Вопрос № 605256 - Английский язык

Mr. Brown got to a hotel late in the evening. At the same time another traveller came to the hotel. The only vacant room was a double room. They spoke to each other and agreed to spend the night in the same room.

At night Mr. Brown was woken up by the second traveller. He felt very bad and asked to open the window to have some fresh air because he suffered from asthma.

Mr. Brown couldn’t find the matches, so he tried to find the window. He thought he had found it. Mr. Brown took a chair and broke the window with it. The sick man stopped moaning at once.

When they woke up next morning they were surprised to see that the only window in the room was still closed, but the large looking-glass was broken to pieces.

In the North of Scotland there is a lake which contains one of the biggest mysteries of the 20th century. For somewhere in deep waters of Loch Ness a monster is hiding. The story of the Loch Ness monster begins in 1933 when it was seen for the first time.

Since then it has been seen at least once every year and has been photographed many times. The first photograph was taken by a local man in November, 1933.

On one occasion, large brown eyes were seen and horns have been reported several times. The monster, however, has not been forgotten and will probably never be forgotten.

It is known that it sometimes leaves the loch. But the monster and its activities remain a mystery.

There is no doubt that speed and constant change have made hockey one of the most popular games in the world. The number of fans watching hockey games in stadiums or on TV is increasing from year to year.

Canada is the birthplace of ice-hockey, and for many years held first place in international competitions. But now Canada is not the only one on the top of the list of world champions.

Russian teams have won the first prize again and again in international competitions. Commentators and hockey experts speak of the speed and technical perfection of the Russian players.

But perhaps more important is the fact that Russian players act together as a team. This is usually more important than the talent of any one member of the team.

An old man had seven sons, who never agreed with each other. Each of them was always sure that he was right.

One day the old man called his sons to him. He took seven sticks tied together and gave the sticks to the boys. “Try to break them,” he said. The boys tried hard, but they couldn't break the sticks.

He took the sticks and untied them. Then he gave one stick to each boy and said, “Now, try to break the sticks!” This was not difficult, of course. Each boy immediately broke the stick that he held in his hands.

“That is what I wanted to show you,” their father said. “Like the seven sticks, you are strong when you are united. Let this serve as a lesson to you, to live in peace and friendship.

For over a hundred years, the people of London have gone to bed and got up in the morning to the deep sounds of the world famous bell called Big Ben.

It weighs 13.5 tons, and it is the largest bell in ail England. Each of the clock’s four faces is almost 6.5 metres in diameter.

Although the clock is so big, it is very exact; it is seldom more than one second wrong in 24 hours. English scientists use an original method to correct mistakes in the clock.

There is a small tray in the middle of the clock-work. If the clock is running slow, they put a penny coin in the tray, and the clock begins to run faster. If the clock begins to run fast, they take away the penny.

The train stopped at the border and the passengers were told to get their bags ready for examination by the customs officer. One of the passengers had bought many boxes of cigarettes, and they were in his bags.

He knew the customs limits on cigarettes. He was afraid they would count how many boxes he had, and would take half of them away from him.

The passenger went out into the corridor and saw a man standing alone at the window. “Will you help me?” he said to the man. “I’d be glad to,” the man answered. “Please, put these cigarettes into your pockets until the customs examination is over.”

“Why can’t the cigarettes be left in your bags?” the other man asked.
“Because I have too many. I am afraid they will take some of them.”
“All right,” the man said. “ But I must tell you  that I won’t return them to you.
“Why not?” the man asked in surprise. “Because I am the customs officer,” was the answer.