Greetings

The purpose of greetings in all languages is the same: to establish contact with another person and to show friendliness.

It is very important to use the correct form of greeting. Do you know, for example, that "Good day" is not exactly the same as "Добрый день?" It is not an arrival greeting, as in other languages. "Good day" is used when leaving, but even then not very often.

"Hello" is the universal form of greeting. It is acceptable in any situation except after a very formal introduction. A friendly "Hello" said with a smile is warm and informal. "Hello" followed by a name is even friendlier and more personal.

"Hi" is a greeting for people who already know one another. "Hi" is an abbreviation of "hiya", which in turn is a corruption of "How are you?" It should never be used in any formal situation.

To people you do not know very well, you may say "Good morning" (until lunch time), "Good afternoon" (until 5-6 pm) and "Good evening" (after 6 pm).

To neighbours, colleagues and other people whom you see regularly, you may say "Morning", "Afternoon", "Evening".

As a greeting people often say "How are you?" Since this widely used phrase implies no sincere interest in an answer, the best response is either "Fine, thank you" or "Very well, thank you".

"How do you do?" is said after formal introductions. You say this without expecting any answer but "How do you do?"

Notes

1. сorruption – искажение

2. but – кроме

FEAR

"Are you a man or a mouse?" When people ask this question they want to know if you think you are a brave person or a coward. But you will never really know the answer to that question until you are tested in real life. Some people think they are brave, but when they come face to face with real dan­ger, they act like cowards. Other people think of themselves as cowardly, but when they meet danger, act like heroes.

Lenny Skutnik had always thought of himself as a nervous person. He got worried before examinations. He worried about his job and his health. All he wanted in life was to be safe and healthy. Then, on 5th January, 1982, a plane crashed into the Potomac River in Washington. Lenny went to the river to see what was happening. Then he saw a woman in the ice-cold water. Suddenly Lenny did not feel afraid. He kept very calm and did a very cou­rageous thing. He jumped into the river, swam to the woman and kept her head above the water. Seventy-eight people died that day. Thanks to Lenny Skutnik, it was not seventy-nine.

When you are in a very dangerous situation and feel afraid, the body au­tomatically produces a chemical in the blood. This chemical is called adrena­lin. With adrenalin in the blood system, you actually feel stronger and are ready to fight or run away. However, when you are absolutely terrified, the body can produce too much adrenalin. When this happens, the muscles be­come very hard and you find that you cannot move at all. You are then para­lysed with fear. That is why, when we are very frightened, we sometimes say that we are 'petrified'. This word comes from the Greek word 'petros' which means 'stone'. We are so frightened we have become like stone.

Notes

be petrified — оцепенеть