Card №1

At a Barber’s Shop

A man entered a barber’s shop with a boy of five or six years old holding his hand. He was in a great hurry and asked the barber to cut his hair first and then to cut the boy’s hair.

“He can wait, I want you to cut my hair first”, he said.The barber did as he was told and when he had finished, the man got

out of the chair, and the boy took his place. The man excused himself and said that he was in a great hurry and that he would be back in a few minutes and would pay for them both. Then he left, and the barber began to cut the boy’s hair. When he had finished, he picked the boy up and place him in a chair to wait. He gave him the magazine to look through.

An hour passed. Two hours passed. At last the barber said to the child, “Don’t worry, your father will be back soon”.

“My father?” said the boy. “He isn’t my father. I was playing in the street and he came along and said, “Come with me, little boy. Let’s go into this barber’s shop and have our hair cut”.

- barber’s shop – перукарня

- cut one’s hair – підстригати волосся

Card №2

Daniel Defoe(1660 – 1731)

One of the first novels in the history of literature was written in England in 1719. It was “Robinson Crusoe” by Daniel Defoe.

Daniel Defoe was born in London in the family of a rich man. When Daniel was a schoolboy, he began to write stories. After he left school the young man worked in his father’s shop and wrote articles for newspapers. Defoe visited many countries and met many people. That helped him in his writings.

In 1719, when Defoe was sixty years old, he wrote the novel “Robinson Crusoe” which made him famous. Defoe used in his book a true story about a sailor who lived on an island for twenty – eight years. People liked the novel in England and in many other countries. Daniel Defoe wrote other books but his novel “Robinson Crusoe” is the most famous. Defoe was not a rich man when he died in 1731.

Card №3

The Three Brothers.

A man had three sons and he loved them all very much. He had no money, but the house in which he lived was a good one.

“To which of my three boys shall I leave my house?” thought the old man. “They are all good sons to me and I want to be good to them, too”.

Of course, he could sell the house and then divide the money, but nobody wanted to do this. The house had been in their family for many years. Not only the three boys, but their father, their grandfather and their great-grandfather had lived in it. It was their home; they knew and loved every room, every window, and they could not sell it to other people.

So the old man said to the boys, “All of you must go out into the world. Each can choose a trade and learn it well. In a year we shall meet here together, and he who has learned his trade best shall have the house. Do you agree?”

“Yes”, said his sons, “That’s right”.And the eldest said, “I think I will become a builder. That is the kind

of work I like best”.“And I”, said the second, “have always wanted to make clothes”.“I want most of all to become a gardener”, said the third.They agreed to come back in a year.Soon people began to talk about a young builder, a young tailor and a

young gardener whose work was very good. Their father was glad to hear that.

When the father saw his sons in a year, he said, “You all have learned your trades very well. The house is yours, I hope you can live here all together”. They all agreed and lived happily together for many, many years.

Card №4

The Sky.

When you look at the sky in the morning or in the afternoon, you can see the Sun. The Sun is a great big ball of hot gases. The Earth is a ball too. Air and space are round the Earth. Sunshine passes through space and air but not through the Earth. One side of the Earth which turns to the Sun has day. The other side has night. The Earth turns all the time and day changes to night and night changes to day.When you look at the sky at night, you see the Moon. The Moon is a big ball too. We see only that side of the Moon which turns to the Sun. the light of the Moon comes from the Sun. if we look at the Moon through a telescope, we can see mountains and plains on it. But there are no people or trees there because there is no air or water on the Moon.Sending rockets and automatic stations to the Moon, scientists have got very important information about the Moon.

Card №5

Sports and Games in Britain and the USA(Basketball, Tennis).

Basketball was an American game. It was invented in 1891 by a teacher at a sport school in Spring field, Massachusetts. He wanted to have indoor game that people could play between the football season in winter and the baseball season in summer.

Baskets were hung on the walls of the gymnasium. These baskets gave the game its name. The players had to throw the ball into the basket. In those days the baskets had bottoms. When a player threw the ball into the basket, somebody had to bring a ladder and take the ball out again.Now basketball is played all over the world. Basketball teams from many countries play in the Olympic Games.

Tennis is very popular in Britain. Most English parks have tennis courts where people can play the game. Every summer a great international tennis festival takes place at Wimbledon near London. Players from all over the world come to take part in the competition.

Card №6

Sport and Games in Britain and the USA(Football, Tennis).

Football is the most popular game in Britain. You can see that if you go to one of the important matches. Young people and old people shout and cheer for one side or the other. Nearly every school has its football team and every boy in Britain knows much about the game. He can tell you the names of the players in the most important teams, he has pictures of them and knows the results of many matches.

Football is a good team game. Boys learn to work together with others to help the team. Football is a good exercise for the body, it makes the players quick and strong.

In Britain the football season begins in the middle of August, usually on the second Saturday, and the ends of the last Saturday in April.

At the beginning of the season all the school football teams and the professional teams train very hard. They want to win their matches.

Tennis is very popular in Britain too. Most English parks have tennis courts where people can play the game. Every summer a great international tennis festival takes place at Wimbledon near London. Players from all over the world come there to take part in the competition.

- Cheer for one side or the other – підбадьорюють криками одну або іншу команду.

Card №7

Gulliver’s Travels.Part І

Gulliver was born in the large family of a farmer. At school the boy learned well, so his father sent him to the university for three years. When the young man left the university, he worked with a doctor and learned his profession.

Gulliver always wanted to travel, so he decided to learn navigation too. After four years of hard learning Gulliver began to work on a ship as the ship’s doctor. One day when the ship was at sea for a long time, there was a great storm. The ship broke to pieces and only six people could get into a small boat. The men were very tired and could not fight the waves. Soon the boat turned over and they were in the water. Five of them could not swim very well and they were drowned. But Gulliver could swim very well, and when he saw a shore which was very far, he swam to it. He got out of the water and slept on the shore for many hours.

When Gulliver woke, he found himself in a country where very small people lived. The name of the country was Lilliput. The little people were afraid of the Man-Mountain, as they named Gulliver. But when they saw that Gulliver was kind and did not want to kill them, they let him to free. Gulliver lived there for two years and then came back to England.

Card №8

Gulliver’s TravelsPart ІІ

Gulliver’s second travel began very well. The weather was fine. But when the ship was at sea for some weeks, a strong wind began to blow and they fought it for twenty days.

When the wind stopped, the captain of the ship did not know where they were. They had enough food, the ship was strong, but there was no drinking water. Soon they saw an island and the captain of the ship sent some men in a small boat to get water there. Gulliver was in the boat too. He wanted to see the island.

When the sailors reached the island, they went along the shore. They wanted to found a river or a lake. Gulliver did not go with sailors. He walked along another part of the shore.

When Gulliver came back to the place where he thought that the boat was, he saw that all the sailors were in the boat on the way to the ship. Gulliver wanted to call them, but suddenly he saw a very big man, a giant, who went after the boat and wanted to bring it back to the shore. But there were many large stones in the water and the giant could not walk quickly. He did not rich the boat and soon came back to the shore. Gulliver saw some more giants and soon understood that he was in the country of the giants.

Card №9

The Farmer and the Apple – tree.

A poor farmer once had a friend who was famous for the wonderful apple – trees, which he grew. One day his friend gave the farmer a young tree and told him to take it home and plant it. The farmer was pleased with the gift, but when he got home he did not know where to plant it. He was afraid that if he planted a tree near the road, strangers could steal the fruit. If he planted the tree in one of his fields, his neighbours would come at night and steal some of the apples. If he planted the tree near his house, his children would take the fruit. Finally, he planted the tree deep in the wood, where no one could see it. But naturally, without sunlight and good soil, the tree soon died. Later, the friend asked the farmer why he had planted the tree in such a poor place.

“What’s the difference?” the farmer said angrily. “If I had planted the tree near the road, strangers would have stolen the fruit. If I had planted the tree in one of my fields, my neighbours would have come at night and stolen the apples. If I had planted it near my house, my own children would have taken the fruit”. “Yes”, said the friend. “But at least someone could have enjoyed the fruit. Now, by your foolish action, you have robbed everyone of the fruit and you have also destroyed a good tree”.

Card № 10

The Lion and the Mouse.

A lion was sleeping under a tree. Suddenly he heard noise and opened his eyes. He saw a little mouse quite near his nose. He caught the mouse by the tail. The mouse was frightened and cried, “Oh, please, sir, let me go!”

“Why did you make so much noise?” said the lion angrily.“I am sorry. I was only looking for something to eat. Let me go.

Perhaps, I’ll be able to help you some day”.The lion laughed, but he let the mouse go; he was a kind lion.Now one day a young hunter was walking in the forest when he

heard the lion’s roar. He called up the other hunters and they put up a net near the lion’s drinking place.

