Task 2. Read the text again and match the words in bold with the synonyms below. 1. Very much alike 2. View, outlook 3. Scrutiny 4. Investigating 5. Neglect 6. Adapt 7. Concentrate 8. Very old 9. Interest 10. Encourage
A Roaring Good TimeThe sun was setting below the horizon. The last of the sightseers were leaving Trafalgar Square in downtown London, heading back to their hotels with their families.
The Square took on an eerie emptiness. The pigeons flew to nearby window ledges to roost for the night and the monument, with Lord Admiral Nelson sitting atop, stood alone. The only noise that could be heard was the spray of the fountain as the drops of water hit the pool below. The four bronze lions that sat on the monument, protecting Lord Nelson, were now alone. No longer were children climbing all over them. No longer were cameras flashing. It was silent.
"Are they all gone?" asked Albert.
Susan looked around, "All clear from my view."
"Here too," said Beatrice.
"We’re okay over here," called Edward.
"Then let’s go and have some fun!" growled Albert, as the four lions sprang to life, as they did every night at this time, and leapt off the monument onto the ground below. They stretched their aching limbs. Sitting in the same position all day long was tiring.
"I’ve got an idea of what we can do tonight!" exclaimed Beatrice. She was the mischievous one of the group. "You know those guards down at Buckingham Palace? I say that we go there and try to get one of them to move. They aren’t supposed to even blink. I’ve thought of a good way to scare them."
"Great!" said Edward, "and while we’re there we can go through the Royal rubbish and find something for dinner. I heard some tourists talking about a banquet at the palace tonight. You know what that means, don’t you?"
"Leftovers," Susan and Albert called out together.
The four bronze lions headed down the Mall, which is the name of the street leading from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace. St. James Park is off to the side of it. They ran in there to stay hidden from any cars that might drive past. Beatrice roared and scared a flock of sleeping ducks. She roared in delight as they quacked and flew away angrily.
Susan wasn’t quite as mischievous as the others. As she went through the park, she took time to avoid stepping on the daffodils and crocus. Albert and Edward didn’t care what they stepped on. "There’s Buckingham Palace. Albert, you jump over the fence first, but be careful. Those spikes at the top are sharp. They can scratch you pretty bad," warned Beatrice.
Albert didn’t hesitate. He leapt over the fence without any problem; after all, they were all very large bronze lions. Susan, Beatrice and Edward followed.
"Now, should we eat first?" Albert asked.
"Let’s scare the guard first, Albert, and then we’ll eat. Come on, we’ll have to be really quiet if we want to sneak up on the guard," Beatrice reminded the group. One by one they made their way toward the guard’s box, staying very close to the palace walls. They could see him standing there, stiff as a board. "Let’s play with him," giggled Beatrice. "I’ll run by really fast. He’ll see a blur, but not be sure what it is. That will attract his attention." Beatrice ran as fast as she could past the guard. He didn’t move a muscle. She ran back, but this time much closer to him. He still stood at attention.
"He didn’t even blink an eye," said Edward, amazed.
"This time, I’ll go and stop right in front of him and roar," said Albert. "He’s never seen a bronze lion roar before, surely."
Albert crept up slowly and went behind the guard’s box. He bumped it softly, on purpose, to alert the guard. He stood waiting, but the guard never moved. Seeing that he was wasting his time, he jumped out from behind the box and stood in front of him. He was three times the size of the guard. There was still no reaction from the soldier. Albert took a deep breath and then let out a loud and ferocious roar. His breath blew the black fur on the guard’s hat. The guard still didn’t move but the palace lights came on and soon soldiers were pouring out of the building.
The four lions ran and jumped over the fence. They hid behind the Victoria monument and watched. The soldiers were all over the grounds, searching under every bush and behind every tree. Susan heard one of them say, "I could swear that noise we heard was a lion’s roar." She giggled.
Another soldier said, "It was probably just a car revving up its engine. Whatever it was, it’s gone now."
From behind the statue, Edward commented, "Whew! That was close. We didn’t get anything to eat though and I’m starving!"
"We almost got caught that time, Edward. We’ll have to find food somewhere else," Susan said.
"Did you see that guard? He didn’t move. Not one muscle!" Albert noted.
The four lions ran back through the park towards Parliament and Big Ben. Just as they reached Westminster Bridge, Big Ben chimed twelve loud chimes. BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG!
