Сборник текстов для чтения на английском языке в средней школе

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. Содержание

Предисловие

Чтение по праву считается одним из самых сложных видов речевой деятельности в обучении иностранному языку. Цель настоящего пособия – помочь обучающимся усовершенствовать навык чтения на английском языке. В сборник вошли разные тексты, не связанные между собою тематически. Пособие может послужить дополнением к любому из существующих УМК.

Библиографические источники приводятся в конце.

Text 1

IN A FAMILY

One day a friend came to a house where there were three children: a boy and two girls. Two of them – the boy and one of the girls – got ill. They were in bed.

Many friends and all the members of the family were sorry for them. They brought toys and nice things to eat and gave them to the children who were ill in bed.

The other little girl sat in a corner and cried every day. One of the relatives, who loved them, went up to her and asked, “Why do you cry every day? You are not ill.”

“No”, said the little girl, “I am not ill, so they don`t bring me any presents”.

Text 2

AT A CIRCUS

A conjurer worked at a new trick². He asked his son to help him.

“When I ask a boy to come and help me you must come to me. But nobody must understand that you know me”, said the man to his son. The boy said that he understood everything.

In the evening, when the conjurer came to the stage and asked any boy to help him, his son ran quickly to the stage.

The conjurer said, “Look at this boy! He knows nothing about the trick, do you?’’

“No, father!” the boy`s answer was.

Text 3

GOOD CHILDREN

“Your children are so good! I would like them to spend more time with my children”, a young woman said to her friend.

“Why do you want it?”, her friend asked.

“My children can`t play in the street”, she answered.

“Really? And what do they do at walk? the woman asked in surprise.

“How do they spend time?, the woman asked in a minute

“They come terribly dirty when I send them for a walk.”

“Oh, but children always get dirty on a walk”, the other woman said.

“Yesterday I washed eight boys before I could see my youngest son”,

Text 4

THE TALKATIVE FROG

Long, long ago there lived a Frog in a pond with two Ducks. They were very good friends. The Frog liked to talk very much, and she liked the Ducks, because she could talk with them. So they lived there for a long time. But one summer it was very hot, so hot that the pond became dry. The two Ducks couldn`t live there. "Let's fly to another pond," said one Duck. They went to the Frog to say good-bye to her.

But the Frog got sad: ”Oh, I don`t want to live here alone!" said the Frog. "Take me with you! I am afraid to stay here alone".

So the Ducks took a big stick. Then they put the ends of the stick, and the Frog put the middle of the stick in her mouth, and the Ducks took the Frog with them.

Text 5

SAMUEL CLEMENS

Samuel Clemens is the real name of Mark Twain, a famous American writer.

Samuel Clemens was born in a small town on the Mississippi river in the USA. The boy had many friends at school and later he told about them in his stories.

When Samuel was twelve his father died and the boy began to work at a printing house. At the age of twenty he found a work on a ship.

Then he left the ship and went to California. In 1876 he wrote his most famous book “The adventures of Tom Sawyer”. It was very popular in many countries of the world.

Text 6

THE KING AND THE BOATMAN

Text 7

THE PHILOSOPHER IN THE BOAT

One day in summer the weather was hot, and a famous philosopher decided to cross a river in a small boat. He talked to the boatman and asked him: ”Do you know anything about geography³?”

“Oh, no”, said the boatman, “I don`t know anything about it.”

“I`m sorry for you”, said the philosopher, “you lost a half of your life”.

Some minutes later the philosopher asked the boatman the next question: “Do you know anything about mathematics?”

“Oh, no,” answered the boatman “ I don`t know anything about it.”

“I`m sorry for you”, said the philosopher, “you lost the second half of your life”.

At that moment the boat ran on a stone. The boatman jumped up and asked:” Can you swim?”

“Oh, no”, said the philosopher, “ I can`t swim”

“I`m very sorry for you,” said the boatman “You lost all your life. The boat will go down in some minutes”.

Text 8

A KING`S SON

The king`s son had a very clever teacher. One day the teacher told his pupil to get on a horse and ride. He himself walked behind the horse. But when they were out of town, the teacher got on the horse and asked the boy to go behind.

They travelled for a long time. When they came back to the palace, the king`s son was very tired. He went to his father and told him everything. The king became angry with the teacher but the teacher asked the king to listen to him. The king agreed.

