ENGLISH READER
for elementary and pre-intermediate students
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CONTENTS
Part One
Unit 1. School in Great Britain. G. Rogova, F. Rozhkova
Unit 2. Education in the USA. G. Rogova, F. Rozhkova
Unit 3. She Wants to Have Money of Her Own. G. Rogova, F. Rozhkova
Unit 4. The History of London. I.N. Vereshcagina, O.V. Afanasyeva
Unit 5. The History of Thanksgiving Day. Monica Vincent
Unit 6. Native Americans. Terry Tomsha
Unit 7. The Wild West. I.N. Vereshcagina, O.V. Afanasyeva
Unit 8. American Symbols. I.N. Vereshcagina, O.V. Afanasyeva
Unit 9. Everyday Life in America. Terry Tomsha
Unit 10. Isnt It Fun to Whitewash the Fence? Mark Twain
Unit 11. The Golden Touch. J. Codlinnik, M. Kuznets
Unit 12. A Sea Story. W. Jacobs
Unit 13. Robin Hood. J. Codlinnik, M. Kuznets
Unit 14. How the Book Was Born. V.N. Bogorodskaya, L.V. Hrustalyova
Unit 15. The Ransom of Red Chief. O. Henry
Unit 16. Arachne. V.N. Bogorodskaya, L.V. Hrustalyova
Unit 17. Little John Joins the Band. Antonia Fraser
Part Two
Unit 18. Absent-Mindness. Jerome K. Jerome
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Unit 19. The Luncheon. S. Maugham
Unit 20. The Last Leaf. O. Henry
Unit 21. How to Avoid Travelling. George Mikes
Unit 22. Molly Morgan. John Steinbeck
Part One
Unit 1
SCHOOL IN GREAT BRITAIN
(by G. Rogova, F. Rozhkova)
In Great Britain boys and girls go to school from the age of five to fifteen; some go up to sixteen or eighteen.
The school year in Great Britain begins in the middle of September and it is over in July.
English children learn subjects like: English, mathematics (which includes arithmetic, algebra and geometry), history, geography, science (which includes biology, zoology, botany, chemistry and physics), foreign languages, drawing, singing. They also have PT (physical training).
The children stay at school from 9 till 16.15. From 12 till 14 o'clock they have a lunch break or dinner-time. And from 14 till 16.15 they have their lessons at school again. After 16.15 they go home. There are several types of schools in Great Britain. They are primary and secondary schools. English children begin to go to a secondary school when they are eleven. Some secondary schools are only for boys, some are only for girls and some for boys and girls. Grammar school, one of the types of secondary school, prepares pupils for the university. Pupils stay at this type of school from eleven till eighteen.
English schools are open five days a week. On Saturdays and Sundays there are no lessons. The school year has three terms. After a term pupils have holidays. So they have winter holidays which begin in December, spring holidays are in April, and summer holidays are in August and the first half of September. So they are six weeks long.
The pupils of all schools have uniforms. Each school may have a different uniform. They wear dark grey, dark green or dark blue uniforms. The pupils of many schools have striped ties, only the colours are different for each school. Very often pupils have their school badges on the left breast pockets and berets.
I Find in the text English equivalents for the following words and expressions ( ):
1) ; 2) ; 3) ; 4) ; 5) ; 6) ; 7) ; 8) .
II Give Russian equivalents for the following words and expressions from the text and use them in sentences of your own ( ):
1) in the middle of; 2) science; 3) fromtill; 4) grammar school; 5) the first half of September; 6) striped ties; 6) school badges on the left breast pockets and berets.
III Answer the questions ( ):
1) What types of schools are there in Great Britain?
2) At what age do children go to school?
3) What subjects do children learn at school?
4) How long do children stay at school?
5) When do pupils have holidays?
6) What uniform do pupils wear at school?
IV Retell the text ( ).
V Grammar Task ( ).
1.Ask questions about the words in bold type ( ):
a)The school year in Great Britain begins in the middle of September.
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b)They also have PT.
c)After 16.15 they go home.
d)There are several types of schools in Great Britain.
f)English schools are open five days a week.
2. Open the brackets ( ):
a) We (togo) to school every day.
b) The school year (to begin) in September.
c) He (to have) many subjects.
d) The children (to stay) at school till 14 oclock.
e) Our schools (to be) open six days a week.
f) Our teacher often (to play) role games with us.
3. Make these sentences 1)interrogative and 2)negative (C 1) 2)):
a) Girls and boys go to school from the age of five.
b) English children learn many subjects.
c) I am a pupil now.
d) My brother goes to school every day.
e) There are several types of schools in Great Britain.
f) The school year has three terms.
4. Translate from Russian into English ( ):
a) - .
) ?
) .
d) , .
) ?
f) Ÿ .
Unit 2
EDUCATION IN THE USA
(by G. Rogova, F. Rozhkova)
You know that American children go to school for twelve years.
There are different schools in the USA: large and small, public and private, co-educational and for boys and girls alone, schools in large cities and in small towns.
When the children are five years old they go to kindergarten. After kindergarten they go to elementary school. They study there eight years.
Then the American children can go to high school. They study there four years more. Most Americans finish high school because it is free.
Public schools, one of the types of high schools, are always big. There are about fifteen hundred boys and girls there. Most American public schools are co-educational which means that boys and girls study together. Most Americans go to public schools.
When the American children finish high school they can go to college. A college is like a university. The difference is that a university has several colleges. The students study at college four years.
The school year always begins in September or October and ends in May or June. Many young people cannot go to college because it costs too much.
Some colleges have three hundred students or fewer, but some universities have twenty thousand students or more.
I Find in the text English equivalents for the following words and expressions ( ):
1) ; 2) ; 3) ; 4) ; 5) ; 6) ; 7)
II Give Russian equivalents for the following words and expressions from the text and use them in sentences of your own ( ):
1) finish school; 2) it is free; 3) it costs too much; 4) fewer or more.
III Answer the questions ( ):
1) What types of schools are there in the USA?
2) How many pupils are there in public schools?
3) What is the difference between college and university?
4) Why cant many young people go to college?
