Топик: Тексты для экзамена 11 класса

Margie was scornful. “ School? What’s there to write about school ? I hate school.”

Margie always hated school , but now she hared it more then ever. The mechanical teacher had been given her test after test in geography and she was doing worse until her mother had sent for the County Inspector who came with a box full of tools, dials and wires.

He took the teacher apart/ Margie had hoped he wouldn’t know how to put it together again, but he knew how all right and after an hour or so , there it was again , large and black with a big screen on which all lessons were shown and the questions were asked. That wasn’t so bad. The part she hated most was the slot where she had put homework and test papers. She always had to write them out in special code they had her learn when she was six years old , and the mechanical teacher calculated the mark in no time.

The Inspector said to her another , “ It’s not the little girl’s fault, Mrs. Jones . I think the geography sector was geared a little too quick. I’ve slowed it up to an average ten-year level!’

Margie was disappointed. She had been hoping they would take the teacher away altogether. The had once taken Tommy’s teacher away for nearly a month because the history sector blanked out completely.

So she said to Tommy , “ Why would anyone write about school?”

Tommy locked at her with very superior eyes. “ Because it’s not our kind of school , stupid. This is the old kind of school they had hundreds and hundreds of years ago.”

Margie was hurt. “ Well ,I don’t know what kind of school they had all that time ago.” She read the book over his shoulder for a while , then said,” Anyway, they had a teacher/”

“ Sure they had a teacher and it was a man.”

“ A man ? How could a man be a teacher?”

“Well, he just told the boys and girls things and gave them homework and asked them questions.”

“ I wouldn’t want a strange man in my house to teach me.” Tommy screamed with laughter. “You don’t know much, Margie. The teacher didn’t live in the house. They had a special building and all the kids went there.”

“ And all the kids learned the same things?”

“Sure, if they were the same age.”

Now Margie wanted to read about those funny schools. They didn’t even half finish when Margie’s mother called ,”Margie! School!”

“ May be ,” he said walking away.

Margie went into the schoolroom. It was next to her bedroom, and the mechanical teacher was on and was waiting for her. The screen was lit up and said, “ Please insert yesterday’s home work in the proper slot.”

Margie did so with a sigh. She was thinking about the old school they had when her grandfather’s grandfather was a little boy. All the kids from the whole neighborhood came , laughing and shouting in the school-yard, sitting together in the school-room , going home together at the end of the day. They learned the same things so they could help one another on the homework and talk about it. And the teacher were people…

Margie was thinking about how the kids must have loved it in the old days. She was thinking about the fun they had.

( After Issac Asimov)

The Invisible Man.

P a r t I

So I began a new life. I had no shelter and no clothes. I could tell nobody about my secret. I was thinking about one only: where to get shelter from the snow and where to find clothes. But there was no shelter for an Invisible Man in London.

Then I had idea. I went to a big department store. You know these department store, Kemp. You can get everything there: meat, furniture, clothes, clocks and watches, and many other things. I thought to take shelter there, and I had some other plans besides.

I entered the shop and looked to the right and to the left. Then I entered a department where they were selling furniture. I wanted to sit and rest a little , but could not find a good place. At last I found it in a room full of mattresses. I decided to lie down among the mattresses and wait until closing time came. My idea was to get food and other clothes in the shop. Then I could go and get my money, books and other things. After I could find a room in a London house and finish my work.

Closing time came quickly enough. By that time I had a good rest among the mattresses. Then the doors were shut from outside. I dot up and went to explore the department store. My first visit was to the department where they sold men’s things. There I got a vest, a shirt , trousers , a jacket and a hat. The vest was very nice and warm. I began to feel a man again , and my next task was to get food.

There was a cafe on the first floor, and I got cold meat there. There was some coffee too, and I warmed it up in the small kitchen of the cafe. As I could find no other food there , I went back to the mattress room and slept there. It was morning already. I opened my eyes. At first I could not understand where I was. Then I heard some people talking , and saw two men coming to the place where I lay. I got up and looked where I could hide . But as I did so , they saw me. “Who’s that ?” cried one.

“Stop there!” shouted the other. I ran round a counter past a boy of fifteen. Then I had a good idea. I hid behind a counter and began to take off clothes as fast as I could. The jacket , trousers, and shirt were not difficult to take off, but I could not take off the vest. I heard more men coming.

“This way, Policeman,” I heard somebody shouting. I ran back again to the department where they sold mattresses. There I took off my vest and stood a free man again. Then a policeman and two or tree shopmen came round the corner. They saw a vest and one of the men said, “He must be here.”