The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories 3 страница
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1. A day for shopaholics 28
2. The major entertainment of the day
3. The menu of the first Thanksgiving dinner
4. Making the house ready for the holiday
5. Following a woman’s advice
6.Recipe for the main dish
7. Lucky birds
8. Different dates for one holiday
A.
The people who started to celebrate Thanksgiving Day were the Pilgrims, the English Protestant settlers, and the tribe of the Wampanoag. It was in 1621. Their meals differed greatly from the modern one. They consisted of corn, shellfish and deer meat. At those times there were a lot of wild turkey, but nobody cooked them on that day. Deer meat was the most popular food of the holiday.
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B.
People of Canada celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October every year. It is celebrated to thank God for the past harvest and pray for the coming year. The United States, however, celebrates Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November every year. The reason behind the difference is geographical: autumn starts earlier in Canada than in America.
C.
Thanksgiving is the right time to decorate homes. You can add some autumn-colored pillows to the sofa, light a candle and arrange some yellow or orange flowers in a vase. Special message boards have become very popular recently. As guests arrive for Thanksgiving, let them write what they are thankful for on a paper leaf and pin it up at the board. Paper leaves can be cut from scrapbooks and painted in autumn colours.
D.
Watching football is definitely the most popular activity among Americans on Thanksgiving. The history of this tradition began in 1934. The reason was a great match between two football teams – the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears. That game turned out to be really successful. Since that time matches have been held every year (except the years of World War II) on Thanksgiving Day and have become very popular.
E.
Once, President Truman chose a turkey on Thanksgiving Day and sent it back to the farm. That happened in 1947. Since that time it has become a tradition. Nowadays the President selects two turkeys and frees them, in front of a large crowd. Then the turkeys are sent to a farm house to let them live in peace.
F.
Some people use the day after Thanksgiving Day to make trips to see family members or friends. Others use the day to go shopping. The Americans call the day after Thanksgiving ‘Black Friday’. It first got its name in 1960 in Philadelphia. At that time there were a lot of stores in the city. Many people visited the city for shopping, it was overcrowded and the local people considered it a bad black day. Nowadays ‘Black Friday’ means the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.
G.
In 1863 Sara Hale, an editor and writer, wrote a letter to President Lincoln and advised him to proclaim a national day of Thanksgiving. She selected the last Thursday in November because, as she said, the harvests were finished, the elections were over, and people were back from their summer vacations. She even suggested a list of dishes for the traditional holiday menu. President Lincoln liked her idea and declared a national holiday, Thanksgiving Day.
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1. The English they speak 29
2. The tracks of the other world
3. Traces of ancient wildlife
4. A place between Europe and Britain
5. The island’s traditions
6. A safe place for disappearing animals
7. A multi-coloured place
8. It is not about the colour!
A.
The Isle of Wight is considered to be the largest island of England. The island measures about 380 square km, of which about half is an area of outstanding natural beauty. This paradise is located in the English Channel which separates the continent and Great Britain. About 140,000 people live on the island and, due to its beauty and convenient location, several million people visit it each year.
B.
The accent of the Isle of Wight is similar to the traditional dialect of southern England. While speaking, the natives of the island drop some consonants and put an emphasis on longer vowels. The Isle of Wight has its own local and regional words. Some of their words (e.g. grockle – visitor, tourist and nipper – a younger male person) are used in the neighbouring areas of the mainland too.
C.
There are many red squirrels which are the only squirrel native to the British Isles. However, there are few of them left on the mainland now. Red squirrels are being replaced by American grey squirrels. The grey squirrels carry the deadly para pox virus, which is fatal to the reds. The strait between the island and the mainland provides a barrier to grey squirrels. It is illegal to bring a grey squirrel onto the island, with a penalty of two-year's imprisonment.
D.
The Isle of Wight is often said to be the most ghostly island in the world. There you can find everything – from ghost monks and grey ladies to ghost murderers and their victims on the island! There are ghost-ships out at sea, and even a ghost-train still running on long vanished rails. It’s no wonder that it attracts thousands of ghost hunters every year.
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E.
