- •Содержание
- •Предисловие
- •Методическая записка
- •Classroom activities (1)
- •1. A) Answer the questions:
- •2. A) Skim through the text and say what the message of the text is.
- •3. A) Open the brackets using the correct forms of the verbs.
- •4. A) Read the text filling in the gaps with the proper words.
- •Home activities (1)
- •5. A) Go through the texts in exercises 2–4 and find the English for
- •6. Retell any of the three texts (see exercises 2-4). Classroom activities (2)
- •7. Paraphrase and add a sentence logically connected.
- •8. A) Read the article and say in one sentence what it deals with. Новое поколение выбирает прагматизм
- •Home activities (2)
- •9. Give a brief summary of the article (see exercise 8) in English using the suggested key words and phrases:
- •1. Introduction:
- •In conclusion/Finally, the writer says that...
- •Classroom activities (3)
- •The Infinitive
- •12. Read the following sentences and translate them into Russian. Comment on the forms of the Infinitive. Compare
- •Complex Subject with verbs in the Active Voice
- •13. Translate into Russian.
- •14. Paraphrase using the Complex Subject.
- •16. Answer the teacher’s questions and add sentences logically connected.
- •18. Answer the teacher’s questions and explain why you think so. Home activities (3)
- •Classroom activities (4)
- •21. A) Match the following phrasal verbs with their definitions. Translate them into Russian.
- •22. Translate into English.
- •23. Read the following paragraph and speak about the changing family pattern in the uk and the us using the suggested key phrases:
- •24. A) Speak about the present-day family pattern in your country. Base your answer on the key phrases suggested in exercise 22.
- •Home activities (4)
- •Classroom activities (5)
- •Complex Subject with verbs in the Passive Voice
- •28. Translate into Russian.
- •29. Make sentences with the Complex Subject using the suggested words and word combinations.
- •30. Paraphrase using the Complex Subject.
- •Substantivised Adjectives
- •31. Paraphrase as in the model:
- •Class in America
- •32. Paraphrase, translate or explain.
- •33. Answer the teacher’s questions. Home activities (5)
- •35. Get ready to retell Text 1. Classroom activities (6)
- •36. Paraphrase using the active vocabulary:
- •37. Complete the sentences with the derivatives of the words given in the right-hand column:
- •38. Complete the sentences using the word combinations given in the box:
- •39. Develop the ideas.
- •40. Paraphrase the sentences using the For-to-Infinitive Construction.
- •41. Complete the sentences. Translate the for-phrases into English.
- •Home activities (6)
- •43. Read the text Walking into the Wind and get ready to answer the questions (see exercise 49).
- •44. Open the brackets using the For-to-Infinitive Construction.
- •Classroom activities (7)
- •45. Translate into Russian.
- •Word building
- •46. Complete the sentences with verbs in proper forms.
- •Walking into the Wind
- •47. Find the Russian for:
- •48. Find the English for:
- •49. Answer the questions.
- •Home activities (8)
- •50. Retell the text as if you were
- •Classroom activities (8)
- •52. Paraphrase using a Complex Subject.
- •54. Express your opinion and support it using the suggested words and word combinations.
- •Home activities (9)
- •55. A) Complete the sentences with the words and word combinations from the box. Learn the words and word combinations from the box.
- •Classroom activities (9)
- •56. Open the brackets using the correct forms of the Infinitive.
- •57. A) Paraphrase the sentences below using the words given in brackets.
- •58. A) Open the brackets using the correct forms of the verbs.
- •Class divisions bar students from university
- •Classroom activities (1)
- •1. Answer the questions:
- •2.A) Skim through the text and say what the message of the text is.
- •3. A) Read a story about a man who managed to change his life for the better. Open the brackets using the correct forms of the verbs.
- •4. A) Read the text filling in the gaps with the proper words.
- •Pursuing Happiness In a Complex World
- •Home activities (1)
- •5. A) Go through the texts in exercises 2 – 4 and find the English for
- •6. Retell any of the three texts (see exercises 2-4). Classroom activities (2)
- •7. Paraphrase and add a sentence logically connected.
