2. Render the following text into English using the active grammar constructions and (for extra points) the active vocabulary (you are welcome to add your own comments!): Привычки великих.

Некоторые привычки великих людей не назовешь общепринятыми.

• Например, Шиллер почему-то мог творить только тогда, когда на столе у него лежали гнилые яблоки.

• Гайдн не работал без своего кольца с алмазом: он поминутно его рассматривал.

• Вагнер во время сочинения очередного музыкального произведения раскладывал на стульях и другой мебели яркие куски шелка, имел обыкновение брать их в руки и теребить.

• Эмиль Золя для успешной работы над романом привязывал себя к стулу.

• Шарлотта Бронте постоянно отрывалась от писания очередного романа и отправлялась чистить картофель.

• Эдгар По мог сидеть часами за письменным столом и молча смотреть на лежащий перед ним лист чистой бумаги.

• Дюма-сын для пробуждения вдохновения любил раз пять основательно поесть.

• Жорж Санд ежедневно писала до 11 часов, и если заканчивала роман в 10.30, то тут же начинала новый, над которым работала полчаса.

3. Insert the correct prepositions into the following sentences (you can find a more comprehensive list of dependent preposition patterns at the end of this book):

1. He has a very bad attitude ________work.

2. Is there anything you're not sure_______?

3. Marie Curie is famous ________ her contribution to science.

4. His parents were bitterly disappointed ______ him.

5. Were you aware ______ the risks at the time?

6. Are you satisfied _______ the new arrangement?

7. Are you getting excited _____ your holiday?

8. They were absolutely fascinated ______ the game.

9. He didn't seem very interested _______ what I was saying.

10. Let's be realistic ______ this - I just can't afford to pay that much money.

11. Paul is directly responsible _______ the efficient running of the office.

12. She advises the President _______ African policy.

13. I know that if I start watching a soap opera I immediately become hopelessly addicted ______ it.

In pairs ask and answer questions about each other’s likes and dislikes using the active expressions with dependent prepositions.

4. In this unit you will have come across a lot of phrases with the two easily confused verbs “do” and “make” (e.g. do routine tasks, make demands, do the ironing – all appear in the text on page 18). Complete the sentences below with either of the verbs. (There is a list of make/do collocations at the end of this book).

1. Good morning. I’d like to ______ an appointment with Dr Brown, please.

2. If I cook, will you _____ the washing up?

3. Could you ______ me a favour? Could you post this letter for me on your way home?

4. If you want to pass your exam this summer, you’ll have to _____ a far greater effort than now.

5. I can’t come out tonight. I’ve got to stay in and _____ my hair.

6. Last week we _____ a very difficult exercise on prepositions.

7. Stop _____ such a noise! I’m trying to sleep.

8. Most people get nervous when asked to _____ a speech.

9. Everyone knows that smoking _____ you harm.

10. People often used to ______ fun of him because he was so fat.

11. Children should _____ their duty and look after their parents when they are old.

12. My grandparents always ______ a big fuss of me whenever I go and visit them.

13. Could I see the manager, please? I wish to _____ a complaint.

14. Our company _____ business with lots of foreign companies.

15. Whenever I’m asked to do something, I always try to _____ a good job.

16. My son is at Cambridge University ______ research.

17. Do you find it easy or difficult to ______ friends.

18. The only way of ______ a lot of money in this country is to win it on the National Lottery.

19. Many students are afraid to speak English because they don’t like to _____ mistakes.

20. I forgot to _____ my homework last night.

21. They _____ a very long journey from London to Nepal.

22. I’m _____ the Cambridge First certificate exam in the summer.

23. The teacher wished the students good luck for their exam and told them to _____ their best.

24. He didn’t really feel like going to the party, so he _____ an excuse about not feeling well.

READING & SPEAKING.

1. a) Pre-reading. Fill the gaps using these key words from the text.

frugality bankruptcy skip aperitif obsession sluggish forage reel baguette brasserie

1. If an economy is __________________, it does not perform as well as usual.

2. If you __________________ from the effects of something, you feel shocked, upset or confused.

3. __________________ is a situation in which a company formally admits it has no money and cannot pay what it owes.

4. A __________________ is a long, thin loaf of bread made in the French style.

5. __________________ is when people spend very little money and only on things that are really necessary.

