Английский язык. Агабек (Агабекян И. П.), страница 32

People of h i g hsocial position have country houses with names, becausea house with a name seems abetter* than a house with anumber. Numbers make the postman's work much easier,but that is not important.The advertisers are very clever in their use of snobberyMotor-car manufacturers, for example advertise the coloursof their cars as «Embassy Black*, though this is ordinaryblack, or «Balmoral Stone*. Balmoral Stone is the grey colourof ordinary stone, but Balmoral is also the name of theresidence in Scotland of the British Royal family.267Приложение 2Английский языкThe Thanksgiving DayOne day the people of the village suddenly saw a tallIndian who was walking along the street.

They werefrightened very much, but t h i s Indian came up to them,smiled and said, «Hallo, Yankee!*Few days later this Indian came to the village againtogether with some other Indians. They came as friendsand helped the white men very much. But white menforgot about t h i s help very quickly, a few years laterwhen many people from Europe came to America, t h e ybegan to take the land away from the Indians and to killthem.At last spring came.

The people of New P l y m o u t hbegan to plant corn, and the Indians showed them howto plant maize. In autumn the crops were very good andt h e people of N e w Plymouth wanted to make a holidaydinner. They asked the Indians to this dinner, and theIndians brought some wild turkeys as a present. Theturkey was an American bird. Very few people in Europehad ever heard about it but when they ate it at t h i sdinner they liked it very much. The people of N e wPlymouth called their holiday «Thanksgiving Day*.Since that time Thanksgiving Day has been a greatholiday in the United States of America, and since thatday Americans have always had turkeys for the Thanks­giving Day.268MAYFLOWERIt was in 1 6 2 0 , in the time of King James the First.English people did not like their king and they calledhim «The foolish King of England*.

Many of them evenleft England and went to live in other countries.In November, 1 6 2 0 a a small chip, the Mayflower,left England. There were about one hundred people aboardthe ship. For seven long weeks the Mayflower was in thewaves and storms of the Atlantic Ocean, and at last thepeople saw land. It was America.It was already autumn. It was raining and a cold windwas blowing. S i x t e e n men left the Mayflower and wentashere.

In t h e e v e n i n g t h e y came back to the s h i p andbrought some maize with them. W h e n the people onboard the Mayflower tried it t h e y likedit very much.N e x t day was Sunday and everybody on the Mayflow­er had a rest. On Monday some men went ashore againand t h i s t i m e they took some women w i t h them. Thewomen had to wash the clothes. Simce that tiae Mondayhas been a wash-day in America.During the next five weeks the mea from the Mayflowerleft the ship every day. Sometimes they did not comeback for many days; they were looking for a good placeto live.

There was a good harbour for ships there, somefield aad forests near it and even a small river. Thepeople began to build a village there.269Приложение 2Английский языкOn January, 1621 there were already two streets int h i s village, and they called it «New Plymouth*.One day the people of the village suddenly saw a tallIndian who was walking along the street. They werefrightened very much, but this Indian came up to them,smiled and said, «Hallo, Yankeel*Few days later t h i s Indian came to the village againtogether w i t h some other Indians. They came as friendsaad helped the white men very anch. But w h i t e menforgot about this help very quickly; a few yeas laterwhen many people from Europe came to America, thaybegan to take the land away from the Indians and to killthem.At last spring came. The people of N e w Plymouthbegan to plant corn, and the Indians showed them howto plant maize.In autumn the crops were very good and the people ofNew Plymouth wanted to make a holiday dinner.

Theyasked the Indians to this dinner and the Indians broughtsome wild turkeys as a present. The turkey was an Amer­ican bird. Very few people in Europe had ever heardaboat it, but when they ate it at this dinner they liked itvery much. The people of New Plymouth called theirholiday « Thanksgiving Day*.NEWTON'S DINNERSir Isaac N e w t o n was often so deeply interested indifficult problems that he became quite absent-minded.One day a gentleman came to see him, but was told thatSir Isaac was busy in his study and that nobody wasallowed to disturb him.As it was dinner-time, t h e visitor sat down in thedining-room to wait for t h e scientist. The servant camein and placed on the table a boiled chicken under a cover.An hour passed, but N e w t o n did not appear. The gentle­man, feeling hungry, ate chicken, and covering up theskeleton, asked the servant to prepare another one forhis master.Before the second chicken W A S ready, however, thescientist entered the room, apologizing for his delay.Then he added: «As I feel rather tired and hungry, Ihope you will e x c u s e me a little longer, while I take mydinner, and then I will be at your service*.

