we first met. How time flies! We are not getting any younger. Do you remember the first time I saw you? You asked me to luncheon."

Did I remember?

It was twenty years ago and I was living in Paris. I had a tiny apartment in the Latin Quarter[1] and I was earning barely enough money to keep body and soul together[2]. She had read a book of mine and had written to me about it. She asked me if I would give her a little luncheon at Foyot's. Foyot's is a restaurant at which the French senators eat and it was very expensive. But I was too young to say no to a woman. I had eighty francs to live on till the end of the month and a modest luncheon should not cost more than fifteen. If I cut out coffee[3] for the next two weeks I could manage well enough.

I was startled when the bill of fare was brought, for the prices were a great deal higher than I had anticipated. But she reassured me.

"I never eat anything for luncheon", she said.

"Oh, don't say that!" I answered generously.

"I never eat more than one thing. I think people eat far too much nowadays. A little fish, perhaps. I wonder if they have any salmon".

Well, it was early in the year for salmon and it was not on the bill of fare but I asked the waiter if there was any. Yes, a beautiful salmon had just come in, it was the first they had had. I ordered it for my guest. The waiter asked her if she would have something while it was being cooked.

"No", she answered, "I never eat more than one thing. Unless you had a little caviar. I never mind caviar."

My heart sank a little. I knew I could not afford caviar, but I could not very well tell her that. I told the waiter to bring caviar. For myself I chose the cheapest dish on the menu and that was a mutton chop.

"I think you're unwise to eat meat", she said. "I don't know how you can expect to work after eating heavy things like chops. I don't believe in overloading my stomach".

Then came the question of drink.

"I never drink anything for luncheon," she said.

"Neither do I", I answered promptly.

"Except white wine," she added.

"These French white wines are so light. They're really wonderful."

"What would you like?" I asked.

She gave me a bright flash of her white teeth.

"My doctor won't let me drink anything but champagne".

I think I turned pale. I ordered half a bottle. I mentioned casually that my doctor had absolutely forbidden me to drink champagne.

"What are you going to drink then?"

"Water."

She ate the caviar and she ate the salmon. She talked gaily of art and literature and music. But I wondered what the bill would come to. When my mutton chop arrived, she took me quite seriously to task.

"I see that you're in the habit of eating a heavy luncheon. I'm sure it's a mistake. Why don't you follow my example and just eat one thing? I'm sure you'd feel ever so much better for it. I never eat anything for luncheon. Just a bite, I couldn't possibly eat anything more — unless they had some of those giant asparagus. I should be sorry to leave Paris without having some of them".

My heart sank. I had seen them in the shops and I knew that they were horribly expensive. My mouth had often watered at the sight of them.

"Madam wants to know if you have any of those giant asparagus", I asked waiter.

He assured me that they had some so large, so splendid, so tender, that it was a marvel.

I ordered them.

"Aren't you going to have any?"

"No, I never eat asparagus".

We waited for the asparagus to be cooked. Panic seized me. It was not a question now how much money I should have left over for the rest of the month, but whether I had enough to pay the bill.

But now I have had my revenge at last. Today she weighs twenty-one stone.

