Сборник текстов для развития навыков чтения, перевода и устной речи для учащихся 8-9 классов

Тексты для чтения на английском языке

Peter the Great

Peter the Great went down in Russian history for having rejected the Muscovite past. He enthu­siastically made Russia closer to West. He was a giant among his contemporaries and a man of gen­ius.

Peter intended to modernize his country and raise it to the first rank of European powers. He engaged skilled foreigners from Prussia, Holland, Great Britain to bring the latest western technolo­gy to Russia.

Peter had a passion for navigation. As a founder of the Russian navy, Peter first started to develop the Russian fleet in 1695. He wanted to capture from Turkey the fortress town of Azov and gain access to the Black Sea.

His greatest wish was also to win a seaport on the Baltic Sea and access to western trade. The Great Northern War against Sweden was declared in 1700 and lasted for more than twenty years.

In 1703 Peter captured the Swedish fortress of Nyenschanz on the River Neva, and on an island nearby he ordered to construct the Peter and Paul Fortress, the first building of the future city of St. Petersburg.

King Charles XII of Sweden fought against Peter I, but suffered a heavy defeat at Poltava it 1709; this event was the turning point of the war. Finally in 1721 the Treaty was signed in Nystadt, by which Russia acquired a large part of the Baltic coast, including Ingria, Karelia, Livonia, Estonia and a part of Finland.

In order to maintain the huge armed forces of Russia, Peter I had to reform many of the tradi­tional administrative, social and fiscal structures of the country. One of the first major steps was to introduce compulsory military service. Another action was to replace the traditional Muscovite hierarchy of titles of the nobility with the Table of Ranks, a system closer to western models. In the three branches of state service (armed forces, civil service and Court) he listed fourteen categories for each, corresponding to different functions and of­fices.

The Tsar's reforms extended to many different fields: law, police, military discipline, the navy, commerce, the sciences, the fine arts and education. He introduced a simplified new Russian alphabet, He devoted his whole mind and energy to his mis­sion in life: to add to his empire and to hack a win­dow open on Europe.

The city of St. Petersburg was founded by Peter the Great in 1703 as a harbour for the Russian fleet. It was built as a fortress from which Russia could threaten the Swedes, and as spiritual centre of the new European Russia. The construction of St. Pe­tersburg was undertaken at a great speed. Forty thousand peasants were engaged in the building of Russia's new capital. Many of them suffered from disease and malnutrition and met their end in the marshlands.

Peter the Great's rule had been harsh and his reign was full of radical changes. He died in 1725 at the age of fifty-two. Long after his death, he re­mained a dominant figure in the minds of the peo­ple. Catherine the Great commissioned the most famous monument to him, the Bronze Horseman. The monument was designed by the'French sculptor Falconet. It was unveiled in St. Petersburg in 1782 with great pomp and ceremony.

The Decembrists

After assassination of Paul I in Mikhailovsky Castle in St Petersburg all hopes of progress were put on the twenty-four-year-old Alexander I, who appeared at first to be a reforming tsar. The early part of his reign was a period of generous ideas and reforms. There was even the investigation of the possibility of a constitution — a task, entrusted to Alexander's counsillor, Mikhail Speransky. But although Speransky proposed an excellent new stat­ute of State Laws, it was never adopted.

In 1805 Russia reentered the war against Napo­leon but after defeats at Austerlitz, and Friedland, Alexander withdrew from the allied coalition and in 1807 formed an alliance with France.

This alliance was broken five years later when Napoleon invaded Russia. Three months later after the battle of Borodino he entered the abandoned Moscow. The city was consumed by the fire and the French, short of supplies and suffering from the winter, had to retreat and to return back. Less than a tenth of the French grand army, consisted of 600,000 soldiers, survived the Russian campaign.

In 1814 the Russian army, led by Alexander, triumphantly entered Paris.

After the victory in the Napoleonic wars, the liberally-minded young Russian officers returned home. They had been spent several years in West­ern Europe and were very disappointed to find the autocracy unchanged in Russia. The peasants, who had fought side by side with their masters during the war, were enslaved as serfs.

