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Введение
Present Simple
Past Simple
Future Simple
Present Continuous
Past Continuous
Future Continuous
Present Perfect
Past Perfect
Future Perfect
Present Perfect Continuous
Past Perfect Continuous
Future Perfect Continuous
Passive voice
Conditionals
Mixed conditionals
Sequence of tenses
The Magician
Questions and Activities
Answer Keys
Факир
A travelling circus was giving the first performance of the season in a small country town. The striking billboards invited the townspeople not to miss a fairytale show. The circus tent-pavilion was erected right in the town center. The stage was decorated with colorful fairy lights. The town residents were not spoiled by frequent visits from performing guests like these, so the tickets were instantly sold out five shows ahead. The influx of spectators was so considerable, that the circus manager set up an additional standing-room. The tent was ready, the stage was set, and a crowd was forming outside. But one hour before the first show, a novice magician went up to a propman and demanded he be given a box for a rabbit to fit in, immediately. He explained that his magical black box got lost somewhere, and he couldn’t perform his act without it. The elderly propman pondered a little, and finally promised to find something alike. Ten minutes later, the magician had in his hands a wooden black box. It was a rather old and worn-out prop with faded sides. Unfortunately, the propman didn’t have something newer. Having opened the prop, the magician examined it carefully, and was really surprised at finding a mirror attached to the inner side of the lid. The conjuror had a few minutes before his appearance on the stage, so he didn’t have enough time to think about the purpose of the mirror.
It should be noted that the novice magician was a budding actor. The circus manager saw a creative personality in him. His repertory did not include a set of trivial tricks. The actor successfully materialized his fantasy on the stage after desperate creative searches and trials. Astonished spectators went into raptures over his honest deception. His bewildered colleagues frequently attacked him with queries such as, How did you manage to perform this trick? What is your secret? The conjuror replied that he drew his inspiration from nature, trying to reveal details that ordinary people were unable to see. And that set the right tone in his work.
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“The rabbit should not have appeared!” the pale artist interrupted, screaming at the manager. “I don’t understand the way the rabbit got into the box. There should not have been any kind of trick at all! Do you remember the script? I had to open the empty box without any animals at all, then clowns would run out into the arena and turn it into a farce!”
“Then whose evil joke is this? Maybe the tamer’s? But he works only with predators, so he can’t be responsible,” the manager said thoughtfully, walking away.
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