Computer addicts are the minority of computer users but there is no doubt that more and more young people are computer literate. Computer studies is a subject in many schools and many young people have personal computers. About one in three hundred computer owners spend almost all their time using computers. Ninety six per cent of them are males of all ages. All of them spend an average of twenty hours per week on home computers. The majority of the adults also use computers at work. All the computer addicts are very intelligent. They have been interested in science and technology from a very early age and they are usually very shy people who like being alone. A survey in a school showed that fewer girls are interested in computers because girls are less likely to have a computer. Even if they have one, they use then less frequently than boys. Possibly it is because we think of computers as something to do with maths and science, which are traditionally 'male' subjects. Possibly it is because most of the computer teachers are men, who give the girls less attention. Possibly parents think it is less important for girls to have computer skills. Computer addicts are usually very shy people. Using computers gives them confidence. They love debugging and solving problems, develop programs and love learning programming languages. They learnt to communicate with other users through computer networks and the people they met in school and work think of them as experts who could help and advise when they had problems with their machines. A few spend their time 'hacking' and one addict left a message on a computer of Buckingham House. Very few computer addicts play computer games, but many people use a computer exclusively for games. Some parents worry about computer games because they think their children won't be able to communicate with real people in the real world. But parents do not need to worry. According to research computer addicts usually do well after they have left school. Parents also do not need to worry that computer addiction will make their children become unfriendly and unable to communicate with people. It is not the computer that makes them shy. In fact, what they know about computers improves their social lives. They become experts and others come to them for help and advice. For most children computer games are a craze. Like any other craze, such as skate-boarding, the craze is short-lived. It provides harmless fun and a chance to escape. If we didn't have these computer addicts, we wouldn't have modern technology. They are the inventors of tomorrow.
Children's Stories . By Margo Fallis
A Roaring Good Time
A Roaring Good TimeThe sun was setting below the horizon. The last of the sightseers were leaving Trafalgar Square in downtown London, heading back to their hotels with their families.
The Square took on an eerie emptiness. The pigeons flew to nearby window ledges to roost for the night and the monument, with Lord Admiral Nelson sitting atop, stood alone. The only noise that could be heard was the spray of the fountain as the drops of water hit the pool below. The four bronze lions that sat on the monument, protecting Lord Nelson, were now alone. No longer were children climbing all over them. No longer were cameras flashing. It was silent.
"Are they all gone?" asked Albert.
Susan looked around, "All clear from my view."
"Here too," said Beatrice.
"We’re okay over here," called Edward.
"Then let’s go and have some fun!" growled Albert, as the four lions sprang to life, as they did every night at this time, and leapt off the monument onto the ground below. They stretched their aching limbs. Sitting in the same position all day long was tiring.
"I’ve got an idea of what we can do tonight!" exclaimed Beatrice. She was the mischievous one of the group. "You know those guards down at Buckingham Palace? I say that we go there and try to get one of them to move. They aren’t supposed to even blink. I’ve thought of a good way to scare them."
"Great!" said Edward, "and while we’re there we can go through the Royal rubbish and find something for dinner. I heard some tourists talking about a banquet at the palace tonight. You know what that means, don’t you?"
"Leftovers," Susan and Albert called out together.
The four bronze lions headed down the Mall, which is the name of the street leading from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace. St. James Park is off to the side of it. They ran in there to stay hidden from any cars that might drive past. Beatrice roared and scared a flock of sleeping ducks. She roared in delight as they quacked and flew away angrily.
Susan wasn’t quite as mischievous as the others. As she went through the park, she took time to avoid stepping on the daffodils and crocus. Albert and Edward didn’t care what they stepped on. "There’s Buckingham Palace. Albert, you jump over the fence first, but be careful. Those spikes at the top are sharp. They can scratch you pretty bad," warned Beatrice.
Albert didn’t hesitate. He leapt over the fence without any problem; after all, they were all very large bronze lions. Susan, Beatrice and Edward followed.
"Now, should we eat first?" Albert asked.
"Let’s scare the guard first, Albert, and then we’ll eat. Come on, we’ll have to be really quiet if we want to sneak up on the guard," Beatrice reminded the group. One by one they made their way toward the guard’s box, staying very close to the palace walls. They could see him standing there, stiff as a board. "Let’s play with him," giggled Beatrice. "I’ll run by really fast. He’ll see a blur, but not be sure what it is. That will attract his attention." Beatrice ran as fast as she could past the guard. He didn’t move a muscle. She ran back, but this time much closer to him. He still stood at attention.
"He didn’t even blink an eye," said Edward, amazed.
"This time, I’ll go and stop right in front of him and roar," said Albert. "He’s never seen a bronze lion roar before, surely."
Albert crept up slowly and went behind the guard’s box. He bumped it softly, on purpose, to alert the guard. He stood waiting, but the guard never moved. Seeing that he was wasting his time, he jumped out from behind the box and stood in front of him. He was three times the size of the guard. There was still no reaction from the soldier. Albert took a deep breath and then let out a loud and ferocious roar. His breath blew the black fur on the guard’s hat. The guard still didn’t move but the palace lights came on and soon soldiers were pouring out of the building.
The four lions ran and jumped over the fence. They hid behind the Victoria monument and watched. The soldiers were all over the grounds, searching under every bush and behind every tree. Susan heard one of them say, "I could swear that noise we heard was a lion’s roar." She giggled.
Another soldier said, "It was probably just a car revving up its engine. Whatever it was, it’s gone now."
From behind the statue, Edward commented, "Whew! That was close. We didn’t get anything to eat though and I’m starving!"
"We almost got caught that time, Edward. We’ll have to find food somewhere else," Susan said.
"Did you see that guard? He didn’t move. Not one muscle!" Albert noted.
The four lions ran back through the park towards Parliament and Big Ben. Just as they reached Westminster Bridge, Big Ben chimed twelve loud chimes. BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG!