Урок 12. Houses in the UK and Russia
Предмет: Английский язык, 9 класс

Lesson 12

Houses in the UK and Russia

In this lesson

you will learn to compare houses in the UK and Russia
you will be able to talk about famous buildings in the UK and Russia
you will read about the one of the most famous addresses in the world – 10 downing street

Ключевые слова: official functions, originally, ordinary, colleagues, government ministers, civil servants, grand.

Речевой материал: British and Russian houses.

Основное содержание урока

civil servants – государственные служащие

official functions – официальные мероприятия

originally – изначально

10 Downing Street is the residence of British Prime Minister. It is a very busy place where hundreds of civil servants work and where many official functions take place. Number 10 was originally given to the first prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole, as a gift.

оrdinary – обычный

grand – грандиозный

Number 10 looks like an ordinary terraced house from the outside, but it is grand inside.

The front of 10 Downing Street is very famous because the Prime Minister and other famous politicians make important announcements outside this big black front door.

government ministers – министры правительства

Inside the building, there are a number of features and beautiful rooms including the Grand Staircase and the State Dining Room. They are portraits of past Prime Ministers on the walls.

Government ministers meet to discuss important issues in the Cabinet Room.

colleagues – коллеги

The Prime Minister lives in a furnished flat on the second floor but he also has his own study where he works and reads and meets his colleagues.

Тренировочные задания

1.

Match the words with their meanings.

civil servants
colleagues
government ministers
grand
official functions
originally
оordinary
официальные мероприятия
государственные служащие
обычный
министры правительства
изначально
коллеги
грандиозный

2.

Put the paragraphs of the text in the correct order.

____ The Kremlin has been the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation and his Administration since 1992. It is where the highest offices of the state are located.

____ The Kremlin contains the Grand Kremlin Palace where the emperors of Russia used to live, the Senate and the Armoury.

____ It also has many churches, squares, gardens and palaces, which are among the city’s most popular tourist attractions. Red Square is the main attraction.

____ The biggest and most famous church St Basil’s Cathedral is situated there. It was built in 1554–1560 and has ten domes, each with a different design and colour.

____ On the other side of the Cathedral is the State Department Store (GUM) and the State History Museum (1875–1883).

____Along with Red Square, the Kremlin is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

3.

Read the text and fill in the gaps transforming the capitalized words.

DISCOVER
INDUSTRY
WEIGH
POSSIBLE
BUILD
BUILD
CONSTRUCT
USE
ELEVATE

Two (1) _______ in the middle of the 1800s made it possible to build modern skyscrapers. Before the (2) _______ Revolution brick and stone walls carried the (3) _______ of buildings. Because each floor was very heavy, it was (4) _______ to build very high houses. In the middle of the 19th century steel became an important (5) _______ material. This metal was strong and light. Architects could now construct a steel skeleton to support very tall (6) _______. Chicago’s Home Insurance Company Building was ten-stories tall and the first skyscraper to use such a steel (7) _______. Skyscrapers would have been (8) _______ if people had to walk up and down many flights of stairs. In 1853 an (9) _______ safe enough to carry passengers was invented.

4.

Read the text and fill in the gaps with the proper grammatical form of the capitalized words.

BECOME
BIG
MANY
SEE
FIGHT
TALL
HIGH
COMPLETE
FINISH
CITY
HIT
LONG
GROW
ENTER
BUILD
BE
LIGHT
STRONG
FAST

During the early 20th century the construction of tall buildings (1) _______ very popular in big cities. Cities grew (2) _______ as (3) _______ people could live and work there. Tall buildings (4) _______ also _______ as a symbol of power and greatness. Major cities, especially in America, (5) _______ for the (6) _______ buildings in the world. For four decades the Empire State Building in New York was the world’s (7) _______ structure. The 381-metre high landmark has 102 stories and (8) _______ in 1932. The World Trade Centre, (9) _______ in 1973, became a symbol of the (10) _______ economic strength. The destruction of the World Trade Centre in the terrorist attacks of 2001 (11) _______ the heart of the city. Today the world’s tallest buildings no (12) _______ stand in America. Other countries, mainly in the (13) _______ regions of Asia, (14) _______ the prestigious race for the tallest structures in the world. Some experts say (15) _______ a 1000-metre high structure (16) _______ no problem with today’s technology; others think that we need (17) _______, (18) _______ materials as well as (19) _______ elevators to make this possible.

5.

