Linguaphone   Lessons 42-46

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Lessons 42-46

Lesson forty-two (42)
Forty-second (42nd) lesson

Sports and games

What would you say were the most popular games in England today?
Well, I suppose football, that is, soccer or rugger, and cricket.
What are the other outdoor games?
Oh, there's tennis, hockey, golf, and so on.
Tennis is played all the year round -
on hard courts or grass courts in summer,
and on hard or covered courts in winter.
What about horse-racing?
I should say that is one of the most popular sports in Great Britain.
Then there are, of course, walking-races, running, swimming and boxing.
I've been told that there are no winter sports in England.
Well, you see, the English winter isn't very severe as a rule,
and we don't often have the chance of skiing, skating or tobogganing,
but winter is the great time for hunting,
provided the ground is not too hard.
Is there any golf to be had near London?
Oh, yes, any amount.
There are dozens of good golf links within an hour or so of London.
You ought to join a golf club if you're keen on the game.
I think I shall if I get the chance.
What about indoor games?
Well, there's chess, billiards, cards, table tennis.
... By the way, do you play billiards?
Well, I do, but of course, I'm not a professional or a champion,
just an ordinary amateur and not a very good one at that.

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Lesson forty-three (43)
Forty-third (43rd) lesson: Part one

A holiday in the country

If you want to have a really quiet and healthy holiday,
you must go and stay on a farm.
Last year we went to my brother-in-law's farm in Devonshire,
and enjoyed ourselves immensely.
But the farmer's life, though healthy, is by no means an easy one;
there's always plenty to do.
He must look after his stables and his horses;
he must milk the cows and clean the cowsheds.

Then, he has to take great care of the young animals, the lambs and the calves.
Goats and sheep must be fed and pigs fattened.
You can see the pigs in their sty, and the ewes with their lambs in the sheep-pen.
Then somebody has to go round the fowlhouses to collect the eggs.
Cocks and hens, ducks and drakes, turkeys and geese,
must all be fed and fattened for the market.
We all like to have a roast turkey or at least a goose for Christmas, don't we?

When we stay at my brother-in-law's,
we have to work very hard, but we don't mind;
we really enjoy it, particularly if the weather's nice.

In the old days most of the work on a farm was done by hand,
and with the aid of horses, but now things are altogether different.
Ploughing is done with a tractor and eggs are taken to market in motor vans;
cows are milked by electricity and chickens are bred in incubators,
so you see, a farmer's life is not what it used to be.

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Lesson forty-three (43)
Forty-third (43rd) lesson: Part two

Work on the farm

What time do you have to get up when you're staying at the farm?
About six o'clock.
Why must you get up so early?
Well, there's such a lot to be done.
Are you going to the country next summer?
I expect so.
It must be a delightful change for you, after living all the year in town.
Yes, it is, Life in the country's so peaceful.
It's so nice to feel that you don't have to rush for a train every morning.
Don't you have to work very hard on a farm?
We can if we want to, but, of course, we're not obliged to.
We just do as we please.
There's always work that mustn't be neglected,
so we do what we can to help.
Well, I've never spent a holiday on a farm,
so I don't konw what it's like.
Haven't you really? Oh, you ought to.
Come with us next year.
You needn't be afraid that you'll have to work too hard.
I'd love to, but are you sure I shan't be in the way?
Of course you won't.
And I'm sure you'd enjoy a week or two in the open air.
Personally, I've always wanted to be a farmer.
Have you really?
But it's not a very profitable way of earning one's living, is it?
Oh, I don't know.
I think you can find rich men and poor just as much in farming as in any other occupation.

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Lesson forty-four (44)
Forty-fourth (44th) lesson: Part one

At the seaside

If you're going to stay in England for some time,
you ought to spend at least a week at the seaside.
If you can stay longer, so much the better.
You ought to have no difficulty in finding a suitable hotel or boarding-house.
The picture shows you what an English seaside-place is like.
You should examine it carefully,
and you oughtn't to be satisfied until you know all about it.
You can see several people in bathing-suits.
One of the bathers is just running in from the sea to his tent.
He ought to be very healthy and strong if he bathes every day, oughtn't he?

When we were children, we used to enjoy playing on the beach,
making castles and forts and channels in the sand.
I expect you did the same when you were young,
because it's really one of the most delightful holidays for children.
We used to love playing about on the sand
and paddling in the water and getting splashed by the waves.
Sometimes we'd get our clothes wet,
and Nurse would get very cross and tell us we oughtn't to have gone so far into the water.

When you're tired of London,
go down to the sea for a week or a fortnight.
You can walk up and down the front,
listen to the band on the pier and do more or less anything you please.
If you wish to bathe, you can hire a hut or a tent.
A swim now and then, or better still, every day, will do you a lot of good.
Take your car with you, if you've got one,
choose a good hotel, and you're sure to spend a thoroughly enjoyable time.

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Lesson forty-four (44)
Forty-fourth (44th) lesson: Part two

Planning a holiday

I say, what are you and your sister going to do for your holiday this year?
Well, I don't know.
I should like to take my sister for a tour abroad,
but then she can't very well leave her children.
What are you doing?
We shall go to the sea, I expect - for part of the time, anyhow.
Then my wife and I may go off alone for a week or so in the car.
Leaving the rest of the family behind, I suppose!
Oh yes. They'll be quite safe with their nurse - and, besides,
they're ever so much happier playing about on the sands
than spending long days in the car.
Where do you go, as a rule?
We've tried many seaside-places on the east and south coasts;
on the whole, I think we prefer the south.
However, it really doesn't seem to matter very much,
as long as the youngsters get a good sandy beach.
What do you do? Take rooms, or stay at a hotel, or what?
We've done both, and this year we're taking a furnished house.
Why don't you make up your mind to join us -
find a house near by, and make a large party.
It'll be great fun.
For my own part, I should love it.
I'll talk it over with my sister,
and see what she thinks about it.
Do, and let me know as soon as you can.
Right, I will.