When the lion was thirsty he went to the river. He did not see the net and was caught in it. He roared and struggled and struggled and roared, but the ropes held him and he could do nothing. At last he was tired and hungry and lay still.

Suddenly he saw the mouse. The little animal was working on the net with her sharp teeth. Soon she cut the first rope, then another and another. At last the lion was able to free himself.

“You laughed at me when I promised to help you”, said the mouse. “When I heard your roar I ran to help you, and now see what I have done for you”.

Card № 11

A Day with Granny.

Two weeks ago, my cousin George and I decided to visit our grandmother in London.

We went up to London in the morning. After lunch we all three decided to sail down the Thames to Greenwich to have a look at the old ships. But suddenly it started raining, so we had to change our plans.

We decided to visit Madame Tussaud’s instead. George hadn’t been there before.

After an hour Granny felt a little tired and wanted to sit down and rest for a moment. She told us to go and take a look at all the murderers in the cellar. We promised to be back again in half an hour.

When we came back we saw two American tourists standing in front of Granny. One of them was taking a photo of her.

We didn’t understand why – but then we heard one of them say, “She sure looks like a real woman!” – You should have seen their faces a moment later when Granny opened her eyes!

(After M. Cain)

- Madam Tussaud’s – Музей мадам Тюссо (Лондонський музей воскових фігур знаменитих людей);

- Cellar – підвал.

Сard № 12

A Real Friend.

Many years ago a rich man named Llewellyn lived in the mountains of Wales. He had a little son two years old, whom he loved very dearly. Gelert, a large hound, was always near the boy. He was ready to protect him at any moment.

One morning, as Llewellyn prepared to go hunting, Gelert could not be found, and Llewellyn had to go without him. That day the hunt was not good because his favourite hound was absent. When Llewellyn came back home late in the afternoon, Gelert came running to meet him. There was blood on his muzzle and head. Llewellyn hurried to the room where the child slept.

The child could not be seen in the room. The bed, chairs and tables were overturned. Here and there he could see blood on the floor.

Llewellyn turned to Gelert and said, “You have killed my child!” So he killed the dog. But a few minutes later he found his son in his overturned bed. He was all right. Then he saw the body of a large grey wolf lying in a duck corner of the room.

Then Llewellyn understood everything. Gelert had killed the wolf before it attacked the child.

Llewellyn laid a great stone in his yard as a monument to his hound Gelert.

- hound – мисливський собака;

- muzzle – морда (собаки).

Card № 13

Miss Evans.

On a beautiful afternoon, in a year now long gone, a big ship set out on its first voyage from England to America. It was a new ship called “The Titanic”.

For two days “The Titanic” went on its way over the sea. Then it entered an ice-field and was hit by an iceberg.

Everyone was told to come out of their rooms. Men were putting the lifeboats over the sides of the ship, down into the water. Then all the men helped the women and children to get into the lifeboats.

There was not very much time left. The iceberg was on the side of the ship. It was like a high, white wall.

A woman came to the side of the ship. Her two children were in one of the lifeboats, and she was very much afraid.

“My children are in the lifeboat. I must go with them!” the woman called to the people in the lifeboat.

“There’s no more room”, someone called out. “If we take one more, the lifeboat will sink”.

There was a young woman in the lifeboat called Miss Evans. When she heard the woman calling, she stood up in the lifeboat and touched one of the men on the arm.

“Let me get back on to the ship”, she said. “Let that woman take my place. I have no children”.

“The ship is sinking”, said the man. “You know that?”“Yes”, said Miss Evans, “I know that’.

There was no time to talk. People helped Miss Evans to get back on to the ship. Very soon after that there was a great noise, and “The Titanic” went down under the water.

- set out – вирушати;- room (тут) – місце;- call out – вигукувати;- sink – тонути.

Card № 14

Carrying an Umbrella.

The umbrella was brought to England from the East in the eighteenth century. It was used in the East as a protection against the sun. In England it was used more as a protection against the rain. The English people liked the umbrella very much. Later they put up a monument to the first man who appeared in the streets of London with an umbrella.

Of course, you can go out without an umbrella in rainy weather if you put on a raincoat, but our story today is about an umbrella. Here it is.One day a man was walking in the street when he saw a little boy carrying an umbrella.

“Little boy”, said the man, “why do you carry that umbrella over your head? It is not raining and the sun isn’t shining”.

“When it rains”, answered the boy, “dad wants it. I can use it only when the weather is good”.

