At the library

I am a subscriber to our local library. About every fortnight I go there to exchange books. I enter the library and go to the Lending Department. Here I first of all look through the Catalogue. Sometimes I look through the Author Catalogue.

Best of all I like fiction, travel books, biographies. I find the name of the author and the title of an interesting book. I fill in a slit and hand in to the librarian. She goes to the repository to see if the book is there. Soon she comes back and says: “Here is the book you want”. Sometimes however she returns with the words: “I am sorry, the book is taken. What the other book would you like?” In such cases I suggest some other book. The librarian then gives me the book I have chosen. I thank her and go home.

It’s always a fine thing to get an interesting new book to read.

A library in london

A Library is a place where we go to read, or to borrow books. All London districts called boroughs have public libraries. These are the borough libraries.

Library authorities give out library tickets. In the library there are attendants who stand behind the counter and receive books. They also check out books. That means they take your library ticket, sign it with the number of the book, stamp the date on it and then hand over the book. In the book they stamp the date on or before which you must return it.

Students go there to do research work. Engineers may consult books on engineering. They can learn the English technical words which they need for their work.

The reading room of a library has newspapers and periodicals. There are daily papers, morning papers, evening papers and local papers – which come out every day of the week.

In the library you can find the reference library. This is the part of the library with all the reference books. You cannot take the contents of the reference library outside the reference library.

Questions

1. What kind of books do you read?

2. Are you a subscriber to a library?

3. How many books may you take home from the library?

4. At what time of the day do you generally read?

5. How often do you go to the library to exchange books?

6. Do you ever read in the reading room of the library?

7. What do you see on the title page of a book?

8. What do you find in the contents (table of matters) of a book?

9. Do you often use the dictionary in reading foreign books?

10. Who is your favourite writer or poet?

Unit 16. Shopping words and expressions

to go shopping to go shopping for smth. to make a purchase a shopping center a supermarket self-service department an expensive (cheap) dress a size larger (smaller) What size suit do you wear? The suit looks nice on you.

to put on to take off to pay cash a salesgirl a salesman a fitting room a cash-desk

grocer's greengrocer's baker's butcher's department department store ready-made clothes department

footwear department haberdashery department headwear department perfumery department stationary department dairy

to be of good (bad) quality

to be (of) one's size

to try on

How much does it cost?

How much is that suit?

I want a pair of shoes for everyday wear.

Have you a suit (dress, etc.) of my size?

Have you a tie to match my shirt?

Have you already tried this jacket on?

Do you think this jumper fits me well?

Can I have 200 grams of sausage at 2.20 a kilogram.