1.12 National Heroes and Heroines

All countries have their national heroes and heroines. We usually learn about these people through our history lessons at school.

Heroes and heroines are often leaders who fought against a more powerful enemy. The earliest leader in British history was Queen Boadicea, who led a rebellion against the Romans. There is a statue of her on Westminster Bridge in London. Boadicea was defeated, but a later hero, King Alfred the Great, won his fight against the Vikings.

Alfred is the only English king called "the Great". In Scotland, the most famous leader is Robert the Bruce. He defeated the English in one of the many wars between England and Scotland which took place before the two countries were united. The most famous British national leader from modern times is Winston Churchill, who was prime minister during the Second World War.

Not all national heroes and heroines are leaders. Some are inventors, explorers or pioneers in a particular field. British schoolchildren learn about George Stephenson, who invented the first railway engine; Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin; Florence Nightingale, who founded the nursing profession; and David Livingstone, who explored Africa.

National heroes are not always international heroes. Very often people in other countries have never heard of them. And one country's hero can be another country's villain. For example, British schoolchildren learn that Sir Francis Drake was a great hero who fought against the Spanish king Philip II, but in Spain it is Philip II who is the hero, while Drake was nothing more than a pirate. (1361)

Завершите предложения информацией из текста:

1. National heroes and heroines are 1) … 2) … .

2. The Scottish hero Robert the Bruce … .

3. The British national leader Sir Winston Churchill … .

4. Names of other British heroes and heroines are: … .

1.13 The Girl on the Motorbike

In the early hours of 5 April 1989 a motorbike was speeding along the road A20 in Kent.

As he approached Wrotham Hill, Clive Taylor looked at his watch. Exactly two o'clock. Five minutes later he reached the bend at the top of the hill. It was a dangerous place for accidents.

Suddenly, he saw a girl. She was standing in the middle of the. road. Clive had to swerve to avoid her, but she didn't move. When he had stopped, the girl calmly walked up to him and asked him if he could give her a lift. He asked her what she was doing there. She said that there had been an accident. Clive looked around, but he couldn't see a car or any other people.

Clive told the girl to get on the pillion and to hold tight. As she climbed on, Clive suddenly felt very cold, but he noticed that she was only wearing a light dress. She looked as if she was on her way to a party.

At the bottom of the hill there was a telephone box. Clive pulled off the road and stopped. But when he turned round, he froze in horror. The girl wasn't there.

Had she fallen off the pillion? In a cold sweat, he rode back up to the place where he had first seen the girl. But he couldn't see her. He rode down the hill again as slowly as he could. There was no sign of her. She had simply disappeared.

Clive rode to the nearest police station. He told the policeman at the desk what had happened, but to his surprise, the policeman didn't seem very worried. Then he told Clive that ten years before, there had been an accident on Wrotham Hill. A girl and her boyfriend had been on their way back from a party, when she had fallen off the pillion of the motorbike and been killed. Since that time several motorcyclists had seen the girl. The accident had happened at exactly five past two. (1437)

Найдите в тексте ответы на вопросы:

1. What time of day did the incident happen?

2. Where is Wrotham Hill?

3. Where was the girl when Clive first saw her?

4. Why was he surprised to see her?

5. What happened at the phone box?

6. What was surprising about the policeman's attitude?

7. In what year had the accident happened?