The Isle of Wight is not large, but it has lots of sights to see. One of the most well-known places is Alum Bay which is famous for the sand on its beach. The sand is of different colours – from red to purple, from brown to white. Tourists usually buy a glass paperweight with stripes of coloured sand, and take it back home as a souvenir. From Alum Bay you can also see The Needles, the legendary chalk rocks that rise up from the ocean floor.
F.
The Isle of Wight has recently been declared the Dinosaur capital of the UK! The land which forms the island was once the perfect home for dinosaurs. More than 25 different species were found on the small island including the largest British dinosaur, the Sauropod. In 2009, five-year-old Daisy Morris discovered the remains of an undiscovered species on the beach, which has been named after her – the Vectidraco (Dragon of the Wight) Daisymorrisae!
G.
The correct spelling of the island’s name is Wight not White. Wight is a Middle English word that was used to describe a creature or living being. There are many stories about how and why the island got its name, most of them seem reasonable. The experts, however, do not have a common opinion. The only thing that can be said with any degree of certainty is that it has nothing to do with the colour of the chalk cliff and the island should not be spelt the Isle of White!
1. Four-legged guards 30
2. He had several lives
3. A trip to the sky
4. A bilingual animal
5. In memory of a devoted friend
6. A long way home
7. The first pet with a name
8. Doing more than was expected
A.
Barry worked as a rescue dog in the mountains of Switzerland. Barry saved at least 40 people who got lost in the Alps during heavy snow. Once Barry discovered a child and started barking loudly for the monks to find them (which he was trained to do). The monks couldn't climb the cliff and the dog carried the boy all the way down the mountain (which he was not trained to do).
B.
The powerful ancient horse Bucephalus carried Alexander the Great into many victories. Bucephalus’ head looked like a bull’s head. That is where Bucephalus got his name; it means ‘ox’s head’ in ancient Greek. When Bucephalus died, Alexander founded an entire city in his honour and named it Bucephala. This city is in modern-day Pakistan.
C.
Long ago and far away lived a pet cat. He was the pet cat of Pharaoh Thutmose III. This cat got the name of Nedjem. While it was an honour to be the friend of a Pharaoh, this cat had a greater honour yet. He is the world’s earliest pet cat on record with his own proper name. Before Nedjem, history records that cats were just called ‘cats’.
D.
St Petersburg's State Hermitage Museum is one of the largest and most reputable museums in the world. Few visitors, however, know what lies beneath its magnificent halls. There, dozens of Hermitage cats protect the museum’s collection from mice and rats. The history of the cats dates back to the tsar, Peter the Great, who brought the first cat to the Winter Palace on his return from a trip to Holland. Later, the palace cats received official status.
E.
In 1923, Bobbie, a two year-old Scotch Collie, travelled with his family from Oregon to Indiana, USA. Unfortunately, during the vacation, Bobbie got lost. Six months later, in February of 1924, Bobbie appeared on the doorstep of his home. He was extremely skinny, dirty, and weak. Bobbie had walked 4,105 km across the United States to return home. His story quickly spread around the country and the dog was featured in newspaper articles, books, and films.
F.
Pope Leo X received a white elephant, named Hanno, as a gift on his coronation from the King of Portugal. Hanno was well trained and extremely intelligent, able to understand and obey orders given to him in both Indian and Portuguese. Hanno quickly became the Pope’s favorite pet; and he was paraded during the most important ceremonies in Rome.
G.
When the warship, Bismark, sank in 1941, Sam the cat was the only survivor picked up by the British battleship the HMS Cossack. However, the same year the HMS Cossack was damaged by a torpedo and sank. The cat again survived this shipwreck. He had earned his fame as Unsinkable Sam, and started to live on the HMS Ark Royal, which was also torpedoed. Luckily, the crew members were safe, and Sam was found, floating on a plank in an ‘angry but unharmed’ condition. After that, Sam stayed away from ships and died peacefully in 1955.
1. Green medicine 31
2. Meeting celebrities
3. Magic powers
4. Good for some, not for others
5. Dangerous for kids
6. Different varieties
7. Surviving at the expense of the others
8. The meaning of the name
A.
