My f avo u rite english writer

Лексический блок

It's said that none of the British writers of our age enjoyed such popularity all over the world as Agatha Christie did. Her works were translated into many languages, and scores of films were made using them as the script.

The name of Agatha Christie is a synonym for high-class detective story, as well as Pele is a symbol of football, and Marilyn Monroe is an embodiment of femininity. According to Agatha Christie herself, she began to write just to imitate her sister whose stories had already been published in magazines.

And suddenly Agatha Christie became famous as if by miracle. Having lost her father at an early age, the prospective writer didn't receive even fairly good education. During the First World War she was a nurse, then she studied pharmacology. Twenty years later she worked in a military hospital at the beginning of the Second World War.

The favourite personages of the "queen of detective story" are the detective Hercules Poirot and the sedate Miss Marple who carry out investigations in noisy London and delusive quiet countryside. The composition of her stories is very simple: a comparatively closed space with a limited number of characters, who are often plane or train passengers, tourists, hotel guests or residents of a cosy old village.

Everyone is suspected! Murders in the books of Agatha Christie are committed in most unsuitable places: in the vicar's garden or in an old abbey; corpses are found in someone's libraries being murdered with the help of tropical fishes, a poker, candelabra, a dagger or poison. Once Agatha Christie wrote: "Some ten years will pass after my death, and nobody will even remember me...". The writer was mistaken.

Agatha Christie's novels are very popular now. People of all continents read and reread "The Oriental Express", "Ten Little Negroes", "The Bertram Hotel", "The Corpse in the library" and other of her novels time and again, enjoy films made by her works, and one can hardly find a country where people do not know her name.
Questions:

1. Why did Agatha Christie begin to write?
2. The prospective writer didn't receive education, did she?
3. What are the favourite personages of Agatha Christie?
4. Is the composition of Agatha Christie stories simple?
5. Name the best of her published works.

Vocabulary:

scores of films — десятки фильмов
embodiment — воплощение
femininity — женственность
prospective — будущий
investigation — расследование
delusive — обманчивый
vicar — аптекарь
corpse — труп
poker -кочерга
candelabra — канделябр

Грамматический блок

Passive voice

The Passive Voice показывает, что лицо или предмет, обозначенные подлежащим, являются объектами действия, выраженного сказуемым:

· She was woken from her sleep by his singing. - Она была разбужена его пением.

Образование

The Passive Voice образуется при помощи вспомогательного глагола to be в соответствующем времени, лице и числе и причастия прошедшего времени смыслового глагола Participle II:

 

The Passive Voice to be + Participle II

Passive Voice Present Past Future Indefinite Continuous Perfect Perfect Continuous am/are/is given am/are/is being given has/have been given - was/were given was/were being given had been given - shall/will be given - shall/will have been given -

Например: Mary helps John.- Мэри помогает Джону.
John is helped by Mary. - Джону помогает Мэри.

 

Отрицательная и вопросительная формы образуются по тем же правилам, что и формы действительного залога:

в отрицательной форме частица подставится после вспомогательного глагола:

· John isn't helped by Mary. - Джону Мэри не помогает.

При сложной форме вспомогательного глагола частица not ставится после первого вспомогательного глагола:

· John hasn't been helped by Mary. - Джону Мэри не помогла.

в вопросительной форме вспомогательный глагол (в сложной форме первый по счету) обычно ставится перед подлежащим:

· Is John helped by Mary? - Джону Мэри помогает?

· Has John been helped by Mary? - Джону Мэри помогла?

Сказуемому в действительном залоге, выраженному сочетанием одного из модальных глаголов can (could), may (might), should, ought и т.д. с инфинитивом действительного залога, в страдательном залоге соответствует сочетание того же модального глагола с инфинитивом страдательного залога:

· We must finish our work as soon as possible. - Мы должны закончить работу как можно скорее.

· Our work must be finished as soon as possible. - Наша работа должна быть закончена как можно скорее.

· You ought to translate this article at once. - Тебе следует перевести эту статью сразу же.

· This article ought to be translated at once. - Эту статью следует переведести сразу же.

Если в страдательной конструкции указывается исполнитель действия, выраженный одушевленным существительным или местоимением, ему предшествует предлог by:

· The book was written by O.Wilde. - Книга была написана О.Уайльдом.

Если в конструкции указывается объект или материал, при помощи которого совершено действие, употребляется предлог with:

· The room was filled with smoke. - Комната была полна дыма.

· The finger was cut with a knife. - Палец порезали ножом.