“Oh, great king! Said the teacher. I taught your son for a long time. But I couldn`t show him with the help of words one simple thing - that life is hard for poor people who have no horses and must always walk. The boy is the king`s son. One day he will be a king. And a king must now that”. The king agreed the teacher.

Text 9

THE MONEY-BOX

Every Friday evening all shopkeepers in Grimsby came to the central bank and put money into the night safe.that e was outside on the wall .

But that Friday evening the people who came along the street with bags full of money put them not into a night safe, but into a box that belonged to Mr. Michael Bell.

Mr. Michael Bell had the idea when he saw two men near the bank one evening. He made the box at home and painted it. When it was ready, he put it on the wall next to the night safe. Then he put a small note with the words: “Please, use this new safe”. Then he stood not far from it. When the box was full he took it and went home. His idea was good but not the best in the world. Now he has time to think of other ideas. He is in prison.

Text 10

MERCURY

In old Roman legends, Mercury was a quick messenger of the gods. The planet got this name, because it`s the quickest in the Solar system. It makes its yearly journey in only 88 earth days.

Mercury always keeps one side towards the sun. It is always day on this side, and it is always night on the other side. We see only the lighted side.

Mercury appears to us like a yellow or an orange star. It is the nearest planet to the sun and people often see it near the sun before sunrise or after sunset. People sometimes call it morning or evening star but it is a real planet.

Mercury has less than half the diameter of the Earth ,that`s why it is lighter than our planet.

On its lighted side, Mercury`s temperature is about 300 degrees Centigrade. But the dark side is colder – about 150 degrees below zero.

Text 11

THE SPIDER

Do you know a small animal with four pairs of legs? Of course, you do. You know spiders.

Spiders live all over the world. They don`t livein coldest places. You may find them on land: on grass, bushes, trees and on pools, rivers, seas. There are fifteen thousand different kinds of spiders. The spider spins its web to catch insects for food. It spins its web all its life.

There is a story about a spider and the head of the Scottish army Robert Bruce. Robert Bruce destroyed the web several times, and each time the spider began its work from the beginning.

Robert watched it and decided to continue his fight for the independence of Scotland.

It was many years ago, but Scottish people still remember their great victory, and their great leader Robert Bruce.

Text 12

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

Christopher Columbus was born in the seaport town of Genoa in Italy, about the year 1451. When he was only ten years, Columbus went to a famous school near Genoa and studied arithmetic and geography.

He was only 14 years old when he first sailed to the East. After that time he made many voyages before he could to buy three small ships and sail across the Atlantic Ocean.

His life on the sea, talks with sailors and the results of science helped him to understand that the earth is round. He wanted to reach India. He also dreamed about a new and shorter way to the East.

Columbus started his voyage on the third of August,1492. He was in the Atlantic Ocean for ten weeks, then he and his brave sailors saw land. The land was America.

Columbus continued his work because he didn`t know that it was a continent.

Text 13

A SMALL PICTURE

It happened many, many years ago in Great Britain. Once a rich man wanted to have a beautiful picture on his desk.

He asked a great painter to paint a small picture for him. The painter worked hard and next day he came to the rich man and brought him the small picture. The man looked at the picture and smiled. He liked the picture very much.

“It is a very beautiful picture”, said the rich man. “How much do you want for it?”

“One thousand dollars”, answered the painter. The rich man was surprised.

“One thousand dollars for this small picture?” cried the rich man. “You painted it in one day and you want to get one thousand dollars for one day`s work?’”

“Yes, sir. I painted this beautiful picture in one day, but I worked thirty years and I learned how to paint it in one day”, replied the painter.

Text 14

THE POTTER AND THE PAINTER

Many years ago there lived a potter and a painter. One day the painter got much money for his picture and the potter asked to give him some money. The painter didn`t do it.

Next morning the potter went to the king and said that the painter knew how to change any colour into white.

King`s servants brought the painter to the palace, and the king said that he wanted to make his grey elephant white. The painter understood that it was a potter`s joke. He agreed and asked to make a big pot for an elephant.

The potter made a pot but it fell to pieces the first time when the people carried it. It fell to pieces the second time when the workers put it into cold water. And it fell to pieces the third time when the elephant put his foot into it. The potter worked hard for some months and often thought about the pot. But one fun day the elephant ran to the woods. It was the happiest day for the potter.

