ON WRITING LETTERS
1. Do you often write letters? What do you like more: to write letters or to get them? 2. Do you enjoy writing letters? Why do some people say they can't stand writing letters? Is it true about you? 3. Do you write letters home (to your friends) regularly or only when something exciting happens? 4. What are the days of the year when you have to write more letters than usual? 5. Why do people expect to get letters on their birthdays, New Year's day, etc? 6. Do you like to keep old letters? What letters do you usually keep? Why do you keep them?
STAMP COLLECTING AS A HOBBY
1. When did people start collecting stamps? Why weren't stamps collected in the 18th century? 2. When did you (your friend) start collecting stamps? 3. What stamps are worth collecting? 4. How much is an old stamp worth? 5. Do you collect just any stamps or stamps of a definite country, stamps about sports, space flights, famous people, etc? 6. Where do you get stamps: do you buy them at a special shop or exchange them with other collectors? 7. Where do you keep the stamps? How does a stamp album differ from a photo album? 8. Is stamp collecting educational?
ON LIBRARIES AND BOOKS
1. How big. is your family library? Who started it? 2. Who taught you to read and love books? 3. Do you follow any system in your reading? 4. What books do you borrow from the Institute library? 5. How long are you allowed to keep a library book? 6. How many public libraries are there in Moscow (in your town)? 7. What do you know about the oldest public libraries in the world? Are they as famous nowadays as they used to be?
Ex 49 Read and retell the following. Make up questions covering the contents. Speak on the biography of some author.
A FRAGMENT OF BIOGRAPHY
Maugham was one of the most popular storytellers of our time; he was also one of the world's highest-paid authors.
Among his bestsellers were "Of Human Bondage"* (1915), "The Moon and Sixpence" (1919), "Cakes and Ale"* (1930) and many stories of the life of white settlers in Malaya, India and the South Seas.
William Somerset Maugham was born in Paris in 1874. His father worked at the British Embassy. His parents died when he was still a boy and he went to live with relatives at Canterbury.
After finishing King's, the Cathedral school, he went to Germany to study at Heidelberg University. He returned to England the same year and entered St. Thomas's Hospital in London as a medical student. While a student there he got to know the life of the poor people of London. He had to work in the Lambeth slums which he described so well in his first novel "Liza of Lambeth"* (1897).
In 1897, after five years at St. Thomas's Hospital he went to Spain to learn Spanish and write another book. He had decided to become a writer.
The next ten years were very hard. But then a great change came into his life. The manager of the Court Theatre in London agreed to take Maugham's play just to keep his theatre open for a few weeks. The play made Maugham famous. Soon four of his plays were on at different London theatres. Maugham made up his mind to continue writing plays for the rest of his life. But five years later he started on the longest of all his novels "Of Human Bondage". "Of Human Bondage" is more than a situation; it is a life, and it is in many respects the author's life.
The book tells the story of the first thirty years of Maugham's life. His hero, Philip Carey, goes to school in England and Germany, tries to paint for some time in Paris, returns to London to study medicine, and leaves the reader at the end to continue happily as a doctor in the country. Maugham himself said that the novel "Of Human Bondage" was his best.
He died in 1965 at his villa at Cap Ferrat in the South of France where he had lived since 1930.
Ex 50 Read the following. Answer the questions. Retell the passage in English.
ОТКУДА ВЗЯЛСЯ КОНВЕРТ?
B 1820 году владелец писчебумажного магазина в г. Брайтоне (Англия) Бревер задумался над тем, как заставить покупателей почаще заходить в его магазин. Он решил построить в витрине пирамиду из бумажных листов самых различных размеров. Жителям города эта идея очень понравилась. Днем и ночью около витрины останавливались люди. Дела у владельца магазина пошли отлично, все теперь покупали у него для писем маленькие листочки — один из таких листочков венчал его красавицу пирамиду.
Однако листочки были очень малы, и на них было трудно размещать адрес. Это навело Бревера на мысль изготовить из бумаги нечто вроде мешочков, в которые можно было бы вкладывать письма.
Он изготовил такие мешочки и стал бесплатно вручать их покупателям. Мешочки имели громадный успех и с тех пор, посылая письма, все стали пользоваться конвертами. Кстати, слово «конверт» в русском языке произошло от английского глагола «to cover».
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.
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.
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.
