бы вы смогли пролететь над Москвой на вертолете (helicopter), вы бы увидели, как изменилась
и выросла наша столица: длинные, обсаженные деревьями проспекты, пересекают город во
всех направлениях, кварталы новых многоэтажных домов появились на окраинах города на
месте старых деревянных домиков, темных от копоти и дыма. Над многочисленными
стройками (building sites) столицы возвышаются огромные подъемные краны (cranes). 3.
Метро — самый удобный вид городского транспорта. Сотни тысяч москвичей и приезжих
ежедневно поднимаются и спускаются по его эскалаторам, восхищаются архитектурой и
отделкой (decoration) чудесных подземных дворцов. 4. Памятник А. С. Пушкину,
установленный на Страстной (ныне Пушкинской) площади, — один из самых любимых
памятников жителей столицы. У его подножия вы всегда увидите букеты живых цветов,
которые приносят сюда москвичи, чтобы почтить память любимого поэта.
XV. Act out a dialogue between a Muscovite and a Londoner on his first visit to
Moscow. Imagine that you are standing in the middle of Red Square. Your companion
asks you about everything be sees, gives his opinion about this and that and says
what buildings, monuments, etc. remind him of London. Use the prompts of Ex. VII.
p. 111.
XVI. a) Get ready to read the text aloud, b) Write a translation of the text:
Morning City
This was one of those mornings when the smoke and the Thames Valley mist decide to work
a few miracles for their London, and especially for the oldest part of it, the City. The City, on these
mornings, is an enchantment. There is a faintly luminous haze, now silver, now old gold, over
everything. The buildings have shape and solidity but no weight; they hang in the air, like palaces
out of the Arabian Nights; you could topple the dome off St. Paul's with a forefinger, push back the
Mansion House, send the Monument floating into space. On these mornings, the old churches cannot
be counted; there are more of them than ever. There is no less traffic than usual; the scarlet stream of
buses still flows through the ancient narrow streets; the pavements are still thronged with bank
messengers, office boys, policemen, clerks, typists, commissionaires, directors, secretaries, crooks,
busy-bodies, idlers; but on these mornings all the buses, taxicabs, vans, lorries and all the pedestrians
lose something of their ordinary solidity; they move behind gauze; they are tyred in velvet; their
voices are muted; their movement is in slow motion. Whatever is new and vulgar and foolish
contrives to lose itself in the denser patches of mist. But all the glimpses of ancient loveliness are
there, perfectly framed and lighted: round every corner somebody is whispering a line or two of
Chaucer. And on these mornings, the river is simply not true: there is no geography, nothing but pure
poetry, down there; the water has gone and shapes out of an adventurous dream drift by on a tide of
gilded and silvered air. Such is the City on one of these mornings, a place in a Gothic fairy tale, a
mirage, a vision.
(From "They Walk in the City" by J. B. Priestley. Abridged)
XVII. Role-playing:
A group of guides suggests possible sightseeing routes about London (Moscow) to their
office director. Each one speaks in favour of his/her suggestion trying to convince both the director
and the guides that the route is the best. In the end the participants of the talk choose the most
appropriate route.
XVIII. Describe (in writing) a sight or a view that once struck yon as
picturesque, beautiful or unusual.
The best essays may be read in class and then placed in a wall paper, a special bulletin issued
by the literary club, etc.
Note: The text above may serve as a perfect example of such description
XIX. Film: "Mr. Brown's Holiday." Film segment 3 "In Dear Old England"
(Broadstairs). a) Watch and listen, b) Do the exercises from the guide to the film.
STUDIES OF WRITTEN ENGLISH (III)
The central idea of a paragraph is built up with the help of larger units than key-words, that is
with the help of socalled topic sentences.
Topic sentence is a summarizing sentence of a paragraph. Topic sentences can also be used
to tie up a group of paragraphs together holding the unity of a passage.
Generally the topic sentence comes first in a paragraph. It helps to understand the text and
begin writing, е.g. "Numerous artificial languages have been carefully constructed and some of them
are still in limited use. In 1887, an artificial language, Esperanto, was created. Esperanto has little
grammar and drew its vocabulary from all the European languages..." (From "One Language for the
World" by M. Pei). The writer proceeds from a general statement to particulars.
Occasionally the topic sentence comes last, when the writer wishes first to prepare his reader
for the general idea or a conclusion, е.g. "You're like two friends who want to take their holiday
together, but one of them wants to climb Greenland's snowy mountains while the other wants to fish
off India's coral strand. Obviously it's not going to work" (From "The Razor's Edge" by W. S.
Maugham).
Assignments:
1. Read the passage "Introducing London" and mark paragraphs with topic sentences.
What central idea do they summarize? Where are they placed within the paragraph?
2. Find the topic sentence that holds the unity of the whole passage.
3. Mark the key-words that emphasize the main points of the information about
London.
4. Paragraph 8 includes the key-word "parks", develop it into a topic sentence
summarizing the central idea of the paragraph.
5. Write a paragraph describing the picture on pp. 114-115. Try your hand at various
topic sentences that help to hold the unity of the paragraph.
LABORATORY EXERCISES (II)
1. Listen to the text "Some More Glimpses of London."
2. Listen to the dialogue "Sightseeing". Repeat the text in the intervals and record your
versions.
Compare your version with the original and correct your pronunciation mistakes if any.
3. Translate the sentences into English, check them with the key.
4. Listen to the test "Behind the Scenes" or some other text on the topic "London".
Discuss the text in class.
5. Listen to the "Sonnet Composed upon Westminster Bridge". Mark the stresses and
tunes. Learn it by heart.
CURIOSITY QUIZ FOR EAGERS
1. Why is the clock on the Clock Tower of the Houses of Parliament called "Big Ben"?
2. What is the "Cenotaph"? Where can it be found? What is the origin of the name?
3. The security of the Tower of London is mainly the responsibility of the Yeomen
Warders or "Beefeaters" as they are popularly called. What is the origin of the word
"Beefeater"?
4. What is the "Union Jack"? What does it look like? What is its origin? Where and
when can it be seen?
5. Name five of the numerous bridges which cross the Thames. Show them on the map
of London and comment on their names.
6. What is "Soho"? Where is it situated? What are its peculiar features?