- •8. A) Read the article and say in one sentence what it deals with. Есть ли что-то важнее денег?
- •Home activities (2)
- •9. Render the article (see exercise 8) in English using the suggested key words and phrases:
- •1. Introduction:
- •2. Main body of the report:
- •According to; devaluation; social system; moral principles; poverty; unemployment; to survive;
- •3. Conclusion:
- •Classroom activities (3)
- •The Gerund
- •12. Read the following sentences and translate them into Russian. Comment on the forms of the Gerund.
- •Patterns with the Gerund Pattern 1 (Gerund as subject)
- •13. Translate into Russian.
- •14. Paraphrase using the Gerund.
- •Pattern 2 (Gerund as predicative)
- •15. Complete the sentences using the Gerund.
- •Pattern 3 (Gerund as adverbial modifier)
- •16. Translate into Russian.
- •17. Paraphrase using the Gerund.
- •Pattern 3 (Gerund as attribute)
- •18. Complete and add a sentence logically connected.
- •Home activities (3)
- •Classroom activities (4)
- •Pattern 4 (Gerund as direct object)
- •21. Complete the sentences using the gerund of a suitable verb.
- •22. Translate into Russian paying particular attention to the use of possessive and objective pronouns.
- •Pattern 4 (Gerund as prepositional object)
- •24. Insert prepositions where necessary.
- •25. Paraphrase using the Gerund.
- •26. A) Read the following opinions and complete the sentences using the Gerund.
- •Home activities (4)
- •27. A) Render the article in English using the suggested key words and word combinations. Больше работы, денег, секса
- •In conclusion the writer says that...
- •Classroom activities (5)
- •Verbs taking the Gerund and the Infinitive
- •30. Translate into Russian:
- •31. Open the brackets using either the Gerund or the Infinitive.
- •32. Complete the sentences, using the Gerund or the Infinitive:
- •Cross-cultural Notes:
- •33. Paraphrase, translate or explain.
- •34. Answer the teacher’s questions. Home activities (5)
- •36. Get ready to retell Text 1. Classroom activities (6)
- •37. Paraphrase using the active vocabulary:
- •38. A) Complete the sentences with the words and word combinations from the box. Learn the words and word combinations from the box.
- •Love Is Real Medicine Loneliness fosters cardiovascular disease. Fortunately, there’s an antidote.
- •Home activities (6)
- •40. Read the text Brave New World and get ready to answer the questions (see exercise 45).
- •Classroom activities (7)
- •41. Paraphrase using the active vocabulary of the unit.
- •42. Fill in the blanks with prepositions where necessary.
- •43. Complete and add a sentence logically connected.
- •Brave New World After Aldous Huxley
- •44. Give the Russian for:
- •45. Find the English for
- •46. Answer the questions:
- •Home activities (7)
- •47. Retell the text as if you were
- •48. Translate into English.
- •Classroom activities (8)
- •The Gerund and the Infinitive after Aspect Verbs
- •49. Complete the sentences with the proper forms of the Verb.
- •50. Translate into Russian.*
- •52. Develop the situation / idea.
- •53. Express your opinion and support it using the vocabulary of the unit.
- •54. Comment on the following statements:
- •Home activities (8)
- •52. Translate into Russian.
- •Classroom activities (1)
- •1. A) Answer the questions:
- •What does success mean to you?
- •2. A) Skim through the text and say what the message of the text is.
- •'Assets - активы
- •Land of the Giants
- •3. A) Open the brackets using the correct forms of the verbs.
- •The Shy Sorceress
- •4. A) Read the text filling in the gaps with the proper words.
- •Home activities (1)
- •5. A) Go through the texts in exercises 1 – 3 and find the English for
- •6. Retell any of the three texts (see exercises 2-4). Classroom activities (2)
- •7. Paraphrase using the words and word combinations from exercises 1-4.
