A hundred billion hamburgers

Once upon a time, a businessman named Ray Kroc discovered a restaurant owned by two brothers. The restaurant served just four things: hamburgers, French fries, milk shakes and coca cola. But it was clean and inexpensive, and the service was quick. Mr Kroc liked it so much that he paid the brothers so that he could use their idea and their name: McDonald’s.

Beef, big business and fast service were the ingredients when Mr Kroc opened his first McDonald’s in 1955. Four years later there were 100 of them. Kroc knew Americans liked success. So he put signs saying how many millions of McDonald’s hamburgers people had bought. In just four years, the number was one hundred million. Now, there are more than 13,000 McDonald’s restaurants from Dallas to Paris and from Moscow to Beijing.

Anyone who wants to open a McDonald’s must first work in one for a week. Then they do a nine-month training programme in the restaurants and at ‘McDonald’s University’ in Chicago. There they learn the McDonald’s philosophy: quality control, service and cheap prices. McDonald’s has strict rules: Hamburgers must be served before they are ten minutes old, and French fries, seven.

McDonald’s has never stopped looking for new methods to attract customers, from drive-in windows to birthday parties. Chicken, fish, salad and, in some place, pizza are now on the menu. Their international popularity shows they have found the recipe for success.

2. Говорение.

Расскажите о том, что Вы любите делать в свободное время: -​ Вы больше времени проводите на свежем воздухе или в помещении? -​ Вы предпочитаете отдых с друзьями или в одиночку; -​ необходимо ли иметь свободное время? Почему?

Tell what you like to do in your free time: -​ whether you spend more time outdoors or indoors; -​ whether you prefer to have a rest with your friends or alone; -​ whther it is necessary to have free time.

Билет № 24

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THOMOAS ALVA EDISON

Thomas Alva Edison lit up the world with his invention of the electric light. However, the electric light was not his only invention. He also invented the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and over 1,200 other things.

Surprisingly, he attended school for only two months. His mother, a former teacher, taught him a few things, but Thomas was mostly self-educated. His natural curiosity led him to start experimenting at a young age with electrical and mechanical things at home.

When he was 12 years old, he got his first job. He became a newsboy on a train that ran between Port Huron and Detroit. He set up a laboratory in a baggage care of the train so that he could continue his experiments in his spare time. Unfortunately, his first work experience did not end well. Thomas was fired when he accidentally set fire to the floor of the baggage car.

Thomas then worked for five years as a telegraph operator, but he continued to spend much of his time on the job conducting experiments. Thomas Edison was totally deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other, but thought of his deafness as a blessing in many ways. It kept conversations short, so that he could have more time for work. He called himself a "two-shift man" because he worked 16 out of every 24 hours. Sometimes he worked so intensively that his wife had to remind him to sleep and eat.

Thomas Edison died at the age of 84 on October 18, 1931. He left numerous inventions that improved the quality of life all over the world.

2. Говорение.

Расскажите, насколько необходимой и важной для Вас является дружба. -​ опишите внешность и характер Вашего друга; -​ могут ли люди быть счастливы без друзей; -​ важно ли быть другом для других.

Tell how important and necessary friendship is for you: -​ describe your friend’s appearance and his/her character; -​ whether people can be happy without friends; -​ whether it is important to be a friend to others.

Билет № 25

1. Прочитайте, переведите, перескажите и задайте пять вопросов разных типов к тексту.