Text 15

NOTES FROM THE SEA

In 1956 a young sailor at sea was very far from his family and friends for the first time in his life. He wrote a note and put it into a bottle. Then he sealed the bottle and threw it into the sea. In his note he asked any nice girl who found it to write to him. After some time a farmer in Italy who lived near the sea, saw the sailor`s bottle and picked it up. He gave the note to his daughter and she wrote the sailor a letter. Many letters travelled to Italy and back. Soon the sailor visited Italy. In 1958 he married the girl.

This is one of many stories about bottles, which travelled from place to place in seas and oceans. A bottle with note is a good traveller. It can travel when strong storms break ships. A bottle with a note lies on the water and does not go down.

Text 16

CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN

It was Saturday, Two brothers, Eddie and Alan ran- in the field. When the boys heard about the circus, they came to their mother and told her about it. She said “I will not buy tickets for you”. The boys decided to go and help the circus workers. Other boys came to the field too. They also wanted to work and get tickets for the show.

Then at last the circus came. There was a lot of work to do. Every boy found work. When it was over, the boys took their tickets. At last the show began. It was a very good show. There were lions and tigers.

The clowns were very funny and everybody laughed. Unfortunately, the poor boys didn`t see any of these things. They slept – they were very tired. And they slept to the end of the show. On their way home the boys cried but nobody listened to them.

Text 17

STAMPS

Text 18

JONATHAN SWIFT

Jonathan Swift, the famous English writer, was born in a poor family in Dublin, Ireland. His father died some months before the boy was born. His mother went to work in England and left Jonathan in his uncle`s family. His uncle loved him very much.

The boy studied very well at school and when he was fourteen years old, his uncle sent him to Dublin university. When Swift left the university, he went to England in 1689 and became a secretary of a writer. He was a very clever man and spoke some foreign languages. At that time he began to write articles for many English newspapers.

In 1726 he wrote the book “Gulliver`s Travels”. It is a book about Great Britain of that time. People not only in England and Ireland but in many other countries of the world liked the book very much. He also wrote some other books but they were very popular.

Text 19

GULLIVER

Gulliver was born in the large family of a farmer. He studied well at school, so his father sent him to the university. When the young man left the university, he worked with a doctor and knew a lot about this profession.

But Gulliver wanted to travel and found a work on a ship as the ship`s doctor. One day, after many days of fine weather, there was a terrible¹storm. The ship broke to pieces, fortunately Gulliver could swim well. After a long time he saw a land and swam to it. He got out of the water and slept on the shore for many hours. He was tired.

When Gulliver woke up, he saw that he was in the country where very, very little people lived. The name of the country was Lilliput. Gulliver was kind to the little people and the let him to live with them.

Text 20

GULLIVER IN THE COUNTRY OF GIANTS

The second of Gulliver`s travels began very well. The weather was fine. But after some weeks, a strong wind began to blow. It blew for twenty days. When the wind stopped, the sailors were very tired and the captain of the ship didn`t know where they were. They had food, but there was no drinking water. At last they saw an island. The captain of the ship sent Gulliver with some men in a small boat to get water.

On the island the sailors went into the forest and Gulliver went into another part of the island. It was late when he came back to the shore, he didn`t find the boat there. The sailors were already in the boat and on their way back to the ship. Gulliver wanted to cry, but suddenly he saw a very, very big man – a giant. Then he saw other giants and understood that he was in the country of giants.

Text 21

CHARLES DODSON

Charles Dodson is the real name of Lewis Carrol, the man who wrote a famous book for children, “Alice`s Adventures in Wonderland”.

Charles Dodson was born in England in 1832. When he finished school, he became a student of Oxford university, where he studied mathematics. Some years later he began to teach this subject at the university.

Charles Dodson had no family, but he loved children very much. He often visited his friend Henry George Liddell, who had a large family. There were three little girls in that family.

Dodson liked to talk with Alice, who was stories. Charles told Alice about the adventures of a little girl in Wonderland. The name of the girl in the stories was Alice too. Alice liked the stories very much. When Alice Liddell was ten years old, she asked Charles to write down these stories and the famous book appeared.

Text 22

ONE WING

Text 23

UNCLE TOM

When Uncle Tom came home after the war, he didn`t bring any swords. He brought nothing. And he didn`t look like a hero. He was a small man with white hair. He even ate little. Jackie talked to Uncle Tom all the time. He asked him a lot of questions about the war.

