Since the invention of the motion picture in 1894, Romeo and Juliet has been one of the most popular stories in films. Numerous movies have been based on Shakespeares famous love story, the earliest dating back to 1900. Many directors have taken this famous play and made it into a film, trying to keep to the themes of the original story.
One of them is BazLuhrmann. His version of Romeo and Juliet, produced in 1996, has been described as an original, post-modern version of Shakespeares tragic love story.
With this extremely successful film, Luhrmann has managed to update the story - by combining modern-day settings and characters with almost the original language. The story is set in Miami. The changes in the language, together with dramatic gun fights and passionate love scenes, make the story more accessible to modern audiences.
In Luhrmanns version of the film, the main characters, Romeo (Leonardo di Caprio) and Juliet (Clare Danes), are Miami teenagers of the nineties. Even though the setting of the film is very unconventional, it contains all the themes of the original version, because it does not change the story at all.
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| . - ; - ; - ; - . | Your friend has come to see you and you are discussing the role of mass media in peoples life. - what kinds of Mass Media you know and what kind you use in your life; - which your favourite TV programmeis; - what newspapers and magazinesyou read; - whether we can trust all the information we get from Mass Media. |
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ITS ONLY ME
After her husband had gone to work, Mrs Richards sent her children to school and went upstairs to her bedroom. She was too excited to do any housework that morning, because in the evening she would be going to a fancy dress party with her husband. She intended to dress up as a ghost and she had made her costume the night before. Now she was impatient to try it on. Though the costume consisted only of a sheet, it was very effective. Mrs Richards put it on, looked in the mirror, smiled and went downstairs. She wanted to find out whether it would be comfortable to wear.
Just as Mrs Richards was entering the dining-room, there was a knock on the front door. She knew that it must be the baker. She had told him to come straight in if ever she failed to open the door and to leave the bread on the kitchen table. Not wanting to frighten the poor man, Mrs Richards quickly hid in the small store-room under the stairs. She heard the front door open and heavy footsteps in the hall. Suddenly the door of the store-room was opened and a man entered. Mrs Richards realized that it must be the man from the Electricity Board who had come to read the meter. She tried to explain the situation, saying 'It's only me', but it was too late. The man let out a cry and jumped back several paces. When Mrs Richards walked towards him, he ran away, slamming the door behind him.
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Just Funny Stories
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| a , . . , , , . | Imagine you are participating in the Summer language camp activities. The people from different countries are among you. Tell them about the history of your city/town, the main historical landmarks and the places worth visiting in your city/town. |
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MANUSCRIPTS
When Martin Eden returned to San Francisco, he began to write. He sent his works to newspapers and magazines, but the editors sent his manuscripts back. Martine continued to write and study at the same time. Martine slept five hours: only a man in very good health could work for nineteen hours a day.
The weeks passed. All Martins money was spent and publishers continued to send his manuscripts back. Martin sold his coat, then his watch.
One morning the postman brought him a short thin envelope. There was no manuscript in that envelope, therefore, Martin thought they had taken the story. It was The Ring of the Bells. In the letter the editor of a San Francisco magazine said that the story was good. They would pay the author five dollars for it. And he would receive the check when the story was published.
Martin thought that five dollars for five thousand words was very little. After a few weeks the story was published, but the check didnt` arrive. Martin had waited for about a month before he decided to go and get the five dollars from the editor.
He entered the office and said that he wanted to see Mr Ford the editor. I`m Martin Eden, Martin began the conversation. He wanted to ask for his five dollars, but it was his first editor and he didnt` t want to make a bad impression on him. To his surprise Mr Ford quickly stood up with the words You don` t say so! and the next moment, with both hands was shaking Martin`s hand.
by Jack London
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| , . : - ( ) ; - ; - . | You were asked to write an essay about a famous writer from the English-speaking country. Talk about: - The most interesting periods of his life; - Inform about the place of this writer in the world literature. - Give short information about his most famous works. |
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FLIGHT
For many centuries people watched birds and dreamed that they could fly. We cannot fly like birds: we don`t have enough strength in our arms to move wings up and down. We also really need the power of an engine to drive up forward. Many people died learning these lessons, before controlled flight became possible.