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Lesson forty-five (45)
Forty-fifth (45th) lesson: Part one

Motoring

If you're thinking of taking your car to England,
you should be familiar with the vocabulary of motoring
and you should know something about motoring regulations in England.
For instance, when driving, we keep to the left-hand side of the road,
and we overtake on the right.
We have a speed limit of thirty miles an hour in towns and built-up areas,
so be careful not to exceed it,
and remember to keep an eye on the traffic lights.
If the green light's showing, it means you can go on,
but when the red light appears you must stop at once.

Let's have a look at the car in the picture.
It's a six-cylinder 20 h.p. (horse-power) saloon.
There's a compartment at the back for luggage,
the spare wheel, the tools, and the jack.
The petrol tank holds fourteen gallons
and the car does about eighteen miles to the gallon.

Now learn the names of the various parts:
chassis, bonnet, body, wheels, tyres, radiator, engine, steering-wheel.
The windscreen's fitted with windscreen wipers.
On the dash-board are the speedometer, a clock, the petrol gauge, starter and so on.
The clutch, the foot-brake and the accelerator are at the driver's feet.
The gear-lever and the hand-brake are within reach of his hand.
The driver has just drawn up at a garage.
He's been having trouble with the engine -
it's been misfiring and pulling badly.

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Lesson forty-five (45)
Forty-fifth (45th) lesson: Part two

Trouble with the car

I'd like you to have a look at my car,
I can't tell you exactly what's the matter with it,
but it's been giving me quite a lot of trouble.
I've nearly run the battery down trying to start the engine with the self-starter,
and in the end I had to use the starting-handle.
I've cleaned and tested the plugs,
and the carburettor seems to be in order.
Would you try and find out what's wrong?

Certainly. Just park the car over there and I'll get the mechanic to look over it.
If you come back in about an hour, we'll let you know the result.

Well, have you traced the fault?
Yes, it's nothing serious.
The pipe leading from the pump's leaking,
but we can soon fix you a new one.
Good, and at the same time will you please have the battery charged and the oil changed,
and have the car greased and oiled.
Also have the puncture in the tyre on the spare wheel mended,
and you might check the tyre-pressures while you're about it.
Then, the brakes are rather slack,
so you'd better test and adjust them.
The near front wing and the bumper need straightening too.
They got damaged when the car skidded on a wet road and hit a lamp-post.
Oh, and the rear light wants a new bulb.
In fact, give the car a thorough overhaul,
and let me know when it's ready.

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Lesson forty-six (46)
Forty-sixth (46th) lesson: Part one

Commerce and industry

Great Britain is one of the most important commercial and trading centres in the world.
Britain buys more goods than she sells;
her imports exceed her exports.
Not being a great agricultural country,
England has to obtain her food supplies largely from abroad.
She also has to import many raw materials,
such as wool from Australia; timber from Sweden and Finland;
cotton, petroleum and tobacco from the United States.
Wine and fruit are imported from France, Italy, Spain, and the Dominions;
dairy produce from Denmark and Holland, and so on.

One of the most extensive industries in England is the textile industry;
immense quantities of cotton and woollen goods
and artificial silk are produced and exported.
English leather goods are also in great demand in other countries.

Great Britain is noted for its coal mines and for iron and steel goods,
and it supplies many countries with certain classes of machinery.
Another leading industry in this country is shipbuilding.
The motor industry is also very flourishing.

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Lesson forty-six (46)
Forty-sixth (46th) lesson: Part two

A business interview

I should like to speak to Mr. Grey, if he's not engaged.
Have you an appointment?
No, but here's my card.
If you are kind enough to take it in, I'm sure he'll see me.
He's on the phone just now. Would you mind waiting a few minutes. ... Come this way, please.
Good morning, Mr. Brown. Take a seat please. What can I do for you?
Well, as a matter of fact, I have a proposition to put before you.
I think you know my firm, Messrs. Macmillan and Co., Ltd. (Company, Limited),
of Adelaide, South Australia.
Oh, yes, I know the name very well,
but I've never had the pleasure of doing any business with you.
No. Well, my company has a big distributing business,
with branches all over Australia and New Zealand.
We want to get into touch with a good shipping firm in London, such as yours,
the idea being that you should act as our agents and handle all our business on this side.
And what about terms of payment and the other essential conditions?
Well, we propose to allow you a 2.1/2% (two and a half per cent) commission on all business transacted; no doubt we shall come to an understanding on that point.
You would have to attend to the shipment of all goods
and arrange for the prices to include c.i.f. or, in some cases, f.o.b.
We're accustomed to paying by bills at three months.
What do you think about it?
Well, I think some such arrangement would suit us very well,
but I can't enter into an agreement or make a definite decision
without discussing the matter with my partner.
I'll just give him a ring. ...
Will you get me Central double-five-one-o (5510), please?
Hullo, is that you, Knight?
I say, I've just had a promising proposition put before me
and I should like to have a chat with you about it. ...
Can you come round to the office straight away? ...
What's that? I can't hear you very well. ... You'll be round in about five minutes? ... Good!

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