WHO'S WHO IN KING'S ABBOT

Our village, King's Abbot, is, I imagine, very much like any other village. Our big town is Cranchester, nine miles away. We are rich in unmarried ladies and retired (в отставке) military officers. There are only two houses of any importance in King's Abbot. One is King's Paddock, left to Mrs Ferrars by her late husband. The other, Fernly Park, is owned by Roger Ackroyd. Ackroyd has always interested me. He is not really a country squire. He is a man of nearly fifty years of age, genial of manner. He is, in fact, the life and soul of our peaceful village of King's Abbot. Now when Roger Ackroyd was a lad of twenty-one he fell in love with, and married a beautiful woman some five or six years senior. Her name was Paton, and she was a widow (вдова) with one child. The history of the marriage was short and painful. She succeeded in drinking herself into her grave (пьянство свело ее в могилу) four years after her marriage.

In the years that followed, Ackroyd showed no disposition to make a second matrimonial adventure (попытка второго брака). His wife's child by her first marriage was only seven years old when his mother died. He is now twenty-five. Ackroyd has always regarded him as his own son, but he has been a wild lad and a continual source (источник) of worry and trouble to his stepfather. Nevertheless we are all very fond of Ralph Paton in King's Abbot. He is such a good-looking youngster.

VIII. Ответьте на вопросы.

1. Is the village King's Abbot far from Cranchester?

2. How many houses of any importance are there in King's Abbot?

3. Who is Roger Ackroyd?

4. What can you tell about his character?

5. Why, in your opinion, does the author call him the soul of a village?

6. Was his marriage happy or not?

7. How long was he married to Mrs. Paton?

8. Did he want to be married a second time?

9. How old is his stepson (пасынoк)

10. What is his character like?

11. Who does he take in character after?

Text 2

MY FRIEND

I am so happy to tell you about my friend. We have been friends for some years. It was during my summer holidays. I went to the camp on the Black sea coast. It was my first time at the camp. At the very beginning of my stay there I missed my Mum and Dad very much. One evening I was sitting on the bench in the park and thinking about my parents. A beautiful girl came up to me. She said that her name was Olga. It was her second time at the camp. Very soon we became close friends and we are very friendly till now.

Olga is 17. She is tall and slim, with big dark eyes and black hair. She is fond of sports. That's why Olga can walk all day long and never feels tired. She is sociable. She speaks little but she doesn't talk at random. She finished school last year and tried to enter the University but failed. She is very hard-working. She took a training course where she studied English and computers. Now she works as a secretary for a firm and continues to learn English.

This year she is going to enter a foreign languages department of the University again. I am sure she will manage. My friend is good-hearted and has a sense of humour. She knows a lot of funny stories and she always tells them. She likes music very much.

We have much in common. As for music our tastes differ: I am keen on pop-music, but Olga enjoys jazz, though it doesn't matter. And now I want to tell you how we like to spend our free time.

In the evening we go for a walk, listen to music, look through fashion journals. On the days off we go to the parties, museums, theatres.

She is very kind and sweet. Last month she bought a niсе puppy. Now she goes for a walk with her little pet friend. At last I want to add that she is always busy. I like her very much and I want to be her best friend forever.

to be happy - быть счастливым; for the first time - впер­вые; to miss - скучать; bench - скамейка; slim - стройная; to be fond of smth. - любить что-либо; to feel tired - чув­ствовать усталость; sociable - общительный; to enter - по­ступать; to fail -провалиться (на экзаменах); hard-working -трудолюбивый; department - факультет; good-hearted -
добрый; sense of humour - чувство юмора; our tastes differ -у нас вкусы разные; to be keen on smth. – увлекаться чем-либо; fashion - мода; to talk at random - бросать слова
на ветер.

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