Speech exercises

Ex. 42. Retell in narrative form.

At a quarter to six, Mrs. Alison heard her husband park the car out­side the house and immediately went out to speak to him.

"What's the matter, darling?" he asked. "You look upset."

"I've made a terrible mistake, Jim," she said. "Mrs. Johnson rang me up about half an hour ago. We got talking and then without think­ing, I asked her and her husband to come and have dinner with us this evening."

"Well, that's nothing to get upset about!" Mr. Alison said. "We are sure to have a pleasant evening. Here, I've bought you the book you wanted."

"Oh, thanks, Jim," said Mrs. Alison. "I'd like the Johnsons to come, but I have just discovered that there's hardly any food in the house. You didn't by any chance remember to buy some steak? I asked you to get some on your way home from work three days ago."

"Steak?" Mr. Alison said. "Good heavens, yes. I remember now. As a matter of fact I did get some. You should have reminded me about it. It's in the boot^* of the car. It's been there for the past three days!"

Ex. 43. Answer the following questions. Sum up your answers.

1. On Driving

1. Does your family have a car? What model is it? 2. Can you drive? 3. Have you got a driver's license? 4. When did you take a course in driving? 5. Are you a good driver? 6. Why should the driver be attentive when at the wheel? What may happen if he is not? 7. What are filling stations for? What service can you get there? 8. What do you do if you have trouble with your car and do not know what exactly has gone wrong? 9. Have you ever made a long trip by car? How did you like it?

2. The Rule of the Road

1. What are the rules of safety first when crossing the street? 2. What are the traffic lights for? 3. What are underground passages for? 4. Where are the underground passages usually built? 5. What is a one-way road? 6. What side of the road do cars keep to when driving: the right or the left? 7. What countries have left-hand driving?

3. Happy New Year to You!

1. Has January always been the first month of the year? 2. Is the New Year celebrated at the same time the world over? 3. What are the different ways of celebrating the New Year in different countries? 4. Why is New Year usually a big holiday? 5. Why do people often send postcards with their best wishes to each other on New Year's Day? 6. How is New Year celebrated in your family? 7. Why is New Year especially enjoyed by children? 8. Do you usually see the New Year in at home with the family or with your friends at a restaurant?

Ex. 44. Read the following. Answer the questions, using the vocabulary of the lesson, and retell the passage.

Traffic in Britain is getting heavier all the time and the roads of most big cities are almost permanently blocked by a slow moving procession of metal cages.^* One-way streets and traffic lights have not set­tled the problem. The motorist driving in crowded towns gets very lit­tle pleasure out of it.

Some time ago, a friend of mine who works in a part of the city I do not know very well, invited me to call on him. It took me hours to get there and I drove round and round looking for a place to park my car. At last I parked it in a backstreet. As I was already three quarters of an hour late I hurried off on foot. Walking quickly along the street, I could not help thinking that, nowadays, it is much easier to walk than to drive.

At noon, just as I was leaving my friend's office, it suddenly struck me that I had no idea where I had parked my car. I could hardly go up to a policeman and tell him that I had lost a small green car somewhere! I would simply have to look for it myself. Walking down street after street, I looked over each car closely and was happy to see a small green car just behind an old cart.^** But how disappointed I was to discover that though the car was exactly like my own, it belonged to someone else! Feeling quite tired now, I decided to drop the search for a while and went off for lunch. Some time later, I left the restaurant and was walking down the street. Turning the corner, I nearly jumped for joy: my car was right in front of me — and there was no mistake this time. I could not help smiling as I approached it. Stuck on the windscreen was a little ticket which informed me that the car had been visited by a policeman in my absence. On top of all, I had broken the traffic regu­lations!