I. 1. Read the article and say in 2-3 sentences what it is about.
Book Review
The Guinness Books of World Records1 have certainly changed a lot in the last 60 years. The first Guinness Book was published in August 1955 in London, in Britain. Most editions were small paperbacks printed in blackandwhite and contained more text than photographs. Now, there are colour pictures on every page - and the book also includes 3D images.
This fascinating collection of records is divided into chapters on Space, The Living Planet, Being Human, Human Achievements, Spirit of Adventure, Modern Life, Science & Engineering, Entertainment, Sports, and the Gazetteer2.
Here you will see and read about extremes: for example, the world’s tallest, oldest, shortest, and tiniest – people, plants, animals, buildings. Some have set records for pulling buses, kissing, swimming, ironing clothes, running, and for having the longest legs, the smallest waist, etc.
Some images are a bit strange to look at for too long – check out the woman with the longest fingernails in the world. Also, one man had 14 operations to make himself look like a cat.
There’s a wide range of amazing facts contained on these pages. What is the world’s most expensive hamburger? – It is available in a New York restaurant for $120. Who had the most hit singles on the U.S. music charts? – Elvis Presley, of course, with 151 between 1956 and 2003 (and he died in 1977!). One of the most colourful sections shows records related to space, including some fantastic photographs of Jupiter. Take a look at the top movies such as the first summer blockbuster of all time, the first movie with Dolby sound, and the first to be more expensive than $100 million.
As always, there’s a helpful index in the back of the book, in which you can find subjects of interest in alphabetical order.
Please note that some stunts3 in this book would be quite dangerous – or at least terribly painful – for you to attempt to meet or beat them. Therefore, please don’t attempt to set any world records that would cause risk to you or to others!
1the Guinness [ˈɡɪnɪs] Books of World Recordsкнига рекордов Гиннесса
2Gazetteer [ˌɡæzəˈtɪə] географический справочник
3a stunt [stʌnt] опасный трюк
2. The author describes how The Guinness World Records books changed with time. Find this extract and read it aloud.
3. What information will you find in this book?
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4. Why can this book be interesting for the reader?
II. Listen to the young man describing where he lived and answer the questions below.
1. Why did the man’s family have to rent a flat for about a year?
2. What was their flat in the capital like?
3. How many people is he sharing the flat with at present?
Script:
Young man:
When I was born, my parents Were living in a house in a small village about 20 kilometres away from the capital. I was three years old when my brother was born and my parents decided we needed a larger home. So we moved into a rented flat and we lived there for fifteen months, while the new block of flats we were going to move to was being completed. I don't think my parents liked the rented flat because it was even smaller than our old house.
We finally moved into the capital at the beginning of 1988. Our flat wasn't really large, only 68 square metres, but there was enough room for two adults and two small boys. There were two bedrooms, a cosy living-room with a balcony, a small bathroom and a kitchen, where we used to have the family meals as well.
We lived in the same flat all the time I was at school. I only moved house again when I started university. Rents were quite expensive so I decided to move into a shared flat. Five of us rented a large flat in the city centre. I had the time of my life! I'm still living in the same town, but I'm sharing with just one person now. It's more comfortable, and of course, there is more privacy but I often miss the big parties we used to have.
III. Let’s talk about your future career.
№ 20
I. 1. Read the article and say in 2-3 sentences what it is about.
Are you ready to be independent?
Angela Rowlands recently tested her teenage children’s ability to do basic household jobs in the house. When Angela and her husband Ben went to Spain for a few weeks’ holiday on the Costa Brava, their son Mark, aged 18, and daughter Frances, aged 16, stayed at home to look after the house. The parents wanted to see how Mark and Frances would manage in the house on their own.
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So when thy left the house, they did not tell the children that they had prepared a few tests for them. “We took the plug1 off the microwave and took out some good light bulbs2 and put in light bulbs that did not work. We also made sure that there were other problems in the house: with an Italian coffee machine and one of the taps3 in the bathroom,” says Dr. Rowlands.
When Dr. Rowlands returned from her holiday, she found, as she had expected, that her children had failed the independence test. Mark and Frances had asked an electrician to change the plug on the microwave and to change the light bulbs. They also paid a specialist for repairing the bathroom tap. When they saw that the coffee maker was broken, they went to buy a new one. They even did not think to look for the missing part in the cupboard.
Dr. Rowlands was not surprised by the results of her experiment. “A lot of young people today are not able to solve simple problems in the house,” she says. “They often throw things away when they are broken. This is wrong because it shows that young people do not understand how things work or are made. It can also be very expensive because you have to pay other people to do the work for you.”
But repairing broken things is only part of the problem. A lot of young people cannot cook at all. If there is no readymade meal in the fridge, or if there is nothing to warm up in the microwave, then there is nofood. This can cause health problems.
The truth is that many young people do not want to learn basic household skills as they find them boring. Though, if people want to be prepared for independent life they should learn how to do simple jobs about the house.
1 a plug [plʌɡ] штепсельная вилка
2 a light bulb [ˈlaɪt bʌlb] лампочка
3 a tap [tæp] кран
2. Why did Dr. Rowlands decide to test the children? Read aloud the extract which says about it.
3. What did the parents prepare for their children?
4. Do you think the children passed the test? Why do you think so?
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