It. Her family were guite poor to give Annie a good education. When she was a child,

her family had to borrow money from the bank to keep their farm; no rabbit was quick

enough to escape her bullets!

Anne maried a markman whom she met at a shooting competition. Together they

started their own shooting show and they performed in variety shows and circuses

around the country.

When Annie Okley (her stage name) was twenty-five, the legendary Buffalo Bill saw

her perform and said she was too good to perform in small shows: her skills deserved a

bigger, better known show. That year, she and her husband joined the famous ‘Buffalo

Bill’s Wild West Show”. For the seventeen years that she was part of the show, Annie

was the main attraction. She was such a good shot that she could split a playing card

from the side, standing ten meters away. She could hit a coin thrown in the air and even

shoot cigarettes held between her husband’s lips. Annie Oakly travelled to Europe with

the Wild West Show. When she was in Berlin, the Kaiser Wilhelm insisted that she shoot

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a cigaterre from his lips.

When Annie was forty-one, she was seriously injured in a train crash. Everyone

thought that would be the end of her career. But she recovered quickly and as soon as

she was well enough to perform she continued to amaze her audiences for many years.

In 1946, years after her death, a musical called Annie Get Your Gun, was written

about Annie Oakley. However, she was much quieter in real life than the character in

the musical. Some of the stories about her shooting skills are almost too extraordinary

to be true. Annie Oakley has become a legendary figure of the wild West.

Commentary:

1) marksman = a sharp shooter

2) game = wild animal, birds and fish

3) to split a playing card – расщепить игральную карту пулей см.также: to hit a

coin – попадать в монету пулей

4) Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show – зд. «Шоу Дикого запада по программе

Буффало (или в Буффало)»

SUPERSTITIONS (СУЕВЕРИЯ)

1. MENAHUNE

Night spirits of the Hawaiian Islands. They are unusual spirits because they are

helpful than dangerous. Like the brownies of the British isles, the menahune appear when

the house-hold is asleep and do all the housework. It seems, however, that the menahune

are very particular about their employers. They do their work only for families which

they feel to be especially pleasant and kind. Very few people have seen the menahune,

which are believed to have pointed ears, shaggy black hair and tiny agile bodies.

Words to the text:

menahune – добрые духи

dangerous – опасный

brownie – (зд.) добрые духи (на Британских островах)

household – домашние (семья)

particular – разборчивый, особенный

employer – работодатель

shaggy – лохматые

agile – проворные, быстрые

2. ABIKU

An insatiable demon of the night which preys upon the Yoruba people of West

Africa. Parents living in the little villages huddled deep in the forest are terrified of Abiku

because his diet consists of children. He relishes nothing better than a plump, newborn

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child. As soon as sun sets, parents rush their children into the huts, and sometimes hide

them under mats or blankets so that Abiku will not find them. Nobody seems able to give

a definite description of Abuku, except he is as shapeless as smoke. Everyone agrees,

however, on his principal peculiarity. He has no stomach, and is therefore obliged to eat

continuously because he never knows the satisfaction of feeling full.

Words to the text:

an insatiable demon – жадный, ненасытный демон

prey – добыча, жертва, терзать, нападать (на к/л)

huddle – жаться, тесниться в беспорядке

terrify – ужасать(ся)

diet – суточное питание, диета

to relish – находить приятным, приправлять

plump – пухлый

stomach – желудок

THE AZEMAN

A rare example of a vampire actually appearing in the form of a vampire bat.

Fortunately, the azeman is restricted to certain regions of north-eastern South America.

The azeman is invariably a woman. During the day she appears to be perfectly normal,

but after dark she changes into a bat and flies around the village in search of victims. In

normal vampire bat style, she seeks a sleeper whose foot is exposed and sucks blood.

Luckily it is easy to prevent an azeman from entering one’s hut simply by propping a

broom across the doorway.

Words to the text:

to restrict – ограничивать

invariably – неизменно, постоянно

victim – жертва

to prevent – воспрепятствовать

to prop – подпирать

doorway – вход

DOMOVOI AND DOMOVIKHA

These are Russian household spirits. On the whole they are benign spirits, who

live beneath the stove or doorstep or in the cellar. When a family moves into a new

home, it is wise to place a piece of bread beneath the stove to attract Domovoi. His

wife accompanies him but lives in the cellar. Domovikha never speaks, but one may

hear Domovoi during the night. When he chatters and murmurs softly, the family may

be sure that nothing unpleasant is likely to happen. But when he sobs or groans loudly

it is a sign of misfortune, and Domovoi weeping is a sure sign of a death in the family.

Humans rarely see Domovoi and never see Domovikha. It may be that he resembles a

small man covered with silky hair, who might be mistaken for a dog or cat. A Domovoi

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sighting is extremely unfortunate and, if he does appear, it may be better for the family

to move house.

Words to the text:

benign – великодушный

chatter – избегать, болтать; стучать (зубами)

to murmur – бормотать, ворчать

sob – рыдание

groan – стон

misfortune – несчастье

to weep – плакать

to resemble – напоминать (кого-либо)

BLACK CATS AND BROKEN MIRRORS.

(1) Do you think it is bad luck to walk under a ladder or break a mirror? Do you

think that black cats and the number 13 are unlucky? Many people are superstitious

about numbers. They think that there are lucky numbers and unlucky numbers. The

number 13 is often considered unlucky in some parts of the world buildings have no 13th

floor and streets have no houses with the number 13. In Japan, 4 is considered unlucky

because in Japanese the word ‘four’ is pronounced the same as the word “death”. They

never give gifts of four knives, four napkins, or four of anything. What are the lucky

numbers? Seven is a lucky number in many places, and 8 is considered lucky in Japan

and China. In China, business often open on August 8 (8.8), and many couples register

to get married at past 8 on August. Superstitions about numbers are so widespread that

some people – called numerologists – make a living giving advice about numbers. In