W i t h thesewords he lifted the cover, and without emotion turnedround to the gentleman and said: «See w h a t a strangepeople we scientists are. I quite forgot that I had dinedalready*.At t h i s moment the servant brought in the other chick­en. The v i s i t o r explained how matters stood.

After ahearty laugh, t h e hungry s c i e n t i s t sat down to dine.270271Приложение 2Английский языкA LESSON IN POLITENESSJonathan Swift, the famous English writer and theauthor of .Gulliver's Travels* was not very generous.He seldom gave anything to the servants or those whosent him presents. But once he received a lesson from aboy who very often carried him hares, partridges, andother game.One day the boy arrived with a heavy basket contain­ing fish, fruit, and game.

He knocked at the door andSwift by chance opened it himself. «Неге», said t h e boygruffly, «my master has sent you a basket full of things*.Swift, feeling displeased at the boy's rude manner,said to him: « С о т е here, my boy, and I will teach youhow to deliver a message a little more politely; come,imagine yourself Jonathan Swift, and I will be the boy*.Then taking off his hat very politely, and addressinghimself to the boy, he said. «Sir, my master sends you alittle present, and begs you will do him the honour toaccept i t * .•Oh, very well, my boy», replied the boy, «tell yourmaster I am much obliged to him, and there is half acrown for yourself*. Swift laughed heartily, and gavethe boy a crown for his wit.ENGLISH CHARACTEROne of the most striking features of English life isthe self-discipline and courtesy of people of all classes.There is little noisy behaviour, and practically no louddisputing in the street.

People do not rush excitedly fors e a t s in buses or trains, but take their seats in queues atbus stops in a quiet and orderly manner.Englishmen are naturally polite and are never tiredin saying •Thank you*, «I'm sorry*, •Beg your pardon*.If you follow anyone who is entering a building or aroom, he will hold a door open for you. Many foreignershave commented on a remarkable politeness of the Englishpeople. ,English people don't like displaying their emotionseven in dangerous and tragic situations, and ordinarypeople seem to remain good-tempered and cheerful un­der difficulties.The Englishman does not like any boasting or show­ing off in manners, dress or speech.

Sometimes he con­ceals his knowledge: a linguist, for example, may notmention his understanding of a foreigner's language.The Englishman prefers his own house to an apart­ment in a block-of flats, because he doesn't wish hisdoing to be overlooked by his neighbours. «An English­man's house is h i s castle*.Many Englishmen help their wives at home in manyways. They clean the windows on Saturday afternoon272273Английский языкthey often wash up the dishes after supper in the evening.Sunday is a very quiet day in London.

All the shops areclosed, and so are the theatres and most of the cinemas.Londoners like to get out of town on Sundays. The seais not far — only fifty or s i x t y miles away and peoplelike to go down to the sea in summer or somewhere tothe country for skiing in winter.Приложение 2AMERICAN CHARACTERAmerican society seems to be much more informalthan the British and, in some ways, is characterised byless social distinction. Students do not rise when a teacherenters the room. One does not always address a personby his title, such as «Major» or «General» or «Doctor».The respectful «Sir» is not always used in the northernand western parts of the country.However, it is best to use a person's title when firstmeeting him/her, and then allow the person to tell youhow he/she wishes to be called.They use first names when calling each other, slap onthe back, joke and are much freer in their speech, whichis more slangy than the conventional British English.You will often hear the word «Hi» (a form of greetingamong friends) used instead of the usual «Hello», and«Howdy* instead of «How do you do?*.Yet, in spite of all the informality, Americans, evenin the way they address each other, show consciousnessof social distinction.