In September 1825 Alexander I went to join his wife, Elizabeth, who was in Taganrog on the Sea of Azov. Two months after his arrival, his death was announced. Since Alexander had no direct heir, the throne should have passed to his brother Constan-tine. But Constantine had previously renounced the succession in favour of his younger brother, Nicho­las.

A group of aristocratic officers, inspired by the ideas of the French Revolution and plotting con­stitutional reforms, decided that this was the mo­ment to take action.

Nicholas' reign began tragically. On 14 Decem­ber 1825 the armed forces had to swear alle­giance to the new ruler in Senate Square. Some 3,000 troops refused to take the oath. They were eventually surrounded by troops loyal to Nicholas. The military Governor of St Petersburg, the spec­tators and many soldiers had been killed.

Five of the Decembrists were executed, the rest were sentenced to terms of hard labour and exiled to the Siberia.

The Decembrists' revolt convinced the reaction­ary Nicholas that Russia must be ruled with a firm hand. The Corps of Gendarmes had been established, political police operated throughout the country. Severe press censorship was introduced to prevent the development of revolutionary ideas.

Russians were again forbidden to travel abroad and it was made difficult for foreigners to come to the country. In response, there emerged a new phe­nomenon, the intelligentsia who criticized the au­tocratic regime with its serfdom and harsh army discipline.

The Tolstoy Museum

The Tolstoy Museum was created 85 years ago by the admirers of the writer, including Gorky, Bunin, Pasternak, the painter Repin, the actor Kachalov, and Stanislavsky, and Tolstoy's children and disciples.

In Soviet times, the museum's charter was Le­nin's article Leo Tolstoy as a Mirror of the Rus­sian Revolution. Lenin himself signed the decree on nationalizing Tolstoy's house on Khamovniki Street in Moscow. It became part of the Tolstoy Museum, which by that time had already received an old building in the Empire style at 21 Prechistenka Street, where the museum is still located to­day.

In order to safeguard Tolstoy's manucripts and other documents relating to him they equipped a special "steel" room. It is a fireproof depository in the former home of the industrialist Morozov, also on Prechistenka.

In 1939 the Government ordered the museum to collect all the materials connected with Tolstoy's life and work. The state took care of the museum. This care also extended to the strict censorship.

The museum was prohibited from displaying a picture by Leonid Pasternak in which Tolstoy was depicted in the company of the religious philoso­phers Nickolai Fyodorov and Vladimir Solovyov. There could be no philosophy or philosophers at that time except Marxist ones.

The museum staff tried to forget about such things working as they did with visitors, conduct­ing excursions, and giving lectures. Today the main work is research, continuing owing to the enthusi­asm of the museum staff, who are extremely faith­ful to their work.

For example, they have mastered Tolstoy's hand­writing and are able to read his original manu­scripts. How many pages of these does the library have? 180,000. Plus another 10,000 items of per­sonal writing, most of which have never been pub­lished.

Aside from that the museum maintain 64 ar­chives of Tolstoy's and his circle, a unique collec­tion of rare books, and a collection of paintings by Pasternak, Repin, Nesterov, Lansere, Bashilov(the author's illustrator), Shmarinov, and Kokorin, de­voted to Tolstoy and his heroes.

The museum has published over 300 volumes of papers on Tolstoy and his works and has partici­pated in all the Academy editions of his works. To­day they are working on compiling a new 100-vol­ume Academy edition, which will take forty years to complete (8 volumes are so far ready for print).

Covent Garden

Covent Garden is the biggest market-place in Britain. If you come to Covent Garden in the after­noon, you'll only see enormous buildings and a few tourists. But if you come here early in the morn­ing, you'll see hundreds of people buying and sell­ing vegetables, fruit and flowers. Cars, vans, lor­ries are everywhere. There are voices everywhere. Some people are carrying heavy boxes of fruit and vegetables. They are crying: "Mind your backs, please". Before the businessmen arrive at their of­fices, all the cars and vans will have arrived at the shops all over London. They'll have delivered everything for customers. By the afternoon all the farmers, shopkeepers, porters and drivers will have gone home. The market-place will have been cleaned by the dustmen. It'll be ready to meet tourists.