Read the text and choose the right options.

a) construct	b) design	c) invent

d) create

a) designed	b) is designed	c) is designing d) was designed
a) constructing	b) construction	c) constructed d) being constructed
a) do	b) make	c) have

d) design

a) who	b) where	c) which

d) what

a) making	b) made	c) to make

d) make

a) build	b) building	c) built

d) is being built

a) how	b) what	c) which

d) that

a) are going	b) going	c) were going d) will be going
a) thought	b) think	c) thinking

d) to think

a) like	b) as	c) such as

d) –

a) painters	b) artists	c) arts

d) creators

a) to	b) in	c) at	d) for
a) too	b) very	c) also

d) enough

Architects (1) _______ all kinds of buildings: schools and skyscrapers, hospitals and hotels, churches, train stations and houses.

Any building that is used by people (2) _______ by some architect.

A design is simply a plan. Before (3) _______ a building, an architect needs to draw a plan of the building. Sometimes architects (4) _______ a cardboard or plastic model of the building.

The building is then built by a construction company (5) _______ follows the directions of the plan. The architect closely controls the construction company (6) _______ sure that the building (7) _______ according to the plan.

Architects have to think of many things before they draw up the plan for a building. First they have to think about (8) _______ the building will be used for, how many people (9) _______ to use the building at the same time and what types of activities these people will do in the building. So, they think about the “function” of the building.

Besides (10) _______ about the function and safety of a building, architects also spend time creatively thinking about what they want the building to look (11) _______.

Architects have to be good (12) _______ and good scientists when they design a building. The building must be pleasant to look (13) _______, pleasant to work in and strong (14) _______ to be safe from most natural disasters.

6.

Read the text and mark the statements True, False, Not Stated.

No Housework Day is one of those days you see on calendars on the Internet but don’t know where it came from. It is always on April 7th. It is one day of the year when it is OK to do nothing in the house. Everybody has the day off from doing the household chores. It’s OK to let the dishes and washing pile up; it’s no problem to let another layer of dust settle on top of the TV; and it’s absolutely fine to leave the vacuum cleaner in its corner for the day. The laundry will be just fine in the basket until tomorrow. And as for cooking, make sure you have a home-delivery phone number handy. Or even better, get yourself off to a restaurant. This is also a good day for those who never do anything around the house, who never lift a finger, to appreciate those who do the housework.

You could celebrate it a little differently; if you’re not the person who normally does the housework, why not take over just for today? Or if you have an elderly neighbour, how about offering to help out with chores this No Housework Day?

What is housework, exactly? If you never do it, you probably never think about this. It is a lot of hard work and someone does it every single day. It starts while the rest of the house is still asleep. Next time you wake up, listen to see if you can hear the washing machine working or smell the coffee machine. It happens while you are still trying to open your eyes at the breakfast table. Then while you are at school, the breakfast dishes are magically cleaned, the tables wiped and the dishes all put in their place. You come home from school and the bath is clean, again. Your shirts are washed, ironed, and hanging in your closet, again. The toothpaste tube in the bathroom is never empty. Who does all this invisible housework?

A recent study conducted at the University of Michigan found that the average married American woman does 17 hours of housework per week! After a long day at school or work, housework is the last thing anyone wants to come home to do.

Doctors say that it is essential for people with busy lifestyles to relax. Relaxation can lower heart rate and blood pressure, reduce headaches, and improve concentration.

Celebrate National No Housework Day by ignoring the dirty dishes in the sink and the piles of laundry that need to be done and just relax. You deserve it!

National No Housework Day was founded by American doctors.
April 7th is the day off in the USA.
Home-delivery from restaurants is free on No Housework Day.
Some people who don’t usually do any household chores prefer to do them on this day.
Those who do housework get up earlier than the rest of the family.
Special robots are available to do all the household chores. Housework is a popular hobby for American teens.
Regular relaxation is necessary for health.

7.

Read the text and fill in the gaps with the proper grammatical form of the capitalized words.

TELL
LOVE
TAKE
EIGHTY
HAVE
BE
MEAN
NOT LET
COME
TELL
EXPRESS
TRY
SPEND
TREASURE
SPEND
SHOW
FEEL

When was the last time you (1) _________ your family and close personal friends that you (2) _________ them? Whatever your answer, do it today. A few days ago my grandfather (3) _________ to hospital, just days after his (4) _________ birthday, for heart problems. He (5) _________ already heart surgery, and this time, just as in the past, he managed. But any day can be his day, the day when it (6) _________ too late to tell him how much he (7)’ _________ to me over the years.

(8) _________ that day (9) _________ for your loved ones without (10) _________ them what they mean to you. I know that for many of us, (11) _________ those kinds of feelings isn’t easy. That’s true for me, but I (12) _________ to overcome those barriers since I understood it.

But even if that’s too difficult for you, I recommend you (13) _________ more time with your family or (14) _________ friends.

