Найдите в тексте соответствия следующих слов и выражений: И так далее; кроме того; завязать разговор; никто не имеет дел с незнакомцами; избегать сплетен; давать советы и взваливать на себя груз чужих проблем; личный опыт; действуйте по ситуации; это сработало; сводить на нет; не имеет значения; я пришла к выводу; невыносимо неловко.
Talking about weather/Разговоры о погоде.
It seems to me that the English begin the day with conversation about the weather and finish it with the same theme. At home, at work, on the street — always: ‘Today is wonderful, isn’t it, dear?’ or ‘Awful weather today, isn’t it? Will it stop raining at last today?’ And so on… Like this arise a million conversations about various topics, starting with a short chat over breakfast or at the bus stop and finishing with a conversation with a friend or a colleague at work.
For me this was always fascinating. In Russia people at bus stops look at you like potential competition who could occupy your potential seat. There are no friendly conversations about the weather with strangers at the bus stop, you wouldn’t even think about it. Besides, there are so many people that you would have to spend no less than half an hour walking around everybody sharing your sentiments about the weather. I think people would start to recoil from the friendly questioning potential passenger and think that one was loony.
How do people usually start a conversation with friends or colleagues in Russia? ‘How are you? OK?’ or ‘How’re you feeling?’ and about feelings people talk readily and always. Not only this, but they start to share their problems, and the conversation can stretch on until dinner, starting with analysis of the problem, cigarette breaks and heaps of advice from personal experience or the experience of a friend. But with strangers…no, nobody has any dealings with strangers; everybody has ‘distressing deep thoughts’ about tomorrow’s day. For some: ‘What fur coat to wear — mink or fox?’, for others: ‘To buy a litre of milk or is it better two loaves of bread?’
So, this kind of communication and start of a conversation I am, of course, used to, for me it was civil to ask about mood. Once, when I was in college in England, where I taught language, I asked the students about their
moods, in answer I heard ‘deadly’ silence. I was lost for some seconds but recollected the advice of our lecturer in foreign languages. His main advice comprised — when entering an auditorium you need to consider yourself an actor who has walked out on stage, and be prepared for all the surprises of stage life. In his words — be spontaneous!
I immediately started talking about the weather, and it helped. I saw puzzled faces, trying to translate my questions about the weather. The English people were in a familiar situation!
From time to time I asked myself — well, from idleness of thoughts, I supposed ‘Hmm, why are English people so worried by the weather? Maybe, it’s because the weather changes several times a day?’ You can experience, in the course of one day, all the seasons of the year, depending on which sea the wind is blowing in from. The position of the sun in this does not play a significant role. It can be shining, and even brightly, but the wind from the North Sea brings to nothing all the sun’s efforts. Or in January, for example, you can get a tan and even sweat somewhere in a corner sheltered from the wind by the sea.
I think that the initial reason for the ‘passion’ for talking about the weather was precisely this bottom line. ‘No matter how you look at it’ the theme in discussion is broad; anyone and everyone can ‘blaze’ about it.
However, I came to the conclusion that there are also at least two more reasons for this chattiness.
One of them, I speculate, is hidden in the extraordinary / traditional / genetic politeness of the English. If they need to find something out then firstly they will cautiously utter one or two phrases about the weather and only after will present the question they crave to ask. Also, they consider it unbearably awkward to stand with ‘puffed out cheeks’ at the bus stop in the company of two or three people. And… they start to twitter about the weather.
The other reason again leaks from my observations — they tried to avoid gossip. They don’t like over-the-fence talk. Praise to you English! Likewise they don’t like to give advice and take upon themselves the heaviness
and responsibility of other people’s problems. In Russia, you just murmur your problem and you receive 33 happy answers and assurance that there are no unsolvable problems.
3. Have you ever been to China?
4. Have you ever been to the Philippines?
5. Have you ever been to the south of France?
6. Can you tell me where the Regal cinema is?
7. Can you tell me where Merrion Street is?
8. Can you tell me where the Museum of Modern Art is?
9. Europe is bigger than Australia.
10. Belgium is smaller than the Netherlands.
11. Which river is longer – the Mississippi or the Nile?
12. Did you go to the National Gallery when you were in London?
13. “Where did you stay?” “At the Park Hotel in Hudson Road.”
The United States is a big country. It is made of 50 states. Hawaii is the 50th state. Rhode Island is the smallest. The capital of the USA is Washington, D.C.
There are mountains in the west and big lakes in the north. The longest North American river, the Mississippi, begins near these lakes and flows into the Gulf of Mexico.
Keys New Zealand is a small country. It is situated south-east of Australia. Nearly 3,5 million people live in the country. The capital of New Zealand is Wellington. The official language is English. The climate of New Zealand is moist. There are many rivers in the country. The main rivers are the Waikato and the Wairu.