Fluency TheBlacks Go to London

The Blacks live in the suburbs of London Mr Black and his two sons Roger and David work in London and go to London five times a week Today they woke up a few minutes before seven o'clock. They got out of bed and went to the bathroom. They washed and shaved. David had a bath. Then they went to the bedroom and dressed At half past seven they went downstairs for breakfast.

At breakfast Roger and David sat opposite each other. Mrs Black sat opposite her husband. After breakfast Mr Black smoked a cigarette and read the newspaper. At twenty-five past eight Mr Black and the boys left the house. Mrs Black went to the gate and said good-bye to them. They walked to the station. They arrived there a few minutes before twenty to nine. Their train got to London at a quarter past nine.

/. Listen to the text "The Blacks Go to London" and answer the questions:

Do the Blacks live far from London? What time did the Blacks get up today? What did they do in the morning? When did they leave home for work? How did they get to the station?

// Say what the Blacks did Ms morning

III. What time did you get up today? What time did you have breakfast? When did you leave home for work? How did you get to work?

Jill's Old Diary

Jill: Look, Steve, Yesterday I found this old diary. It's eight years old. 1983, the year before we got engaged.

Steve: I remember. I paid a fortune for the engagement ring! It cost £ 200 I spent all my savings on it. Did you read the diary?

Jill: Yes, I read it all. 1983 was a bad year for me. Listen! On the 2nd of January I fell down and broke my arm. Two months

later, in March, I caught flue and was ill for weeks. In June I had a meal at a restaurant and was sick for days. Then in July I drove to Scotland with my sister and a man stole our car. My parents gave me a watch for my birthday and I lost it two days later. I didn't have a good time that year.

Steve: But in December you met me at a college party.

Jill: Yes, Steve, 1983 was a very bad year for me.

/. Listen to the text "Jill's Old Diary" and say whether 1983 was a happy year for Jill.

II. Why does Jill think 1983 was a bad year for her? What hap­pened to her in January? in March? in June? in July? in December?

///. Say why 1983 was a bad year for Jill.

IV. Was last year a good year for you? And what about this

year.¹'

Self check

/. Put the verbs into the correct forms:

An Englishman (come) to New York. He (stop) at a hotel and (decide) to send a telegram to his wife. He (go) to the post-office and (do) so. In the telegram he (send) his wife his address. Then he (go) to the cinema. In the evening he (want) to get back to his hotel, but he (remember, not) the name and the address of the hotel. Nobody could help him. So he (send) another telegram to his wife, "Please, send me my address".

//. Translate into English:

1. Вчера мне звонил Николай. Сегодня вечером он уезжает в командировку. 2. Две недели назад мы с женой слушали «Аиду». Опера нам очень понравилась. 3. Мой сын студент. Он окончил школу три года назад. 4. Вчера мы были в кино. Там мы встретили-своих друзей. 5. В воскресенье мы не ездили на дачу. Мы навести­ли своих родителей. 6. Я не купил вчера билет.— Я тоже. 7. Я за­был ее адрес.— Я тоже. 8. Мы пришли домой поздно.— Мы тоже. 9. Я вышла из дома рано.— Я тоже.

QUESTIONS

Illustrative Situations

/. Listen to the dialogues and learn them:

1. — Did you ask Kate to go to the pictures with you tonight?

— Yes, I did, but she refused.

— Did she really, why?

— She said she was very tired.

2. — When did you last see Doris Dry?

— On the twenty-ninth of October as far as I remember.

— Are you going to see her again soon?

— No, I don't think so.

3. — What did you do last weekend?

— I went to Oxford.

— Really' How did you go?

— I went by car.

— How long did it take?

— It took about two hours.

4. — I had a very good time last night.

— Did you watch television?

— No, I didn't. I had a chat with Aunt Emily.

5. — Jack is very fond of dancing.

— But why didn't he go to the dance last night?

— Because he went to the cinema.

— What a pity!

6. — I saw a friend of yours yesterday.

— A friend of mine?

— Yes. Joe Green.

— Did he leave a message for me?

— No, he didn't.

7. — I'm surprised at what Henry did last night.

— But what did he do?

— Don't you know? He gave up his job.

— Did he really?

8. — Did Dennis go to the club yesterday?

— He wanted but he couldn't.

— Couldn't he? Why not?

— Because he had to baby sit (he had to look after the baby).

9. — Excuse me ... I lost my handbag this morning.

— Where did you lose it?

— On the bus ... I left it on the number 28.

— Well, you are lucky. The conductor found it.

— Thank goodness! I was worried.

— Here it is. He gave it to me an hour ago.

10. — Hello, John! I thought you were in Brighton!

— I was. I drove there on Friday.

— Yes?

— ... and I came back on Saturday morning.

— Oh, why did you come back?

— Well, I went to a casino and spent all my money.

— How did you do that?

— Well, I won a little at first ... and then I lost everything.

Practice

/. Ask questions: e.g. — Jill often runs for the bus in the morning, (yesterday

morning)

— Did she run for the bus yesterday morning? 1. Jack usually goes to work by car. (today) 2. Steve often stays in his office till 8 p.m. (last night) 3. Jill usually goes shopping on Fridays, (last Friday) 4. Mary usually comes home late on Mon­day, (last Monday) 5. Victor often takes a taxi to get to work, (today) 6. Mike often phones us. (yesterday) 7. He often visits his parents, (last week)

e.g. — Mary bought a lot of things, (what) — What did she buy? 1. I paid a lot for the computer, (how much) 2. Mrs Robinson taught foreign languages at the University, (what foreign langua­ges) 3. We often went to the cinema last month, (how often) 4. Mike chose several books, (which books) 5. We caught a lot of fish, (how much) 6. Jack said something about the accident, (what) 7. Mary made some spelling mistakes, (how many) 8. We had dinner early today, (what time) 9. I came early today, (when) 10. Mary took somebody's notebook by mistake, (whose) 11. We heard this opera, (when) 12. I last met Peter in January, (where) 13. Mike left early, (what time) 14. This type-writer cost a lot. (how much) 15. I found my umbrella, (where) 16. I read several books in summer, (what books) 17. We began the work early (when). 18. John lent me some money, (how much) 19. Jack wrote this composition for a long time, (how long) 20. I told Kate about you. (what) 21. He did a lot of work, (how much), e.g. — They went to the British Museum, (where).

