My working day. On week-days the alarm-clock wakes me up and my working day begins

On week-days the alarm-clock wakes me up and my working day begins. It is six o’clock. If it is spring or summer I jump out of bed, run to the window and open it wide to let the fresh morning air in. In winter I am not so quick to leave my bed, and I bury my head under the pillows pretending not to hear the alarm-clock. But all the same, it is time to get up and I start getting ready for my work.

I make my bed and go to the bathroom where I brush my teeth and have a shower. While I am having breakfast, I turn on my tape-recorder and listen to pop-music. Breakfast, as my parents say, must be the most substantial meal of the day. But usually neither my mother nor me have any time to cook it, so I just have a cup of tea or coffee and some sandwiches. I leave my house at ten minutes past 7, and, as I live quite near the bus stop, I am there in five minutes. It takes me about twenty minutes to get to the University. Our classes start at a quarter to eight. We usually have 3 or even 4 classes a day. They last six or eight hours. It is not easy to study at the University.

My working day is not over even when the classes come to an end, because I have a lot of work to do at home. It usually takes me about three hours to get ready for the next working day. But when at last my working day is over I feel both tired and satisfied.

Sometimes in the evening my friends come to my place and we talk or play; sometimes we go for a walk, but not very often. I go to bed at about eleven o’clock.

I. Fill in the blanks with the following words and word combinations: to start, to feel tired, to get, to do, to make, to get up, substantial, to brush, as a rule, a shower, to go for a walk.

1. I usually…at 7 o’clock. 2. Before going to bed I usually…. 3. Our classes…at 8. 4. In the morning I…my teeth and have…. 5. …I take a cup of tea and some sandwiches for breakfast. 6. I…both…and satisfied. 7. It takes me 15 minutes…to the University. 8. I have a lot of work…at home. 9. In the morning you must…your bed. 10. Breakfast must be the most…meal of the day.

II. Answer the questions. Use the model.

Model: Who knows English well in your group?

Nick does (I do).

1. Who wakes you up? 2. Who makes your bed? 3. Who does the flat in your family? 4. Who cleans the floor in your flat? 5. Who cooks dinner for you? 6. Who does shopping in your family?

III. Disagree with the following.

Model: You live in England. ¾ Oh no, I don’t. I live in Russia.

1. On week days you get up at 12. 2. You have breakfast at 11. 3. You usually have dinner in the canteen. 4. It takes you 5 minutes to get to the University. 5. Your mother has a bath in the morning. 6. You often miss classes. 7. You go to bed at 9. 8. Your mother has little work to do at home.

IV. Replace the underlined words with the following:

to be fond of, to prepare, to switch on, to go on foot, to brush, morning exercises.

1. I get up and turn on the radio. 2. In the morning I do my gymnastics. 3. As I live near the University I walk there. 4. He likes music and often goes to the opera. 5. I clean my teeth with a tooth-brush and tooth paste. 6. He usually does hishomework at home.

V. Complete the sentences:

1. I wash and clean my teeth…. 2. As I live far from the University…. 3. During the break we may have…. 4. It takes me 20 minutes…. 5. When I need some books…. 6. In the evening when I have time…. 7. Our classes last…. 8. As a rule my brother takes a cup of tea and some…. 9. I was tired but….

VI. a) Make up as many sentences as you can. Use the table.

b) Make up questions. Let your fellow-students answer them.

VII. Make up sentences.

VIII. Translate from Russian into English. Use the following word combinations:

1. Моя сестра любит популярную музыку. 2. Наши занятия заканчиваются в 15: 30. 3. Преподаватель был доволен моей работой. 4. Я буду готов через 5 минут. 5. Он уверен, что закончит эту работу. 6. Я очень устал вчера. 7. Мы можем выполнить это упражнение.

1. Я люблю ходить пешком. 2. Через 2 часа мы пойдём домой. 3. Я обычно ложусь спать в 11. 4. Вечером мы не пойдём гулять. 5. Он иногда ездит трамваем. 6. Его брат ездит в университет на автобусе.

