Reading, the 9th form

Christmas in My Family.

Hello! My name is Alexander. I live in Ukraine. My family is large. I live with my parents and grandparents. I've got two elder sisters Olga and Anna. Now they are students of Kyiv University and they visit our place only on holidays and some family occasions. Each Ukrainian family has its own customs and traditions. Ours is not an exception. My parents are very sociable and friendly people, so from time to time our house is full of guests. Our favourite holidays are New Year, Christmas and Women's Day. My mother thinks that at night of New Year's Eve the old year with all its troubles leaves us forever and the New Year with all our hopes and expectations knocks at our doors. On the eve of January the 7' we start celebrating Christmas. It's a real ritual for ray grandparents. My granny always gets ready for this religious holiday beforehand. On Sviat Vechir we gather around the table for a holy supper of twelve symbolic dishes. We are not allowed to start supper until the first star appears in the sky. We begin our supper with the kutia (a dish of honey, poppy seeds and wheat kernels boiled in pure rainwater). There are no meat and meat products on our table. My granny is a wonderful cook, so we enjoy her varenyky, holubtsi and desserts made from dried fruit and honey. After tasty supper we go to bed. Early in the morning we go to church to take part in the church service. When we come back home we give each other presents and wish "Merry Christmas'". All boxes with the presents are located under Christmas tree. It's a nice time when my sisters are at home and we've got a lot of happy moments together.

Did you read a text?

. Alexander has got two younger sisters.

. His parents like communicating with people.

A holy supper contains twelve symbolic dishes.

The kutia is the main dish.

The next day the family don`t go to church.

. Read the text and do the tasks.

A famous English writer, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, travelled in France. A French taxi- driver once played a joke on him. The man drove Sir Arthur from the station to a hotel. After receiving the pay he said, “Thank you, Mr. Conan Doyle.” Sir Arthur was surprised.

“Why, how did you guess my name?” asked Sir Arthur.

“Well, sir, I saw in the papers that you were coming from the south of France to Paris. From your appearance I understood that you were English; the barbers of the south of France use to cut hair in the style you have: not long. I put two and two together and came to the conclusion it was you”

 “That is very clever. Well, but how did you know my name?”

 “Well,” said the man, “it was very simple: your name is on your suitcases.”

Are you ready?

Choose the right answer:

1. What country did the taxi driver live in?

2. How did A.Conan Doyle get to the hotel?

3. How did the driver learn the nationality of A.Conan Doyle?

4. Did A.Conan Doyle have long or short hair?

How did a taxi driver know the writer's name?

Where did A.Conan Doyle come to Paris from?