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The first flying machine which could carry a human being was built in Spain in 875. Reports tell us that the inventor flew some distance, but the landing was hard: the man hurt his back badly and was never able to fly again.
It was possible that the news of his flight reached England, carried there by men returning from war in the Middle East. Whether this is true or not, in 1010 a man called Oliver jumped off a church roof in Mulmesbury. This time we know the distance of his flight - 125 steps.
In the last years of the 15th century, the Italian Leonardo da Vinci studied the flight of birds and made a number of drawings of flying machines. His early machines tried to copy the movement of birds` wings, which he didnt fully understand. But less than 10 years before his death in 1519, he drew a machine with wings that didnt move. One of the machines was built and it did fly.
In 1536 in France, Denis Bolor returned to the idea of moving wings. He tried to fly using wings that were moved up and down. The idea didnt` t work and he fell to his death.
Inventions That Changed the World
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| , . : - ; - ; - ; - . | You were asked to prepare a report about the system of education of any English-speaking country. - what the age of schooling is; - what types of schools there are; - what subjects are taught there; - what exams the pupils take. - |
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DAILY BREAD
Miss Martha was 40 years old but she was not married. She had her own shop where she sold bread, both fresh and stale which was cheaper.
There was a customer who called at her shop two or three times a week. The man was not young but he was very pleasant. He wore cheap clothes but they always looked nice on him. He always bought stale bread and never fresh. Miss Martha decided that he was very poor.
She often thought of him and was always sorry that she couldnt invite him to have dinner with her. She wanted to talk to him, to know more about him. She liked the man and began wearing her best dress. She wanted to help the poor man but didnt know how to do it.
Once when her customer called on her to buy stale bread, Miss Martha had an idea and a good one, as she thought, to help him. She put some butter in the stale bread.
The next day two men came into the shop. One of them was her customer and the other a young man. The customer was very angry and couldnt speak to her. So the young man told Miss Martha everything. We work together in the same office, he said. We use stale bread to take away to pencil lines from our plans. We have worked at a plan of a new district for six months. We finished it this morning and began taking away pencil lines from it with your bread. You see, as there was butter in the bread the plan is good for nothing, and we cant show this plan to anybody now.
When the men left, Miss Martha went to her room, took off her best dress and put on her old one.
O`Henry
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| . : - ; - ; - . | You were asked to prepare a report about libraries. Tell: - what we need libraries for; - whether you visit your school library and why; - whether you prefer to use the library or the Internet and why. |
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Christmas is probably the most festive time of the year, a season of giftgiving and celebration. We all know that Christmas is a religious holiday which marks the birth of Jesus Christ. But did you also know that some of the traditions are adapted from rituals dating back to the time before Christianity?
Many pagan peoples regarded the winter solstice as a time of celebration. Anticipating the return of spring, people decorated their homes with evergreen plants, a symbol of eternal life. Mistletoe was especially popular, as it was believed to have magic powers.
People hung sprigs of mistletoe in their homes and kissed beneath them as a gesture of friendship. At pagan festivals there was also a lot of singing and dancing going on dancing in a circle is the original meaning of the word carol.
Still now we keep these traditions up: we sing Christmas carols and dance around in circles, we kiss beneath the mistletoe and we decorate our homes with Christmas trees. By the way, did you know that it was a German who set the trend of decorating Christmas trees in England? It was Prince Albert, Queen Victorias husband. When he moved to England, Christmas trees had already been popular in continental Europe, but not in England.
In 1841, Prince Albert put up a Christmas tree at WindsorCastle. The event was reported in the press; and as the whole country was very keen on the royal family, people enthusiastically took up the custom of decorating a tree at Christmas.
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| a . : - ; - ( ) ; - . | You met your neighbour and you want to tell him about your last journey. Tell him - why travelling has been so popular; - what the best means of transport for travelling is (from your point of view); - what people like doing while travelling. |
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WHY PEOPLE GET TATTOOS
The desire to be part of a group, to be accepted by one's friends or peers, can have a great influence on what a person does. Sometimes, wearing a tattoo can be a sign that you belong to a certain group. Gangs often use special clothes and tattoos to identify their particular group. For example, in one gang all the members may wear green army jackets and have large 'Xs' tattooed on their arms. It is not only gangs that have this type of special 'uniform'. Young people often belong to a certain group of friends. For example,some wear only black clothes. Others wear tattoos. When a person's friends are all doing something, such as getting a tattoo, that person is more likely to do the same thing, and get a tattoo too.
