Шпаргалка по "Английскому языку"

6. Post-office. Telecommunications

The General Post Office and local post offices have many duties. They not only deliver letters, telegrams, newspapers, but among other things, they pay out old-age pensions, subscribe for periodicals and take and deliver parcels. Inside the post office is a long counter divided into departments for parcels, stamps, registered and air-mail letters, telegrams, money-orders. There is a post-box in all post offices. If you want to send a telegram you’ll just ask for a telegram form at the post office counter and fill it in. You can send your telegram, letter or a document by fax. They will be reproduced and sent to and received by the addressee instantly. Perhaps you want to buy a stamp or a stamped envelope to send a letter, then go to the counter where they sell postcards, envelopes, blocks of stamps of different denomination or get them from a slot machine. When we have written a letter we sign it, fold it up and put it in an envelope. Don’t forget to write the mailing code. If your letter contains anything valuable, it is a good idea to register it. When you register a letter the clerk gives you a receipt and you pay the registration fee. If you go to the post office to send off a parcel you will have the parcel weighed at the parcels-counter. You may also have your parcel insured if you want to declare its value. If you want to send money by post you should fill in a money-order form stating the name of the payee, his address, as well as sender’s address, and the sum of money you are sending. The clerk takes your money together with the money-order and gives you a receipt. At the municipal service counter we pay the rent, electricity and gas bills, and the telephone rental. Suppose the postman arrived during breakfast and insisted that you leave the table and read your mail immediately. This is what most people allow the telephone to do. It has become a horrid instrument, always clamoring for attention with its whiny bell. Most people give it what it wants just to shut it up. On the other hand, people complain that they are often treated rudely by persons whom they telephone. Here are some  of the most common telephone problems and the methods to handle them. Some people can ask you what the proper number of rings is a caller should wait before hanging up. The answers may be six rings or perhaps eight and if you still suspect the person of lurking there, hang up and dial again. This gives you two chances to get the number right - and the person time to get out of the bath. Another problem may conclude in people’s social errors. For example, your friend call you at home and eat something during the entire conversation. In this way you should ask her by using perhaps oblique line of accusation to call back. If you made a telephone call in someone else’s house the question would be able to appear if you would pay for it. For local calls you can just ask if you can use the telephone without paying for the service. For long distance calls, ask the operator to charge it to your home number. Also you must remember that you should be polite when you speak on the telephone and you will have no problems with people.

In both Britain and the USA only the Post Office or Postal Service can deliver mail, though private couriers are allowed to offer express services. This competition has hurt the postal services. They have lost further business as electronic communication, such as e-mail, has become more common. Most homes in Britain and the USA have a telephone, and many people also have a mobile phone (AmE cellular phone) that they carry round with them. As well as being useful to business people, mobiles are now a fashion accessory, especially among younger people. Many people, however, get annoyed with those who use mobile phones in public places, such as on trains or in restaurants. Many families now also have a computer and use it to search the Internet and send e-mails.

Telecommunications system have gone through a technological revolution since the development of the telegraph by Samuel Morse in1844. the telegraph was used by the Western Union Company to deliver brief messages, and the company still offers telegraphic services using satellites and other modern technology, though computers and e-mail have largely removed their need. In the last 30 years or so developments in satellites, fibre optics (the use of thin transparent fibres to transmit light signals), broadband (the use of signals over a broad range of frequencies) and microwave (the use of  short electromagnetic waves) technologies have led to many new products. Videophones allow people to see each other while they talk. Voice mail can be used to leave a telephone message which is saved on a “mailbox computer” to be heard later. Teletext  services are available via the television screen. Many cable television companies provide telephone services as well as television and are developing broadband networks which will provide a range of integrated entertainment and telecommunications services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.Shopping. At the Supermarket.

I know a woman who likes to do grocery shopping but I also know a whole lot of people who hate it. People who hate shopping are likely to like supermarkets, those huge stores with a lot of arranged goods where you can buy practically all you need in the way of foods – groceries, meat, vegetables, fruit, dairy products, bread and cakes, baby foods and many other things. The goods are ready packed and have clearly-marked prices on them; they are displayed on shelves, in reach-in refrigerator units or in trolleys and are always within easy reach for the customers. Many factors can explain the popularity of such shops: first of all they have an excellent assortment of goods; secondly, you have an opportunity to choose the goods you like – they are displayed openly for you to choose from; then, the service is swift there; and, which is also of great importance, you save a lot of your time if you buy everything in one shop, under one roof.