---

Unit 4 Money                                                                                             Tom Harrison`s Story Six years ago, when I was a student, I was short of money. So once a week I used to go home to see my parents and get a decent meal. Although I had a good relation with my mother, I never got on well with my father. I could never live up to his high expectations of me. One day I did a terrible thing. I stole some money from him. I first started off by asking him if he could lend me ten pounds. He refused saying he had already given me enough and it was time I became more responsible with money. You know what it is like to be a student. I'd run out of money and wanted to take a girl out. When he refused, I accused him of being mean and we had a terrible row. He left the house and I was so angry that I stole a few pounds from his wallet. When he found out that the money was gone, he understood who had taken it and banned me from the house. Since then I have returned but he has never really forgiven me and still looks down on me for what I did. My mother is very upset and I really have to work towards creating a happy relationship with my father for her and our sakes. Half of me wants to say "Sorry, Dad" while the other half still thinks he is ridiculous for having kept his attitude up for so long. How can I bridge our endless misunderstanding?            Mark the statements below as "true" or "false". 1. Once a week Tom used to go home to see his parents and get a decent meal. 2.  One day Tom asked his father if he could lend him twenty pounds. 3.  His father refused to give him any money as he was short of money himself. 4.  Tom stole some money from his father's desk because he wanted to take his girl out. 5.  Tom's father never understood who had taken the money. 6.  Tom hasn't been at home since he quarrelled with his father. 7. Tom has to work towards creating a happy relationship with his father for his own and for his mother's sake.                                       A Poor Neighbour Mr.Alex Fraser lived his entire life in a small town in the North of England. He never left the house where he had been born, never married, never went on holiday and had no friends. He worked in a local factory for over forty years but even the people who had worked with him for years knew very little about him. He wore the same old clothes for years, and though he stopped regularly at the local store he bought only the most basic foodstuffs, never changing his purchases from one week to the next. So when he died last month neighbours and local people were astonished to learn that Mr.Fraser was not just a rich man, he was in fact a millionaire. He had no bank account, no money invested anywhere, but in the various drawers, cupboards and boxes in the house there were hundreds and thousands of banknotes and coins. It took police over two weeks to clear the house and the bank clerks took just as long to count all the money. "We had absolutely no idea that he had been hiding his money over the years", one of the neighbours said. "In fact we used to feel sorry for him, we thought he was a poor old man unable to afford anything better for himself'.            Mark the statements below as "true" or "false". 1. Mr.Alex Fraser was a sociable man. 2.  Mr.Alex Fraser rarely changed his clothes. 3.  Mr.Fraser couldn't afford buying clothes. 4.  He was a rich man. 5.  His drawers and boxes were packed with banknotes. 6. Nobody knew he was a milioneer. 7. The neghbours felt sorry for him.               Quality                 I knew Mr. Glesser from the days I was a child because he made my father's shoes. He had a little shop in a small street. There was no sign on the door of his shop that could attract people's attention and Mr. Glesser had a few customers like my father who ordered their shoes only from Mr. Glesser. They knew that they could not get more comfortable shoes from any other shoemaker. I often wondered if it was difficult to make shoes and Mr. Glesser's answer was the same: "It's an art." The shoemaker was a very pleasant and really talented man. He made wonderful shoes, he made them very quickly and the price was quite reasonable. I enjoyed each visit to his shop. But I didn't have to call at this shop very often as his shoes were always of high quality, fitted me nicely and I wore them for a long time. Once I called on him in a pair of shoes which I had bought in some large shop when I was on a business trip in a foreign country. He took my order and all the time he was looking at my shoes. At last he said: "Those are not mine." He touched my left shoe where it was not quite comfortable and said: "Those big companies are not reliable at all. They take our buyers from us by their advertising, not by work. It seems people do not want good shoes. Soon I'll have no more work, I'm afraid." Unexpectedly I saw things I had never seen before. I understood how difficult his life was. He couldn't be a competitor to big well-known companies who produced shoes and got much profit. I tried to explain to him why I had bought those shoes. But he didn't hear me. He looked very unhappy and I was so sorry for him that I ordered many pairs, more than I wanted. As a result of my purchase I did not have to go to him for about two years. Time flew. When I came to his shop one day I was surprised to find another name which was painted on the door. The sign on the door was very colourful and attractive. It said here was a shoemaker who was making shoes for the Royal Family. I decided to come in to find out what had happened to Mr. Glesser. A young man in a well-made suit met me. He greeted me warmly. "Do you want shoes, Sir? We can find anything you like." "No", I answered. "Thank you. You see, I'd like to know if Mr. Glesser works here." "Oh, poor