Thanksgiving day

Every year, on the fourth Thursday in November Americans celebrate a holiday called Thanksgiving. It is a time when families come from near and far to be together for a big dinner and to give thanks for all the good things in their lives.

It all started with the Pilgrims. In 1620, 102 settlers arrived in the New World on a ship called the Mayflower. These brave people were from Plymouth, England, and they were looking for religious freedom and a better life.

Living in the new country was hard and many of the Pilgrims died of hunger during their first (and unusually cold) winter in the new land. These people weren't farmers or fishermen or hunters, and most of them had never fired a gun before in their lives. They weren't used to the climate and often fell ill. And of course, they missed their friends and relatives from the Old World.

It was the Native Americans who saved the settlers. They shared corn with them and taught them how to hunt, fish and grow corn, beans and pumpkins.

In the autumn of 1621, the harvest was so good that the Pilgrims found themselves with enough food to put away for the winter. There was corn and all sorts of vegetables and fruit. There was also fish to be packed in salt, and meat to be cured over smoky fires.

The settlers decided to celebrate the event and thank God for the success of their harvest. They invited their Native American friends to join them in the celebrations. The festival lasted

three days and included the traditional foods (such as turkey and pumpkin) that are still eaten on Thanksgiving Day.

Today, the fourth Thursday in November is the biggest travel day in America and more people fly, drive, and take trains to be with their families than any other day of the year. Although Thanksgiving Day is on a Thursday, most offices and schools are closed on the following day, and Americans have a 'four-day weekend.'

A traditional Thanksgiving dinner would have turkey (served with gravy and cranberry sauce), lots of vegetables, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and much more. The most popular dessert is pumpkin pie with whipped cream on top.

In New York City, a huge Thanksgiving parade takes place every year, and it is shown all over the country.

When Thanks­giving ends, the Christmas shopping season in the US traditionally begins.

H. Shwartz

Did you know ?

• The Native Americans hunted wild turkeys as early as 1000 AD. The birds were brought to Europe in the 16th century.

• Can you imagine a turkey instead of an eagle on an American dollar bill? That's what Benjamin Franklin was going to do — to make the turkey the symbol of the USA.

• About 270 million turkeys are raised in the US each year, one-sixth of which are eaten on Thanksgiving Day. Some people in America even call Thanksgiving Day Turkey Day.'

The Pilgrims would be amazed to see in how many ways the pumpkin is eaten in the US today. Pumpkins are boiled, grilled and baked. They are put in bread, cakes, pies, doughnuts, pancakes, cookies, ice cream, soup, and even hamburgers!

• The biggest pumpkin was grown in America in 1999. The monster vegetable weighed 513 kg!

• There is a special kind of pumpkin in the USA that is blue!

Notes:

Thanksgiving - День благодарения Pilgrim - первый колонист settler- колонист, поселенец Plymouth - г. Плимут hunter - охотник to fire a gun - стрелять из ружья to share - делиться corn - кукуруза beans - бобы, фасоль pumpkin - тыква harvest - урожай to put away - откладывать, запасать to cure - заготавливать, коптить event - событие turkey - индейка

gravy - подливка (из сока жаркого) cranberry sauce - клюквенный соус mashed potatoes - картофельное пюре dessert -десерт, сладкое pumpkin pie -тыквенный пирог whipped cream - взбитые сливки huge - огромный, громадный parade - парад eagle -орел doughnut -пончик pancake -блин cookie – печенье to weigh - весить

PART III

TESTS

Test 1

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Choose the correct answer from the variants listed below.

1. What is the official name of the country whose language you study?

a) Great Britain b) England c) the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

2. How many countries does the United Kingdom consist of?

a) four b) three c) two

3. What is the capital of Scotland?

a) Manchester b) Edinburgh c) Cardiff

4.What is the capital of Wales?