6. If you __________________ for food, you search for it in a wide area, but especially in rubbish bins.

7. A __________________ is a restaurant or bar, especially one that serves French food.

8. An __________________ is an emotional state in which something is so important to you that you are always thinking about it in a way that seems extreme to other people.

9. An __________________ is an alcoholic drink that is drunk before a meal.

10. If you __________________ a meal, you avoid having it.

b) Read the text and briefly summarise the main points.

Au revoir to long lunch as French tighten belts

• 3,000 restaurants and bars go bust in three months

• Starters and wine out, baguettes and burgers in

Angelique Chrisafis in Paris

September 24, 2008

It is seen as the mark of civilized eating, distinguishing well-fed French workers from the English who wolf prawn sandwiches at their desks. But France’s tradition of the three-course restaurant lunch is in danger of being killed off by the economic crisis. Around 3,000 traditional French restaurants, cafés and bars went bust in the first three months of 2008 and unions predict a further rush of closures as people worry about making ends meet. The number of French restaurants going bankrupt rose by 25% from last year, and cafés forced to close were up by 56%.

Le Figaro’s renowned restaurant critic, François Simon, said yesterday that French consumers’ frugality had changed national eating habits and forced restaurant owners to the brink. Diners were now skipping the traditional aperitif, avoiding starters, drinking tap water, passing on wine and coffee and – at most – sharing a pudding.

Even the city’s smartest restaurants were getting impatient with smaller orders. In one restaurant near Paris’ Gare de Lyon, he reported, two couples were asked to leave by a desperate restaurant owner because they would not order starters. The restaurant chain Hippopotamus was now running loyalty deals and special-offer hamburgers, which had become more popular than French steak dishes. Office workers were increasingly buying take-away baguettes and supermarket lunches.

Making ends meet with low salaries and rising food prices has become a national obsession as France’s economy continues to be sluggish. Regular TV reports describe the desperation of people forced to eat cheap tinned vegetables or forage in bins at markets. The restaurant sector has seen the third highest number of bankruptcies in France this year, after the construction and building trades, according to the credit insurance group Euler Hermes SFAC.

The time French people spend on eating meals in restaurants has already gone down: in 1975, a lunch out would take an average of one and a half hours. By 2005, it had fallen to 32 minutes. Danièle Deleval, vice president of the UMIH restaurant and hotel union, said: “We’re very worried. Since the start of the year, the number of restaurant customers has dropped, on average, 20% and we’re seeing no signs of improvement.”

Jean Guillaume, owner of Le Bouquet brasserie on Boulevard Haussmann in Paris’ smart 8th district, said: “Lunch customers used to order a main course, dessert, coffee and a bottle of wine. Now they’re limiting themselves to a main course, tap water, and giving up the rest. Of 75 customers in this lunchtime, none had a bottle of wine ... It’s the end of a tradition of lunching out and it looks like figures will stay this low for two to three years.” The nearby bakery, however, was busy selling take-away baguettes, with queues down the street at midday.

Restaurant and bar owners are reeling from a poor summer with fewer international tourists visiting Paris, especially Americans and Japanese. And in Toulouse, cafe owners complained that customers would try to make one drink last as long as possible. Even in French holiday destinations, like Arcachon in the west or the Côte d’Azur in the south, restaurant owners said business was down by at least 10%.

© Guardian News & Media 2008

First published in The Guardian, 24/09/08

c) Choose the best answer according to the text.

1. The number of people dining in restaurants in France is falling because…

a. … there are fewer international tourists, especially Americans and Japanese.

b. … there are fewer and fewer restaurants to eat in.

c. … the economic crisis means people have less money to spend.

2. Why is the summer described as ‘poor’?

a. Because there were fewer international tourists.

b. Because the weather was bad so people stayed at home.

c. Because most French people were away on holiday.

3. Why were two couples ordered to leave a restaurant near the Gare de Lyon?

a. Because they only wanted to order starters.

b. Because they didn’t want to order starters.

c. Because they asked for tap water with their meal.

4. By how much has the time French people spend on eating restaurant meals fallen since 1975?

a. By about one third.

b. By about 50%.

c. It has shown almost a threefold decrease.

d) Retell the text using the active grammar patterns and at least 15 active vocabulary units.

e) Which prepositions follow these words? Check your answers in the text.

1. distinguish _______2. impatient _______3. limit oneself _______4. in danger _______5. worry _______6. spend time _______7. reel _______8. pass _______

f) Discussion

How many ways of saving money in difficult economic times can you think of?