old man," the shoemaker said, "he died a few months ago." And he told me that Mr. Glesser had to sell the shop as it had become too expensive for him to keep it. He had no one in London who could help him. "Oh, but what could you expect of a man with his ideas? He never advertised his shoes though nobody in London could make shoes of better quality. I really feel sorry for him." I could not stay at the shop any longer and left it. A Dog and Three Dolars After Mark Twain I have always believed that a man must be honest1. "Never ask for money you haven't earned2," I always said. Now I shall tell you a story which will show you how honest I have always been all my life. A few days ago at my friend's house I met General Miles. General Miles was a nice man and we became great friends very quickly. "Did you live in Washington in 1867?" the General asked me. "Yes, I did," I answered. "How could it happen that we didn't meet then?" said General Miles. "General," said I, "we could not meet then, you forget that you were a great general then, and I was a poor young writer whom nobody knew and whose books nobody read." "You do not remember me," I thought, "but we met once in Washington at that time." I remember it very well. I was poor then and very often I did not have enough money even for my bread. I had a friend. He was a poor writer too. We lived together. We did everything together: worked, read books, went for walks together. And when we were hungry, we were both hungry. Once we were in need3 of three dollars. I don't remember why we needed those dollars so much, but I remember that we had to have three dollars by the evening. "We must get these three dollars," said my friend, "I shall try to get the money, but you must also try." I went out of the house, but I did not know where to go and how to get the three dollars. For an hour I was walking along the street of Washington and was very tired. At last I came to a big hotel. "I shall go in and have a rest," I thought. I went into the hall of the hotel and sat down on a sofa. I was sitting there when a beautiful small dog ran into the hall. It was looking for somebody. The dog was nice and I had nothing to do, so I called it and began to play with it. I was playing with the dog when a man came into the hall. He wore a beautiful uniform and I knew at once that he was General Miles. I knew him by the pictures in the newspapers. "What a beautiful dog," said he. "Is it your dog?" I did not have time to answer him when he said: "Do you want to sell it?" When I heard these words I thought about my friend and the three dollars which I had to get. "Well, I ... I think..." "Good," said the General. "How much do you want for it?" "Three dollars", I answered at once. "Three dollars?" he asked. "But that is very little. I can give fifty dollars for it."   ' "No, no. I only want three dollars." "Well, it's your dog. If you want three dollars for it, I shall be glad to buy your dog." General Miles paid me three dollars, took the dog, and went up to his room. Ten minutes later an old man came into the hall. He looked round the hall. I could see that he was looking for something. "Are you looking for a dog, sir?" I asked. "Oh, yes. Have you seen it?" said the man. "Your dog was here a few minutes ago and I saw how it went away with a man", I said. "If you want, I shall try to find it for you". The man was very happy and asked me to help him. "I shall be glad to help you, but it will take some of my time and ..." "I am ready to pay you for your time", cried the man. "How much do you want for it?" "Three dollars", I answered. "Three dollars?" said the man. But it is a very good dog. I shall pay you ten dollars if you find it for me". "No, sir. I want three dollars and not a dollar more", I said. Then I went to General Miles's room. The General was playing with his new dog. "I came here to take the dog back", said I. "But it is not your dog now. I have bought it. I have paid you three dollars for it", said the General. "I shall give you back your three dollars, but I must take the dog." "But you have sold it to me, it is my dog now." "I could not sell it to you, sir, because it was not my dog." "Do you want to tell that you took three dollars for a dog that was not yours?" cried General. "I took the money, but I never told you that it was my dog. You asked me how much I wanted for the dog, and I said that I wanted three dollars. But I never told you it was my dog". General Miles was very angry now. "Give me back my three dollars and take the dog back", he shouted. When I brought the dog back to its master, he was very happy and paid me three dollars with joy. I was happy too because I had the money, and I felt that I earned it. Now you an see why I say theat honesty is the best policy and that a man must never take anything that he has not earned.         Unit 5,6 Round the calendar. Very Traditional Britain Customs Round the World In the evening of February 3, people in Japanese families take one dried for each year of their age and throw the beans on the floor, shouting 'Good luck in! Evil spirits out!' This is known as 'Setsubun', a time to celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Before the Chinese New Year, many Chinese families burn the picture of teir kitchen god, Tsao Chen, to bring good luck. When New Year's Day comes, they put up a new picture of Tsao Chen on the wall. When British women get married, they sometimes follow an old custom in choosing what to wear n their wedding day. The custom says the bride must wear “something old, something blue, something borrowed, something new.” This is to bring good luck. Before Lent the people of Ponty in Italy, eat an omelette made with 1000 eggs. People must not eat animal products during Lent, so they try up to use these things before Lent begins. When