Text 2 (17)

Read the text without a dictionary and retell it in English or in Ukrainian:

A. Conan doyle

(1859—1930)

With the words "Elementary, my dear Watson . . ." the most famous detective of all time, Sherlock Holmes, starts to explain a crime to his friend, Dr. Watson. That phrase has now entered the English language.

Sherlock Holmes first appeared in a book called “Study in Scarlet”. He became famous in “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”, first published in the “Strand Magazine”. After that came a whole series of books about him: “The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes”, “The Return of Sherlock Holmes”, “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, and many others. Many thousands of the Sherlock Holmes books are still sold every year.

Who invented Sherlock Holmes? Arthur Conan Doyle was his inventor. Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Scotland, of Irish parents. He was a doctor.

Text 2 (18)

Read the text without a dictionary and retell it in English or in Ukrainian:

BIG BEN

The big clock on the tower of the Palace of Westminster in London is often called Big Ben. But Big Ben is really the bell of the clock. It is the biggest clock bell in Britain. It weighs 13.5 tons.

The clock tower is 318 feet high. You have to go up 374 steps to reach the top. So the clock looks small from the pavement below the tower.

But its face is 23 feet wide. It would only just fit into some classrooms.

The minute-hand is 14 feet long. Its weight is equal to that of two bags of coal. The hour-hand is 9 feet long.

The clock bell is called Big Ben after Sir Benjamin Hall. He had the job to see that the bell was put up.

Sir Benjamin was a big man. One day he said in Parliament, "Shall we call the bell St. Stephen's? "St. Stephen's is the name of the tower.

But someone said for a joke, “Why not call it Big Ben? "Now the bell is known all over the world by that name.

Text 2 (19)

Read the text without a dictionary and retell it in English or in Ukrainian:

Rubber

We all know what rubber is. We have seen it on the wheels of cars; we have used it to rub out mistakes in drawing; we have played games with rubber balls. When we press a piece of rubber we change its shape. But as soon as we stop pressing, the rubber springs back to its first shape: we therefore say that rubber is elastic.

Rubber was first used to make rubber balls. In 1492, Columbus sailed from Spain and discovered America. One of the many strange things which he and his men saw in America was a game played with rubber balls. They noticed that the rubber balls bounced much better than the balls, which they had used in their own country. When they sailed home again they told their friends that the balls were made from the gum of a tree.

Text2 (20) Read the text without a dictionary and retell it in English or in Ukrainian: famous british homes buckingham palace

Buckingham Palace is the most famous British royal home. It is the Queen's official home. When the Queen is at home, the national flag on top of the palace is flying.

The Queen's official home was built in 1708. Fifty-four years later, King George III bought it. Then in 1837 Queen Victoria made in the home of her court.

Today it's one of the best known palaces in the world. It stands at the end of a long boulevard called The Mall and it has

- 600 rooms (on three floors);

- 400 staff (people who serve the Queen in the palace and mend things in it;

-300 clocks;

- its own post office and cinema;

- a swimming pool;

- a nuclear shelter to hide in the case of nuclear war attack;

- 16 hectares of gardens (including a lake with pink flamingos);

- a picture gallery that contains many masterpieces of art.

There's also a balcony at the front of the palace. This faces the Mall and it's where the Royal Family appear some times a year. They always greet the public

- after the Trooping of the Colour ceremony in June;

- after royal weddings or special anniversaries (for example, the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977).

A very popular British tradition is connected with Buckingham Palace. It is the Changing of the Guard. It takes place in front of the palace and starts at 11.30 every morning in summer and every other morning in winter. One group of soldiers replaces the group already guarding the palace. The ceremony is very colourful. There is always music during it. Many tourists come to watch the Changing of the Guard.