Part 2. Thomas

Ex.1. Read the text and pick up the terms referring to the topic.

I have quite an outgoing personality, really. I make friends very easily. I can mix quite well with people that I’ve never met before, and with people from different walks of life. I like to be friendly to the people around me, and I don’t normally like to let my bad moods, and anger and tension inside of me, come out and affect other people. If these moods get too strong, I normally just become quiet. I’m generally happy, though.

I think I’m a bit of a wandering soul. Since I left England, I’ve been in 20 different countries, and have enjoyed experiencing different societies and the ways of life of many people. My attitude, generally, is that there’s one life and that we should live it as fully as possible. So I try to fill my life with different experiences. I’m a Christian, and I have tried to view the many tests and difficulties of life as lessons which God gives me, to teach me to be closer to Him and His ways. I try not to have addictive tendencies. I don’t like to be, for example, addicted to coffee or tea too strongly. I don’t drink too much, and for the last year and a half I’ve been strong enough to refrain from smoking cigarettes.

I enjoy meeting people, especially other musicians, and also others who I feel are like me and like travelling and trying to find the essence of life in everything that they do. I regularly practice meditation, as I believe this helps to get in contact with one’s true self, above the duality and conflict of our daily thoughts. So I try to have quite an active spiritual life. I strongly believe that we should try to help those around us in whatever ways we can, whenever possible. But, like everybody, I can’t remain positive all the time. Sometimes I get depressed and sometimes I get angry, but, as I said, I try to keep these things to myself. However, if I’m feeling really sad, I’m quite able to talk about it and to share it, to try to make it easier, and if other people aren’t feeling too good, I try to encourage them to do the same thing.

Maria has a very gentle personality. She has a passionate interest in music, and also in poetry and literature. She is very open-minded, and assimilates new ideas very easily. I’m not as disciplined as her, and I’m not so good at being tidy in appearance, or keeping my clothes in the right place, or putting all of my things away, and I think that on the whole, I’m not such a tidy person as she is. It seems natural to her to keep everything in its place. When she does something, she does it very carefully, precisely and accurately. I think that I’m more lazy than her overall.

My father is very hard-working, but I think that he uses this as a shield against other parts of his life. For a long time, he cut off his feelings by pouring all of his energy and attention into his work. Generally, he has quite a depressive personality. He lets things get on top of him, things make him sad very easily, and he finds it very hard to let go of his sadness. He has quite an addictive personality. He smokes a lot of cigarettes, and drinks a lot of coffee and tea all day. He has very unusual sleeping patterns. Sometimes he stays up all night working, and in the daytime he sleeps.

My mother has more of a routine, really. She’s also quite particular and tidy and careful about the small details of what she is doing. Maybe that is why she is so good at arts and crafts.

My brother always had a much quieter personality than me. He never seems very outgoing, but still never has problems making close friends, and throughout our youth, he always seemed to be spending his time with one or other of his schoolmates. I think I spent more of my time alone, really, as a youth, but I did have a few very close friends. Whereas he enjoyed going out and play­ing sports with his friends, I preferred to sit and talk, or listen to music.

My great aunt was always very bossy and never stopped telling us what to do. She always seemed to have a stronger idea than anybody else about how we should live our lives, and whenever we went to see her, she would often tell us what we were doing wrong, and how we should change it.

My grandfather was very quiet, and used to sit in his chair and read most of the time. He never talked very much.

My mother’s mother, my Nanna, has a very warm and friendly personality, very caring and loving, and always tries to shower everybody with gifts, cakes, and cups of tea. Whatever she can do to help anybody, she does.

My girlfriend’s sister, Anna has a wonder­ful personality. She’s a very giving, caring person and always considers those around her. She works very hard with mentally hand­icapped children, and really puts all of her energy into it. For most people, her line of work would be a real strain. I don’t think working with mentally handicapped people for long hours every day can be very easy, but she never com­plains about it. She says that she loves her work, and every day she goes off to work with a positive attitude. It’s so lovely to see her together with her husband. They are very much in love, even after years of being married, and always looking out for each other and caring for each other. He has a lovely personality as well. He is very positive and being around him is very uplifting, even though I can’t really communicate with him because he doesn’t speak English and, as I said before, my Hungarian is very poor. He has warm friendly eyes, and always expresses a spirit of goodwill towards me. I think they are a really beautiful couple.

