Text 17.National English cuisine
While visiting England, one of the most important things to do is to have a meal at a British restaurant and try some of the traditional dishes. Nowadays most of them can be found in modern restaurants and cafes all over Great Britain. It is worth saying that some of the dishes of British cuisine have usual taste and European tourist might not find it yummy at first sight.
Well, frankly speaking, some people rumor that England has no cuisine at all, as it is difficult to say that vegetables or beef can be called cuisine. But, as from my point of view it is not true, as most famous British food is just easy to cook and at the same time it has some kind of British spirit (as I guess, each cuisine does). And when they say it is tasteless and boring, it is not actually true.
Pudding, roast beef, well-known all over the world fish-and-chips, steak with egg, different pies and some more. I guess, everyone knows about famous English breakfast which consists of bacon and eggs, a cup of coffee or juice, a slice of toast (it may be served with jam or honey).
During lunch, while people are at school or work they visit small corner cafes or cook at home and carry a few sandwiches, a pack of juice away. At 5 o’clock there is tradition English tea-time, people have so-called small siesta. They drink tea; eat cookies and cakes with jam.
Text 18.Sunday Lunch
The most interesting thing is Sunday Lunch. When a family is gathered, the table is usually served with roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.
Speaking about the pudding, there’s a sometimes a few misconstructions, it is usually served as a starter or a part of the main meal, not like other puddings.
It has a really simple recipe so anyone can make “English Sunday” at home and cook this wonderful dish. Actually, flour, butter, a little milk and eggs are all the products you need to bake it.
So, even if dishes of English food are simple and usual, it must be mentioned about traditional customs of the cuisine, as they are extraordinary for most of the countries.
Text 19.Food
It’s a tangible thing that each country has its own traditions and customs. And moreover, all the countries have its oven traditional food and national dishes.
Mostly it depends on the geographical position of the territory, as long ago, when there were no planes and trains people ate only the vegetables, fruits and meat they could breed themselves on their lands.
Nowadays things become easier day after day, and some people say that there’s no need to visit Italia to eat pizza as you can find it everywhere.
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I don’t think that it is true, as, for instance, real sushi you can find only where the traditions were born.
But all the people love their Motherland and, of course, want to make it well-known all over the world. That is why some cooks and chefs try to expand their boarders and present their cuisines in other countries.
But, in my opinion, the best way to learn cuisine is to visit a country and taste it when you can feel the atmosphere around.
Text 20.I live in Russia and like our national cuisine very much. It is full of variety, tasteful and healthy. I adore borsch, sauerkraut soup, stuffed cabbage roll and Russian salad. Our national drink is thought to be bread kvass, my grandfather makes it himself.
Also I like pancakes; my grandmother often cooks it at the weekends for me and my sister. Pancakes are usually served with a cup of milk and strawberry jam – it is really yummy!
Pancakes are thought to be a symbol of Shrovetide (Pancake Day), in Russia it indicates that spring is coming. There can be said a lot about Russian dishes, but, as I think, it is better to taste it once.
I also like British cuisine very much. Last year I visited my friend in Manchester, he told me plenty about traditional English food.
For example, fish and chips taste really good. In addition, I like national cakes as they are delicious! When I was leaving my friend’s mother made a party and cooked a pudding and roast beef. Everything was great!
From my point of view, it is very interesting to visit countries and learn different cuisines, their customs and traditions. Who knows, maybe next year I will be able to visit Italia and finally taste its wonderful pizza.
Text 21.Next Sunday will be an unusual day for our family. It will be our mother's birthday. My brother Nick and I decided to go to town and buy a present for her.
We will go to town on Saturday after school to do shopping. We can go to town either by train or by bus. Nick likes to go by bus, but I don't like buses. I think we will not go by bus, we will go by train. What will we buy? As we will have a party, we need good sweets, coffee, cheese, sausage, biscuits and cakes. I know Mother likes cakes very much. So we will buy cakes. We will buy a new dress and a raincoat or an umbrella for her. It is a great pleasure to make people happy and we want to make our mother happy.
