Ученики на Учителя.com


Сборник текстов для чтения на английском языке в средней школе

Карачева А.К.
Сборник текстов для чтения на
английском языке в средней школе
Магнитогрск
2019
1
. Содержание
Предисловие
3
Text 1
IN A FAMILY
4
Text 2
AT A CIRCUS
5
Text 3
GOOD CHILDREN
6
Text 4
THE TALKATIVE FROG
7
Text 5
SAMUEL CLEMENS
8
Text 6
THE KING AND THE BOATMAN
9
Text 7
THE PHILOSOPHER IN THE BOAT
10
Text 8
A KING` SON
11
Text 9
THE MONEY-BOX
12
Text 10
MERCURY
13
Text 11
THE SPIDER
14
Text 12
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
15
Text 13
A SMALL PICTURE
16
Text 14
THE POTTER AND THE PAINTER
17
Text 15
NOTES FROM THE SEA
18
Text 16
CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN
19
Text 17
STAMPS
20
Text 18
JONATHAN SWIFT
21
Text 19
GULLIVER
22
Text 20
GULLIVER IN THE COUNTRY OF GIANTS
23
Text 21
CHARLES DODSON
24
Text 22
ONE WING
25
Text 23
UNCLE TOM
26
Text 24
DANIEL DEFOE
27
Text 25
ROBINSON CRUSOE
28
Text 26
TIM
29
Text 27
A STRANGE WOMAN
30
Text 28
THE NEW SHIP
31
Text 29
TIM`S MOTHER
32
Text 30
THE MUSICIAN
33
Text 31
A STRANGE MAN (Part I)
34
Text 32
A STRANGE MAN(Part II)
35
2
Text 33
A STRANGE MAN (Part III)
36
Text 34
ABOUT THE COCK
37
Text 35
HOW ANIMALS LEARNED TO DO SOMETHING
38
Text 36
JUMBO, THE ELEPHANT
39
Text 37
WHY THE BATS FLY ONLY AT NIGHT
40
Text 38
GREAT BRITAIN
41
Text 39
WALES
42
Text 40
GLASGOW
43
Text 41
THREE GOLD DOLLS
44
Text 42
ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES (Part I)
45
Text 43
ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES (Part II)
46
Text 44
THE LONDON ZOO
47
Text 45
A GOOD TIME TO VISIT ANIMALS
48
Text 46
Fatty
49
Библиография
50
3
Предисловие
Чтение по праву считается одним из самых сложных
видов речевой деятельности в обучении иностранному
языку. Цель настоящего пособия – помочь обучающимся
усовершенствовать навык чтения на английском языке. В
сборник вошли разные тексты, не связанные между собою
тематически. Пособие может послужить дополнением к
любому из существующих УМК.
Библиографические источники приводятся в конце.
4
Text 1
IN A FAMILY
One day a friend came to a house where there were three
children: a boy and two girls. Two of them – the boy and one of
the girls – got ill. They were in bed.
Many friends and all the members of the family were sorry
for them. They brought toys and nice things to eat and gave
them to the children who were ill in bed.
The other little girl sat in a corner and cried every day. One of
the relatives, who loved them, went up to her and asked, “Why
do you cry every day? You are not ill.”
“No”, said the little girl, “I am not ill, so they don`t bring me
any presents”.
5
Text 2
AT A CIRCUS
A conjurer worked at a new trick². He asked his son to help
him.
“When I ask a boy to come and help me you must come to me.
But nobody must understand that you know me”, said the man
to his son. The boy said that he understood everything.
In the evening, when the conjurer came to the stage and asked
any boy to help him, his son ran quickly to the stage.
The conjurer said, “Look at this boy! He knows nothing about
the trick, do you?’’
“ No, father!” the boy`s answer was.
6
Text 3
GOOD CHILDREN
“Your children are so good! I would like them to spend more
time with my children”, a young woman said to her friend.
“Why do you want it?”, her friend asked.
“My children can`t play in the street”, she answered.
“Really? And what do they do at walk? the woman asked in
surprise.
“How do they spend time?, the woman asked in a minute
“They come terribly dirty when I send them for a walk.”
“Oh, but children always get dirty on a walk”, the other woman
said.
“Yesterday I washed eight boys before I could see my youngest
son”,
7
Text 4
THE TALKATIVE FROG
Long, long ago there lived a Frog in a pond with two Ducks.
