A Quiet Life

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 1018.

When Mr Brown retired, he bought a small cottage in a seaside village. The cottage was built in fifteen eighty-eight, but was in very good condition. Mr Brown was looking forward to a quiet life, but in the summer holidays he got a shock. Hundreds of tourists came to the seaside village. Mr Brown's cottage was the most interesting building in the village and many of the tourists came to see it. From morning till night there were tourists outside the cottage. They kept looking through the windows and many of them even went into Mr Brown's garden. This was too much for Mr Brown. He decided to drive the unwelcome visitors away, so he put a notice in the window. The notice said: 'If you want to satisfy your curiosity, come in and look round. Price: ten pence.' Mr Brown was sure that the visitors would stop coming but he was wrong. The number of the visitors increased and Mr Brown spent every day showing them round the cottage. 'I came here to retire, not to work as a guide,' he complained. In the end, he sold the cottage and bought a small modern house. It is an uninteresting little place and no one wants to see it. But it is certainly quiet and peaceful.

A. Questions.

1. When was Mr Brown's cottage built? 2. Why had Mr Brown bought it? 3. Where was the cottage? 4. Why didn't Mr Brown like living there?

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5. How did Mr Brown try to stop the visitors from coming? 6. What did Mr Brown do with the cottage? 7. What did he buy? 8. Why is he pleased with his small modern house?

Scottish Humour

A Scottish gentleman was spending his holidays in Vienna. The town was very beautiful and his guide was a very beautiful young lady too. She was his guide in the town and in the country. 'I will have the best memories of her,' he thought. Before he left he decided to give her some present to thank her for her kindness. He wanted to be sure that the present was something that she'd like. And he asked her what present she'd like best of all. 'You know very well,' she said, 'that I like to look beautiful and to put on beautiful things. Give me something for my neck, for my fingers or for my ears.' Next morning the Scottish gentleman appeared with a present. A diamond ring? A golden bracelet? No, it was apiece of soap.

A. Questions.

1. Where was the Scottish gentleman spending his holidays? 2. Who was his guide? 3. Did he like her? 4. What did he decide to do to thank her for her kindness? 5. What present did the girl want to have? 6. What did the Scottish gentleman give her?

The Mayor's Order

Long ago, when there were no street lamps in towns and cities, the mayor of a town ordered the people not to go out without lanterns. The next night he met a man in a street and said to him, 'Do you know my order?' 'Yes, I do,' answered the man. 'But you have no lantern,' said the mayor. 'Yes, I have,' said the man. 'But there is no candle in your lantern,' said the mayor, 'The order said nothing about candles,' answered the man.

The next day the people of the town learnt a new order. The order said that people must put candles in their lanterns. In the evening the mayor met the same man. 'Where is your lantern?' he asked. 'Here it is,' said the man and showed his lantern to the mayor. 'But there is no candle in it,' cried the mayor. 'There is,' said the man and showed the candle. 'But you didn't light your candle,' cried the angry mayor. 'The order did not say that we must light the candles.'

So the mayor gave a new order. It said that the people must light candles in their lanterns.

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Reading

London

London has been a capital city for nearly a thousand years, and many of its ancient buildings still stand. The most famous of these are the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral, but most visitors also want to see the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace (the Queen's London home) and the many magnificent museums.

Once, London was a small Roman town on the north bank of the Thames, but slowly it grew into one of the world's major cities with more than eight million people. Fewer people live in the centre now, but the suburbs are still growing.

Places now in the heart of London, like Westminster, once stood in the middle of green fields. Many small villages, like Hampstead, Chelsea and Mayfair, became part of London, but they still keep some of their old atmosphere. Different areas of London seem like different cities. The West End is a rich man's world of shops, offices and theatres. The old port area is now called 'Docklands'. The great ships have gone, and the area is changing very fast. There are huge new office buildings and thousands of new flats and houses.

Other parts of London are changing, too. Some of the poorer areas have become fashionable, and people with more money are moving into them.

A hundred years ago, the river was crowded with ships, leaving for Java and Japan, New Zealand and New York, but now people travel by air, and London's main airport, Heathrow, is one of the busiest in the world.

Like all big cities, London has streets and concrete buildings, but it also has many big parks, full of trees, flowers and grass. These parks are both in the centre of the city and further out. It is the central parks which are the most famous.

St James's Park was first opened 450 years ago. It is very close to Buckingham Palace, and to the government offices in Whitehall. St James's Park is one often royal parks in and around London which are owned by the Crown but are open to the public free of charge. It is very attractive, with a long, narrow lake, which is occupied by ducks and other water birds.