The media is another big influence behind the popularity of tattoos in North America. A wide variety of media images show tattoos. Famous sports heroes with tattoos are shown in magazines. Fashion models are often seen in magazines and on TV wearing designer clothes that show their bodies tattooed with detailed and colourful patterns. These media images link tattoos to ideas of wealth, success, and status. As a result, many people decide to get a tattoo for its fashion and status value.
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It is not always the influence of other people or the media that results in a person getting a tattoo. Many people decide to wear tattoos in order to express their artistic nature, their beliefs, or their feelings - in other words, to show their individuality. A musician in a rock band may get a tattoo of a guitar on the arm. Some environmentalists may tattoo pictures of endangered animals on their shoulders. Lovers may tattoo each others' names over their hearts. A tattoo can be a public sign to show what is important in a person's life.
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| , . : - , ; - , ; - . | Imagine that you were invited to take part in the conference on healthy lifestyle. - why lots of people try to keep fit; - what you do to keep fit; - what sports are popular with your friends. |
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THE SPIDER
Have you ever seen a small animal with four pairs of legs, a body that is divided into two parts?
This is a spider. Spiders live all over the world. They do not live only in the coldest places. You may find them on land: on grass, bushes, trees, and on pools, rivers, seas. There are 15,000 different kinds of spiders. The smallest spider is less than 1 mm in body length, and the biggest one can have body length up to 90 mm.
The spider spins its web to catch insects for food. It spins its web all its life. The process of spinning a web is very long. People say that the spider is very persistent in its work. If you destroy its web, a spider will begin to spin a new web.
There is a story about a spider and a Scottish hero Robert Bruce (1274-1329). Robert Bruce was at the head of the Scottish army in the fight for the independence of Scotland against the English kings, Edward the First and Edward the Second..
Once Robert Bruce was watching a spider spinning the web. Robert Bruce destroyed the web, and the spider began to spin a new web. Several times Robert Bruce destroyed the web, and each time the spider began its work from the beginning.
Watching the persistent work of the spider, Bruce decided to be as persistent as the spider and continue the fight for the independence of Scotland. And he defeated the English.
It was many years ago, but Scottish people still remember their great victory, and their great leader Robert Bruce.
First Science
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| . : - ? - ? - ? - ? | You want to organize a party for your friends. Tell them: - where the party will take place; - what food and drinks will be served; - whom you are going to invite; - what activities will you organise. |
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A JIPSY CHILD
One day MrEarnshaw came back from a long journey. He had travelled sixty miles to Liverpool and back on business, and was very tired. Look what I have brought you! he said. His children, Catherine and Hindley, were expecting presents and they rushed eagerly to see what it was.
They were very disappointed to see only a dirty, black-haired gipsy child. I found him all alone in the busy street of Liverpool, MrEarnshaw explained to them, and I couldnt leave him to die. He can sleep in your room, children. But Catherine and Hindley were very angry because they hadn` t received any presents, and refused to let the strange child share their room. However, MrEarnshaw insisted and, and little by little the boy became accepted by the family. He was called Heathcliff, as a first and last name. No one ever discovered who his parents were.
Catherine and he became great friends, but Hindley hated him, and was often cruel to him. Old MrEarnshaw was strangely fond of that gipsy child, and frequently punished his son for behaving badly to Heathcliff. Hindley began to be jealous to his fathers feelings for Heathcliff, and saw them both as enemies.
This situation couldnt last. As MrEarnshaw grew old and ill, Heathcliff became even more his favourite, and Hindley often quarrelled with father. When Hindley was sent away to study, everybody hoped that they would have peace in the house
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| , -, ? - ? ? - ? - ? - , ? | You were asked to tell about such kinds of sport as parachuting, bungee jumping, kayaking: - whether you consider these kinds of sport interesting/ dangerous - what sports you go in for - whether you consider going in for sport to be important - what piece of advice you would give to those who dont like going in for sport |
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LOVE FOR RT
Joe and Delia both loved art. Joe came to New York to study painting; Delia left a little town for New York to study music. Joe and Delia met at the friend` s studio, and a year later they got married. Joe and Delia were very happy, but one day they found that they had no money. Delia decided to give music lessons, and a few days later she came home very pleased with herself. Joe, dear, she said. I have found a pupil. The family is rich, they` ll pay me five dollars a lesson! However, Joe was not happy about that. He didnt want his wife to work, he wanted her to study and be a famous pianist.
