Читать книгу Английский разговорный язык. Практическое пособие по развитию устной речи - В. А. Миловидов - Страница 7

An American manufacturer is showing his machine factory to a potential customer from The Soviet Union. At noon, when the lunch whistle blows, two thousand men and women immediately stop work and leave the building.

«Your workers, they're escaping!» cries the visitor. «You've got to stop them.»

«Don't worry, they'll be back,» says the American. And indeed, at exactly one o'clock the whistle blows again, and all the workers return from their break.

When the tour is over, the manufacturer turns to his guest and says, «Well, now, which of these machines would you like to order?»

«Forget the machines,» says the visitor. «How much do you want for that whistle?»

Слова и выражения:

allocate – распределять, размещать

blow – дуть, гудеть, свистеть

encharge – давать задание

escape – спасаться, убегать

potential – потенциальный

whatever – что бы ни, какие бы ни

whistle – свисток, гудок

amount of feed – количество корма

be in effect – быть в действии

machine factory – машиностроительный завод

lunch whistle – гудок на обеденный перерыв

Exercise 5

Answer the questions:

1. What was the inspector encharged with?

2. What type of an economic system was still in effect in Russia in the days of the inspector's visit to the farm?

3. How did the first farmer spend 15 roubles given to him?

4. Why was the second farmer imprisoned?

5. What would you do if you were a chicken given 15 roubles to?

6. What factory was the American manufacturer showing to a potential customer from the Soviet Union?

7. How many people worked at this factory?

8. Why did the Soviet customer think that the workers were escaping?

9. Why did the workers come back?

10. Why did the customer want to buy the whistle, and not the machines?