Each park has its own character. Hyde Park, for example, was orig­inally a hunting forest and is still popular with horseriders. Now it's

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famous for the Serpentine — the lake, and for Speakers' Corner, where you can listen to people giving their views on a variety of topics to anyone who will listen.

Kensington Gardens is next to Hyde Park, and it is very popular with both the old and the young. On warmer days there are always peo­ple at the Round Pond, where they come to sail their model boats.

Regent's Park, which was originally a hunting park, is now the home of London Zoo, and an open air theatre which delights summer audienc­es with performances of Shakespeare's plays.

Many people live outside the centre of London in the suburbs, and they travel to work in the shops and offices by train, bus or underground. The trains are full — and expensive — and the roads are crowded with cars, but every day a million people make the journey. Some people come from far out of London, even from the coast, and spend up to four hours travelling every day.

Most people work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. From 8 until 10 every morn­ing, and 4.30 to 6.30 every evening, the trains are crowded with people, and after the morning 'rush hour' the shoppers come.

By day the whole of London is busy. At night, the offices are quiet and empty, but the West End stays alive, because this is where London­ers come to enjoy themselves. There are two opera houses here, several concert halls and many theatres, as well as cinemas, and in nearby Soho the pubs, restaurants and nightclubs are busy half the night.

Many people think that London is all grey, but in fact red is Lon-• don's favourite colour. The buses are red, the letter boxes are red and the mail vans are all bright, bright red. London is at its best when people are celebrating. Then the flags, the soldiers' uniforms, the cheering crowds and the carriages and horses all sparkle in the sunshine — if it's not raining, of course!

London has many large department stores, which sell everything: shoes and shirts, paper and perfume, footballs and frying pans. The most expensive department store is Harrods in Knightsbridge. You can buy almost anything in Harrods, and you know you're getting the best.

The smartest and most expensive shops are in Knightsbridge, but more people come to Oxford Street, London's most popular shopping centre. Most of the hundreds of shops sell clothes or shoes. The street is more than a mile long. There are several big department stores in Ox­ford Street. The best known are Selfridges, John Lewis and Marks and Spericer.

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Oxford Street has the most shops, but in some ways King's Road in Chelsea is more fun. This is where fashionable young Londoners buy their clothes in the many small 'boutiques'.

You can buy what you like in the big shops, but the small markets have a lot to offer too. There are several big street markets in London, and many small ones. Some markets are open only one day a week. Go to Portobello Road on Saturday, or to Petticoat Lane on Sunday. Covent Garden market is open every day. Come here for antiques, old clothes, hand-made jewellery and many other rather special things.

British restaurants have not always been famous for their good food. Too often, they offered only fried food and chips with everything. But now, healthy food is in fashion and so is international cooking.

The British have taken good ideas from all over the world. You can eat Chinese, Indian, French, Italian and Greek food in any big city, and in London there's a fantastic variety of restaurants.

Most British families only go to restaurants on special occasions, like birthdays, or wedding anniversaries. The restaurants' best customers are business people, who meet in them to talk business in a relaxed atmo­sphere away from the telephone. They can eat what they like because the company pays the bill! But when a man and a woman want to get to know each other better, they often go out to a restaurant together. After all, it's easier to talk in a quiet atmosphere, with soft music, wine and good food.

For visitors to London, eating out can be fun. Try Rules in the West End. The traditional menu and decor are just like they were in Queen Victoria's day, a hundred years ago. Or take a walk round Soho or Cov­ent Garden where there are dozens of small restaurants.

But if you want that special London feeling, go to the Ritz in Picca­dilly for tea any afternoon at about half past four. Too expensive? Then try England's favourite food — fish and chips. Take it away and eat it where you like — in the park, on the bus or while you walk down the street. That's what Londoners do!

Self Check

1. First read these rather gloomy comments made by an unhappy town resident.

'Recently they've built a lot of skyscraper blocks here. I think they've made the town look ugly. And they're going to build more. They're

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going to demolish an area of terraced houses, and build flats, offices, a car park and a shopping area. In fact, when I walked past the area yes­terday they were demolishing the first house. They're destroying the town, these council planners. People have sent in hundreds of protests, but it hasn't had any effect. They've taken their decision, and that's that. They're destroying the quality of life in the town.'

Now, basing your answers on the passage, finish the sentences be­low, using the passive.

Example

More skyscraper blocks... Answer

More skyscraper blocks are going to be built.

