Buckingham Palace

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, which is today the official residence of the British Monarchy, has served that function only since comparatively recent times. In the Middle Ages the principal London residence of the kings was the Palace of Westminster, now rebuilt as the Houses of Parliament.

Today, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh live in the private apart­ments on the north side of the palace. In all, Buckingham Palace has 19 state rooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 182 staff rooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. Some 450 people work in the palace and 40,000 people are en­tertained there every year. Unlike many other historical monuments, Buck­ingham Palace remains a fully occupied, working royal palace and it gives it a particular fascination. The Queen, as head of state, receives there a large number of formal and informal visitors, including the Prime Minister at weekly audiences, foreign and British ambassadors and high commission­ers, bishops, and senior officers of the armed services and the civil service.

The highlight of royal entertaining, however, is the state banquet, usually for about 170 guests, given by the Queen on the first evening of a state visit of a foreign head of state to the United Kingdom.

XVIII. Translate the following into English:

1. Букингемский дворец сегодня – это официальная резиденция Британской монархии.

2. В средние века главной резиденцией королей был Вестминстерский дворец, перестроенный ныне в здание парламента.

3. Частные апартаменты королевы и герцога Эдинбургского в настоящее время находятся в северном крыле дворца.

4. В отличие от многих других исторических памятников, Букингемский дворец задействован целиком и находится полностью в рабочем состоянии. Это придает ему особенное обаяние.

5. Королева как глава государства принимает здесь огромное количество официальных и неофициальных гостей, включая Премьер-министра, британских и зарубежных послов.

6. Здесь королева дает банкеты в честь приезда в Великобританию глав зарубежных государств.

DIALOGUES

I. Read the dialogues in pairs.

I

A. What’s Whitehall? Is it a building?

B. A building? But it isn’t. It’s a street.

A. Oh, really? What is it famous for?

B. It’s the street where all the government offices are.

A. By the way, what’s the beautiful building over there?

B. It’s the Houses of Parliament.

A. The houses? But there’s only one house there!

B. Quite right. But it’s the Houses because the British Parliament has two chambers – the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

II

A. Which are the most famous picture galleries in London?

B. Well, the National Gallery, to begin with; then comes the National Portrait Gallery, then the Tate Gallery.

A. Yes, but what about the British Museum? I’ve heard a lot of it.

B. Oh surely, you ought to go there, but the British Museum is not a museum of Fine Arts. In the first place it’s a museum of history, archaeology and ethnography. It’s also one of the largest libraries in the world.

III

A. Why, it’s N ^o 10 Downing Street!

B. Exactly so. Here the Prime Minister of Britain lives.

A. And where is the residence of the Queen?

B. The London residence of the British Kings and Queens is Buckingham Palace. The Royal Standard flying over Buckingham Palace is the sign that the Queen is in residence.

IV

A. What’s “Trooping the Colour”? ^* I often heard of it but I never know what it means.

B. Every year the ceremony of Trooping the Colour is carried out in celebration of the Queen’s birthday. It is performed by troops of Household Brigade in full dress uniform. This event is perhaps the finest spectacle in London.

A. When and where is it held?

B. It’s held near St. James’ Park in June.

^* Trooping the colour – вынос знамени, торжественный развод караулов с выносом знамени

II. Memorize the dialogues and reproduce them.

III. Make up your own dialogues on the situations that follow.

1. Imagine that you’ve just come home from London. Your relatives want to know all about the capital of the United Kingdom. Give detailed answers to their questions.

2. One of you is a guide. The others are tourists. Ask your guide about London.

JUST FOR FUN

I. Read the jokes and retell them to your friends.

* * *

“I am sorry about the way the pie tastes, darling. It must be something I left out.”

“Nothing you left out could make it taste like that. It must be something you put in.”

* * *

“Only cheese for lunch?”

“Yes, the cutlets caught fire and it spread to the apple tart so I had to take soup to put it out.”

* * *

“What do you give your husband, when the dinner doesn’t suit him?”

“His coat and hat.”

* * *

Wife: “Have a look at the cake I decorated for my birthday party. Don’t you think my sense of design is wonderful?”

Husband (counting the candles): “Yes, but your arithmetic is terrible.”

* * *

Husband (angrily): “What? No supper ready? This is the limit. I’m going to a restaurant.”

Wife: “Wait just five minutes.”

Husband: “Will it be ready then?”

Wife: “No, but then I’ll go with you.”

* * *

Young husband: “This meat is not cooked, not in the pie.”

Young wife: “I did it like the cook-book said but as the recipe was for four people and we are two, I took half of everything and cooked it for half the time it said.”

II. Read the proverbs and sayings that follow. Use some of them in a dialogue or a situation of your own.

Proverbs and Sayings

1. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Яблоко в день - и никакой врач не нужен.

2. A hungry belly has no ears. Голодное брюхо к ученью глухо.

3. I am as hungry as a hunter. Я голоден как волк.

4. Hunger is the best sauce. Голод – лучшая приправа.

5. Tastes differ. О вкусах не спорят.

6. Don’t live to eat, but eat to live. Не жить, чтобы есть, а есть, чтобы жить.

7. Appetite comes with eating. Аппетит приходит во время еды.

8. Eat at pleasure, drink with measure. Ешь вволю, (а) пей в меру.

9. Hunger breaks stone walls. Голод ломает и каменные стены; нужда всему научит.

10. One man’s meat is another man’s poison. Что для одного еда, то для другого яд.

11. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Чтобы узнать, каков пудинг, надо его отведать (все проверяется практикой).

12. Too many cooks spoil the broth. Слишком много поваров портят бульон (У семи нянек дитя без глазу).

13. Who has never tasted bitter, knows not what is sweet. Кто никогда не пробовал горького, не знает, что такое сладкое.

14. You can’t eat your cake and have it too. Нельзя съесть свой пирог и в то же время сохранить его (нельзя делать взаимно исключающие вещи).

III. Learn the following idiomatic expressions. Use them in a natural context.

1. after meat mustard – после ужина горчица, слишком поздно

2. apple of discord – яблоко раздора

3. the apple of one’s eye – зеница ока

4. be meat and drink to smb. – доставлять огромное удовольствие кому-либо; необходимо как воздух

5. bite off more than one can chew – откусить больше, чем можешь проглотить; взяться за непосильное дело; переоценить свои силы

6. bread and butter (daily bread) – средства к существованию, хлеб насущный

7. dog’s breakfast – беспорядок, неразбериха

8. (as) easy as pie (a piece of cake) – легче легкого, пустяковое дело, сущие пустяки, пара пустяков, проще простого

9. eat like a bird – клевать как птичка, мало есть

10. eat like a horse/wolf – отличаться завидным, отменным аппетитом; есть много и с жадностью

11. the food of the gods – пища богов, нектар

12. that’s another cup of tea – это совсем другое дело