Covent Garden has been the most important mar­ket-place in London for 300 years. It was officially established by King Charles II in 1670. It was called Covent Garden because it was the garden of the monks of Westminster Abbey. At that time it was very small, and used only by Londoners.

Nowadays it serves the whole of Britain. Those who work there say: "If there is any kind of fruit or vegetable which we haven't got — nobody has got it".

Today, Covent Garden has been extensively re­stored and is now a lively shopping area, with wine bars, restaurants and theatre and an open Pizza and covered Central Market.

EATING IN GREAT BRITAIN

British food has a bad reputation in Europe.

This is not entirely justified. Traditional home-cooked British food is as good as European cooking.

The traditional British Sunday lunch consists of roast beef, roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding.

There is a large variety of excellent British cheeses: the most famous ones are Stilton and Ched­dar.

The most popular drink with meals in Britain is tea! They have "a nice cup of tea" 5 or 7 times a day.

The meal for which Britain is most famous is un­doubtedly the traditional breakfast, which usually consists of cornflakes with milk, toast with marma­lade or honey and tea. Some people also eat saus­ages, eggs and bacon for their breakfast, Tradionally, the British eat a large meal at mid­day and have "tea" consisting of bread and butter, cakes and tea at about 5 o'clock.

Now a lot of people eat less at midday and have a large evening meal.

The British evening meal is earlier than on the continent, usually between 6 o'clock and 7 o'clock.

If you want to "eat out" in a restaurant in Brit­ain, there is an enormous variety restaurants to choose from. You can find cheap, tasty meals at "fish and chip" shops or in pubs.

Yes, they are. "Fast food" restaurants, where you can eat hamburgers and chips are very popular, particularly with families and young people.

The Royal Academy

There is a house of great beauty and colour in London. This is Burlington House. Since 1869 it has been the Royal Academy of Arts.

In 1768 a group of leading painters, sculptors and architects presented a memorial to King George III. The young art-loving monarch declared his pa­tronage, protection and support. All succeeding Sovereigns have accepted the style of "Patron, Pro­tector and Supporter" of the Royal Academy. The monarch. formally sanctions the elections of new royal Academicians.

The first President of the Academy was Sir Reynolds, whose statue (palette and brush in land) surveys the forecourt of Burlington House..

In 1771 the Academy established its headquar­ters at Somerset House and remained there until 1837 when it moved to the east wing of the Nation­al Gallery.

The prime purpose of the Academy is the teach­ing of art to the most talented students. About 100 students attend the Academy School. They're selected by examinations from those who have spent two or more years at London or provincial art schools.

Since 1768 about 7,000 artists and architects lave been trained free of charge in the School of Painting and Drawing, Sculpture and Architecture. The students study the main "classic disciplines". Several students in recent years have won major international awards.

The exhibitions of the students' work in June and November attract attention of many people: teachers, art critics and gallery owners.

There are two annual exhibitions, organized by the Academy: the Winter Exhibition and the Sum­mer Exhibition.

The Academy also organizes special exhibitions in its Diploma Gallery. The Summer Exhibition has been held since 1769. It is the largest annual open art show in the world. About 10,000 works are judged by the Royal Academicians. Different styles and traditions are represented at the Exhibition. It is open for 3.5 months. The majority of the works are for sale.

The Academy believes that it is important to give all artists an opportunity to exhibit and sell their works. There are no other such exhibitions.

Old English villages are pretty with their pic­turesque cottages. English villages are not all alike, but in some ways they are not very different from each other. The village green is a wide stretch of grass, often with a road along each side of it. The houses or cottages are built round the green with the road in front of them near their garden gates. On the green there is usually a pump or a well from which the villagers can draw water. At present day many villagers have water brought in pipes into each home.

English cottages are pretty. English people are fond of gardening. They do their best to make their gardens look lovely.

There are few shops in a village. There may be only one shop. It is a "general store" and sells al­most everything that people need in their homes. The shopkeeper is often a postmaster as well, and he sends telegrams and sells stamps.

Fortunately most villages are not far away from some small towns. So people can go there to buy what they cannot find in the village shop.

