The Great Romantic
Lord Byron (1788-1824) didn’t live a long life. He was an aristocrat and a fashionable man. But he loved freedom and a simple country life. His personality attracted Britain and all Europe. He brought to his poetry romanticism of his times. He was talented and handsome, noble and brave. London admired him.
George Gordon Byron was born on January 22nd, 1788. He was the son of John Byron and his wife, Catherine, whose ancestors (предки) were of the royal house of Stuart. He spent his early years outside the capital. He lived in the north. Later his mother took him to Aberdeen. There they lived for several years. George went to Aberdeen Grammar School and there is a monument to him outside the school. Now it is a museum and art gallery. Later he studied at Harrow School and the University of Cambridge.
When Byron was 19, he came to London. One day the poet wrote, “I woke up and found myself famous.” It happened after the publication of his autobiographic poem “Childe Harold” in 1812.
The fact is that from 1809 to 1811 he had traveled in different parts of Europe and in the poem he described everything that had happened to him.
In the summer of 1816 Byron left Britain forever. He traveled around Europe and soon he became a member of the Greek liberation movement (освободительное движение), for which he died. But he did not lead the Greeks in battle as he wished. He died of fever.
I. Переведите на английский язык.
1) Он любил свободу и простую сельскую жизнь.
2) Он принес в свою поэзию романтизм того времени.
3) Сейчас это музей и галерея искусства.
II. Ответьте на следующие вопросы.
1) When and where was G. Byron born?
2) Where did he study?
3) What did he describe in the poem?
4) When did he die?
PACKING by Jerome K. Jerome
Holiday time was near now, and we, that is, Harris and George and I met to discuss our plans. Harris said that the first thing was to discuss what to take with us. He also said that we couldn't take the whole world in a boat. They could take what they really needed.
"It is very important," Harris said, "to have everything we need for a long swim every morning before breakfast." He also said that a long swim always gave him fine appetite. "If you're going to eat more than you usually do," George said, "I think we'll let you go swimming not more than once in three or four days. If you go swimming every day, we'll never have enough food for you. We won't be able to carry so much in the boat. "
So we discussed the food question. "Begin with breakfast," George said. "For breakfast we must have a tea-pot," Harris said, "ham, eggs, bread and butter and jam. It's easy to prepare breakfast with such things. And for lunch — cold meat, bread and butter and jam — but no cheese. "
We agreed. Cheese in a boat in summer, little by little becomes the master of all the food. You may think you're eating sausage or meat and potatoes or cake, but it all seems to be cheese.
Choose the right variant
1. George, Harris and Jerome decided to discuss ....
a) future holidays b) the weather c) the newspaper article
2. It happened in ....
a) summer b) spring c) winter
3. Harris liked ... very much.
a) boating b) swimming c) playing football
4. He wanted to ... after swimming.
a) eat b) drink c) sleep
5. They decided ... cheese.
a) not to take b) to take c) to buy
Answer the questions:
What is the text about?
Where did the friends want to go?
What could give Harris a good appetite?
Why was cheese the "master" of all food in summer?
Whose idea was to take few clothes?
Read the text.
SCOTLAND
Although Scotland forms a part of the United Kingdom, it has a distinct character of its own. In area it is more than half as big as England. Its population is, however, only one-eighth as great — about 5 200 000.
Scotland is a land of romance and it has had a most eventful history. The Picts and Celts lived there before the coming of the Romans to Britain. Those Northern tribes worried the Romans so much that the Great Wall was built to protect the Roman camps in the Northern part of England.
It was in the 11th century that the Normans began to settle in Scotland. Almost all of Scotland's history is associated with and reflected in many castles and forts that are to be seen all over the country. They are very picturesque, having retained their medieval features: stern, proud, impressive, perched high on a rock or at a hillside. Mary, Queen of Scots, the beautiful Mary Stuart was married in one of them, her son James (who was to become James I of England) was born in another.
And now some words about the Highlands. For centuries the Highlands were a strange land, where the king's law common to all the rest of the country, wasn't even known, where wild people spoke a language no one could understand. Long after the rest of Britain adopted modern ways they kept to the old life.
In 1603 King James VI of Scotland became King James I of England too, and from then onwards the countries were under the same monarch, though the Act of Union was not passed until 1707. This Act incorporated Scotland with England in the United Kingdom, but the Scots kept their own legal system, religion and administration, centered in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh – the capital of Scotland has always been admired as one of the most beautiful cities. Glasgow – its second city – always had a bad reputation. It was too often seen as a dirty, run-down urban area. But no longer. The buildings have been cleaned up, the streets are tidy and the people now take an obvious pride in their city. Glasgow was chosen to be the cultural capital of Europe 1890.
Not far from Glasgow there is one of the most famous of Scotland's many lakes (called «lochs»), Loch Lomond. Scottish numerous valleys are known as «glens». Scotland is a country with an intense and living national tradition of a kind only too rare in the modern world. It has its distinctive national dress, the kilt, worn only by men. It also has its own typical musical instruments (the pipes, sometimes called «the bagpipes»), its own national form of dancing, its own songs, language, traditions and education. Scotland has even its own national drink, a fact so widely known that one need only ask for «Scotch».
The Picts and Celts – пикты и кельты (племена)
tribe — племя
to pass the Act — принять Акт/Закон (в парламенте)
В. Comprehension Check. Complete the sentences.
1. Scotland forms...
a) a part of England;
b) a part of the United States;
c) a part of the United Kingdom.
2. The Northern tribes...
a) began to settle in Scotland in the 11th century;
b) lived in Scotland before the coming of the Romans;
c) came to Scotland together with the Normans.
3. Mary Stuart...
a) was a Queen of the United Kingdom;
b) was the Queen of Scots;
c) was not a queen.
4. The kilt...
a) is a musical instrument;
b) is a form of national dancing;
c) is a type of national dress.
C. Answer the questions.
1. What is the population of Scotland?
2. Why was the Great Wall built?
3. Why are there so many castles in the country?
4. What have you learnt about the Highlands?
5. When was the Act of Union passed?
6. What's the country's second city?
7. What do they call Scottish valleys and lakes?
8. Are national traditions still alive in Scotland?
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