The Most Haunted House in England

Glossary:

A rectory – будинок священика

To execute – страчувати

A nun - монахиня

Haunted – населений привидами

The peaceful village of Borley is not the sort of place you would normally think of as being associated with ghosts, yet it was the site of Borley Rectory, the most haunted house in England. The rectory was built in 1863 on the site of an ancient monastery and stories of the ghost of a crying nun were already well known to the villagers at that time. The stories told that she had fallen in love with a monk from the monastery. The two had tried to run away together but had been quickly caught. The monk was executed and the nun bricked up in the cellars of the monastery.

The first resident of Borley Rectory was Henry Bull. He loved to watch the ghost as she walked across the garden. However, the mysterious lady soon became a problem. She often frightened guests by looking at them through the windows. Once Henry's four daughters even saw the lady walking across the lawn in broad daylight. More ghosts were seen during the time Henry's son, John, owned the rectory. A ghostly coach and horses were often seen racing past the rectory.

In 1927 Eric Smith and his wife began living at the rectory. They had been told of the building's reputation and so invited the well-known ghost hunter, Harry Price, to visit. When Mr. Price arrived there was an immediate increase in the ghostly activities. Objects were smashed and stones were thrown at him. It was all too much for the Smiths so they left the house.

The next family, who lived in the house, also left quickly after several frightening events. For a time nobody wanted to live in the house and so it was empty until 1937 when Harry Price returned to investigate the ghostly happenings further. With a team of forty-eight observers he noted an amazing number of psychic phenomena. The strangest happened on 27th March 1938 when a ghostly voice warned members of the team that the rectory would catch fire that night and burn down. However, it didn't happen and Harry Price left soon after. The building was then rented to a man called Captain Gregson. He too experienced mysterious happenings, including the disappearance of his two hunting dogs. Then, exactly eleven months after the ghost's warning, an oil lamp fell over in the hall and the rectory burnt to the ground. People who helped to put out the fire said they had seen ghosts walking through the burning building.

Harry Price returned to the site again in 1943. Digging in the cellars, he discovered the bones of a young woman. Believing that they were those of the dead nun, he tried to end the hauntings by giving them a Christian burial. It didn't work. Supernatural happenings are still reported from the site of the former rectory today.

 

Аудіювання, 10 клас

Listening Comprehension Test.

Directions:

In this Test you will carefully listen to a text read aloud twice. The text is followed by 20 tasks. You should do tasks 1 through 10 following the first reading of the text on the basis of what is stated or implied in the text. The text will be read a second time and you should do tasks 11 through 20 following the second reading of the text on the basis of what is stated or implied in the text. For each task you will choose from four possible answers (a, b, c, or d), or two symbols (+ or -) as specified prior to each task. Choose the best answer and mark the letter or symbol of your choice on the Answer Sheet.

Завдання 1. Task 1

Directions:

Statements 1 through 10 (on your Answer Sheet put down + if the statement is true, - if it is false):

1. The villagers told the story dealing with the nun and the monk who fell in love and ran away together.

2. Both the monk and the nun were severely punished.

3. Only the first resident of the rectory could see the lady ghost.

4. The Smiths, the other residents of the house, invited the ghost hunter Harry Price.

5. There were a lot of people who desired to live in the house.

6. Harry Price was not very interested in this haunted house.

7. On the 27^th of March 1938 the rectory caught fire and burnt down.

8. Captain Gregson who was the last to rent the house experienced the mysterious happenings including the disappearance of his two dogs.

9. The bones of a young woman were found in the rectory’s cellar.

10. After the Christian burial of the woman’s bones the ghost has never appeared again.