I. Reading

Exercise 1. Look at the photographs below. Which one is a real royal palace? What do you know about it?

Exercise 2. Match the two articles below with the photographs in 1. Complete the texts with Beckingham or Buckingham.

________ Palace was build in 1703. It is situated in the centre of London. Queen Elizabeth II lives and works there most of the time. She invites more than 50, 000 guests to the palace every year. In August and September the Queen stays in Scotland, and part of the palace is open to the public.

“ _______ Palace” was build in 1930 and belongs to the Beckham family. Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice) was a member of a pop group called the Spice Girls. She is; married to England football player, David Beckham. They have two children. At their wedding reception in Ireland they sat on red and gold thrones. After that, the press named their house “_______ Palace.”

Exercise 3. Read the articles again. Are the following statements true or false?

a) Buckingham Palace is in Scotland.

b) Queen Elizabeth II lives in Buckingham Palace all year,

c) Tourists can only visit Buckingham Palace in August and September.

d) David and Victoria Beckham got married in Ireland.

e) They named their house 'Beckingham Palace'.

Exercise 4. Work with.a partner. Read the following information. Which sentences do you think describe Beckingham Palace and which ones describe Buckingham Palace? I

There's a recording studio.

b) There's a bathroom dedicated to the actress, Audrey Hepburn.

c) There are 609 rooms.

d) There's a children's playroom.

e) There are paintings by Rembrandt Rubens and Vermeer.

f) There's an indoor swimming pool.

g) There's a ballroom.

h) There's a throne room.

Exercise 5. What things in Beckingham or Buckingham Palace would you like in your house?

Exercise 6.

How can you explain the word “Flat? ”

What kind places of leaving for people do you know?

Say the words relating to the theme " flat"

Give the synonyms of the word “flat”

Read and translate the text:

We have a nice flat in a new block of flats. Our flat is on the fifth floor of a nine-storied building. It has all modem conveniences: central heating, running hot and cold water, electricity, gas, a lift and a chute to carry rubbish down. We have a three-room flat which consists of a living-room, a bedroom, a study (which is also my room), a kitchen, a bath-room and a toilet. There are also two closets in our flat. Our flat has two balconies. The living-room is the largest and most comfortable one in the flat. In the middle of the room we have a square dinner-table with six chairs round it. To the left of the dinner-table there is a wall-unit which has several sections: a sideboard, a wardrobe and some shelves. At the opposite wall there is a piano and a piano stool before it. To the right there is a little table with colour TV set on it. Opposite the TV set there are two cozy armchairs. A divan-bed and a standard lamp are in the left-hand corner. In front of the armchairs there is a small round table for newspapers and magazines. There is a thick carpet on the floor. Two water-colours hung on the wall above the divan-bed. In the evening we usually draw the curtains across the windows, and a red lampshade gives a warm colour to the room. The bedroom is smaller than the living-room and not so light as there is only one window in it. In this room there are two beds, two dressing-tables and a wardrobe. In the corner of the bedroom there is a small colors TV set. On the dressing table there is an alarm-clock and small lamp with green lamp-shade. Our study is the smallest room in the flat, but in spice of it, it is very cozy. There isn't much furniture in it, but there are a lot of shelves full of books. It has a writing table, an armchair and a bookcase too. A small round table with cassette-recorder is standing in the right-hand corner of the study. Besides there is a small sofa near the wall opposite the bookcase. This room was my father's study, but as I grew older, it has become my room. And in my opinion it is the best room in our flat. My friends used to come to my place to have a chat or to play chess in the evening, and they say my room is very comfortable. I share their opinion.