They were very good friends. The Frog liked to talk very much,
and she liked the Ducks, because she could talk with them. So
they lived there for a long time. But one summer it was very hot,
so hot that the pond became dry. The two Ducks couldn`t live
there. "Let's fly to another pond," said one Duck. They went to
the Frog to say good-bye to her.
But the Frog got sad: ”Oh, I don`t want to live here alone!"
said the Frog. "Take me with you! I am afraid to stay here
alone".
So the Ducks took a big stick. Then they put the ends of the
stick, and the Frog put the middle of the stick in her mouth, and
the Ducks took the Frog with them.
8
Text 5
SAMUEL CLEMENS
Samuel Clemens is the real name of Mark Twain, a famous
American writer.
Samuel Clemens was born in a small town on the Mississippi
river in the USA. The boy had many friends at school and later
he told about them in his stories.
When Samuel was twelve his father died and the boy began to
work at a printing house. At the age of twenty he found a work
on a ship.
Then he left the ship and went to California. In 1876 he wrote
his most famous book “The adventures of Tom Sawyer”. It
was very popular in many countries of the world.
9
Text 6
THE KING AND THE BOATMAN
One day the king got ill. But the best doctors of the
country couldn`t help him. Next day an old man came
to the palace and said that he could help the king.
When the king`s health became better the old man
said: “In three days you must give me as much gold as
the biggest elephant weighs”
The king agreed. But nobody knew how to weigh the
elephant and the gold. The cleverest men of the
country thought about it for three days but on the
fourth day a boatman came to the palace and said that
he could help the king. The king agreed again.
King`s servants and the elephant came to the river.
The elephant got into the boat, the boatman put a mark
on the side of the boat and showed how it sank under
the animal. Then he put gold into the boat and when it
sank as much as¹ under the elephant`s weigh. The
boatman said:” STOP!” The king was very happy and
invited the boatman to the palace.
10
Text 7
THE PHILOSOPHER IN THE BOAT
One day in summer the weather was hot, and a famous
philosopher decided to cross a river in a small boat. He talked
to the boatman and asked him: ”Do you know anything about
geography³?”
“Oh, no”, said the boatman, “I don`t know anything about it.”
“I`m sorry for you”, said the philosopher, “you lost a half of
your life”.
Some minutes later the philosopher asked the boatman the
next question: “Do you know anything about mathematics?”
“Oh, no,” answered the boatman “ I don`t know anything about
it.”
“I`m sorry for you”, said the philosopher, “you lost the second
half of your life”.
At that moment the boat ran on a stone. The boatman jumped
up and asked:” Can you swim?”
“Oh, no”, said the philosopher, “ I can`t swim”
“I`m very sorry for you,” said the boatman “You lost all your
life. The boat will go down in some minutes”.
11
Text 8
A KING`S SON
The king`s son had a very clever teacher. One day the teacher
told his pupil to get on a horse and ride. He himself walked
behind the horse. But when they were out of town, the teacher
got on the horse and asked the boy to go behind.
They travelled for a long time. When they came back to the
palace, the king`s son was very tired. He went to his father and
told him everything. The king became angry with the teacher
but the teacher asked the king to listen to him. The king agreed.
“Oh, great king! Said the teacher. I taught your son for a
long time. But I couldn`t show him with the help of words one
simple thing - that life is hard for poor people who have no
horses and must always walk. The boy is the king`s son. One
day he will be a king. And a king must now that”. The king
agreed the teacher.
12
Text 9
THE MONEY-BOX
Every Friday evening all shopkeepers in Grimsby came to the
central bank and put money into the night safe.that e was
outside on the wall .
But that Friday evening the people who came along the street
with bags full of money put them not into a night safe, but into
a box that belonged to Mr. Michael Bell.
Mr. Michael Bell had the idea when he saw two men near the
bank one evening. He made the box at home and painted it.
When it was ready, he put it on the wall next to the night safe.
Then he put a small note with the words: “Please, use this new
safe”. Then he stood not far from it. When the box was full he
took it and went home. His idea was good but not the best in the
world. Now he has time to think of other ideas. He is in prison.
13
Text 10
MERCURY
In old Roman legends, Mercury was a quick messenger of the
gods. The planet got this name, because it`s the quickest in the
Solar system. It makes its yearly journey in only 88 earth days.
Mercury always keeps one side towards the sun. It is always
day on this side, and it is always night on the other side. We see
only the lighted side.