One of my friends, Anita, is a Tibetan Buddhist, and has a very strong personality. Indeed, she is quite a special person. She is 23 years old, has 2 children aged four and three, and somehow manages to fulfil all of the responsibilities of being a mother, a career woman, and a full-time student at a Buddhist university. Sometimes she has to hire a baby-sitter during the daytime, but these instances are getting rarer now. She seems to have so much energy, and never stops doing things. I really don’t know how she can fit so much into her life. She is a really full-power person. In all situations she seems to be able to keep a level head. She is younger than me but she is very wise, and if I’m in trouble or feeling sad, or if I need advice, I always go to talk to her. Sometimes we work together preparing translations. In business matters, she’s also a very won­derful person to know. She’s very straightforward, clear, and very honest. I’ve known her for 3 years now. Our friendship doesn’t stop growing.

Another friend who lives in Budapest who I really love is my flute teacher. She has a very positive, uplifting, opti­mistic view of life, and simply to be around her is inspiring. She also manages to fit many things into her life. She always seems to be recording for a new CD, making meditation music or teaching the flute to someone. She has a very interesting attitude to music. She doesn’t believe in playing the same thing twice. OK, when she is playing classical music she is very precise and very exact, and she can reproduce the feelings of the composer when he created the music admirably, but in her own music she’s very sponta­neous. She is also a Buddhist, and her husband is a Buddhist teacher. He has a very direct personality. Anything he thinks he says instantly, and sometimes his insight is so penetrat­ing that it can be very difficult to spend a long time around him if you are not prepared to be honest with yourself.

I feel that for somebody of my age I’ve had quite a lot of experiences, having been in many countries, many dif­ferent situations, and many different environments, but I hope to experience much more. I never stop learning lessons. As soon as I think I know how things are, life throws something at me that gives me a completely different perspective on things. I like to see life as a lesson.

Ex.2. Suggest the Russian equivalents to the English ones.

To have an outgoing personality, make friends, to mix quite well with people, walks of life, to let bad moods and anger come out, to affect people, to be a bit of a wandering soul, to fill life with different experiences, to view the many tests and difficulties of life as lessons, to have addictive tendencies, to be addicted, to refrain from smoking, essence of life, daily thoughts, to make something easier, to assimilates new ideas, to keep something to oneself, to have a gentle personality, to be good at being tidy in appearance, to keep something in the right place, to remain positive, to be a tidy person, to cut off one’s feelings, to pour all energy into work, to have a depressive personality, to let things get on top of somebody, to make somebody sad, to go of sadness, to have quite an addictive personality, to stay up working, to have unusual sleeping patterns, mentally handicapped people, after years of being married, to keep a level head, to shower with gifts, to be in trouble.

Ex.3. Suggest the English equivalents to the Russian ones.

Обыденная жизнь, трудолюбивый, отдаленный, образ жизни, выплескивать плохое настроение, воздействовать, опыт, заполнять, привыкать, воздерживаться, мысли, злиться, стимулировать, мягкий характер, быть дисциплинированным, дружелюбный, заботливый, быть аккуратным, ленивый, внимательный, одержать вверх, заботливый, властный, жаловаться, принимать во внимание, доброжелательность, быть замужем, выражать доброе отношение, удаваться, нанимать, сильный, прямолинейный, творить, проникать, быть честным, быть склонным к вредным привычкам, строгий, дружелюбный, трудолюбивый, прекрытие, командовать, крепко подружиться, осуществлять, поднимающий настроение, уместить, иметь оптимистичный взгляд на жизнь, прямолинейный, сочинять музыку, изумительно, проницательность, полностью, педантичный, непосредственный.

Ex.4. Fill in the gaps in the sentences.

1. Thomas is not as disciplined as Mary … he is not such a tidy person as she is.

2. Thomas has …, so he stays up all night working, and in the daytime he sleeps.

3. For most people, Anna’s … would be a real strain, because she…

4. Anna and her husband are …, even after … and always…

5. Sometimes Anita …, but these instances are getting rarer now.

6. Anita is … and, so in all situations she seems...

7. Thomas’s flute teacher has …, and simply to be around her is…

8. Thomas had …, having been in…

9. If Thomas …, he always goes to talk to Anita.

10. As soon as Thomas thinks he knows how things are,… that gives him a completely different perspective on things.

Ex.5. Complete the sentences.