So,  when I enter a supermarket I take a big, wheeled basket and roll it around from aisle to aisle. I buy milk, a packet of butter and a packet of margarine for cooking, then some meat, for example bacon or sausages or smth else. There is also shelves of sweet biscuits and cakes and I put some of them in my basket. I also buy many non-food items such as paper napkins, plastic wraps, laundry detergent, light bulbs. And fresh and frozen foods, canned goods, boxes, bags and bottles soon fill up my cart. Some foods that have already prepared are also available in the supermarket. But there is one big danger in supermarket shopping: there are thousands of items within hand’s reach on the shelves, all attractively packaged. The temptation to buy things you don’t really need or want is very strong. Don’t be fooled by the pictures on the boxes, read labels. When I’ve loaded up my basket and checked my shopping list again to make sure I have everything I need, I go to a check-out counter. I unload everything on to the long counter near the cashier. The cashier will look at the price marked on every item I buy, ring it up on the cash register, and then total up the bill. The register will show me the amount I must pay and I hand my money to the cashier. While the groceries are being bagged, I count my change and then go home.

13. Sports & Fitness

The fitness boom of the past decades led to a big rise in the numbers of people participating in sports and activities. Those who pursue the latest fitness fashion are convinced that staying in good physical shape requires much more than regular exercise and balanced meals. For anyone who really wants to be healthy, fitness has become an integral part of their lives. A lot of health and fitness club, and public leisure centers indicate the popularity of sports during the past thirty years. There are many opportunities for keeping fit. First of all it's necessary to do exercises-Running, jumping, swimming, bending and stretching are among the most popular exercises. Many people prefer jogging, which is the cheapest and the most accessible sport. Popular running competitions are now held everywhere. A healthy body becomes a fashion, an ideal of the modem life. The most popular outdoor winter sports are shooting, hunting, hockey and in the countries where the weather is frosty and there is much snow-skating, skiing and tobogganing. Some people greatly enjoy figure-skating and ski-jumping. Summer affords excellent opportunities for swimming, boating, yachting, cycling, gliding and many other sport. Badminton is also very popular. A lot of girls and women go in for calisthenics. Among indoor games the most popular are billiards, table tennis, draughts and some others. The best way to avoid depression caused by the city life is doing exercises. Taking exercise is only one part of keeping fit. It's important to get slim. Some people eat nothing but fruit for several days. But it won't be of any use without proper exercises. Besides to avoid serious disease one should give up smoking. Smoking should be banned in all public places.

The English are great lovers of competitive sports. At the top of the list is Association Football. Rugby football is also very popular. Although the British are so fond of watching horses and dog racing, they are not particularly interested in being spectators at occasions when human beings compete. The more social games of golf and tennis are played by great numbers of people. As for me, I'm interested in different kinds of sport. I do aerobics 3 times a week. In summer I like to swim & also do some cycling. I also like to watch Olympic games on TV. They took place every 4 years for nearly 1200 years in Olympia. The Olympic symbol is 5 interlocking circles representing 5 continents on a white background. The blue ring is for Europe, the yellow one is for Asia , the black one is for Africa, the green one is for Australia, and the red one is for America.People all over the world are very fond of sports and games. That is one thing in which people of every nationality and class are united.

 

8. Entertainment. Going out (theatre, cinema, disco)

The topic of my story is “Entertainment. Going out (theatre, cinema, disco)”. And first of all I want to tell you about theatre.

The primary activity which we associate with a theatre is a play or a stage-play. But this is by no means the only one: opera, ballet, musicals, variety, circus, puppet shows, mime, recitals and a lot of others cannot be excluded. The 20^th century brought great changes into the theatre. Cinema, radio, television and video altered the course of the major performing arts and created the new ones. But still there are hundreds of theaters, large and small, all over the world, where the audiences are excited at the prospect of seeing a play and the actors are most encouraged by the warm reception.

