On the evening before Roger Brown left England he took his girlfriend Mary Summers to the theatre. There are over thirty theatres in London, each offering a different play, musical, revue or variety show. Roger studied the entertainment section in the newspaper for a long time before deciding which theatre to go to. Eventually he chose something gay and amusing the stage production of My Fair Lady at the Drury Lane Theatre. This musical play, based on George Bernard Shaw's famous play, Pygmalion, had been on for almost five years. It had been one of the greatest successes in the history of the theatre. During the first few years of its"run" it had been very difficult to get tickets but by the time Roger wanted to buy two the show was playing to half-empty houses.
Roger had booked his tickets through a theatre ticket agency in Shaftesbury Avenue, a long street in the West End of London, famous bacause most of London's theatres are located on the street itself or in the neighbourhood.
The show began at eight o'clock and Roger and Mary decided to have a quick snack in a coffee-bar before the show and dinner in a restaurant afterwards. As Roger wanted the evening to be a memorable one, he had reserved a table for two at a famous night club and restaurant where they could not only eat fine food but dance to a first-class orchestra. Roger had decided to ask Mary to marry him in a year's time. He wanted to propose to her in a romantic setting.
He met Mary outside her office at 5.30. As the evening was fine they walked in St. James' Park for an hour before taking a taxi to Shaftesbury Avenue. There they soon found a pleasant coffee-bar and had some coffee and cakes. At 7.30 they took another taxi to Drury Lane Theatre. They were shown to good seats in the front stalls and from there they could see every part of the stage. At five minutes to eight members of the orchestra came into the orchestra pit and began tuning their instruments. Then at 8 o'clock the house lights dimmed and the orchestra began playing the overture a piece of music that was to follow.
Although the cast of the play had acted their parts every night for several years, they had not lost any interest in the play and everyone gave an excellent performance. Mary was particularly
delighted by the costumes and Roger who takes technical interest in all things commented on the clever lighting and the construction of the sets.
Mary and Roger enjoyed the performance very much and applauded enthusiastically at the end when the cast lined up on the stage to take their curtain calls. Outside the theatre Roger hailed a taxi and told the driver to take them to the "Black Cat" night club. London has many night clubs, but the "Black Cat" is one of the most famous and certainly the most expensive.
Comprehension
/. Listen to the text and answer the questions:
Where did Roger Brown take Mary Summers before he left England? What play did he choose? Was the play popular with the public? What did Roger and Mary do before the play began? What was the performance like? Did they enjoy it? Where did Roger and Mary go after the performance? Why did Roger reserve a table at the "Black Cat"?
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//. Read the text and analyse the language peculiarities of the text. Do some exercises in the next section to remember them.
Special Difficulties
/. Study these example situations:
a) Richard West has a new job. He has only one suit, an old grey one. His wife thinks he should buy a new suit. "After all", she says, "you must make a good impression in your new job".
She wants him to buy a new suit.
She wants him to make a good impression in his new job.
b) Two doctors have just finished examining a patient. The patient is a very nervous man who gets worried very easily. The doctors want to discuss his case and have just gone outside his room. They don't want him to hear. They don't want him to get worried. The patient, however, is convinced they have gone outside for a different reason. He says this to himself: "They don't want me to know how ill I am!"
//. Make up sentences using the prompts: e -g. my wife/some letters
I can't go out tonight. My wife wants me to write some letters. 1. The boss/some extra work 2. My teacher/a composition
3. My father/his car 4. My mother/the kitchen 5. My teacher/a lecture on the radio 6. My parents/in the garden. 7. My friend/a special programme on TV 8. My younger brother/his homework.
///. Make up your own sentences about the following situation:
e.g. Paula is a language student in England. She is a long way away from home. Her family want her to do a lot of things, perfect English. They want her to learn perfect English. 1. a letter home every week 2. three good meals a day 3. good marks in her tests 4. good clothes 5. with a good English family 6. home for Christmas 7. lots of English people 8. a good job later
IV. Fill in the gaps with prepositions "for" or "during"
1. He sat quietly... a few minutes thinking of what to do next. 2. I saw a lot of places of interest... my journey. 3. I went skiing only three times... the winter and haven't played hockey the whole year. 4. We had to stand in front of the ticket window... more than an hour.... that time few of the people went away. 5. She can sit in the library reading-room... hours. 6.... my stay in Moscow I visited several exhibitions. 7. He is ill and will not come to the office... a few days. 8. We lived in this house... 25 years. 9.... the break we went to the dean's office. 10. Our tram stopped... 5 minutes at a small station. 11. My grandfather was sleeping peacefully... the show.
V. Translate into English (self check):
1. , . 2. , . 3. , . 4. , ? 5. , . 6. , .
Text Exercises
/. Ask questions about a) the London theatres b) the play Roger chose c) the way Mary and Roger spent the time before the performance began d) the performance and their impressions.
//. Retell the text.
