Granny: Oh, that's you, Mary. How nice of you to ring me up! I'm all
right, thank you. And what about you? How are your studies
progressing?
Mary: It's O.K. I'm quite satisfied with the progress.This week I was
very lucky at the Institute.
Granny: And how are you going to spend the week-end? I remember you
asked me to take you to the theatre once.
Mary: It would be fantastic, Granny! Opera and Ballet then. Do you
know what is on there?
Granny: Swan Lake. I hope it won't bore you to see an old ballet. I'm
attached to the old tunes. And Swan Lake was the first ballet in
which I saw Pavlova.
Mary: All right then. It is a very beautiful ballet.
Vocabulary and Speech Exercises
I. Ask your friend:
как он проводит свой выходной день, собирается провести отпуск, добирается до кинотеатра, готовится к экзамену;
чем он увлекается, занимается по вечерам, интересуется;
часто ли он ходит в кино, проводит выходные с родителями, ходит на прогулки по вечерам.
II. Ask one of the students and let her answer your questions:
where he (she) likes to spend his (her) week-end in summer
whether his parents (grandparents) have a cottage in the country
how often he spends his week-ends with his parents (grandparents)
whether he has a lot of free time to rest on week-days
whether he agrees that we can get tired of town
why town-dwellers admire so much the peace of the countryside
how most people travel down to the country: by coach, by train or by car
what he likes to do when he goes to the country for the week-end
if there is a river or a lake near the place he often visits
if he can swim in the river (lake)
if he is fond of swimming
whether he likes to go fishing or boating
with whom he likes to go fishing (boating)
if he is fond of hiking
with whom and where he likes to go hiking
whether he likes to go mushrooming on an early summer morning
how he prefers to spend his week-end in winter (autumn, or spring)
why he doesn't approve of the people who prefer to stay in town for the week-end whether he agrees that the week-end flashes past
III. Complete the following story in written form.
At breakfast the family decides how to spend the day. As usual, they don’t agree. Mr. Davies and Paul want to go to a football match, while Mrs. Davies and Veronica want to spend the day in town buying souvenirs (they are on holiday, staying in a hotel). In the end they split up and go separately ... .
IV. Translate into English.
1. Где вы проводите свой выходной день? 2. В воскресенье мы встаём позже, чем обычно. 3. Иногда мы ходим в лес собирать ягоды и грибы. 4. На вечере мы пели, танцевали, играли в различные игры. 5. Они прекрасно провели время в прошлые выходные. 6. Моё хобби – музыка и книги. 7. За городом мы загорали, купались, играли в футбол, волейбол, теннис. 8. Конец недели мы проведём в деревне у бабушки. 9. В плохую погоду друзья приходят ко мне. Мы слушаем музыку, читаем книги, обсуждаем различные проблемы. 10. Мне нравится проводить время у телевизора.
V. Read, translate and retell the text.
THE WEEK-END
Almost every week-end Brian and Lucy, a young married couple, spent with Brian's parents in the village. On Friday evening they travelled down by coach from Victoria Coach Station. The parents were always glad to have their children home with them and Brian's mother showed this by cooking them all an enormous meal. On Saturday morning Brian helped his father in the garden. Dr. Brown, Brian's father, was very proud of his garden; he grew both flowers and vegetables quite successfully. He had very little time left for his garden on week-days. That is why on Sunday he liked to work in the garden and to spend the weekend with his family.
Dr. Brown and Brian got up very early and went to the nearest river to fish. It was so pleasant to fish on a fine summer morning! But there was little fish in the river because of pollution. The water was very dirty.
Brian and Lucy were very keen sportsmen and they liked to go hiking, rode their bicycles and swam in the river. In the afternoon they went to the cinema, but Dr. Brown and Mrs. Brown prefered to stay at home. Dr. Brown looked through Sunday papers, wrote letters and watched his favourite football games on television. Mrs. Brown liked knitting and reading women's magazines.
Holidays flashed past and soon Brian and Lucy had to go back to London. They took vegetables from the garden as food was very expensive in London and fresh vegetables from your own garden were always the best. The parents saw them to the garden gate.
There was another busy week ahead for all of the family and it seemed quite a long time before the next week-end. Dr. Brown liked to repeat that time passed at different speeds according to what you were doing. Weekends could go by like lightning if you were doing something you really enjoyed, but even half an hour could seem a very long time indeed when you were doing something you didn't like.
Answer the questions:
1. Where did Brian and Lucy like to spend their weekend?
2. Why did they go to the village?
3. Which of their relatives lived in the village?
4. Were their parents glad to see them?
5. What did Dr. Brown like to do?
6. What did he grow in his garden?
7. Why did Dr. Brown and Brian get up early on Sunday?
8. Who preferred to stay at home?
9. Where did Brian and Lucy go in the afternoon?
10. What did Mrs. Brown like doing on Sunday?
11. Why did Brian and Lucy take vegetables from their parents’ garden?
12. Do you agree with Dr. Brown that time passes at different speed?
VI. Speak on the following topics:
1. My last weekend.
2. How you usually spend your weekend.
3. Why it is pleasant to spend the weekend in the country.
4. Weekend is the best time for one’s hobbies.
VII. Make up a dialogue of your own on the following topics:
1. Two friends speak of the convenience and inconvenience of having a country-house. 2. Two friends discuss their plans for the next weekend. 3. Discuss different ways that old and young people like to spend the weekend. 4. Father and son speak of the plans for the weekend. 5. Two friends like to spend their weekend in different ways: one prefers to go hiking, the other wants to go to his cottage in the country.
