- •Talk about a person’s recollections of his childhood and his family
- •Talk about the daily chores of a British housewife
- •Talk about the attitude of a housewife to the hardships of life
- •Talk about a visitor’s impressions of an old country inn
- •Describe an old English country inn
- •Talk about nationality traits as seen by the English, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish
- •Talk about the house rules for lodgers in Britain
- •Talk about your experience of sharing a room
- •A good friend
- •Talk about the precaution people should take about their house when going on holiday or leaving it for a short time
- •Talk about a famous state building White House
- •Talk about a modern English writer Laurie Lee, the life of his mother and the personality features of his mother that made him admire her
Talk about a modern English writer Laurie Lee, the life of his mother and the personality features of his mother that made him admire her
Firs of all I’d like to mention the words of Thomas Carlyle: “A well-written life is almost as rare as a well-spent one”.
Laurie Lee was born in 1914. He worked for several years as an office clerk before moving to London where he found employment as a builder's labourer. in 1937 joined the International Brigades to fight in the Spanish Civil War. In the Second World War he made documentary films for the General Post Office, and the Ministry of Information. He published his first volume of poems The Sun My Monument in 1944. His most famous work was an autobiographical trilogy which consisted of Cider with Rosie (1959), As J Walked Out One Midsummer Morn-ing( 1969) and A Moment of War (1991). Laurie Lee died in 1997.
His mother was born in the village in the early 1880’s. She was the only girl in the large family of boys. The lack of sisters and daughters was something Mother always regretted; brothers and sons being her lifetime's lot.
She was a bright and dreamy child .She was the pride, none the less of the village school master, who did his utmost to protect and develop her.
Her mother was taken seriously ill when she was about 13 and she had to leave school for good. Than she started looking after her five young brothers and her father. When the brothers became big enough to look after themselves Annie went into domestic service. But one day good luck smiled at her: Annie saw an advertisement in a local newspaper saying that a widower with four children was searching for a housekeeper. Of course, she answered the advertisement. And that’s how she met Laurie Lee’s father. But unfortunately, later her husband left her with his children and some of her own.
So, we can see that mother’s lifetime lot wasn’t an easy one. In my opinion, it is almost impossible to imagine her feelings and the state of her soul. In fact, she was deprived of everything. It seems to me, she had a strong character. On the one hand she was too calm, dreamy, and even submissive. But on the other hand she had a strong personality.
Laure Lee told us about his mother in awe. He admired her for her unbearably hard work, which she continued to do in spite of her age. She could managed to take charge of her relatives and she do her utmost to provide them with all the best. Also, she has a wonderful freak of intelligence. On the whole, mother was a wise woman. She never complained about her fortune. And I admire her for this too.
Frankly speaking, I don’t know what I would do if I were in Annie’s shoes. The only thing I know for sure is that one must never give up or put up with their lot, but continue fighting for the place under the sun and believe that everything will be all right, and then it will be really so.