The nominal head of the country

Protector of nature

Gifts from the heart

Writing to the Queen

Royal social duties

Royal open-air receptions

Travelling all round the world

A.          

An important part of the work of the Queen and the Royal Family is to support and encourage public and voluntary service. One of the ways in which they do this is through association with charities. These include well-known charities such as the British Red Cross and new, smaller charities like Kids Company. About 3,000 organizations list a member of the Royal Family as patron or president.

B.           

The Queen’s husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, has played an important role in many aspects of national life. For example, from 1961 to 1982, he was President of the World Wildlife Fund, which supports the conservation, research and restoration of the environment. During his work, Prince Philip visited the fund’s projects in over 40 countries on 5 continents.

C.           

Due to the great number of people who wish to contact the Royal Family, communication is only possible via letter. Members of the Royal Family cannot be contacted directly by email or telephone. To open the letter, people should address the Queen with the formal address 'Madam' and close the letter with the form 'I have the honour to be, Madam, Your Majesty's obedient servant'.

D.          

Members of the Royal Family carry out nearly 3,000 official journeys in the United Kingdom and overseas every year. Over five decades the Queen has used every possible form of transportation – from elephant to barge. But most Royal journeys use more typical forms of transportation: traditional carriages for ceremonial occasions, the Royal Train and helicopter for visits in the UK, and plane for overseas visits.

E.           

Visiting other countries, the Queen often gets presents. It is a long-standing tradition. In 1972, for example, Her Majesty received a collection of shells from the Seychelles and in 1991 she was presented with a pair of cowboy boots during her visit to the United States of America. The Queen often receives ‘live’ animals – from giraffes to giant turtles and cheetahs.

F.           

The Royal Collection of stamps is said to be one of the greatest collections of Great Britain and the Commonwealth. From the early nineteenth century, British monarchs continued to preserve, develop and enjoy the Royal Collection. Today the Collection continues to grow. It includes lots of priceless exhibits. Unlike the Crown Jewels and the Royal residences, the Royal Collection of stamps is privately owned by the Queen.

G.          

With tea, cakes and a beautiful garden to stroll in, garden parties are among the most relaxed and informal Royal events when over 30,000 people attend. Garden parties have been held at Buckingham Palace since the 1860s, when Queen Victoria introduced what were known as 'breakfasts'. Nowadays they are attended by people from different social groups.

 

Чтение 59.

 

Прочитайте тексты и установите соответствие между текстами и их заголовками: к каждому тексту, обозначенному буквами A–G, подберите соответствующий заголовок, обозначенный цифрами 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании есть один лишний заголовок.

 

Transport for Santa

A Christmas miracle made by insects

Remembering the dead

A Christmas exercise

A Christmas summer style

The first guest is important

Celebrating on another day

A female Santa

A.          

For people who live in the northern hemisphere, the thought of celebrating Christmas with great heat and bright sun seems strange and exotic. But in Australia, where the holidays fall on summer, it’s completely normal. Though most of the traditions of celebrating Christmas in Australia are the same as in European countries, there is still a little variation. On Christmas Day, most Australians have the holiday midday dinner outside. The dinner is often followed by some backyard cricket or a swim in the pool.

B.           

In Italy, children do not ask Santa Claus for presents. In their country an ugly, yet kind, old witch named Befana controls the present-giving duties instead of Santa. On the eve of the holiday parents leave out a plate of broccoli with some sausage and a glass of wine for Befana. Flying around the world on her broomstick and entering each house down the chimney, the witch delivers toys, clothing and candy to well-behaved children and puts coal — or dark candy — in bad kids’ socks.

C.           

An ancient Ukrainian legend tells us about the children from a poor family, who spent months dreaming up ways to decorate their Christmas tree for the holiday. But their parents could not afford any Christmas decoration. However, on Christmas morning, when the children woke up, they saw that spiders had spun webs of shiny silk around the tree’s branches. The morning sun turned each thread into silver and gold. Even nowadays the Ukrainians dress up their trees with spider webs to welcome good luck into the coming year.

D.          

Hogmanay celebrations take place over Christmas in Scotland. It is a cheerful holiday celebrating the birth of a new year. One of the most important traditions is called First-Footing. Once midnight strikes, all eyes await the arrival of the year’s first visitor. The person who crosses the home’s threshold first is said to bring good fortune for the year ahead. Top of the lucky list: a male, dark-haired visitor. Women or blonde men are believed to be unlucky.

E.           

Going to the cemetery is something that we do not normally include in our Christmas programme. However, for many Finns, this time is dedicated to visiting graves. People light candles beside the gravestones, and when enough of them get together, the effect is spectacular! The warm glow of millions of lighted candles creates a breath-taking scene. Christmas cemeteries look so nice that people come there to enjoy the scenery and peaceful environment.

F.           

In Russia, Christmas is celebrated on the 7th of January, not on the 25th of December like in most other countries. The different date of the holiday is because the Orthodox Church uses the old ‘Julian’ calendar for religious celebration days. According to tradition, on Christmas Eve some Russian people don’t eat anything until the first star has appeared in the sky.

G.          

Like in most countries which are predominantly Catholic, the locals of Venezuela, especially in their capital city, Caracas, attend the Misa de Aguinaldo. They go to church on Christmas Eve to celebrate the birth of Jesus. However, in Caracas, people, old and young, don’t just go to church, they usually roller skate to church. The streets of Caracas are closed to vehicles up to 8am on Christmas Day to make way for their citizens who travel by roller skates to and from church.

Чтение 60.

Прочитайте тексты и установите соответствие между текстами и их заголовками: к каждому тексту, обозначенному буквами A–G, подберите соответствующий заголовок, обозначенный цифрами 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании есть один лишний заголовок.

 

1. Wait for your turn!

Visiting British friends

3. Give way to others!