Questions:
When have you your winter holidays?
Is the weather fine in winter?
Do you like to ski?
You can skate, can't you?'
Can you make a snowman?
How do you see the New Year in?
What kind of holiday have we on the 1st of January?
Is the New Year's Day a gay holiday?
What kind of holiday have English people on the 25th of December?
10. Do you like winter holidays?
Do you like summer?
What do you prefer to do during your summer holidays?
Where do you go in June, July, August?
You like to spend summer holidays in the country, don't you?
Whom do you like to spend your summer holidays with?
Do you like to stay in Moscow in June or July?
Have you a country house?
Is it far from Moscow?
You like to pick up berries, don't you?
Can you swim?
Are you an angler?
What season do you like best of all?
Where shall we go?
Many people think about holidays in January. They begin to make plans. They talk about places and ideas ... and prices. January is a cold month in many countries, and February is even worse! Christmas is over. The New Year has begun. So people begin to dream.
Some people like winter holidays. If they live near mountains, they probably go skiing. Some people can ski every weekend, but others go for a week and have a real holiday.
Not everybody likes winter holidays, though. Many people dream of sun and warm beaches. And other people like to do things when they are on holiday. They want to learn a foreign language, or visit famous places, or go climbing. And some people like to have a holiday with a lot of other people, others prefer to go on their own.
Even if we all have ideas about an ideal holiday, we all have to face two problems: time and money. In some countries, people have three weeks holiday each year, in other countries, it is fоur weeks. Some people like to have one long holiday each year; others prefer to have two short ones.
Questions
Why is it important to relax?
Can you relax? How do you do it?
How do you usually spend your spare time?
What do people find to be their leisure and pleasure?
When and where would you prefer to have holidays?
Do you like winter holidays?
Do you dream of warm and sunny beaches?
Do you ski on winter Sundays?
Do you play chess?
10. What would you advise for leisure and pleasure?
11. What do you usually do when you are tired?
What would you do if you lived near mountains?
What are the chances, for leisure in big cities, towns and in the villages?
14. Are friends important for you when you need some rest and relaxation? Will you relax in their company?
15.Does your family participate in your leisure and pleasure?
WORDS:
though - однако
go climbing - заниматься альпинизмом
on their own - самостоятельно, в одиночку
face - зд. столкнуться
Summer holidays in england
Dear Mario,
I was very glad to have a letter from you, and to know that you and your wife are both coming to England again this summer. My wife and I look forward to seeing you and Rosa.
You say, you want a different kind of holiday this year. Perhaps, when you were here last year, I took you to see too many historic buildings and places. So this year, you want a rest from sight-seeing. You want to meet English people who are on holiday and to have plenty of chances to make friends with them.
I don't like crowds when I'm on holiday. I remember that when I was a small boy we—my brothers and sisters and I—always tried to get away from other people. We always had our holidays on the coast. Sea and sunshine, that's what we looked forward to every summer. Today people seem to like crowds. You say you wish to meet and make friends with as many people as possible.
Hotels at the large seaside towns on the south coast are expensive. It would cost you, probably, for the two of you, at least £ 25 a week. I don't know whether that's more than you want to pay; you gave no figures in your letter. You say, you want to come here in July or August. Those are the two months when hotel rates are highest.
If you want to meet lots of English people, you might like to go to a holiday camp. That doesn't mean sleeping and eating in tents. Holiday camps are permanent buildings with every modern convenience and comfort. There are wooden cabins, with good beds, electric light, running hot and cold water. There are large buildings—a dining-hall, a large hall for dancing, a cinema, a theatre, a bar, a cafe, rooms for games such as billiards. The camp usually has its own swimming-pool and tennis courts.
I myself dislike the idea of spending a holiday with hundreds of other people. If I were as young as you are, I'd have a walking holiday. Walking holidays are much cheaper than the kind of holidays I've been telling you about. You know something about the Youth Hostels Association, I'm sure. It's international. There are hostels all over England now and thousands of young people use them. Members of the Association get beds and meals there or can take their own food to the hostels and cook it in the kitchen. They have to help by sweeping and cleaning the rooms, or washing up after meals. But that's not a hardship, is it? Youth hostels are for people with not much money to spend. You wouldn't have — to worry about clothes if you decided to use youth hostels. Any clothes would do. You'd meet young people of all classes—factory workers, office workers, shop girls, college students and many young people from European countries. A walking holiday depends for enjoyment upon the weather, of course. I can't promise you good weather!
Thank you for your very kind invitation to visit you and stay with you. I'm sorry I can't accept it this year; we've already made our plans. But next year, perhaps, if it's convenient to you then.
Please write and let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know. I'm always glad to help you.
My wife joins me in best wishes to you both.
Yours sincerely, John Grant