4. My Working Day

I am a first-year student of the Siberian Automobile and Highway Academy. Not long ago I finished school. In July I took my entrance examinations, passed them well and was admitted. My dream has come true and I am happy.

As a rule, on weekdays the alarm-clock wakes me up at 6.30 and my working day begins. I'm not an early riser, that's why it's very difficult for me to get out of bed, especially in win­ter. I air the room, switch on my tape-recorder and do my morning exercises to music. Then I go to the bathroom, take a warm shower, brush my teeth and shave. After that I go to my bedroom to get dressed.

Usually my mother makes breakfast for me. But when she is away on business or just doesn't have to get up early I make breakfast myself. While having breakfast I listen to the latest news on the radio.

I leave the house at about 7.30 and go to the nearest bus stop. I usually walk to the Institute. It takes me half an hour to get there. But sometimes when I get up later than usual I go to the Institute by bus. On my way I read a book or a newspaper.

My classes begin at 8.20 and I arrive at the Institute at 8 sharp. I usually have three or four lectures. During the break I go to the canteen and have lunch. For the first course I some­times take milk soup. For the second course I take roast or ste­wed meet or beefsteak with mashed potatoes. For sweet I always take a cup of coffee.

The classes are over at 13.05. Occasionally I have to stay at the Institute till 5 o'clock. So, by the end of the week I get very tired. All I can do on Sundays is to sleep till 11 o'clock, watch TV, listen to the music and read books.

And I still always look forward to my next working day because I like to study. I think I get a lot of useful experience.

Exercises:

I. Read the words:

Siberian	alarm-clock	course	riser
Automobile	soup	tape-recorder	roast
Highway	arrive	bathroom	stewed
July	entrance	shower	admitted
beefsteak	passed	hour	come
occasionally	tired	lecture	rule
break	forward	useful

II. Complete the following sentences:

1) In July… 2) The alarm-clock… 3) It's difficult… 4) In the morning I… 5) I do my morning exercises… 6) I sometimes… myself. 7) While… I listen to… 8) At about 7.30 I… 9) It… to get to the Institute. 10) I go to the Institute… 11) … I read. 12) At 8.20… 13) During the break… 14) At 13.05… 15) By the end of the week…

III. Give English equivalents for the following words and use them in the sentences or situations of your own:

среди недели, готовить завтрак, вставать (просы­па­ться), завтракать, будить, под музыку, обедать, приходить в, добираться автобусом, по дороге, на первое, на третье, оставаться в, до 5-ти часов, мне приходится, с нетерпе­нием дожидаться, заканчиваться.

IV. Make up sentences:

1) am, an, riser, a, as, I, not, early, rule.

2) to, takes, dressed, five, it, set, me, minutes.

3) days, early, always, get, working, I, on, my, up.

4) Academy, go, the, by, to, usually, tram, I.

5) at, I, at, to, arrive, the, minutes, five, Academy, nine, usually.

6) I, a, to, up, as, have, early, get, rule, very.

7) very, on, I, tired, weekdays, got, usually.

8) to, I, my, look, day, always, working, forward.

9) at, my, are, one, over, half, usually, classes, past.

V. Make up sentences:

A.	I	get up	at 11:00.
	My mother	gets up	at 11:30.
	My brother	go to bed	at 9:45.
	My father	goes to bed	at 7:40.
	You		at 7:15.

B.		me		the plant.
		him		the Academy.
	It takes	her	half an hour to get to	the canteen.
		us		the factory.
		you		the library.
		them		the cinema.

C.		him		the plant?
		her		the Institute?
	How long does it take	us	to get to	the library?
		you		the factory?
		them		the centre of the city?

D.	Answer the questions:
	How long does it take you	to get out of bed?
		to brush your teeth?
		to get dressed?
		to have breakfast?
		to get to the Institute?
		to have lunch?
		to have supper?
		to get ready for your English classes?

VI. Translate the sentences:

1) По воскресеньям я обычно встаю рано утром.

2) Среди недели мои родители будят меня в 6:30.

3) Мне трудно готовить завтрак самому.

4) Мне трудно делать зарядку, особенно рано утром.

