Pete's travel to London (continued)

«Hello, everybody! I go on with my story about London. Last time I told you that Steve King had promised to be my guide. And what a nice guide he appeared to be! First he took me to Westminister where most governmental buildings are situated. From the Westminister bridge we could get the best view of the Houses of Parliament with the famous clock tower called Big Ben. We could even get inside the Houses. Before we left the Palace of Westminister (its official name) Steve had told me many interesting things about old customs which exist to this day. I'd like to tell you only about one of them. There is a strip of carpet in front of the members' benches in the House of Commons and when a member, speaking in the House puts his foot beyond that strip there is a cry «Order!». This dates from the time when the members had swords on them and during hot discussions might start fighting. The carpet had become the sort of frontier. We also had visited Westminister Abbey. Steve told me that all the kings and queens of England — 37 in all — had been crowned there and many of them had been buried there too. One of the parts of the Abbey is called Poet's Corner, because many of the greatest writers are buried there: Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Alfred Tennys­on, Rudyard Kipling and some others. Leaving the Abbey we went along Whitehall and then turned into a narrow lane — Downing Street. There's Number Ten, the official residence of the Prime Minister. All the Cabinet meetings take place there. I was really happy when we came to the famous Trafalgar Square with the tall (185 feet high) Nelson Column in the centre and the National Gallery forming one side of the square.

Then Steve took me to the West End, the richest and the most beautiful part of London, where I could see the finest theatres, cinemas and concert halls, famous muse­ums and large hotels, department stores and shops. There are many parks and gardens in the West End, among them Hyde Park, most famous of all because of its Speaker's Corner.

The East End, which is the poorest district of London where most of the workers live, didn't produce great impression on me. There are still many people who live in poverty. They keep their houses and streets clean but all of them are not half as nice as they are in the West End.

So thanks to Steve I had managed to see the most interesting sights of London by the end of my stay there. Next day after I had said good-bye to Steve and he had promised to come to our country and visit Rostov, our group left London».

10.3.4. Расскажите вашему другу о трех самых важ­ных вещах, которые вы завершили к концу прошлого года.

Model: I had finished reading the textbook on History of State and Law.

10.3.5. Ваш друг говорит, что он сделал что-то в прошлом. А вы заявляете, что сделали это еще раньше.

Model: I. I went to the concert yesterday.

2. I had gone to this concert before you did.

10.3.6. Ваш преподаватель упрекает вас в том, что вы чего-то не делали. Разубедите его, сообщите, что вы еще раньше сделали это.

Model: Т. Why didn't you want to translate the text?

S. Because I had translated it already?

1. Why did you refuse to see this new film?

2. Why didn't you hand in the translation in time?

3. Why didn't you speak with this girl?

4. Why didn't you prepare your home-work?

5. Why didn't you come in time?

10.3.7. В текстах есть несколько случаев употребления Past Perfect. Найдите их и объясните их употребление.

10.3.8. Предположим, что вы принимаете участие в конкурсе на звание лучшего рассказчика. Чтобы научиться хорошо рассказывать, вы должны разбираться в употреблении Past Tenses. Сможете ли вы выбрать правильное Past Tense для следующих предложений?

1. Mike (to swim) in the swimming-pool while I was sitting and watching him.

2. Mike got tired after he (to swim) 3 miles.

3. They (to have dinner) at 2 o'clock yesterday.

4. They said (to learn) Spanish for six months last year, but she can't speak.

5. They said the child (to draw) a very nice picture.

6. She (to clean) the rooms when somebody knocked at the door.

7. She (to clean) the rooms before she went out.

8. They went home after they (to solve) this problem.

10.3.9. Автор сделал несколько ошибок в употреблении Past Tenses в следующей шутке. Помогите ему найти их и исправить.

Once a mother and her two daughters were visiting London. They did sightseeing for some time when they came to the building with a noticeboard «National Picture Gallery» on it. The girls wanted to go in for they never were in any picture gallery. But their mother visited a picture gallery in her childhood and knew what it was like. She explained to the girls that there were no «real pictures» (movies she meant), but mere paintings.

*10.3.10. Скажите по-английски:

1. Он приехал в наш город пять лет назад. К тому времени он уже окончил университет. 2. Когда я пришел домой, мои родители обедали, а старший брат ушел в кино. 3. Вы подготовились к контрольной работе? — Да, я повторил весь материал вчера вечером. 4. На днях я встретил Анну. Она рассказала мне о нашем общем знакомом. Он прислал ей пись­мо. 5. Когда Петр вошел в комнату, Нелли уже приготовила обед. 6. В прошлом году Нелли осталась летом в городе: она за­болела. 7. Джейн никого не хотела слушать. Студенты никогда не видели ее такой серди­той. 8. Летом мы ездили в горы — я никогда до этого не видел гор.

10.3.11. Ваш друг собирается поехать в Лондон в качестве туриста. Порекомендуйте ему, что стоит посмотреть там.

Useful language:

If you are interested in... you should see... If you want to see... I recommend you to go...

10.3.12. Прочитайте следующую информацию об Уголке Ораторов в Гайд-Парке.

As you walk past Hyde Park in London you may see people speaking on different subjects. At Speaker's Corner one can say anything one pleases. People sometimes talk about important economic, political and social problems, sometimes about minor matters.

Теперь представьте, что мы находимся в Уголке Ораторов. Выступая перед слуша­телями, используйте фразы:

Ladies and gentlemen! I'd like to tell you...

And in conclusion let me...

Thank you for attention!

* 10.3.13. Стив рассказал Петру о некоторых интерес­ных обычаях, связанных с парламентом. Прочитайте описания этих обычаев.

I

Most members do not attend Parliament all the time;

but when there is an important discussion they are urged to attend. The Party Whips are especially responsible for seeing that all members of their party are present on such occasions. The letter sent by a Party Whip to the members of Parliament is called a «whip».

II

No man can make speeches in the House of Commons unless the Speaker calls on him, and no member may deliver more than one major speech in a debate. The name of the sovereign must not be introduced and the House of Lords is always referred to as «another place». Members do not address each other by name, but always as «the honourable member for so-and-so».

III

There is an expression used in the House of Commons to show the end of the day's business. Somebody calls out: «Who goes home?» and the session ends up and the members hurry home. This custom remains from the time when there was a lot of robbers in London. In the dark night the members went in groups through the narrow streets of the old city.

А теперь попытайтесь передать эти истории тем, кто их не знает или не понял, когда читал.

*10.3.14. Предположим, что вы — переводчик. Помо­гите англичанину ответить на вопросы рос­сийских студентов:

Q. Что собой представляет Вестминстерский дворец?

A. The Palace of Westminister is an official name for the House of Parliament. The building of the Palace is the seat of the British Parliament. There are two Houses: House of Lords and the House of Commons.

Q. Чем знаменито Вестминстерское аббатство?

A. All the kings and queens of England had been crowned there and many of them as well as many great writers had been buried there too.

Q. Где происходят заседания кабинета министров?

A. All the Cabinet meetings take place at Number 10, Downing street— the official residence of the Prime Minister.

Q. В чем различие между Ист-эндом и Уэст-эндом?

A. Working-class London is in the East End. It is a district of docks, factories, poor little houses and narrow streets. Housing conditions in this part of London are very bad. The West End is the finest part of London. There are famous shops, theatres, cinemas, museums, picture galleries and many beautiful parks.

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