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Учебное пособие соответствует государственному стандарту направления «Английский язык»

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To whisper
It is bad manners
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Раздел 4

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Text 1.

In the 15th century daisies, though not very palatable, were among the herbs used in salads. In an early Troubadour romance daisy buds were said to be good for keeping off hunger. Yet this «open face» flower, beloved of children and sweethearts, gets its Latin name from the word meaning war, because of its supposed value to staunch the wounds of the wounded.


daisy - маргаритка

palatable - вкусный

bud - бутон

to staunch the wounds - останавливать кровь в ранах


1. What did Troubadour romance say about daisy buds? 2. What does the daisy’s Latin name mean? 3.What were daisies supposed to do to the wounded?


Text 2.

Cabbage is not only a very old vegetable – it is known to have been cultivated for over 4.000 years – it is also one with an interesting story.

In Egypt the cabbage was worshipped as a god and, to show their great respect for the vegetable, it was the first dish Egyptians touched at the banquets. The Romans did not deify the cabbage, but they gave it a divine origin. They believed Jupiter, the father of all their gods, to labour so hard to explain two contradictory oracles, that perspiration came out on his brow and the drops fell to earth turning into cabbage plants. Both Greeks and Romans believed that eating cabbage would cure intoxication.


to worship - поклоняться

to deify - обожествлять

divine - божественный

contradictory oracles - противоречивые истины

perspiration - испарина, пот


1. What dish did Egyptians touch first at their banquets? Why? 3. What did the Romans think of the cabbage origin? 3. What could eating cabbage cure in the Greeks and Romans opinion?


Text 3.

Needing a great deal of leaves and grass to keep themselves fit elephants cover miles and miles every day. They are known to feed for 16 out of every 24 hours.

In spite of being such huge creatures they can, if it is necessary, swim as long as six hours a day.

Elephants have very good memories and a great sense of humour. While courting they entwine their trunks, holding them as high in the air as possible so they can kiss. It is difficult to imagine elephants kissing, but they do.


in spite of - несмотря на

to court - ухаживать

entwine - сплетать

trunk – хобот

1. Why do elephants cover miles and miles every day? 2. What can elephants do

if it is necessary? 3. While courting elephants seem to be kissing, do they?


Text 4.

Mark Twain was asked one day if he could remember earning his first money. «Yes», he said, « It was at school. There was a rule that any boy making marks on his desk would be whipped before the whole school, or pay a fine of five dollars. One day I had to tell my father that I had broken the rule and had to pay a fine or take a public whipping; and he said: «Sam it would be too bad to have the name of Clemens (настоящая фамилия писателя) disgraced before the whole school, so I’ll pay the fine. But I don’t want you to be unpunished». He whipped me and I decided, as I’d been punished once and got used to it, I wouldn’t mind taking another whipping at school. So I did, and I kept the 5 dollars. That was the first money I ever earned.»


to whip - хлестать , бить

fine - штраф

to have … disgraced – опозорить, унизить

to punish - наказывать

to get used to - привыкнуть к чему-л.


1. When did Mark Twain earn his first money? 2. What rule was there at Mark Twain’s school? 3. What did Mark Twain’s father do when the boy broke this rule? 4. Was Mark Twain afraid of being whipped before the whole school? What did he decide when his father had whipped him?


Text 5.

…To rush into the fight at this moment would mean drawing the full force of the enemy fire. Turning his vessel sharply, the captain headed it away from the enemy, into the darkness of the Polar night...

Reducing speed in order to leave as small a wave as possible Shabalin waited for the firing to cease and the enemy convoy to line up and resume its course. «We’re moving into attack», Shabalin said and without increasing speed directed the torpedo-boat at the silhouette of the destroyer(эсминец). The destroyer was already within range, but Shabalin held his fire, seeking to get closer in order to make sure of hitting the enemy…

The sea raged. The crew had to display all their skill to take their vessel back to the base through the storm.

It was this very ability of his to bide his time, to occupy an advantageous position depending on the situation, to pounce upon the enemy at full speed or to advance quietly, to discharge a torpedo in a way in which the enemy would learn of the attack only after the explosion. Shabalin’s seamanship, natural sharpness, bravery and daring comprised what is called talent of a naval officer and made his torpedo-boat invulnerable.


vessel - корабль

to cease - прекращать(ся)

to line up - выстроиться в ряд

to resume - возобновить

destroyer - эсминец

to hold the fire - сдерживать огонь

to bide one’s time - выжидать

to pounce (upon) - атаковать

seamanship - искусство мореплавания

sharpness - проницательность

daring - смелость

invulnerable – неуязвимый


1. What did the captain do in order not to be noticed by the enemy? 2.Do you think the torpedo-boat hit the destroyer? 3. What abilities of Shabalin made his torpedo-boat invulnerable? 4. What abilities of the captain does the episode described show?


