Практический курс английского языка - Камянова Т.
ISBN 5-85550-177-9
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Poets are strange people. They are sure that every word they have written is original. Besides, they believe everybody. Soon poets began to return to the palace again. And every time it happened so that the king immediately repeated the poem and said that he was its author. But now there was also something new. The king repeated the poem, then he turned to RoIy-PoIy and asked:
«Roly-Poly, do you know the poem this so-called poet has read?»
«Of course, Your Majesty*, RoIy-PoIy answered. «You have often read this poem to me.»
And she repeated the poem too. That was easy for her - she listened to the poem twice. Then Cram-Cram repeated it again. So everything was clear and the poet had to pay a big fine or to go to prison.
At that time high in the mountains there lived- a very old and great poet and philosopher. He was the teacher of many poets. One day a large group of poets came to him to ask for help. After some time the old poet said: «The king has some special way of learning your poems. We must understand how he does it. I must think.» All night long he was sitting and thinking and in the morning he told the poets:
«My friends, і think I know what the king does, t have a plan but you must help me. We have to work hard and
long.»
After some months the old poet came to the palace in a large heavy cart. King Poof-Allee was very glad to see
him.
«Welcome to our palace, great poet,» the king said to the old man. «We are happy to see you because we have heard a lot about you and your unusual talent.»
«Your Majesty!* said the old poet. «You are great, not me. I have got a new poem which I wrote for you. Let me give it to you as a present.*
«No, no!» the king answered. «If your poem is really original, I cannot take this rich present. I'll pay you its weight in gold.»
Then people brought food and wine and two men - the king and the poet - spent some time at the table. The stars were already in the sky when the king asked the poet to read the poem. He began in a low voice:
When the world began, and the fish swam And the sea washed the feet of the mountains, First came the birds that fly In the blue, Then came the animals, two by two, And the green grass grew and grew...
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The old poet was reading and reading his poem. His voice didn't change. And he stopped only when the sun was standing high in the sky. King Poof-Allee opened his eyes and soon he understood what happened. RoIy-PoIy and Cram-Cram understood it too. They all were sleeping and they didn't hear the poem.
«Roly-Poly! Cram-Cram!» said the king to them. «I was a little tired and I didn't hear all of that awfully long poem. But I know it, and I am sure that you know it too. Repeat it.» But that was impossible and this time the king had to pay. «Cram-Cram,» he shouted, «take this man to the treasurer! Tell him to weigh the poem and give the man its weight in gokJ.»
«How much did this awfully long poem weigh?» asked the king in the evening. «I want to know how many rupees we paid to that old man. Maybe, twenty or thirty rupees?»
«No, Your Majesty,» Cram-Cram answered. «The poem is very large.» And he gave the king the letter from the old poet:
Your Majesty! I have received from your treasurer two hundred and fifty-five million, six hundred and fourty-five thousand and ninety-nine ropees in gold, the weight of the poem. I will tell you why the poem was so heavy. We have no paper in the mountains, so we write our poems on big stones. I brought these stones with me. Now your treasurer has got them.
The old poet used the gold to publish the poems of all the poets in the country.
Vocabulary
Verbs
to repeat [n'pLi] - повторять to respect - уважать
to shout (to/at) - кричать (кому-л./на кого-л.) to tie (to) flai] - лгать , to throw (threw, thrown) - бросать, кидать to become (became, become) - становиться to swim (swam, swum) - плавать to wash - мыть(ся), стирать, омывать to fly (flew, flown) - летать, пролетать to grow (grew, grown) - расти(ть) to change - меняться), обмениваться) to weigh [wei] - вэвешивать(ся), весить Adverbs
once [waits] - один раз, однажды
twice [twais] - дважды
immediately - немедленно, тотчас же
however fhau'eva] - однако
especially [ts'pefsli] - особенно, специально
Adjectives rich - богатый poor [риз] - бедный proud (of) [praud] - гордый (un)usual [(лл)'ju^ual] - (не)обычный so-called - так называемый talented - талантливый favourite {'fervent] - любимый, излюбленный \ original [ 'ancfeanl] - подлинный, первоначальный easy [ 'xzi] - легкий, нетрудный special f'spe/al] - специальный, особый high [паї] - высокий, возвышенный low [lau] - низкий
Nouns
a legend ['lecksnd] - легенда
a king - король
a poet I poetry - поэт, поэзия
a poem - поэма, стихотворение
an army ['ami] - армия
a palace ['paelis] - дворец
a talent (for) - талант
a memory - память
an author ['эФэ] - автор
a fine - штраф
a prison ['pnzn] - тюрьма
a mountain ['mauntm] - гора
a soldier [ 'saukfea] - солдат
a secret f'sLknt] - секрет
