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Lessons 14-23
Lesson fourteen (14)
Fourteenth (14th) lesson
Morning and evening
...
I used to when I was younger, but not very often now.
I'm getting too old.
Too old! Nonsense, you don't look more than fifty.
As a matter of fact, I'm nearly sixty.
Really! You certainly don't look it.
I'm glad to hear it. ...
Are you doing anything special tonight?
If not, what about coming with me to my club?
You'd get to know quite a lot of interesting people there.
I should love to, but today happens to be our wedding anniversary
and we're going out tonight to celebrate.
Well, my heartest congratulations.
Thank you very much.
I could manage to come along tomorrow night, if that would suit you.
Yes, excellent. Let's make it round about eight o'clock.
Very well. Thanks.
Cuvinte si gramatica
Exercitiul 11
Exercitiul 12
Exercitiul 13
Exercitiul 14
Lesson fifteen (15)
Fifteenth (15th) lesson
The hotel
There are plenty of good hotels in London
and you're nearly always sure of finding room in one or other of them.
Still, if you don't want to be disappointed,
especially during the holiday season,
it's better to engage a room beforehand.
You'll find London hotels just the same as hotels in all large cities.
As a rule, you go into a large entrance-hall or lounge,
where visitors are constantly coming and going.
The porter takes your luggage,
and you go to the reception desk to see about your room and get your key.
Then the page takes you up to your room in a lift.
The people in the office will always help you
if you don't know your way about the town.
They'll tell you where to go and what to see.
They'll book seats for you at the theatre
and do all they can to make your stay a pleasant one.
If you want a guide to show you around,
or an interpreter for a business interview,
they'll get you one.
If you have to write business letters and can type,
they'll provide you with a typewriter.
If, on the other hand, you prefer to dictate your letters,
they'll get you a shorthand-typist.
If your wife is going to be with you,
she'll find plenty to amuse her.
She'll be able to spend her time looking at the shops while you're busy.
Cuvinte si gramatica
Lesson sixteen (16)
Sixteenth (16th) lesson
Booking rooms
Here we are! This is our hotel, isn't it?
Yes, there's the name: Prince's Court Hotel.
Shall I look after the luggage or will you?
Well, if you see to the luggage and pay the driver,
I'll go in and see about the rooms.
All right. Where shall I find you?
I'll wait for you in the hall. Don't be long.
I'll come as soon as I can.
Good morning. Can you let me have a double room with a bathroom?
Or if you have two single rooms, so much the better.
We're practically full up, but I'll see.
How long do you intend to stay?
I expect we shall be here for a week at least, perhaps a fortnight.
Yes, you can have two rooms with a bathroom on the first floor.
I hope they're quiet. I hate a noise at night.
I think you'll find they are, sir.
They face the courtyard.
How much are they?
Forty-five shillings (45/-) a night, including breakfast.
All right, we'll take those.
Will you fill up this form, please.
Surname. Christian name. Nationality.
Permanent address. Place and date of birth. Signature. Is that all right?
Yes, that's all, thank you.
And here are your keys.
The page will show you up to your rooms
and your luggage will be brought up straight away.
Cuvinte si gramatica
Lesson seventeen (17)
Seventeenth (17th) lesson
At the restaurant
In all large towns there are plenty of restaurants, cafés, tea-rooms, and inns or public-houses.
All the large hotels have dining-rooms or restaurants,
like the one in the picture.
Each little party of guests have their own table,
and every table, as you see, has its own lamp.
Many of the guests are in evening dress,
which is usual at fashionable restaurants.
At some it's compulsory.
In the picture you can see several couples
dancing at the far end of the room, near the orchestra.
One of the waiters is standing near the buffet,
where there are cold dishes of various kinds;
another's carrying a tray, with a bottle of wine and two wine-glasses on it.
He'll put the bottle of wine into the ice-bucket to keep it cool.
Meals in England are much the same as in other countries,
with the exception of breakfast.