IX. Fill in the blanks with prepositions.

1. My elder brother usually gets up…7.15.

2. K. E. Tsiolkovsky was born…September, 5th.

3. As a rule he goes to the Institute…foot.

4. My sister is fond…reading, she always reads before going…bed.

5. It will take us 3 hours to go…Moscow…train.

6. On week-days the alarm-clock wakes me….

7. Turn…the tape-recorder. I’m not going to listen…pop-music.

8. It takes me about 3 hours to get ready…the next working day.

X. Ask your friend if…

…he/she gets up at 8;

…his/her father gets up at 8;

…his/her sister feels sleepy in the morning;

…he/she cleans teeth at night;

…the alarm-clock wakes his/her parents up;

…he/she switches on the electric light in the morning;

…he/she washes his/her face with cold water;

…he/she airs the room when he/she gets up;

…he/she does his/her morning exercises;

…he/she makes his/her bed before or after his/her morning exercises;

…he/she has breakfast before or after he/she gets dressed;

…he/she has dinner at home.

XI. Answer the following questions:

1. When do you usually get up? 2. Who (what) wakes you up? 3. Do you do your morning exercises? 4. Where do you wash, brush your teeth and have a shower? 5. Do you feel sleepy in the morning or at night? 6. What are you by nature, a lark or an owl? Do you like to keep late hours? 7. Do you wash your face and neck with cold or hot water? 8. What do you put on in the morning: a dressing gown or your pyjamas? 9. What do you usually have for breakfast? 10. What time do you usually leave home? 11. How long does it take you to get to the University? 12. How do you get there: by bus, by tram or on foot? 13. When and where do you have dinner? 14. How many lessons do you have a day? When is the last lesson over? 15. You often go to the library, don’t you? 16. What do you do in the evening? 17. Do you have supper alone? 18. When do you go to bed?

XII. Speak about

1. Your mother’s morning;

2. Your father’s (mother’s) working day;

3. Your plans for the next week-end;

4. Your last evening.

D i a l o g u e s

a) Read the dialogues in pairs:

I

A. Hi! How are you?

B. Fine. Thank you. How are things with you?

A. Not bad. I was thinking of going to the cinema this evening. Would

you like to come?

B. That’d be lovely! But I am busy tonight. Perhaps some other time.

A. What about tomorrow? I’ll try to buy tickets and give you a ring.

B. That’s a good idea.

A. Settled then. Bye-bye.

B. Bye.

II

A. You look so tired. You don’t feel well, do you?

B. It’s not that. I am really tired. I need a rest.

A. Take a holiday.

B. I can’t do it now. We’ve got a lot of work to do.

III

A. Excuse my curiosity, what do you usually do at your office?

B. As soon as I come to my office I have to answer telephone calls, sign documents, participate in the talks, send letters and telegrams and do many other things.

A. When do you start work in your office?

B. We start at 9.00 a.m. We have two 15-minute coffee breaks.

A. I see. I suppose, you’ve got a break for lunch.

B. Sure. At 1 p.m. we’ve got a break for lunch which lasts for an hour.

b) Learn the dialogues by heart.

c) Helen and Peter are friends. They often spend their free time together. Now they are discussing their plans for the next week. Make up a dialogue. Mind Helen’s diary for next week.

J U S T F O R FUN

Guess the crossword. Write numbers 0-12.

1. Read the jokes. Learn the funniest of them by heart.

Prof.: “Wake up that fellow next to you.”

Stud.: “You do it, prof, you put him to sleep.”

Prof.: “You can’t sleep in my class.”

Stud.: “If you didn’t talk so loud I could.”

Prof.: “A fool can ask more questions than a wise man can answer.”

Stud.: “No wonder so many of us flunk in our exams! ”

2. Read and translate.

The more we study, the more we know.

The more we know, the more we forget.

The more we forget, the less we know.

The less we know, the less we forget.

The less we forget, the more we know.

So why study?