- •8. A) Read the article and say in one sentence what it deals with. Эсти лаудер – бизнес-гений XX века
- •9. Paraphrase as in the model:
- •Home activities (2)
- •Estée Lauder [LesteI'lO:dR(r)]; cosmetic empire; Josephine Esther Mentzer; a chemist; skin creams concocted by her uncle; substances
- •Strength of character; confidence; ambition; to hand out; samples of her products / potions; Fifth Avenue; calculations; beauty shops; cosmetics; to tell stories;
- •Commercial breakdown
- •Classroom activities (3)
- •The Participle
- •12. Read the following sentences and translate them into Russian. Comment on the forms of the Participle.
- •Patterns with the Participle Pattern 1 (Participle I as an attribute)
- •13. Make phrases using Participle I.
- •14. Paraphrase using Participle I where possible.
- •15. Translate into English.
- •Pattern 2 (Participle II as an attribute)
- •16. Paraphrase using Patterns 1 and 2.
- •17. Complete the sentences using the phrases suggested in the box as participles or clauses.
- •18. Translate into English.
- •Home activities (3)
- •Classroom activities (4)
- •Pattern 3 (Participle I as an Adverbial Modifier)
- •21. Paraphrase the sentences using Participle I.
- •Pattern 4 (Participle II as an Adverbial Modifier)
- •22. Paraphrase the sentences using Participle II as an adverbial modifier.
- •24.* Complete the sentences with the proper forms of the Participle.
- •25.* Join two sentences into one using participles.
- •Home activities (4)
- •26.* Complete the sentences with the proper forms of the Participle.
- •28. A) Listen to the text The Self-Made Man. Read it after the speaker.
- •Classroom activities (5)
- •Patterns with the Participle Pattern 5 (Unrelated Participle)
- •29. Paraphrase using unrelated participles.
- •Pattern 5 (Participles as Adjectives )
- •30. Complete the sentences using participles as adjectives.
- •31. Paraphrase, translate or explain.
- •32. Answer the teacher’s questions. Home activities (5)
- •33. Get ready to retell Text 1.
- •34. Complete the sentences using participles as adjectives.
- •35. Translate into English.
- •Classroom activities (6)
- •36. Paraphrase using the active vocabulary:
- •37. A) Complete the sentences with verbs in proper forms. A Strange Cry for Millionaire: Tickets Please!
- •Home activities (6)
- •39. Read the text The Hotel and get ready to answer the questions (see exercise 48).
- •Classroom activities (7)
- •40. Complete the sentences with the derivatives of the words given in the box:
- •41. Translate into Russian.
- •42. Complete the sentences as shown in the model. Pay particular attention to the use of Participle (a) and Gerund (b). Let your fellow-students ask questions.
- •The Hotel After Arthur Hailey
- •44. Give the Russian for:
- •45. Find the English for
- •46. Answer the questions:
- •Home activities (7)
- •47. Retell the text as if you were
- •48. Translate into English.
- •Classroom activities (1)
- •2. A) Skim through the text and say what the message of the text is.
- •3. A) Open the brackets using the correct forms of the verbs. Demise [dI'maIz] – (very formal) the time when something stops existing to shroud – to cover or hide something
- •4. A) Read the text filling in the gaps with the proper words.
- •Energy saving in the home
- •Home activities (1)
- •5. A) Go through the texts in exercises 2 – 4 and find the English for
- •6. Retell any of the three texts (see exercises 2-4) classroom activities (2)
- •7. Paraphrase and add a sentence logically connected.
- •8. Translate into Russian.
- •9. A) Read the article and say in one sentence what it deals with. Северный Ледовитый океан может растаять
- •Home activities (2)
- •10. Give a brief summary of the article (see exercise 8) in English using the suggested key words and phrases:
- •In conclusion / Finally, the writer wonders if...
- •Arctic Thaw Melts Away Old Habits in Far North
- •Classroom activities (3)
- •Modal Verbs with Suppositional Meaning
- •Should the Sport of Hunting be Completely Banned?
- •13. Read the following sentences and translate them into Russian. Comment on the forms of modal verbs.
- •14. Paraphrase using modal verbs.
- •15. Express surprise and disbelief, add a sentence logically connected to support your opinion.
