Lisa's First Visit to the Bolshoi Theatre

Last autumn my cousin invited me to the Bolshoi Theatre. I had never been there before and was really excited when Alec told me we were going to see "Swan Lake", the famous ballet by P. I. Tchaikovsky.

When we arrived at the theatre, we left our coats at the cloakroom. Our seats were in the stalls. I had a look at the tickets. They were not very expensive but we could see the stage very well. Alec bought me a pro­gramme and gave me his opera glasses. The curtains were fantastic. As we had some time before the begin­ning I walked to the stage and the orchestra-pit and looked at the hall. Its red and golden interior [m'tisna] impressed me very much. Soon the lights went down, then the curtains rose and the dancers appeared on the stage. I liked every minute of the first act [sekt] — the scenery, the costumes, the music and the way they danced.

During the interval we walked around in the foyer. I told Alec how much I liked the ballet. It was really wonderful. I said I would like to see some other ballet some day. So we went to the box-office and bought two tickets for the "Nutcracker". Then we had ice-cream and coffee in the buffet. When at last the ballet was over and the music came to an end, there was a storm of applause. I applauded loudly, too. I really enjoyed my­self.

№ 85 к упражнению 1

The Movies Come to Hollywood

How did Hollywood begin? In 1883 Harley and Daid-ia Wilcox frohi Kansas came to Los Angeles. There were just orange and lemon farms there. The Wilcoxes began buying land. Three years later they had fifty hectares of land which they called Hollywood. Then the American film makers found out that California was a wonderful place to make films. The weather was sun­ny, the Californian workers were not expensive, so the film makers began buying land from the Wilcoxes bit by bit and building studios. The first Hollywood studio was built in 1911. In 1913, there appeared the second studio which became known as Paramount Studios. Universal Studios started about the same time, the Fox Company two years later, and Warner Brothers in the early 1920s. If people wanted to "get into the movies", Hollywood was the place to go.

№ 86 к упражнению 4

1) learn them: gold, silver, steel, wood, brick, card­board, wool, cotton, china;

2) remember them: stone, rubber, glass, paper, met­al, plastic.

№ 87 к упражнению 6

A. I.

Action film, thriller, science fiction film, adventure film, crime film, horror film, psychological film.

II.

Seem, price, magic(al), screen, agree, disagree, besides, attention, attentive.

B.

seem: to seem nice, to seem good, to seem all right. That apple is bad but this one seems all right. It seems cold today. He is not what he seems. It seems to me...

price: the price of sth, low/high prices, at a low price, at half price, at what price. What was the price of your new bicycle? She has become very successful but at what price? We bought the video cassette at half price. Victor bought the pens at a small price, at the price of 5 roubles each.

magic(al): a magic trick, a magic carpet, a magic show; a magical world (evening, melody). It was a truly magical night.

screen: a wide screen, a computer screen, to appear on the screen, to come to the screen. A new action film will come to the screen later this month.

agree: to agree with sb; to agree to do sth, to agree to a plan (an idea). We agreed to leave at once. Do you think John will agree with us? — "Gone With the Wind" is one of the best films of the last century. — I couldn't agree more. (I quite agree with you.)

disagree: to disagree with sb. I strongly disagree with the last speaker.

besides: I don't like this coat and, besides, it costs too much. There are many rivers in England besides the Thames.

attention: to pay attention to sth/sb. You should pay attention to what your teacher says.

attentive: to be attentive to sb/sth; an attentive lis­tener, an attentive teacher. Our family doctor is friendly and attentive. Be attentive to your granny.

№ 88 к упражнению 8В Let's Go to the Cinema!

Today it is possible to buy a video and watch a film at home, but millions of people all over the world still prefer to go to their town or city cinema for a "night out". And before television arrived in people's homes, a visit to the cinema was something really special and truly wonderful.

The golden age of film-making and going to^; the cinema — was between 1930 and 1950. Film stars seemed like kings and queens. Cinemas were "picture palaces" where, for the price of a ticket, you could find yourself in a magical world. In that world anything and everything was possible.

Nowadays cinema audiences are much smaller and usually younger than the audiences of the golden age. Many of the "picture palaces" are now multi-screen cinemas with four or five small cinemas inside one building. Today's films appear on video, and then on TV after cinema audiences have seen them. But some films don't look so good on TV, they need a large screen to be really enjoyed. Television can't do it. You may agree or disagree with it, but for many people the cinema is still the only place to watch a film. Besides the cinema is the only place where you can watch a brand-new film before your friends do it and decide if you like it.

Of course, everyone has their own favourite kinds of films — action films or thrillers, comedies, psychologi­cal dramas, science fiction, adventure and crime films, horror films or musicals. But cinema is always in the focus of our attention; it thrills, entertains and edu­cates us.

Step 5

№ 89 к упражнению l

S Club 7

"S Club 7" is a famous British band. They are mad about music. They dance, sing and travel together. They are great friends and they love being together be­cause they always have a good time. They're like a big family.

There are seven people in the band — four of them are girls — Jo, Hannah, Rachel and Tina. Jo really loves singing. When she was a child, she did Karaoke whenever she had the chance. She sings all the time. She often sings to herself in the shower. The young people are good friends and like each other very much. They all like to talk, but Yo and Tina talk all the time. When they are by themselves, they can talk for hours. Tina and Paul love Italian food. They often eat out in Italian restaurants, but Paul is a messy eater. He often gets spaghetti all over himself. Bradley has got a lot of energy and he loves having parties and meeting new people. All of them like having fun and they enjoy each other and themselves.

№ 90 к упражнению 6 А.

Compose, composer, receive, emotion, full, devote, be devoted to, inspire, graduate, conduct, conductor, dead, be based on.

B.

compose: to compose music, to compose an opera, to compose a ballet. Bizet composed an opera called "Car­men".

composer: Mozart was a famous composer.

receive: 1) to receive a letter, to receive calls from school; 2) to receive visitors, guests. We haven't re­ceived your letter yet. Did you receive many presents on your birthday? He received his visitors with a smile.

emotion: strong emotions, an uncomfortable emo­tion, to control one's emotions. Love and hate are emo­tions. Happiness is an emotion, too.

full: a full glass of milk, a house full of guests for the party, to be full of sth. The hall was full of people. Her life is full of excitement. The packet is half-full. A full-time student.

devote: to devote sth to sb/sth. Eric devotes all his free time to playing football. John has devoted most of his time to his painting. He devoted himself to writing music. A devoted friend.

to be devoted to sb/sth: We are devoted to our coun­try.