Part 2. Thomas

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

My daily routine has never really fitted into a regular pattern. I’ve never been the sort of person, who has a job which starts at 9 o’clock every morning and finishes at 5 o’clock every evening, come home, watch television, eat and then fall asleep, like my father and other members of my family. I like to find time in the day for things which are really important to me. The first of these is playing music, practic­ing my violin or my flute, or playing together with my girlfriend, learning new tunes to play in concerts or for a new group, or just playing for its sake. I like to spend at least an hour every day with my violin. Learning a new instrument from the beginning, especially one so different to those that I’m used to, is very demanding. I try to find work which I can do when I want to, but some things have to be done at a certain time and so I always give this prior­ity in my timetable.

I love going to the cinema, to concerts and also to the swimming pool and ther­mal baths, but I don’t have special times for doing these things, I just do them when I can make time for them, or when I feel like it, or when a friend calls me and says: “Hey, do you want to come out to the cinema?”, or something like this. Household chores generally get done when needed. We try to do the washing-up after we’ve eaten, and we generally wash the clothes when the number of clean ones we have left to wear starts getting low, although my girlfriend often takes to wash hers home to her parents to wash.

Maria has more of a weekly routine than me, because of her school. She has to get up very early on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, to go to lessons. She has two piano lessons every week, on Monday and Thursday afternoons. She plays the viola da gamba, which is a Renaissance and Baroque predecessor of the cello, and she has a lesson for this once a week. She also plays many concerts with her ensemble, which plays medieval and Renaissance music. She also has many friends and family commitments. She does an admirable job of managing her time and fitting all of these things into her week. She also likes to go to a fitness center with her sister, and tries to do this every week, and we like to swim together, but for some reason we can’t often make enough time for it.

One thing is regular in our lives, and that’s breakfast time. Every morning, while Maria is preparing for school or for going out to one of her music lessons, I get up and make hot porridge and chocolate milk for breakfast. In this way, we always try to have a little bit of time together before the day begins. When we’re both in the evening, we generally like to cook together, and then to sit and eat and listen to music.

I’m a vegetarian and have been for ten years. We find a lot of things to eat, soups and various vegetable dishes with rice and pasta, generally, and some delicious puddings. When I’m alone, I usually just cook up something to eat quickly, and then con­centrate on my music. I spend a lot of time learning pieces from cassettes − listening to them, writing them down and then trying to play them on one of my instruments. I find this both challenging and satisfying, and if I’ve had time to do this in a day I feel I’ve achieved something.

When I was at high school and at other schools before that, I remember my weekday routine was very regular indeed. After waking, I would have a quick show­er, brush my teeth, get dressed, and prepare my schoolbag for the day. I didn’t need to make sandwiches, as I used to get lunch at school.

I’d start out quite early in the morning, at about a quarter past eight, after having breakfast, if I’d had time. Then I’d walk or run if I was late − to the bus stop, which was just a couple of streets away from our house. The bus would take us to the school, which was in a neighboring village, while we were busy talking, singing, read­ing or throwing things at each other. Then, we’d go into school, go to our class­room to register with our class teacher and receive any general information con­cerning the school, before going off to the first lesson.

At about half past ten, there would be the first break, when we could go outside to meet our friends for twenty minutes, and talk or play some kind of game. I usually went to the music room, which was always open at break times for musicians. There we could sit and listen to music or just chat. If we wanted to play anything we could go off to the practice rooms, where there were pianos, music stands and things like that. Next came the next two lessons, and then another break for dinner. At dinnertime, the school hall would be laid out with tables and chairs, and we’d queue up at a serving hatch, where we could order any of a number of different foods. Next, we’d pay for the food at a separate counter, and then go off to sit down and eat. After dinner were two more lessons before we went home again.

When I got home I’d usually go up to my room and listen to music or read, or take the dog out, and after an hour or so, have supper. After that, I’d either do my homework if I had any, or go to visit one of my friends and play or listen to music together.

My routine during secondary school was similar, only I had more free time during the day, as I sometimes had free periods with no lessons. I had a lot more free periods when I reached the sixth-form at secondary school, as we only studied three subjects at that age. My evenings became full of concerts, films, and other events. Also, I think the time I went to bed got later and later the older I got. Quite often, I would have to take a public bus to school, having overslept and missed the school bus.

