I READING Текст №1 The white house

I READING Текст №1 The white house

The President of the United States lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC. For many North Americans, it is an important symbol of their country. It is more than 200 years old. The President lives in the Oval Office. The White House is on four floors and has 132 rooms and 35 bedrooms. There is also a kitchen, a tennis court, swimming pool, cinema and a bowling lane. The White House is open to visitors five days a week. On the walls, there are pictures of ex-Presidents of the USA. Next to the house, there are big trees, a pond and a wonderful rose garden.

I READING Текст №2 Keep up your energy levels at work

Follow these simple instructions to improve your energy levels. First, stand in front of a chair with your hands on your hips. Now fold both arms across your chest. Bend your knees and sit down. Keeping your left foot on the ground, put your right leg straight out in front of you. Bend your body and try to touch your toes with your left hand. Now do the opposite with the other leg. Then relax.

 

I READING Текст №3 My grandfather

My grandfather, Pierre was born in France in 1922. He grew up in the countryside. He left France in 1939, and came to Britain. He knew just one word in English: ‘Hello’. At first, he didn’t feel very happy – he was lonely. But he spoke to everyone he met and he soon made friends easily. He learnt English well and now he speaks it perfectly.

 

I READING Текст №4 Learning to swim

- It took me a long time to learn. I wasn’t a natural. I still don’t swim very well. I certainly wouldn’t like to be in a boat in rough seas. I never really learnt to put my face in the water. It hurts my eyes and I can’t see.

- My father was a swimming instructor so I guess it’s in the blood. I can’t remember a time when I couldn’t swim. I spent most of my childhood holidays at the beach and I still go at any opportunity I get.

 

I READING Текст №5 A happy family

My family is a typical British family, I think. I have got just one brother and one sister. My brother Charles is married to Vicky. Their two children are Rachel and Joseph. They’re great kids. My sister Eileen also has two children. Her son is Graham, her husband’s name is Alan and her daughter is called Alison. My mother’s name is Catherine and my father has got the same name as my brother. We’re a very happy family!

 

I READING Текст №6 Tom’s daily morning routine

I live with a friend in the centre of London in a small flat. I usually wake up at 6 o’clock in the morning and go for a quick run in the park. I always have the same thing: cereal, milk, toast and two big cups of black coffee for breakfast. I like cream but it’s not good for me, so I never have any. I have a hot bath and then quickly read the newspaper. At 7.30 I leave for work. I walk there in about ten minutes. I’m always first in the office, so I have time to relax and think. At 10 o’clock, I do some yoga for about ten minutes. It helps me relax.

I READING Текст №7 Bad driving

I hate people who drive really close behind me because they want me to go quickly, especially if it’s dark or the weather is bad. It makes me very nervous. So I drive even more slowly and that makes it worse. It’s also very dangerous because if I stopped suddenly, the other car wouldn’t be able to stop and would probably hit me. I usually pull over and let the other car pass. Then I can relax again.

I READING Текст №8 Majorca

Majorca is the number one island, not just in terms of size but in terms of variety and interest too. It’s a good choice if you enjoy active holidays, with sightseeing, family entertainment, swimming, sailing, walking and nightlife. It has some beautiful mountain scenery and an interesting historical capital city. Some resorts, especially in the south, display the worst traits of big holiday developments, with high-rise concrete hotels and loud discos, but there are also a surprisingly large number of small, pretty areas.

 

I READING Текст №9 Ibiza

Nightlife is Ibiza’s specialty. There’s simple noisy fun in the larger resorts, and fashion and sophistication in the town of Ibiza, the capital of the island. Apart from the capital, the island is disappointing for sightseeing, and you have to travel a long way if you want to find a beach that isn’t too crowded in the middle of the summer. There are some pleasant smaller resorts with villas and apartments for families, but generally it is an island for the young and fashionable.

 

I READING Текст №10 Menorca

There are no big resorts and very few large hotels on Menorca. Most holiday accommodation consists of modern apartment and villa developments, and many visitors are older people looking for a quiet relaxing holiday. Many developments are on rocky coasts, but in other places there are small resorts with sandy beaches that are perfect for young children. The scenery is natural but not very exciting, and the capital is not particularly interesting. Nightlife is very limited.

 

 

II READING Текст №1

I need a mobile phone for my work. I’m a freelance writer, working for various magazines and newspapers, so it’s very important for publishers and editors to be able to contact me at all times. Much of the time I am at home and they can contact me by regular telephone or e-mail. But I do travel a great deal so my mobile phone is always with me and always turned on. I supposed I’m worried that if they can’t get through, they might give the work to somebody else. I say it’s always turned on, but there are exceptions. When I’m not working over the weekend, or more especially when I’m on holiday, I turn it off. But I always tell people before I go, and they usually understand. I also leave a voicemail message at home and on my mobile phone just to make sure.