Mercury appears to us like a yellow or an orange star. It is
the nearest planet to the sun and people often see it near the sun
before sunrise or after sunset. People sometimes call it morning
or evening star but it is a real planet.
Mercury has less than half the diameter of the Earth ,that`s
why it is lighter than our planet.
On its lighted side, Mercury`s temperature is about 300
degrees Centigrade. But the dark side is colder – about 150
degrees below zero.
14
Text 11
THE SPIDER
Do you know a small animal with four pairs of legs? Of
course, you do. You know spiders.
Spiders live all over the world. They don`t livein coldest
places. You may find them on land: on grass, bushes, trees and
on pools, rivers, seas. There are fifteen thousand different kinds
of spiders. The spider spins its web to catch insects for food. It
spins its web all its life.
There is a story about a spider and the head of the Scottish
army Robert Bruce. Robert Bruce destroyed the web several
times, and each time the spider began its work from the
beginning.
Robert watched it and decided to continue his fight for the
independence of Scotland.
It was many years ago, but Scottish people still remember
their great victory, and their great leader Robert Bruce.
15
Text 12
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
Christopher Columbus was born in the seaport town of Genoa in
Italy, about the year 1451. When he was only ten years,
Columbus went to a famous school near Genoa and studied
arithmetic and geography.
He was only 14 years old when he first sailed to the East.
After that time he made many voyages before he could to buy
three small ships and sail across the Atlantic Ocean.
His life on the sea, talks with sailors and the results of science
helped him to understand that the earth is round. He wanted to
reach India. He also dreamed about a new and shorter way to the
East.
Columbus started his voyage on the third of August,1492. He
was in the Atlantic Ocean for ten weeks, then he and his
brave sailors saw land. The land was America.
Columbus continued his work because he didn`t know that it
was a continent.
16
Text 13
A SMALL PICTURE
It happened many, many years ago in Great Britain. Once a rich
man wanted to have a beautiful picture on his desk.
He asked a great painter to paint a small picture for him. The
painter worked hard and next day he came to the rich man and
brought him the small picture. The man looked at the picture
and smiled. He liked the picture very much.
“It is a very beautiful picture”, said the rich man. “How much
do you want for it?”
“One thousand dollars”, answered the painter. The rich man was
surprised.
“One thousand dollars for this small picture?” cried the rich
man. “You painted it in one day and you want to get one
thousand dollars for one day`s work?’”
“Yes, sir. I painted this beautiful picture in one day, but I
worked thirty years and I learned how to paint it in one day”,
replied the painter.
17
Text 14
THE POTTER AND THE PAINTER
Many years ago there lived a potter and a painter. One day
the painter got much money for his picture and the potter asked
to give him some money. The painter didn`t do it.
Next morning the potter went to the king and said that the
painter knew how to change any colour into white.
King`s servants brought the painter to the palace, and the king
said that he wanted to make his grey elephant white. The
painter understood that it was a potter`s joke. He agreed and
asked to make a big pot for an elephant.
The potter made a pot but it fell to pieces the first time when
the people carried it. It fell to pieces the second time when the
workers put it into cold water. And it fell to pieces the third time
when the elephant put his foot into it. The potter worked hard
for some months and often thought about the pot. But one fun
day the elephant ran to the woods. It was the happiest day for
the potter.
18
Text 15
NOTES FROM THE SEA
In 1956 a young sailor at sea was very far from his family and
friends for the first time in his life. He wrote a note and put it
into a bottle. Then he sealed the bottle and threw it into the sea.
In his note he asked any nice girl who found it to write to him.
After some time a farmer in Italy who lived near the sea, saw
the sailor`s bottle and picked it up. He gave the note to his
daughter and she wrote the sailor a letter. Many letters travelled
to Italy and back. Soon the sailor visited Italy. In 1958 he
married the girl.
This is one of many stories about bottles, which travelled from
place to place in seas and oceans. A bottle with note is a good
traveller. It can travel when strong storms break ships. A bottle
with a note lies on the water and does not go down.
19
Text 16
CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN
It was Saturday, Two brothers, Eddie and Alan ran- in the field.
When the boys heard about the circus, they came to their mother
and told her about it. She said “I will not buy tickets for you”.
The boys decided to go and help the circus workers. Other boys
came to the field too. They also wanted to work and get tickets
for the show.
Then at last the circus came. There was a lot of work to do.
Every boy found work. When it was over, the boys took their
tickets. At last the show began. It was a very good show. There
were lions and tigers.
The clowns were very funny and everybody laughed.
