Rachel's Letter to Her Friend Kate About Her Life in US

8 Hampshire Court

Newport Beach

California 92660

USA

June 12, 2001

Dear Kate,

I have just received your letter. I have wanted to write to you for so long and I hope you are not angry and forgive me.

Please thank your brother for taking the time to send me a letter. Andrew's letter was so interesting. I liked the way he talked to us at the kitchen table after dinner that night. I try not to forget anything about my trip to Moscow and my stay with your family. In all honesty, that was one of the best parts of the jour­ney.

At present, I am doing two jobs. I work at a chocolate shop three days a week selling chocolate. The other days I work at my uncle's office doing some research work for a paper he wants to publish. Both jobs pay me $6.50 or $7.00 per hour. The minimum that anyone in this country can be paid for hour is $4.25. So, I guess I do pretty well for some­one of my age.

You seem to be very preoccupied with your stud­ies. All your courses sound very serious. I am so happy that you are taking the US Geography course and are interested in world events.

By the way, your English is excellent. I think you actually improve it every time I get a letter from you. I want to learn Russian so much, Kate. Prob­ably I should go to some course of Russian in Moscow. Wouldn't that be great?

Give your parents and Andrew my warmest regards. Write soon.

Love,

Rachel

Mrs A. Goring's Letter to Mrs С. Barton

17 Hans Gardens,

London,

S.W.I,

February 6, 2001

Dear Mrs Barton,

Some friends of mine, Mr and Mrs Sedov, have taken a country house, at Compton Parva, which is, I believe, quite near you. They are moving in next Tues­day, and being social people are anxious to make ac­quaintances and friends with their neighbours. It would be a great kindness if you would call on them soon, as they do not know anyone in your part of the country.

Mr Kirill Sedov is a diplomat attached to the Russian Embassy in London. He is considered a leading authority on British-Russian relations.

Both of them know English very well and Mrs Sedov plays the piano.

They have two delightful children, a boy and a girl, not much older than your attractive daughter.

I hope if you are so kind as to look them up you will share my own high opinion of the family.

It seems a very long time since I saw you; I hope you and your husband are keeping well. Are you likely to be coming to London soon? If so, do let me know and we will meet.

Very sincerely yours,

Amelia Goring

Favourable Reply of Mrs C. Barton to Mrs A. Goring's Letter

Oaktree Farm,

Compton Abbas,

Dorset

February 8, 2001

My dear Mrs Goring,

Of course I shall be delighted to welcome any of your friends to this district. All those I have met are charming people and I am sure from what you write the Sedovs will prove acquisition to the neighbour­hood. I shall not long delay in making Mrs Sedov's acquaintance.

I should like to see you yourself again, but besides being busy here, there is nothing to call me to London, and the country is so lovely just now.

Yours cordially,

Clara Barton

ФРАЗЫ ДЛЯ НЕОФИЦИАЛЬНОГО ПИСЬМА НА АНГЛИЙСКОМ ЯЗЫКЕ

In your letter you ask me about …

You ask me to tell you a few things about …

Well, …

As for the …

It is great that …

 

How long …?

What …?

Do you think …?

Are you …?

Could you please tell me …?

Please tell me more about it.

I would like very much to hear about …

I would be very much obliged because …

I am very eager to hear from you, so please write as soon as you can.

I am looking forward to your early reply. Please write me soon.

I am looking forward to receive your letter.

Hope to hear from you soon.

I hope you will write me again soon.

 

Best wishes,

Текст 1

LOST IN THE POST

(after A. Philips)

Ainsley, a post-office sorter, turned the envelope over and over in his hands. The letter was addressed to his wife and had an Australian stamp.

Ainsley knew that the sender was Dicky Soames, his wife's cousin. It was the second letter Ainsley received after Dicky's departure. The first letter had come six months before, he did not read it and threw it into the fire. No man ever had less reason for jealousy than Ainsley. His wife was frank as the day, a splendid housekeeper, a very good mother to their two children. He knew that Dicky Soames had been fond of Adela and the fact that Dicky Soames had years back gone away to join his and Adela's uncle made no difference to him. He was afraid that some day Dicky would return and take Adela from him.

Ainsley did not take the letter when he was at work as his fellow workers could see him do it. So when the working hours were over he went out of the post-office together with his fellow workers, then he returned to take the letter addressed to his wife. As the door of the post-office was locked, he had to get in through a window. When he was getting out of the window the postmaster saw him. He got angry and dismissed Ainsley. So another man was hired and Ainsley became unemployed. Their life became hard» they had to borrow money from their friends.

Several months had passed. One afternoon when Ainsley came home he saw the familiar face of Dicky Soames. "So he had turned up," Ainsley thought to himself.

Dicky Soames said he was delighted to see Ainsley. "I have missed all of you so much," he added with a friendly smile.

Ainsley looked at his wife. "Uncle Tom has died," she explained, "and Dicky has come into his money." "Congratulation," said Ainsley, "you are lucky.”

Adela turned to Dicky. "Tell Arthur the rest," she said quietly.. "Well, you see," said Dicky. "Uncle Tom had something over sixty thousand and he wished Adela to have half. But he got angry with you because Adela never answered the two letters I wrote to her for him. Then he changed his will and left her money to hospitals. I asked him not to do it, but he wouldn't listen to me!" Ainsley turned pale. "So those two letters were worth reading after all," he thought to himself. For some time everybody kept silence. Then Dicky Soames broke the silence, "It's strange about those two letters. I've often wondered why you didn't answer them?" Adela got up, came up to her husband and said, taking him by the hand, "The letters were evidently lost." At that moment Ainsley realized that she knew everything.

Notes:

1. to be frank as the day — быть вне подозрений

2. to be hired — быть нанятым (на работу)

Answer the questions:

1. What was Ainsley's job?

2. Who was Dicky Soames?

3. What was the main reason for Ainsley's hiding Dicky's letters from Adela?

4. How did Ainsley behave when the second letter arrived?

5. What happened as a result of his behaviour?

6. Was Adela's uncle a rich person? Prove it.

Poem

NIGHT MAIL

This is the night mail crossing the border,

Bringing the cheque and the postal order,

Letters for the rich, letters for the poor,

The shop at the corner, and the girl next door.

Written on paper of every hue,

The pink, the violet, the white and the blue,

The chatty, the catty, the boring, adoring.

The cold and official and the hearts outpouring,

Clever, stupid, short and long,

The typed and the printed and the spelt all wrong.

Wystan Hugh Auden

Текст 2

Email Etiquette

Email etiquette is often a commonly overlooked part of the business and professional world despite being an important part of conveying a professional image. Emails written to friends and family will be less formal and will not need to follow any particular guidelines or rules, but when writing to someone at a professional level the following guidelines and rules should be taken into account.