ed Linguaphone - Lessons 47-50

Linguaphone   Lessons 47-50

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Lessons 47-50

Lesson forty-seven (47)
Forty-seventh (47th) lesson: Part one

Doctor, dentist and chemist

If you have toothache, you should go to your dentist.
He'll examine your teeth,
and if the aching tooth is not too far gone, he'll stop it.
If it's too bad, he'll take it out.

If you don't feel well, you should consult a doctor.
If you feel too ill to go to the doctor's,
you'll have to send for him.
He'll ask you to describe to him the symptoms of your illness.
Then he'll feel your pulse, look at your tongue and examine you thoroughly.
Finally he'll perscribe the treatment and write out a prescription.

Doctors' prescriptions are made up by a chemist.
At chemist's shops you can also get patent medicines of all kinds,
lotions, tonics, cough-mixtures, baby-foods, aspirin, pills,
ointment, bandages, adhesive plaster and so on.
You can buy razors and razor-blades, vacuum-flasks, hot-water bottles, sponges,
tooth-brushes and tooth-pastes, powder-puffs, lipsticks,
shaving-soap and shaving-brushes and a hundred and one other things.

If you're interested in photography,
you can also get cameras and films at most chemists.
They'll develop and print your films for you too.
Some chemists are also qualified opticians,
and if your eyesight's faulty they'll test your eyes and prescribe glasses for you.

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Lesson forty-seven (47)
Forty-seventh (47th) lesson: Part two

A visit to the doctor

Well, what's the matter with you, Mr. Walker?
You'd better ask me what is not the matter with me, doctor.
I seem to be suffering from all the illnesses imaginable:
insomnia, headaches, backache, indigestion, constipation and pains in the stomach.
To make things still worse, I've caught a cold,
I've got a sore throat, and I'm constantly sneezing and coughing.
To crown it all, I had an accident the other day,
hurt my right shoulder, leg and knee, and nearly broke my neck.
If I take a long walk, I get short of breath.
In fact, I feel more dead than alive.

I'm sorry to hear that. Anyhow, I hope things aren't as bad as you imagine.
Let me examine you.
Your heart, chest and lungs seem to be all right.
Now open your mouth and show me your tongue.
Now breathe in deeply through the nose. ...
There doesn't seem to be anything radically wrong with you,
but it's quite clear that you're run down, and if you don't take care of yourself,
you may have a nervous breakdown and have to go to hospital.
I advise you, first of all, to stop worrying.
Take a long rest, have regular meals,
keep to a diet of salads and fruit, and very little meat.
Keep off alcohol.
If possible, give up smoking, at least for a time.
Have this tonic made up and take two tablespoonfuls three times a day before meals.
If you do this, I can promise you full recovery within two or three months.
And if I don't, doctor?
Then you'd better make your will, if you haven't yet done so!
I see. Well, thank you, doctor.
I shall have to think it over and decide which is the lesser evil -
to follow your advice or prepare for a better world!

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Lesson forty-eight (48)
Forty-eighth (48th) lesson: Part one

Radio and television

Of all the discoveries ever made by man, radio, or wireless, is one of the most wonderful.
By means of wireless, you can speak to a man on the other side of the world.
Seated comfortably in your own home,
you can hear music or talks, broadcast thousands of miles away from you -
talks on national and international affairs,
on science, history and other educational subjects.
I listen to the wireless almost every evening.
Mine is an eight-valve set with an outdoor aerial which gives splendid results.
It has medium, long and short wave-lengths, and it's quite simple to manipulate.
All I have to do is to turn a knob or push a button
to tune in to the station I require.

I use my set a good deal for keeping up my foreign languages.
I find it a very useful addition to my Linguaphone Course.
For English I tune to England, for French to France, for Dutch to Holland,
for German to Germany or Austria, for Russian to Russia,
for Spanish to Spain, and for Italian to Italy.

More marvellous even than radio is television,
which enables us not only to listen to talks, plays and concerts,
but also to see what's going on.
Who knows what the future may bring?
It's possible that some clever scientist will invent an apparatus
which will enable us to read other people's thoughts.
Should that happened, some people might feel quite uncomfortable.

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Lesson forty-eight (48)
Forty-eighth (48th) lesson: Part two

Broadcast programmes

Well, how's your set going?
Oh, not too badly,
though I've had some difficulty lately in getting good reception from the more distant stations.
Yes, I've noticed quite a lot of interference on my own set too.
I suppose it's the weather.
Of course, mine's rather an old-fashioned model compared to yours.
By the way, did you hear "Carmen" the other night?
Yes, I did. Personally, I'm not very keen on opera,
but my wife is, and "Carmen" happens to be one of her favourites,
so I didn't like to suggest switching to another station.
Fortunately for me, it was a translated version.
I'm not good at languages, you know.
What kind of programme do you like best then?
Oh, I like a straight play. ... I find some of the talks very interesting too,
and I never miss the sporting events.
I got most excited over the international rugger match last Saturday. ...
You listen to the English stations a good deal, don't you?
Yes, I like their programmes very much and I understand nearly everything.
With all the practice in ear-training I've had,
English pronunciation and intonation hold no terrors for me now,
and if a speaker uses a word I'm not familiar with,
the context usually gives the clue to the meaning.
You're lucky, you know English.
I wish I had your gift for languages.
Well, I don't think I should call it a gift.
Anyone who's prepared to take a little trouble can do the same.
Where there's a will there's a way, you know!

