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Базовый курс английского языка - Эккерсли К.Э.

Эккерсли К.Э. Базовый курс английского языка — М.: Лист Нью, 2002. — 704 c.
ISBN 5-7871-0174-X
Скачать (прямая ссылка): bazoviykursangliyskogo2003.djvu
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Дрок 6
Mrs. Priestley Tells a Story and Mr. Priestley Puts Up a Hen-house
[Do you remember Andrew Macaulay, Mr. Priestley's nephew? We
met him in Book II (Lesson 10). He is staying again at the Priestleys'for
a short holiday, so we 'II look into the sitting-room and listen to their talk.
Andrew is about eleven years old.]
ANDREW: I wish 1 had a million pounds.
MARGARET PRIESTLEY: Why, Andrew?
ANDREW: I'd buy a motor-boat, a big car like Lucille's, and I'd go all over the world. I'd be the happiest boy alive.
MARGARET: I don't think you would.
ANDREW: Of course I should. With all that money I could have everything 1 wanted. Don't you think so, Uncle Charles?
MR. PRIESTLEY: I don't know, Andrew; I've never had a million pounds, and I'm not sure that I should recognize a happy man if I saw one.
ANDREW: Aunt Mary, you agree with me, don't you?
MRS. PRIESTLEY: Well, I don't know, but that last remark of your Uncle Charles reminds me of an old story... but you've probably heard it.
ANDREW and MARGARET: Oh no, I'm sure 1 haven't. Please tell us a story.
MRS. PRIESTLEY: Well, I'll tell you the story-but after that it's bedtime for both of you.
Once upon a time (all old stories begin like that), and in a country a long way off, there was a king who was very ill. All the doctors of the court attended him but, in spite of all they could do, he got worse instead of better. At last in despair they called in a famous doctor from another country. He came, looked at the king, and then, looking very grave, said, "Your Majesty, there is only one thing that can cure you."
¦324
"What is that?" said the king. "Whatever you want shall be brought for you."
"You must sleep for one night," said the doctor, "in the shirt of a happy man!"
So the king sent two of his chief servants to find a happy man and, when they had found him, to bring back his shirt. Well, they went first to the richest man in the city, and asked him if he was a happy man.
"Happy!" he said, "when I never know whether my ships are going to be wrecked next day, when thieves are always trying to break into my house. How can a man be happy with all these worries?"
So they went to the king's Chief Minister, the most powerful man in the country, except for the king.
"Are you a happy man?" they said.
"Don't be silly," he said. "There's Ruritania threatening to make war on us any day. There's that villain Popoff trying to push me out of power, the workers are always wanting to have more money, and the wealthy wanting to pay less taxes. How do you think a Chief Minister can be a happy man?"
So they went all over the country looking high and low for a happy man but never finding one.
They were returning home, tired and miserable (for they quite expected that the king would have them put to death for not finding what he wanted), when they saw a beggar, sitting by the roadside. He had made a little fire, and was frying some sausages in a frying-pan, and singing merrily as he watched his supper cooking.
They looked at each other. Had they found what they were looking for? They went up to him and one of them said, "You sound very happy, my friend."
"Of course, I'm happy," he said.
They could hardly believe their ears. With one voice they said, "We want your shirt."
The beggar roared with laughter.
"I'm sorry, gentlemen," he said, "but I haven't got a shirt." MARGARET: Oh, Mummy, what a nice story. You are nearly as good as Hob at telling stories.
MRS. PRIESTLEY: Thank you, dear. And now come on, bedtime!
MR. PRIESTLEY: Yes, get to bed early, I've a big job for you and me in the morning.
ANDREW: Oh, Uncle Charles, what is it?
MR. PRIESTLEY: You'll hear tomorrow morning. Good night.
* * *
The Next Morning ANDREW and MR. PRIESTLEY ANDREW: What's the job, Uncle Charles, that you want me to help you with?
MR. PRIESTLEY: Well, we are getting ten new hens and I want a house for them. I've bought a hen-house, it arrived yesterday afternoon, but it's in parts and needs to be put together. ANDREW: That's just the sort of job I like.
MR. PRIESTLEY: Come on then to the back-garden.
* * *
(Between you and me, I don't feel too hopeful about the success of this job. Mr. Priestley is all right at teaching English, but, I shouldn't call him a good "practical" man. And as for Andrew, well, he has all the confidence of a boy of eleven. We'll leave it at that and go to the back-garden and watch them.)
* * *
The Back-garden
MR. PRIESTLEY: Right. Now let's get to work. Here are the parts. These two long ones will be the sides, I think. That one will be the back and that one the front.
ANDREW Oh yes, and the other piece will be the roof. It's easy. We'll soon have it up.
MR. PRIESTLEY: Well, it may not be so easy as it looks, but we'll try what we can do.
ANDREW: Have you all the tools: hammer, nails, saw, screws, screwdriver?
, MR. PRIESTLEY: Here are nails and a hammer. We shan't need a saw; the wood is sawn into the right sizes already. And I don't think we'll need screws or screwdriver.
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