X. Complete the following dialogue:

A: Excuse me, could you tell me what's the time by your

watch now? It seems to me, my watch is slow. B: ...

A: Oh, yes. Thank you very much. It's the 12th of May today, isn't it?

B: ....

A: And what's the day today? B: ...

A: I'd like to buy tickets for Warsaw in advance. I am leaving in three weeks.

B: ...

A: I prefer to go by train.

11. Make up your own dialogue using the following word-combinations:

the shortest day, the longest night, the shortest night of the year, as long as the night, September 23, June 22, March 21, December 22, which is.

11. Read and retell the text:

TIME

There are twenty-four hours in a day. There are 60 se­conds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour. There are seven days in a week. The seven days of the week are named in honour of the sun, the moon and five of the planets.

Sunday is the sun's day.

Monday is the moon's day.

Tuesday is Mars' day.

Wednesday is Mercury's day.

Thusday is Jupiter's day.

Friday is Venus' day.

Saturday is Saturn's day.

The planets were named after Roman gods and god­desses. The beginning of the day is dawn or daybreak, then comes morning, noon (12 o'clok), afternoon, evening and night. We cannot change the length of the day. The day is made for us by turning of the earth on its axis.

The sun rises in the east in the morning and sets in the west in the evening. When the sun shines it is light. When the sun sets it is dark, except for the light of the moon and the stars.

We can tell the time by means of watches and clocks. The first timepiece anyone made was a sundial. A sundial tells the time by shadows. The oldest sundial was made in Egypt about 3,500 years ago. It was common practice to divide the time between sunrise and sunset into 12 equal parts, or hours.

The water clock was invented as long ago as the sun­dial. Water clocks could tell the time of day or night. But they often went wrong.

The sand-glass is another timepiece that was invented long ago.

Before true clocks were invented, fire was also used to measure the time.

The first true clocks were made nearly 1,000 years ago. The first watches were made about 500 years ago.

We know that the time is not the same all over the world. For this reason the world has been divided into time zones. All the places in each zone have the same time. It is called standard time.

MONTHS OF THE YEAR

In a year there are 365 days or 366 in a leap year, which comes every four years. Each year has a number. The years are numbered from the year that was supposed to be the one in which Christ was born. To give the date of earlier events, they count back from year 1. Then B.C. is put after the number. B.C. stands for "before Christ". Sometimes initials A.D., which stand for Latin words Anno Domini, are put.

The Romans counted their years from the date of the founding of Rome. The Greeks counted their years from the date of the first Olympic Games. Bronze Age in Britain began in 1900 B.C.

Each year has twelve months. The name of each month has its origin.

January [^asnjuari] — the name of the first month was dedicated by Romans to the god with two faces, Janus.

February f'februari] — this was the Roman festival of purification.

March [ma:tj] — this name of the month was given in honour of Mars — Roman god of war.

April {'eipril] — the month in wich the earth opens for the growth of plants.

May [mei] — this month was named in honour of a goddess of growth or increase.

June [d3u:n] — the month of Juno (a woman of impo­sing figure, one of the brightest of the minor planets).

July [d3u:'lai] — the month named after Julius Caesar.

August ['o:gsst] — this month was named in honour of the Emperor Augustus as this month was identified with memorable events in his" career.

September [ssp'tembs] — the Latin word septem means seven (the seventh month according to the ancient Roman year, which began in March).

October [o'ktouba] — the eighth month of the ancient Roman year (octa = eight).

November fno'vemba] — the ninth month of the ancient Roman year (novem = nine).

December [di'sembs] — the tenth month of the ancient Roman year (deca = ten) .