В английском языке есть глаголы, употребление которых в пассиве чаще всего невозможно без by-phrase, т.е. фразы, указывающей на деятеля производимого действия: to follow, to overtake, to seize, to visit, to govern, to characterize, to attract, to control, to rule, to influence, to confront, to attend, to accompany, to join, to cause, to bring about, to mark и т.д.:

· Не is followed by the police. - Его преследует полиция.

Exercise 1. Поставьте следующие предложения в вопросительную и отрицательную формы.
1. Marmalade is made of oranges.
2. This town was built a century ago.
3. They were invited to a birthday party.
4. The fax has just been sent.
5. America was discovered long ago.
6. The book is still being published.
7. My neighbor’s car was stolen last night.
8. His winter boots were made in Germany.
9. The building was ruined by the earthquake.
10. Italian is spoken in Italy and on Malta.

Exercise  2. Переведите на английский язык выделенные глаголы.
1. A lot of houses построено in Moscow and other towns.
2.When было написано this letter?
3. The letter было написано this morning.
4. Whom будет переведена this article into English by?
5. The article переведена already.
6. This question обсуждался when we came in.
7. Where are the students? They экзаменуются now in the next room.
8. By the time they arrive the work закончена.
9. A huge plant in the town of N был построен recently.
10. The little boy смотрели with interest by the people.
11. I (to check up) my homework before she (to question) me.

Exercise  3. Употребите правильную форму глагола в пассивном залоге.
1. You (advise) to wear warm shoes in winter.
2. The time before bed (spend) very pleasantly.
3. Sniffer dogs (use) by police to detect drugs and explosives.
4. Huge pine trees (uproot) by the storm.
5. You (allow, not) to buy cigarettes if you are under sixteen.
6. Toyotas (manufacture) in Japan.
7. This road never (clean).
8. Gold (discover) in Eastern Canada.
9. When I saw him, he (chase) by a large dog.
10. Several towns (destroy) by the eruption of Vesuvius.

Exercise 4. Измените предложения по образцу.
Образец: A telephone call woke me up. – I was woken up by a telephone call.
1. My father built this cottage.
2. Beginners use that computer.
3. Somebody is opening the window now.
4. We sold the last French text -book.
5. People all over Russia watch the news.
6. The moonlight lit everything in the room.
7. Don’t worry, we shall settle your problems.
8. We have just sent for the doctor.
9. The Semyenovs don’t use this room very often.
10. Thomas Coryate brought forks from Italy to England.
11. He has just repaired his car.
12. Somebody addressed the letter to the wrong person.
13. The secretary is still typing the letter.
14. Mum cut the meat and chopped it.
15. Snow covered everything.
16. The police have been looking for him for a month!
17. He described his new flat for me.
18. Our chief offered me a day- off.
19. He pointed out the mistake to me.?

Тема 16

Isaac Newton

Лексический блок

 

Newton, one of the greatest scientists of all times was born in 1642 in the little village in Lincolnshire, England. His father was a farmer and died before Newton was born. His mother was a clever woman whom he always loved.

After the school, Newton studied mathematics at Cambridge university and received his degree in 1665. Then the university was closed because of the danger of plague and Newton went home for eighteen months. It was most important period in his life when he made his three great discoveries — the discoveries of the differential calculuses, of the nature of white light, and of the law of gravitation.

These discoveries are still important for the modern science. Newton had always been interested in the problems of light. Many people saw colours of a rainbow but only Newton showed, by his experiments, that white light consists of these colours.

It is interesting how he discovered the law gravitation. Once, as he sat at the garden, his attention was drawn by the fall of an apple. Many people saw such an usual thing before.

But it was Newton who asked himself a question: "Why does that apple fall perpendicularly to the ground? Why doesn't it go sidewards or upwards?" The answer to this question was the theory of gravitation, discovered by Newton.

Newton died at the age of 84, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, where his monument stands today.

Questions:

1. When and where was Newton born?
2. Where did he study?
3. What three major discoveries did Newton make?
4. When did Newton make these discoveries?
5. How did the idea which led to the discovery of the law
of gravitation first come to him?
6. When did Newton die and where is he buried?

Vocabulary:

degree — ученая степень
plague — чума
discovery — открытие
differential calculuses — дифференциальное исчисление
law of gravitation — закон всемирного тяготения
rainbow — радуга
to draw — привлекать
perpendicularly — перпендикулярно
sidewards — в сторону
upwards — вверх
abbey — аббатство

 

Грамматический блок