In fact I haven't got the patience to engage myself in any regular and continuous activities. At least I thought so until... Well, I'll tell you from the very beginning.
Three years ago our class went on a tour of old Russian towns. We took along with us a great deal of souvenirs for the local schoolchildren to present them with. As to me, I had bought about thirty or forty various badges and post-cards with the view of our city.
Well, we enjoyed our journey very much. We saw many interesting things and tried to remember every place we visited. In those towns we were warmly received by our friends who gave us all sorts of things in memory of our acquaintance and stay there.
By the end of our tour I had found myself a possessor of quite a number of different badges and each of those little pieces of iron could tell me a lot about the places I visited. On returning home I went to see my friend who had been ill and couldn't join us in our travel. Telling him the story of our journey I showed the badges and explained them. When my friend saw the badges which I brought his eyes sparkled. He took each of them and scrutinized1 it for a long time. We spent the whole evening talking about the badges. I understood that if I had presented him with the badges that would have been a great consolation2 for the fact that he didn't go with us and I said: "Alec, what if I give you all those things for good?" "Oh, no!" said he, "You hardly realize what a valuable collection of badges you have! It would be very nice of you to go on collecting them. I'm sure none of the boys can boast3 of such a collection."
I followed his advice. Last year I added to my collection a hundred of badges which I exchanged with the British, French, German and Polish schoolboys who had a rest in «Artek». Several Italian and Swedish badges were presented to me by my elder sister after her tour of foreign countries.
Thus I became a regular collector. Collecting badges has become my hobby. I didn't know it was such a fascinating business.
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1to scrutinize [′skru:tinaiz] – пристально рассматривать
2consolation – утешение
3to boast – хвастать
QUESTIONS
1. Tastes differ. Can you say the same about hobbies?
2. Have you chosen a hobby according to your character and taste?
3. Which hobby groups do you know?
4. The most popular hobby group is doing things, isn't it? What kind of activities does this group include?
5. What do you know about gardening?
6. Do you like computer games?
7. Are you fond of making things?
8. Do you know any hobbies of the famous people?
9. Have you ever collected anything?
10. What can be collected?
11. Do you agree that learning can be the most exciting aspect of a hobby? Why?
UNIT 13.
MEALS
WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS
| mashed potatoes mushroom soup to treat to be thirsty to lay the table to wash up | porridge fried eggs to roast to peel to stir to stew | dish broth to fry to taste to boil |
| to be hungry as a hunter to pour some water into the souce-pan (kettle) Help yourself. Is it tasty? Do you care for fish? Try this dish, it will be to your taste. May I help you to another piece of pie? Pass me the brown bread, please. What is your favourite dish? May I have another helping of porridge? I haven't tasted anything of the kind. | ||
| salt-cellar sugar basin mustard-pot pepper-box bread-dish | vinegar beef pork veal mutton | cabbage cucumber tomato onion carrot |
MY MEALS
It goes without saying that I prefer to have meals at home. At the weekend I like to get up late and have a good breakfast of scrambled eggs, or pancakes, or something like that. But on weekdays I'm always short of time in the morning. So I just have a cup of strong tea or coffee and a couple of sandwiches.
As I spend a lot of time at school (usually eight or nine hours) it's necessary to have a snack at midday just to keep me going. That's why I have to go to the school canteen to have lunch. Our school canteen leaves much to be desired. It has become a tradition with our canteen to serve chops and watery mashed potatoes every day with a glass of cocoa or stewed fruit.
But I enjoy my evening meal at home. My mother is a wonderful cook and her dinners are always delicious and various.
To begin with, we usually have some salad - tomato and cucumber salad or mixed salad (I like it very much). For the first course we have some soup - noodle, mushroom or cabbage soup, or maybe some fish soup for a change. For the main course we have meat, chicken or fish dishes, for example, steak or fried fish with spaghetti or potatoes (boiled or fried). We also have a lot of vegetables - green peas, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers. I prefer meat to fish but my mother makes me eat fish from time to time. She says it's good for my brains. For dessert we have some fruit, fruit juice or just a cup of tea with a slice of cake.
