SPEECH EXERCISES

Ex. 30. Retell in narrative form.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," a voice said behind Dr. Ingram as he and Dr. Nicholas were leaving the lobby of the hotel. As they turned, a camera clicked. "That's good," he said. "Let's try it once more," and the camera clicked again.

The manager came hurrying up saying: "You are not allowed to take pictures..."

Dr. Ingram asked: "Are you a newspaper man?"

"Good question, doctor," the man with the camera said. "I wish my editor heard you, he's of a different opinion, but today he'll change his mind, when I send him these pictures."

"What paper?" asked the manager suspecting the worst, but hoping it wasn't anything important.

"New York Herald Tribune."

"Good." The dentists' president said. "They'll make the best of it. I hope you saw what happened."

"You might say I got the picture," the newspaper man said. "I'll need a few details from you, so I can spell the names right. First, though, I'd like another picture outside the hotel — you and the other doctor together."

Dr. Ingram seized Dr. Nicholas's arm. "It's the way to fight this thing, Jim. We'll drag the name of this hotel through every newspaper in the country."

Dr. Nicholas nodded slowly.

As they were moving away Dr. Ingram was saying, "I'd like to do this fairly quickly. As soon as we have your pictures I intend to start pulling our convention out of this hotel. The only way to hit these peo­ple is where they feel it most—financially."

(after "Hotel" by Arthur Hailey)

Ex. 31. Answer the following questions using the active vocabulary. Sum up your answers.

A Hotel

1. What are hotels for? 2. What makes a hotel look different from other buildings in a city? 3. In what part of a city are the better hotels situated? 4. What does the inside of a hotel look like? 5. What is in the lobby? 6. What is Reception for? What are the duties of the reception clerk? 7. What services does a hotel offer to its guests? 8. What do prices for a room depend on? 9. Would you rather stay at a hotel or at your friend's when in a strange city?

Checking in

1. When do people stop at hotels? 2. When is a reservation made? How is it made? 3. What must you do on arrival? 4. How are people checked in? What papers must they have with them? 5. Why are the guests requested to leave their keys at Reception each time they leave the hotel? 6. When is it difficult to get a room at a hotel? 7. Is it the duty of the hotel management to find other accommodation in the city for a guest they can't take in?

A Congress

1. What problems does a biological (oncological, etc.) congress deal with? 2. Why are congresses held? How often are they held? What does it depend on? What has the importance of a certain branch of science got to do with it? 3. When does the Preparatory (Organisation) Commit­tee start its work? What are its duties? 4. Why is it important that the delegates should know the programme beforehand? 5. What language does a delegate use when making his report? 6. Why are there special booths for translators? 7. Why are there radios (radio receivers) built into the chairs of the delegates? 8. What are earphones for? 9. What makes the work of a congress successful?

Ex. 32. Read the passage, апзшг the. questions, using the vocabulary of the lesson and retell it.

A Colorado farmer finished his work for the day and turned toward the house, where supper was waiting. In the dark autumn sky he noticed the lights of an airplane. It was United Air Lines Flight* Number 629, eleven minutes out of Denver and heading for Portland, Oregon, with thirty-nine passengers and five crew members.** Suddenly there was a terrible explosion. It was 7.03 P.M., November 1, 1955. The farmer standing in his yard had witnessed one of the most shocking mass mur­ders in the annals of American crime.

When news of the tragedy reached Denver, only one man knew that murder had been committed that night. Only one man knew that a time bomb had been ticking in an old suitcase when it was loaded on the plane. The man was Jack Gilbert Graham, aged twenty-three, who once told a neighbour, "I'd do anything for money."

Jack Graham had driven his mother Mrs. Daisy King, to the Den­ver airport to put her aboard Flight 629, the beginning of a long-plan­ned journey to visit a daughter in Alaska. He carried her valise and her old suitcase from the automobile to the ticket counter to bs weighed.*** The luggage was thirty-seven pounds over the sixty-six pound limit.

An airline ticket agent suggested (to Mrs. King that she might save $27 by lightening her luggage and mailing part of her clothing.

Mrs. King turned to her son. "Do you think I'll need all this?"

"Yes, Mother," he assured her. "I'm sure you will need it."

Mrs. King hesitated a moment and then nodded. While she was pay­ing the overweight charge, her son filled out two insurance policies for $37,500 each and two others for S 6,250 each. Mrs. King signed three of the policies but for some reason Jack didn't get her signature on one for $37,500. Perhaps the ticking of the time bomb was beginning to sound in his ears and he was becoming panicky. His mother's plane was behind schedule and time was running out.

Flight 629 arrived eleven minutes late. For Jack Graham there were twelve more agonizing minutes while the plane sat waiting for a late passenger. At last the door of the plane shut behind the late passenger, and at 6.52 P.M. the big ship took off.