Text 6.

In spite of Shakespeare’s fame we know very little about his life. He is believed to have been born on April 23 in Stratford. There is every reason to believe that he was educated at the local Grammar School. We know him to live in Stratford until he was about twenty-one, when he went to London. His first job in London was holding rich men’s horses at the theatre door. Later he became an actor and began writing plays for his acting company and in a few years became a well-known author. Shakespeare is known to have written 37 deep tragedies, light comedies and historical dramas. He died in Stratford in 1616.


in spite of - несмотря на

reason – причина


1.Do we know much about Shakespeare’s life? 2. When and where is Shakespeare believed to have been born and educated? 3. What was Shakespeare’s first job in London? 4. When did Shakespeare begin writing plays? 5. What is Shakespeare’s heritage (наследие)?


Text 7.

On November 17, 1970, Lunokhod-1, the first automatic self-propelled laboratory in history, descended from Luna-17 on to the Moon’s surface. Operated by remote control from the Earth about 400.000 kilometres away, the moon robot ranged over the lunar surface, carrying out various scientific tests on the moon and outer space. The data obtained, together with the photographs of the territory covered by the robot, were transmitted to Earth in the course of the experiment. Now a new Russian term - «Lunokhod» - has joined «Sputnik» in the international lexicon.


self-propelled - самоходный

to descend - спускаться

to carry out - выполнять

data - данные

to obtain - получать

to transmit – передавать


1.What is Lunokhod? 2. How was Lunokhod operated? 3.What did Lunokhod do in the course of the experiment?


Text 8.

It was in Canada that the first quantities of wood pulp and paper were produced in a mill by an industrialized process. John Tompson, the man who invented a process for making wood pulp to be used in paper making and who was the first to actually set up a factory for its production, was born in Scotland, but came to Canada in 1854 at the age of 17. At about the same time as Thomson obtained a good quality of wood fibre for producing paper, a similar discovery was also made and patented in America. But Thomson was the first to industrialize the process.


quantities of - большое количество

wood pulp - древесная масса

mill - фабрика

set up - открыть, основать

quality - качество


1. In what countries was a good quality of wood fibre obtained first? 2. What was Thomson the first to do? 3. What does the term «industrialize the process» mean?


Text 9.

An English town is not simply the communal dwelling place of a number of citizens, it is also an elaborate quiz; you cannot simply pass through an English town, you have to solve it . Try to make a «short cut» in an imperfectly known district, relying on your infallible sense of direction. And you are likely to find yourself in a corkscrew street in which you twist and turn like a snake dancer until, fifteen minutes later, you are faced with the difficulf task of getting out of the utterly strange region into which you have penetrated. Travellers like to tell about the difficulties and horrors of Himalayan exploration. I am not impressed. The Himalayas cannot possibly offer any problems until the English build a few carefully planned towns on them.

All this excitement is lost in New York. 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.


an elaborate quiz - сложное испытание

to make a «short cut» - сократить дорогу

infallible - безошибочный

corkscrew - спиральный

to twist - кружиться

to penetrate - вторгаться

carefully – тщательно


1.What would happen if you tried to make a «short cut» in an English town? 2. What does the author think of an English town? 3. What does the author think of the difficulties and horrors of Himalayan exploration? 4. What kinds of streets are there in Manhattan and in an English town?


Text 10.

Did you know that until just two hundred years ago there was no such instrument as the saxophone? It was invented by a musician named Adolphe Sax, born in 1814.

Adolphe's father was a maker of musical instruments and from a very early age the little boy spent most of his time in his father's workshop. He enjoyed both making musical instruments, and playing them.

When Adolphe grew up, he became a maker of musical instruments like his father. At first he worked on the instruments, trying to improve their tune, but as he worked, he began to invent musical instruments.

About 1842 he invented a new instrument called the saxophone, after his own name, Sax. It was only one of a whole family of new instruments, which were also called saxophones. They were said to be shaped like very large tobacco pipes.

In 1842, Adolphe Sax left Brussels and went to Paris, hoping to interest the musicians there in his inventions. He had only a few francs in his pocket, but fortunately the famous composer Berlioz took a great interest in Sax and his new musical instruments and he even arranged one of his own compositions specially for the saxophone.

The saxophone itself was very successful and is often played today, especially in bands and dance orchestras, but the other musical instruments invented by Sax were less popular. The saxhorn, rather like a cross between a trumpet and a horn, is still used in military bands, but the other instruments are hardly ever heard today.


workshop - мастерская

to improve - улучшать

to call after - называть в честь

to shape - придавать форму

to arrange - аранжировать

successful - успешный

saxhorn - саксгорн

trumpet - труба

horn - рожок

hardly – едва


1. Who was Adolf Sax? What did he enjoy doing when he was a boy? 2.Was saxophone the only instrument invented by Adolf Sax? 3.Who was the first to take interest in Adolf Sax’s new instruments? 4. Were all instruments invented by Sax successful and are they played today?


Text 11.

I had a terrible morning last week when everything seemed to go wrong. I didn't hear the alarm clock and overslept for half an hour until eight o'clock, so I tried to get ready in a hurry. First I lost one of my contact lenses and spent ten minutes looking for it on the floor. I had already decided to leave a message on the door, telling everyone not to come in that day so that I could look for it in the evening when I suddenly saw the missing lens on the bed. I put them in hurriedly but discovered that they were in the wrong eyes. I decided not to bother with them and then spent ten minutes looking for my glasses. At last I set off but I was in such a bad mood that I didn’t look where I was and nearly got off at the wrong tube station. Then I fell asleep on the bus, missing my bus stop, and had to walk back for half a mile. After so many delays, I was sure I was at least an hour late, but there was no one in the office when I arrived. I couldn't understand it. Had everyone overslept? I looked at the clock on the wall— eight o'clock? Then I remembered that my alarm clock had stopped the day before and I had forgotten to put it right. I must have got up about six o'clock.


alarm clock - будильник

to oversleep - проспать

to look for - искать

to set off - отправиться

to fall asleep - уснуть

delay - задержка


1. Why did the man\woman try to get ready in a hurry? 2. What happened to him\her on the bus? 3. What did he\she see in the office? 4. Did he\she really oversleep?


Text 12. Some Amusing and Surprising Facts About Money


Have you ever heard of "coins" 12 feet in diameter and so heavy that it takes several men to carry one? If you ever visit the West Pacific islands you'll find them there on the Island of Yap. They are made of stone, with a hole in the centre, and the natives still use them as a means of exchange. Not so very long ago a medium-sized one was worth one wife!

The lightest, and the smallest, were the gold "pinhead" coins used in Southern India at the beginning of the last century and it took 480 of them to weigh 1 ounce!

Talking of misers, one of the world's most notorious was an American millionairess, who, when she died, was found to be worth nearly 34 million pounds. But she was so mean that when her son needed hospital treatment for an injured leg she insisted on finding a free medical clinic. Owing to delay in finding one, her son had to have his leg amputated.


to carry - нести

a means of exchange - средство обмена

pinhead - булавочная головка

ounce - унция (28.3г)

miser - скупец, скряга

notorious - отъявленный

mean - скупой

owing to – по причине, вследствие


1. What kind of coins is a means of exchange on the Island of Yap? 2. How many "pinhead" coins did it take to weigh 1 ounce? 3.Why is an American millionairess called here the world's most notorious miser? 4. What happened to her son?


Text 13.

Our manners in public, like our manners in our homes, are based on self-respect and consideration for other people.

It is really surprising how stingy we are with our "Please" when we ask anyone to do something for us. We unwillingly part with our "Thank you", as if it were the most difficult and costly thing in the world. We don't stand aside for others to pass us in the trams, buses or the under­ground. We don't rise to let people pass us to their seats in the theatres or movies.

Not to make yourself conspicuous, not to attract unfavourable attention to yourself or others, here are some of the rules for correct behaviour in a public place:
  1. One should not talk loud or laugh loud.
  2. No matter how trying the circumstance, do not give way to anger or uncontrolled emotion.
  3. Do not rudely push your way through crowds.
  4. Never stare at people or point at them.
  5. Do not ridicule or comment on anyone in public.
  6. Don’t monopolize the sidewalk 3 or 4 abreast, or by stopping in the centre to speak with someone.


consideration - уважение, внимание

stingy - скупой

unwillingly - неохотно

to make yourself conspicuous - обращать на себя внимание

circumstance - обстоятельства

to give way to - давать волю (чувствам)

to stare at - глазеть

point at - показывать на

to ridicule - высмеивать

3 or 4 abreast - по 3 или 4 (человека) в ряд


1. Why should we sometimes stand aside in city transport? 2.What shouldn’t we do in a public place? 3. What rules are most often broken? Why?


Text 14.

In January 1905, the manager of the Premier Diamond Mine in South Africa, while walking through the pit dur­ing the noon hour, saw the sparkle of what he at first thought to be a broken bottle. But it was a diamond as large as a medium-sized grape fruit.

This remarkable stone, the largest ever found, has since become known to the world as the Great Cullinan. Upon being cut, it proved to be a pure white stone weighing 3025 carats, or 1.37 pounds. The Great Cullinan was imme­diately purchased by the Transvaal Government and pre­sented to King Edward.

The question then arose of how a gem of such enormous value could be transported to England in safety. After many discussions and a great amount of newspaper publi­city, four men, armed to the teeth, left the Premier Mine, carrying with them a leather dispatch case.

Crossing the 30 miles of open country to Pretoria under heavy escort, they boarded a special car attached to the mail train to Cape Town. In the liner by which they went to England a safe had been specially installed and in it was placed the dispatch case. Two of the men remained on duty beside the safe night and day.

From Southampton a special train took them up to London and a strong guard of police and detectives es­corted them to the bank at which the diamond was to be delivered.

When the dispatch box was opened in the presence of a group of expectant officials it was found to contain noth­ing more valuable than a lump of coal! The stone itself had been wrapped up in cotton wool and tissue paper, put in a cardboard box, and sent to England by parcel post.


pit - шахта, карьер

sparkle - сверкание

gem - драгоценный камень

dispatch case (box) - курьерская сумка

to deliver - доставлять

cotton wool - вата

tissue paper - папиросная бумага

parcel - посылка


1. How was the famous diamond found? 2. What safety measures (меры) were taken to deliver the diamond to England? 3.What did the dispatch box, es­corted by police, contain? 4. How was the Great Cullinan delivered to England?


Text 15.

You have already been given some fundamental rules for correct behaviour in a public place. Here are some more:
  1. If you are a man, you should, whenever it is possible, give a woman the right of way, crossing behind her instead of in front of her.
  2. You should not throw paper or anything else in the street.
  3. You should not file your finger-nails or comb your hair in public.
  4. Don't let a door slam in the face of a person behind you.
  5. Do not push ahead of anyone in a line, at the post of­fice, at a telephone booth, etc.
  6. The girl or woman of good taste does not smoke in a street.
  7. A man walking with a woman walks on the curb’s side of the pavement, and when he is walking with two women he also walks on the side of the pavement nearest to the curb — not between them.


And here are some of the fundamental rules for correct behaviour in city transport:
  1. When in a tram, bus or the underground, a man can­not be wrong in offering his seat to a woman.
  2. The woman cannot go wrong if she accepts or declines graciously, with a polite and distinct "Thank you!" The woman who accepts the offer without a gesture or a word of thanks is rude. And so is the man who does not offer his seat immediately when a woman enters with a baby in her arms or with young children, or when an elderly man or woman or a crippled person enters.

Teach your children to offer their seats in such cases.

3. Don't argue about paying the fare. A man, of course, pays a woman's fare when she is his guest. If they have met by chance, he usually attempts to pay the fare and she accepts according to circumstances of her choice. If she has her fare ready, the man does not press the point.

4. In entering a private car, the woman enters first, the man assisting her to enter. In leaving the car the man precedes her, making way for her and assisting her to get out.


to slam - хлопать

to push ahead - проталкиваться

on the curb’s side - на обочине

to offer - предлагать

to decline - отклонять

to accep - принимать

crippled – инвалид


1. What shouldn’t a person do in a public place? 2.When cannot a man be wrong in city transport? 3. When are a man or a woman considered to be rude in city transport? 4. When does a man pay a woman's fare? 5. What are the rules of entering a private car?


Text 16.

Galileo (1564—1642) claimed that both light and heavy objects tend to fall to earth at the same rate of speed.

To prove his claim Galileo climbed to the top of the sky­scraper of his day, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, with two cannon-balls of greatly different weight. Before witnesses he dropped both iron balls simultaneously from the top of the tower. They struck the earth together, proving his claim.

The reason why leaves flutter downward so slowly is that they meet the resistance of the air. Behaving some­what like the outspread wings of a gliding bird, they take many short glides before they alight.