winter ends in Czech Republic, children make a straw man, which is a figure of death. Then they burn it or throw it in the river. After they destroy it, they carry flowers home to show the arrival of spring. January 17 is St Anthony's Day in Mexico. It's a day when people bring their animals to church. But before the animals go into the church, the people dress them up in flowers and ribbons. This ceremony is to protect people's ani­mals. On the night of Hallowe'en, October 31, in Great Britain children or adults and ask the people if they want "trick" or "treat". If the people in the house give the children a "treat" (usually money or sweets), then the children will not play a trick on them. Another Hallowe'en custom is to scrape out a pumpkin, cutting eyes, nose and mouth in its side and lighting a candle inside, this is made to scare their friends. In England it is a tradition to send cards on important events in someone's life. Greeting cards are a big business in Britain. Cards are sent on many events and of course on holidays such as Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day, marriage, Valentine's Day. On these cards there are often symbols. A horseshoe is a symbol of good luck, especially when someone is moving to a new home. Some homes have a horseshoe over the front door. A key is used when someone reaches the age of eighte­en. They are legally independent of their parents and have the "key" to leave home.   The History of Thanksgiving. If you go to New Plymouth, a small town in the United States of America, you will see there a rock near the sea. Many thousands of people from all parts of the United States and from many other countries in the world come to this small town and they always go to see the rock. They take off their hats, stand there and think of the brave men and women who, more than three hundred years ago, landed near that rock when they came to that country to start a new life. They built a small village there, and American people say that out of this small village grew a big country—the United States of America.  English people did not like their king James the First and many of them left England and went to live in some other countries. In November 1620, a small ship, the "Mayflower", left England. There were about one hundred people on board this ship. After seven long weeks the people on the "Mayflower" saw land. It was already autumn. Sixteen men left the "Mayflower" and went ashore.  In the evening they came back to the ship and brought some maize with them. They found the maize on the ground but they did not know what it was. When they tried it they liked it very much. The next day was Sunday; and nobody on the "Mayflower" worked. On Monday men went ashore again and this time they took some women with them. The women had to wash the clothes. Since that time Monday has been a wash day in America. During the next five weeks the men from the 'May­flower" left the ship every day. They wanted to find a good place where they could build a village. Al last they found a     good place; there were some fields and forests near it and even a small river. The people began to build a village there, In January 1621, there were already two streets in this village, and they called it "New Plymouth".                                   It was winter now. The people were tired and cold. They did not have enough to eat. More and more of them fell ill. There was a time when only seven men were well. Many people died. Sometimes two or three died in a day. One day the people suddenly saw an Indian in the street of their village. They were afraid of him, but the Indian came up to them, smiled and said, "Hullo, Yankee! 'Hullo, Yankee!" This Indian could speak English a little. He had learned English from the sailors of a ship which had come to this part of America a few years before. He called all English men "Yankee" because he could not say the word "English­man". Two days later this Indian came to the village again to­gether with some other Indians. They came as friends and helped the white men very much. All the Indians who came to the village of New Plymouth called the Englishmen "Yankee", and since that time Yan­kee has been the name of a white man in America. At last spring came. The people of New Plymouth began to plant corn, and the Indians showed them how to plant maize. In autumn the crops were very good, and the people of New Plymouth wanted to make a holiday dinner. They I asked the Indians for dinner, and the Indians brought some wild turkeys as a present. The turkey was an American bird. Very few people in Europe ever heard about it, but when they ate it at this dinner they liked it very much. The people of New Plymouth called their holiday Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving became a national holiday many years later because of a woman named Sarah Hale. For forty years Sarah Hale wrote to each president and asked for a holiday of Thanksgiving. At last she was successful in 1863 President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a holiday. The idea of Thanksgiving is very much the same: Thanksgiving is a day on which we celebrate and give thanks. I.                   Say if the sentences are true or false. 1.     New Plymouth is a large town near the sea. 2.   Many English people left England and went to other countries. 3.   It took people on the “Mayflower” seven weeks to cross the ocean. 4.   On Sunday some women went ashore to wash the clothes. 5.   The first winter was very hard for Englishmen. 6.   The Indians helped the newcomers to plant maize. 7.   The turkey was brought to America from England. 8.   Thanksgiving was declared a national holiday in 1863.                        