Если у вас возникли сложности с курсовой, контрольной, дипломной, рефератом, отчетом по практике, научно-исследовательской и любой другой работой - мы готовы помочь.
Предоплата всего
Подписываем
УТВЕРЖДАЮ
Ректор государственного учреждения образования «Гомельский областной институт развития образования»
Н.А.Котова
.11.2012
II этап республиканской олимпиады по английскому языку
2012/2013 учебный год
Listening Comprehension Form Х
Mrs. Becker’s Secret
Caitlin was eleven years old. One evening soon after Thanksgiving when she was sitting at table she said, ”Mrs. Becker, our neighbor, is strange.”
“Caitlin, please don’t talk that way about our new neighbor. We hardly know her,” Cat’s mother replied.
“But she is weird,” Cat insisted. “Her front door was wide open when I got off the bus today, and she was carrying rocks into her house. They were covered with mud. Who in the world would want a lot of dirty rocks in their house?”
Cat’s father suggested the idea that Mrs. Becker had an aquarium. But Cat shook her head saying they were too big for that.
“I’ll make cookies for her sometime soon,” Cat’s mother decided.
The next afternoon when Cat got off the school bus, there was Mrs. Becker in a blue parka in front of her house. This time she was shoveling earth from her garden into three baskets.
“Hi,” she said, pausing to wave at the girl. “Did you have a good day?”
“OK,” answered Cat. She really had had a good day, but she wasn’t sure how friendly to be with this strange lady who dug in her garden in December.
“Looking forward to Christmas?” The girl nodded. “Me, too. It’s my favourite time of the year.” And she went on with her work. The girl kept wondering what the neighbor was doing.
On the morning of the twentieth of December Mother woke the girl with the good news “No school!” The snow was coming down so thick and fast Cat could barely see their garage. Father left early to catch the train, but Mother stayed home. After breakfast the girl took a walk. When she came back, sugary smells greeted her.
“Don’t take your snow pants off yet,” her mother said. “I want you to take these cookies to Mrs. Becker. It’ll only take a few minutes.”
Cat took the bag with the cookies and went outside. She made it to Mrs. Becker’s front door and rang the bell. A second later the door flew open, and there was Mrs. Becker in a red sweater.
“Here-are-cookies-from-my-mother,” Cat said in one breath.
“Thank you,” Mrs. Becker said, taking the bag. “I’m baking, too. Let’s have a swap.”
Before Cat knew what had happened, she was inside the house, and the door was shut. Mrs. Becker hurried into her kitchen. Cat looked around. There was a cuckoo clock on the wall in front of her. She looked into the living-room, and her mouth fell open.
“Wow!”
The entire floor in that room was covered with grass – real grass! There wasn’t a chair or a table or a TV in sight. Instead there were potted plants of all sizes and shapes half-buried in the grass. Rocks (the big rocks Cat had seen Mrs. Becker carrying into her house) lined a path leading to a Christmas tree in the centre of the room. Candles and straw birds decorated the tree. A gold star shone from its top.
“Come,” Mrs. Becker said.
Cat jumped. She hadn’t heard her return. “Is it… is it always like this in here?” she asked.
Mrs. Becker laughed. “No, this is my Christmas garden.”
Cat looked puzzled.
“The rest of the year I have furniture, but the four weeks before Christmas I change everything. We did it as children. My father would tell my sister and me a fairy-tale as we made the garden. It’s about a poor family that lived deep in a forest. One Christmas Eve when they had nothing to eat, the ice and snow suddenly melted away. The light grew warmer, and the flowers opened. They found all kinds of nuts and berries to eat while the birds sang, “It’s Christmas!”
Cat didn’t say anything. She felt she’d come into another world. She stood there smelling the earth and grass.
“I know you wondered what I was doing the day you came home and I was carrying the rocks into the house,” Mrs. Becker said. “I decided I wouldn’t tell you then. I’d invite you over for a surprise on Christmas Eve.”
Cat turned to her. “Can I still come?”
“Of course! But try to keep it a secret till then. Can you keep a secret?”
“I can,” Cat said. “And I will.”
Английский язык. 10 класс. Текст для аудирования. Стр. 1 из 1.