Владимир Аракин - Практический курс английского языка 1 курс

problem two

months, sleeping rather long already.I (We)

You

They

Ann and Petehave (not) beenwriting this translation since

the morning, living in this vil age nearly

a month, playing tennis for about an hour.

T a b l e No. 2

Hashe (she) Father Mary, Johnbeenwaiting for you for 20 minutes? working at this

problem two

months? ' sleeping long?HaveI (we)

you

they

Ann and Petebeenwriting this translation since the . morning?

living in this village nearly a month? playing tennis for about an hour?

GRAMMAR EXERCISES

STUDY THE FOLLOWING

I. a) Make up sentences using Substitution Table No.1. b) Composeyour own

sentencesof the same kind.

II. Give the interrogative and negative forms of the following

sentences:

1. He has been working at his report since 10 o'clock. 2. They have been

writing their test for nearly two hours already. 3. She has been waiting long. 4.

His daughter has been playing the piano since the morning. 5. They have been

discussing this problem for rather a long time. 6. The child has been sleeping too

long. 7. Ann and Roger have been quarrelling for fifteen minutes. 8. She has

been dreaming to become an actress all her life. 9.1 have been doing my lessons

since 4 o'clock.

III.

Put the verbs in brackets in the Present Perfect or the Present Perfect

Continuous:

1. How long you (to wait) for me? 2.1 (to know) her since my childhood. 3.

He (to think) about it for three days. 4. They always (to prefer) theatre to TV. 5.

How long she (to study) music? — Oh, she (to study) music since her early

childhood. 6. Since she was a little girl she (to try) not to take things seriously. 7.

The students (to write) their test for two hours already.

8. She (to live) in that house round the corner about thirty years.

9. You (to play) too long. It's high time to do your lessons.

10.

She (to be ill) for more than two weeks. I (to miss) her terribly.

IV. Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Я жду вас уже двадцать минут. 2. Ученые работают над этой

проблемой много лет. 3. Джин всю жизнь мечтает поехать куда-нибудь на

восток. 4. Я перевожу статью с самого утра. 5. Она спит уже очень долго.

Пора ее будить, б. Анна и Роджер ссорятся с самого утра. 7. Мы живем в

этой маленькой деревушке целую неделю. 8. Вы слишком долго обсуждаете

этот вопрос. 9. Вы давно здесь живете? 10. Неужели он действительно так

долго занимается? 11. Ты уже уложила вещи? Такси уже десять минут ждет

нас 12. Он всегда интересовался физикой. Сейчас он работает над новой

проблемой. Он работает над ней уже два месяца. 13. Н. пишет очень

хорошие повести. Недавно он закончил одну повесть и сейчас пишет новую

Он пишет ее больше месяца и говорит, что пишет ее с удовольствием. 14.

Мы здесь уже с начала месяца, но все это время погода плохая. 15. Дождь

идет с самого утра.

TEXT 1

HOME

After W. S. Maugham1

The farm, an old-fashioned stone house, was built in 1673, and for three

hundred years the people had been born and died in it and had farmed the

surrounding land.

George Meadows was aman of fifty and his wife, Mrs. George, was a year or

two younger. They were both fine people in the prime of life. Their three

daughters were lovelyand their two sons were handsomeand strong. They had

no notions about being gentlemen and ladies; they knew their place, were happy

and deservedtheir happiness, as they were merry, industriousand kindly.

The master of the house was not George, but his mother, who was twice the

man her son was, as they said in the village. She was a woman of seventy, tall,

upright, with gray hair and a wrinkledface. Her eyes were bright and shrewd

and she had a sense of humour. Her word was law in the house and on the farm.

In short, she was a character.

One day Mrs. George met me in the street and told me that they had received

a letter from their Uncle George, whom them all thought dead. The letter

informedthem of his coming. "Just fancy," she said, "he hasn't been here for

fifty years. And old Mrs. Meadows sits there and smiles to herself! All she says

is that he was very good-looking, but not so steady as his brother Tom!" Mrs.

George invited me to look in and see the old man. I accepted the invitation with

joy, as I knew the story of Uncle George Meadows and it amusedme because it

was like an old ballad. It was touching to come across such a story in real life.

More than fifty years ago, when Mrs. Meadows was Emily Green, ayoung

charming girl, George and his younger brother Tom both courted her. When

Emily married Tom, George had gone to sea.For twenty years he sent them

presents now and then;then there was no more news of him. After her

husband's death Emily wrote George about it, but never received an answer. And

the previous day, to their greatest surprise they

Maugham [тэ.т]

received his letter, in which he wrote that he was crippled with rheumatism

and feeling he had not much longer to live, wanted to return to the house in

which he was born.

When I came the whole family was assembled in the kitchen. I was amused

to see that Mrs. Meadows was wearing her best silk dress. On the other side of

the fireplace sat an old man with a wrinkled yellow face. He was very thin and

his skin hung on his bones like an old suit too large for him. Captain George, as

he had called himself, told us that he had been so ill he thought he would never

be able to get back, but the look of his old home had done him a lot of good. He

said good-humouredly: "I feel now better and stronger than I have for many

years, dear Emily!" No one had called Mrs. Meadows by her Christian name for

a generation and it gave me a shock, as though the old man were taking a liberty

with her. It was strange to look at these two old smiling people and to think that

nearly half a century ago he had loved her and she had married another.

When I asked him if he had ever been married he said he knew too much

about women for that. Then he added looking at Mrs. Meadows: "I said I'd never

marry anyone but you, Emily, and I never had." He said it not with regret, but

with some satisfaction.

Captain Meadows told us a lot of interesting stories about his adventures and

about many things he had seen and done.

"Well, one thing you'haven't done. George, and that is to make afortune!"

said Mrs. Meadows with a thoughtful smile.

"Oh, I'm not one to save money. Make it and spend it, that's my motto. But if

I had achance of going through my life again I'd take it. There are not many

people who'd wish it!"

I looked at this toothless, crippled, penniless old man with admiration and

respect. That was a man who had made asuccess of his life, because he had

enjoyed it.

Next morning I decided to see the old man again. I saw Mrs. Meadows in the

garden picking white flowers. I asked her if Captain Meadows was well. "Oh,

dear, he had always been a harum-scarum fellow! He boasted that he was so

happy to be back in his old home that he would live for another twenty years.

Alas! He died in his sleep.u Mrs. Meadows smelt the flowers she held in her arms

and added thoughtfully: "Well, I'm glad he came back. After I married Tom and

George went away, I was never sure I had married the right man!"

TEXT 2 D I A L O G U E

A l i c e : Hallo, Mike, have you been waiting long? I'm so sorry I'm late.

M i k e : Now that you are here it's all right.

A l i c e : I say, Mike, I've just had a wire from Mary. She is coming by the

5.20 train. And I have a meeting at 5. Will you do me a favourand meet her at

the station?

M i k e : Certainly, but I've never seen her. How could I possibly recognize

her?

A l i c e : Oh, it's quite easy. She'sjust like her mother.

M i k e : Most helpful I'd say, but the trouble isI've never seen her mother

either.

A l i c e : No, you haven't. And I'm afraid I haven't any photos of her.

M i к e: At least try to describe her. What does she look like?AI i с e: A tall

slim girl of 18 with an oval face. M i k e : Complexion? A l i c e : Rather pale.

M i k e : Hair?

A l i c e : Fair and curly. Light grey eyes, a small snub nose, a big mouth

with white even teeth and a pleasant smile.

M i k e : Г m sure there'll be at least a dozen girls like that at the station.