1.16 National Symbols

Countries often have national symbols or emblems. Britain is usually shown as a lion or a bulldog. The USA has an eagle as its symbol. Australia uses a kangaroo.

Countries have their own national colours, too. These are usually the colours of the national flag. The patriotic colours in Britain and the USA are red, white and blue. Companies and political parties often use these colours to create a feeling of national pride.

The different parts of Britain have their own emblems, too. They are all plants. You can see them on pound coins: England has the rose, Scotland has the thistle, Wales has the leek.

In the fifteenth century there was a long series of wars in England, which was called the wars of the Roses. It was fought between the Dukes of Lancaster and the Dukes of York over who should be king. The emblem of Lancaster was the red rose and the emblem of York was the white rose. Eventually the Duke of Lancaster won, so the rose in the English emblem is the red rose.

Each country has its own colour, too. These are used, for example, for football or rugby teams. The colours for the different parts of Britain are: England white, Scotland blue, Wales red. These colours come from the national flags. The English flag is white with a red cross. The Scottish flag has a white cross on a blue background. The Welsh flag shows a red dragon. (1127)

Ответьте на вопросы к тексту:

1. What national emblems and colours do different countries have?

2. What emblems do different parts of Britain have?

3. What colours do different parts of Britain have?

4. What are the colours of the British Flag called Union Jack?

1.17 Two funny stories about robberies

Story 1

# 1 It was ten o'clock when the two bank robbers stopped in front of the bank. But as they were getting out of the car, a traffic warden arrived. She wouldn't let the men park there, because they were on double yellow lines. So they got back into their car and drove round the corner.

# 2 There was nowhere to park round the corner either, so they had to double-park. They got out and went to the bank. While they were there, an angry motorist got a policeman to call a tow-away team. When the two robbers returned, they saw their car disappearing into the distance on the back of a lorry.

# 4 Unfortunately for the men, the woman was so frightened that she put the car into reverse and crashed into the car behind her. By now the police had arrived and the two men gave themselves up. They were charged with robbery, illegal parking and trying to steal a car.

Story 2

# 2 The assistant watched, as the men rolled up the expensive carpet and carried it to the door. She held the door open for them as they carried it out to their van. With the carpet worth several thousand pounds on board, the men drove away.

# 3 That afternoon the poor assistant was called to the manager's office. Nobody had bought the carpet and nobody had heard of Lord Randal. The assistant shouldn't have let the men take the carpet. The two men had been stealing it.

# 4 Fortunately the story has a happy ending. Before the two men had left, the shop assistant had got one of them to sign a collection note. Without thinking, the man had written his real name. The men were caught and sent to prison for two years. (1717)

Определите, какой абзац пропущен в первой истории, а какой – во второй:

# … By now the men were desperate. They ran down the street. At the corner they saw a woman in a car waiting at the traffic lights. They got into the back of the car and they made the woman drive away.

# … It was a normal day in Carrington's department store when two men in brown overalls arrived in the carpet department. They told the assistant that they had come to collect an Indian carpet for Lord Randal.