- •Home activities (3)
- •17. A) Complete the sentences with the proper forms of the Verb.
- •18. Complete the sentences with the proper modal verbs and the appropriate forms of the verb.
- •Classroom activities (4)
- •Modal Verbs with Suppositional Meaning
- •20. Paraphrase as in the models:
- •London Calling The British capital has let the world in, and become a model for making a 21st-century metropolis work.
- •21. Paraphrase, translate or explain.
- •22. Answer the teacher’s questions. Home activities (4)
- •23. Fill in the gaps with proper words from the box in proper forms.
- •25. Get ready to retell Text 1.
- •Classroom activities (5)
- •26. Develop the conversations as in the model:
- •27. Paraphrase using the active vocabulary.
- •28. Make sentences using the suggested words and phrases:
- •29. Insert the required prepositions.
- •30. Develop the ideas.
- •Home activities (5)
- •Classroom activities (6)
- •33. Complete the sentences with the correct forms of the Infinitive.
- •35. Paraphrase using the modal verbs may / might, can / could, must.
- •36. A) Read the text filling in the gaps with the proper words.
- •37. Translate into English.
- •Home activities (6)
- •38. Read the text Deception Point and get ready to discuss it in class.
- •Classroom activities (7)
- •40. Complete the sentences choosing the proper modal.
- •Deception Point
- •41. Give the Russian for:
- •42. Find the English for
- •43. Answer the questions:
- •Home activities (7)
- •44. Give a brief retelling of the text and express your viewpoint on the problems raised by the writer. Classroom activities (8)
- •45. A) Complete the sentences with the derivatives of the words given in the right-hand column: Sour times
- •46. Translate into Russian.
- •47. Develop the situations as in the model:
- •48. Gabriel Ashe has just told the news to her friend Yolanda Cole. Act as Yolanda expressing your attitude to the information and give advice wherever necessary.
- •49. Express your opinion and support it using the vocabulary of the unit.
- •Marjorie Tench:
- •Home activities (8)
- •50. A) Complete the sentences with phrases made of noun combinations given in the box.
- •51. Prepare a three-minute talk on “Scientific and industrial development – curse or blessing for the planet”.
- •Classroom activities (9)
- •52. Match the beginning of each sentence with a suitable ending.
- •53. Choose the correct phrase to complete the situation.
- •54. Choose the correct grammar form.
- •55. Complete the letter with proper phrases based on the hints in the box.
- •56. Complete the sentences.
- •57. Translate into English.
- •58. A) Open the brackets using the proper forms of the verbs.
- •1. A) Answer the questions:
- •2. A) Skim through the text and say what the message of the text is.
- •Return to Babel
- •E). Find examples of linguistic similarities in your mother tongue and/or European languages.
- •3. A) Open the brackets using the correct forms of the verbs.
- •4. A) Read the text filling in the gaps with the proper words.
- •Home activities (1)
- •5. A) Go through the texts in exercises 1 – 3 and find the English for
- •6. Retell any of the three texts (see exercises 2-4). Classroom activities (2)
- •7. Paraphrase and add a sentence logically connected.
- •8. A) Read the article and say in one sentence what it deals with.
- •Home activities (2)
- •9. Give a brief summary of the article (see exercise 8) in English using the suggested key words and phrases:
- •In conclusion the writer says that...
- •10. A) Complete the sentences with the proper forms of the Verb.
- •Classroom activities (3)
- •Unreal condition (suppressed type)
- •12. Make sentences as in the model:
- •13. Complete the situations as in the model.
- •Real and Unreal Condition in complex sentences
- •14. A) Read and compare sentences of real and unreal condition.
- •15. Read the following sentences and translate them into Russian.
- •16. Match the beginning of each sentence with a suitable ending.
- •17. Translate into English.
- •Home activities (3)
- •18. Complete the sentences with the proper forms of the verbs in brackets.
- •19. Read the following article and be ready to speak about the uses and misuses of English loan-words in the Russian language using the phrases suggested below. Repelling the English Invasion
- •Classroom activities (4)
- •Unreal condition (mixed type)
- •20. Combine the sentences as in the model.
