Сomprehension check

I. Are the following statements true (T) false (F), or you don’t know (D)?

*The Popper family likes penguins very much.

*Mrs.Popper adores reading books about Antarctic Adventures.

*Mr.Popper likes movies about the Drake Expedition at the Bijou.

*Poppers family is very nice. Mr.and Mrs. Popper are very good parents.

*Mr. Popper has no work now, so there is a lot of time for him to read.

II. What do you think about having a penguin like a pet.

Meet Samanta
by Susan S. Adler

Look at the clothes, rooms, and food on this page and peek into the stylish, " proper" world Samantha grew up in. People like Grandmary lived in large, comfortable houses. They ate their meals in elegant dining rooms. They visited with their guests in fancy parlors, where children were often not allowed at all. When children did join the adults in the parlor, proper behavior was expected. Children like Samantha would curtsy and say " how do you do." They would speak only when an adult spoke to them first.

In 1904, proper young ladies like Samantha wore dresses covered with frilly aprons, high button shoes, and long stockings held up with garters, even when they were playing. They couldn't climb trees in a pair of jeans, like you do. In fact, it really wasn't very proper for young ladies like Samantha to climb trees at all!

Imagine sitting down to this table for dinner. You would eat soup, fish, two kinds of meat, potatoes, vegetables, and several desserts. Your meal might last for three hours. It would have taken nearly all day to prepare.

The elegance and comforts of " proper" life in 1904 were

possible because there were many servants to do the work. A cook like Mrs. Hawkins spent nearly all day making meals for a family. She had to make just about every dish from scratch, since there were no refrigerators or freezers and there was very little prepared food like Jello or canned soup.

A maid like Elsa scrubbed the floors and cleaned the sooty gas lamps that lighted a proper home. A man servant like Hawkins tended the vegetable garden in summer and the furnace in winter. He also took care of the horse and fancy carriage that people like Grandmary used instead of a car.

The lives of the servants were not very comfort­able or elegant. Servants worked long days for little money. Their work was hard because they did not have many of the modern conveniences we have to­day. Kitchens were usually very hot because stoves had to be kept full of glowing coals even on the hot­test summer days. Without vacuum cleaners, maids had to hang heavy carpets on clotheslines and pound them with rug beaters. Servants who did the laundry didn't have washing ma­chines or dryers. They had to iron the fancy tablecloths, frilly petticoats, and stiff linen sheets with irons they heated on hot stoves.

Servants were expected to do this work without complaint and to keep their " proper" place—separate from the family they worked for. They ate in the kitchen after the family's meal in the dining room was over. They often lived in small rooms in the attic or above the carriage house. They were not supposed to play with the children or visit with the parents.

Even though a servant's life was a hard one, there were plenty of people willing to do these jobs. In 1904, many of the people living in American cities were poor. They would do any kind of work just to help their families survive. If they weren't servants, they often worked in factories for long hours and little pay. Children like Nellie went to work to help their families earn money.

Young ladies like Samantha did not work. Drying dishes or making a bed was not considered a proper thing for them to do. In fact, Grandmary would not have expected Samantha to ever work, even as an adult.

But modern women like Cornelia had different ideas. They believed that women should do much more than run elegant, comfortable households. In 1904, many young women went to college or stud­ied to become teachers and nurses. They learned to use new office machines like the typewriter. They wanted to help the people who lived in city slums. They wanted to be sure that poor children went to school instead of working. They wanted women to be able to vote.

While the rules about what was proper were changing, America was changing in other ways, too. Cities were getting bigger and buildings were getting taller. Automobiles were taking the place of horses.

Light bulbs were being used instead of gas lamps. Electric irons, vacuum cleaners, and stoves were beginning to make a ser­vant's work easier. To grow up in such a chang­ing world was often con­fusing, but it was always exciting.

Glossary:

petticoat – нижня спідниця;

stiff – жорсткий;

slums - xaщі, нетри.

1. Read the text

2Answer the questions:

1.What kind of behavior was expected when the children joined the adults?

2What kind of dresses did proper you g ladies like Samanta wear in 1904?

3How long their meal might last?

4Why were the elegance and comfort of “proper” life possible?