Unfortunately, the poor boys didn`t see any of these things.
They slept – they were very tired. And they slept to the end of
the show. On their way home the boys cried but nobody listened
to them.
20
Text 17
STAMPS
21
Text 18
JONATHAN SWIFT
Jonathan Swift, the famous English writer, was born in a poor
family in Dublin, Ireland. His father died some months before
the boy was born. His mother went to work in England and left
Jonathan in his uncle`s family. His uncle loved him very much.
The boy studied very well at school and when he was
fourteen years old, his uncle sent him to Dublin university.
When Swift left the university, he went to England in 1689 and
became a secretary of a writer. He was a very clever man and
spoke some foreign languages. At that time he began to write
articles for many English newspapers.
In 1726 he wrote the book “Gulliver`s Travels”. It is a book
about Great Britain of that time. People not only in England and
Ireland but in many other countries of the world liked the book
very much. He also wrote some other books but they were very
popular.
22
Text 19
GULLIVER
Gulliver was born in the large family of a farmer. He studied
well at school, so his father sent him to the university. When the
young man left the university, he worked with a doctor and
knew a lot about this profession.
But Gulliver wanted to travel and found a work on a ship as
the ship`s doctor. One day, after many days of fine weather,
there was a terrible¹storm. The ship broke to pieces, fortunately
Gulliver could swim well. After a long time he saw a land and
swam to it. He got out of the water and slept on the shore for
many hours. He was tired.
When Gulliver woke up, he saw that he was in the country
where very, very little people lived. The name of the country
was Lilliput. Gulliver was kind to the little people and the let
him to live with them.
23
Text 20
GULLIVER IN THE COUNTRY OF GIANTS
The second of Gulliver`s travels began very well. The weather
was fine. But after some weeks, a strong wind began to blow. It
blew for twenty days. When the wind stopped, the sailors were
very tired and the captain of the ship didn`t know where they
were. They had food, but there was no drinking water. At last
they saw an island. The captain of the ship sent Gulliver with
some men in a small boat to get water.
On the island the sailors went into the forest and Gulliver
went into another part of the island. It was late when he came
back to the shore, he didn`t find the boat there. The sailors were
already in the boat and on their way back to the ship. Gulliver
wanted to cry, but suddenly he saw a very, very big man – a
giant. Then he saw other giants and understood that he was in
the country of giants.
24
Text 21
CHARLES DODSON
Charles Dodson is the real name of Lewis Carrol, the man who
wrote a famous book for children, “Alice`s Adventures in
Wonderland”.
Charles Dodson was born in England in 1832. When he
finished school, he became a student of Oxford university,
where he studied mathematics. Some years later he began to
teach this subject at the university.
Charles Dodson had no family, but he loved children very
much. He often visited his friend Henry George Liddell, who
had a large family. There were three little girls in that family.
Dodson liked to talk with Alice, who was stories. Charles
told Alice about the adventures of a little girl in Wonderland.
The name of the girl in the stories was Alice too. Alice liked the
stories very much. When Alice Liddell was ten years old, she
asked Charles to write down these stories and the famous book
appeared.
25
Text 22
ONE WING
The boys called him One Wing because he had a bad
arm but his real name was Jackie. Their family wasn`t
happy. Jackie didn`t know his father, and Uncle Tom,
his father`s brother was in the army. Jackie was sure that
Uncle Tom was a hero and he waited for him.
There was a large field not far from Jackie`s house.
The boys often came here to play football or other
games. One Wing taught the boys to play war. All boys
in the village liked it very much. There were two armies
and One Wing was the general of one of them. He was a
very brave boy and he knew how to fight. His army
often won.
But in some days the boys were tired of the war game,
even the strongest boy Dick did not want to play war
now. But the boys didn`t want to tell One Wing about it.
26
Text 23
UNCLE TOM
When Uncle Tom came home after the war, he didn`t bring any
swords. He brought nothing. And he didn`t look like a hero. He
was a small man with white hair. He even ate little. Jackie
talked to Uncle Tom all the time. He asked him a lot of
questions about the war.
“I don`t see anything interesting in the war”, Uncle Tom said.
“Many people lose their lives in a war. War is a dirty, terrible
thing.”
He didn`t talk much. He usually sat alone in his room. The
boys in the street laughed at Uncle Tom. Soon they began to
laugh at Jackie too.
“Did your uncle bring you two swords?” they often cried.