I expect you've heard all about the English breakfast,
with its porridge or cereal, bacon and eggs, toast, marmalade, and tea or coffee.
Very few people like chocolate or cocoa for breakfast.
In the afternoon, about four o'clock or half-past,
nearly everybody has tea.
The two main meals of the day, lunch and dinner,
are both more or less alike.
Most people have lunch about one o'clock
and dinner at half-past seven, or later.
Cuvinte si gramatica
Lesson eighteen (18)
Eighteenth (18th) lesson
Ordering a meal
Is this table free, waiter?
I'm sorry, sir, these two tables have just been reserved by telephone,
but that one over there's free.
What a pity! We wanted to be near the dance-floor.
Still, it doesn't matter, we'll take it. ... The menu, please.
Here you are, sir.
Will you dine à la carte or take the table d'hôte?
Well, let's see. What do you think, darling?
Oh, I don't want much to eat, I'm not very hungry.
... I think I'll have-er-some oxtail soup and fried plaice with chips.
Hm, I'm rather hungry.
I'll start with some hors d'æuvre.
And to follow?
A grilled steak with baked potatoes and peas.
Will you have anything to drink, sir?
Well, I'm rather thirsty. Bring me half a pint of bitter.
What about you, darling?
Well, I don't care for the beer, but I will have a glass of sherry.
Very good. ... What sweet would you like?
I'll have fruit salad.
So will I. And we'll have two coffees, please.
Black or white?
White, please. Oh, and two liqueur brandies.
What a lovely waltz they're playing. Shall we dance?
Yes, I'd love to. ...
Waiter! The bill, please.
Very good, sir.
Here you are.
Thank you very much, sir.
Cuvinte si gramatica
Lesson nineteen (19)
Nineteenth (19th) lesson
Numerals: times and dates
If I want to know the time I look at my watch.
I've got a gold wrist-watch with a leather strap.
It keeps fairly good time, but occasionally it goes wrong.
When it does that, I take it to a watchmaker,
and have it repaired, cleaned and regulated.
I don't think you'll find it very difficult to tell the time in English.
First of all, let's deal with the hours:
we say, it's one o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock, and so on.
Twelve o'clock may refer to midnight, or to midday.
Then for the quarters we say, for instance,
it's a quarter past eight, half-past eight, a quarter to nine.
Sometimes people just say eight-fifteen instead of a quarter past eight,
and eight-thirty instead of half-past eight.
We say other times as follows:
five minutes past eight, or simply, five past eight.
Similarly, ten past eight, twenty past eight, twenty-five past eight,
twenty-five to nine, twenty to nine, ten to nine, five to nine.
Referring to dates, we say, for instance:
Henry VIII (the eighth) was born on the twenty-eighth of June, fourteen ninety-one (28th June 1491),
and died on the twenty-eighth of January, fifteen forty-seven (28th January 1547).
Be careful to pronounce distinctly thirteen, thirty (13-30);
fourteen, forty (14-40); fifteen, fifty (15-50); sixteen, sixty (16-60); and so on.
Then learn: a hundred (100), a hundred and one (101),
two hundred and seventy-six (276), a thousand (1000),
three thousand three hundred and eighty-seven (3387).
Cuvinte si gramatica
Lesson twenty (20)
Twentieth (20th) lesson
Days and months.
Asking the time
Do you know the days of the week?
Yes, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
Now, let's assume that today is Wednesday.
What day will tomorrow be?
Thursday.
And the day after tomorrow?
Friday.
What day was yesterday?
Tuesday.
And the day before yesterday?
Monday.
As it happens, last Monday was my birthday.
Is that so? Well, many happy returns of the day!
Thank you. And now, let's have the names of the months.
Certainly. January, February, March, April, May, June,
July, August, September, October, November, December.
Good. ... Oh! Can you tell me the right time, please?
Well, my watch says five past two, but it's no use relying on it,
because sometimes it's fast and sometimes it's slow.
Cuvinte si gramatica
Lesson twenty-one (21)
Twenty-first (21st) lesson
English money
If you're going to England you'll naturally want to know something about English money.