From this age onwards, the strictness of my routines has_varied greatly, but now I think they’re stricter than they have been for a long time. I like to have periods of being regular as well as being more unpredictable, and I can’t cope very well with extremes of each. I think a bit of balance in everything is really important.

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

To fit into a regular pattern, household chores, to manage time, to find something satisfying, to get dressed, indeed, to lay the table, to queue up at a serving hatch, to cope, to vary, to oversleep a lesson, to be similar, at a separate counter, to be unpredictable.

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

Требующий, прилавок, засыпать, тренироваться, расписание, ходить в спортивный клуб, домашняя работа, мыть посуду, предшественник, средневековый, причина, превосходный, быть занятым, соседний, выгуливать собаку, бросать.

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

1. Thomas’s daily routine … regular pattern.

2. He has never been … who has a job which starts at 9 o’clock every morning.

3. The first of these is playing music, … his flute, or playing together with his girlfriend, learning new tunes.

4. Tomas tries to find work which he can do when he wants to, but some things … and so he always gives … in his timetable.

5. Thomas and Maria try … after they have eaten.

6. Maria has … than Thomas, because of her school.

7. Maria and Thomas always try … together before the day begins.

8. Thomas spends a lot of time learning pieces from cassettes − listening to them … and then trying to play them on one of his instruments.

9. Maria and Thomas always … before the day begins.

10. Thomas finds … challenging and satisfying.

Ex.5. Complete the sentences.

1. Household chores generally …

2. Maria does an admirable job of …

3. When Thomas was at high school he remembers …

4. Thomas would walk or run if he was late to the bus stop, which …

5. The schoolchildren went to their class­room…

6. He usually went to the music room, which…

7. At dinnertime, the school hall…

8. When Thomas got home after school he would usually…

9. Quite often, he would have to take a public bus to school…

10. Thomas likes to have …

Ex.6. Are these statements true or false?

1. Thomas lives a very routine life.

2. He goes everywhere and has special time for this.

3. He has special time for house hold chores.

4. As for Maria, her daily routine has never really fitted into a regular pattern.

5. It’s difficult to Maria to organize her day.

6. Maria’s weekday routine isn’t regular at all.

7. Thomas didn’t have a weekly routine at school.

8. Thomas’s routine during secondary school was different.

9. Thomas was punctual and always was in time on the bus stop to go to school by school bus.

10. After school his routine hasn’t changed.

11. He doesn’t like to have periods to being regular as well as being more unpredictable.

Ex.7. Answer the questions.

1. What does Thomas try to find time in the day for?

2. What does Thomas do with his timetable?

3. What is viola da gamba?

4. How often does Thomas have cello lessons?

5. What does Maria manage to do well?

6. What does Maria try to do every week?

7. What does Thomas make for breakfast?

8. In what way do Thomas and Maria spend their evening?

9. How long has Thomas been a vegetarian?

10. What does Thomas do when he is alone?

11. What does Thomas find challenging and satisfying?

12. When did Thomas have a regular daily routine?

13. What would Thomas do after working?

14. Where was the bus stop?

15. What were the children busy with on their way to school?

16. What did the students do at dinnertime?

17. Where did they pay for the food?

18. When did his evening become full of concerts?

19. How does Thomas like to spend his time?

Ex.8. Translate the sentences into English.

1. Вчера мы уснули поздно.

2. Обычно я покупаю овощи с этого прилавка.

3. Вы занимаетесь английским языком вот уже полтора часа.

4. Согласно расписанию, поезд отходит в 9.

5. Как часто ты с друзьями ходишь в спортивный клуб?

6. Кто делает домашнюю работу в вашей семье?

7. Вам нравится мыть посуду?

8. Что является предшественником этого музыкального инструмента?

9. Средневековая Европа была очень грязной.

10. У меня есть серьезная причина на то, чтобы не говорить ей об этом.

11. Париж − превосходное место для туристов, так как там очень много достопримечательностей.

12. Чем Вы сейчас заняты? Давайте пойдем в кино.

13. Неподалеку от нашего городка находится соседняя деревня.

14. Не могли бы Вы погулять с моей собакой?

15. Не бросайте камни в птиц!

Ex.9. Give a summary of the text.

Ex.10. Compose a topic about your daily routine using the expressions from the texts.