Exercises

Exercise 53. Explain the use of articles with relative temporal names in the following sentences.

J. At 2.30 on the afternoon of Friday, July 13, his elderly secretary watched him get into a taxi (J.Fowles). 2. It was late afternoon before he came out of the delirium (J.London). 3. In the late morning there would be a terrier racing (M.Bragg). 4. About noon our attention was again arrested by the appearance of the Sun (E.Poe). 5. I suppose you're asking to spend the evening with you? 6. Winter set in with 'heavy fall of snow' (A.Cronin). 7. In winter the furrowy high waves would come steaming in (J.Wain). 8. It is very hot in the summer in Madrid. And how cold in winter (E.Hemingway). 9. For a whole winter the three of them had chased everything over the countryside (M.Bragg). 10. Winter dripped like a dog, the fog hardly left our dell. Winter in England has the colourless, steaming look of a fried fish shop window. 11. it was a hard summer for Martin (J.London).

Exercise 54. Fill in the blanks in the following sentences if necessary.

1. ... Autumn ..is staggering in. 2. They did very well ... last autumn. 3. I thought you were here for ... summer. 4. We said good-bye to one another and managed to meet in ... autumn. 5. By the end of... summer John was desperate. 6. On ... morning after his arrest he was tired. 7. A patient was brought there by the doctor himself early on ... Saturday morning. 8. I had had ... charming morning. 9. On ... misty, moonlight night Mr.Bretshaw rode up. 10. He decided to spend ... afternoon with his friends.

Exercise 55. Read the following passage and comment on your attitude to the author's opinion.

I like spring, but it is too young. I like summer, but it is too proud. So I like best of all autumn, because its tone is mellower, its colours are richer and it is tinged a little with sorrow (L.Yutang).

Exercise 56. Ask your partner

1. what he has managed to do since morning;

2. if he has ever been in the fields at sunrise;

3. what happens in town towards sunset;

4. when heat is usually unbearable;

5. when he can enjoy the meditative silence of nature:

6. when and how the weather for the next day can be forecast;

7. about the most convenient period of the day for reading newspapers;

h) about the most convenient period of the day for watching horror films;

i) about the most convenient part of the day for doing the city.

Exercise 57. a) Do you know what kind of people usually have late dinners? Would you sacrifice dinner for the sake of your hobby?

3. Read the passage about the meals of theatre-goers and comment if their hobby is worth the sacrifice.

As the evening performances normally begin at 7.30 or 8 p.m. there is a kind of minor rush-hour between seven-fifteen and eight o'clock in the evening. The existing times make the question of eating a rather tricky problem: one has to have either early dinner or late supper. Many restaurants in the theatre-land ease the situation by catering specially for early or late diners (ABC-K).

4. Would you prefer early dinner or late supper under the circumstances described in the passage above.

Exercise 58. a) Do you know what is one of the greatest mysteries to foreign visitors in Britain?

b) Read the passage and comment why meals are considered a mystery to foreign visitors in Britain.

Breakfast, which was once taken at 5 o'clock in the morning, can now be at any time before 11.30. It has thus overtaken dinner. In Norman times - the 12th century - dinner was at 9 a.m.; by the 15th century it had moved to 11 a.m.; and today it can be eaten at any time between noon and 2.30 in the afternoon and is called by a larger proportion of population lunch. In the 14th century supper was at 4 o'clock, which is now called tea-time. But outside the south-east of England working families have tea or high tea at about 6 in the evening while the rest of fellow-countrymen have dinner which is often also called supper at about 7.30 p.m. (Anglia).

c) Decide if Englishmen will find meals in this country confusing.

Exercise 59. Speak on the following situations.

1. Discuss how nature differs at sunrise and at sunset.

2. Point out the duties which you fail to carry out before dusk.

3. Describe the conditions of a sick person when night creeps in.

4. Decide what is advisable to do on a Sunday morning.

5. Discuss how the mood of a student differs at various periods of the day.

6. Discuss with your teacher when it is more fruitful to study English: in the morning or at noon.

7. Find someone among your fellow-students who adores to watch nature in autumn. Ask him to tell you what changes he notices.

8. Decide what season fits for sightseeing in London.

9. Share your impressions of the capital of this country in different seasons.

10. Decide how the behaviour of people changes when autumn comes.

11. Select the best season or part of the day for seeing a castle.