The Valentine`s card After N. Mosarrat Helen only smiled and said nothing when her parents asked why she did not go out. Her mother often told Helen that she could invite some of her friends home one evening. "I can make some cakes and you can all dance and have a party. Your father and I can go out and you, your people, will have your own company," she said. Her father also thought that it would be good for Helen to make friends with young men. It was all of no use. Helen stayed at home in the evening and read books, played records or watched television. Parents tried to help. But they did not understand. To be popular with boys you had to be gay2 and pretty. Helen looked at herself in the big mirror. She saw a small round face that usually became red when a boy even said "Hello!" to her. "No boy could like me," she said to herself. Then, at breakfast on St. Valentine's Day a card arrived by post. Helen looked at the envelope with her name and address written in bright blue ink. Her mother went into the kitchen and her father was reading his morning paper and eating his toast4. Helen opened the envelope and took out the card. There were the words on the card in bright blue ink: "To Helen — hope we meet soon!" Who was it from? Perhaps it was a joke? "It?s a very nice card," said her mother. "Who is it from?" "I have no idea," said Helen. "There's no name on the Valentine card." "Who was it from?" Helen asked herself as she walked to school. She tried to think of the people she knew who used bright blue ink. There was Paul, of course. He lived in the street next to hers. He always used that colour of ink. But how could the card be from Paul? He was always going out and had a lot of friends. He was also the best tennis-player and swimmer in the school and had many girlfriends. When she came to the classroom she saw Paul coming towards her. Was he smiling at her or only laughing at her? If the Valentine card was his, he must know that she had got it that morning. Probably he was going to tell the whole of the class about the joke. "Hello, Helen," he said, "how are you?" "I'm OK," said Helen. "If he sent me the card," thought Helen, "I'm not going to let him know I've got it." "You're always doing your homework. You never have time to come out in the evening," Paul said. "Why not come out tonight? You know what day that is today?" "Of course, it's February 14, St. Valentine's Day." She smiled carefully at Paul. He smiled back at her. "We can go and see a film in town and then have some coffee. You will come, won't you?" "I'm sorry, I can't come. I've got to go out with my mother." "Please, come. I'll call at your house at seven tonight." The bell began to ring for the first class and he turned to go. "Don't forget, will you? Seven o'clock." Helen returned home at half past four and started to run up the stairs. "Hello, my dear," called her mother from the kitchen. "Are you in a hurry5?" Helen ran back down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Where's my green dress, mum? Do you know? I've got to go out tonight, so I must get ready." "But it's only half past four. You don't have to get ready so early, do you?" Helen ran out of the kitchen and met her father who was coming into the hall. "What's the hurry? Is there a fire or are you going out somewhere?" “I am going out tonight. –I am going to see a film with Paul from our school.” “Oh, that`s nice,” said her father. “Lucky Paul.” “Isn`t it nice of Paul to ask Helen to the pictures with him?” said Helen`s mother. “She will enjoy herself.” Helen`s father smiled at her. “Yes,” he said. “Must be the Valentine`s card that did it.” Then he went into the living-room and quietly put the bottle of bright blue ink inside his desk drawer.                                                                  Unit 7 Music                               The Story of Merrymind (After Frances Browne)          Once upon a time there lived a certain man and his wife, who had two cornfields, three cows, two oxen, five sheep, and thirteen children. Twelve of the children were called by names common in the country, but the thirteenth child got a strange name of Merrymind. The thirteen children grew taller and stronger every year, and they did hard  work earning their living. But when the youngest was old enough look after his father's sheep, there happened the great fair, to which everybody in the neighbourhood went. As the fair happened once in seven years, the man and his family couldn't miss it. The father opened the bag in which he kept his money and gave everyone of the thirteen a silver penny. The boys and girls had never before owned so much pocket money and, thinking of what they should buy, they dressed themselves in their holiday clothes, and set out with their father and mother to the fair. Before evening the twelve of the children had spent their money on clothes and all sorts of beautiful things, but Merrymind hadn't bought anything. The reason was that he had set his heart upon a fiddle. Unfortunately fiddles cost a lot more than a silver penny. The sun was getting low and red upon the hill, and Merrymind was still looking about. Suddenly he saw a little grey- haired man with just one old dirty fiddle the strings of which were broken. "Buy the fiddle, my young master," he said as Merrymind came up to him. "You'll have it cheap: I ask but a silver penny for it. Mend the strings and you'll have the best fiddle in the country." Merrymind thought this a great bargain. He was a handy boy and could mend the strings while watching his father's sheep. Everybody laughed at Merrymind's bargain except his mother, who was a very kindly woman. The boy began repairing the strings — he spent all his time, both night and day, upon them, but no string would hold on his fid­dle. At last Merrymind decided to leave home where every­one except his mother laughed at him and go to seek his fortune. So he set out on a