Unit 6 Text a. Sightseeing & Shopping in London (1)

A young lady is waiting on the steps of the British Museum. She is looking at her watch. It’s twenty to three in the afternoon. A young man arrives. He is ten minutes late.

"Do your girl-friends in Spain always wait for you?" Rosa asks him.

"Only the old and ugly ones!" answers Arturo.

Rosa is not happy with him.

"Well, this is my afternoon and I’m going to do what I want. First, I want to look at the Egyptian mummies in the museum. They’re very old and ugly and they’re waiting for you!"

The two young students spend an hour in the museum and then buy picture postcards to send to their friends.

"We need at least a week to visit such a big museum. One hour isn’t enough!" says Arturo.

"You can stay here a week," answers Rosa, "but I’m going to two bookshops. One is near London University just north of the museum and the other is a little way south in Charing Cross Road. Are you coming with me?"

"Yes," says Arturo, "but later I’d like to go to the big music stores in Oxford Street to look for CDs."

"If you are patient for the next hour, we can go there later."

Arturo is not very patient. He also wants to look at the computer shops in Tottenham Court Road. He arranges to meet Rosa in the Psychology Department of the first bookshop at five o’clock.

Rosa likes the bookshop near the university, but she is looking for a particular book about Piaget (Пьяжé), the Swiss psychologist. She cannot find it in the first shop. Arturo returns ten minutes early. The new super-computers are interesting, but much too expensive.

Exercise 1.

• Read the text and find sentences describing:

a) the two students’ visit to the British Museum; b) Rosa’s and Arturo’s preferences in shopping; c) the location of the two bookshops Rosa wants to visit.

Exercise 2.

• Do the following:

a) Write the names of things you would like to buy in London.

b) Write a list of things you would like to buy at a big music store.

c) Write the names of things you need to go sightseeing in a big unfamiliar (незнайомий) city.

Exercise 3.

• Answer the following questions in writing:

Are you very angry when your friend is 10 minutes late?

Do Rosa and Arturo have a sense of humour?

What do people do in Oxford Street?

What do you know about the British Museum? Would you like to visit it?

Which other places would you like to visit in London?

Would you like to buy a new super-computer?

What’s time now?

• Agree or disagree with the following statements. Explain your choice.

Books are not so popular nowadays as music CDs.

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.

Basic Patterns

Do your girl-friends in Spain always wait for you? – Only the old and ugly ones! Твої подружки в Іспанії завжди чекають на тебе? – Тільки старі та страшні (подружки).

After scanning the list of questions, choose the ones you know most about. Переглянувши список запитань, виберіть ті, з якими ви краще обізнані.

Exercise 4.

• Translate the following sentences into Ukrainian. Explain why you think your translation is correct:

I haven’t got a pen. Can you lend (позичити) me one?

The students who do best in examinations are not always the ones with the best brains.

Your plan is a good one on paper.

The new design is much better than the old one.

• Ask other students:

Is your room a comfortable one?