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Lesson forty-nine (49)
Forty-ninth (49th) lesson: Part one

Theatres, music-halls and cinemas

Theatres are very much the same in London as anywhere else;
the chief theatres, music-halls and cinemas are in the West End.
If you're staying in London for a few days,
you'll have no difficulty whatever in finding somewhere to spend an enjoyable evening.
You'll find opera, ballet, comedy, drama, revue, musical comedy and variety.
Films are shown in the cinemas during the greater part of the day.

The best seats at theatres are those in the stalls, the circle, and the upper circle.
Then comes the pit, and last of all the gallery, where the seats are cheapest.
Boxes, of course, are the most expensive.
Most theatres and music-halls have good orchestras with popular conductors.
You ought to make a point of going to the opera
at least once during the season, if you can.
There you can get the best of everything -
an excellent orchestra, famous conductors, celebrated singers and a well-dressed audience.
But, of course, if you're not fond of music and singing, opera won't interest you.

At the West End theatres you can see most of the famous English actors and actresses.
As a rule, the plays are magnificently staged -
costumes, dresses, scenery, everything being done on the most lavish scale.
Choose a good play, and you'll enjoy yourself thoroughly
from the moment the curtain goes up to the end of the last act.
Get your seat beforehand,
either at the box-office of the theatre itself or at one of the agencies.
When you go to a theatre,
you'll probably want to sit as near to the stage as possible.
But if you're at the cinema,
you may prefer to sit some distance from the screen.
In fact, I would say, the further away the better.

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Lesson forty-nine (49)
Forty-ninth (49th) lesson: Part two

At the theatre

Have you got any seats for tomorrow?
Matinée or evening performance?
Matinée, please. I want two stalls, if you've got them.
Yes, you can have - er - two in the middle of Row F.
They'll do very well, thank you. How much is that?
They're thirteen and six (13/6) each -
that makes twenty-seven shillings (27/-).
Stalls, sir? Stalls on the right. ...
Gentlemen's cloakroom this way; ladies' cloakroom on the first landing. ...
Show your tickets to the attendant inside the theatre;
she'll show you to your seats and let you have a programme.
May I see your tickets, please?
Row F, 12 and 13. ... This way, please. Would you like a programme?
Yes, please.
Shall I bring you some tea, sir?
The play isn't over till half-past five.
When do you serve tea?
After the second act; there's an interval of fifteen minutes.
Then I think we might as well have some.
Well, what did you think of the play?
I enjoyed every minute of it. What did you think of it?
I thought it was splendid. I haven't laughed so much for a long time.
Neither have I. It was extremely good.
Yes, wasn't it? I thought the acting was excellent.
So did I. The whole thing was first-rate from beginning to end.

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Lesson fifty (50)
Fiftieth (50th) lesson

A few words about English literature

The great wealth of English literature makes it impossible to deal with the subject
in any detail within the scope of one short lesson.
We must therefore confine ourselves to only a few of the outstanding writers.
Who has not heard, for instance, of William Shakespeare, one of the greatest dramatists of all time.
He is famous for his comedies, such as Twelfth Night, As You Like It and The Taming of the Shrew,
and equally famous for his magnificent tragedies, such as Macbeth, Hamlet and Othello.
Shakespeare lived in the reign of Queen Elisabeth, which was a great age for English literature.

Of later plays, there's She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith,
and The School for Scandal by Richard Sheridan.
Then coming to the present day, we have the brilliant dramas of the Irish author Bernard Shaw.
Possibly his best-known plays are Caesar and Cleopatra, Man and Superman, Back to Methuselah
and Saint Joan.

The works of English novelists have been translated into so many languages
that millions of people who know no English are nevertheless familiar with English writings.
Yet it's only those who are able to read these novels in the original
who can really appreciate such masterpieces as Waverley and Ivanhoe by Walter Scott,
or Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens.

English poetry covers such a wide field that we can do little more than enumerate a few names.
Chaucer is well known for his Canterbury Tales,
Milton for his two famous epics, Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained,
Pope for his mastery of the classical style, while the romantic school recalls such famous names as
Wordsworth, Byron, Shelley, Keats, Tennyson and Browning.
You are now to hear a poem by Wordsworth that'll not only inspire you with its beauty,
but also encourage you to delve more deeply into the rich heritage of our literature,
whether it be prose or verse.

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Lesson fifty (50)
Fiftieth (50th) lesson

Upon Westminster Bridge

Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth like a garment wear

The beauty of the morning: silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky, -
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.

Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour valley, rock or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!

The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!

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