Using a homemade telescope, Galileo carefully observed the heavens. His observations and mathematical computa­tions soon convinced him that Copernicus was right in saying that the earth rotates around the sun.


cannon-balls - пушечные ядра

simultaneously - одновременно

resistance - сопротивление

alight - приземляться


1. Why did Galileo climb to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa? What did he want to prove? 2. Why do leaves fall downward so slowly? 3. What made Galileo agree with Copernicus? 4. What was Copernicus right in ?


Text 17.

Having pulled up a net with a good catch the trawler Piksha headed for another fishing area. Suddenly, a long dolphin surfaced and began to swim across the ship's course again and again and to take perpendicular leaps out of the water on the port-side as if to tell the sailors to turn the ship to port. When the ship slowed down, another dolphin appeared near its side. It was repeatedly turning back as if inviting the ship to reverse its course.

The ship turned and followed the dolphins. Soon the sea animals brought the ship to an orange float with a pole which was holding afloat a net cast there by somebody. The fishermen carefully lifted it and found a third dolphin caught in its mesh.

But that wasn't the end of it. The grateful "pilots" again "invited" the captain to follow them. Half an hour later he ordered the fish sonar to be switched on. The trawler was passing over a huge shoal of herring. It stopped and cast the net.

The following season the dolphins trio approached the Piksha several times and guided her to shoals of fish.


catch - улов

trawler - траулер

on the port-side - в сторону порта

to reverse its course - изменить курс

float - буй

cast - бросать

mesh - петля

shoal of herring - косяк сельди


1. What was unusual in the dolphins behaviour? What did the sailors see? 2. Where did the dolphins invite the ship to? 3. How did the dolphins thank the sailors?


Text 18. “How the geese saved Rome.”


1.

The armies of Rome and Gaul had fought a great battle. In this battle the Romans had been badly beaten. The Roman soldiers tried to save themselves. Some jumped into the river in the hope of reaching the other side; others tried to reach a place called Veii; only a few lived to reach Rome. These few soldiers brought to the Romans the news of the lost battle and of great number of Gauls marching towards Rome. Having heard this the Roman people thought that nothing could save them or their beautiful city. There were not enough soldiers and men left to hold Rome against the Gauls. It was decided to make a last stand on the Capitol, the great hill rising above the сity and surrounded by strong walls.

All except those able to fight were ordered to leave Rome. The only persons left in Rome outside the Capitol walls were the old men who were too old either to fight or to get away. These brave old men refused to go up to the Capitol saying that they were not going to eat the food that the soldiers needed.

While the Romans were working day and night, carrying food and arms up to the Capitol, the Gauls were spending their time eating and drinking, and lying about, resting. This delay on the part of the Gauls saved Rome.


a last stand - последний лагерь

to surround - окружать

except - кроме

on the part of the Gauls - со стороны галлов


1.How did the Roman soldiers try to save themselves? 2. What news did the Roman soldiers bring to the Romans? 3. Why did the Roman people think that nothing could save them? 4. Who left in Rome and why? 5. How did the Romans expect the Gauls? 6.Did the Gauls hurry to reach Rome?


2.

When the Gauls finally arrived before Rome, they were surprised to find the gates of the city open. They could not understand why there were no people in the streets. They entered with great care being certain that there must be soldiers hidden in the houses. Coming to the Forum square they found, to their great surprise, the old white-haired men, dressed in lovely clothes of white and purple silk, each having a heavy white stick in his hand. They sat so still that the Gauls stood looking at them not being certain whether they were living men or not. At last one Gaul walked closer and touched the white hair of one of the old men. This was more than the proud brave old Roman could stand, and he struck the Gaul down with his heavy stick. Then the Gauls knew of their being living men. In a few minutes not one old men was left alive.

After this the Gauls went from street to street, setting fire to the houses and pulling down the walls, until the soldiers on the Capitol saw much of their beautiful city burnt to the ground.


to be certain - быть уверенным

to hide - прятаться

still - неподвижно

to stand - переносить, терпеть


1.Why were the Gauls surprised arriving before Rome? 2.What happened in the Forum square? 3.What did the Gauls do in Rome?


3.

On the Capitol stood a great temple, in which some temple geese were kept. As the days passed, there was less and less food within the Capitol walls for the soldiers. Not for one minute, however, would the soldiers consider killing and eating the temple geese.

They could see the Gauls sitting round their fires, waiting for the Romans to be forced by hunger to open the Capitol gates. The Romans had sent word by night to one of the bravest and greatest generals, named Camillus. The Romans believed Camillus to arrive in time to save Rome.

The Gauls had not seen the soldier carrying word to Camillus. But in the daylight some of their men saw by the broken trees and earth someone climbing either down or up the Capitol which they had thought it impossible to climb. That night many of the Gauls began to climb the Capitol. They moved so quietly that the Roman soldier keeping watch above them did nod hear their coming. Within a short time they might have surprised the Romans and taken the Capitol, but the temple geese heard sounds which the watching Roman soldier failed to hear. They began to cry out making such a noise that the Roman soldiers knew of the enemy approaching. At first only one Roman was ready to meet the enemy, but within some minutes all the soldiers were on the walls. They did their best for the Gauls to be beaten back. This was the Gauls last attack on the Capitol. The next day they saw suddenly the Camillus's army marching towards them to save Rome. The two armies had fought battle in which the Romans won, causing the Gauls great losses and, shortly after, driving them completely out of the country.

Thus the Capitol and the country were saved by the temple geese. A golden goose was set up to their honour in the temple reminding every one visiting the place of the story how the geese saved Rome.


temple - храм


to keep watch - стоять в карауле

to approach - приближаться

to beat back - отбить

to cause losses - нанести потери

to their honour - в их честь


1. Were the Roman soldiers going to kill and eat the temple geese? 2.What did the Romans do to ask for help? 3. How did the Roman soldiers know of the enemy approaching? What did they do? 4.What happened the next day? 5.What reminds the temple visitors of this story?


Text 19. «Good Manners»


1.

Good manners are sure to be appreciated everywhere, so don’t fail to be polite.

A real gentleman never forgets to rise when a lady comes up to him and speaks to him. He will never remain seated when a lady is standing. Entering or leaving room with ladies a gentleman shouldn’t rush before them except when he is showing the way. In this case he should apologize by saying, “ Excuse my going first. I’ll lead the way”.

To whisper in company is bad manners. If what you wish to say cannot be said aloud, reserve it for a suitable occasion.

No matter where you are, loud laughter and talking are signs of bad manners.

In England it is not customary to shake hands. Englishmen shake hands when they first meet somebody or when they part for a long time.

It is important for a person to be punctual. Coming on time is essential when keeping an appointment whether one is meeting friends for a drink or whether one is having a business talk.

When at work, don’t be a “clock-watcher”. It’s also bad manners to keep looking at the watch when in company as if you were impatient for the time to pass.


to have good manners - быть хорошо воспитанным

It is bad manners - Это признак дурного воспитания

to appreciate - (высоко ) ценить что-л.

to fail to do - не сделать чего-либо

to whisper - шептать

suitable - подходящий

appointment - деловое свидание

as if you were impatient - как будто вам не терпится…


1. What signs of bad manners or bad habbits are mentioned in the text? 2.How should a real gentleman behave? 3.When do Englishmen shake hands? 4.When is it important for a person to be punctual? 5. Who is a “clock-watcher”?


2.

To be pleasant company be a good listener. Don’t be indifferent or impatient when others are speaking. Interrupting others is a bad habit. If you wish to be popular, avoid talking about yourself and your affairs. Talk to people about what interests them, not about what interests you. To touch upon personal subjects in general conversation is considered to be bad manners. The best topics for light social conversation are art, sports, weather and the hobby of the person you are speaking with .

Talking to others, unless they are your intimate friends, keep to general subjects and avoid arguing and quarrelling. In debating clubs heated argument is welcome. In general everyday conversation it is out of place.

When in company don’t open a book or a newspaper and begin reading to yourself. If you are tired of the company, leave it, if not, honor it with your attention. It is not a crime to be bored in company, but it is bad manners to show that you are bored. Don’t be a bore yourself.


to interrupt smb. - прерывать

unless - если не

to argue - спорить

to quarrel - ссориться

welcome - желанный

to be out of place - быть неуместным

to be bored - скучать

1. What should a person do to be pleasant company? 2. What shouldn’t a person speak about in general conversation? 3. What should a person avoid in general conversation? 4. What should a person do if he or she is tired of the company or if he or she is bored in the company?


3.

Good manners begin at home. Don’t neglect your relatives and neighbors. If you treat them with respect and consideration, they are sure to appreciate it and give you the same kind of treatment in return. Avoid borrowing things from your neighbors, but if you can’t help it, always return the things borrowed.

When using a public telephone, keep conversations brief and to the point.

