Things were very different when I was a little girl. In those days I used to live in a small village in the North of England. My father worked in the coal mine, like all the other men there. We weren't well-off, but we didn't think of ourselves as poor, either.

I started school when 1 was five. There was only one teacher with about thirty children in all age from five to eleven. We all sat in the same room. It got terribly cold in winter. We sat on hard wooden benches, and the teacher shouted at us or even hit us but we didn't pay attention.

In the evenings I used to do my homework and then sit with my mother and younger brother in front of the fire, listening to the radio. I liked reading, even then, but I had very few books. My father usually went to the pub. All the people in the village knew each other. Nobody had any secrets. Most of the people, however, were very kind. They always gave help when it was needed.

When I was eleven, I started going to a secondary school in the nearest town. My teachers said I was bright, and later 1 went to university, where I studied Psychology. I was the first person in my family and the only person in the village to get a higher education. People like me never used to go to university in those days, especially if they were girls. It was difficult for me to go back to the village after that. I used to feel there was a kind of invisible wall between myself and my old friends, and even my family. My father couldn't understand why I wanted an education. He kept asking me when I intended to get married and have children.

I. Отметьте следующие предложения как «верно» или «неверно» в соответствии с содержанием прочитанного текста.

1. All the men in the village where the girl used to live worked in the coal mine.

2. There were classrooms for children of different age in the school.

3. The teacher was polite with the children, but they didn’t pay attention to that.

4. The girl liked reading and therefore she had very many books.

5. Nobody in the village had a higher education.

6. The girl’s family and her friends supported her decision to study at university.

7. The girl’s father asked her again and again why she wanted an education.

II. Закончите предложения, выбрав один из предложенных вариантов ответов 1, 2, 3 или 4.

1. The girl's family was________.

1. large.

2. very rich.

3. very poor.

4. not very poor

2. When the teacher shouted at the children they_________.

1. cried and hit each other.

2. thought it was terrible.

3. were not very upset.

4. told their parents about it

3. In the village all the people________.

1. listened to the radio

2. went to the pub

3. were nice and helpful.

4. always kept their secret.

4.When the girl was eleven she_______.

1. began to study Psychology.

2. liked reading very much.

3. used to do her homework in the evening.

4. went to study in a different school.

5. Later it was problematic for the girl to visit the village because________.

1. her education made her different from the villagers

2. her father didn't understand students' life

3.she was not married and had no children

4. her old friends didn't want to talk to her any more

III. Выберите правильный вариант перевода подчеркнутых частей предложений 1-3

1. In the evening 1 used to do my homework.

1. Я использовала вечернее время на домашнюю работу.

2. Я оставляла домашнюю работу на вечер.

3. Я обычно вечером делала домашнюю работу.

4. Я использовала все вечера, чтобы делать домашнюю работу

2. I was the only person in the village to get a higher education.

1. ... чтобы получить высшее образование.

2. ... которая получила высшее образование.

3. … которая получит высшее образование.

4. ... получив таким образом высшее образование.

3. People like me never used to go to university.

1. Люди вроде меня никогда раньше не учились в университете.

2. Людям вроде меня никогда не нравилось учиться в университете.

3.Людям никогда не нравились те, кто учится в университете.

4.Люди никогда не любили меня, поскольку я училась в университете

The Keys

One day Mary and her little son Ben were driving home from London. The weather was fine and warm though it had been raining since morning. They hadn't been to their place for a long time and they could see some changes. «Mum, look, a new house is being built in our street near our cottage. » Mary's cottage was a nice little place. They moved there in 1989. It was theirs though in fact they hadn't paid all the money for it yet. They arrived, got out of the car and came into the house. Mary took off her bag from her shoulders and put it on the stairs in the hall.

Ben ran into the sitting room, turned on the television though his mother had forbidden him to do it. The boy made the TV work very noisily. Mary left the house, took the food-box from the car. At that moment their dog pushed the door and it locked. Mary couldn't get inside. The keys were in the bag. the windows and the back door closed and Ben didn't' hear her shouting.

Mary heard the music playing, some voices speaking and laughing. Mary understood that if she didn't shout at the top of her voice, the boy would never come to the door. So she did. Ben came, pushed the keys through the letterbox and Mary was able to open the door and she got in. Ben was given the keys, the dog was told to sit quiet, and they both went out to take the food. While Mary was taking the box out of the car Ben locked the door and pushed the keys into the house through the letterbox. How do you like it?