I expect you've been used to the decimal system,
so English money will probably seem very strange to you at first,
but you'll soon get used to it.
There are three copper coins, the penny, the halfpenny, and the farthing.
Then there's the threepenny bit.
The other coins are the sixpence, the shilling, the two-shilling piece,
and the half-crown, which is worth two shillings and sixpence, or as we say, two and six.
Then there's a ten-shilling note and a pound note in common use,
and for the larger sums there are five-pound notes, ten-pound notes, and so on.
There's no gold in circulation,
so you hardly ever see a sovereign or half-sovereign.
You may often hear the term "guinea",
which stands for twenty-one shillings,
although there's no actual coin of this value.
There are four farthings in a penny,
twelve pence in a shilling and twenty shillings in a pound.
If the price of a reel of cotton is fourpence,
you hand over four pennies for it.
Similarly, you say twopence, threepence, and so on.
If a stamp costs three-halfpence, you hand the clerk a penny and a halfpenny
or three halfpennies, and he gives you a three-halfpenny stamp.
Cuvinte si gramatica
Lesson twenty-two (22)
Twenty-second (22nd) lesson
At the bank
Can you change me some money, please?
Certainly. What is it you wish to change?
Here it is: some French francs, Swiss francs, American dollars and a few Dutch guilders.
You'd better count them.
If you wait a moment I'll find out the rates of exchange.
Here we are. Let me see-er-that'll make £41.12.6. (forty-one pounds, twelve shilling and sixpence) altogether.
How would you like it?
Would you please give me seven five-pound notes,
four pound notes and four ten-shilling notes,
and the rest in small change.
Certainly. Here you are. Will that do?
Er-would you mind giving me the sixpence in coppers.
I want to make a phone-call and I haven't any change.
... Thank you. ... By the way, can I open an account here?
You'll have to see the Manager about that.
If you kindly go through that door marked "Private" he'll attend to you.
Good afternoon, sir. My name is Anderson.
I should like to open an account with you.
A deposit or current account?
Well, I want to be able to pay for things by cheque.
Then you want a current account.
How much money do you want placed to your credit?
Here's £200 (two hundred pounds).
I think that ought to last me for some time.
I take it you can supply references?
Certainly.
Right. Here's a cheque book.
When you send a cheque by post be careful to cross it,
but if you wish to cash a cheque yourself, you must leave it "open".
Cuvinte si gramatica
Lesson twenty-three (23)
Twenty-third (23rd) lesson
Postal services
There are Post Offices in every town and nearly every village in the country.
If you want to post an ordinary letter, a postcard or a small parcel,
you needn't go to the Post Office, you can drop it into the nearest pillar-box.
You can recognize these easily in England,
because they're painted red.
If you want to send a telegram,
you can either take it to the nearest Post Office or dictate it over the telephone.
Pillar-boxes are emptied several times a day.
If you want your letter to arrive more quickly than by ordinary post,
you can send it by Air Mail.
Letters are delivered to your home or office by a postman, and telegrams by a telegraph-boy.
Here you can see what the inside of a Post Office looks like.
On one side of the counter you see several customers, on the other side, the clerks.
One of the people in the picture is buying postage-stamps,
another is registering a letter, the third is writing out a cable.
If you want to buy stamps, you must go to the right counter;
if you go to the wrong one, you'll only waste your time.
Ask for a halfpenny stamp, a penny stamp, a three-halfpenny stamp,
a twopenny stamp, a twopenny-halfpenny stamp, a threepenny stamp and so on.
If you want to send a parcel, you hand it to the assistant,
who weighs it on the scales, and gives you the necessary stamp.
The amount you have to pay depends on the weight of the parcel.
In most Post Offices and also in many streets,
there are public telephone-boxes from which you can telephone.
All you have to do is lift the receiver,
put into the slot the pennies due for the call,
and dial the first three letters of the exchange you want, followed by the number.
Cuvinte si gramatica
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