Vocabulary

to attend the local grammar school – посещать местную грамматическую школу

to play supporting roles – играть второстепенные роли

to become a part owner of – стать совладельцем чего-либо

a comedy with strong elements of farce – комедия с сильными элементами фарса

a masterpiece of the period – шедевр этого периода

to move away from farce towards romance – уйти от фарса в сторону романтики

to deal with – быть связанным

to praise smith – касаться воспевать что-либо

Festivals in Britain Text 3 St. Valentine's Day.

St. Valentine is the patron saint of lovers, and on 14 February young men and women declare their feelings for each other. But the tradition is to do so anonymously. Valentine's Day cards and romantic flowers such as red rose are sent which, although they carry messages of undying love, are always left unsigned. Indeed, some people go to great length to disguise their handwiring, in order to maintain their anonymity. Many people hope for cards on St. Valentine's Day and failure to receive any cause great disappointment.

Patron – покровитель

Anonymously – анонимно

Unsigned – без подписи

to go to great lengths – идти на все

to disguise – скрывать

disappointment – разочарование

Text 4 National Saints' Days

The patron saint of Wales, Ireland and England are, in order, St. David, St. Patrick and St. George. Their days are celebrated on 1 March, 17 March and 23 April respectively. National symbols depicting the Welsh dragon or leek, the Irish shamrock and the English rose are worn on the appropriate days, and you will see small gatherings of the various nationalities having a drink together or celebrating in the streets - particularly when they are living away from their native country.

Dragon – дракон

Leek – лук-порей

Shamrock – трилистник

Thistle – чертополох

Text 5 Mothering Sunday

Mothering Sunday, or Mother's Day as it usually called, falls three weeks before Easter Sunday. On this day, mother is rewarded for all her work looking after the house and family during the rest of the year. Her husband and children usually buy her a card and a small gift, and traditionally bring her breakfast in bed. Sometimes she will also be taken out for lunch.

Father's Day, as the name implies, is when Dad gets his treats. Father's Day is on the third Sunday in June but is less widely celebrated than Mother's Day. Perhaps this is because fathers are seen to be less deserving than mothers!

Gift – подарок

Treats – удовольствие; угощение

to reward – вознаграждать

to deserve – заслуживать

to imply – подразумевать

Text 6 All Fools' Day

Normally called "April Fools' Day", this day falls on 1^st April. It is a day when you can light-heartedly make fools of your family, friends and colleagues by playing tricks on them. People send messages intended to mislead, offer fake food, create realistic-looking blood stains and devise a host of other deceptions to fool the gullible.

The joke, however, must be received or believed by midday otherwise it is the joker and not the victim who becomes the fool.

Even newspapers, television and radio programs join in the fun, publishing and broadcasting amusing and unlikely tales. A few years ago, The Guardian newspaper published a whole supplement about a fictitious group of islands called San Serif, with articles on the economy, climate, political situation, weather, etc. But the most famous April Fools' joke was perpetrated by BBC highly-regarded television documentary program, "Panorama". The program presented an apparently serious report about spaghetti growing on trees in Italy. It examined the problems of calculating and harvesting spaghetti and included interviews with spaghetti farmers.

to play smb. а trick – сыграть с кем-л. шутку to devise

to mislead – ввести в заблуждение

A host of deceptions – множество хитростей

fake – подделка; фальшивка

gullible – доверчивый

to device – придумывать