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Text 22.In 1607 Captain Henry Hudson left Europe to search for the famous North-West Passage. He didn't find it, because it didn't exist, but he reached a river to which he gave his name. Interested by the stories told them by the captain on his return, the Dutch sent other boats to take possession of the land discovered by Hudson and gave it the name 'New Netherland'. Two men dominate the history of this colony. The first bought the island of Manhattan from the Indians in 1626. The second arrived in 1647 as governor of New Amsterdam, the capital of New Netherland.
In 1664 this territory was taken over by the English and they changed the name of New Amsterdam to New York. New York is one of the largest cities in the world. Its population is over 11 million people. New York is an industrial and cultural centre of the country. Most business is centred in Manhattan Island. The whole area is very small, that's why the skyscrapers were invented in New York and, especially, in Wall Street. Wall Street is a narrow street with big houses, but it is well known all over the world as the busiest street in the USA. People do business there.
There are two more world-famous streets — Broadway and Fifth Avenue. Broadway is the centre of the theatres and night life. It is known as The Great White Way because of the electric signs which turn night into day. It is the city that never goes to sleep. Buses and subway run all night. There are many drugstores and restaurants, which never close their doors. There are cinemas with films that start at midnight.
Fifth Avenue is the great shopping, hotel, and club avenue. If you go along this avenue, you come to Harlem, where the black people of New York live, the coloured workers, teachers, doctors and musicians. New York is the largest port in America. More than half the trade of the United States goes through this city.
There are many places of interest in New York. They are the Statue of Liberty, the United Nations Building, Empire State Building, Columbia University, City Hall, New York Public Library and others.
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Text 23.Olya and Mary are schoolgirls. They study in an eleven-year school in Sosnovka. Olya lives in Green Street. Her father is a doctor. The family lives near the hospital. There are two big houses there. They live in one of them. The house consists of five rooms. The doctor's family is large. There are six of them: Father, Mother, two sons and two daughters. One day Olya invites Mary to show her their house and take tea with the family. Mary thanks Olya for her invitation.
It is Saturday. The family is at home.When Mary comes,Olya welcomes her and says, "Good afternoon!" Mary answers, "Good afternoon!"
Olya introduces Mary to her father, mother, sister and brothers. Before they have tea Olya shows her friend their house. "This is the dining-room, it is the biggest room of the house. On the right, you see Father's study, it is smaller than the other rooms. On the left, there is the living-room, it is a little smaller than the dining-room. Opposite there are two bedrooms. This is our bedroom. My sister and I sleep in it. And that is my brothers' bedroom. The rooms are not large but we like them very much.
This is the kitchen and that is our bathroom. And how many rooms are there in your house?" "We have three rooms. Our rooms are not so large as yours. We have a small house and a little garden behind the house. In the garden there are many beautiful flowers and beds with vegetables."
Text 24. Do you work in an open plan office? If so, it may be damaging your health. A recent study of employees in Denmark found that people who work in open spaces take significantly more sick leave. The biggest problem with the open office is simply noise. In another study by the Cornell University psychologists Gary Evans and Dana Johnson, clerical workers who were exposed to open-office noise for three hours became less motivated and less creative. The open office was invented in Germany, in the nineteen-fifties, to facilitate communication and idea flow but recent evidence suggests that the opposite is true.
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Text 25. The Italian town of Ivrea is preparing 500 tonnes of oranges for its annual Carnival festival. The oranges aren’t for eating, however, they are for throwing. In fact, teams of locals will re-create a historic battle between the townsfolk, on foot, and a ruling tyrant and his men, in carts. The oranges, which are leftovers from the winter crop, are thrown at full force and bruises and other injuries are not uncommon. Spectators who don’t want to be pelted should wear a red cap at all times. It’s a colourful, cheerful and deliciously orange-scented event.
Text 26.If you visit a café and the staff are rude you can choose not to go back, but what happens when it’s the customers who are impolite? A French Café has decided to reward polite customers and punish rude ones by implementing some unusual coffee price variations. According to the menu board, ‘a coffee’ costs €7 while ‘a coffee, please’ costs a more affordable €4.50. Of course, there’s an even cheaper option: ‘hello, can I have a coffee, please?’ will cost you just €1.40. Sometimes it pays to be polite and if you are in a bad mood you can always choose another café.