 

II READING Текст №2

I really need my mobile phone. I couldn’t live without it. Mine was stolen a few months back so I didn’t have one for three days and it was horrible. I couldn’t call any of my friends, but worst of all, I couldn’t send them text messages and we normally do that all through the day. My mum thinks my friends and I are crazy. They often stay over, and last Friday when my mum came into my room there were four of us all on our mobile phones talking to different people instead of talking to each other. In the past she got angry, but now she just laughs, especially since I now have to pay for my own calls. I think she’s secretly happy now because I don’t use our normal phone as much as I did before, which means she can talk to her friends when she likes.

 

II READING Текст №3

All of my friends and work colleagues have mobile phones, but I refuse to buy one. I don’t see why my boss should be able to contact me at home in my own free time. If he wants to talk to me, he can do it during office hours when I’m at my desk – and when I’m getting paid to work for him! As for my friends, they’re always complaining that they can’t make arrangements with me because they can’t talk to me. But what did they do before mobile phones where invented? I think they forget that ten years ago, hardly anybody had one and there were no problems. So what’s the big deal now? They know what I think about them now, and when I go out with them for a meal or a drink, they know they have to turn off their mobile phones so that we’re not interrupted.

 

II READING Текст №4

Most of us would say that we like animals, but how many of us are interested enough in their welfare to do something about animal rights? All my life I’ve been against cruelty to animals, and I have felt strongly enough to support various animal welfare groups. Many who belong to these groups are brave people who take risks with their own lives in order to protect creatures that cannot take care of themselves. Sometimes they make mistakes; sometimes their methods are unpopular, even violent, particularly when they run out of patience. Of course, I am opposed to violence, but I will never give up fighting for animal rights, and I look forward to the day when all animals are respected by everybody.

 

II READING Текст №8

I love dressing up and putting on a show, especially at weekends when I go out with my friends. Taking the trouble to look good shows that you care about yourself and where you are going and who you are with. I certainly appreciate it when friends have put a bit of thought into what they’re wearing. I want to look good in my friends’ company and vice versa. Of course, buying cool trendy clothes doesn’t come cheap and I have to make other sacrifices in my life but I don’t regret it, except when the credit card bill comes at the end of the month, of course!

 

II READING Текст №9

A recurrent nightmare of mine is that I’m late for a date and I haven’t got anything to wear. Everything I try on has a hole in it or is far too small. Then the doorbell rings and if I’m lucky I wake up. I’m not much better in reality, to be honest. I can’t make my mind up until I’ve emptied the contents of my wardrobe and drawers onto the floor several times over. I guess fundamentally I’m fed up with my style. I hang out with a new crowd these days and because they’ve got a bit more money than me I sometimes feel a bit frumpy. I can’t wait till the sales. I’m going to blow all my savings!

 

II READING Текст №10

I must admit, clothes are not exactly an absorbing passion of mine. I tend not to notice what anyone else is wearing either. I remember thinking during my interview that I wouldn’t have a problem fitting in here. It’s all very egalitarian – not a power-dresser in sight. You would definitely call the style ‘casual’ – anything goes really. In that sense it’s a good reflection of the way people here think. Having said that, there is an almost global uniformity. Nobody wants to stick out from the crowd, I suppose. That might bother some people but not me. I’m only too happy to blend in with the rest of them.

 

IV READING Текст №6 My name

When I was born, I didn’t have a name. My parents didn’t give me one. As is the tradition in my country, I was called ‘little mouse,’ just like every other little child in our village up to the age of six months.

You see, in our culture we try to choose a name that says something about the personality of the child, or how he or she looks. But this is difficult because for the first few months, babies don’t really have a personality, and, to be honest, they all look the same anyway (well, almost the same). So how can we give them a name? That’s why we wait until we know what kind of person the child is and what he or she is going to look like. And all that takes about six months.

You probably think that this is a strange thing to do, but we think that what happens in your country is strange. You often choose a name for your child before it is even born. And sometimes it doesn’t matter if it’s a boy or a girl. For example, my English friends are going to have a baby soon. They are going to name it Francis if it’s a boy or Frances if it’s a girl. Imagine that!

So how did I get my name, you ask. My parents tell me that when I was six months old they started to call me different names to see how I reacted. With some names I cried, with others I did nothing.

 

I READING Текст №1 The white house

The President of the United States lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC. For many North Americans, it is an important symbol of their country. It is more than 200 years old. The President lives in the Oval Office. The White House is on four floors and has 132 rooms and 35 bedrooms. There is also a kitchen, a tennis court, swimming pool, cinema and a bowling lane. The White House is open to visitors five days a week. On the walls, there are pictures of ex-Presidents of the USA. Next to the house, there are big trees, a pond and a wonderful rose garden.