summer morning with the bro­ken-stringed fiddle under his arm. Merrymind walked through the woods and found him­self in the mountains. He was so tired of his journey that he fell asleep in a deserted cottage in the valley. He woke up in the middle of the night and saw that the valley was full of inhabitants, and they were all busy in houses, in fields and in mills. They were wearing fine clothes and looked rich but very unhappy. Even the birds of that valley did not sing — they were too busy build­ing their nests. The cats did not lie by the fire — they were all on the watch for mice. The dogs went out after hares and the cows and sheep grazed  without stopping. In the middle of the valley there stood a beautiful castle. The gates stood open and Merrymind walked in. The courtyard was full of people who were so busy working that they didn't even look up at the boy. In the highest tower of that busy castle, at a window from which she could see the whole valley, there sat a noble lady. Her dress was rich, her hair was iron-grey,  her look was sour and gloomy. She and her twelve maidens were spin­ning as hard as they could, but all the yarn they made was black. No one in or out of the castle would greet Merrymind or answer his questions. They said: "We have no time to talk!" The only person who talked to him was a soldier. He told the boy the story of the valley.   "This valley belongs to the lady of the castle, whose name is Dame Dreary. She had another name in her youth — they called her Lady Littlecare; and then the valley was the happiest and the most beautiful place in the whole coun­try. There were May games, harvest festivals and Christmas parties among them. Shepherds piped on the hillsides, people sang in the fields, and laughter was heard in every house in the evening. All that was changed, nobody knows how. Some say it was because of a magic ring which fell from the lady's finger, and she became Dame Dreary. Hard work and hard times spread over the valley. They say it will be so till Dame Dreary lays down her distaff and dances."    The next night Merrymind came to the castle again and took his broken fiddle with him. In one of the rooms he found some golden threads to mend his fid­dle. As soon as he put them on the old fiddle it began to shine. This sight made Merrymind so joyful, that he tried to play, although he had never played before. When his bow touched the strings, they began playing a pleasant tune. Merrymind went out and walked along the valley with his fiddle. The music filled the air; the busy people heard it and stopped working. When he came to the castle Dame Dreary's distaff stood still in her hand. Merrymind played through the halls and up the tower stairs. A he came nearer the lady dropped her distaff and danced with all he might. All her maidens did the same; and as they danced she gre young again. They brought her the dress of white and cherry coloi she used to wear in her youth, and she was no longer Dame Drear but Lady Littlecare, with golden hair and laughing eyes and cheel like summer roses. The heavy mist disappeared; the sun shone out; blue sky was seen; a white bird came from the east with a gold ring and put it on the lady's finger. Everybody praised Merrymind and h fiddle; and when news of his wonderful playing came to the king ears, he made Merrymind his first fiddler, which under that wi monarch was the highest post in his kingdom.                  Say true, false or don't know. 1. The man and his wife had thirteen children.  2. The whole neig bourhood was excited because of the great fair.       3. Merrymind was t first to spend his money.  4. He bought a fiddle from an old magician.  5. The whole family laughed at Merrymind's bargain.  6. T inhabitants of the valley looked very unhappy.  7. The noble lady the castle was under a spell.  8. The valley had always been an unhappy place.  9. Merrymind mended his fiddle with the help of a gold button.      10. The fiddle began playing a pleasant tune without Merrymind's help.  11. The lady grew young again while she was dancing.  12. Soon after the spell was broken Merrymind left the count and returned home. 49.   Put these sentences in the right order. 1)   Merrymind finds some golden threads and mends his fiddle. 2)   Merrymind falls asleep in the deserted cottage. 3)   The soldier tells Merrymind the lady's story. 4)   The great fair begins in the neighbourhood. 5)   Merrymind walks through the valley and comes to the castle. 6)   Merrymind buys an old dirty fiddle. 7)   Merrymind leaves home and goes to seek his fortune. 8)   Merrymind plays the fiddle. 9)   Merrymind's music breaks the spell.                                                    Unit 8 Literature                                                 Hogwarts (After Joanne K. Rowling) Harry Potter is the main character in the series of books by Joanne K. Rowling. We first meet him in the book "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". At the beginning Harry thinks he is an ordinary boy until he finds out that he is a wizard. Being a wizard, he is enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The text below describes Harry's arrival at the school. He and his new friend Ron meet their new teachers and get to know their new surroundings. He also realizes that he is quite a legendary figure among the pupils and the staff who heard about him before. "There, look." ”Where?”                                                                       "Next to the tall kid with the red hair."                             "Wearing the glasses?" "Did you see his face?"                                                       "Did you see his scar?" Whispers followed Harry from the moment he left his dormitory next day. People queuing outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at him. Harry wished they wouldn't, because he was trying to concentrate on find­ing his way to classes. There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide ones; narrow ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other and Harry was sure the coats of armour could walk.  The caretaker of the school was called Argus Filch. Harry and Ron managed to get on the wrong side of him on their very first morning. Filch found them trying to force their way through a door which unluckily turned out to be the entrance to a corridor where pupils were not allowed. He wouldn't believe they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons1 when they were rescued by Profes­sor Quirrell, who was passing. And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the lessons themselves. There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words. They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Three times a week they went out to the green­houses behind the castle to study Hebrology, with an elderly little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learnt how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi and found out what they were used for. Easily the most boring lesson was History of Magic, which was the only class taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff-room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates. Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of their first lesson he took the register, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and fell off his pile of books. Professor McGonagall was again different. Harry had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they had sat down in her first class. "Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned." Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they were not going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long tin After making a lot of complicated notes, they were all given a match a: started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger had made any difference to her match; Professor Mc Gonnagall showed the class how it had gone all silver and pointy and gave Hermione a rare smile. Harry was very relieved to find out that he wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from ordinary families and, like hi hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards. There was much to learn that even people like Ron, whose mother was a witch didn't have much of a head start. About Conan Doyle There is probably no one among book-lovers who has not heard of Sherlock Holmes, the skilful and clever detective in the stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes's method of analysing the most difficult problems was to notice the smallest facts, even if they seemed unimportant. His method never failed; the criminal always had to give up, and to become the prisoner of the great detective. Conan Doyle once arrived in Paris, after spending a month in the south of France. There was a long row of cabs outside the gate of the railway station. Conan Doyle got into the first cab and ordered the driver to take him to a good hotel. The driver was silent all the way to the hotel, but when Conan Doyle paid him, he said, "Thank you, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle." "How do you know who I am?" Conan Doyle asked in the greatest surprise. "I have never seen you before," the man answered, "so I can't pretend that I recognized you. But I have always been proud of my memory. Besides, I have always been able to notice small things. I read in the newspapers that you were expected in Paris after your vacation in the south of France. The train that you arrived on came from the south of France. I could tell from your clothes, especially your hat, and also from the strange way you  pronounce French words that you were English. These facts helped me to guess that you were probably Sir Arthur Conan Doyle." "Fine work! Wonderful!" Conan Doyle cried. "You analysed the facts quite correctly. It's a pity you aren't a detective!" “Of course the driver added your name is on both your travelling bags I can't pretend that fact didn't help.”                                                 Unit 9 Cinema                                       A Cinema Goer      Aunt Jane is now well over seventy, but she is still a great cinema-goer. Of course she could see most of the films on television, but the idea does not attract her. One thing has always puzzled us. Although Aunt Jane has lots of friends and always enjoys company, she always goes to the cinema alone. We discovered the reason for this only recently — from mother. «It may surprise you to learn that Aunt Jane wanted to be an actress when she was young,» she told us. «She used to wait outside film studios all day, just to appear in crowd scenes. Your aunt has probably appeared in dozens of films — as a face in the crowd at a railway station or in the street. Her big chance came when they started to make a film in our town. The director offered her a role as a shopkeeper. It really was a very small part — she only had a few lines to say — but it was an important moment for Jane. Before the great event, she rehearsed for days. In fact, she turned the sitting-room into a shop! We all had to help, going in and out of the shop until she was word perfect. And on the actual day she was marvellous. The director congratulated her. Jane thought that this was the beginning of her film career! «Unfortunately, in the end, they did not include the shop scene in the film. But nobody told Jane! When the film first appeared in London, she took all her friends to see it. And of course she wasn't in it! It was a terrible blow! She gave up the idea of becoming an actress. She still loves the cinema, as you all know, but from that day she has always gone alone!»