mist; to be (to get) wet through; the things are damp, soaked; the wind rises, drives the clouds away, brings rain, drops; it's a
hot, stuffy day; the heat is stifling, unbearable; there is hardly a breath of air; not a leaf is stirring; it's 30 (degrees) above (zero)
in the shade; a day to tempt anyone out.
3. Meals: meals in the open air; cooking utensils; frying-pan; saucepan; pot; kettle, tea-pot, to get a kettle to boil; tin, tinned
food, tin-opener; pocket knife; gas-burner; water-container; eggs and bacon, scrambled eggs; plain, nourishing breakfast; to
peel, to scrape potatoes; to stir, to mix; to crack, to squash, to smash; to clean, to scrape out a frying-pan; to spill; odds and
ends; flavour; good stuff; like nothing else on earth; to make a fire, to put out the fire; to light a gas-stove; to settle oneself for
a meal; to squat down to supper; burnt and unappetising-looking mess; to give smb. a good appetite; to wash up.
4. Sleep: to camp out, to sleep out; a picnic site; to fix (to pitch) a tent, to strike a tent; sleeping-bag; to be fast asleep, not to
sleep a wink; torch.
5. Bathing and boating: to look down at the river and shiver; to throw water over oneself, a tremendous splash; to dive; to
swim, to have a swim; to run one's boat into a quiet nook; to hire a boat; to get upset; to row up (down) the river (stream); to
steer; bow, stern; canoe, rowing-boat, motor-boat, yacht; to land, to get out; to scull, tow, to punt; raft, to raft; strong current; a
refreshing bathe.
Read the following passage, comment on it and then answer the questions which follow it.
A Walking Tour
To be properly enjoyed, a walking tour should be gone upon alone. If you go in a company, or even in pairs, it is no
longer a walking tour in anything but name; it is something else and more in the nature of a picnic. A walking tour
should be gone upon alone because you should be able to stop and go on, and follow this way and that, as the
whim takes you; and because you must have your own pace, and neither trot alongside a champion walker, nor
mince in time with a girl. And you must be open to all impressions and let your thoughts take colour from what
you see. You should be as a pipe for any wind to play upon. There should be no cackle of voices at your elbow, to
jar on the meditative silence of the morning. And so long as a man is reasoning he cannot surrender himself to that
fine intoxication that comes of much motion in the open air, that begins in a sort of dazzle and sluggishness of the
brain, and ends in a peace that passes comprehension.
During the first day or so of any tour there are moments of bitterness, when the traveller feels more than coldly
towards his knapsack, when he is half in a mind to throw it bodily over the hedge. Yet it soon acquires a property
of easiness. It becomes magnetic; the spirit of the journey enters into it again. And no sooner have you passed the
straps over your shoulder again than the less of sleep are cleared from you, you pull yourself together with a shake
and fall at once into your stride. And surely, of all possible moods, this, in which a man takes the road, is the best.
1.Comment on the writer's use of the expression "in anything but name". 2. What in the opinion of the writer
are the main disadvantages of having company on a walking tour? 3. "You should be as a pipe for any wind to play
on." What is the significance of this statement? 4. How, according to the writer, is man affected by prolonged
walking in the open air? 5. What impression do we receive from the use of the word "bodily"? 6. The writer
describes the knapsack as becoming magnetic. In what way is this an accurate description? 7. Taking the theme as
a whole, what do you think is "the spirit of the journey" referred to?
2. Give a summary of the text.
3. Use the Topical Vocabulary in answering the questions:
1. What are the advantages and the disadvantages of a hiking tour? 2. What must you take with you if you are
going on a week's walking tour? 3. What's your daily routine when on a hike? 4. How would you plan your day in
hot stuffy weather? 5. What would you do in cold and rainy weather? 6. Do you take the weather forecast into
account when going hiking? 7. What do you like for breakfast, dinner and supper when on a hike? 8. What must
you do to make a fire, to cook scrambled eggs,' to cook fish soup, to cook porridge? 9. Do you like sleeping out?
10. Which would you prefer: sleeping out or being put up at the village? Give reasons for your choice. 11. Do you make a
point of having a swim every day no matter what the weather is? 12. Which would you rather choose: a hiking trip or a river
trip? Why? 13. Have you or your friends ever gone fishing? What is characteristic of an experienced angler? 14. What do you
do of an evening during a hiking tour?
4. Read the poem, comment on it and answer the questions.
Leisure
What is this life if, full of care.
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
W.H.Davis (1871—1940)
What do you consider to be the author's message of the poem? 2. What is the author's attitude towards the life
full of care? 3. Show how the reader is constantly reminded of the poor life he lives. 4. In view of the contents of the
poem, what is hinted at in the title "Leisure"? 5. Observe whether irony enters into the author's treatment of the
subject. 6. Choose two words or phrases which you find particularly vivid. Comment on each of them so as to con -
vey the reasons why you find them effective. 7. The poet treats his subject in a very lovely and interesting manner.
One way in which he sustains interest is by using expressions which suggest that there is something "human" about
nature. Find in the poem what is often used with reference to human beings. 8. What do the images of the poem
suggest are the poet's feelings about nature? 9. Bring out the effectiveness of the repetition in the poem. 10. Would
you recommend the poem to a friend? Give your brief reasons. 11. Suppose that you had some reasons to get up an
hour before dawn. Describe the signs and stages by which the rest of the world "wakes up". 12. As a teacher you
propose to introduce this poem to your pupils. Prepare your introductory talk.
5. Work in pairs or in small groups. Use the phrase list of the Topical Vocabulary:
1.
You've been chatting to a friendly fellow-hiker on your way to the meeting place about your last year experience
on a hiking tour.
2. You have been invited to join your friend's family on a hiking tour. You've never been before and you want to
know much about the new experience.
3. A friend is saying good-bye to you as you are about to go off on a short hiking tour. You are not convinced you are
going to enjoy yourself.
4. You have arranged with your friend, Mike, to go out for a picnic. But it is pouring with rain.
5. At your English Department you have planned an end-of- term walking tour. You speak to your teacher about the
