Huge letters across the top of the page screamed:
Aliens in the city!Two witnesses (to say nothing of the dog)!2
Словарик
alienздесь инопланетянин, пришелец
UFO (unidentified flying object) НЛО (неопознанный летающий объект)
namesake тезка
instant мгновенный
to take a liking to somebody полюбить кого-то
dogs in particularздесь особенно собак
to hint намекать
stroll прогулка
to head for направляться (куда-либо)
otherwise наоборот
liked her walks to be physical чтобы её прогулки были с упражнениями
both parties felt quite exhaustedздесь пока обе стороны не обессилят
to make out разглядеть, понять
thickздесь густой
inner selfздесь внутреннее я
thoroughly тщательно
that lowразг. так низко
killed all of my doubtsздесь развеял все мои сомнения
heard Piggy give an impatient woof Услышал, как Пигги нетерпеливо тявкнула
paperразг. газета
Вопросы и задания
Have you ever seen a UFO?
Have you been to Siberia?
Would you write about the incident if you were the story-tellers friend and a journalist? Why?/Why not?
Do you have a pet? What is it?
Do you believe in aliens? Why?/Why not?
Read aloud and translate any paragraph you like.
Balalaikas in Syria*
(746 words)
I am Alexander and I am Russian. Id like to tell you an interesting story about a trip I made to Damascus, in Syria, back in the 80eies. I worked in a city in the heart of Siberia as a translator. Once I was asked to interpret for a dancing group, composed of boys and girls aged between fourteen and seventeen as the group was going on a two-week tour to Syria.
They were a very professional dancing group, as theyd all started dancing at about the age of six, and had been training intensively almost every day since then. They learnt many different types of dances, so it was very impressive to see them. It was a real pleasure for my friend to work with the group, and to see them dance so often. Every time I saw them performing I couldnt help admiring them, as they danced so magnificently, better than many adult dancing groups that Id seen.
Anyway, we travelled to Damascus in July, in the middle of summer. It was unusually hot in Siberia at that time, about twenty-nine degrees Celsius, so everybody was sweating. I said to the group before we left, Dont forget, were going, to Damascus, very close to the desert, and its going to be something like forty-seven or even fifty degrees Celsius.
When we arrived at the airport, however, and got out of the plane, we couldnt believe we were in a desert region, as we all felt a bit chilly! It turned out that the temperature was only eighteen degrees Celsius!
The next day, however, there was a heat wave and it was blistering hot. The temperature reached forty-seven degrees, and during the day it was almost impossible for me and the group to go anywhere without staying in the shade. We had to walk under covered walkways, or stay under the canvas awnings of shops and cafes, as it was absolutely unbearable in the sun.
I remember that Damascus was dead during the day-time, with nearly empty streets and no other signs of life. But when the sun went down at about nine oclock in the evening, the city came alive. People would come out into the streets, the cafes and restaurants would open, and social life would start. Theyd go to parties, visit each other, buy and sell things, go to the cinemas and so on. This carried on until about three or four in the morning.
It was like an upside-down world for my friend, as in Siberia everything closed at about eight, the day finished and everybody went home and stayed there watching TV or rather going to bed.
Another thing that surprised me was that, whereas in Russia it was very unusual for children to go out with their parents in the evening, in Damascus it was quite common. Children of three or four years old would be sitting next to their parents in restaurants or cafes or, more usually, playing between the tables. I found this especially unusual as Russia was still behind the Iron Curtain at that time and Id never had an opportunity to travel abroad before.
The dancing tour was a dazzling success. The group performed in several cities, including Damascus, Aleppo and Latakia, and in each place the audiences went wild. They applauded and called for encores again and again. The dancing tour was a great success. The dancers were accompanied by a small group of musicians playing Russian folk instruments, balalaikas, which was very unusual for the local people, who were mostly Arabs, as their music was completely different; they were altogether amused, amazed and thoroughly entertained.
The group was especially successful in Aleppo, as thousands of Armenians live there. Armenia was a republic of the Soviet Union at that time, and when the locals learnt that a group from Russia were playing, and also that they played music by Khachaturian, the famous Armenian composer, they flocked to the performance. The group was very warmly received. The audience applauded and encored them many times, and was very enthusiastic, maybe because they liked the music so much and felt a deep nostalgic connection with it.
The group stayed in a beautiful five star hotel in Damascus, with luxurious facilities, swimming pools, tennis courts, huge four course meals and top class service, which was a real novelty for me. To this day, I still think the whole experience was one of the greatest of my life. It was my first trip abroad, and the first impressions are the strongest.
Словарик
compose составлять
to see them dance смотреть, как они танцуют
couldnt help admiring не мог не восхищаться
magnificent великолепный
chilly прохладный
blistering hotздесь очень жарко
awning навес из плотной ткани над входом
unbearable невыносимый
carry on продолжать(ся)
dazzling successздесь оглушительный успех