Text 27. The nation which created Nutella, has invented a brand new delicacy to have on toast: spreadable beer. The sweet beer-perfumed jelly is the result of a partnership between an Italian brewer and an Italian chocolate maker. You can purchase a jar for just under £8 at Selfridges. According to their website, the spread is excellent with cheeses and can be used as a garnish or stuffing for tarts and cakes. No information is provided about the alcohol content so it’s hard to say whether it would be a safe choice for breakfast. Would you try spreadable beer for breakfast?
Text 28. A Canadian family has decided to spend a year living as if it was 1986. Blair McMillan was concerned that his kids spent too much time indoors with technology. He wanted them to experience what it was like when he was growing up. That means no I-pods, mobile phones or Internet. If they need information, they have to go to the library and look up an encyclopedia. For entertainment, they have a VHS player to watch movies and cassette tapes to listen to. When travelling, they use only paper maps and have to wait to have their photos developed. The family dress in vintage clothes, have 80’s hairdos and the dad has a true Magnum PImoustache. So far, Blair says his family talk more and are much closer.
Text 29. Weddings are usually expensive, but a couple from Scotland has proven that you can get married on a tight budget. Georgina Porteous and Sid Innes spent only £1 on their big day. They didn’t have to pay for the venue, a barn behind their house. An aunt made the cake and the guests brought their own picnic. The groom wore a suit he had bought years before and the bride bought her second-hand vintage dress online for a pound. Even the rings were free: they were hand-made from antlers found in the garden. The couple chose this type of wedding as part of a self-sufficient life-style. It was a huge saving if you consider that the average wedding in Britain costs £20,000.
Text 30. Research at the University of San Diego has revealed that employees in a ‘green’ building are more productive than people who work in a standard building. Of course, a ‘green’ building is not just painted green: it is built and maintained with attention to its environmental impact. The presence of green plants in an office is known to lower stress levels. Other studies show that the colour green also has a positive impact on work. Last year, German researchers found that just looking at a green rectangle for a couple of seconds boosts your creative output by 20%. Green has strong associations with nature and growth and bringing the outdoors in can make people more relaxed. So, if you want to increase productivity in your workplace, go green.
Text 31.Around the world, people celebrate the New Year in some strange ways. In Scotland, the first person to visit your home after the midnight bells is called the first foot. If it’s a tall, dark man, you will be very lucky. Traditionally, he should bring a piece of coal, but nowadays a bottle of whisky is usually more appreciated. In Denmark, people throw old plates at their friends’ front doors. The more broken dishes you find outside, the more friends you have. Many traditions are about ensuring good luck for the coming year. In South America, they wear brightly colouredunderwear, in Italy they eat lentils and apparently, in Ireland they bang bread against the walls. Wherever you are and however you choose to celebrate, have a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Text 32.A recent survey has found that Italians are making better use of scraps and leftovers as a result of the economic crisis. 59 percent of Italian families are reusing pasta, bread and vegetables to try to make their food last longer. Traditional recipes are regaining popularity, like “panzanella”, a salad which contains stale bread, olive oil and tomatoes. This new trend should help cut down on food waste – Italians throw away 10 million tonnes of food every year. There are many anti-waste recipes in traditional Italian cooking: with cheap ingredients and a little imagination you can produce delicious dishes.
Text 33. A 22-year-old Canadian man, Tanner Zurkoski, is living in his car for a month. The experiment was organised by Evergreen, a charitythat tries to make cities more liveable. It aimsto show people from Toronto how much time they waste commuting every year: that’s 82 minutes every day, on average, or a whole month per year.Commuting causes stress and can have a negative impact on the health of workers.
The solution to this problem could be an improvedpublic transport system and the promotion of cycling and walking. In fact, less that 30% of inhabitants walk, cycle or use public transport to go to work.