“Your uncle is not a hero. He hasn`t ant medals.” they said
In his heart Jackie was not happy. He asked Uncle Tom about
medals and he answered that he didn`t have any medals.
27
Text 24
DANIEL DEFOE
Daniel Defoe was born in London in 1660. When he was
a schoolboy, he began to write stories. After he finished school
the young man began to write articles for newspapers. Defoe
went to many other countries and met many people. That helped
him to write about other people`s adventures.
In 1719 Daniel Defoe wrote the book “Robinson Crusoe”.
He told the real story of a sailor who lived on an island for four
years where there were no other people. But in Defoe`s book
Robinson Crusoe lived on an island for twenty-eight years. He
worked all the time and learned to make many things.
People all over the world liked the book very much. It is
one of the worked English books in the world. People
translated it into other languages. Later Defoe wrote the second
and the third parts of this famous book but, unfortunately, they
didn`t have success.
28
Text 25
ROBINSON CRUSOE
Robinson Crusoe lived in York. When he was a small boy he
wanted to go to sea. But he could do it only when he was
eighteen. He had a friend whose father was the captain of a ship.
The captain took two boys on his ship when it went to London.
That was Robinson`s first voyage. After that Robinson Crusoe
made three or four voyages over the sea. Now he was a sailor
and liked his work very much.
One day when he was at the sea a great storm began. The ship
broke and people went into a small boat. The high waves of
water picked their boat up and threw it on large stones.
Robinson could swim well, so he stayed in the water for a long
time. The waves carried him to the shore. Soon the wave was
back in the sea and Robinson ran to the shore quickly. When he
reached the shore, he sat there for a long time.
29
Text 26
TIM
One day, after a long holiday, Tim came back to the little
house near the sea where he lived with his parents. When he
came up to the door, he couldn`t open it. There was nobody in
it. The boy didn`t understand anything.
Why did his parents go away? Where did they go to? He sat
and cried for some minutes. He got up and went to look for his
parents.
It was 4 o`clock in the afternoon. Tim had no money, so he
stopped at a farm and asked the farmer to give him a bed for the
night.
Next morning Tim told his story the farmer`s wife. She gave
him bread and butter and two big apples, and put some money in
his pocket. Tim`s plan was to find work on a small ship. He
went to a port. There he saw a little old ship “Amelia Jane”.
30
Text 27
A STRANGE WOMAN
When the ship was at sea, Tim had much work to do. They
stopped at many ports, at every port Tim left the ship and went
into the town. There he asked different people about his parents.
But nobody could tell him anything, and Tin was always sad
when he went back to his ship. But the sailors were kind to Tim.
One day the “Amelia Jane” came to a small town. Tim went to
look for his parents again. One woman caught him by the arm
and took him to a very strange house. Tim didn`t want to go
there he pushed the woman and ran away. When he came back
to the port the “Amelia Jane” was out in the open sea. Tim
thought that the old woman could find him. He decided to hide.
He went on another ship and hid under a boat. Soon this ship
went out to sea.
31
Text 28
THE NEW SHIP
The new ship wasn`t good. It was worse than “The Amelia
Jane”. The captain was very angry when he found Jim on his
ship. And the sailors weren`t kind.
He had only one friend on the ship, it was the ship`s cat. At
night the cat slept with Tim and the boy talked to him.
One night there was a fire on the ship. The captain said to
leave the ship. All the sailors ran to the boats but Tim didn`t
want to leave his friend.
He found the cat and caught him and wanted to run with him
to one of the boats when he saw the fire near him. Tim jumped
into the sea with the cat in his arms and swam. When he was in
the water, he put the cat on his back. The water was very cold
but soon he saw a boat and they got into it.
32
Text 29
TIM`S MOTHER
All that day the boy and the cat were out in the open sea, but in
the evening the waves carried the boat to the shore. They got out
of the boat and walked. Soon they were in the streets of a small
town.
They stopped at a small café. They were cold and hungry, but
Tim had no money. Then Tim saw a woman at one of the tables.
He looked and looked. Then he understood that it was his
mother!!!In a moment Tim was in a café and in his mother`s
arms. They were very happy!!!
Tim`s mother told him that when he was on holiday, they read
in a newspaper about a tourist ship that went down the sea with
all the people who were on it. His name was there too.
Tim told his mother about his adventures and showed her the
ship`s cat. The next day Tim and his parents and the cat all went
back to their little house near the sea.
