My working day

I am a student of English. I have been a student only for two months and a half. I can’t speak English well yet. I’m just a beginner, you know. I live in a hostel. It’s rather a long way from the University. In fact, it is in the country and it takes me about an hour and a half to get to the University. But it gives me no trouble at all, as I like to get up early. I don’t need an alarm-clock to wake me up. I am an early-riser, as they say.

Though our hostel is out of town it is very comfortable and has all modern conveniences.

As a rule I get up at 6.30, do morning exercises and have a shower. I don’t have a bath in the morning, I have a bath before I go to bed.

For breakfast I have a boiled egg and a cup of coffee. At about 7.30 I am quite ready to go. It is about a five minutes’ walk from the hostel to the bus stop. I usually take the 7.40 bus. I walk to the stop as I have plenty of time to catch my bus.

I come to the University five minutes before the bell rings. So I can have a chat with my friends. Only four students of our group are Muscovites, the others either come from different parts of our country or from other countries. We usually have a lot of things to talk about.

There is a very good laboratory at our University. It has modern equipment. We spend a lot of time in the laboratory listening to the tapes, imitating the sounds and intonation. It helps us to learn the language without much difficulty.

We don’t go out to lunch. There is a good canteen at our University. It is on the ground floor. We can go downstairs and have lunch in no time at all. As to my dinner I have it in a café on my way back to the hostel.

I come to the hostel from the University at about a quarter to five every evening. I live in a single room and have nobody to speak English to. I go to the girl next door and we do our lessons together. We are always ready to help each other.

In the evening we sometimes go out. We go to the pictures if there is something new on or to the club if there is a dancing party there.

But we often stay in, watch the TV program in the common room or listen to the radio. Then I read a book for half an hour or so and go to sleep. That doesn’t take me long, as a rule.

Exercise 2. Answer the questions

1. Is the hostel not far from the University?
2. Is it comfortable?
3. Where is the canteen?
4. Are the students always ready to help each other?
5. Where do the students sometimes go in the evening?
6. What do they do when they stay in?

Exercise 3. Speak on the following topics on the basis of the text

1. The early morning;
2. In the University;
3. To go out or to stay in.

Text 2

Exercise 1. Read and translate text 2.