7.1. Пассивный залог

a) Present Simple Depressions are brought about by this. (This brings about depressions.)

b) Present Continuous The plans are being scrapped. (They are scrapping the plans.)

c) Past Simple The car was parked there. (I parked the car there.)

d) Past Continuous The pool was being filled with water. (They were filling it with water.)

e) Present Perfect Blocks of flats have been erected. (They have erected blocks of flats.)

f) Past Perfect Hundreds of blocks had been built. (They had build hundreds.)

g) Future Simple The diving board will be installed tomorrow. (They wilt install it ...)

h) условное наклонение I would be paid if my car were smashed. (They would pay me if ...)

i) Future Perfect It will have been completed soon. (They will have completed it.)

j) условное наклонение (в прошлом) He would have been killed. (The concrete would have killed him.)

k) начальная форма The path is going to be widened. (They are going to widen the path.)

Passive tenses are formed by adding the past participle of the main verb to the corresponding tense of the verb 'to be'. The passive often emphasises the importance of the fact or action, rather than of the person who performs the action — who is frequently not mentioned.

7.2. Размеры

How wide is it? — It's 15 feet wide. It's 15 feet in width. How long is it? — It's 25 feet long. It's 25 feet in length. How broad is it? — It's 15 feet broad. It's 15 feet in breadth. (Rare.) How deep is it? — It's 8 feet deep. It's 8 feet in depth. How high is it? — It's 250 feet high. It's 250 feet in height. How tall is he? — He's 6 feet tall. He's 6 feet in height. The third of these forms is not often used in spoken English. Note these verbs: widen, lengthen, deepen, heighten (make wider, etc.)

7.3. Множественное число (hundred / thousand + s)

Hundreds of feet. — Thousands of people. — Millions of miles. Two hundred feet high. — Ten thousand people. — 83 million miles. Hundreds, thousands, millions mean an indefinite number of hundreds (etc.) and they are often followed by 'of'. When preceded by a number they cannot take 's' or a following 'of'.

Two hundred and nine. (209) One thousand and one. (1,001) Six million, five hundred and forty-three thousand, two hundred and ten. (6,543,210) Amounts less than one hundred, following hundreds and above, are preceded by the word 'and'. Note the use of the comma (,) in numerals above a thousand. The full stop (.) is used to show decimals.

7.4. Разделительные вопросы

It was being filled, wasn't it? You can't dive into it, can you? These short-form questions are very frequent in spoken English. Affirmative statements usually take negative tags, negative statements take affirmative tags.

You will come, won't you? You park there, don't you? You heard about it, didn't you? An auxiliary verb is used again in the tag; past and present simple use 'did', 'do', 'does'. Note these special uses: I'm the only chap with a pool, aren't I? You used to be proud of it, didn't you? I am hardly aiming at the Olympics, am I? This seldom happens, does it? Few people are so stupid, are they? Affirmative tags are added to statements which are not negative but contain a negative idea, expressed by hardly, scarcely, barely, seldom, rarely, few, little. See also Programme 4 Note 3.

It crushed a parked car, didn't it? (We both know it did.) You park your car there, don't you Bill? (I think you do — do you?) The voice may fall or rise as the tag is spoken. If it falls, the speaker is confident that what he says is correct, and wants only confirmation of his statement — sometimes be goes on speaking without even waiting for this confirmation. If the voice rises, he is asking a real question — he thinks he is right, but he could be wrong; a second speaker's knowledge or opinion is needed.

Text one

Topic: Flats in the clouds

Blocks of "high-rise" flats have been erected in large numbers in London and in many other big cities.

Just after the Second World War these immense twenty-to-thirty storey buildings, hundreds of feet in height, were thought to be the ideal solution to the dual problem of acute housing shortage and lack of space in urban areas.

At first, the ultramodern apartments were much sought after by city-dwellers, and hundreds of the vast blocks had been build before anyone began to doubt that they were suitable places for people, children especially, to live in.

A well-known British architect, who personally designed many of these buildings, now believes that they may well have inflicted a great deal of suffering on those people who have been housed in them, and evidence has been amassed by sociologists which suggests that severe loneliness and deep depression are brought about by life within these great towers.

Some psychologists even maintain that an unduly large proportion of their inhabitants suffer from mental disorders and develop criminal tendencies.

As a result of the recent queries, plans for new high-rise blocks are being scrapped.

They are going to be replaced by so-called "low-rise" blocks, at most six storeys high.

Тема: Квартира в облаках

Множество высотных домов были воздвигнуто в Лондоне, а также в других крупных городах.

После Второй мировой войны эти громадные 20-30-ти этажные здания стофутовой высоты считались идеальным решением "двойной" проблемы: острой нехватки жилья и недостатка площади в городской местности.

Сначала ультрасовременные квартиры были очень популярны в сравнении с городскими жилищами, и были построены сотни огромных корпусов, пока кто-то не засомневался в том, что они подходят для проживания людей, особенно детей.

Известный британский архитектор, который спроектировал много таких зданий, сейчас думает, что они вполне могут причинять большие страдания тем людям, которые живут в них; доказательства тому были собраны социологами, которые предполагают, что тяжелое одиночество и глубокая депрессия вызваны жизнью в этих высоких башнях.

Некоторые психологи даже считают, что большая часть их обитателей страдает психическими расстройствами и проявляет криминальные наклонности.

В результате недавних опросов планы постройки новых жилых высотных домов были отброшены.

Их намерены заменить так называемыми малоэтажными зданиями, в большинстве своем 6-ти этажными.