33
Text 30
THE MUSICIAN
On this hot summer day, we are at the Merrydew Ranch in
Texas. The Merrydews are good people and the ranch is big.
There are always a lot of people in the house, and there is a lot
of noice.
Sam Galloway is a musician. He travels across Texas and
Oklahoma. He goes from place to place and plays music. He
tells stories, too, and he talks people about their good days and
their bad days. The ranchers and their families like listening to
them, and Sam gets a bed and food and drink for his work.
34
Text 31
A STRANGE MAN
(Part I)
Steve and Linda Kane walked along the street. Steve looked up
and said, “I don`t like the weather. It`s very dark now”. And it
began to rain in five minutes.
The children decided to go to the house in front of them and ask
if they could stay there. Steve and Linda ran to the door of
a big grey house.
For a long time nobody answered. The children
wanted to run away but at that moment the door opened. A man
stood in front of them and looked at them strangely.
“Yes?” he said. “What can I do for you?”
“Excuse us ”, said Steve.” May we stay in your house for some
time?”
“Oh, yes, of course”, the man answered.
. The man walked into the living-room and the children went
after him.
The room was very dark, and Steve and Linda saw the things
only near them.
35
Text 32
A STRANGE MAN
(Part II)
The children sat down on the sofa. Linda asked a glass of water
and the man went out of the room. “Linda”, said Steve, “I don`t
like this place. It`s a very strange place, isn`t it?”
The man came back. He held a glass of water in his hand.
“Here`s your drink”, he said but before she took it the glass fell
on the floor.
“Did you see that?” asked Linda Steve but at that moment the
man entered the room again. “Here you are”, he said and gave
another glass of water. Linda drank the water. Then he gave her
a duster and said “Dry the floor, please”. They looked at each
other. She took the duster and dried up the water on the floor.
When the man went back to the kitchen they decided to leave
that house but suddenly they heard something strange behind the
door. They stopped and listened. The door began to open
slowly. It opened and a big dog came into the room.
36
Text 33
A STRANGE MAN
(Part III)
“My name is Peter Green”, said the man and sat down in the
arm-chair. “And what are your names?”
“I`m Steve, and this is my sister Linda. We live not far from
here.”
“And what do you like to do after your lessons?” asked Mr.
Green.
“I like sports”, said Steve.
“And I like to read and take music lessons”, said Linda.
“Oh, I like to read too” Mr. Green said and took a book “This is
my favourite book”, he said. And put his hand on the first page.
But the children didn`t see anything on it.
“But there are no words there!” said Steve.
“Oh, I am sorry,” answered Mr. Green. “You don`t know. I
can`t see, I`m blind. And this book is for people who are blind.”
The children looked at each other. Blind! They remembered
the glass on the floor, the dark room and many other things.
Now they understood everything.
37
Text 34
ABOUT THE COCK
Many, many years ago there lived three brothers in the sky- the
Sun, the Moon and the Cock. The Sun and the Moon worked
and the Cock looked after the house. The Cock was a very
good singer and his brothers liked his songs. The Sun went to
work in the morning and the Moon went to work in the evening.
One day when the Sun was at work the Moon asked the Cock
to bring all their sheep home from the fields. But the Cock
didn`t do it and the Moon got angry, he took his brother by the
comb and threw him from the sky.
That`s why when the Sun comes out in the morning the Cock
is happy and he sings his songs. But when the Moon comes the
Cock runs home quickly and went to bed because he didn`t to
meet his angry brother.
38
Text 35
HOW ANIMALS LEARNED TO DO
SOMETHING
Many years ago when people and animals were great friends, a
man called all the animals together. He got on a large stone and
said in a loud voice:” My dear friends! Listen to me! I`m angry
with you. You are very lazy, you don`t do anything.” And the
man went home but the animals got sad.
Every animal thought about the man`s words and they began
to learn to do something. The horse began to learn to run
quickly because it wanted to carry people.
The dog started to bark, it wanted to help the man to watch his
house. The cow began to give milk. The cock learned to sing
wonderful songs in the morning. And the cock`s wife, the hen,
began to lay eggs.
In some months the man met them again, and they showed
him all they could do. The man was very glad.