During the day, Mr.Zurkoski makes videos of his experience and posts them online. At night he pulls down the back seat and sleeps in parking lots. Fortunately, he is allowed to leave the car to use the bathroom.
Text 34.Here’s a challenge: when you next visit London, try to walk 100m without catching sight of a Pret a Manger. The British sandwich chain with a French name has so many branches in the capital city that you can’t avoid trying it out. The menu includes wholemealsandwiches, filled baguettes, soups, salads and coffees. Nothing special about that, so why is it so successful? The marketing blurb speaks of handmade, natural food without any obscurechemicals. The sandwiches are made fresh at each location. Service is fast. Where Starbucks has just one cashier, Pret has three or four. Employees have a say in the hiring process and bonuses are awarded on the performance of the entire team. On top of that, unsold food is given to the homelessat the end of the day. So, the secret is healthy fast food, served with a smile and a doseof goodness too.
Text 35. A survey has revealed the 50 things, which show that you have become an adult. The 2,000 people questioned by the Skipton Building Society indicated what they consider to be the key signs of adulthood. These include being able to cook a meal from scratch and not relying on your parents for financial decisions. Other factors were: being annoyedby amessy house, washing up immediately after eating and going to bed before 11pm (after taking off your makeup, of course). The participants of this study were British. This is reflected in some of the activities they think of as grown up, such as buying a Sunday paper, visiting garden centres and listening to Radio 2. Apparently, adult Brits also own a set of best towelsto put out when they have special visitors. It would be interesting to find out if other cultures have different ideas.
Text 36.According to a recent report, British women admit that they areno good at parking. Nearly a third change their driving plans to avoid parking in a tight space. Only one in ten men admit to doing so. Women also took 20 seconds longer than men to park an expensive Audi during an experiment at a German university. While some studies suggest that men are better at spatial tasks because of the way their brains work, it could also be true that women lack confidence rather than ability. There is some promising news, however: the 2012 national parking championship in Germany was won by a woman.
Text 37. A recentsurvey has found that Italians are making better use of scraps and leftovers as a result of the economic crisis. 59 percent of Italian families are reusing pasta, bread and vegetables to try to make their food last longer. Traditional recipes are regaining popularity, like “panzanella”, a salad which contains stale bread, olive oil and tomatoes. This new trend should help cut down on food waste – Italians throw away 10 million tonnes of food every year. There are many anti-waste recipes in traditional Italian cooking: with cheap ingredients and a little imagination you can produce delicious dishes.
Text 38. The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, is making plans for an elevated cycle route over London and a group of architects has produced sketches of what the SkyCycle route will look like. Cyclists will pay a small fee(about £1) to use it. Entrances and exits will only be at certain locations, like train stations, so it will be like a cycling highway in the sky.
The number of cyclists in London has more than doubledin recent years. However, the roads are busy and dangerous and there are a number of deathsand hundreds of serious injuries every year. The SkyCycle route will reduce commute time and increase safety levels for cyclists.
Text 39. When you arrive at a hotel, you must check-in at the reception or front desk. The check-in process can take awhile since the receptionist has to find your reservation, request payment for the room, and then inform you about the hotel's policies and procedures. You are also given a key to your room at this time.
Hotels often distinguish themselves by the services they offer. Fancy hotels often have a concierge or porter to help you with a variety of tasks. They can help you get a taxi, make reservations at restaurants or plays for you, and give you advice about the city. Often, this person is also in charge of the bellboys, who carry your luggageor baggage up to the room for you.
In smaller and cheaper hotels, the job of concierge is done by the receptionist and a doorman, who opens the hotel doors and car doors for you.
These are nice services, especially after you've been traveling, but they're not free. It is common courtesy to tip the concierge and bellboys each time they help you.
Other features that are generally found in hotels are a lift or elevator to take you up to the floor your room is on; a lounge area or lobby where you can wait if you arrive before the check-in time; and a safe where you can store valuables.
In your room, there may be a single or double bed, depending on how many people are staying there. There may even be two single beds, or twin beds. Also in the room are a desk, a dresser to store your clothes in, a nightstand with a lamp beside the bed, a television with cable, heating and air conditioning.