“I don`t see anything interesting in the war”, Uncle Tom said.

“Many people lose their lives in a war. War is a dirty, terrible thing.”

He didn`t talk much. He usually sat alone in his room. The boys in the street laughed at Uncle Tom. Soon they began to laugh at Jackie too.

“Did your uncle bring you two swords?” they often cried.

“Your uncle is not a hero. He hasn`t ant medals.” they said

In his heart Jackie was not happy. He asked Uncle Tom about medals and he answered that he didn`t have any medals.

Text 24

DANIEL DEFOE

Daniel Defoe was born in London in 1660. When he was a schoolboy, he began to write stories. After he finished school the young man began to write articles for newspapers. Defoe went to many other countries and met many people. That helped him to write about other people`s adventures.

In 1719 Daniel Defoe wrote the book “Robinson Crusoe”. He told the real story of a sailor who lived on an island for four years where there were no other people. But in Defoe`s book Robinson Crusoe lived on an island for twenty-eight years. He worked all the time and learned to make many things.

People all over the world liked the book very much. It is one of the worked English books in the world. People translated it into other languages. Later Defoe wrote the second and the third parts of this famous book but, unfortunately, they didn`t have success.

Text 25

ROBINSON CRUSOE

Robinson Crusoe lived in York. When he was a small boy he wanted to go to sea. But he could do it only when he was eighteen. He had a friend whose father was the captain of a ship. The captain took two boys on his ship when it went to London. That was Robinson`s first voyage. After that Robinson Crusoe made three or four voyages over the sea. Now he was a sailor and liked his work very much.

One day when he was at the sea a great storm began. The ship broke and people went into a small boat. The high waves of water picked their boat up and threw it on large stones. Robinson could swim well, so he stayed in the water for a long time. The waves carried him to the shore. Soon the wave was back in the sea and Robinson ran to the shore quickly. When he reached the shore, he sat there for a long time.

Text 26

TIM

One day, after a long holiday, Tim came back to the little house near the sea where he lived with his parents. When he came up to the door, he couldn`t open it. There was nobody in it. The boy didn`t understand anything.

Why did his parents go away? Where did they go to? He sat and cried for some minutes. He got up and went to look for his parents.

It was 4 o`clock in the afternoon. Tim had no money, so he stopped at a farm and asked the farmer to give him a bed for the night.

Next morning Tim told his story the farmer`s wife. She gave him bread and butter and two big apples, and put some money in his pocket. Tim`s plan was to find work on a small ship. He went to a port. There he saw a little old ship “Amelia Jane”.

Text 27

A STRANGE WOMAN

When the ship was at sea, Tim had much work to do. They stopped at many ports, at every port Tim left the ship and went into the town. There he asked different people about his parents. But nobody could tell him anything, and Tin was always sad when he went back to his ship. But the sailors were kind to Tim.

One day the “Amelia Jane” came to a small town. Tim went to look for his parents again. One woman caught him by the arm and took him to a very strange house. Tim didn`t want to go there he pushed the woman and ran away. When he came back to the port the “Amelia Jane” was out in the open sea. Tim thought that the old woman could find him. He decided to hide. He went on another ship and hid under a boat. Soon this ship went out to sea.

Text 28

THE NEW SHIP

The new ship wasn`t good. It was worse than “The Amelia Jane”. The captain was very angry when he found Jim on his ship. And the sailors weren`t kind.

He had only one friend on the ship, it was the ship`s cat. At night the cat slept with Tim and the boy talked to him.

One night there was a fire on the ship. The captain said to leave the ship. All the sailors ran to the boats but Tim didn`t want to leave his friend.

He found the cat and caught him and wanted to run with him to one of the boats when he saw the fire near him. Tim jumped into the sea with the cat in his arms and swam. When he was in the water, he put the cat on his back. The water was very cold but soon he saw a boat and they got into it.

Text 29

TIM`S MOTHER

All that day the boy and the cat were out in the open sea, but in the evening the waves carried the boat to the shore. They got out of the boat and walked. Soon they were in the streets of a small town.

They stopped at a small café. They were cold and hungry, but Tim had no money. Then Tim saw a woman at one of the tables. He looked and looked. Then he understood that it was his mother!!!In a moment Tim was in a café and in his mother`s arms. They were very happy!!!