Text two

The new pool

Andy

Have they finished work on your new swimming-pool yet, Charles?

When I passed by yesterday, it was being filled with water, wasn't it?

Charles

That's right.

We had our first swim in it this morning.

The concrete path around it is going to be widened, but everything will have been completed before the end of the week.

Andy

You must be pleased.

How long is it?

Charles

It's only 25 feet long and 15 feet wide, but that's big enough to cool down in, isn't it?

Andy

And to get a spot of exercise in.

If you normally swim twenty lengths in a big pool, you can get the same benefit if you swim up and down forty or fifty times in a small one, can't you?

Charles

Yes, but I'm hardly aiming at getting into the Olympic team, am I?

Andy

How deep is it?

You can't dive into it, can't you?

Charles

Oh yes, you can!

It's eight feet depth at one end.

The diving-board will be installed tomorrow.

By the way, we're holding a swimming party on Sunday, if it's not too cold.

You will come, won't you?

Andy

I'd love to come, but I'm not much of a swimmer, and I can barely dive at all.

I'll probably drown.

Charles

Well, I'm hardly the world's best swimmer myself.

Anyway there'll be plenty to drink.

Andy

Good.

I'd rather drown in beer than in water.

Новый бассейн

Энди

Они уже закончили работу над твоим новым бассейном, Чарли?

Когда я вчера проходил мимо, он наполнялся водой, не так ли?

Чарльз

Верно.

Сегодня утром мы устроили в нем наш первый заплыв.

Бетонная дорожка вокруг него должна быть расширена, но все будет закончено еще до конца недели.

Энди

Ты должен быть доволен.

Какой он длины?

Чарльз

Всего 25 футов в длину и 15 футов в ширину, но он достаточно большой, чтобы освежиться в нем, не правда ли?

Энди

И немного потренироваться.

Если обычно ты проплываешь 20 длин в большом бассейне, ты можешь достичь того же эффекта, если проплывешь туда и обратно 40 или 50 раз в маленьком, не так ли?

Чарльз

Да, но едва ли я собираюсь попасть в олимпийскую сборную, ведь так?

Энди

Какой он глубины?

Разве в нем можно нырять?

Чарльз

О да, можно!

В одном конце он глубиной 8 футов.

Трамплин для прыжков будет установлен завтра.

Кстати, в воскресенье мы устраиваем свиминг пати, если не будет слишком холодно.

Придешь?

Энди

Я бы с удовольствием, но я не очень хорошо плаваю, разве что ныряю.

И я могу утонуть.

Чарльз

Ладно, я и сам не чемпион мира по плаванию.

И, кстати, будет достаточно выпивки.

Энди

Хорошо.

Лучше утонуть в пиве, чем в воде.

Text three

Out of luck

Bill

I suppose you heard about that great chunk of concrete falling onto a car in South Street yesterday, didn't you, Ted?

Ted

Yes, I saw it in the paper.

From a two hundred and fifty foot high building, wasn't it?

I gather the driver had just got out or he'd have been killed, wouldn't he?

Bill

Oh yes.

I saw the car; it was a complete wreck.

Ted

You usually park your car around there, don't you, Bill?

Bill

Yes, I left it in that very spot a couple of days ago, but yesterday it was parked up the road a bit.

Ted

You were in luck then, weren't you, Bill?

Bill

Out of luck, you mean!

I'd be very pleased if my old car were smashed to bits.

I could claim from the insurance company then, couldn't I?

Ted

But you used to be so proud of your car, didn't you, Bill?

Bill

I used to be years ago, but now there are all sorts of repairs to be done, and I just haven't got enough spare cash to put it right.

Ted

You can always sell it, can't you, Bill?

Bill

Few people are stupid enough to buy a car in that state, are they?

Ted

The chap whose car was crushed yesterday was very annoyed about it.

He'll be given a new car by the builders, though.

Bill

Yes, but his car was a specially-built model that can't be replaced, and there was hardly anything wrong with it, was there?

Ted

Well, that's life!

When people actually want to get rid of their cars, this sort of thing seldom happens, does it?

Не повезло

Билл

Ты ведь слышал об том, что на Саут Стрит огромный кусок бетона упал на машину, не так ли, Тэд?

Тэд

Да, я видел в газете.

С дома высотой 250 футов, или нет?

Я, думаю, водитель вышел, иначе бы его убило, не правда ли?

Билл

О, да.

Я видел ту машину — груда металлолома.

Тэд

Ты обычно ставишь свою там же, так ведь, Билл?

Билл

Да, я оставлял ее на том же самом месте пару дней тому назад, но вчера — немного выше по дороге.

Тэд

Тогда тебе повезло, ведь так, Билл?

Билл

Не повезло, ты имеешь в виду!

Я был бы очень доволен, если бы мою старую машину разнесло на кусочки.

Я смог бы потребовать страховку, разве не так?

Тэд

Но ты же прежде гордился своей машиной, так ведь, Билл?

Билл

Это было давно, но сейчас нужен капитальный ремонт, и мне не хватает денег, чтобы привести ее в порядок.

Тэд

Но ты же всегда можешь продать ее, Билл?

Билл

Не много же дураков найдется, чтобы купить такой автомобиль, я думаю.

Тэд

Парень, чью машину вчера разбило, был очень раздосадован.

Думаю, он получит от строителей новую машину.

Билл

Да, но это была заказная модель, которую невозможно заменить; и в полном порядке, кажется.

Тэд

Да, такова жизнь!

Когда человек действительно хочет избавиться от своей машины, вещи такого рода случаются очень редко, как думаешь?