a) Edinburgh b) Cardiff c) Liverpool

5. What is the capital of Northern Ireland?

a) Cardiff b) Dublin c) Belfast

6. What is the state system of the United Kingdom?

a) constitutional monarchy b) a parliamentary republic c) a limited monarchy

7. What is the symbol of the United Kingdom?

a) a bald eagle b) Britannia c) a rose

8. What is the name of the British national flag?

a) the Union Jack b) the Saint Andrew's Cross c) the Saint David's Cross

9. What is the emblem of England?

a) a shamrock b) a red rose c) a leek

10. What is the emblem of Scotland?

a) a daffodil b) a dragon c) a thistle

11. What are the emblems of Wales?

a) a shamrock, a clover and a red hand

b) a rose and the Saint George’s cross

c) a dragon, a daffodil, a leek, a dove

12. What is the emblem of Northern Ireland?

a) a shamrock b) a red rose c) a thistle

13. What chambers does the British Parliament consist of?

a) the Senate and the House of Represen­tatives

b) the House of Lords and the House of Commons

c) the Cabinet of Ministers and the Shadow Cabinet

14. Who presides in the House of Lords?

a) the Lord Chancellor b) the Speaker c) the Prime-Minister

15. Who presides in the House of Commons?

a) the Lord Chancellor b) the Speaker c) the Chancellor of the Exchequer

16. Where does the British Premier live and work?

a) at 10 Downing Street b) in the Houses of Parliament c) in Buckingham Palace

17. What natural resources bring the most profits to the British economy?

a) coal reserves b) oil reserves c) water resources

18. In what sector of the economy does the majority of the population work?

a) in primary industries b) in secondary industries c) in tertiary industries

19. What is the fastest way to cross the English Channel?

a) through the Channel Tunnel (the Chunnel) b) by boat c) by ferry

20. What is the most impor­tant airport in Great Britain?

a) Heathrow Airport b) Gatwick Airport c) Stansted Airport

21. What is the most famousl place of pagans' sun worship in England?

a) a temple to the goddess Minerva in Bath

b) Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain

c) Dartmoor National Park

22. What is the main cathedral of the Anglican Church?

a) St. Paul's Cathedral b) Canterbury Cathedral c) Salisbury Cathedral

23. What is the official religion in the United Kingdom?

a) Catholicism b) Orthodoxy c) Protestantism

24. What is the school-leaving age in the United Kingdom?

a) 16 b) 13 c) 18

25. Which of the following stages of British education is not obligatory?

a) nursery school b) primary school c) sec­ondary school

26. What is the top secondary school in Great Britain?

a) Chiswick Community School b) Eton c) Harrow

27. What is the highest mark in British schools?

a) A b) С с) G

28. Further education comprises....

a) comprehensive schools

b) universities and colleges of higher educa­tion

c) work-related courses and colleges that do not provide higher education

29. What do we call the following pattern of tuition: six months in college and six months in industry?

a) "sandwich" courses b) further education c) full-time tuition

30. What universities have the highest aca­demic reputation in the United Kingdom?

a) Oxford University and Cambridge University

b) London University and Bristol University

c) Red-brick universities

31. What is the first degree awarded by universities?

a) a doctor's degree b) a bachelor's degree c) a master's degree

32. At a British university or college a tutor is ....

a) a person who examines students and gives them marks

b) a person who has the highest rank of the teachers in a department and delivers lectures

c) a member of a staff who teaches small groups of students and gives them help and advice.

33. What are the best English resorts?

a) Bristol and Southampton b) Brighton and Bath с) Leeds and Bradford

34. What is the tallest building in England?

a) the Tower of London b) the Canary Wharf Tower c) Hampton Court Palace

35. What place in England is called a kind of Disneyland?

a) Hampstead Heath b) Alton Towers c) Windsor Safari Park

36. What is the London residence of Queen Elizabeth II?

a) the Tower of London b) Windsor Castle c) Buckingham Palace

37. Where is Nelson's Column situated?

a) in Parliament Square b) in Trafalgar Square c) in Piccadilly Circus

38. Where are British kings crowned?

a) in St. Paul's Cathedral b) in Westminster Abbey c) in Canterbury Cathed­ral

39. Who was the archi­tect of St. Paul's Cathedral in London?

a) Sir Christopher Wren b) Edward Bailey c) Henry Tate

40. The ravens are a famous sight of....

a) the Tower of London b) London zoo c) Covent Garden

41. Scottish surnames begin with....

a) O' b) Mac or Mc c) de

42. What is the Scottish national costume for men?

a) the tuxedo b) the bearskin c) the kilt

43. What lake does the famous Scottish monster live in?

a) Lough Erne b) Loch Lomond c) Loch Ness

44. What is the most famous sport event in Scotland?

a) the Highland Games b) the Commonwealth I Games c) the Wimbledon Championship

45. What country is called a land of castles and princes?

a) England b) Northern Ireland c) Wales

46. What is the most important festival of Welsh poetry and music?

a) Eisteddfod b) the Edinburgh Festival c) the Rock festival in Liverpool

47. What is the name of the six counties of Northern Ireland?

a) Antrim b) Ulster c) Causeway

Test 2

“Famous people”

1. He invented a machine on which the modern computer is based.

2. He discovered the law of gravity when an apple fell on his head.

3. He tried to prove that our remote granddads and grannies were monkeys.

4. The author of The Lord of the Rings.

5. Scotland’s national poet.

6. The most famous playwright in the world.

7. The author of Jungle Book.

8. The monument to this man stands in Trafalgar Square.

9. The first woman Prime Minister of Britain.

10. A member of the Beatles who was murdered in the US.

11. The author of Oliver Twist.

12. The beautiful Princess of Wales and the mother of Prince William and Prince Harry, who died in a car crash in Paris.

13. This guy tried to blow up Parliament on November 5, 1605.

14. This Queen ruled for the longest period in British history.

15. The author of the Harry Potter books.

16. One of Britain’s greatest leaders, who was the Prime Minister of the country during World War II.

17. The creator of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.

18. This man invented the telephone.

19. A famous explorer who discovered Australia and Hawaii.

20. The author of Alice in Wonderland.

21. The name of a very famous singer, once a member of the Beatles.

22. This famous scientist discovered laws of electricity.

23. The author of The Canterbury Tales.

24. This brave scientist discovered penicillin.

25. The inventor of the steam engine.

26. This romantic poet died in Greece while fighting against the Turks for Greek independence.

27. The author of Robinson Crusoe.

28. This man was leader of the Parliamentary army against King Charles I and after Charles’s execution, became Lord Protector. But he was almost as tyrannical as the king he defeated and the monarchy was restored two years after his death.

29. The name of the author of The Hound of the Baskervilles.

30. The author of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.

31. The name of a film director famous for his horror films, like Psycho.

32. This Englishmen was the first to sail around the world. He also led the English navy to victory against the Spanish Armada.

33. The author of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

34. A famous landscape painter of the 19^th century.

35. A famous explorer of Africa, the first European to see the Zambezi River and the Victoria Falls.

36. A comic actor with a small black moustache, a bowler hat and a funny way of walking.

37. A famous footballer.

38. The inventor of the television.

39. The author of Treasure Island.

40. The author of Ivanhoe.