- •21. Translate into English.
- •22. Paraphrase the sentences using “but-for” phrase.
- •23. Complete the sentences using “but-for” phrase.
- •24. Translate into English.
- •25. Complete the sentences to make a chain-story.
- •Home activities (4)
- •27. Open the brackets using the proper forms of the verbs.
- •28. Give a brief summary of the article in English using the suggested words and phrases:
- •Classroom activities (5)
- •30. Translate into Russian.
- •Not the Queen’s English
- •32. Paraphrase, translate or explain.
- •33. Answer the teacher’s questions. Home activities (5)
- •35. Get ready to retell Text 1. Classroom activities (6)
- •36. Paraphrase and develop the situation.
- •37. Open the brackets using the proper forms of the verbs.
- •38. Paraphrase using the active vocabulary of the unit.
- •39. Complete and add a sentence logically connected.
- •40. A) Complete the sentences with the words and word combinations from the box. Learn the words and word combinations from the box.
- •A question of language
- •Home activities (6)
- •42. Read the text Poshos and get ready to answer the questions (see exercise 50).
- •Classroom activities (7)
- •It’s time sb did sth
- •43. Translate into Russian.
- •45. Translate into English.
- •46. Translate into Russian.
- •47. Make new words according to the patterns of word building. Translate them into Russian.
- •48. Give the English for:
- •49. Find the Russian for:
- •50. Answer the questions.
- •Home activities (7)
- •51. Retell the text as if you were
- •52. Translate into English.
- •Classroom activities (8)
- •Had better / Would rather
- •53. Give advice as in the model:
- •54. Answer as in the model:
- •55. Complete the sentences as in the model.
- •57. Complete the sentences with the proper forms of the Verb.
- •58. Express your opinion and support it using the active words and word combinations.
- •Who do you side with?
- •English by no means the ‘universal’ language
- •‘Global English’ is already becoming a pidgin language
- •English is a link language
- •Home activities (8)
- •59. Open the brackets using the proper forms of the verbs.
- •60. Translate into English.
- •Classroom activities (9)
- •61. A) Open the brackets using the proper forms of the verbs.
- •62. Complete the sentences translating into English the phrases given in brackets.
- •63. Complete the sentences.
- •64. Translate into English. Use the hints from the box.
- •65. A) Complete the sentences with the words and word combinations from the box.
- •66. A) Read the text. Political Correctness and Identity Politics
- •1. Answer the questions:
- •2. A) Skim through the text and say what the message of the text is.
- •All Cultures Are Not Equal
- •3. A) Open the brackets using the correct forms of the verbs.
- •Culturally Confused
- •4. A) Read the text filling in the gaps with the proper words.
- •End of the Road
- •Home activities (1)
- •5. A) Go through the texts in exercises 1 – 4 and find the English for
- •6. Retell any of the three texts (see exercises 2-4). Classroom activities (2)
- •7. Paraphrase and add a sentence logically connected.
- •8. A) Read the article and say in one sentence what it deals with.
- •Home activities (2)
- •9. Give a brief summary of the article (see exercise 8) in English using the suggested key words and phrases:
- •In conclusion / Finally, the writer says that...
- •Classroom activities (3)
- •So that (purpose clause)
- •12. A) Complete the sentences with the derivatives of the words given in the right-hand column:
- •Tourism Across Cultures
- •13. Paraphrase, translate or explain.
- •14. Answer the teacher’s questions. Home activities (3)
- •15. Get ready to retell Text 1.
- •Classroom activities (4)
- •17. Paraphrase using the active vocabulary of the unit.
- •18. Translate from English into Russian.
- •Subjunctive Mood or Should
- •In Nominal Clauses
- •20. Translate into Russian.
- •24. Translate into English.
- •Home activities (4)
- •25. A) Translate into English.
- •Classroom activities (5)
- •In Subordinate Clauses
- •26. Paraphrase as in the model.
- •27. Complete the sentences using the words and phrases in the right-hand column. Add a sentence logically connected.
