At the theatre
There are not many theatres in Minsk but they are all very popular with the public. Theatre lovers don't miss any new performance at the Gorky Russian Drama Theatre and Yanka Kupala State Academic Theatre. Both children and grown-ups like to go to the Puppet Theatre and the circus. Those who are fond of music go to the Opera and Ballet Theatre and to the Philharmonic.
I am a great theatre-goer. I’ll never forget my first visit to the Belarusian Opera and Ballet Theatre. My friend and I wanted to see the famous ballet Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky. We knew the plot very well. We also knew some pieces of music from this ballet (Small Swans' Dance) and decided to see the whole performance.
We bought the tickets in advance and came to the theatre half an hour before the show. At 7 sharp the performance began. From the very first minute I was deeply impressed by everything I saw on the stage. The setting and the dancing were superb and exciting. The costumes were fine, the music was thrilling. The ballet seemed to me a fairy-tale. I had never seen anything more wonderful. My friend also enjoyed every minute of it.
After the first act we went to look over the theatre. We saw the boxes, the pit, the dress-circle and the gallery. There were many portraits of famous. Opera-singers, ballet-dancers, musicians and producers on the walls of the foyer. Among them we could see the portraits of A.Savchenko, R.Petrov, S.Gulegina, etc. In the foyer we came across our teacher of Literature. We had a word about the play and went to our seats again as it was the bell for the second act.
When the curtain fell at the end of the performance there came a storm of applause. It seemed that it would never end. The dancers received call after call. They were presented with large bouquets of flowers. We also applauded enthusiastically. The performance was a success.
Vocabulary
Show- спектакль, сеанс, представление
Performance - спектакль, сеанс, представление
Bouguet - букет
Lobby – вестибюль,
Foyer – фойе
Spectator - зритель
Audience – публика, зрители
The pit - партер
Stall– кресло в партере
Prompter- суфлер
Conductor- дирижер
Dresser- костюмер
Dressing room– актерская уборная
Dress circle - бельэтаж
Extra ticket – лишний билет
Cast– состав исполнителей
Chandelier- люстра
Scenery- декорация
Playbill – театральная афиша
EXERCISES
LEVEL II
Correct the statements:
- Theatres in Minsk are not popular with the public.
- Only children like to go to the Puppet Theatre and to the circus.
- Those who are fond of football go to the Opera and Ballet Theatre and to the Philharmonic.
- The ballet seemed to me boring.
- After the first act we went home.
LEVEL III
Give the English equivalents for:
театралы, сюжет, купить билеты заранее, ровно в семь, балет казался мне сказкой, когда опустили занавес, им дарили букеты цветов
LEVEL IV :
Say:
- what you like at the theatre most of all;
- what you do if the performance is a success;
- how you get tickets;
-what seats you prefer.
MEALS
To live we should eat. The process of chewing and swallowing food is called eating. We eat various food-stuffs: meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, fruit, eggs, bread etc. We partake of food several times a day. Partaking of food at a certain time is called meal. We have 3 meals a day: breakfast, dinner and supper.
In England meal times are: breakfast at about 8 o'clock in the morning, lunch at 1 p.m., tea at about 4 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. In many English working-class families dinner is eaten in the middle of the day instead of lunch. They have tea a little later - between 5 and 6 p.m., and then, in the evening, before going to bed, they have supper.
The English breakfast is a bigger meal than ours. It consists of porridge with milk or cream, bacon and eggs, marmalade or jam with toast, tea or coffee. For a change they can have a boiled egg, cold ham or perhaps fish.
Lunch in England starts with soup or fruit juice. Then follows some meat with potatoes, carrots and beans. Then a pudding comes. Instead of it they may have cheese and biscuits. Last of all comes coffee. Some people prefer lemonade.
Tea is the third meal of the day. It's rather light: a cup of tea with milk or cream and cakes or toast with jam.
Dinner, the last meal of the day, consists of soup, fish or meat with vegetables, sweet pudding, fruit salad, ice cream and coffee.
Before having meals we must cook our food. The ways of cooking are boiling, roasting, stewing, baking, stuffing. We say that food is underdone or overdone if it's too little or too much boiled or roasted. If the cake is good we say "The cake is a success", and if not, we say "The cake is a failure".
Before having a meal we lay (or set) the table. We put plates, cups, spoons, forks and knives. When dinner is served, we sit at table.
When people are at table they may ask their neighbor "Pass me salt, please", or "I'll trouble you for mustard". When you accept something that is offered you say "Yes, please", when you refuse you say "No, thank you". If you don't like the dish you may say "No, thank you, I don't care for it’.
If the hostess says «Help yourself to salad» or «Would you care for another helping» and you don't want, you say I’ve had enough, thank you» or «No more for me, thank you» or «No more, thanks, I've made an excellent meal». When we want a drink of water we say «I am thirsty» or «I'd like a drop of water». When we are hungry we say «I'd like to have a bite (snack) ».When we want to praise the food we say «It's delicious» or «You've dined me handsomely».
«To dine in» means to dine at home. When you are invited to dinner at your friends' or relatives' you say «I'm dining out».
If a person has a good (bad) appetite they say «He is a good (poor) eater». Happy meal!
Vocabulary
Chew - жевать
Swallow - глотать
Poultry – домашняя птица
To partake of food – принимать пищу
Meal - прием пищи
Porridge - каша
Cream – сливки крем
Ham - ветчина
Beans - бобы
To cook -готовить
To boil – варить кипятить
To roast - жарить
To stew - тушить
To bake - печь
To stuff - фаршировать
Underdone – недожаренный
Overdone - пережаренный
Failure - неудача
To lay/set the table - накрывать на стол
To serve dinner- подавать обед
Pass- передать
Refuse- отказаться
Hostess- хозяйка
Help yourself to…- угощайтесь…
Helping - порция кусочек
I am thirsty - хочу пить
To have a bite /snack/ - перекусить
To praise - хвалить
Delicious - восхитительный
To dine- угощать обедом, обедать
Handsomely- щедро изрядно
To dine in - обедать дома
To dine out - обедать вне дома
A good/poor eater - хороший/плохой едок
Exercises
LEVEL II
Put questions to the following answers
1. Meal.
2. Eating.
3. Boiling, roasting, stewing, baking, stuffing.
4. ‘I am thirsty’.
5. Underdone.