Tim`s mother told him that when he was on holiday, they read in a newspaper about a tourist ship that went down the sea with all the people who were on it. His name was there too.

Tim told his mother about his adventures and showed her the ship`s cat. The next day Tim and his parents and the cat all went back to their little house near the sea.

Text 30

THE MUSICIAN

Sam Galloway is a musician. He travels across Texas and Oklahoma. He goes from place to place and plays music. He tells stories, too, and he talks people about their good days and their bad days. The ranchers and their families like listening to them, and Sam gets a bed and food and drink for his work.

Text 31

A STRANGE MAN

(Part I)

Steve and Linda Kane walked along the street. Steve looked up and said, “I don`t like the weather. It`s very dark now”. And it began to rain in five minutes.

The children decided to go to the house in front of them and ask if they could stay there. Steve and Linda ran to the door of a big grey house.

For a long time nobody answered. The children

wanted to run away but at that moment the door opened. A man stood in front of them and looked at them strangely.

“Yes?” he said. “What can I do for you?”

“Excuse us ”, said Steve.” May we stay in your house for some time?”

“Oh, yes, of course”, the man answered.

. The man walked into the living-room and the children went after him.

The room was very dark, and Steve and Linda saw the things only near them.

Text 32

A STRANGE MAN

(Part II)

The children sat down on the sofa. Linda asked a glass of water and the man went out of the room. “Linda”, said Steve, “I don`t like this place. It`s a very strange place, isn`t it?”

The man came back. He held a glass of water in his hand. “Here`s your drink”, he said but before she took it the glass fell on the floor.

“Did you see that?” asked Linda Steve but at that moment the man entered the room again. “Here you are”, he said and gave another glass of water. Linda drank the water. Then he gave her a duster and said “Dry the floor, please”. They looked at each other. She took the duster and dried up the water on the floor. When the man went back to the kitchen they decided to leave that house but suddenly they heard something strange behind the door. They stopped and listened. The door began to open slowly. It opened and a big dog came into the room.

Text 33

A STRANGE MAN

(Part III)

“My name is Peter Green”, said the man and sat down in the arm-chair. “And what are your names?”

“I`m Steve, and this is my sister Linda. We live not far from here.”

“And what do you like to do after your lessons?” asked Mr. Green.

“I like sports”, said Steve.

“And I like to read and take music lessons”, said Linda.

“Oh, I like to read too” Mr. Green said and took a book “This is my favourite book”, he said. And put his hand on the first page. But the children didn`t see anything on it.

“But there are no words there!” said Steve.

“Oh, I am sorry,” answered Mr. Green. “You don`t know. I can`t see, I`m blind. And this book is for people who are blind.”

The children looked at each other. Blind! They remembered the glass on the floor, the dark room and many other things. Now they understood everything.

Text 34

ABOUT THE COCK

Many, many years ago there lived three brothers in the sky- the Sun, the Moon and the Cock. The Sun and the Moon worked and the Cock looked after the house. The Cock was a very good singer and his brothers liked his songs. The Sun went to work in the morning and the Moon went to work in the evening.

One day when the Sun was at work the Moon asked the Cock to bring all their sheep home from the fields. But the Cock didn`t do it and the Moon got angry, he took his brother by the comb and threw him from the sky.

That`s why when the Sun comes out in the morning the Cock is happy and he sings his songs. But when the Moon comes the Cock runs home quickly and went to bed because he didn`t to meet his angry brother.

Text 35

HOW ANIMALS LEARNED TO DO SOMETHING

Many years ago when people and animals were great friends, a man called all the animals together. He got on a large stone and said in a loud voice:” My dear friends! Listen to me! I`m angry with you. You are very lazy, you don`t do anything.” And the man went home but the animals got sad.

Every animal thought about the man`s words and they began to learn to do something. The horse began to learn to run quickly because it wanted to carry people.

The dog started to bark, it wanted to help the man to watch his house. The cow began to give milk. The cock learned to sing wonderful songs in the morning. And the cock`s wife, the hen, began to lay eggs.

In some months the man met them again, and they showed him all they could do. The man was very glad.