If one wants to go to a theatre, he or she should book his or her seats beforehand, especially if the play is popular. At the entrance to the theatre  itself an attendant in uniform tears the theatre tickets in half. Another attendant shows a person to his or her  seat and sells a programme that will tell a person which parts the actors are playing and how many acts there are in the play.

In a small theatre you can always be sure to hear and see everything and really feel that you are  with the actors in everything they do and in all the places they visit. But many plays are still produced in very large, old theatres where it’s difficult to see and hear properly if you are on the back rows. There are sometimes so many stalls (ground-floor seats) in these theatres that they are divided into orchestra stalls, centre stalls, and rear stalls, with the pit behind them. Above there is the dress-circle and boxes, then the balcony and, high above, the gallery.

In America the theatre is especially healthy in the hundreds of regional and university groups around the country. But it’s Broadway with its some 40 major professional stages and the numerous of Broadway experimental theatres that bring to mind American playwrights such as O’Neill. There are over 15000 professional actors in NY alone. Theater in the US is seldom state-supported. American feel that each person would  be willing to support and help pay for his or her own favorite cultural activity, whatever it may be. The Metropolitan Opera Association is a good example of its annual budget only 5% comes from governmental sources, whither city, state or federal. The other 95% is made up by individual contributions, ticket sales, and so on. NY is the major, but not only cultural centre in the US.

Great number of various films are released in the US every year. Hollywood released films differ in genre. There are newsreel, cartoon, documentary and a full-length film. Hollywood’s early films are westerns (with their fast action, uncomplicated heroes, and clear-cut conflict between good and evil), horror films (with their mysterious and supernatural happenings, ghosts and monsters), comedies (very often not in good taste and even vulgar), romance films (which shaved life as it could be lived in ours imagination and made the viewer escape from reality into a dream world), and musicals. There are films based on novels and films which deal with historical events. Hollywood. Was justly accused of creating a dream world, but American films of today are realistic and up-to-date. Many of the films raise urgent problems facing contemporary society of criminal behavior and suggests that bad characters are often the result of the circumstances and the environment. And so gangster films are often inspired by the gloomy front page stories. Most American films are made the great professional skill. Camera work, setting and acting are usually excellent. But there are also cheap second-rate films, which critics call stupid, badly written and badly directed.

And now some words about disco. Almost in every city, big or small, there are disco-bars and clubs, where young people go to dance and relax. In many clubs there are tables, where you can sit with your friends and you also can get some food and drinks there. Such clubs are very popular among youngsters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

19. Generation gap.

Generation gap is a division between young people and their elders. Parents complain that children do not show them proper respect and obedience, while children complain that their parents do not understand them at all. Old people are always saying that me young are not what they were. The same comment is made from generation to generation and it is always true. Every new generation is different from the one that preceded it. This is as it should be. In our society, young people often travel great distances for their education, move out of the family home at an early age, marry - or live with - people whom their parents have never met, and choose occupations different from those of their parents. The young are better educated. They have a lot more money to spend and enjoy more freedom. They grow up more quickly and are not so dependent on their parents. They think more for themselves and do not blindly accept the ideals of their elders.

The old always assume that they know best for the simple reason that they have been around a bit longer. They don't like to feel that their values are being questioned or threatened. And this is precisely what the young are doing. They are questioning me assumptions of their elders and disturbing their complacency. They take leave to doubt that the older generation had created the best of all possible worlds. Traditionally, the young have turned to their elders for guidance. Today, the situation might be reversed. The old - if they are prepared to admit it - could learn a thing or two from their children. One of the biggest lessons they could learn is that enjoyment is not "sinful". Enjoyment is a principle one could apply to all aspects of life. But all the young are grateful to the older generation, because it bequeathed peace and freedom which the young enjoy. The young have had everything easy. And one day young anyway will tell their parents thank you for bugging them about where they were going and with whom. Some day the young will thank parents for letting them stumble, fall and fail so that they could learn to stand alone. Parents love us enough to accept us for what we are, not for they wanted us to be. No doubt, the generation gap will continue to be a feature of our life, its causes are rooted in the freedoms and opportunities of our society, and in the rapid pace at which society changes.