The village school is for all the children of the village. Often there is only one schoolmaster or schoolmistress, who has to teach all the subjects.

Most of the men of the village are farmers. But there may be a shoemaker, a baker, an innkeeper, and perhaps a doctor and a policeman.

Village life has changed very much. What re­mains unchanged, fortunately, is the natural beauty of the country — the hills, the trees, the fields, the woods, the flowers.

I am always both amused and annoyed when I hear foreign people criticize English food. "It's boring, it's tasteless, it's chips with everything and totally overcooked vegetables." When I ask these visitors where they have expe­rienced English cooking, I am astonished by their reply. "In Wimpy Bars and McDonalds hamburger restaurants," they often say. I have won my case. Their conclusions are inexcusable.

English basic ingredients, when fresh, are so full of flavour that they haven't need of any sauces and complex recipes to disguise their natural taste. What can compare with fresh peas or new potatoes just boiled (not overboiled) and served with butter? Why drown spring lamb in wine or cream or yoghurt and spices, when with just one or two herbs it is absolutely delicious?

It is interesting to speculate what factors such as geography and climate play part in the creation of a country's food. We complain about wet and changeable weather, but it is the rain which gives us our rich soil and green grass. Poor soils meant more searching for food, more discovery, more in­vention, whereas English ancestors sat down to plenty without having to take trouble.

If you ask foreigners to name some typically English dishes, they will probably say "Fish and chips" and then stop. It is disappointing, but true, that there is no tradition in England of eating in restaurants, because our food doesn't lend itself to such preparation. English cooking is found in the home, where it is possible to time the dishes to per­fection.

New York is known as a "melting pot", because people of different races and nationalities make up its population of more than 7 million. About 13 of every 100 people in New York were born in another country. More than 80 languages are spoken throughout the neighbourhoods and streets of the city. There are places where the English language is hardly ever heard.

You can cross continents within the city. If you wish to go from China to Italy, you only have to cross Canal Street. It is also just as easy to go from Puerto Rico to Israel. There are more Irish and Italians in New York City than in any other city outside Ireland and Italy. More than 80000 Chi­nese-Americans live in Chinatown in Manhattan. Chinatown looks more like Hong Kong than New York. There is a district in Brighton Beach — renamed Little Odessa by its Russia residents —

where you forget that you are in New York. You could be on the Black Sea coast. Harlem is often called the black capital of the country,

Signs of immigration from all over the world can still be found in the names of streets and build­ings. New York smells the whole world kitchen. Italian, Greek, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Mexi­can, Spanish, African cuisines are in the fierce cu­linary competition. There is always something to celebrate in New York: the Chinese New Year in January, with its wonderful fireworks and dragon parade; San Gennaro's Day in September, when the whole of Little Italy is out in the streets dancing; Easter Pa­rade on Fifth Avenue; the New Year's Eve celebra­tions in Times Square; Harlem Day in August... Sometimes celebrations in small quarters are more interesting than the big Fifth Avenue parades be­cause they offer a variety of music, food and drink and the chance to meet people.

Comedy

The word comedy comes from the Greek word, which means merrymaking. Comedy is a form of drama that deals with humorous or ridiculous situ­ations and has a happy ending. But even in the midst of laughter, comedy can raise surprisingly serious problems.

Greek playwrights never mixed tragedy and comedy in the same play. Greek Old Comedy, as the comic plays of the 400's ВС are called, was out­spoken and bawdy. The only surviving comedies are by Aris­tophanes. His plays reflect the spirit of Athens at that time, with the Athenians' sense of freedom, vitality, and high spirits, and their ability to laugh at themselves.

After Athens was defeated in the Peloponnesian War in 404 ВС, there was less freedom of speech. Old Comedy, with its elements of political and so­cial satire, was no longer permitted by the govern­ment.

Comedy revived in Athens in the late 300's ВС, but it changed so much that it was called New Com­edy. New Comedy dealt mostly with the everyday life of middle-class Athenians. Private intrigues replaced the political and social satire of Old Com­edy. Menander was the most popular writer of such plays.