Text 36

JUMBO, THE ELEPHANT

Ali was nine. Dark-coloured and thin, he was tall for a boy of nine. The boy had dark-brown eyes, black hair and snow-white teeth. Ali was poor but he had an unusual pet, a young elephant, his name was Jumbo. He was a very good elephant and Ali loved him very much. On one side of the elephant Ali wrote “I can carry things.” On the other side the boy wrote “I can carry people”. The two friends worked hard. They went from village to village and from town to town. One day after work Jumbo began to dance. It was very interesting. People stopped, they laughed and gave Ali money. Many people came to see it. And the boy bought five or six cakes after every dance.

But soon Jumbo understood that Ali took all money and began to ask Ali to put ribbons of different colours on his legs and a tie round his neck.

Text 37

WHY THE BATS FLY ONLY AT NIGHT

Bats look like birds and mice at the same time. They have wings and they can fly but they don`t lay eggs. Besides they have no feathers.

One cool autumn day a bat flew in the forest and cried. Suddenly he saw the eagle, the king of birds, and said that he was cold. The eagle thought a little and then told all birds to give the bat a feather . After that the bat looked wonderful. Each feather had a different colour and when the bat showed his wings everybody saw that they were really beautiful. The bat began to think himself better than other birds. He didn`t speak to them. The birds were very angry… They all told the eagle about it. The eagle told the birds to take back their feathers. The bat got angry with birds and he began to fly at night

Text 38

GREAT BRITAIN

Great Britain is an island in the north-western part of Europe. The official name of Great Britain is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are parts of Great Britain. Generally Great Britain consists of more than 5000 large and small islands.

The most important rivers are the Thames, the Trent, the Yorkshire Ouse and the Severn. The Severn is the longest river in Great Britain. Ben Nevis is the highest, mountain of Britain it is in Scotland.

Britain is a wet and foggy country. But it is not very cold in winter or very hot in summer. October is usually the wettest month, July is the hottest and January is the coldest one. But the weather changes very quickly there. Sometimes people have weather from all seasons in one day. That`s why they often say “Other countries have a climate, in Britain we have weather.

Text 39

WALES

When you go to Wales you can`t understand what people say. The fact is that they don`t speak English, they speak Welsh. Many people speak Welsh, and children learn it at school.

Cardiff is the capital of Wales. But what can tourists see when they are in the center of Wales? Mountains, forests, lakes and a lot of farms. Welsh farmers keep sheep on the mountains.

People who like old trains often go to this part of Britain. Why do they do it? They do it because there are five very old railways there. And you can`t see these old railways anywhere else.

The highest mountain of Wales is Snowdon. People from Britain and other countries come to Wales and climb it.

People who live in Wales are famous for their songs, many of them play musical instruments too. Many young girls wear national costumes for different dancing and music festivals every year.

Text 40

GLASGOW

Glasgow is the third largest city in Great Britain. It is on the river Clyde in Scotland. Glasgow is a very old city. It is one of the oldest cities in the world. . The famous English writer Daniel Defoe said that Glasgow was the cleanest and the most beautiful city in Great Britain. The University of Glasgow began its work in 1450.James Watt studied at Glasgow University. He was a famous engineer and made a steam engine.

Glasgow University is the centre of culture in the city. People from different parts of the world visit the old university. They see the examination halls, the Library and the Museum with its old books and pictures.

The centre of the city is George Square. In the middle of it there is a monument to Walter Scott – a great English writer. There are a lot of beautiful parks and squres in the capital of Scotland.

Text 41

THREE GOLD DOLLS

One day an old man sent the king three dolls. There were different sums of money in each doll. The he asked the king where the biggest sum of money was. The king didn`t answer.

But the cleverest men in the country helped the king. The young man came, looked at the dolls and saw that each doll had a small hole in its ear. He took a straw¹ and pushed it into the doll`s ears. When he did it the end of the straw showed out of their mouth or ears.

“Oh, my king” the man said “These dolls are like people. The first doll is like a man who tells other people everything that you tell him. The second doll is like a man who forgets that you tell him. And the third doll is like a man who remembers everything but doesn`t tell other people.” The king was very happy and gave the man much money.

Text 42

ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES

(Part I)

English is the language of the people of England. England is in the south of the island of Great Britain. There are other three parts of Great Britain: Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

More than a thousand years ago the people who lived in these four countries were different, and they spoke different languages.

England is the largest of Great Britain is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. English is the official language in all parts of the country.

