Text 1. Family life

Some families are very child-centred (= put the children’s interests first). The closest families eat meals at the same time (1)____________. Some families, however, only see each other for a short time in the evening, and though the children are still considered important, they have to fit in with the lives oа their parents.

The average day for many families begins with getting the children up and ready for school. There is usually a rush for everyone to use the bathroom, (2)___________, eat breakfast, and catch the bus. In the meantime the parents have to get ready for work themselves. Early mornings are a scramble for many families.

The school day usually ends about 3 p.m. in the US and 4 p.m. in Britain, and the working day at 5 p.m. or later, so many parents have to make arrangements for younger children to be cared for after school. They may go to an after-school club (AmE after-school center) (3)____________. Other children often do activities like sports or music at their school, or go home and do their homework. Children often also have to do chores (= small jobs around the house).

In many families, the children eat when they get home (4)__________. In the evening the children play or go and see friends. If everyone is staying in they may watch television together. Many parents make an effort to spend quality time with their children, an hour or so each day when they give them their full attention.

At the weekend families may go to sports games together, go shopping (5)___________. In school holidays/vacations they may visit other family members or go to the beach.

1. Вставьте в пропуски (1-5) буквы (a-e), соответствующие данным ниже фразам:

a) and their parents eat later;

b) find clean clothes;

c) or go on trips to museums, parks, etc;

d) and spend their free time together;

e) or stay with a neighbor’s children.

2. Отметьте данные ниже предложения как истинные (t) или ложные (f):

1. Some families see each other only in the morning. ¨

2. The day usually begins with the family breakfast. ¨

3. The school day ends at 3 p.m. in Britain and 4 p.m. in the USA. ¨

4. Older children often go home after school. ¨

5. Parents and children may watch TV together. ¨

6. American parents respect their children’s opinions. ¨

Text 2. London famous buildings

1. Westminster Abbey is a fine Gothic building, which stands opposite the Houses of Parliament. The oldest part of the building dates from the eighth century.

2. If you go past the magnificent tombstones of kings and queens, past the gold-and-silver banners of the Order of the Gar­ter, which are hanging from the ceiling, you will come to Poets' Corner. There many of the greatest writers are buried: Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy and Rudyard Kipling. Here too, are memorials to Wil­liam Shakespeare and John Milton, Burns and Byron, Walter Scott, the great American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

3. Here in the Abbey there is also the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, a symbol of the nation's grief. The inscription on the tomb reads: “Beneath this stone rests the body of a British Warrior unknown by name or rank brought from France to lie among the most illustrious of the land”.

4. The Tower on the north bank of the Thames is one of the most ancient buildings of London. For many centuries the Tower has been a fortress, a palace, a prison and royal treasury. It is now a museum of arms and armour, and as one of the strongest fortresses in Britain, it has the Crown Jewels.

5. The ravens whose forefathers used to find food in the Tower still live here as part of its history. There is a legend that if the ravens disappear the Tower will fall. That is why the birds are carefully guarded.

6. The Tower is guarded by the Yeomen Warders, popularly called Beefeater. There are two letters, E.R., on the front of their tunics. They stand for the Queens name Elizabeth Regina. The uniform is as it used to be in Tudor times.

7. Every night at 10 p.m. at the Tower of London the Ceremony of the Keys or locking up of the Tower for the night takes place.

Подберите абзацы, содержащие ответы на следующие вопросы:

1. What is written on the tomb? ¨

2. Who is the Tower guarded by and what legend is there? ¨

3. What is Poets Corner and where is it? ¨

4. What is the Tower and what was it for many centuries? ¨

5. When does the Ceremony of the Keys take place? ¨

6. What is Westminster Abbey and how old is it? ¨