- •28. A) Complete the sentences with the words and phrases from the box.
- •29. A) Scan the text and say whether you agree with the conclusion the writers arrive at. Explain your viewpoint.
- •31. Complete the sentences with the proper forms of the Verb.
- •32. Answer the teacher’s questions. Home activities (5)
- •33. Complete the sentences with the proper forms of the Verb.
- •34. A) Translate into English.
- •Classroom activities (6)
- •35. Complete sentences with the right words.
- •36. Complete the sentences with the proper forms of the Verb.
- •37. Complete the sentences with the words from the box.
- •38. Comment on the following statements:
- •39. Express your opinion and support it using the vocabulary of the unit.
- •Home activities (6)
- •40. Read the text Digging to America and get ready to answer the questions (see exercise 45).
- •41. Translate into English. Use the hints from the box.
- •Classroom activities (7)
- •42. Fill in the blanks with prepositions where necessary.
- •Digging to America
- •43. Give the English for:
- •44. Find the Russian for:
- •45. Answer the questions.
- •46. Complete the sentences with the proper forms of the Verb.
- •Home activities (7)
- •47. Translate into English. Use the hints from the box.
- •48 . Retell the text as if you were
- •Classroom activities (8)
- •49. Complete the sentences:
- •50. Open the brackets and write the verbs in the appropriate forms.
- •51. Translate from Russian into English:
- •Home activities (8)
- •52. Write a paragraph to answer the question:
- •Classroom activities (9)
- •53. Read the following text and
- •What Kids Should Know Being tech-savvy is one thing. Being cultured means exploring the unknown.
- •54. Read the following text and
- •The ecology of Hollywood
- •55. Read the following text and
- •Are you a tourist or a traveller?
46. Translate into Russian.
1. Cricket cannot rival football in excitement. 2. The garden path was edged with plants. 3. Bring the two edges together and fasten them securely. 4. Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU’s income. 5. Complete absorption in sport interfered with his studies. 6. Most countries have enthusiastically embraced the concept of high-speed railways. 7. Each witness has a different version of what happened. 8. He has been described variously as a saint, hero and thief. 9. There are now several varieties of spaniel. 10. We applaud the president’s insistence on tougher environmental laws. 11. The insistent buzz of the telephone was driving me mad. 12. I wish he wouldn’t ask such embarrassing questions. 13. The court case was a huge embarrassment to the company. 14. He was embarrassed about the nature of his illness. 15.Each child will be helped according to his or her needs.
-
WORD BUILDING
47. Make new words according to the patterns of word building. Translate them into Russian.
1. |
question |
to question |
спрашивать, допрашивать, задавать вопросы |
|
mushroom |
|
|
|
top |
|
|
|
lace |
|
|
|
hammer |
|
|
|
own |
|
|
|
target |
|
|
2. |
power |
empowerment |
(у)полномочие, предоставление полномочий |
|
body |
|
|
|
embarrass |
|
|
3. |
number |
(to) outnumber |
превосходить численно |
|
burst |
|
|
|
come |
|
|
4. |
English- |
English-based |
с опорой на английский язык |
|
home- |
|
|
|
London- |
|
|
|
school- |
|
|
|
knowledge- |
|
|
-
TEXT 2.
Cross-cultural Notes:
The Queen and I – a novel written in 1992 by the British writer Sue Townsend. It describes the Queen’s nightmare: when a Republican party wins the General Election, their first act is to strip the royal family of their assets and titles and send them to live in a two-bedroomed semi-detached house in the Midlands. Exchanging servants for a social worker, the Queen and her family learn what it means to be poor.
Crawfie – the Queen’s governess.
posh (adj.) – for or typical of people of high social class. Sometimes used with a derogatory meaning.
Poshos
(From The Queen and I by Sue Townsend. Abridged.)
The Queen looked at Number Nine Hellebore Close and shuddered. The street sign at the entrance to the Close had lost five black metal letters. HELL CLOSE it now said. The Queen thought, “Yes, it is Hell, it must be, because I’ve never seen anything like it in the whole of my life.”