In the United States of America English is called the national language. Four hundred years ago some English people sailed to North America to live there and they brought the English language to this country. Then people from many other countries came to America. And they all learned English, but they made it a little different from British English. In the USA now people speak American English.

Text 43

ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES

(Part II)

Canada is to the north of the United States of America. It`s a large country, it`s larger than the United States of America. People who came from England speak English, people who came from France speak French. Canada has two official languages-English and French.

Australia is the smallest continent and the largest island. Sometimes people call it the fifth continent. Australia is also an English-speaking country. It`s in the southern part of the planet and it has an unusual climate. The hottest summer month is January and the coldest winter month is June.

New Zealand is not far from Australia, but it is very far from Britain. When it`s the middle of the night in Britain, it is the middle of the next day in New Zealand. It has an unusual climate too. It`s summer from December to February, from March to May it`s autumn, from June to August it is winter, and from September to November it`s spring.

Text 44

THE LONDON ZOO

London has a very old zoo and many British children visit it every day with their parents. The Zoo is in a large park which is not far from the centre of London. Many old trees grow in the park, and in spring, summer and autumn there are many beautiful flowers in the London zoo too.

The zoo is open every day from 9 o`clock in the morning to 7 o`clock in the evening. People who want to go there can go by bus. A lot of buses go to the different sides of the park. Many foreign tourists try to visit the London zoo.

Many kinds of animals from all parts of the world live there: elephants, giraffes, sea-lions and polar bears, brown bears and foxes, and big and little monkeys There are many different kinds of birds there too. Some of them have very beautiful bright colours.

Text 45

A GOOD TIME TO VISIT ANIMALS

A good time to visit the animals is when they take their food. Then you can see how the sea-lions catch their fish.

The man who looks after the animals sometimes throws a fish into the water, then the sea-lions jump into the water and get the fish there. It is also interesting to watch how the big birds eat their meat, and how the monkeys eat fruit.

In the large monkey house you can see different kinds of monkeys. They jump, run and play with each other. There are camels in the park. Children like to sit on a camel`s back. Then it walks in the square and they sit high up on its back. They also like to watch the elephant when he washes himself in the morning. He puts water on its back and men with long brushes make him very clean.

Text 46

Fatty

Many years ago the London Zoo had a small young elephant from Africa. His name was Fatty. A man looked after him. His name was Scott. The elephant grew very quickly. Children liked to sit on the little benches which he carried on his back. The people of London knew Fatty and liked him.

One day a rich American wanted to buy Fatty and take him to America to show Fatty in the circus. He paid the London Zoo two thousand dollars for Fatty. When the people of London heard about it, they wrote letters and articles to newspapers. But nothing helped.

When the elephant came out of the Zoo, he lay down in the street and didn`t want to get up. Scott told him to get up many times. But Fatty and Scott went to America on a ship. In America Fatty became a circus elephant. The Americans also liked Fatty.

Библиография

Бонк Н.А., Памухина Л.Г., Лукьянова Н.А. Учебник английского языка. В 2-х ч. Часть 2 – Переиздание. – М.: ГИС, 2001. 511 [1]c.

Васильева И.Б. Книга для чтения к учебнику английского языка для 6 класса средней школы. Сост. И.Б. Васильева. Изд. 2-е. М., Просвещение, 1976

Вейзе А.А. Книга для чтения к учебнику английского языка для 7 класса средней школы. М.: Просвещение, 1978. 128с. с ил.

Закс С.Б. Сказки и легенды Африки. Книга для чтения на английском языке в 6 классе средней школы. М.: Просвещение, 1987.

Клементьева Т.Б. Современная хрестоматия: Англйиский язык: для шк. 5 кл. – М.:Олимп, ООО «Фирма Издательство АСТ», 1999. -160с. – (Читаем с удовольствием).

Книга для чтения к учебнику «Английский язык за два года»: в 2ч. Ч.2/Сост. Г.В. Рогова, Ф.М. Рожкова. – 6-е изд., дораб. – М.: Просвещение, 1993. – 96с. с ил.

Колодяжная Л.Н. Познакомьтесь: Великобритания. – М.: Рольф, Айрис-пресс, 1999.-160с., с илл. – (Английский клуб). – (Школьная мозаика).

Адрес публикации: https://www.prodlenka.org/metodicheskie-razrabotki/342531-sbornik-tekstov-dlja-chtenija-na-anglijskom-j