Card № 15

Filmstar.

Pauline loved the cinema and wanted to become a filmstar. When she was twelve she said to her parents, “I want to be a filmstar”.

But it was not easy. After she left school, she got into films – not as a star – she became one of the people in a crowd scene.

One evening the man at the agency called her up and said “There’s a job for you tomorrow, Pauline. Come at 8 o’clock. You’ll be a secretary”.

Pauline reached the studios at a quarter to 8. She waited 3 hours before they came to her scene.

The scene was very short: the star, a famous American actor, came and stopped in front of where Pauline was sitting.

“I want you to look at Harry when he comes in”, explained the director, “and say, Mr. Marlowe, there’s a call for you! Can you say that?”

Pauline said she could and did everything the director told her to do.The director was very pleased, and the star smiled at her.“That’s great”, said the director. “Thanks”.Pauline was very happy that evening.Some months later she booked two seats for the premiere and went to

see her film with Michael, her boy-friend.It was a good film but there was no Pauline in it. Her scene together

with many other unimportant scenes had been cut out.

Card № 16

The Shirt.

Many, many years ago there lived a king. He was very rich and he had everything he wanted. His country was strong and famous, but the king was not happy. So one day he went to a wise old man and asked him how to become happy. The wise man listened to him and then said, “There is very little happiness in this world, but I know the way to find it”.

“Show me the way to find it”, said the king.“It’s very easy”, answered the old man. “You have only to put on the

shirt of a happy man”.The king thanked the old man and began to look for a happy man. He

visited most of the capitals of the world. He met kings, barons and other aristocrats, but they were not happy.

At last he came back to his own country. One day he saw a poor farmer working in a field. He was singing and there was a happy look on his face. The king went up to the farmer and said, “My good man, are you happy?”

“Very happy”, answered the farmer. “Well, then”, said the king, “sell me your shirt”.

“My shirt?” said the farmer in surprise.“I haven’t got a shirt. I hope to buy a shirt soon, but I am happy”.

Card № 17

The seven sisters(A Greek myth)

Many years ago there lived a beautiful Moon-goddess, called Diana. She liked to hunt and every night she went through the wood on her white horse. Her dog ran after her and her seven girl-friends in beautiful white dresses followed her. They were the seven daughters of king Atlas, and they ran like the wind.

One night a giant whose name was Orion hunted in the wood. When he saw the seven sisters, he wanted to catch one of them and ran after the girls. When the sisters saw a giant, they were frightened and ran very quickly. They ran through the wood and over the mountains and saw that the giant was very near. They called Diana and ask her to help them. Diana changed them into birds and suddenly Orion saw seven beautiful birds which rose into the sky. They flew higher and higher and at last became seven bright stars in the sky. The Greek people called them the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters. The myth says that Orion could not forget the beautiful white birds and looked for them all his life. People say that only at the end of his life Orion found them in the sky.

At night when there are no clouds in the sky, you can see the Pleiades. They are a small group of stars very near one another. The seven sisters are always running away from Orion and he will never catch them.

Diana

Card № 18

An American in London.

An American tourist got on a bus in a London street and began to talk loudly to the bus conductor.

“What is the name of the nice little place there?” “The Law Courts”, answered the conductor. “And how long did it take to build it?” asked the American. “Can’t say it, sir, but I think it took ten years”. “Oh, in America we build very quickly. We could do it in a month”.

Then they came to St. Paul’s Cathedral. “Is that famous old St. Paul’s?” came the American’s questions. “And how long did it take to build it?” “I have heard it took the builders six or seven years”, said the bus conductor. “Seven years! Six month’s work in America. We build very quickly”.

Soon they came to another famous building. “And what fine house is that?” said the American. “I don’t know”, answered the conductor. “It wasn’t there when I passed three hours ago”.

The American didn’t know what to say. He stopped asking questions. The conductor was glad.

Card № 19

Bruce and the Spider.

Robert Bruce was the most famous of the Kings of Scotland. For many years he fought against the English invaders trying to drive them of Scotland. But the English defeated him and he was almost deserted by his countrymen.

One morning after receiving the last unpleasing information from Scotland, Bruce was lying on his bed. He didn’t know what to do. While he was thinking of what he should do, he looked upward to the roof of the room in which he lay. His eye was attracted by a spider, which, hanging at the end of a long thread was trying to swing itself from one beam to another. The spider wanted to fix the line on which it meant to stretch its web.

The spider made the attempt again and again but without any success. Bruce counted that the spider had tried to swing itself to another beam six times but with no result. Then Bruce remembered that he had himself fought just six battles against the English invaders and their allies but also without any success. The poor spider was exactly in the same situation as he himself. It has made as many attempts and had been as often disappointed in what it aimed at.

“Now”, thought Bruce, “as I don’t know what is best to be done, I’ll be guided by the spider’s luck. If it makes another attempt to fix its thread and is successful, I’ll make the seventh attempt to drive out the invaders.While Bruce was forming his resolution, the spider made another attempt and succeeded in fixing its thread to another beam. Bruce, seeing the success of spider, resolved to try his own fortune. He gathered his countrymen and attacked the invaders. And though he had never before won a victory, he never afterwards had any considerable ore decisive defeat.

- to desert – кидати, залишати;- to swing – гойдати(ся), хитати(ся);- beam – балка, брус;- tread – нитка;- countrymen – земляки.

Card № 20

A New Future.

The day after the skiing accident, Sill Kinmont lay quietly in a hospital bed. She wondered how soon she could get back on the slopes. It was 1955, and 18-year-old Sill was American’s top junior skier. A bright future lay ahead.

A doctor entered the room and began to poke Sill’s legs with a pin. “Can you fill this?” the doctor asked. “No”, answered Sill. It was then that the young athlete realized the truth. Her body was almost completely paralyzed from the shoulders down. She would never ski again. And she would never walk again either.

After six months in the hospital. Sill came home in a wheelchair. At first it took her about an hour to push her chair 25 feet. Once a week, she returned to the hospital for treatment to make her hand and arm muscles stronger. These were the only muscles she could still use.

Sill kept trying to do things for herself. She learned to button and unbutton her blouse. With a metal brace fixed on her hand, she was able to hold a pen and to write with it.

Sill began to plan a new future for herself. She went to college and became a teacher. For 20 years she has taught reading in California. Sill’s life has been so full and interesting that two movies have been made about it: “The other Side of the Mountain” and “the other Side of the Mountain” Part II.

- slope – схил;- top junior skier – найкраща лижниця серед юніорів;- ahead – попереду;- wheelchair – інвалідне крісло;- to button (unbutton) – застібати (розстібати) ґудзики;- brace – скоба;

Card № 21

Hearing the First Cuckoo.

During April people living in Britain usually hear the cuckoo for the first time in the year. There were many traditions in the past as to what should be done upon, first hearing the voice of the cuckoo.

In some place it was customary for people to stop their work and take a holiday for the rest of the day. It was considered that the number of times the bird called “cuckoo” was very important.

A young girl, hearing it, would call, “Cuckoo, tell me how many years will pass before I’m married?” And the number of times the bird cuckooed in answer told her how many years would pass before the happy event. Old people, too, weary of the world, would sometimes ask the question: “Tell me, cuckoo, how much longer must I live?” And the cuckoo, it was believed, would give the correct number of years. It was considered to be lucky to hear cuckoo for the first time when one was up and dressed, but unlucky to hear while in bed – superstition is invented by housewives anxious to get their maids early to work at a time of the year when there is always so much work to do.

- customary – звичний, звичайний;- weary – стомлений;- superstition – забобон;

Card № 22

Hinemoa.(A New Zealand Legend).

Hinemoa was the beautiful daughter of a Maori chief who lived on the shore of a great lake.

One day Hinemoa’s father gave a great feast at which all young men were present. Each young man tried to dance as well as he could because each hoped to win the heart of the young lady.

Hinemoa liked one of them most of all. He was a young man from a small island on the lake, and he loved Hinemoa very much. But when Hinemoa told her father that she loved him, the old chief got very angry and said that the young man was not noble.

“Noble or not”, answered Hinemoa, “he is the man I love!”This made the chief still angrier. He said, “If he comes to the shore

again, I’ll kill him”.Every night Hinemoa went to the shore of the lake but she never

found a canoe there, which could take her over the water. Hinevoa’s father had told his men to take canoes away every night and hide them.

However, Hinemoa didn’t lose hope. She decided to swim to the island. One night she started on her long, dangerous swim.

The night was dark and she could not see the island. Just then the moon came out and she saw that the island was quite near. A few minutes more and she felt the stones under her feet.

At the place where she came there was a hot spring. She entered the warm water, rested and warmed her cold body. Then she found the young man. They became husband and wife. They lived happily for many years.

- noble – благородний, дворянин;- hide – заховати.