Что почитать, когда отгремели праздники? Вернее, из них остался только загадочный для всех не-выходцев СНГ Old New Year (so is it new? or old? what, after all, do you celebrate on January, 13?)...
...приходится возвращаться в привычное русло. С одной стороны, этого делать не хочется, с другой - все-таки только так, путем ежедневных или, по крайней мере, регулярных усилий и можно чего-то достичь.
Впрочем, это уже психология, и об этом — или чем-то подобном — вы можете почитать в других постах (в том числе и в нашей группы).
Мы же поговорим, как обычно, о чтении, а именно - о книгах, которые мы рекомендуем вам на этой неделе.
Итак:
Как обычно, книжка уровня А2 - то есть элементарного уровня, для тех, кто уже шарит, как сшивать слова в предложения, но эти предложения пока весьма просты:
Джойс Ханнан - Рождество в Праге
Jan Vlach was born in Czechoslovakia, but moved to England with his father many years ago. His mother died on Christmas Eve in 1957. Now Jan lives in England and teaches Czech at Oxford University. His wife Carol gets an offer to play in an orchestra in Prague this Christmas. She asks Jan and his father Josef to come with her. Carol flies there earlier as she has rehearsals. After the first rehearsal she goes Christmas shopping. All of a sudden Carol sees her husband in the street. But why has he already come to Prague? What is he doing here? She calls him. But he doesn't stop. He looks at her and then walks away. Carol is shocked. She runs to him but gets into an accident. The woman is taken to hospital. When Jan and Josef finally arrive in Prague, Josef explains everything. It turns out there's more to the story of what happened in 1957.
Вкратце и по-русски:
Действие происходит, как несложно догадаться, в Чехословакии. Ян Влах родился в этой стране, но переехал в Англию много лет назад; теперь он преподает чешский в Оксфорде. Внезапно его жене предлагают место в оркестре в Праге, и она зовет супруга с собой. Она летит туда раньше мужа, но внезапно встречает его на улице - как так? почему? тем более, что он даже не здоровается с нею, будто они не знакомы…
...конечно, секрет этого внезапного и тайного приезда Яна на далекую родину будет раскрыт - и окажется связан с далеким 1957-м годом, когда его мать умерла - как раз накануне Рождества...
Выдержка из текста:
Christmas 1957
It is night, and the fields near the village are white with snow. The village is quiet, but not everybody is sleeping. Eyes are watching the roads and the fields near the village, because this is Czechoslovakia and the year is 1957. Across the fields, only half a kilometre away, is the Austrian border, but the people of Czechoslovakia are not free to go to Austria. The border guards watch day and night - and they carry guns.
In a house in the village, a man and a woman are talking. The woman holds a six-month-old baby boy in her arms.
She is excited, but she is afraid, too.
'Tell me again,' she says. 'Did he get to Austria all right last night?'
'Yes, he did,' the man says. 'Nobody saw him, nobody heard him. But last night was easy because the sky was dark. Tonight it's more difficult - look at that moon!'
'But it's Christmas night,' the woman says, 'and the guards are drinking in the guardhouse, yes?'
'That's true,' says the man, 'but sometimes they come out and drive up and down the road for a time. So you must be careful, and you must run fast - very fast.' He looks at his watch. 'It's time to go.'
***
Кстати, на сайте предлагается и список сложных слов, которые будут встречаться в книге - предлагаю все-таки уточнить их в словаре прежде, чем приступать к тексту:
Hard words: guardhouse, harpist, carol, harp, austrian, czech, grandson, conductor, loudly, confused, sixty, goodbye, ambulance, downstairs, rehearsal, orchestra, excite, upstairs, sandwich, excuse, drinking, dear, loud, fifty, meter, chapter, ill, sudden, shopping, clock.
David A. Hill - How I Met Myself
Short description:
This is a story about an unusual adventure in the life of a simple guy. In one of the cold winter evenings, the main character was coming back home from work. At that time, it was very cloudy in Budapest. The heavy snowstorm began. It was quiet around, as if the whole city stopped waiting for something mysterious. The main character was thinking about a little trouble that happened to him at work. The snowstorm became stronger. Suddenly, the door opened somewhere and one man ran out. This stranger accidentally pushed the protagonist away. He fell into the snow with some indignant shouts. The man muttered an apology and just quickly ran away. The hero froze in deep amazement. This unknown man looked exactly like him, as if he was his twin. This stranger had the same face.
Всегда актуальная и захватывающая тема (а) нестандартного путешествия и (б) встречи с собой: главный герой возвращался домой (а жил он в Будапеште), все было тихо и спокойно, но внезапно в доме, мимо которого он проходил, открылась дверь, и оттуда выскочил незнакомец. Он толкнул главного героя и скрылся, а протагонист остался стоять в крайнем изумлении - ведь незнакомец выглядел точь-в-точь, как он сам...
