Dialogue

• Every nation has a reputation of some kind. For example, everybody believes that the French are light-minded and the Germans are punctual.

• What kind of people are the English?

• They say that unlike the Americans, the English are cold, reserved and conservative.

• That isn’t always true.

• Of course not. But we are talking about the reputation they have.

XIX. Read the extracts about the late Princess of Wales, Diana Spencer. Write out the words that describe her personality.

• Her grace, her ease with ordinary people and her indefi­nable magic lit up the lives of all who met her. Diana impressed the whole world.

• Always concerned, always caring, she became increasingly committed to the campaign against landmines.

• Even when experiencing her own grief, she didn’t hesitate to try and bring comfort and compassion to others. She used her unique combination of compassion and charisma in the service of others. The list of charities Diana supported was wide-ranging. By last year she was associated with over 100 charities, a large proportion benefiting children, ill, AIDS victims.

• She will be remembered for remarkable warmth and sensitivity towards the patients…

• All who met her were struck by her interest and commitment to homeless people.

• With the face of a movie star and the personality of an angel, Diana brought warmth to the Royal Family. We heard the rumors of Royals displeased with Diana’s outspoken manner, but to us, the honesty of her candid remarks and manner had a lot to do with her worldwide appeal.

• Diana fought to make her sons realise that the old British way of “keeping a stiff upper lip” was not expected of them. She tried to encourage them to express their feelings when they were upset telling them gently that there was nothing wrong with letting their true emotions emerge.

• Diana was a caring, generous and warm-hearted individual with a tireless and relentless need to help others.

XX. Match the English proverbs given below with their Russian equivalents. Speak on the situations when one can use them.

to wear one’s heart upon one’s sleeve	У него все из рук валится (он очень неловок).
They are hand and glove.	Два сапога пара.
Extremes meet.	Душа нараспашку.
Jack of all trades and master of none.	Мудрый, как сова.
His fingers are all thumbs.	Преданный душой и телом.
All sugar and honey.	Трудолюбивый, как пчела.
As busy as a bee.	Их сам черт связал веревочкой.
As true as steel.	Крайности сходятся.
As wise as an owl.	Скользкий как угорь.
Birds of a feather.	Сахар Мёдович.
As slippery as an eel.	За все берущийся и ничего не умеющий делать человек.

XXI. a) You are going to read an article about the changing state of the family. Look at the following statements and check the meaning of the words in bold in your dictionary or with your teacher.

• More young people are moving away from home and leaving their family roots.

• Marriage is becoming less important to many young people.

• Families are spending less time together.

• The divorce rate is rising.

• More parents are bringing their children up alone without a partner.

• More women are having careers rather than starting families.

• The average family is getting smaller as the birthrate falls.

b) In groups, discuss which of these things are happening in your country and why.

XXII. Read the article and tick  the topics above if they are mentioned.