With the decline of Greek civilization, drama fell into decay. It was revived in Rome and the Ro­man plays were modelled on the Greek. Their plays were of high standard, but in course of time the comedies of Rome became coarse and vulgar. The early Christian fathers, horrified by the indecency of the Roman plays, finally closed / down all the theatres in the Empire.

Letter writing is an important part of world business. Though nowadays the increasing use of the telephone, telegraph, telex and telefax is re­ducing correspondence, it still retains its impor­tance, since all that has been agreed upon by other means has to be confirmed in writing.

Studies show that people who write well are more likely to have successful careers. Skill in writing business and personal letters can make a difference in your life. For example, a well-written letter applying for a job may lead to a fine position. A good personal letter can help build or keep a valuable friendship.

The style of an English business letter should be natural. An English business letter is usually more informal than business letters written in most other languages. Write as you would talk. Forget the typewriter or computer between you and the person you are writing to. Remember, however, that Russian phrases should not be translated into Eng­lish literally. It will be useful to learn the English phrases in general use in business correspondence.

There are many kinds of business letters:

— letters of invitation;

— letters of application (written by people seek­ing a job);

— sales letters (they are intended to convince the reader to buy something);

— complaint letters (they are written to call at­tention to a problem and to persuade the reader to take corrective action);

— collection letters (firms write collection let­ters to get money from customers who have fallen behind in paying their bills), etc.

However, the same principles of good writing apply to each kind.

These days, most people in Britain and the USA do not wear very formal clothes. But sometimes it is important to wear the right thing. .'^^^Й^У

Many British people don't think about clothes very much. They just like to be comfortable. When they go out to enjoy themselves, they can wear al­most anything. At theatres, cinemas and concerts you can put on what you like — from elegant suits and dresses to jeans and sweaters. Anything goes, as long as you look clean and tidy.

But in Britain, as well as in the USA, men in of­fices usually wear suits and ties, and women wear dresses or skirts (not trousers). Doctors, lawyers and businessmen wear quite formal clothes. And in some hotels and restaurants men have to wear ties

and women wear smart dresses. Jeans and open shirts are sometimes not allowed.

In many ways, Americans are more relaxed than British people, but they are more careful with their clothes. At home, or on holiday, most Americans wear informal or sport clothes. But when they go out in the evening, they like to look elegant. In good hotels and restaurants, men have to wear jackets and ties, and women wear pretty clothes and smart hairstyles.

It is difficult to say exactly what people wear in Britain and in the States, because everyone is dif­ferent. If you are not sure what to wear, watch what other people do, and then do the same. Or ask the advice of a friend or your host. You'll feel more relaxed if you don't look too different from every­one else.

Walt Disney

History shows that childhood played an impor­tant part in the life of many great people. The life of Walter Elias Disney, known as Walt Disney, proves the rule.

Disney's father Elias was not very successful in whatever he did: he was a carpenter, an owner of a small hotel, a village postman. In the end he decid­ed to start a new life in a new place and in 1889 Elias with his young wife Flora and their small son Herbert moved from Florida to Chicago.

In Chicago two more sons were born — Ray­mond and Roy, then Walter — on the fifth of De­cember, 1901, and two years later — their daugh­ter Ruth. Chicago was a very dangerous place at that time, and thinking about the future of their children, Elias and Flora moved to the country where they bought a small farm.

Living on the farm was the happiest time in Walter's life and it greatly influenced his senses and interests. For all his life he remembered the lawn in front of their house, beautiful weeping wil­lows and fruit orchards with huge apples. He could spend hours watching the life and habits of ani­mals. Disney even brought up a piglet. His name was Skinny and he followed Walt wherever he went. They say Disney remembered the animals on his father's farm better than the people he met.

At that time it appeared that Walt was fond of drawing. His parents often bought him albums for drawing and colour pencils. But one of Disney's first pictures was made in coal on a white wall of their recently painted house when his parents were away.

Unfortunately good things don't last long. Elias Disney had to sell the farm, and after four years of wonderful time in the country, the Disneys moved to Kansas City. Walt and Roy helped their father in his new business.

They say, Disney seldom praised anybody and he didn't like to show his feelings and emotions. But once when he saw a few episodes from Bambi and turned to the animators there were tears in his eyes. This was how Disney approved of their work. But it happened only twice in thirty-nine years.

