Everyday English

B: How very interesting! And who is the common ancestor Clinton and Bush are descended from?

A: Both are descended from King John of England, Bush through John’s son Henry III and Clinton through his daughter Eleanor².

B: Fancy that! Both have connections to ancient noble families and even to the royal ones!

A: There is one more interesting point. Clinton also descended from Eleanor’s husband, Simon³ de Montfort, Earl of Leicester⁴, who was a great democrat of his days and was called “the champion of Parliament”.

B: So, the descendant of a democrat is himself a representative of the Democratic Party of the USA.

A: Yes, exactly! At the same time, Bush is a representative of the opposition party, the Republicans.

B: So, Henry III and Simon, brothers-in-law, were opponents in those far away days, and their descendants were presidential contenders in the fall of 1992.

Notes:

¹ issue - выпуск, номер

² Eleanor ['elma]

³ Simon ['saiman]

⁴ Leicester ['testa]

(®) 8 Brigitte Bardot. An Improptu¹ Marriage

A: I looked through an English newspaper and came across a short article titled “Bardot admits improptu marriage”.

B: Is it about the famous French actress who starred in so many films in the 60’s and 70’s?

A: Yes, she is not in films any more. She is on the bad side of her fifties and she leads a secluded² life rarely appearing in public.

B: How did she meet her present husband, then?

A: They met at a party, they say.

B: Does it say there that they decided to marry? Love at first sight?

A: Not quite so. The urge to get married came upon them when they took their trip to Norway, where Brigitte’s son lives.

B: They both had to get divorced from their previous marriages, I suppose.

A: No, Brigitte had been divorced for 23 years. It was her fourth marriage, by the way.

B: Which marriage is her son by?

A: Brigitte’s son Nicolas was born during her second marriage. His father was an actor, too.

B: What does her present husband do?

A: He is a businessman, 7 years her junior.

B: Was it a marvellous wedding ceremony in a church?

A: Nothing of the kind. This is how Brigitte describes it, “We came upon a chapel³ I lost in the romantic countryside. It was raining hard. We went through the doors of the chapel. And there, suddenly, we decided to get married.”

B: But the pastor could give them his blessing only in the presence of witnesses.

A: The taxi driver and the church caretaker⁴ served as witnesses.

Notes:

¹ impromptu [im'promptju:] - экспромт

² secluded [si'klwdad] - замкнутый

³ chapel [t|tepl] - часовня

⁴ caretaker - сторож, смотритель

® H

N answers the door and shows in her friend, Ann.

N: Ann, meet the aunts and uncles, grannies and grandpas, the nephews and nieces, and all the rest.

A: Pleased to meet you all, I’m sure. My, what a big family you are!

N: This is only the immediate family. You’re the only outsider here now. You will sit next to the oldest member of family present - my greatgrandfather. Grandpa, dear, I’m going to put my friend in this seat near you.

GR.-GRANDF: The pleasure is all mine. Please sit down, my dear. Make yourself at home. So, Nadya must give me away at once and tell my age.

A: You don’t look your age at all. So don’t mind her.

GR.-GRANDF: A person is as old as he feels, they say. Still...

A: Nadya is your great-grand-daughter, isn’t she? She’s the exact image of you (there’s a strong family resemblance between you) - of course, taking the difference in age into consideration.

GR.-GRANDF: Does she really look like me so much? I’m flattered. She’s a good-looking girl, isn’t she?

A: How wonderful it must be for you to look round the table and see four generations of your descendants!

GR.-GRANDF: We are a long lived family. Only your dear granny died young.

N: (to A) She was 50 when she died.

A: Your family, it seems to me, are very much attached to each other.

N: Well, more or less, I suppose.

Notes:

¹ A guest is shown into the house; afterwards he is shown (seen) out of house

² one’s immediate family - семья, состоящая из ближайших родственников

³ The pleasure is all mine = I’m very pleased

Ex. 19. Working in pairs make up dialogues using the following variations.

- What is your

brother called? elder brother youngest sister

- His (Her) name is Oscar.

William Lizzi Edward