THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA. Study the words and expressions

Study the words and expressions

perfect – совершенный

everywhere – повсюду

wrong – неправильный

too stupid – слишком глупая

enormous – огромная

hit – ударять

thunder – гром

lightning – молния

to pour down – лить как из ведра

to knock – стучать

to throw – бросать

to take in – впускать

feather-bed – пуховик

to climb up – взбираться вверх

ladder – лестница

to be bruised – быть в синяках

sensitive skin – чувствительная кожа

A Read the text and put the paragraphs of this famous fairy story

in the right order.

Next morning the Queen went to see her.

‘Did you sleep well, my dear? ’ she asked.

“No, very badly. There was something very hard in the bed and now I’m bruised all over.’ The Queen was glad to hear this; she knew this was a real princess, because princesses have got very sensitive skins. The Prince was glad too. He married her and they lived a happy life. They put the pea in the museum and everyone came to see it.

They took her in and gave her a hot bath and dry clothes. The Queen, the Prince’s mother, made a bed for her. She got twenty mattresses and twenty feather-beds. Then she took a pea and put it on the bed, and laid the mattresses and feather-beds on it. The princess had supper and climbed up a ladder into bed.

One night there was a great storm. There was thunder and lightning and the rain poured down. In the middle of it there was a knock at the palace door. The King threw away his cigar and went to open it. There was a very beautiful girl outside. She had long black hair and big dark eyes. She was cold and wet, and the rain ran off her clothes. She said, “I-I-I am a real princess.’

Once upon a time there was a prince who wanted to get married. ‘But, ’ he

said, ‘she must be a real princess. And she must be absolutely perfect.’ There were

not many perfect princesses in the world. He travelled everywhere on his favourite

horse and he looked at all the princesses between China and Spain. But there was

something wrong with every one; one was too stupid, one was too clever; one

was enormous and another very small; one hit him and broke his jaw. The Prince went home very unhappy.

B Look at the list of headings A-E and then read the text more slowly. After

each paragraph look down the list and choose the heading that fits best.

There is one extra heading you do not need.

A A beautiful stranger

B Important ceremonies

C Looking for a real princess

D A well-known test

E The bed is bad

C Arrange the following words into four groups of similar words.

Queen stupid storm bed rain

King sleep unhappy Prince

lightning glad wet thunder

mattress beautiful Princess clever

A B C D