Disney respected people who could make some­thing with their hands. He especially respected the carpenter working in the studio. Although every­one called Disney Walt and he called everybody by their first name, the carpenter was an exception to the rule. Disney always called him Mr. Rogers.

When Walt Disney was making a film, he al­ways thought not only about children but also about grown-ups. That's why he tried to touch up­on the subjects of nature and life, he wanted to make people think about life, love, justice, about good and evil powers. There were episodes in Dis­ney's films that did not leave a dry eye in the cine­ma. At the same time all Disney's films are full of optimism and have a happy ending. A great num­ber of people were brought up on Walt Disney's films and they are grateful to him for these unfor­gettable moments in their childhood.

It may seem strange that after the success in animation, Disney directed his energies to a new field — constructing Disneyland. Everybody thought that it was impossible to realize this idea but Disney saw it as continuation of what he had been doing all his life.

The State Hermitage in St. Petersburg is one of the world's most outstanding art museums. It is the largest fine arts museum in Russia.

World famous is the collection of West-Europe­an paintings covering a span of about seven hun­dreds years, from the 13th to the 20th century, and comprising works by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, El Greco, Velasquez, Murillo;

outstanding paintings by Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Rubens; a remarkable group of French 18th centu­ry canvases, and impressionist and post-impres­sionist paintings. The collection illustrates the art of Italy, Spain, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Aus­tria, France, Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and some other countries. The West-European de­partment also includes a fine collection of Europe­an sculpture, containing works by Michelangelo, Falconet, Rodin and many other eminent masters. The Hermitage, together with the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum in Moscow, must be ranked among the richest in the world in respect of Impressionist art.

In addition to the works of Western masters, the Hermitage has sections devoted to the arts of India, China, Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Pre-Columbian America, Greece and Rome, as well as a department of prehistoric art, not to mention a sec­tion devoted to Scythian art. People come to ad­mire the collections of tapestry, precious textiles, weapons, ivories, pottery, porcelain and furniture as well.

We are healthy when all parts of our bodies and of our minds work together properly. We cannot be happy unless we feel well.

The ancient Greeks knew the value of good health. They even named one goddess Hygeia, which means goddess of health. Hygeia was the daughter of Asclepius, the god of medicine. The Greeks prayed to her to give them good health.

The Romans spoke of health in a proverb: A healthy mind in a healthy body. In addition to physical health, an understanding of mental health is also important. The body does a great deal to take care of itself, but by learning a few important health rules, it is possible to help the body to work at its best.

Many people will say: Good health means not be­ing ill. That is true. But health is more than that. Good health is something positive. We have good health when our bodies and our minds are able to work at their best.

The human body is much more complicated than any machine. Yet it needs less day-to-day care than machine. No machine can do all the things the body can do. No machine will work for 70 years or more, day and night, requiring only air, water, food, and a few simple rules.

Vincent Van Gogh (1853—1890)

Nobody has ever paint corn-fields or sunflowers like Van Gogh. His paintings are full of colour and sunlight. Today his painting are worth millions of pounds but in his lifetime he sold only one.

Van Gogh was born in Holland in 1853. He did not start painting until he was twenty-seven, ten years before he died. Before becoming a painter, he was a teacher, an art dealer and a church preacher.

In 1886 he left Holland and joined his younger brother, Theo, who was working in Paris at that time. After living there for two years, he moved to the warmer climate of Aries in the south of France. Here he painted some of his most famous pictures.

However, Van Gogh was mentally ill. During one of his fits of madness he attacked his friend, the artist Paul Gauguin. In another fit of madness, Van Gogh cut off part of his own ear. Eventually he went into a mental hospital but he did not get any better.

Finally, on Sunday 27th July 1890, in the small village of Auvers, north of Paris, Vincent Van Gogh took a gun, went into a corn-field and shot himself. When his brother Theo arrived, he said: "I hope I did it properly." Thirty-six hours later Van Gogh died in his brother's arms. His last words were "La tristesse durera." (The sadness will con­tinue.)