A week later Delia brought home 15 dollars for three lessons. To her surprise Joe put four five-dollar bills on the table too. He said that he had sold one of his pictures.
One Saturday evening Delia came home late, she looked very tired and her right hand was banged. Delia said: My pupils family invited me to dinner after the lesson and the girl spilled some hot sauce on my hand. She was very sorry about that. At what time did you burn your hand, Delia? Joe asked her. About five. The ironI mean the sauce... Darling, Joe took her hand in his. Where are you working? And she told him the truth. Delia couldnt find any pupils and as she wanted Joe to study painting, she had to work in a laundry. How did you know I wasnt giving music lessons? she asked. I sent up these bandages this afternoon for a girl who had burnt her hand with an iron. I am working in the machine room of the same laundry.
O` Henry
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| , / . / . - , . - . - , . | Imagine you share the same room with a foreigner while studying. He/she is interested in your family traditions: - Tell about your family, their age and family traditions; - Ask about your friends family traditions; - Express your opinion on common and different things in your families. |
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SOUTH FOR THE WINTER
I never stay in one country for a long time. It gets boring. I like to move on, see new places, and meet different people. It's a good life, most of the time. When I need money, I get a job. I can do most things - hotel and restaurant work, building work, picking fruit.
I like to go south in the winter - Cyprus, or perhaps North Africa. Life is easier in the sun, and Northern Europe can get very cold in the winter. Last year I was in Venice in October. I did some work in a hotel for three weeks, then I began slowly to move south. I always go by train when I can. I like trains. You can walk about on a train, and you meet a lot of people.
I left Venice and went on to Trieste. There I got a cheap ticket for the slow train to Sofia, in Bulgaria. It takes a day and a half, but the express was too expensive.
The train left Trieste at nine o'clock on a Thursday morning. There weren't many people on it at first, but at Zagreb more people got on. Two girls went along the corridor, past my compartment. They looked through the door, but they didn't come in. The train left Zagreb and I looked out of the window for about ten minutes, then I went to sleep.
When I opened my eyes again, the two girls were in the compartment.
'Hi!' they said.
'You're American,' I said. 'Or Canadian. Right?'
'American,' the taller girl said. She smiled. 'And you're twenty-three, your name is Tom Walsh, you've got blue eyes, and your mum lives in Burnham-on-Sea, UK. Right?
'How did you know all that?' I asked.
Jennifer Bassett
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| , . . : - ; - ; - . | Imagine your friend came to see you. Tell him: - what the house looks like; - what your favourite room is and what is in it; - where in the world your house would be located. |
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A TEENAGE BUSINESSMAN
When most 14-year-old boys are playing football or computer games after school, James Kenyon from Manchester is running his own successful business. Ive heard of a company in Scotland selling homemade bath products and thought it was a good idea.
My dad said I could do that, so I decided to take a chance, James explains. That was two and a half years ago.
James started selling bath products to his friends and neighbours, but soon he began working for two local shopkeepers. Since he started his own soap company, selling homemade soap, bath salt and other bath products, James has earned over & 4,500.
James is proud of his success in business but he thinks there are more important things in his life. Ive learnt lots and Im really enjoying it, but my school work always comes first.
James` s parents are proud of their son, they think that he plans everything really well he does homework and he can focus on the business in his spare time. James says his parents have been a big support.
In 2006 James became a finalist in the Enterprising Young Brit Award. James is just one of an extraordinary group of enterprising young British businessmen who have innovative ideas and enthusiasm for business. Age and experience is certainly no obstacle to their success; their ambition and energy inspires them to create their money-making ideas.
BBCnews
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| . : - ; - ; - . | You were asked to make a report about school uniform. Tell your friends: - whether you wear school uniform in school or not; - what the advantages and disadvantages of wearing school uniform are; - what design you school uniform will be. |
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