Система упражнений по чтению

Reading

1. Look at the title of the text and guess what the collocation A Blackberry Winter means.

a. Bitter winter cold that  is thorny like a blackberry.
b. A dirty winter when snow is dark as a blackberry.
c. A snowfall in May, when the blackberry vines are in blossom.
d. A violet snowy landscape resembling the blackberry colour.
e. Winter is as  long as blackberry vines.

Some words and word combinations:

unleash – давать волю, спускать с привязи

duvet [`du:vei] – пуховое одеяло

wraparound windows – панорамные окна

double-paned glass – двойной стеклопакет

to cover – освещать в печати

feature – очерк, статья (в газете, журнале)

timing – зд. совпадение

uncanny – сверхъестественный, невероятный, поразительный

to trail off – сходить на нет

snap – резкое внезапное похолодание

to squint – прищуриваться

to take in – зд. проникаться

2. Read the text.

Blackberry Winter

5.14 a.m. I lay still and listened as the wind unleashed its rage against the exterior of our fourteenth-floor apartment. I shivered and pulled the duvet up around my neck. Why is it so cold?

I stood up. The phone rang persistently, and I made my way out to the living room. The apartment`s wraparound windows provided views of Seattle`s Pike Place Market below.

But it wasn`t the familiar view that captivated me that morning. In fact, there was no view. It was all… white. I rubbed my eyes to get a closer look at the scene outside the double-paned glass. Snow. And not just a few flurries – a genuine blizzard. I looked at the calendar on the wall near my desk, shaking my head in confusion. A snowstorm on May 2? Unbelievable.

“Hello,” I muttered into the phone.

“Claire!”

“Frank.” My boss at the newspaper.

“Are you looking out your window?”

“You mean the snow, right?”

“Yes, the snow! Can you believe this?”

I shook my head. “How can this even happen? It`s almost summer – at least, last I checked it was.”

“I`m not a meteorologist, but I know it`s rare. We`ve got to cover it.”

I yawned. “Don`t you think it`s more of news`s beat?”

“No. No,” Frank continued. “It`s a much bigger story. Claire, I`ve been going through old files, and you`ll never believe what I found.”

“How long have you been in the office?”

He ignored my question. “This isn`t the first time Seattle`s seen a storm like this.”

I rolled my eyes. “Right, it snowed in January, didn`t it?”

“Claire,” he continued, “no, listen. A late-season snowstorm hit on this very same date in 1933. The timing is uncanny. More than eighty years ago, an identical storm – a massive blizzard – completely shut down the city.”

“It`s interesting,” I said. “But I still don`t understand why this is a feature story. Shouldn`t Debbie in news be covering this?”

“Because it`s bigger than that,” he said. “Think about it. Two snowstorms, sharing one calendar date, separated by nearly a century? Maybe it`s a prompt to look back in time. To see what we missed…” His voice trailed off.

“Frank, I said sighing, “your sentimentality about weather is adorable, but don`t get too excited.

“Blackberry winter,” he muttered.

“I am sorry?”

“ The storm,” he continued. “It`s called a blackberry winter. It`s what meteorologists call a late-season cold snap. Interesting, isn`t it?”

“I guess,” I said.

“See you in the office,” he said. “Be careful out there. Fifth Avenue is an ice skating rink.”

I hung up the phone and looked down to the street below, squinting to make out two figures, a father and his young child, engaged in a snowball fight.

I pressed my nose against the window, feeling the cold glass against my skin. I smiled, taking in the scene before my breath fogged up the pane. A blackberry winter.

(Adapted from “Blackberry Winter” by Sarah Jio)

3. Match the expressions with their Russian definitions.

1) the wind unleashed its rage	a) недоуменно качая головой
2) provided views	b) называют неожиданное возвращение холода
3) shaking my head in confusion	c) открывался вид
4) much bigger	d) накрыл город
5) shut down the city	e) бушевал ветер
6) call a late-season snap	f) намного серьезнее
7)taking in the scene	g) наслаждаясь сценой

4. Fill in the sentences with the right preposition, where necessary.

1.  I lay still and listened as the wind unleashed its rage  ____________  the exterior of our fourteenth-floor apartment.

2. The phone rang persistently, and I made my way out ____________ the living room.

3. I rubbed my eyes to get a closer look ___________ the scene outside the double-paned glass.

4. I looked at the calendar on the wall near my desk, shaking my head _____________ confusion.

5. Shouldn`t Debbie in news be covering ____________ this?”

6. Two snowstorms, sharing one calendar date, separated ______________ nearly a century?

7. I hung up the phone and looked down __________ the street below, squinting to make out two figures, a father and his young child, engaged in a snowball fight.

5. Look through the text again and mark the statements below as true (T), false (F) or not stated NS).

1. Claire stood up and turned up the thermostat because it was cold.	______
2. It was the unusual view that captivated Claire that morning.	______
3. A blizzard in spring is occasional.	______
4. Frank wanted Claire to write a feature story by Friday.	______
5. Frank was touched with uncanny timing.	______