There are a number of rules to be observed by smokers. One mustn’t smoke in a sick room. No one should carry a lighted cigarette when dancing. Before lighting a cigarette one should ask everybody present for permission.


neighbor ( neighbour) - сосед

to treat smb. - обращаться с

consideration - уважение, внимание

to borrow - брать взаймы

to the point - по существу

to observe the rules - соблюдать правила


1.How should a person treat his or her relatives and neighbors? 2. What should a person remember about borrowing things from neighbors? 3.What are the rules to be observed by smokers?


Text 20. «Too Perfect»


1.

«Forgive me, Mr. Wright, but I did not ask you to lunch today for the sake of hearing your opinions on politics, but because you are recognized as a great authority in the field of rare books. You have, besides, the reputation of being absolutely secretive. In addition, I asked you to lunch because I believe you to be a first-rate crook». The book dealer sat motionless, waiting for the other to continue. «What I am driving at is this: I require the co-operation of a man such as yourself, a man combining great knowledge of rare books, an unquestioned reputation as a dealer and a capacity for dishonesty». «You’ve said too much to stop now; get on with your story», - Wright said.

«Before telling you my plan, I wish to ask you one question: What would several pages of manuscript from the pen of William Shakespeare be worth?»

for the sake - ради

rare - редкий

crook - плут

to drive at - намекать

dishonesty – бесчестность


1. What kind of person was Mr. Wright? 2.Do you think the person asking Mr. Wright to the lunch was an honest man? Why?


2.

Some four months after this luncheon, Wright began a letter to Lord Brookfield. He wrote «Dear Brookfield, I am happy to say that matters are moving satisfactorily towards our goal. I managed to produce an absolutely perfect ink of the period, using an ancient formula. I have succeeded in ageing documents written with this ink by placing them in a chamber, containing pure oxygen for a period of 2 weeks, applying heat at the same time.

The question of paper has presented fewer difficulties as I have been fortunate in finding several volumes of the proper age in my library, any one of which has sufficient blank leaves for our purpose.

The question of finding a satisfactory person to do the actual forging has given me the greatest trouble of all. I have finally found the right man. He is Peter Thielmann of sixty, a former engraver, unable to continue his trade because of poor eyesight, and with an invalid wife to support.

I have promised him a pension of two hundred dollars monthly for the rest of his life, on the condition that he leaves for Switzerland and remains their permanently.

I have given him the photographs of the genuine Shakespeare’s signature, together with the ink and quill pens and I have made him practise the Shakespearean handwriting for at least six hours a day for the past three months.

Destroy this letter so that there may be no chance of its falling into other hands.

Yours, Edmund Wright.»


goal - цель

to manage to - ухитряться

ink - чернила

forging, forgery - подделка

engraver - гравёр

on the condition - с условием

genuine - подлинный

quill pens - «гусиные» перья

handwriting - почерк

1.How did Mr. Wright manage to produce ink of the Shakespearean period? 2.Where did Mr. Wright get paper for forgery? 3. Whom did Mr. Wright plan to do the actual forgery? 4. On what condition was Peter Thielmann to do the forgery?


3.

Brookfield Castle is an extensive pile of grey stone standing in a lovely park. The Castle dating from 1534, thirty years before Shakespeare was born, is not many miles from Stratford-on-Avon… The manuscript, a few sheets of yellowed paper, covered with letters so faded as to be nearly indecipherable, had been safe behind a loose stone in the wall of the tower room. Tonight the «discovery» was to take place. The party, Lord Brookfield had assembled for the event, was quite perfect.

«I heard the view from the East Tower is superb by moonlight, Lord Brookfield. Why can’t we all see it this evening?» - said one of the guests after dinner. At Brookfield’s suggestion the candles carried by the party had been extinguished. No one noticed his left hand feeling about on the rough stone of one wall for the black cord hanging there…

A thunderous crash broke into the party’s contemplation of the peaceful night…


indecipherable - неразборчивый

to extinguish - потушить

cord – шнур

thunderous - оглушающий

contemplation - созерцание


1. How was the Shakespearean manuscript found? 2. How did the manuscript look like? 3. What do you think why Lord Brookfield was sure that this manuscript would be recognised authentic? 4. What was Lord Brookfield’s role in the forgery?


4.

First came the Scotland Yard men being now on guard at the castle; on their heels followed a swarm of reporters, photographers and finally experts, gathering from all over England on their way to the castle.

The day following the authentication of the manuscript had brought telegrams, letters and telephone calls.

«Lord Brookfield, I’m Everett Douglass, of the London Sun. I wanted to tell you that there is a fund being started to keep the Shakespeare manuscript in England. The sponsors expect to be able to offer you three hundred thousand pounds for the manuscript, and will present it to the nation. What will be your answer if this fund is raised?»