39
Text 36
JUMBO, THE ELEPHANT
Ali was nine. Dark-coloured and thin, he was tall for a boy of
nine. The boy had dark-brown eyes, black hair and snow-
white teeth. Ali was poor but he had an unusual pet, a young
elephant, his name was Jumbo. He was a very good elephant
and Ali loved him very much. On one side of the elephant Ali
wrote “I can carry things.” On the other side the boy wrote “I
can carry people”. The two friends worked hard. They went
from village to village and from town to town. One day after
work Jumbo began to dance. It was very interesting. People
stopped, they laughed and gave Ali money. Many people came
to see it. And the boy bought five or six cakes after every dance.
But soon Jumbo understood that Ali took all money and began
to ask Ali to put ribbons of different colours on his legs and a
tie round his neck.
40
Text 37
WHY THE BATS FLY ONLY AT NIGHT
Bats look like birds and mice at the same time. They have
wings and they can fly but they don`t lay eggs. Besides they
have no feathers.
One cool autumn day a bat flew in the forest and cried.
Suddenly he saw the eagle, the king of birds, and said that he
was cold. The eagle thought a little and then told all birds to
give the bat a feather . After that the bat looked wonderful. Each
feather had a different colour and when the bat showed his
wings everybody saw that they were really beautiful. The bat
began to think himself better than other birds. He didn`t speak
to them. The birds were very angry… They all told the eagle
about it. The eagle told the birds to take back their feathers. The
bat got angry with birds and he began to fly at night
41
Text 38
GREAT BRITAIN
Great Britain is an island in the north-western part of Europe.
The official name of Great Britain is the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland. England, Scotland and
Northern Ireland are parts of Great Britain. Generally Great
Britain consists of more than 5000 large and small islands.
The most important rivers are the Thames, the Trent, the
Yorkshire Ouse and the Severn. The Severn is the longest river
in Great Britain. Ben Nevis is the highest, mountain of Britain it
is in Scotland.
Britain is a wet and foggy country. But it is not very cold in
winter or very hot in summer. October is usually the wettest
month, July is the hottest and January is the coldest one. But the
weather changes very quickly there. Sometimes people have
weather from all seasons in one day. That`s why they often say
“Other countries have a climate, in Britain we have weather.
42
Text 39
WALES
When you go to Wales you can`t understand what people say.
The fact is that they don`t speak English, they speak Welsh.
Many people speak Welsh, and children learn it at school.
Cardiff is the capital of Wales. But what can tourists see
when they are in the center of Wales? Mountains, forests, lakes
and a lot of farms. Welsh farmers keep sheep on the mountains.
People who like old trains often go to this part of Britain.
Why do they do it? They do it because there are five very old
railways there. And you can`t see these old railways anywhere
else.
The highest mountain of Wales is Snowdon. People from
Britain and other countries come to Wales and climb it.
People who live in Wales are famous for their songs, many of
them play musical instruments too. Many young girls wear
national costumes for different dancing and music festivals
every year.
43
Text 40
GLASGOW
Glasgow is the third largest city in Great Britain. It is on the
river Clyde in Scotland. Glasgow is a very old city. It is one of
the oldest cities in the world. . The famous English writer
Daniel Defoe said that Glasgow was the cleanest and the most
beautiful city in Great Britain. The University of Glasgow began
its work in 1450.James Watt studied at Glasgow University. He
was a famous engineer and made a steam engine.
Glasgow University is the centre of culture in the city. People
from different parts of the world visit the old university. They
see the examination halls, the Library and the Museum with its
old books and pictures.
The centre of the city is George Square. In the middle of it
there is a monument to Walter Scott – a great English writer.
There are a lot of beautiful parks and squres in the capital of
Scotland.
44
Text 41
THREE GOLD DOLLS
One day an old man sent the king three dolls. There were
different sums of money in each doll. The he asked the king
where the biggest sum of money was. The king didn`t answer.
But the cleverest men in the country helped the king. The
young man came, looked at the dolls and saw that each doll had
a small hole in its ear. He took a straw¹ and pushed it into the
doll`s ears. When he did it the end of the straw showed out of
their mouth or ears.
“Oh, my king” the man said “These dolls are like people. The
first doll is like a man who tells other people everything that you
tell him. The second doll is like a man who forgets that you tell
him. And the third doll is like a man who remembers everything
but doesn`t tell other people.” The king was very happy and
gave the man much money.
45
Text 42
ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES
(Part I)
English is the language of the people of England. England is in
the south of the island of Great Britain. There are other three
parts of Great Britain: Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
More than a thousand years ago the people who lived in
these four countries were different, and they spoke different
languages.
England is the largest of Great Britain is the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. English is the official
language in all parts of the country.
