British homes

1. About 80 per cent of British people live in houses built close together. Detached houses are usually in expensive suburbs, quite far from the town centre. Terraced houses and blocks of flats are mostly found in town centers. They can either be very small two-storey houses with one or two bedrooms or large houses with three or five floors and four or five bedrooms.

2. About 67 per cent of people in Britain own their houses or flats. Most of the rest live in rented accommodation. People in Britain buy houses or flats because there is not enough rented accommodation and what there is can be expensive.

3. Council flats ¹ and houses are built and owned by the local council. After the Second World War a lot of council flats, known as tower blocks, were constructed. Some were as high as 20 storeys and so badly built that they had to be pulled down only thirty years later.

4. Modern housing estates ² are built differently now. There might be a mixture of two-storey terraced houses together with a four-storey block of flats. There are play areas for children and there is often a community centre ³ where people who live on the estate can meet.

5. Since 1980’s council tenants have been able ⁴ to buy their own homes very cheaply if they have lived in them for over two years. By 1993, 1, 5 million council houses had been sold, but only 5000 council houses or flats were built to replace them. This means that it is now very difficult to find cheap housing or rent.

6. Most British houses have a garden and many British people spend a lot of time in it. Most gardens, even small ones, have flowers and a lawn. If you don’t have a garden, it is possible to grow flowers and vegetables on at allotment ⁵ which is a piece of land rented from the local council.

Пояснения к тексту:

1. муниципальное жилье

2. микрорайон

3. центр общения

4. зд. – жители могут

5. зд. – участок

7. Прочитайте 6-й абзац и письменно ответьте на вопрос:

Where can British people grow flowers if they have no gardens?

Вариант 4

1. Перепишите следующие предложения. Определите по грамматическим признакам, какой частью речи являются слова, оформленные окончанием – s и какую функцию это окончание выполняет, т.е. служит ли оно:

а) показателем 3-го лица единственного числа глагола в Present Simple;

б) признаком множественного числа имени существительного;

в) показателем притяжательного падежа имени существительного (см. образец выполнения 1).

Переведите предложения на русский язык.

1) Many outstanding statesmen, painters, writers and poets are buried in the Abbey.

2) Many visitors to the Abbey are attracted to Poets’ Corner.

3) The street called Whitehall stretches from Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square.

2. Перепишите следующие предложения и переведите их, обращая внимание на особенности перевода на русский язык определений, выраженных именем существительным (см. образец выполнения 2).

1) Scotland Yard is situated on the Thames Embankment close to the Houses of Parliament and the familiar clock tower of Big Ben.

2) An interesting branch of Scotland Yard is the branch of Police Dogs, first used as an experiment in 1938.

3) The popular nickname of the London policeman “bobby” is a tribute to Sir Robert Peel, who introduced the police force in 1829, and whose Christian name attached itself to members of the force.

3. Перепишите следующие предложения, содержащие разные формы сравнения, и переведите их на русский язык.

1) Most museums of London are free and give free guided tours as well as lectures.

2) Some cinemas are cheaper on Mondays; others sell half-price tickets before 6 p.m.

3) The Cutty Sark ¹ at the village of Greenwich on the River Thames is the most famous tea clipper in Britain.

Пояснения:

The Cutty Sark – Катти Сарк – последний из больших чайных клиперов, стоит в Гринвиче в сухом доке, открыт для публики как музей.

4. Перепишите и письменно переведите предложения на русский язык, обращая внимание на перевод неопределенных и отрицательных местоимений.

1) Some people think that the monarchy should be abolished.

2) The monarchy in Britain has no power and it costs the State a lot of money to maintain.

3) Can you give any examples borrowed from books and films characterizing the British people?

5. Перепишите следующие предложения, определите в них видо-временные формы глаголов и укажите их инфинитив; переведите предложения на русский язык (см. образец выполнения 3).

1) Everybody knows about the devotion of the English to animals.

2) You might think that marriage and the family are not so popular as they once were.

3) During the nineteenth century Britain traded all over the world.

6. Прочитайте и устно переведите на русский язык 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 абзацы текста. Перепишите и письменно переведите 1, 2, 3 абзацы.