On Sundays we sometimes go to McDonald's. I like everything there: cheeseburgers, hamburgers and Big Macs, apple pies and fruit cocktails. But unfortunately we can't afford to go there very often, because it's rather expensive for a family and besides, they say it's not very healthy to eat at McDonald's.
ON ENGLISH FOOD
The usual meals are breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner. Breakfast is a really a big meal, but one would find that lunch is not small either. The usual breakfast is porridge with milk or cream and sugar, bacon and eggs, marmalade with buttered toast, and tea or coffee.
At lunch which is about one o'clock, cold mutton or fish with potatoes, salad and pickles generally grace the table.
After lunch most people take coffee, though tea is the favourite beverage in England. That is why there are no «coffee-houses» there, but tea-rooms and luncheon-rooms there are in abundance. There is nothing like an English tea-party, be it at home or in the open air. Such little at-homes and outings do much to further sociability and make you feel on good terms with all the company in a short time, which is very helpful to a foreigner in England. Afternoon tea can hardly be called a meal. Tea is made at the table. It is very strong and drunk with sugar and cream. It would be an offence to take lemon in your tea.
When outing, that is, on a picnic, the English load their luncheon baskets with all sorts of sandwiches made of thin slices of bread and butter with meat, ham, raw tomatoes or even cucumber in between.
Dinner, which is around 7 o'clock in the evening, begins with what might correspond to a Russian «zakuska», followed by a clear soup, fish, roast chicken, potatoes and vegetables and dessert.
In simpler homes the schedule is somewhat different. In the morning they have breakfast, at midday-dinner, which is considered to be the chief meal, tea in the afternoon and supper in the evening. The supper might consist of an omlette or even a sandwich of bread and butter with cheese with a cup of coffee or cocoa.
QUESTIONS
- Where do you have your breakfast, dinner, supper?
2. At what time do you have your breakfast, dinner, supper?
3. What do you take for the first, second course?
4. What kind of soup do you prefer?
5. Is there a canteen at your Institute, office, plant?
6. What is a self-service canteen?
7. What fruit is there on sale in autumn, winter?
8. What is there on the tables of a canteen?
9. Do you ever take a second helping of a dish?
10. Describe what you had for breakfast, dinner, and supper yesterday.
- Describe a visit to a canteen or restaurant.
UNIT 14.
SPORTS
WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS
| athletics gymnastics cycling weight lifting 100-metres sprint (race) track and field athletics Marathon race high jump long jump pentathlon all-round champion to go in for sport to open the score to win - to lose to be in good (bad) sport shape to take part in sports competitions to end in a draw to break a record | fencing speed skating figure skating skiing race ski jumping RF team match championship cup semi-final coach (trainer) referee |
SPORTS
Nowadays almost all people, both young and old, are fond of some sport, not only because they understand that one must take physical exercises to keep fit but also because they enjoy it. In autumn, when the days get shorter and colder both children and grown-ups begin to watch for the first snow-flakes, the first signs of winter. When the snow comes and covers the earth, they are ready with their skis. On Sundays you can see a lot of people with skis at bus stops and railway stations, all in a hurry to get out of town to some nice spot for skiing.
Skating is another favourite winter sport. If you wish to go skating and don't happen to have skates of your own, you can hire a pair at the skating-rink.
There are other winter sports, such as hunting and fishing. Hunters use skis in winter when the snow is very deep. Anglers (fishermen) go to rivers, lakes or ponds, make a hole in the ice and sit beside it for hours waiting for the fish to bite, Sometimes they catch fish, sometimes they don't.
Some people prefer summer sports. The most popular are: swimming, rowing, fishing, track and field sports, cycling, mountain climbing, hiking and games. You can play volley-ball, basket-ball and tennis all the year round, but out of doors only during the summer season. Football is one of the most popular summer sports. Most people are fond of football. If they don't play themselves, they are football fans.
Autumn is the season for hunting. It is a pleasure to wander through the red and yellow woods, even if you don't shoot a thing. Some people swim all the year round. In winter you can see people swimming not only in indoor or outdoor pools, but also in rivers and lakes.
Sports are very much the same in most countries, but some sports are more popular than others in a certain country. Baseball is a most popular game in America, cricket is popular in England. Golf is quite popular both in America and England, but mostly among well-to-do people.