Questions

1. What tragedy occurred in November, 1955? 2. Who happened to witness the accident? 3. What had caused the explosion? 4. How was the accident later described by the press? 5. How was the crime pre­pared? 6. Where was Mrs. King going? 7. Who brought her to the air­port? 8. Why did the ticket agent suggest that Mrs. King mail part of her clothing? 9. What remarks did mother and son exchange on the mat­ter of luggage? 10. Why did Jack object to the luggage being opened? 11. What did Jack do while his mother was paying the overweight charge? 12. Why did one of the insurance policies remain unsigned? 13. Why was Jack becoming panicky? 14. What would have happened if the flight had been cancelled? 15. What facts concerning Jack came to light during the inquiry? 16. What confirmed the suspicions of the police that it was Mrs. King's son who was responsible for the tragedy?

Ex. 33. Read the following, answer the questions. Retell the passage in English.

ЕСЛИ ТЫ НЕГР...

... Расизм продолжает оставаться одной из характерных черт американского общества. Это вынуждены признать сегодня в Вашин­гтоне. Специальная комиссия, созданная после острых расовых столк­новений в США в 1967 году, пришла к выводу в своем докладе, что Соединенные Штаты «являются страной глубоко расистской».

Условия жизни цветного населения Америки ухудшаются из года в год. В гетто американских городов, в непригодных для жилья помещениях живут негры, мексиканцы, пуэрториканцы. Здесь чув­ствуется острый недостаток школ и больниц.

Побывавшая недавно в США колумбийская писательница Мария Исабель де ла Вега отмечает в своей книге «Расизм в США»: «Гетто — это тюрьма, где негр — не человек. Ему отказывают в праве на чело­веческие чувства, за ним не признают способности к интеллектуаль­ной деятельности и даже способности страдать».

Автор доклада о положении в штате Миссисипи, представленного одной из подкомиссий сената США, отмечал, что он был поражен ус­ловиями жизни негритянского населения в этом штате. «Когда я от­правлялся в Миссисипи, — говорит он, — мне рассказывали, что существует план истребления негров, но этому я не хотел верить. Сейчас, когда я все увидел своими глазами, я верю».

Цветной в сегодняшней Америке — последний человек. Его бе­рут на работу последним и увольняют первым. Для цветных остав­ляют самые тяжелые и хуже оплачиваемые виды работы. Они практи­чески лишены возможности продвигаться по службе.

Questions

1. What remains a characteristic feature of life in present-day Amer­ica? 2. What conclusion did a special US Congress committee come to concerning the causes of racial unrest in the country? 3. What are the living conditions of the coloured community? 4. What is life like in the ghettoes? 5. How does the Columbian writer Maria Isabel de la Vegas describe the position of a black person in the USA? 6. What were the impressions registered by a US Senator in a report concerning the black community in the state of Missisippi? 7. What convinced him that there was a plan for the extermination of the black population in that state? 8. Why is the coloured population especially hard hit by unemployment? 9. Why do the coloured people often say about themselves that they are the last to be hired and the first to be fired? 10. What are the chances of promotion for a coloured person?

Ex. 34. Retell the following in English.

1. ЖЕЛАННЫЙ ГОСТЬ

Прежде чем выехать в Даллас на встречу с читателями, один из­вестный американский писатель позвонил в гостиницу и спросил, может ли он приехать с собакой.

Хозяин отеля ответил:

— Я не видел собаки, которая засыпала бы в постели с горящей сигарой в зубах и портила бы мебель. Нет собаки, которая, уезжая, увозила бы с собой полотенца и наволочки. Поэтому я с удовольст­вием приму вашу собаку!

a welcome guest; Dallas; a towel; a pillow case.

2. НА ВСЕ ВКУСЫ

Настоящий хозяин отеля обязан учитывать вкусы своих гостей. Этот факт не подлежит никакому сомнению. Впрочем, у одного ав­стрийского дельца желание угодить гостям приняло несколько стран­ные формы. В холле своего альпийского отеля он приказал повесить большое объявление. На нем написано: «Убедительная просьба к американским туристам не возвращаться в номер позже двух часов ночи, к шведским—не вставать раньше шести утра, к итальянским — не кричать после десяти вечера. К сведению туристов из Велико­британии, с собаками въезд в отель запрещен».

Неизвестно, советовался ли хозяин с социологами перед тем, как повесить это объявление. «Антиреклама» привлекла огромное количество туристов: от желающих остановиться именно в этой гос­тинице буквально нет отбоя.

a hotelkeeper; an Austrian businessman; Alpine; to put up a notice; to enjoy enormous popularity.

Ex. 35. Read and retell the following story.