LONDON

1. London is where the invading Romans first crossed the River Thames. They built a city a square mile in size, surrounded it with a wall and called it Londinium. This original site of London is now called the Cityof London ¹ and is Britain’s main financial centre.

2. The City is only a very small part of London. In the eleventh century London began to expand beyond the City walls when King Edwardthe Confessor ² built a huge abbey at Westminster. Even today, Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament, as well as the shops, cafes, theatres and cinemas of the West End, are in the City of Westminster and not in the City of London.

3. The saying “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life” (Dr. Johnson) is a cliche, but you can’t be bored ³ in London. There are hundreds of historic buildings, galleries and museums. There are parks and street markets, over 80 theatres and even more cinemas.

4. If you want to discover London, it is best to start with a tour on a sightseeing bus. It is also fun to go on a guided walk. The walks last up to three hours.

5. The centre of London has many different areas. Each one has its own special character. Covent Garden ⁴ in London West End, is crowded with cafes, clubs and clothes shops. Soho ⁴ is also known for its clubs. Knightsbridge ⁴ has a lot of exclusive and expensive shops, as well as many of the embassies. Fleet Street ⁴ is the home of Law Courts. One part of the West End has so many Chinese shops and restaurants that is called Chinatown.

6. When you go outside the centre you find many areas which used to be small villages. The villages became part of the city when they expanded but they still managed to keep their village character. Hampstead ⁴, the best known of the villages, is extremely expensive.

Пояснения к тексту:

1. Сити

2. король Эдвард

3. зд. – не заскучаешь

4. названия

7. Прочитайте 5-й абзац текста и письменно ответьте на вопрос:

What is called Chinatown?

Вариант 5

1. Перепишите следующие предложения. Определите по грамматическим признакам, какой частью речи являются слова, оформленные окончанием – s, и какую функцию это окончание выполняет, т.е. служит ли оно:

а) показателем 3-го лица единственного числа глагола в Present Simple;

б) признаком множественного числа имени существительного;

в) показателем притяжательного падежа имени существительного (см. образец выполнения 1).

Переведите предложения на русский язык.

1) The ceremony of the Changing of the Guard that takes place daily at eleven o’clock in the morning provokes most interest among tourists.

2) The two principal public attractions of the Royal Academy are the famous series of Winter Exhibitions and the annual Summer Exhibition.

3) The Queen’s Gallery has special exhibitions from the Royal collection and may be visited every day except Monday.

2. Перепишите следующие предложения и переведите их, обращая внимание на особенности перевода на русский язык определений, выраженных именем существительным (см. образец выполнения 2).

1) The men took hard and heavy jobs in industry, and the women took the low-paid jobs in factory canteens or restaurants.

2) The British government’s policy is that immigrants and their children should enjoy equality of opportunity in every possible way.

3) The remarkable collection of “Holmesiana₂” to be seen includes revolvers, handcuffs, a police lantern, a model of han some-cab and some 19-th-century cartoons.

3. Перепишите следующие предложения, содержащие разные формы сравнения, и переведите их на русский язык.

1) Hyde Park has a large and most attractive lake called the Serpentine.

2) Street – salesmen promise that the goods are of the highest quality and much cheaper than those you can buy in the West End.

3) Immigrants hoped to find a better way of life in Britain.

4. Перепишите и письменно переведите предложения на русский язык, обращая внимание на перевод неопределенных и отрицательных местоимений.

1) The British say that once upon a time people in England kept to any side of the road they liked.

2) There are no trams in London since 1952.

3) Some have had to leave their country for religious or political reasons.

5. Перепишите следующие предложения, определите в них видо-временные формы глаголов и укажите их инфинитив; переведите предложения на русский язык (см. образец выполнения 3).

1) The East End markets are famous throughout the world.

2) Yet, many people still discriminate against immigrants and their children because of the colour of their skin.

3) The Royal Academy’s services to the arts began nearly 200 years ago.

6. Прочитайте и устно переведите на русский язык с 1 по 4 абзацы. Перепишите и письменно переведите 1, 2, 3 абзацы.