Read the dialogue and try to understand it.
Victor is talking to Brian about British English and American English.
-Brian, I feel confused sometimes. Which is British and which is American?
-Don’t worry. It doesn’t really matter very much.
- But sometimes people don’t understand me. And yesterday I had a problem. I got the wrong floor.
-Did you really?
-Yes,I got into the elevator...
-Into the lift...
-Yes, into the lift. And I pressed the button to the fifth floor.
-And you got out on the American sixth?
-Right.Then I remembered that I was not in America.
-You should remember that there’s a ground floor in Britain.
-And I also made a mistake when I filled out the form.
-Filled in you mean.
-Oh, thanks, filled in. I wrote my date of birth the American way.
-The month you were born in first?
-Exactly. It’s so difficult to keep every small difference in mind.
-I think you really needn’t. If somebody doesn’t understand you, he’ll ask you about it.
-Thank you, Brian. You’ve helped me a lot.I wonder if you would like to come to Saint-Petersburg for your vacation.
-When are you going to have your holiday?
-In the fall.
-In autumn.Fall is American again.
-Well, when you come to Saint-Petersburg I’ll learn more British from you.But we don’t have ground floor in Russia either!
a) Where did the action take place? (what country).
b) What problem did Victor face?
2. Read the dialogue again and write out the words of British English, of American English and give their Russian equivalents.
British English American English Russian equivalent
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3.Answer the following questions:
Why did Victor got the wrong floor?
How do they write the date of birth in America & in Great Britain?
Write your date of birth
the British way ________________________
the American way:______________________
Is it important to learn the both variants? What do you think?
American English - British English
Arrival, airport, means of communication.
1.a)Read the British English words and give their Russian equivalents.
B)Read the American English words and give their Russian equivalents.
C)Read the Russian words and say what they mean in British English and in American English.
| British English | American English | Russian | |||
| fill in | fill out | заполнить | |||
| surname | last name | фамилия | |||
| Pardon | Excuse me | извините | |||
| handbag | purse | сумочка | |||
| lift | elevator | лифт | |||
| ground floor | first floor | первый этаж | |||
| telephone box | telephone booth | телефонная будка | |||
| toilet | restroom | туалет | |||
| ring up | call up | позвонить | |||
| Lost Property | Lost and Found | бюро находок | |||
| put through | connect | соединять | |||
| engaged | busy | занято | |||
| queue up | line up | становиться в очередь | |||
| post code | ZIP code | почтовый индекс | |||
| telegramme | wire | телеграмма | |||
| letter-box | mailbox | почтовый ящик | |||
| change money | exchange money | обменивать деньги | |||
| pound note | dollar bill | банкнота в 1 доллар банкнота в 1 фунт | |||
| chemist’s | drugstore | аптека | |||
2.Read the dialoques and say which words belong to an American and which to an Englishman.
| - Do I have to fill out any forms? | - Yes,you have to fill in this form here, and, please, write your surname in block letters. |
| - He means he wants you to print your last name | - I see,thank you. I have to learn a. new language, it seems. |
| - Excuse me,could you tell me where the restroom is? | - You mean the toilet Go past the Lost Property - and there it is. |
| - You mean Lost and Found? Oh,ma’am, you’ve dropped your purse | - Pardon?Oh,you mean my handbag.Thank you very much. |
| - I want to call a friend up. Where is the phone booth? | - You may ring your friend up from that phone box over there. |
| - And where do I exchange my dollar bills for pound notes? | - If you want to change money, you’ll have to take the lift to the first floor, and there is the bank. |
| - But we are on the first floor What do I need an elevator for? | - It’s the ground floor, and not the first floor.We are on the ground floor, the bank is on the first floor,sir. |
| -Did you make a call to your friend? | - I tried to,but they couldn’t |
| connect me, and then the line was busy. | |
| -If you were English you would have said:they couldn’t put me through and then the line was engaged | -I’ll try to remember that,thank you.I have to mail some letters and send a telegram home too. How do I go about it? |
| - There’s a letter box in front of the chemist’s | -The chemist’s?. |
| - Yes, they call it a drugstore in the States | - Aha,and there’s the mailbox,I see it.And what about the telegram? |
| -You may send the telgramme from the post office across the street You know the post code, of course | - The ZIP code,you mean? Yes,I know it.There’s quite a crowd here.Do I have to line up to send the wire? |
| -No, there’s no queue for telegrammes. |
A) Read the dialoques again, pick out the British words and their American equivalents, give their Russian translation.