THE HOSPITABLE TAXI-DRIVER

(an episode from Charlie Chaplin's "Autobiography")

That evening when I arrived in New York, every hotel was filled. After driving round for over an hour, the taxi-driver a rough-looking fellow of about forty, turned and said: "Listen, there is no sense in try­ing to get into any hotel at this hour, and you're unlikely to find any other accommodation, so you'd better come home to my place and sleep there until the morning."

"That's very kind of you," I said, feeling embarrassed, and intro­duced myself.

He was surprised, and smiling broadly said: "My wife will get a kick* out of this."

We arrived somewhere in the Bronx** and entered one of the ordina­ry-looking houses. He led me to a back room where there was a large bed, in it a boy of twelve, his son, was sleeping. "Wait," the driver said, then he lifted the boy and put him over to the edge of the bed making room for me. Then he turned to me, "Get in there."

I was going to refuse, but his hospitality was so touching that I could not refuse. He gave me a clean night-shirt and I climbed into bed carefully for fear of waking or disturbing the bov.

I never slept a wink.*** In the morning when the boy got up and dressed, through my half-closed eyes I saw him give me an indifferent look and leave the room. A few minutes later he and a young lady of eight, evidently his sister, came into the room. Still pretending to be asleep I saw them staring at me wide-eyed and excited. Then the two of them left.

It wasn't long before I heard a whisper in the passage, then the driv­er gently opened the door to see if I was awake. I assured him that I was.

"We've got your bath ready," he said. "It's at the end of the pas­sage." He had brought a dressing-gown and some slippers**** and a tow­el. "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Anything," I said apologetically.

"Whatever you want — bacon and eggs, toast and coffee?"

"Wonderful."

They timed it perfectly. The minute I finished dressing, his wife came into the room with a hot breakfast. There was little furniture but a centre table, an armchair, and a sofa; a couple of photographs of fam­ily groups hung on the wall over the sofa. While eating breakfast alone I could hear the noise coming from a crowd of children and grownups outside the house.

"They are beginning to know that you're here," smiled his wife, bringing in the coffee. Then the taxi-driver entered, all excited. "Look," he said, "there's a big crowd outside and it's getting bigger. If you let those kids get a look at you, they'll go away, otherwise the Press'll get on to it and you're sunk."

"By all means, let them come in," I replied.

And so the children came in, giggling,* and walked around the table while I drank my coffee. The taxi-driver outside was saying: "All right, don't make a fuss, line up, two at a time."

The next day the driver, in a stiff collar, and his wife, all dressed up, came to visit me at the Ritz. He said the Press had been bothering him to write a story for the Sunday papers about my staying at his house. "But," he said, "I wouldn't tell them a thing without your permission. After all it's up to you."

"Go ahead," I said.

Ex. 36. Use the following words and phrases in situations. Equality of Nations in the Soviet Union

A. the October Socialist Revolution; to open a new era in the his­tory of mankind; to found the first socialist country in the world; to build up a socialist society; to put an end to all forms of exploitation of man by man; to unite equal nations and peoples of the USSR into one big friendly family; the "Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia"; to be published on November 16, 1917; to run as follows...; to promote the principles of equality and sovereignty; the right of na­tions to self-determination; to guarantee the free development of nation­al minorities; the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; to be set up on the initiative of V. I. Lenin in December 1922; to be based on principles of complete equality; to unite 15 Union Republics.

B. a Socialist Republic; to have one's own Constitution, legislative organs of power; to have the right to a free economic, political and cul­tural development; to enter into direct contacts with foreign states and conclude agreements and exchange diplomatic representatives with them; to make great progress in the development oi national culture; to set up higher educational establisments in Union Republics; speedy eco­nomic and cultural development; to be a base for establishing genuine equality between nations.

Ex. 37. Tell the story of the picture.

the Deep South; to have been driving for hours; to ask the way; to put up at a hotel; the colour bar.

The hotel, sir? Turn right, go as far as the prison, then turn left, past the police station and another prison, then you'll see a movie house with a "White Only" sign, move straight on till you get to the Black district, then turn left.

Ex. 38. Subjects for oral and written composition.

1. Tell the story as if you were: a) Dr Nicholas; b) Dr Ingram; c) the receptionist; d) Mr. Bailey; e) a guest who happened to witness the scene.

2. Give character-sketches of a) Dr Nicholas; b) Dr Ingram; c) Mr. Bailey.

3. Write a summary of the text.

4. The struggle of the coloured community in the USA for its rights.

5. The causes of the Civil War in the USA. Say whether the victory of the Northerners over the troops of the Confederation brought free­dom to the Negro population in the true sense of the word.

6. Explain why an episode of the kind described in the text would be altogether unthinkable in the Soviet Union.

7. Write a letter to a hotel making a reservation, and then another con­firming your reservation.

8. Describe your stay at a hotel.

Lesson Ten

Text: "A Vote of No Confidence" from "No Love for Johnnie" by W. Fienburgh¹

Grammar: Verbals. General Review.

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