1. Thomas has quite an outgoing personality so he…

2. He doesn’t like to let his bad moods and anger…

3. He has tried to view the many tests and difficulties of life as lessons which God…

4. Thomas’s attitude is that…

5. We can say Thomas doesn’t have addictive tendencies because…

6. Thomas can’t remain positive all the time and so…

7. If other people aren’t feeling too good, Thomas...

8. Thomas lets things get on top of him, things make him sad very easily, and he finds it very hard to let go of his sadness, so he has...

9. Thomas’s father cuts off his feelings by…

10. Thomas’s mother is…

11. Anna has a wonder­ful personality, and so she…

12. Anna’s husband is very positive and …

13. Anita manages to…

14. She can fit so much into her life because…

Ex.6. Are these statements true or false?

1. Thomas has difficulty in making friends.

2. Thomas’s behavior depends on his mood.

3. He finds the eastern religious much more applying.

4. Thomas is addicted to many things.

5. He is very emotional and never keeps his bad moods to himself.

6. Thomas keeps his sadness to himself and never lets it come out.

7. Maria isn’t a placid person at all.

8. Maria has a passionate interest in maths.

9. Thomas tries to be tidy in compare with Maria.

10. Thomas’s father has a lazy personality.

11. Thomas’s father always keeps all his bad fillings to himself.

12. He tries not to have addictive tendencies.

13. He has routine sleeping patterns.

14. Thomas’s Nanna has quite a depressive strict personality.

15. Anna works at hospital.

16. Anna has a broken marriage.

17. Anita finds it difficult to fit a lot of things into her life.

18. Thomas and Anita have lost contact.

19. Thomas’s flute teacher has a depressive personality.

Ex.7. Answer the questions.

1. What personality does Thomas have?

2. How does he mix with people that he has never met before?

3. Does Thomas let his bad moods and anger and tension inside of him come out and affect other people?

4. How does he behave when bad moods get too strong?

5. What is Thomas’s attitude to life?

6. How does he try to live his life?

7. How has he tried to view the many tests and difficulties of life?

8. Does Thomas have addictive tendencies?

9. What is his attitude to smoking?

10. Where does Thomas try to find the essence of life?

11. What helps Thomas to get in contact with one’s true self?

12. How does Thomas behave when he gets depressed and angry?

13. When does Thomas encourage other people?

14. How can you prove that Thomas’s father has quite a depressed personality?

15. Does Thomas’s father have quite an addictive personality?

16. Why does Thomas’s father stay up all night working and sleep in the daytime?

17. Why is his mother so good at crafts and arts?

18. How did Thomas’s brother spend his time as a youth?

19. How can you prove that Thomas’s aunt was always very bossy?

20. Where does his girlfriend’s sister work?

Ex.8. Translate the sentences into English.

1. У его жены обычная жизнь.

2. У них особняк на окраине города.

3. Она трудолюбивый человек?

4. Какой у него образ жизни?

5. Не выплескиваете свое плохое настроение на ваших коллег!

6. Он воздействует на нее.

7. У него большой опыт.

8. Чем Вы заполняете свою жизнь?

9. У меня нет привычки пить крепкий кофе.

10. Я воздерживаюсь от курения.

11. О чем он думает?

12. Иногда он злится.

13. Учитель побуждает нас продолжить обучение.

14. У мамы мягкий характер.

15. Мой отец был очень дисциплинированным учеником.

16. Наша соседка – очень аккуратный человек.

17. Выполняйте это упражнение внимательно, пожалуйста.

18. Солдаты одержали победу над своим врагом.

19. Моя бабушка – заботливый человек.

20. Почему Вы все время жалуетесь?

21. Он женат на моей подруге.

22. Наш учитель выражает доброе отношение к нам.

23. Мальчику удалось выполнить домашнее задание.

24. Вы наняли учителя по английскому языку?

25. Вы эта картина была настоящим шедевром.

26. Вы прямолинейный (честный) человек?

Ex.9. Give a summary of the text.

Ex.10. Compose a topic about yourself using the expressions from the text.