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Lesson one text: a glimpse of London. Grammar

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Crack the postcode
Is Honesty Always the Best Policy?
Over a Cup of Coffee
Lesson seven
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Questions



1. When did it all start? 2. Mr. Brever had a stationary shop in Bright­on, didn't he? 3. What could people buy at his shop? 4. What idea came into his head one day? 5. Why did he build a pyramid in his shop window? 6. What was it made of? 7. How big was the sheet (piece) of paper at the top of the pyramid? 8. How did the people of Brighton like his idea? 9. Why did they stop at the shop window during the day and even at night? 10. Why did people start buying more at the shop? 11. What gave Brever the idea to make paper bags? 12. What were the bags for? 13. Did Brever sell the bags or could people get them at his shop for nothing? 14. Where did people write the address now? 15. What made the envelope popular? 16. Can you do without an envelope now if you want to send a letter? 17. By the way, how did the word «конверт» come into the Russian language?


Ex 51 Act as interpreter. Sum up the dialogue.


A: I believe-that postal arrangements in the Soviet Union are much the same as anywhere else?

В: Да, это так. Из любого города Советского Союза можно послать письмо, открытку или телеграмму в любую часть света.

A: Is there a post office at a hotel, where one can buy envelopes, post­cards, stamps, and writing paper?

В: В каждой гостинице, как правило, есть почта, где все это можно купить. Вы также можете отправить простое или заказное письмо и телеграмму.

A: Is there a poste restante* office?

В: Да, на каждой почте есть специальное окно, где вы можете полу­чить письмо до востребования. Для иностранных туристов такое отделение есть в гостинице «Интурист».

A: How many times a day are letter-boxes in Moscow emptied?

В: Как правило, 5 раз в день.

A: How can I make a telephone call to my country?

В: Из Москвы и других городов Советского Союза вы можете по­звонить в любой город Европы и Америки, а также Австралии, Азии и Африки.

A: Can I book a call from my hotel room or should I go to the trunk-call office?

В: Вам не надо идти на переговорный пункт, вы можете позвонить из номера гостиницы.


Ех 52 Read the text, and explain how letters are addressed if the addressee lives in Britain. Explain to a foreign visitor how letters should be addressed to someone living in the Soviet Union.


CRACK THE POSTCODE


When you send a letter to someone in Britain, there is an accepted way of writing the address on the envelope. On the top line you write the name of the person you are writing to. On the second line you write the number of the house and the name of the street. The third line is used for the town. The Post Office likes the name of the town to be written in block capitals, LIKE THIS, as it is in the post office of this town that the letter will be handled. The fourth line will have the name of the country. This is sometimes left out when the town is a large or a well-known one such as Manchester, or when the town has given its name to the country, as Leicester and Leicestershire, York and Yorkshire,

On the last line goes the Postcode. The Postcode is a special combi­nation of letters and figures used by the Post Office for sorting and de­livering mail.

So a typical address might look as follows.




Ex 53 Use the following words and phrases in situations of your own.


1. Keeping a Diary


by the way; used (to); start a diary; at rather long intervals; forget to continue one's diary; think sth over; make up one's mind; follow the example of famous people; begin to enjoy doing sth; happen; a strange (humorous, exciting) incident; as follows; hope to write a story on some incident; describe one's meetings with people (one's feelings, a jour­ney, places of interest, etc); keep the diary in one's desk.


2. Is Honesty Always the Best Policy?


be honest with people; to one's mind; always tell the whole truth; be against one's principles to lie; expect others to do the same; make sb change his mind about sth; sometimes it is kinder (better, safer) ...; keep the truth from sb; not say a single word about sth; be dangerous to a person's health; make sb ill; find out about sth; agree with sb; fol­low sb's advice; refuse to do sth; not upset sb.


3. Over a Cup of Coffee


join sb for a cup of coffee; hand sb a cup; pass the bread and butter; sit in silence; break the silence; one of the fellows; be fond of arguing; start an argument; not agree with sb; laugh at a person's ideas; make sb angry; be upset; refuse to do sth; have one's own ideas about sth; be against one's principles; at last; be unable to stand sth; give sb a piece of one's mind; mean well.


Ex 54 Discuss the following, giving your arguments for or against.


1. Your friend says that a person must always be true to his princi­ples. You think that a person's principles may sometimes be wrong.

2.Your friend fully agrees with Maugham that a story must have form. You believe that a story only describing some incident is just as good as any other story, or sometimes even better, because it gives food to thought.


Ex 55 Subjects for oral and written composition.


1. Give character-sketches of (a) Adams; (b) Brown.

2. Retell the story in the person of (a) Adams; (b) Brown; (c) some­body working in the same office with Adams and Brown.

3. Life on the tea plantation.

4. Try to give your own ending to the story.

5. Write a letter to a friend, telling him in short about the incident described in the passage, and giving your own explanation of why it had all happened.

6. Tell a story to illustrate the proverb: "Life is stranger than fic­tion."

7. You go to the post office to post a parcel, send a telegram and to buy a few stamps. Describe how you do it.

LESSON SEVEN


Text: At the Art Dealer's (from "Lust for Life"* by Irving Stone)1

Grammar: Passive Voice (Indefinite Tense Forms).


AT THE ART DEALER'S2


The little bell on the front door jingled. A stranger walked in. "That picture you have in the window," he said. "That still life.3 Who is it by?"

"Paul Cezanne."4

"Cezanne? I have never heard of him. Is it for sale?"

"Ah, no, alas, it is already ..."

Madame5 Tanguy saw her chance. A wiry little woman with a hard, thin face and bitter eyes, she quickly rose from the chair, threw off her apron, pushed Pere Tanguy out of the way, and ran up to the man eagerly.

"But of course it is for sale. It is a beautiful still life, is it not, Mon­sieur?6 Have you ever seen such apples before? We will sell it to you cheap, if you admire it."

"How much?"

"How much, Tanguy?" asked Madame Tanguy raising her voice. Tanguy swallowed hard. "Three hundred..."

"Tanguy!"

"Two hundred..."

"TANGUY!"

"Well, one hundred francs!"

"A hundred francs? I wonder..." said the stranger. "For an unknown painter... I'm afraid that's too expensive. I don't think I can afford it. I was only prepared to spend about twenty-five."

The canvas was immediately taken out of the window and put before the customer.

"See, Monsieur, it is a big picture. There are four apples. Four ap­ples are a hundred francs. You only want to spend twenty-five." Madame Tanguy broke off. Suddenly she suggested: "Then why not take one ap­ple? The price is only twenty-five francs."

When the price was mentioned, the man began to study the canvas with new interest. "Yes, I could do that. It's a fair offer. Just cut this apple the full length of the canvas and I'll take it."

Madame hurried to her apartment and returned with a pair of scis­sors. The end apple was cut off, wrapped in a piece of paper and handed to the man. He paid the money and walked out with the canvas under his arm. The spoiled masterpiece lay on the counter.

"My favourite Cezanne," cried Tanguy unhappily. "I'll miss it so! I put it in the window. I wanted people to see it for a moment and go away happy."

Madame Tanguy interrupted him. "Next time someone wants a Ce­zanne and hasn't much money, sell him an apple. Take anything you can get for it. They are worthless anyway, he paints so many of them."

(Abridged)