7. Translate the following sentences into English making use of words from the text.

1. Могильные курганы бронзового века были обнаружены археологами до того, как все раскопки на этой территории были запрещены.

2. Каменные и кирпичные английские дома сохранились лучше, чем преимущественно деревянные дома в России.

3. Необходимо знать базовую хронологию событий, причины войн, экономическую и социальную историю.

4. Вильгельм Завоеватель вторгся в Англию с территории Франции в 1066 годе (эту дату знают все).

5. Генрих VIII отменил власть Папы как главы английской церкви и сам стал ее главой. Это действие было одобрено обществом.

6. Власть перешла в руки Парламента и была – в большей или меньшей степени – закреплена законом.

7. Многие призванные во время Первой Мировой войны были отстранены от службы из-за истощения и плохого состояния здоровья.

8. Мы усовершенствовали наш опытный парламент, увеличили богатства Британии и гордо вступили в битву 1914 года.

9. В период между войнами миллионы впервые переехали в нормальные дома, стали широко доступны электричество, общественный транспорт и услуги.

10. Обычные люди исследуют свое историческое наследие с огромным воодушевлением: пишут историю своей семьи, своей деревни или городка, смотрят исторические программы по телевидению, участвуют в раскопках, изучают документы, бродят по музеям.

Grammar

1. Translate into English using Comparative and Superlative forms:

Младшие/старшие дети; более или менее; более процветающий; гораздо меньше людей; не более чем сентиментальная мечта о прошлом; менее значительный.

2. Fill the table with Comparative and Superlative forms of adjectives:

Adjective Comparative Superlative

little

poor

bad

sophisticated

simple

international

busy

far

horrific

safe

accurate

3. What tenses can one use speaking about the past? What tenses are used in the text?

Put the verbs in brackets into the right form.

1. The British (apart from those in Northern Ireland) live in a country which … (not be invaded) for 900 years.

2. In recent years there …(be) much discussion of what kind of history should be taught.

3. Under Queen Elisabeth we … (fight) and …(beat) the Spanish; under James I we … (capture) Guy Fawkes just before he … (attempt) to blow up the Houses of Parliament.

4. Many of the conscripts in the First World War … (have to be) rejected for malnourishment and ill-health because the consequences of industrialization …(be) horrific.

5. Despite a General Strike and a recession, step by step many parts of the country …(get) more prosperous.

6. In this country every able-bodied adult … (be) conscripted; women … (be) sent to do war-work; gardens … (be) turned over to vegetables and spare pieces of land …(be) cultivated.

Extensive reading

Text I.

Venerable Bede (673-735), a Benedictine monk, is often called the father of English history. His “Ecclesiastical History of the English People” was written in Latin, dated events from the birth of Christ and reflected Bede’s own wisdom and the ideas of his time. After his death King Alfred translated this book from Latin into English.

Ecclesiastical History of the English People

(fragment)

‘Britain is rich in grain and timber; it has good pasturage for cattle and draft animals, and vines are cultivated in various localities. There are many land and sea birds of various species, and it is well known for its plentiful springs and rivers abounding in fish. There are salmon and eel fisheries, while seals, dolphins, and sometimes whales are caught. There are also many varieties of shellfish, such a mussels, in which are often found excellent pearls of several colours: red, purple, violet, and green, but mainly white. Cocles are abundant, and a beautiful scarlet dye is extracted from them which remains unfaded by sunshine or rain; indeed, the older the cloth, the more beautiful its colour. The country has both salt and hot springs, and the waters flowing from them provide hot baths, in which the people bathe separately according to age and sex.

Ireland is broader than Britain, and its mild and healthy climate is superior. Snow rarely lies longer than three days, so that there is no need to store hay in summer for winter use or to build stables for beasts. There are no reptiles, and no snake can exist there, for although often brought over from Britain, as soon as the ship nears land, they breathe its scented air and die. In fact, almost everything in this isle enjoys immunity to poison. (…) The island abounds in milk and honey, and there is no lack of vines, fish, and birds, while deer and goats are widely hunted”.

(translated by Leo Sherley-Price, from “What is the English we read” , MSU, 2003)

Exercises