In the United States of America English is called the
national language. Four hundred years ago some English people
sailed to North America to live there and they brought the
English language to this country. Then people from many other
countries came to America. And they all learned English, but
they made it a little different from British English. In the USA
now people speak American English.
46
Text 43
ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES
(Part II)
Canada is to the north of the United States of America. It`s a
large country, it`s larger than the United States of America.
People who came from England speak English, people who
came from France speak French. Canada has two official
languages-English and French.
Australia is the smallest continent and the largest island.
Sometimes people call it the fifth continent. Australia is also an
English-speaking country. It`s in the southern part of the planet
and it has an unusual climate. The hottest summer month is
January and the coldest winter month is June.
New Zealand is not far from Australia, but it is very far from
Britain. When it`s the middle of the night in Britain, it is the
middle of the next day in New Zealand. It has an unusual
climate too. It`s summer from December to February, from
March to May it`s autumn, from June to August it is winter, and
from September to November it`s spring.
47
Text 44
THE LONDON ZOO
London has a very old zoo and many British children visit it
every day with their parents. The Zoo is in a large park which is
not far from the centre of London. Many old trees grow in the
park, and in spring, summer and autumn there are many
beautiful flowers in the London zoo too.
The zoo is open every day from 9 o`clock in the morning to
7 o`clock in the evening. People who want to go there can go by
bus. A lot of buses go to the different sides of the park. Many
foreign tourists try to visit the London zoo.
Many kinds of animals from all parts of the world live there:
elephants, giraffes, sea-lions and polar bears, brown bears and
foxes, and big and little monkeys There are many different
kinds of birds there too. Some of them have very beautiful
bright colours.
48
Text 45
A GOOD TIME TO VISIT ANIMALS
A good time to visit the animals is when they take their food.
Then you can see how the sea-lions catch their fish.
The man who looks after the animals sometimes throws a fish
into the water, then the sea-lions jump into the water and get the
fish there. It is also interesting to watch how the big birds eat
their meat, and how the monkeys eat fruit.
In the large monkey house you can see different kinds of
monkeys. They jump, run and play with each other. There are
camels in the park. Children like to sit on a camel`s back. Then
it walks in the square and they sit high up on its back. They also
like to watch the elephant when he washes himself in the
morning. He puts water on its back and men with long brushes
make him very clean.
49
Text 46
Fatty
Many years ago the London Zoo had a small young elephant
from Africa. His name was Fatty. A man looked after him. His
name was Scott. The elephant grew very quickly. Children
liked to sit on the little benches which he carried on his back.
The people of London knew Fatty and liked him.
One day a rich American wanted to buy Fatty and take him to
America to show Fatty in the circus. He paid the London Zoo
two thousand dollars for Fatty. When the people of London
heard about it, they wrote letters and articles to newspapers. But
nothing helped.
When the elephant came out of the Zoo, he lay down in the
street and didn`t want to get up. Scott told him to get up many
times. But Fatty and Scott went to America on a ship. In
America Fatty became a circus elephant. The Americans also
liked Fatty.
50
Библиография
Бонк Н.А., Памухина Л.Г., Лукьянова Н.А. Учебник
английского языка. В 2-х ч. Часть 2 – Переиздание. – М.:
ГИС, 2001. 511 [1]c.
Васильева И.Б. Книга для чтения к учебнику английского
языка для 6 класса средней школы. Сост. И.Б. Васильева.
Изд. 2-е. М., Просвещение, 1976
Вейзе А.А. Книга для чтения к учебнику английского языка
для 7 класса средней школы. М.: Просвещение, 1978. 128с.
с ил.
Закс С.Б. Сказки и легенды Африки. Книга для чтения на
английском языке в 6 классе средней школы. М.:
Просвещение, 1987.
Клементьева Т.Б. Современная хрестоматия: Англйиский
язык: для шк. 5 кл. – М.:Олимп, ООО «Фирма Издательство
АСТ», 1999. -160с. – (Читаем с удовольствием).
Книга для чтения к учебнику «Английский язык за два
года»: в 2ч. Ч.2/Сост. Г.В. Рогова, Ф.М. Рожкова. – 6-е изд.,
дораб. – М.: Просвещение, 1993. – 96с. с ил.
Колодяжная Л.Н. Познакомьтесь: Великобритания. – М.:
Рольф, Айрис-пресс, 1999.-160с., с илл. – (Английский
клуб). – (Школьная мозаика).
Скачать материал

Английский язык - еще материалы к урокам: