Put the words in correct order.

Read the text.

Answer the questions;

1.Who gave a party?

2.Why didn’t Mark’s sister invite him to the party?

3.what did he have to do at the party?

4.What kind of screen was across the room?

5.How did the boy begin to practise?

6.What part would he play?

7.Whose laughter did the boys hear from behind the screen?

8.What did he ask Sandy for?

9.When did he come back home?

10.What was written on a slip of paper?

3. Complete the sentences:

1. In, 1849, when I was …, we were still living in Hannibal.

2. In the autumn … gave a party.

3. She invited all the … people of the village.

4. I was to wear … of brown hairy stuff suitable for a ….

5. I took my … with me.

6. There was an … across the room.

7. I was … and I began my practice.

8. I walked … and made … I thought a bear should ….

9. All of sudden there was a bust … from behind ….

10. “You … couldn’t have played … but you played … very well.”

Put the words in correct order.

1. On, head, I, stood, my.

2. It, my, share, ten, of, whole, to, minutes, be, was.

3. Was, to, and, very, wanted, little, room, a, I, the, practice, small.

4. It, we, talking, entered.

5. Couple, screams, fright, in, of, discharged, loud, a, they, their.

6. One, the, and, I, to, other, forth, went, room, back, from.

7. I, go, everybody, dared, asleep, home, when, finally.

8. Screen, not, behind, old, I, there, girls, did, were, know.

9. New, in, us, the, of, lived, some, part.

10. Society, too, to, too, for, and, I, retiring, this, with, young, young, was, ladies, mix.

Huckleberry Finn

by Mark Twain

Sherburn – Attending the Circus Intoxication in the Ring – The Thrilling Tragedy.

I went to the circus, and loafed around the back side till the watchmen went by, and then dived in under the tent. I had my twenty-dollar gold piece and some other money, but I reckoned I better save it, because there ain't no telling how soon you are going to need it, away from home and amongst strangers, that way. You can't be too careful. I ain't opposed to spending money on circuses, when there ain't no other way, but there ain't no use in wasting it on them.

It was a real bully circus. It was the splendidest sight that ever was, and when they all come riding in, two and two, a gentleman and lady, side by side, the men just in their drawers and undershirts, and no shoes nor stirrups, and resting their hands on their thighs, easy and comfortable - there must a' been twenty of them - and every lady with a lovely complexion, and perfectly beautiful, and looking just like a gang of real sure-enough queens, and dressed in clothes that cost millions of dollars, and just littered with diamonds. It was a powerful fine sight; I never see anything so lovely. And then one by one they got up and stood, and went a-weaving around the ring so gentle and wavy and graceful, the men looking ever so tall and airy and straight, with their heads bobbing and skimming along, away up there under the tent-roof, and every lady's rose-leafy dress flapping soft and silky around her hips, and she looking like the most loveliest parasol.

And then faster and faster they went, all of them dancing, first one foot stuck out in the air and then the other, the horses leaning more and more, and the ring-master going round and round the centrepole, cracking his whip and shouting 'hi! - hi! ' and the clown cracking jokes behind him; and by-and-by all hands dropped the reins, and every lady put her knuckles on her hips and every gentleman folded his arms, and then how-the horses did lean over and hump themselves! And so, one after the other they all skipped off into the ring, and made the sweetest bow I ever see, and then scampered out, and everybody clapped their hands and went just about wild.

Well, all through the circus they done the most astonishing things; and all the time that: clown carried on so it most killed the people. The ring-master couldn't ever say a word to him but he was back at him quick as a wink with the funniest things a body ever said; and how he ever could think of so many of them, and so sudden and so pat, was what I couldn't noway understand. Why, I couldn't a thought of them in a year. And by-and-by a drunk man tried to get into the ring - said he wanted to ride; said he could ride as well as anybody that ever was. They argued and tried to keep him out, but he wouldn't listen, and the whole show come to a standstill. Then the people begun to holler at him and make fun of him, and that made him mad, and he begun to rip and tear; so that stirred up the people, and a lot of men begun to pile down off of the benches and swarm towards the ring, saying, 'Knock him down! throw him out! ' and one or two women begun to scream. So, then, the ring-master he made a little speech, and said he hoped there wouldn't be no disturbance, and if the man would promise he wouldn't make no more trouble, he would let him ride, if he thought he could stay on the horse. So everybody laughed and said all right, and the man got on. The minute he was on, the horse begun to rip and tear and jump and cavort around, with two circus men hanging onto his bridle trying to hold him, and the drunk man hanging onto his neck, and his heels flying m the air every jump, and the whole crowd of people standing up shouting and laughing till the tears rolled down. And at last, sure enough, all the circus men could do, the horse broke loose, and away he went like the very nation, round and round the ring, with that sot laying down on him and hanging to his neck, with first one leg hanging most to the ground on one side, and then t'other one on t'other side, and the people just crazy. It warn't funny to me, though; I was all of a tremble to see his danger. But pretty soon he struggled up astraddle and grabbed the bridle, a-reeling this way and that - and the next minute he sprung up and dropped the bridle and stood! and the horse agoing like a house afire too. He just stood up there, a-sailing around as easy and comfortable as if he wam't ever drunk in his life - and then he begun to pull off his clothes and sling them. He shed them so thick they kind of clogged up the air, and altogether he shed seventeen suits. And then, there he was, slim and handsome, and dressed the gaudiest and prettiest you ever saw, and he lit onto that horse with his whip and made him fairly hum - and finally skipped off, and made his bow and danced off to the dressing-room, and everybody just a-howling with pleasure and astonishment.

Then the ring-master he see how he had been fooled, and he was thesickest ring-master you ever see, I reckon. Why, it was one of his own men! He had got up that joke all out of his own head; and never let on to nobody. Well, I felt sheepish enough, to be took in so, but I wouldn't a been in that ring-master's place, not for a thousand dollars. I don't know; there may be bullier circuses than what that one was, but I never struck-them yet. Anyways it was plenty good enough for me; and wherever I run across it, it can have all my custom, every time.

Glossary:

Tasks

I. Read the text. Try to answer the following questions:

Who is speaking?

How old do you think he is?

What did he see at the circus?

How was he tricked?

II. In pairs, discuss answers to the questions.

Which clothes were the following wearing?

Horsemen | horsewomen.

III. Answer these questions:

How did Huckleberry Finn get into the circus?

Why didn’t he pay?

What was the first thing he saw?

What did the following do:

-the horsemen

-the horsewomen

-the clown

Why did Huckleberry Finn admire the clowns?

What did the drunk do when he came into the ring?

What was the reaction of the audience?

How do you know the man wasn’t really drunk?

More difficult questions:

In what way, is Huckleberry Finn a typical boy?

Is he unusual in any way?

What are Huckleberry Finn’s feelings about the circus?

How do you know?

In what way, is Huckleberry Finn a detached spectator?

IV. In what instances does Huckleberry Finn’s perception of what he sees differ from our perception of what we imagine happened? In what way was it not the ring-master who was “fooled” but Huckleberry Finn?

V. Summerise what the ring-master does during the time that Huckleberry Finn is there.

- Huckleberry Finn doesn’t always use “correct English”.

- What are the following “correct English”:

What effect does this “incorrect English” have?

- Some language is written as it was spoken (e. d. “must a “been” insteat of “must have been””). Find other examples.

VI. Huckleberry Finn’s character is revealed not by the author’s description of him, but through what he says and the way he says it. Describe Huckleberry Finn.

The Girl Who Cried Monster
by R.L.Stine

I love to scary my little brother, Randy. I tell him scary stories about monsters until he bags me to stop. And I’m always teasing him by pretending to see monsters everywhere.

My name is Lucy Dark. I’m twelve. I live with my brother, Randy, who is six, and my parents in a medium-sized house in a medium-sized town called Timberland Falls.

I don’t know why it’s called Timberland Falls. There are a few forests outside of town, but no one cuts the trees down for timber. And there aren’t any falls.

So, why Timberland Falls?

It’s a mystery.

We have a redbrick house at the end of our street. There’s a tall, overgrown hedge that runs along the side of our house and separated our yard from the Kileens’ yard next door. Dad’s always talking about how he should trim the hedge, but he never does.

We have small front yard and a pretty big back yard with a lot of tall, old trees in it. There’s an old sassafras tree in the middle of the yard. It’s cool and shady under the tree. That’s where I like to sit with Randy when there’s nothing better to do, and see if I can scare the socks off of him.

It isn’t very hard.

He looks a lot like me, even though he’s a boy. He’s got straight black hair just like me, only I wear mine longer. He’s short for his age, like me, and just a little bit chubby.

He has a round face rounder than mine, and big black eyes, which really stand out since we both have such pale white skin.

Mom says Randy has longer eyelashes than mine, which makes me kind of jealous. But my nose is straighter, and my teeth don’t stick out as much when I smile. So I guess I shouldn’t complain.

Anyway, on a lot afternoon a couple of weeks ago, Randy and I were sitting under the old sassafras tree, and I was getting ready to scare him to death.

I really didn’t have anything better to do. As soon as summer came around this year and school let out, most of my really good friends went away for the summer. I was stuck at home, and so I was pretty lonely.

Randy is usually a total pain. But at least he is somebody to talk to. And someone I can scare.

I have a really good imagination. And I can dream up the most amazing monsters. And I can make them sound really real.

Mom says with my imagination, maybe I’ll be a writer when I grow up.

I really don’t know about that.

I do know that it doesn’t take a whole lot of imagination to frighten Randy.

Usually all I have to do is tell him there’s a monster trying on his closet upstairs in his closet, and Randy turns even whiter than normal and starts shaking all over.

The poor kid. I can even make his teeth chatter. It’s unbelievable.

I leaned back against the smooth part of the tree trunk and rested my hands on the grass, and closed my eyes. I was dreaming up a good story to tell my brother.

The grass felt soft and moist against my bare feet. I dug my toes into the dirt.

Randy was wearing denim shorts and plain white sleeveless T-shirt. He was lying on his side, plucking up blades of grass with one hand.

“Did you ever hear about Timberland Falls toe-biter? ” I asked him, brushing a spider off my white tennis shorts. ”There was this monster. This story isn’t made up. It’s true.”

He looked up at me and made a face. “Yeah. Sure.”

Randy pulled himself up to a sitting position. “I think I’ll go inside and read comic books, ” he said, tossing down a handful of grass.

Randy has a big comic book collection. But they’re all Disney comics and Archie comics because the superhero comics are too scary for him.

“The toe-biter showed up one day right next door” I told Randy. I knew once I started the story, he wouldn’t leave.

Glossary:

timber – колода;

chubby – товстий;

redbrick –червона цегла;

hedge – огорожа;

trim – охайний;

complain – скаржитися;

to chatter – клацати (зубами);

smooth – рівний;

to lean – нахилятися;

sleeveless – без рукавів.