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1) Columbus was the first European 1) The Vikings got to America
to discover America. first. Codfishers from Bristol
discovered Newfoundland in the 1480s.
Christopher Columbus. Fact or Fallacy?
The 500th anniversary of the landing of Christopher Columbus in the New World was celebrated on October 12th 1992. But many historians today are disputing certain details of the conventional Columbus story.
§ Columbus is said to have been the first European to reach America but this is now widely disputed. There is plenty of evidence to show that the Vikings got there first. It is also thought that cod-fishers from Bristol in the west of England stumbled on Newfoundland in the 1480s. They kept their discovery a secret because they didn’t want anyone else to find out about their cod-fishing grounds.
§ It is often claimed that Columbus was the first person to sight land on his first voyage to the New World. Indeed, a huge prize had been promised to the first sailor to do so. On his return to Europe, Columbus claimed this for himself and the sailor who had in fact first sighted land was cheated of his prize.
§ It is said that Columbus had to persuade people that the earth was not flat. Most educated people knew that already.
§ Columbus is frequently described in history books as a great and noble explorer. However, he is seen by some as a ruthless imperialist, responsible for the slavery and destruction of America’s native tribes. Columbus described the first American Indians he met as ‘so much our friends that it is a marvel’. But his rule in Hispaniola prompted thousands of Indians to commit suicide.
§ Contrary to what people think, Columbus was not left to die in poverty, he just died in obscurity.
- Rephrase these sentences with the Subjective Infinitive Construction.
1) People say that Waiting Island in the Bahamas was Columbus’ first port of call.
2) People think that a hundred thousand of the population of Hispaniola died within two years of Columbus’ arrival.
3) The common belief is that Columbus landed first in the Bahamas.
4) Some people think that Columbus was an imperialist.
5) People say that Columbus’ real name was Cristobal Colon.
6) A lot of people think that Columbus died in poverty.
- What do you know about Columbus and his discovery? Express your opinion of this historical event.
Complete the sentences with the For-to-Infinitive Constructions and act out the dialogues.
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In the Station Buffet
- Come on, Susan! Hurry up! Drink your coffee! The train is leaving in a minute. We’ll be late!
- I can’t finish it.
- Why don’t you put some milk in?
- I don’t like white coffee… Oh…OK.
- There!…
- Yes…but it tastes awful!
On the Platform
- Oh! There’s the train… bring the cases.
- Ooh! What have you got in these cases?
- Only clothes. Why? Are they heavy?
- Yes, they are!
- The taxi-driver managed to carry them.
- Well, I’m not strong enough to help you… Porter!
On the Train
- Oh, Michael… I didn’t tell you. My sister phoned yesterday.
- Oh? Which sister? Andrea?
- Yes…she wants to get married.
- Married? But she isn’t old enough to get married. She is only 17. Who’s she going to marry?
- Basil Caraway.
- Basil Caraway! I don’t believe it!… He’s over 60.
- I know … but she loves him!
At their Destination
- Oh, no! That was the last bus home! And we’ve missed it!
- Well, let’s walk… it’s a nice, warm evening.
- It’s four miles! … Call a taxi!
- A taxi! My name isn’t Rockefeller!…
- Michael! You’ve forgotten something!
- What?
- We’ve got three suitcases. Do you really want to walk?
- OK… OK… Taxi!
FUN WITH GRAMMAR
Proverbs
Read the proverbs; try to memorize them. Give their Russian equivalents. Choose one proverb you like best, explain its meaning and comment upon it or use it in a short story.
Fortune is easily found, but hard to be kept.
All truths are not to be told.
Curses like chickens come home to roost.
To err is human.
Burn not the house to rid it of the mouse.
To know everything is to know nothing.
There is more than one way to kill a cat.
It’s enough to make a cat laugh.
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Learn to say before you sing.
If you agree to carry the calf, they’ll make you carry the cow.
The evils we bring on ourselves are hardest to bear.
It takes all sorts to make a world.
Each bird loves to hear himself sing.
Better a little fire to warm us than a great one to burn us.
If you try to please all, you will please none.
He is not fit to command others that cannot command himself.
It’s never too late to learn.
He knows much who knows how to hold his tongue.
Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
Be slow to promise and quick to perform.
Learn to creep before you leap.
Better to do well than to say well.
Nursery rhymes and poems.
Little Betty Blue
Has lost her holiday shoe.
Give her another
To match the other,
And she will walk in two.
* * *
-Pussy-cat, pussy-cat, where have you been?
-I’ve been to London to look at the Queen.
-Pussy-cat, pussy-cat, what did you do there?
-I frightened a little mouse under the chair.
* * *
Hey, diddle, diddle!
The cattle and the fiddle.
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed
To see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
* * *
Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie,
Kissed the girls and made them cry;
When the boys came out to play,
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Georgie Porgie ran away.
* * *
There was an old woman
And nothing she had,
And so this old woman
Was said to be mad.
She’d nothing to eat.
She’d nothing to wear,
She’d nothing to lose.
She’d nothing to fear.
She’d nothing to ask,
And nothing to give,
And when she did die
She’d nothing to leave.
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