 

5. The customs house. Passport control

Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting customs duties (tax on the import or export of goods) and for controlling the flow of people, animals and goods (including personal effects and hazardous items) in and out of the country. Depending on local legislation and regulations, the import or export of some goods may be restricted or forbidden, and the customs agency enforces these rules. The customs agency may be different from the immigration authority, which monitors persons who leave or enter the country, checking for appropriate documentation, apprehending people wanted by international search warrants, and impeding the entry of others deemed dangerous to the country.

Border controls are measures used by a country to monitor or regulate its borders. Border controls exist to:

• regulate immigration (both legal and illegal)
• control the movement of citizens
• collect excise tax
• prevent smuggling of drugs, weapons, endangered species and other illegal or hazardous material
• control the spread of human or animal diseases (see also quarantine)

At the moment a traveler crosses the border his luggage is taken to the customs-house by porters. Every country has its own customs regulations, which stipulate what articles are liable to duty and what are duty-free. Sometimes an article which falls under customs restrictions and is liable to duty is allowed in duty-free if the traveler doesn´t exceed a certain fixed quota. These are listed in a duty free quota list. Customs restrictions also include a prohibited articles list. This is a list of items which may not be brought into a country or taken out of it. An official paper giving permission to take items, which fall under special customs restrictions, in or out of a country is known as an import or export license. If the traveler has any item which comes under customs restrictions he is asked to declare it. That is, he is asked to name the item, stating its value and other particulars. The declaration is made in writing on a special form. As a rule personal items are duty-free. It sometimes happens that a passenger´s luggage is carefully gone through in order to prevent smuggling. The formalities at the customs-house usually take some time. Only after passing through the customs does one realize that his journey is drawing to an end (or beginning). The next formality is filling in the immigration form and going through passport control. Passport control is an area, for example in an airport or a railway station, where your passport is checked when you go from one country to another.

 

 

 

12. Clothes and person’s appearance.

When we speak of somebody's appearance, we mean his (her) figure, hands, feet, hair, face. In describing the figure we often mention the build. A man or a woman may be: heavily built, delicately built, well-made. The figure may be: slender or stooping; thin or stout (fat, plump). Plump is mostly used when speaking about a very young person or about a woman. A person may be: tall, short or middle-sized. When speaking of the appearance one should not forget the bearing which may be erect or stooping. The hand, which is at the very end of the arm have five fingers on each hand. This is what we call them: the forefinger (index finger), the middle finger, the ring finger, the little finger and the thumb. The leg - the part of the body from the hip to the ankle. At the  end of the legs we have five toes on each foot. The manner of walking is called the walk (gait). The upper and the lower limbs are attached to the trunk. The head and the neck are poised on the shoulders. The head is covered with hair, which may be: short, long, thin, thick, straight, curly, wavy. According to the fashion women's hair may be: bobbed, shingled, plaited, waved, put up (done in a knot). Women have their hair done in various (hair) styles at the hairdresser's. Men go there to have a shave and have their hair cut and have their beards and moustaches trimmed. Some men lose their hair and go bald. The face may be: square, oval, round, long.The complexion, that is, the color of the skin may be: dark, fair, olive, ruddy. The upper part of the face is the forehead.  The eyes are protected by the eyelids and eyebrows. When we are tired or sleepy, they feel heavy and droop. The eyelids are fringed with eyelashes.The eyes may be different colors and they may be: close-set, wide-set, deep-set, sunken or bulging. The cheeks may be: rosy, pink, red. Old or sick people may have hollow cheeks. Children's cheeks are often chubby. The cheekbones may be: high, prominent, and wide-apart. The nose may be: straight, flat, hooked, and aquiline; a person may be snub-nosed. The parts of the mouth are: the lips — upper and lower, and the teeth.  All the upper and lower teeth together are called a set of teeth.The chin may be: round or protruding, small or large. Stout people often have a double chin. When a woman's face and figure delight us, we say: she's beautiful (handsome, good-looking). We call her a real beauty and about her beauty. The words handsome, good-looking (but not beautiful) are also used of a man. The words attractive and pretty help us to describe a person pleasant to look at. If there is nothing particular in one's appearance, we call it common. To characterize somebody's appearance in a negative way we use the words: plain (Am. homely) or ugly. We say that a person looks his age when he looks neither older nor younger than he is in reality, but if he looks younger or older we say, he looks young (old) for his age. When a person looks younger than he is, we say that he is well preserved. There are a lot of clothes: from the cheap clothes made of artificial materials, up to smart, expensive clothes which not everyone can afford to buy. There are many fashion styles: romantic style, casual style, sport style, classic style, business style, teenage style, exotic style, beach style, city fashion, village fashion, etc. Some people choose their clothes so they can follow the fashion in the music world; the work of others affects the way they dress a great deal. They have. to look good because they deal with business people. The youngsters, who frequently go to night clubs, prefer to wear as little as possible to keep cool. And in the USA some people wear second-hand clothes from jumble sales, partly because they can't afford anything else, but also because it is still quite fashionable. A lot of Americans wear those clothes which they consider to be comfortable, and don't really care what other people think about their clothes.