«Unfortunately, I should be unable to accept it. I may tell you, and you have my permission to publish this statement, that I have just sold the manuscript to Edmund Wright, the well-known New York dealer, for two million dollars. It leaves England on Saturday, and I believe he already has several offers for its resale.»

The British press and public unanimously condemned Lord Brookfield for his unpatriotic action in allowing the manuscript to leave its native country. But criticism worried the peer less than nothing. Within a short time he expected to receive a fortune from Wright, as the dealer had already announced that he had an offer of two-and-a-half millions for the manuscript. And for his half of that amount, Brookfield reflected, the Press and the public were welcome to call him whatever they pleased.


authentication - признание подлинности

to offer - предлагать

unanimously - единодушно

the peer - пэр

a fortune - богатство


1.Who recognised the manuscript authentic? 2. What was offered to Lord Brookfield? 3.Why did Lord Brookfield refuse the offer? 4. Did the criticism of the British press and public worry Lord Brookfield? Why?


5.

In New York, Mr. Wright was not idle. Day by day, with the manuscript nearing the United States, the interest and offers both grew higher. And on the day of its arrival at the dealer’s office, safely delivered by armoured car and police escort, Mr. Wright was awaiting the man who was likely to pay the highest price of any collector on earth, H. F. Bayliss.

H. Fremont Bayliss was followed by the man on whose advice he was reported to make every purchase for his library – Dr. Rainey, who was acknowledged to be one of the greatest authorities in the world on rare books.

The three grouped themselves in chairs round the big desk as Wright, after switching on an intense overhead light, brought out a small steel case. Unlocking it, he lifted the cover, and on a bed of cotton-wool they saw the fragile sheets of paper. There were no sounds in the room, the three men sitting as though awed. The spell was broken by the entry of a secretary with some letters, but Wright motioned impatiently to him to leave them on one side of the desk.


to be idle - лениться, бездельничать

purchase - покупка

to acknowledge - признавать

the cover - крышка

fragile - хрупкий

awed - охваченный благоговейным трепетом

spell – чары


1. Whom did Mr. Wright await on the day of manuscript arrival to NewYork? 2.Who was Doctor Rainey acknowledged to be? 3.Who broke the spell of the moment?


6.

A full minute after the secretary had left Doctor Rainey looked up, with the expression in his eyes being impossible to analyze. His hand went to the little heap of letters left by the secretary. From the top of the pile he lifted a postcard lying face down and turned it face up on the table.

«Up to two minutes ago,» - said Rainey speaking to Wright as much as to Mr. Bayliss, - «I frankly admit that I should have pronounced the Shakespeare manuscript unquestionably genuine. Now I say that it is beyond doubt a forgery - a forgery done with your full knowledge, Mr. Wright.»

And as Wright sat dumb, his eyes staring from a face suddenly drained of colour, Rainey took the little post-card and read it aloud: «Mamma is already much better from the sun and the good air. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Gratefully, Peter Thielmann.»

The dealer still stared, uncomprehending; Doctor Rainey laid the card face down on the table.

It was then that Mr. Wright realized, with a cold, sick certainty, that three months of constant practice had done their work too well: the message on the card was Peter Thielmann’s, but the handwriting was Shakespeare’s.


heap, pile - груда, стопка

to pronounce - объявить

beyond doubt - вне сомнения

dumb - немой

drained of colour - побледневший

to comprehend - не понимать


1. Did Doctor Rainey notice the forgery when he saw the manuscript? 2.What made Doctor Rainey see the forgery? 3. What did Mr. Wright realize seeing a postcard from Peter Thielmann? 4. What couldn’t Lord Brookfield and Mr. Wright foresee (предвидеть)?


ОГЛАВЛЕНИЕ


Предисловие

Раздел 1. Грамматический справочник

Глава 1. Введение в теорию формальных признаков 3

Глава 2. Герундий 19

Глава 3. Причастия 25

Глава 4. Инфинитив 38


Раздел 2. Упражнения 61

1. Герундий 61

2. Причастия 76

3. Инфинитив 94


Раздел 3. Тестовые задания 127

Тест 1. Распознавание инговых форм 127

Тест 2. Распознавание II и III форм английского глагола 133

Тест 3. Причастия, Герундий 139

Тест 4. Инфинитив

Тест 5. Инфинитивные конструкции


Раздел 4. Тексты 159

Библиография 173

Ключи к тестовым заданиям