5Were there refrigerators or freezers at that time?

6Was the life of servants comfortable or elegant?

7Why did plenty of people want to do the job of sertvants?

8Did young ladies like Samanta work?

9What did modern women like Cornelia want to change?

3. Complete the sentences:

· They eat meals in...

· Girls couldn’t... in a pair of jeans.

· Your meal would have taken nearly... to prepare.

· The lives of servants were not...

· In 1904, many of the people, living in America were...

· Many young ladies went to... to become teachers or nurses.

3. Say,, True” or,, False”:

· People like Grandmary lived in poor houses.

· The meal has taken nearly all day to prepare.

· A cook spent nearly all day making meals for family.

· The lives of \ servants were not elegant.

· Young ladies, like Samantha, worked all day long.

Jurassic Park
by Michael Crichton

Dr. Grant- scientist, Elli- his assistant was flying the helicopter over the island to check security in Jurassic Park. Mr. Hammond- director of that park accompanied them.

A narrow path wound down the hill. The air was chilly and damp. as they moved lower, the mist around them thinned, and Grant could see the landscape better. It looked, he thought, rather like Pacific Northwest, the Olympic Peninsula.

‘That’s right, ” Regis said. ”Primary ecology is deciduous rainforest. Rather different from the vegetation on the mainland, this is more classical rainforest. But this is a microclimate that only occurs at elevation, on the slopes of the northern hills. The majority of the island is tropical.”

Down below, they could see the white roofs of large buildings, nestled among the plantings. Grant was surprised: the construction was elaborate. They moved lower, out of the mist, and now he could see the full extent of the island, stretching to the south. As Regis had said, it was mostly covered in tropical forest.

To the south, rising above Grant saw a single trunk with no leaves at all, just a big curving stump. Then the stump moved and twisted around to face the new arrivals. Grant realized that he was not seeing a tree at all.

He was looking at the graceful, curving neck of an enormous creature, rising fifty feet into the air. He was looking at a dinosaur.

“My God, ” Ellie said softly. They were all staring at the animal above trees. “My God.”

Her first thought was that the dinosaur was extraordinary beautiful. Books portrayed them as oversize, dumpy creatures, but this long-necked animal had a gracefulness, almost a dignity, about its movements. And it was quick- there was nothing lumbering or dull in its behavior. The sauropod peered alertly at them, and made a long trumpeting sound, rather like elephant. A moment later, a second head rose above the foliage, and then the third, and the fourth.

“My God. “ Ellie said again.

Genarro was speechless. He had known all along what to expect- he had known about it for years- but he had somehow never believed it would happened, and now, he was shocked into silence. The awesome power of the new genetic technology, which he had formerly considered to be just so many words in an overwrought sales pitch- the power suddenly, became clear to him. These animals were so big! They were enormous! Big as a house! And so many of them! Actual dammed dinosaurs! Just as real as you could want.

Gennaro thought: “We are going to make a fortune on this place. A fortune“

He hoped to God the isle was safe.

Grant stood on the path on the side of a hill, with the mist on his face, staring at the gray necks caring above the palms. He felt elaborate. dizzy, as if ground were sloping away too steeply. He had trouble getting his breath. Because he was looking at something he had never expected to see in his life. Yet was seeing it.

The animals were perfect Apatosaurus, medium-size sauropods. Traditionally Apatosaurus was thought to spend most of its time in shallow water, which would help to support its large bulk. Although this animal was clearly not in water, it was moving much too quickly, the head and neck shifting above the palms in a very active manner- a surprisingly active manner.

Grant began to laugh.

“What is it Hammond? ” said, worried. “Is something wrong? ”

Grant just shook his head, and continued to laugh. He couldn’t tell them all that was funny was he had seen the animal for only a few seconds, but he had already begun to accept it- and to use his observations to answer long-standing questions in the filed.

From the distance they heard the trumpeting sound. First one animal made it then the others joined in.

“That’s their call, ” Ed Regis said. ”WELCOMING US TO ISLAND.”

Glossary:

еxtent – протяжність;

wound – поранення;

elaborate - детально розроблений;

dizzy - незграбний, запаморочений;

consider – міркувати.

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