As for me, it is not very important which style to follow; the main thing is to look tidy, neat and clean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.Travelling.

The scientific and technological progress of the 21-th century has allowed people to overcome time and distance, to cover in the twinkle of an eye the vast expanse of our planet.  The whole world is open now. And now modern life is impossible without travelling. To understand how true this is, you only have to go to a railway station, a port or a airport, where you can see hundreds people hurrying to catch a train, a ship, or a plane.

Of course the fastest way of travelling is by plane. The airliners of the world offer many varieties of services in many different kinds of aircrafts. Transcontinental and transoceanic flights are made in giant jet planes, some of which can carry several hundred passengers on each flight. Smaller jets are commonly used on the shorter routs. Airline passenger service can be divided into scheduled and non-scheduled flights. A scheduled flight leaves at the same time on the same day to the same destination. The schedule for the flight is published by the airline in its timetable. The passenger can make a reservation in advance for a scheduled flight with the reasonable expectation that the flight will leave at a certain time and go to a certain place regardless of the number of passengers who have tickets for the flight. A non-scheduled flight on the other hand, depends on the availability of passengers and aircraft. On the flight itself, there is usually a distinction between first class and economy, which are formerly known as tourist class. Today the airlines carry millions of passenger every year. In some areas of the world air service is the only effective means of public transportation.

Some people who are not sea-sick prefer to travel by ship when possible. There are large lines, holiday ships and river boats on board which you can book a cabin and visit different countries or ports of your own country. Ships are not so fast as planes, but a sea voyage is a very pleasant way of spending holiday. In the evening you can seat in arm chairs on the promenade deck and breath the sea air. In the day time you can sunbathe on the sundeck.

Travelling by train is slower than by plain of cause, but it also has his advantages. You can see the country you are travelling through. Modern train have very comfortable seats (the upper and lower berths) in all passenger carriages and there are sleeping-cars and dining-cars which make even the longest journey enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. At a restaurant. Meals. Table manners.

The usual meals in England are breakfast, lunch, tea, and dinner. Breakfast is generally a bigger meal than they have on the Continent, though some English people like a continental breakfast of rolls and butter and coffee. But the usual English breakfast is porridge or corn flakes with milk or cream and sugar, bacon, eggs and tea or coffee. For a change you can have a boiled egg, cold ham, or perhaps fish. They generally have lunch about one o´clock. At lunch time in a London cafe or restaurant one usually finds a mutton chop, or steak and chips, or cold meat, or perhaps fish with potatoes, salad and pickles, then a pudding or fruit to follow. Afternoon tea you can hardly call a meal, but for the leisured classes it´s a sociable sort of thing when people often come in for a chat with their cup of tea. But some people like to have the so-called “high tea” which is quite a substantial meal. They have it between 5 and 6 o´clock. It consists of ham or tongue and tomatoes and salad with strong tea, bread and butter, pineapple with cream or cake. In some houses dinner is the biggest meal of the day. Dinner time is around 7 o´clock in the evening. But in a great many English homes the midday meal is the chief one of the day while in the evening they have a much simple supper – an omelette, or sausage, sometimes bacon and eggs. When we speak about table manners we usually mean a list of do´s and don´t. Never stretch over the table for something you want, ask your neighbour to pass it. Take a slice of bread from the bread plate by hand, don´t harpoon your bread with a fork. Don´t bite it into the whole slice, break it off piece by piece. Never spoil your neighbour´s appetite by criticizing what he just happens to be eating.