EXERCISES. Exercise 1. Choose the right variant

Exercise 1. Choose the right variant.

1. Авторская книга

а) the author’s book b) the authors’ book

2. Ключи от автомобиля

a) the car’s keys b) the cars’ keys

3. Мужская команда

a) the man’s team b) the men’s team

4. Школа для девочек

a) the girl’s school b) the girls’ school

5. Пятилетняя работа

a) five years’ work b) five year’s work

6. Приказ главнокомандующего

a) the Commander’s-in-Chief order

b) the Commander-in-Chief’s order

7. Новый адрес Ольги, Саши и Димы.

a) Olga, Sasha and Dima’s new address

b) Olga’s, Sasha’s and Dima’s new address

Exercise 2. Paraphrase the following using the possessive case.

Example: The son of my aunt – my aunt’s son

A. 1) The house of Mr. Smith; 2) a doll of the girls; 3) the works of Rembrandt;

4) a toy of the baby; 5) a meeting of the employees; 6) the bags of those women;

7) the orders of our boss; 8) the books of the children; 9) the cottage of my parents; 10) a garage of her cousin.

B. 1) coal deposits of the world; 2) the influence of the sun; 3) the atmosphere of the earth; 4) the joys and grieves of life; 5) the arrival of the ship; 6) icy mountains of Greenland; 7) the policy of the company; 8) gold reserves of Russia; 9) the gravitation of the planet; 10) the decisions of the commission.

C. 1) the mother of Kate and Mary; 2) the children of our aunt Ann; 3) the paintings by Picasso and Dali; 4) the gun of the commander-in-chief; 5) the times of Ivan the Terrible; 6) the speech of the Minister of Foreign Trade; 7) the correspondent of the “Herald Tribune”; 8) a flat of my father-in-law; 9) the wives of Henry the Eighth;

10) oil wells of Saudi Arabia.

D. 1) a cruise which lasts three weeks; 2) work which takes two hours; 3) a distance of five kilometres; 4) the operation which lasted seven hours; 5) the flight which took ten hours; 6) a semester of four months; 7) the rest which lasted an hour; 8) a play of three acts; 9) a football match which lasts ninety minutes; 10) a telephone conversation which lasts twenty minutes.

Exercise 3. Paraphrase the following using the possessive case.

Example: I must sleep 9 hours a day to feel well. – I must have nine-hours’ sleep to feel well.

1. Every day at noon we have a break, which lasts fifteen minutes. 2. I can’t understand why he is so tired. The distance he covered is a mile only. 3. The walk to the station was short. It took us eight minutes. 4. Last year we spent two weeks in Greece. The holiday was terrific. 5. If you want to get there, a trip will take you only five hours. 6. Don’t take a training course that lasts a week. It won’t do you good. 7. I slept only three hours yesterday, because my train came late. 8. Last Monday our lesson lasted thirty minutes, because our teacher was to leave at 12 o’clock. 9. If you want to have a voyage round Europe, you will need at least three weeks. 10. My workweek lasts five days.

Exercise 4. Translate into English using the possessive case.

1. Завтрашняя программа очень напряженная. 2. Эдвард один из близких друзей моей сестры. 3. Я обычно встречаюсь со своими родственниками в доме у бабушки и дедушки. 4. Эта девушка – одна из студенток моей мамы. 5. Ему очень нужна была машина, и он воспользовался машиной своего босса. 6. Это замечание Феликса было совсем некстати. 7. Портрет жены Рембрандта – одна из самых известных картин художника. 8. Приезд Джона и Лиз был неожиданностью для тети Энн. 9. Эти учебники не мои, они Макса. 10. Давай уйдем отсюда от греха подальше. 11. Я считаю, что приличия ради нам нужно согласиться на их приглашение. 12. Романы Ильфа и Петрова популярны у многих поколений читателей. 13. Субботним утром любой человек может выступать сколько душе угодно в Уголке Оратора в Гайд-Парке.

Exercise 5. Read the following phrases and find their Russian equivalents. Make up ten sentences of your own using these phrases. Learn them by heart.

To one’s heart’s content; at one’s fingers’ ends; at a hair’s breadth; in the mind’s eye; one’s money’s worth; out of harm’s way; at arm’s length (reach); for Heaven’s sake; for Goodness’ sake; for appearance’s sake; at death’s door; to be nobody’s fool; to know someone for donkey’s years; at razor’s edge; (at) a stone’s throw from….; to be at one’s wit’s end; at gun’s point; a bird’s eye view.

Exercise 6. Read the following phrases and explain their meaning.

1. Noah’s ark; 2. Pandora’s box; 3. Hobson’s choice; 4. Rubik’s cube;

5. Parkinson’s disease; 6. Aesop’s fables; 7. Achilles’ heel; 8. Aladdin’s lamp;

9. Murphy’s law; 10. Cleopatra’s needle; 11. Caesar’s wife; 12. Christie’s;

13. Tiffany’s; 14. Love’s old sweet song; 15. An old wife’s tale.