I Поставьте предложения в отрицательную и вопросительную формы.

1. There were mistakes in your dictation. 2. There is a telegram on the table. 3. There are two English books in my bag. 4. There is a large window in my room.

II. Раскройте скобки, выбрав нужную форму глагола.

1. There (is, are) three tables in the classroom. 2. There (was, were) very many children in the park yesterday. 3. There (wasn’t, weren’t) a school here 10 years ago. 4. There (is, are) a text-book and two exercise-books on my table. 5. There (is, are) a table and three chairs in my sister’s room.

III.Поставьте вопросы различных типов к следующим предложениям.

1. Professors give lectures to students. (3?) 2. All our universities admit men and women. (3?) 3. There are ten students in that class. (3?) 4. They provide hostels for their students. (4?) 5. They spent 3 years at a teachers’ training college. 6. They learn 2 foreign languages. 7. They had a chance to discuss yesterday. 8. Professors will help their students in research work. 9. Not all English universities are new.

Прочтите и переведите текст. Поставьте к тексту 10 вопросов разных типов.

A Laconic Answer

The Spartans (спартанцы) lived in that part of southern Greece called Laconia. Sometimes people call them Spartans and sometimes Laconians. Those people were very brave and their way of life was very simple. One of their rules (правила) was that they must always speak very briefly (кратко) using no more words than were necessary. To this day, we often call a short answer laconic; that is, such an answer as a Laconian might give.

There was in northern Greece a land called Macedon, ruled over by a king, Philip by name. Philip wanted to become head of all Greece. He had a great army and conquered state after state. But although his strength was so great, Laconia remained free. When Philip reached Laconia he sent a letter to the brave Spartans saying, "If I conquer your country, I will level your great city to the ground." In a few days he saw the answer brought to him. On opening the letter he found only one word written in it. That word was IF.

Lesson 5

Грамматика: Времена

Continuous (active voice)

My First Day in London

I shall never forget, as long as I live, the day when I first set foot in London. I came from a quiet little town in Switzerland and I had never before lived in a big city, so London was a new world to me and I was dying to find out more about it¹ for myself.

The general opinion abroad is that London has fog or rain, or both every day of the year, but on the day that I arrived it was fine and warm, the sun was shining brightly and the sky was cloudless. The next day was just as beautiful; a slight wind was blowing and you could smell the spring in the air. I went for a walk in Kensington Gardens. I found the way there quite easily. When I got my first sight of the gardens² the beauty of it took my breath away³. The trees were just bursting into leaf, fresh and green⁴, and there were beds of spring flowers, red and yellow and blue. People in light spring clothes were walking about, and to my surprise, they were walking not only along the paths but also across the grass. I passed a pool in which ducks were swimming: children were playing in playgrounds.

It was time for me to go home, but which way was it? I hurriedly turned down one path that I thought would take me back⁵ – and found myself in Hyde Park. I ran to the left and to the right, asked several men for the way to the street where I had stayed, but I found to my horror that I could not understand a single word they said in reply. I wandered on till I came to a big open place where men were standing on a chair, or on a platform, or on the ground. They were speaking or preaching, and people of all kinds were listening or asking questions or making remarks and sometimes laughing at the speaker. Other groups were singing loud. This was the famous Hyde Park meeting. Meanwhile, the sun went behind the cloud, I was terribly tired. At last I got to the park gate and came out into the street, but this was worse than ever⁶. Motorcars, bicycles, buses were running, People were climbing in buses or hurrying along. In despair I crossed the street on to an island⁷ where I found a policeman who explained the way to me.

Notes

1 I was dying to find out more about it	– я умирал от желания узнать о нем больше
2 When I got my first sight of the gardens	– когда я впервые увидел этот парк
3 took my breath away	– у меня захватило дыхание
4 bursting into leaf, fresh and green	– распускались почки и появлялись молодые зеле­ные листочки
5would take me back	– приведет меня обратно
6 this was worse than ever	– (зд.) здесь было еще ужаснее
7 anisland	– (зд.) безопасное место, «островок», посредине улицы, площади

Vocabulary Exercises