The Computer Revolution

Without the computer space programmes would be impossible and the 21st century would be impos­sible. The incredible technology we are building, the complexity and the knowledge we are amassing on the way toward the creation of that not-so-far-off 21st century, are all beyond the unaided mind and muscle of man. More than any other single in­vention, perhaps even more than wheel, the com­puter offers a promise so dazzling and a threat so awful that it will forever change the direction and meaning of our lives.

Computers today are running our factories, planning our cities, teaching our children, and forecasting the possible futures we may be heir to.

In the new age of exploration the computer is solving in milliseconds the problems a generation of mathematicians would need years to solve with­out its help. The small, fifty-nine-pound computer, which takes up only one cubic foot of space in the vehicle will do all of the mathematics needed to solve one billion different space-maneuvering, navigation, and other problems. Moreover, it translates the answer into simple numbers and tells the astronaut the attitude to which he must bring the spacecraft before firing the thrusters, and in­dicate to him exactly how long they must be fired.

How to stop London's traffic grinding to a halt? The question is one that politicians find hard to answer.

Six charging systems were investigated, all of them based on cars equipped with electronic devic­es of some sort. The simplest were tags read by road-side computers, similar to those currently used to charge regular drivers passing through the Dartford tunnel. More advanced systems rely on a device, carried inside the car. The card's travel credits are automatically deducted by a road-side beacon. The most sophisticated systems use satel­lites to track vehicle movements and then charge drivers by the exact distance they have travelled in a certain area.

Evidence to be published shortly by the Trans­port Select Committee reveals that the government is wary both of the politics and the practicality of road-pricing in London. Ministers would prefer to see the results of modest trials in smaller cities first. "Our view is that it would be easier to try the techniques out on the ground in a smaller and less complicated place than London first," explains the Department's Urban and Local Transport Director­ate, who could never have been so explicit without ministerial approval.

Even these limited trials are unlikely to take place before the next century. The head of the transport department's division which deals with London told members of the committee that any road-pricing trials "probably would not be this side of the year 2000."

Musicals

Musical comedies, or musicals, have become America's most significant contribution to world theatre. Musical comedy is a type of play that tells a story through a combination of dialogue, songs and dances.

Musical comedy developed in the United States during the late 1800's. It shared roots with both European and American popular forms of enter­tainment. European influences included the ope­retta, or light opera, and extravaganza, or spec­tacle. The basic American influences were vaude­ville, minstrel show and burlesques.

Musical comedy differs from other forms of mu­sical shows. It has a simple but distinctive plot which unifies all of its other elements: the book, or the libretto, the music, the lyrics and the dancing.

"The Black Crook", produced in New York in 1866, marked the beginning of American musical comedy. The real maturity came to American musi­cals during World War I and the years immediately afterwards. "Show Boat" (1927) by Jerome Kern and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, and a political satire called "Of Thee I Sing" (1931) by George Gershwin and his brother Ira developed the real American style of musical and helped to raise its status to the level of serious theatre.

Most major American musical comedies that have enchanted audiences throughout the world were first presented in New York City, normally on Broadway. One of the longest-running show in Broadway history drew Broadway audiences for more than eight years.

In the year 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon, in War­wickshire, there was a quiet little village that dif­fered in no way from hundreds of others scattered over England at that time. In these little villages the houses were built commonly of wood, with the upper storey overhanging the lower, and with windows of lattice-work or horn, as glass was then seldom used except in the houses of the wealthy. Sometimes the village consisted of one long strag­gling street which began in the open country and ended perhaps in a moor or bog. But more often the houses were built around a large green, in the cen­tre of which were the maypole and common well. There the villagers came in the evening to chat and gossip, and on holidays they made merry with dancing and feasting, and the Robin Hood games which were then so popular. Each cottage had its garden wherein grew rosemary and fennel and all kinds of herbs, in closest neighborhood to the roses and daffodils and violets which were the pride of the cottagers. In the fields beyond, the

paths led through scarlet poppies and golden prim­roses to the great forests, which were then found all over England.

In one of these cottages, which was richer than many of its neighbors by possessing two storeys instead of one, and which had, furthermore, some dormer windows in its roof, was born, in 1564, a boy.