Mistletoe[1] is the name of a round-shaped plant that is naturally found on old willow and apple trees. It attaches to the tree, spreads its roots under the tree bark and goes up its branches. This is how mistletoe gets water and all the ingredients that are necessary for its growth from the trees it lives on.
[1] Mistletoe – омела, вечнозелёное кустарниковое растение.
B.
Mistletoe in Europe is a popular Christmas decoration. The tradition of hanging it in the house dates back to the ancient times. According to mythology, the plant brings good luck to the household and defends it from evil spirits. It also makes love and friendship stronger, which led to the custom of kissing under it.
C.
All kinds of mistletoes have oval, evergreen narrow leaves. In south-western Europe they can be found with white or cream berries that grow in groups of two or six. Mistletoes growing in the north of Europe, however, are very much alike, but have coloured berries. Regardless of colour, each berry has only one seed.
D.
Birds like mistletoe berries very much. They carry the seeds long distances which helps the plant find new trees to live on. Mistletoe can be toxic to people, but its berries and leaves provide high-protein nutrition for many animals. A lot of bird species eat mistletoe berries and use its stem as nesting material. The nectar of the plant is drunk by butterflies and bees.
E.
For centuries, mistletoe has had a reputation as a nearly all-purpose herbal remedy. Mistletoe is used to treat nervous disorders, heart tonic, asthma, arthritis and other diseases. It is also used as a folk remedy for cancer. Scientists have proved that the extract of the mistletoe plant stimulates the immune system and kills cancer cells.
F.
All parents want their sons and daughters always to be safe. However, during the Christmas holidays risks can creep up where parents least expect them. Be careful with holiday plants! Try to keep mistletoe out of reach of a child. If eaten, mistletoe can cause severe stomach pain and can even be fatal. It doesn’t take much – just three mistletoe berries can be toxic to a little child.
G.
Lately most foreign stars and TV hosts have used mistletoe at charitable Christmas auctions. The opportunity to kiss a musician or a famous politician under the mistletoe costs as much as an expensive car. Nevertheless, the shows attract many people who are ready to pay big sums of money for charity.
1. Royal hobby 32
2. The nominal head of the country
3. Protector of nature
4. Gifts from the heart
5. Writing to the Queen
6. Royal social duties
7. Royal open-air receptions
8. Travelling all round the world
A.
An important part of the work of the Queen and the Royal Family is to support and encourage public and voluntary service. One of the ways in which they do this is through association with charities. These include well-known charities such as the British Red Cross and new, smaller charities like Kids Company. About 3,000 organizations list a member of the Royal Family as patron or president.
B.
The Queen’s husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, has played an important role in many aspects of national life. For example, from 1961 to 1982, he was President of the World Wildlife Fund, which supports the conservation, research and restoration of the environment. During his work, Prince Philip visited the fund’s projects in over 40 countries on 5 continents.
C.
Due to the great number of people who wish to contact the Royal Family, communication is only possible via letter. Members of the Royal Family cannot be contacted directly by email or telephone. To open the letter, people should address the Queen with the formal address 'Madam' and close the letter with the form 'I have the honour to be, Madam, Your Majesty's obedient servant'.
D.
Members of the Royal Family carry out nearly 3,000 official journeys in the United Kingdom and overseas every year. Over five decades the Queen has used every possible form of transportation – from elephant to barge. But most Royal journeys use more typical forms of transportation: traditional carriages for ceremonial occasions, the Royal Train and helicopter for visits in the UK, and plane for overseas visits.
E.
Visiting other countries, the Queen often gets presents. It is a long-standing tradition. In 1972, for example, Her Majesty received a collection of shells from the Seychelles and in 1991 she was presented with a pair of cowboy boots during her visit to the United States of America. The Queen often receives ‘live’ animals – from giraffes to giant turtles and cheetahs.
F.
The Royal Collection of stamps is said to be one of the greatest collections of Great Britain and the Commonwealth. From the early nineteenth century, British monarchs continued to preserve, develop and enjoy the Royal Collection. Today the Collection continues to grow. It includes lots of priceless exhibits. Unlike the Crown Jewels and the Royal residences, the Royal Collection of stamps is privately owned by the Queen.
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