— Where else did they go?

1. Mary bought some perfume, (what) 2. Alice and Tim went with Mike, (who) 3. Betty saw that film. (who). 4. I invited Janet to the party, (who) 5. John did the housework, (what). 6. We rested in Yalta several times, (where) 7. I met George at the library, (who) 8. She had coffee for breakfast, (what) e.g. — Jane usually writes a lot of letters in the morning. She wrote a lot yesterday.

— Why didn't she write a lot today?

1. Peter usually catches the 8.30 bus. He caught it yesterday. 2. We usually see Jane on the bus. We saw her yesterday. 3. The boss usually reads all his letters in the morning. He read them yesterday morning. 4. The bell usually rings at 10. It rang at 10 yesterday. 5. The milkman usually brings the milk early. He brought it early yesterday. 6. Jane usually does a lot of work in the morning. She did a lot yesterday morning. 7. Peter usually reads the paper in the morning. He read it yesterday.

Questions with "How long ago?"

A. Arthur thought the London express left at 11.10. In fact it left at 11.05. It left before he got to the station. "How long ago did it leave?" he wants to know. "Five minutes ago, at 11.05" is the answer.

Questions: What time is it now? What happened before Arthur got to the station? When did he think the train left? When did the train leave? How long ago did it leave?

B. It is 10 o'clock in the morning. Richard West is at work. He got up at 6 this morning. He had breakfast at 7 and came to work at 8. Richard got up four hours ago, he had breakfast three hours ago and came to work two hours ago.

Questions: What time is it' How long ago did Richard come to work? How long ago did he get up and have breakfast?

/. Ask questions with "how long ago". Answer the questions.

Prompts: Mike/get to the party; you/have lunch; Richard/re­turn; she/send the letter; the boss/come to work; the ship/start; they/begin the experiment; the shop/close; Jack/leave; you/get home; she/get up; you/turn on the television.

//. Study the situations. Make sentences with "only ... ago" for them:

Situation: The lesson started at 9 and it is now 9.01. "You're late again" the teacher says. What does the student answer?

Answer: But the lesson started only a minute ago!

1. Peter wants to leave the cinema. He and Jane came at 7, and it is 7.30 now. What does she say? 2. A friend invites you to lunch. You had lunch at 12 and it is 1 now. What do you say? 3. Mary's little boy is hungry again. He had a sandwich at 5. It is 5.15 now. What does she say? 4. The plane for Moscow left at I, and it is 1.05 now. Can you still catch it? Why not? 5. A customer telephoned the manager at 12. He was not there. At 12.35 he came back. What did his secretary say? 6. Your friend went out at 2. At 2.05 you got to his hotel. What does the hotel clerk say when you ask for him (your friend)? 7. Tony's shoes are worn out. He bought them in January and it is only February now. Why is he angry? 8. Jill met a soldier at a dance on Friday. Now it is Sunday, only 2 days later and she wants to marry him. What does her mother say?

///. Listen to the texts. Ask and answer questions.

A. Julia and her boy-friend are in a hurry. The film started fifteen minutes ago. They do not want to miss too much of it. It is

one of Charles Kay's old horror films. It was made 10 years ago. Julia doesn't remember but she saw the film on television a few

months ago.

B. It is 6 o'clock now. The store closed half an hour ago. All the shoppers left the store half an hour ago. The detective watched them. Then the salespeople counted their money and went home, too. The last one left fifteen minutes ago. That was at 5.45.

IV. Ask each other questions with "how long ago?"

Questions with "When did you first (last) see him?"

A. Yesterday Mike was at the theatre. He heard "Carmen". It wasn't the first time he heard it. Peter knows about it. He asks: "When did you first hear it?" "Three years ago", Mike answers.

Questions: When was Mike at the theatre? What opera did he hear? When did he first hear it?

B. Jane used to come to the library very often last month but she doesn't now. Mike asks Peter: "When did you last see her?" "A week ago", is Peter's answer.

Questions: Did Jane often come to the library last month? What does Mike ask Peter?

/. Make your own dialogues. Do it as in the example.

e.g. see Peter/ on Sunday/yesterday

— I last saw Peter on Sunday. When did you last see him?

— Yesterday.

1. speak to the boss/a week ago/this morning;

2. phone Richard/yesterday/on Tuesday;

3. write to him/two weeks ago/the day before yesterday;

4. go to the cinema/a month ago/on Sunday;

5. meet Mary/on Tuesday/on Friday, e.g. go to Paris/in 1987/in 1990

— 1 first went to Paris in 1987. When did you first go to Paris?

— In 1990.

1. see this film/five years ago/in 1985;

2. read "War and Peace"/at school/at the Institute;

3. fly/at the age of 20/when I was 10;

4. hear this opera/in my childhood/5 years ago;

5. visit the art museum/last year/two years ago;

6. go to Rome/in 1986/in 1981.

//. Answer the questions:

When did you last go to the theatre? When did you first fly? When did you last see your friend? When did your friend last write to you? When did you last miss your English class? When did you first travel by ship?