Text 5 The Lake District - the most beautiful corner of England

Some of the deepest lakes, the highest mountains, the quietest valleys and the most dramatic panoramas in England are to be found within this diverse landscape covering an area of 900 square miles.

«It's mostly rocks», wrote a female visitor to the Lake District in 1698. This may be a truthful observation, yet how much it leaves out! Certainly the rocks are there, piled into craggy mountain massifs and wearing a necklace of sparkling lakes. The great attraction of the lakes which enthralled the early tourist is, of course, the scenery. This is the best seen by the walker, but for the less energetic sightseer there is an almost unlimited fund of places to visit which are reasonably accessible to the motorist. The climate of the District is much-maligned: certainly it is an area of high rainfall, but though the rain falls heavily there is still a good proportion of rain-free days. However, if one is able to time a visit to take advantage of the best climatic and scenic conditions, then June is the month to choose. Every season, however, has something to offer, and the visitor who finds himself in love with the lakes in August may return in winter, spring or autumn to find a treasury of new beauties.

Ex.1 Say in other words.

a) criticised by a lot of people often unfairly;

b) to fill something or cover a surface with a lot of something;

c) very steep and covered in rough rocks;

d) a spoken or written remark about something you have noticed;

e) to shine in small bright flashes;

Ex.2 Find the synonyms in the text.

a) honest, sincere, frank; e) to captivate, to enchant;

b) approachable, available; f) to omit, to miss, to overlook;

c) riches, wealth; g) part, fraction, percentage;

d) endless, immeasurable; h) to schedule.

Ex.3 Without looking back at the text, try to supply the nouns which were used with the following adjectives.

scenic

much-maligned

dramatic

diverse

craggy

high.

truthful

rain-free

sparkling

energetic

unlimited

accessible

Ex.4 Answer the questions.

1 Why did a female visitor describe the Lake District as «It's mostly rocks»?

2 Is it a truthful observation?

3 What enthralls the visitors to the Lake District?

4 Why is the climate of the Lake District much-maligned?

5 What month would you choose to visit the Lake District?

Ex.5 Class Improvisation.

1 You have just returned from England where you spent your holidays working on a farm. Share your impressions with your fellow students.

2 Your friend has just returned from his working holiday in England. You were in England last year. Share your impressions.

3 If you were planning to visit England, what part of the country would you choose? Give your reasons. Try to persuade your friends to go with you to this particular area for a holiday.

Ex.6 Write an essay «My Imaginary Journey about England».

Text 6 Oxford

Town and Gown There has been a town where Oxford now stands for many centuries - even before 912, the first written record of its existence.

The University began to establish itself in the middle of the 12th century, and by 1300 there were already 1,500 students. At this time, Oxford was a wealthy town, but by the middle of the 14th century, it was poorer, because of a decline in trade and because of the terrible plague, which killed many people in England. Relations between the students and the townspeople were very unfriendly, and there was often fighting in the streets. On 10th February 1355, the festival of St Scholastica, a battle began which lasted two days. Sixty-two students were killed. The townspeople were punished for this in two ways: they had to walk through the town to attend a special service on every St Scholastica's day until 1825. Worse than this, the University was given control of the town for nearly 600 years.

Nowadays, there are about 12,000 students in Oxford, and the University and the town live happily side by side!

City of dreaming spires

The best-known description of Oxford is by Matthew Arnold, the 19th century poet, who wrote about «that sweet city with her dreaming spires».

However, Oxford is not only famous for its architecture. In the 20th century, it has developed quickly as an industrial and commercial centre. The Rover Group factory at Cowley, for example, is an important part of Britain's motor industry.

It is also an important centre in the world of medicine; it is the home of Oxfam, the charity which raises millions of pounds to help poor people all over the world; and its airport contains Europe's leading air-training school.

Oxford words

The Oxford English Dictionary is well-known to students of English everywhere. The new edition, published in 1989, defines more than half a million words, and there are twenty volumes.

Some of the words are special Oxford words. For example, «bulldog» in Oxford is the name given to University policemen who wear bowler hats and sometimes patrol the streets at night. They are very fast runners. «Punt» is a word often used in both Oxford and Cambridge. It refers to a flat-bottomed boat with sloping ends which is moved by pushing a long pole in the water.

Oxford University Press, the publishing house which produces the Oxford English Dictionary, has a special department called the Oxford Word and Language Service (OWLS for short). If you have a question about the meaning of a word or its origin, you can write or telephone, and the staff there will help you.