Выдержка из текста (из самого, собственно, начала - захватывает, правда?):
A strange meeting
I was walking home from my office one January evening. It was a Monday. The weather was very cold, and there were some low clouds around the tops of the buildings. Once I'd left the main road, there weren't many people in the dark, narrow streets of Budapest's Thirteenth District. Everything was very quiet. It felt as if the city was waiting for something.
As I walked I thought about what had happened at work. I had argued with one of the Hungarians I worked with. It was the first serious problem since I'd arrived. I was trying to think what to do about it, and I was also hoping that my wife, Andrea, had made one of her nice hot soups for dinner.
After about five minutes it started to snow heavily, so that the streets were soon completely white. As I was walking along a very dark part of one street there was the noise of a door shutting loudly inside a building. Then I heard the sound of someone running.
Suddenly, the street door opened and a man came out of it and ran straight into me. I fell over into the snow, shouting something like, 'Hey, watch where you're going!' - my words were loud in the empty street. The man turned to look at me for a moment. 'Sorry,' he said very quietly, in Hungarian, before walking quickly away.
What I saw at that moment, in that dark winter street was very strange, and I felt very afraid. Because what I saw was me. My face looking down at me. My mouth saying sorry.
Hard words (сложные слова): colourful, goulash, doppelganger, barman, august, imagining, deciding, moustache, lying, thirteenth, ghostly, bookshelf, housekeeper, racing, beaten, receptionist, hungarian, ringing, smoky, comer, fireman, handkerchief, programmer, luckily, cinema, unsure, yoga, tailor, sunshine, multinational.
Шекспир - Макбет
В представлении это произведение, я думаю, не нуждается - и все же вот небольшое его описание:
A Scottish knight Macbeth, who got a lot of victories for the glory of King Duncan, receives a prophecy from three witches. According to their words, he was to be a King of Scotland. Macbeth believes them. His wife also desires it, so she encourages him. Macbeth takes everything upon himself and kills Duncan. He accuses Duncan’s heirs of this crime. The young Princes have to escape from the country. The prophecy comes true and Macbeth becomes a King. But it ruins his soul. The throne of the usurper is shaky, and the legal heirs are already preparing a mutiny... The tragedy is partly based on a true biography of Scottish King Macbeth although he was credited with committing crimes and having relationship with evil spirits. The real Macbeth was not involved in such dark attitudes.
В трех словах по-русски:
Шотландский рыцарь, который становится королем; придворные интриги, ведьмино пророчество и темные силы - темы, всегда захватывающие внимание и будоражащие интерес.
An extract from the text:
ACT ONE, SCENE TWO
King Duncan and some thanes at a camp, some distance from the battle. Enter Malcolm, the King's eldest son, with a wounded soldier.
Duncan: Who is that poor man? His wounds are bleeding. Surely he can tell us how the battle's going.
Malcolm: This is the captain, who by his bravery, saved me from certain death.
Duncan: Welcome, brave friend! Tell me all you know. How was the battle going when you had to leave?
Captain: For a long time, it was still in doubt. The rebel force was strong - their men fought well. Then brave Macbeth - for brave he surely is, fought till he reached the rebels' wicked leader. Then, bloody sword in hand, he faced the traitor. And with one blow, cut him almost in two. And put the traitor's head upon our castle wall, where all can see it and be glad.
Duncan: Oh, brave Macbeth, what a great man he is!
Captain: The battle was not over, King of Scotland. Some rebels turned and ran, but others came. Fresh soldiers then began to fight against us.
Duncan: And were not Macbeth - and Banquo too, Alarmed by this?
Captain: Are lions alarmed by hares? Our two great thanes began to fight fiercely. With their strong swords they cut and cut again.
...But help me sir, my wounds are deep, I bleed...
Duncan: Rest now, brave man, you have said enough. Look after him. He must not lose more blood.
Hard words - хоть вы и продвинутые ребята, но все же, на всякий случай: pricking, queen, thane, armour, kingly, honour, lord, chewed, crowned, lustful, nobly, doubled, strengthened, homeward, fearfully, womanly, wickedly, tormented, devilish, passe, scone, foretell, unharmed, hellish, coronation, cauldron, angelic, admitting, treachery, everlasting
***
Прекрасный способ начать с нового года новую же жизнь — завести себе одну полезную привычку (начнём с малого) — ежедневно читать книги на английском языке.
Ну а тем, кому мало чтения, мы приглашаем к нам в Англоманию на бесплатный пробный урок нашего курса Эволюция.
Здесь люди системно учатся английскому на 15-минутных уроках по телефону, но каждый день.
Записаться на бесплатный пробный урок
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