1. A lot of skyscraper blocks... 2. The town... 3. An area of terraced houses... 4. A shopping area... 5. When I walked past the area... 6. The town... by these council planners. 7. Hundreds of protests... 8. Their decision... 9. The quality of life in the town...

2. Insert the correct articles (if necessary).

Black Gold

A. For many years Aberdeen has been one of ... (1) most important towns in... (2) Scotland. On... (3) north-east coast, it has been important for ... (4) fishing and for its port for ... (5) long time. ... (6) Forestry, ... (7) paper-making and ... (8) textiles are also important, and so is... (9) manufacture of... (10) whisky.

In some ways it is similar to many other towns. But there is more. It has ... (11) old and famous university, one of... (12) oldest in ... (13) Europe (1494), and some of ... (14) best scenery on ... (15) British Isles.

In 1969 Britain produced its first oil from ... (16) North Sea. Since then Aberdeen has changed. Between 1969 and 1981 ... (17) oil and gas industry brought more than 500 new companies into ... (18) city. Since ... (19) start of... (20) oil industry ... (21) harbour has become larger and much busier.

For ... (22) last fifteen years or more Aberdeen has been ... (23) international city. You can hear ... (24) Americans and ... (25) Euro-

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peans in ... (26) shops and ... (27) hotels.... (28) number of... (29) air passengers has increased 540 per cent since 1973, and ... (30) port is ... (31) biggest in ... (32) world.

Since 1494 this city of... (33) quarter of... (34) million people has been ... (35) educational centre. It is now also ... (36) industrial and entertainment centre for... (37) north-east Scotland, and more than that, it's ... (38) oil capital of... (39) Europe.

B. Jim Stewart is returning to Aberdeen after twenty years. His old school
friend meets him at... (1) airport.

Jim: Am I in... (2) wrong place? This doesn't look like... (3) old

airport. What's happened?

Friend: Eh, you've been away for several years, Jim. Since they found

... (4) oil this place hasn't been ... (5) same.

Jim: Ah, but you haven't changed a bit!

Friend: I've got ... (6) bit less hair and ... (7) few more inches

around ... (8) waist. Mary's ... (9) good cook. Here, let's

get your bags...

Jim: That building's new, isn't it?

Friend: Yes, it's one of... (10) new oil companies. It's been there since,

oh, I forgot... (11) date. Anyway, for quite ... (12) long time. Jim: It's fantastic!

Friend: Oh, I remember now. 1971. It's been there since about '71.

It was ... (13) old cinema before that.

Jim: Oh, I remember that cinema: I took Fiona there...

C. London has ... (1) population of about 6, 770, 000. It lies on ... (2)
River Thames, where ... (3) Romans landed nearly 2, 000 years ago.
From about 1800 until... (4) World War Two, London was ... (5) big­
gest city in ... (6) world, but now there are many cities which are much
bigger.

London is famous for many things. ... (7) tourists come from all over ... (8) world to visit its historic buildings, such as St Paul's Cathe­dral, which has ... (9) huge dome, and ... (10) Houses of... (11) Parlia­ment, where you can see and hear... (12) famous clock, Big Ben. They also come to visit its theatres, its museums, and its many shops, such as ... (13) Harrods, where you can buy anything.

Like many big cities, London has ... (14) problems with ... (15) traffic and ... (16) pollution. Over 1,000,000 people ... (17) day use ... (18) London Underground, but there are still too many cars on ... (19)

the streets. ... (20) air isn't clean, but it is cleaner than it was 100 years ago. Until ...(21) Clean Air Act in 1956, London was famous for its fog or 'smog', which is ... (22) mixture of... (23) smoke and ... (24) fog. ... (25) best thing about London is ... (26) parks. There are five in ... (27) city centre. But my children's favourite place is ... (28) Hamleys, which is ... (29) biggest toyshop in ... (30) world. It is 200 years old.

D. York is ... (31) beautiful old city in ... (32) north-east of... (33) En­
gland on ... (34) River Ouse. It is not far from ... (35) Leeds. It is ... (36)
very interesting place to live. It has many historical buildings and muse­
ums but it is most famous for its cathedral, called ... (37) York Minster.

E. ... (38) San Diego is ... (39) city in ... (40) Southern California on
... (41) west coast of... (42) USA, on ... (43) the Pacific Ocean. It is
not far from ... (44) Los Angeles, It has ... (45) big harbour, beautiful
beaches and ... (46) famous zoo. Many people think it is ... (47) best
place to live in ... (48) California.

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