Talk to them. Listen to them. Understand them. Just (15) _________ a little time with someone (16) _________ that you care. It’s our actions, not just our words, that really speak what our hearts (17) _________.

8.

Read the text and fill in the gaps with the words derived from the capitalized words.

DIFFER
BUILD
SLOW
TRADITION
VARY
ENTER
SUBURB
USUAL
SURROUND

Houses and Homes: Culture and Lifestyle

Home styles around the world are (1) _________ because of culture and tradition. Western-style houses and (2) _________ are found all over the world. With their simple design they are (3) _________ replacing (4) _________ houses in the Middle East and Asia.

In big cities where there is not enough space people often live in apartments.

They appear in (5) _________ sizes and forms – from one-room apartments to apartments with balconies or terraces or even penthouses. Town houses in cities have separate street (6) _________.

Many (7) _________ residents live in single-family houses with their own yards and gardens. In rural areas farmhouses (8) _________ stand alone in the (9) _________ of fields, barns and huts.

Контрольные задания

1.

Express the same in Russian.

colleagues

civil servants

оrdinary

government ministers

2.

Read the text and fill in the gaps with the proper grammatical form of the capitalized words.

STRUGGLE
BUILD
LARGE
WALK
MANAGE
BEAT
CONSTRUCT
PREPARE
USE
USE
BEGIN
DECORATE

While the rest of us (1) _________ to piece together our miniature gingerbread houses, the people at Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas (2) _________ one that is (3) _________ than many homes and hard enough for people (4) _________ in!

Not surprisingly the 1,110 cubic metres delightful structure (5) _________ to get a Guinness World Record, (6) _________ out the previous titleholder – a 1,019 cubic metres model (7) _________ at Minnesota’s Mall of America in 2012.

The bakers began the construction of this house by (8) _________ delicious gingerbread panels (9) _________ 1,800 pounds of butter, 7,200 eggs, 7,200 pounds flour, 1,080 ounces of ground ginger and 2,925 pounds of brown sugar, some of which (10) _________ for the icing. Then they (11) _________ the sweet process of (12) _________ it with 22,304 pieces of candy!

3.

Read the text and fill in the gaps with the proper form of the capitalized words.

arch
design
build
special
architect
live
wood

An Architect and an Interior Designer at Home

When they bought the apartment, Mr. Penick, an (1) _________, and Ms. Penick, an interior (2) _________, both worked for the giant firm Skidmore. While he helped create large (3) _________, like the office tower at 450 Lexington Avenue, she worked as a color and materials (4) _________. They rearranged their house according to their taste.

Mr. Penick’s (5) _________ talents are evident when you get inside of his (6) _________ room. There, he designed bookshelves in the form of (7) _________ boxes that seem to float on steel supports, almost like miniature buildings.

Вариант 2

1.

Express the same in Russian.

grand

official functions

originally

civil servants

2.

Read the text and fill in the gaps with the proper grammatical form of the capitalized words.

AMERICA
PRIME
HAPPY
RELATE
ADD
NEAR
EMBARRASS
GENERAL
DIRECT
RACE
ECONOMY
STRESS
FINANCE
OPTIMIST

What makes (1) _________ teens and young people happy these days? You might call money and music as (2) _________ sources of (3) _________. You would be wrong. Among 13-24-year-olds, according to a survey asked of 1280 people, spending time with family came in at top.

Seventy-three per cent indicated that a good (4) _________ with their parents made them happy. In (5) _________, when looking towards a role model, (6) _________ half of the respondents mentioned one of their parents. Other results can cause some (7) _________. Most of the people (8) _________ felt happy with the (9) _________ of their lives, but the survey discovered a (10) _________ divide. Whites tended to be happier across all (11) _________ categories than blacks or Hispanics. As for having (12) _________ times, kids noted a 10% higher rate than adults. For those in the 18-24 range, jobs and (13) _________ matters caused worry. Respondents in the 18-24-year-old range were more (14) _________.

3.

Read the text and fill in the gaps with the proper form of the capitalized words.

Mouse
Spoil
Worry
Hunt
Free
Meet
Suggest

There was a grocery shop in a small town. Plenty of (1) _________ lived in that grocery shop. Food was in plenty for them. They ate everything and (2) _________ all the bags. They also wasted the bread, biscuits and fruits of the shop.
The grocer got really (3) _________. So, he thought, “I should buy a cat and let it stay at the grocery. Only then I can save my things.” He bought a nice, big fat cat and let him stay there. The cat had a nice time (4) _________ the mice and killing them. The mice could not move (5) _________ now. They were afraid that anytime the cat would eat them up. The mice wanted to do something. They held a (6) _________ and all of them tweeted “We must get rid of the cat. Can someone give a (7) _________”? All the mice sat and brooded.