5) Когда я ужинаю, я слушаю музыку.

6) Мне приходится обедать в институте.

7) Когда я завтракаю, я смотрю телевизор.

8) Когда мой отец ужинает, он читает газеты.

9) На дорогу в институт у меня уходит 30 минут (1,5 часа, 1 час).

10) Я добираюсь до института на автобусе.

11) Мне приходится добираться до института на троллейбусе.

12) Я обычно остаюсь в институте до 3-х часов.

13) Сегодня мне придется остаться в институте до 5-ти часов.

14) Я с нетерпением дожидаюсь выходных.

VII. Answer the questions:

1) When do you get up on weekdays?

2) When does the alarm-clock wake you up?

3) Are you an early riser?

4) Do you do your morning exercises every day?

5) Do you take a cold shower in the morning?

6) Who makes breakfast for you?

7) Do you read newspapers (listen to the radio; watch TV) while having breakfast?

8) What do you do after breakfast?

9) Is your house far from the Institute?

10) When do you leave the house for the Institute?

11) How do you usually get to the Institute?

12) How long does it take you to get there?

13) What do you usually do on your way to the Institute?

14) When do your classes begin?

15) When do you arrive at the Institute?

16) What do you usually do during the break?

17) When are your classes over?

18) How long do you have to stay at the Institute?

19) When do you come home from the Institute?

20) What do you do when you come home from the Institute?

21) Do you get tired by the end of your working day?

22) What do you do in the evenings?

23) When do you go to bed on weekdays?

24) What do you do on Sundays?

25) Do you look forward to your next working day?

VIII. Read the supplementary words and word combinations:

regularly	регулярно
weekend	выходной
day off	выходной
to get used (to)	привыкать
to cope with	справляться
to comb one’s hair	расчесывать волосы
to wash one’s face and hands with soap	мыть лицо и руки с мылом
to brush one's teeth with a toothpaste	чистить зубы зубной пастой
to make a bed	застилать постель
to take a bus number…	садиться на автобус номер…
to go on foot (to walk)	идти пешком
to rest (to have a rest)	отдыхать (немного отдохнуть)
to be short of time	быть ограниченным во времени
(I'm short of time.)	(У меня нет времени.)
to do shopping	делать покупки
to be late for	опаздывать на
to do the room (flat)	убирать комнату (квартиру)
to do one's homework	делать домашнее задание
to have a good time	хорошо провести время
to fall asleep	заснуть

IX. Answer the questions using the word-combinations from the previous exercise:

1) Do you regularly do your morning exercises?

2) Do you wash your face and hands with soap in the morning?

3) How many times a day do you clean your teeth with a tooth­paste?

4) Who usually makes your bed?

5) How long does it take you to comb your hair in the morning?

6) Are you always short of time in the mornings? Why?

7) Do you go to the Institute on foot?

8) What bus do you usually take to get to the Institute?

9) Are you always (sometimes, never) late for your classes?

10) Do you cope with all the subjects at the Institute?

11) Who does shopping in your family?

12) Who usually does your room (flat)?

13) When did you fall asleep yesterday?

14) Do you have a good time on weekends?

15) What do you always (sometimes, never) do on your days off?

X. a) British and American people speak the same language – right? Wrong. Although they both speak English, there are a lot of differences between the two varieties of English. Here are two descriptions of one and the same day, but written in British and American English. Read these texts and try to notice differences between them.

A. (Great Britain).

I got up at half past seven. After my bath I had breakfast with my parents on the terrace. Our flat is on the fifteenth floor, so the view is terrific. At eight o'clock my mum and I took the lift to the car park under our block of flats. First we stopped for petrol, and then she drove me to school. The motor­ way was very busy - cars everywhere.

School was OK, except that we had a maths exam before break. I think I failed it. Anyway, after school I took a bus to the city centre to meet my sister, Susan. She became a primary school teacher after she left university. We went out for dinner to a Chinese restaurant. I ordered chips. After sweet and coffee we left. It was raining and the pavements were wet. At home I did some history homework for the next day, watched a film on the TV and went to bed at about half past eleven. I was very tired.