If you're lucky, there may even be a mini-bar in your room. This is a small refrigerator that has tiny bottles of alcohol, as well as snacks. But beware: these are not free. In fact, they typically cost two to three times as much as they do in a grocery store. But many people pay the exuberant price for the convenience of not having to leave the hotel.
Another convenience that hotels offer is room service. To order room service, you call down to the reception and ask for a food item listed on the hotel's menu. The food is then brought to your room for you to enjoy. Remember, this is another service that deserves a tip.
Many hotels also have restaurants attached where breakfast is served in the morning. A hotel breakfast can range from a Continental buffet, which consists of you helping yourself to food that has been laid out for you and other hotel guests. The Continental breakfast is not very elaborate and is often included in the price of the room. However, you can also order prepared food from the restaurant's menu.
At the proper check-out time, which is often early, you must vacate the room so that the maids, or cleaning staff, can clean the rooms and make the beds. If you don't leave on time, charges may apply and you will have to pay extra money. Fortunately, you can ask for a wake-up call from the front desk so you won't sleep through check-out.
To get to your next destination, you can take an airport shuttle, which will take you directly to the airport. If a hotel doesn't have its own shuttle, it can usually arrange for one to pick you up at the hotel.
Text 40.Nowadays people travel on business and as tourists more than in the past.No businessman can avoid being a paying guest every now and then.In big cities there are a lot of good hotels.Accommodations as well as rates vary from hotel to hotel.There are deluxe hotels, the most luxurious and the most expensive, resort hotels used for entertainment or recreation.Still, if you do not want to get disappointed, it is advisable to book accommodation beforehand by fax or telephone, especially if you are visiting the town during the summer months.If you do not book accommodation beforehand, you may have to leave the hotel because it is fully booked up.That would be an unpleasant experience, especially if you arrived late at night.
Rooms in most hotels have all modern conveniences: central heating, air conditioning, bathroom, hairdryer, trouser press, telephone, satellite TV and others.Service is usually quite satisfactory.You can take a single room, a double room or a suite, charges varying accordingly.If you can't stand the noise of the street, do not take an outside room, ask for an inside one.At the hotel you can get various services.If you want to have your suit pressed or dry cleaned, your shirt ironed, or your laundry done, you should ring for the maid and she will see to it that everything is done.You can also have your meals served in your room.In the lobby of a hotel there are a lot of offices: a booking office, post and telegraph offices, an information desk supervised by the concierge.At the information desk you can enquire about the departures and arrivals of trains and flights, about telephone numbers and addresses of offices and private individuals and about a lot of other things.Concierges are always ready to help the guests and provide them with all kinds of useful information.Besides, there is a newsstand, a bookstall, a kiosk selling picture postcards and souvenirs.Cosmetics and liquor are sold too, but with a sales tax.
In the same building there are also restaurants, bars, cafeterias, beauty parlours, saunas, steam rooms and massage rooms, along with fully equipped supervised gyms and swimming pools.
Литература
1. Жданова И.Ф., Фишер М. Вы едете в Америку: Русско-английский разговорник. / И.Ф. Жданова, М. Фишер. – М.: Рус. яз., 1993. – 288 с.
2. Кравченко Н.В. Английский язык: устные темы для подготовки к экзамену: для выпускников и абитуриентов / Н.В. Кравченко. – М.: Эксмо, 2010. – 464 с.
3. Dooley J., Evans V., Osipova M. New Round up – 4 / J. Dooley, V. Evans, V. Osipova. - Pearson Education (LONGMAN), – 2010. – 72 p.
4. Evans V., Dooley Jenny, Kondrasheva Irina New Round-up 3/ V. Evans, J. Dooley, I. Kondrasheva. - Pearson ELT UK, - 2011. – 64p.
5. Kondrasheva I., Evans V., Dooley J. New Round up – 2 / I. Kondrasheva, V. Evans, J. Dooley. - Pearson Education (LONGMAN), – 2010. – 64 p.
6. https://en.wikipedia.org
7. https:// tinytexts.wordpress.com
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