She had visited many council estates – had opened community centres, had driven through the cheering crowds, alighted from the car, walked on red carpets, been greeted by tongue-tied dignitaries, pulled a cord, signed the visitors’ book. Then, carpet, car, drive to helicopter and up, up and away. She’d seen the odd documentary on BBC2 about urban poverty, heard unattractive poor people talk in broken sentences about their dreadful lives, but she’d regarded such programmes as sociological curiosities so far away that it didn’t really matter.
It stank. Somebody in the Close was burning car tyres. Not one house in the Close had its full complement of windows. Gardens were full of rubbish, black plastic bags had been split by dogs, televisions flickered and blared. A man lay under a wreck of a car which was jacked up on bricks. Other men squatted close by, aiming torches and watching, men with outdated haircuts and tattoos, their cigarettes cupped in their hands. A woman in white stilettos ran down the road after a boy toddler, naked apart from his vest.
‘Now gerrin’ and stay in,’ she screamed. ‘’Oo left the bleedin’ door open?’ she demanded of other, unseen children.
The Queen was reminded of the stories that Crawfie would tell her in the nursery. Of goblins and witches, of strange lands populated by sinister people. The Queen would beg her governess to stop, but she never would. The Queen thought, Crawfie knew. She knew. She was preparing me for Hell Close.
* * *
The Threadgolds watched as a shadowy figure ordered a tall man out of the van. Was she a foreigner? It wasn’t English she was talking, was it? But as their ears became more accustomed they realized it was English, but posh English, really posh.
‘Tone, why they moved a posho in Hell Close?’ asked Beverley.
‘Dunno,’ replied Tony. ‘Seen her somewhere before. Is she Dr. Khan’s receptionist?’
‘No,’ said Beverley, ‘definitely not.’
‘Christ, just our bleedin’ luck to have poshos nex’ door.’
Prince Philip stared speechlessly at Number Nine. A street light flickered into life, casting a theatrical glow over his dilapidated future home. The driver let down the ramp at the back of the van and went inside. He’d never seen such lovely stuff – not in twenty-one years of removals. The dog in the cage at the back started to growl.
‘They’ve got a dog,’ said Tony.
‘So long as they keep it under control,’ said Beverley.
Tony squeezed his wife’s shoulder. She was a good kid, he thought. Tolerant like.
Prince Philip spoke. ‘It’s abso-bloody-lutely impossible. I refuse. I’d sooner live in a bloody ditch. And that bloody light will send me mad.’ He shouted up at the light, then took hold of its post and shook it violently from side to side.
Beverley said, ‘I got it. He’s a loony, one of them that’s been let out to die in the community.’
‘You might be right, Bev,’ said Tony. They turned to go back into their house when the Queen addressed them.
‘Excuse me, but would you have an axe I could borrow?’
‘An ix?’ repeated Tony.
‘Yes, an axe.’ The Queen came to their front gate.
‘I dunno what an ix is,’ Tony said.
‘You don’t know what an axe is? One uses it for chopping wood.’
The Queen was growing impatient. She had made a simple request; her new neighbours were obviously morons. She was aware that educational standards had fallen, but not to know what an axe was... It was a scandal.
‘I need an implement of some kind to gain access to my house.’
‘Arse?’
‘House!’
The driver volunteered his services as translator. His hours talking to the Queen had given him a new found linguistic confidence.
‘This lady wants to know if you’ve got an axe.’
‘Yeah, I got an axe, but I ain’t ‘anding it over to ‘im,’ said Tony, pointing at Philip. The Queen came down the garden path towards the Threadgolds and the light from their hall illuminated her face. Beverley gasped and curtsied clumsily. Tony reeled back and clutched the lintel of the front door for support before saying, ‘I’ll geddit.’
Left alone, Beverley burst into tears. ‘It was the shock,’ she said later as she and Tony lay in bed unable to sleep. ‘I mean, who would believe it? I still don’t believe it, Tone.’
‘Nor do I, Bev. I mean, the Queen next door. We’ll put in for a transfer, eh?’
Slightly comforted, Beverley went to sleep.
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES |