Swift and His Lazy Servant
Swift, the famous English writer, was one day travelling on horseback with a servant. The weather was bad; it was raining and the roads were muddy. In the evening the two men came to an inn. Before going to bed Swift told his servant to clean his boots, as they were very dirty. But the servant was very lazy and did not do what his master had said.
The next morning when Swift saw the dirty boots, he asked the servant why he had not cleaned the boots. The servant answered that he had not cleaned the boots because they would soon become dirty again. “The roads are muddy. What is the use of cleaning the boots now? They will soon be dirty again”, he said.
Swift did not say anything and soon told the servant to get ready because they would start at once. But the servant looked very displeased and said that he had not eaten his breakfast yet. Swift answered that they would go without any breakfast. “What is the use of eating now? You will soon be hungry again”, he said.
Out of the answers given below each question choose the correct one to bring about the main ideas of the text.
C) On horseback, c) His maidservant, c) Windy. c) To feed the horse, c) He forgot about it. c) He left ‘him hungry. Which kind of travelling did the famous writer prefer?
By car. By bicycle.
Whom did he travel with? b) His servant.
His friend. Sunny. To clean his clothes.
What was the weather like?
Rainy.
What did Swift order to do?
To clean his boots.
Did the servant carry out his master’s wish?
Yes, he did. No, he didn ‘t want.
How did the master punish his servant?
He didn’tpay him. He didn’t notice him.
Схожі твори:
- “Путешествия Гулливера” Джонатана Свифта – Gulliver`s Travels by Jonathan Swift This well-written book is the best satire in the English literature. The main character, Gulliver, finds himself in Lilliput country where little people live. Gulliver after a while has to run out of the country. On the following journey he appears among the giants. The third trip is to the land of the philosophers and […]...
- Jonathan Swift. (1667-1745) JS was the greatest of English satiriste. His better satire at the contempro-rary social order in jeneral and an the policy of English government towards in particular. That’s why the Irish people considered Swift the champion in the struggle for the wealthy and freedom of their country. JS was born in Dublin, but he came […]...
- Newton’s Dinner Sir Isaac Newton was often so deeply interested in difficult problems that he became quite absent-minded. One day a gentleman came to see him, but was told that Sir Isaac was busy in his study and that nobody was allowed to disturb him. As it was dinner-time, the visitor sat down in the dining-room to […]...
- My First Football Match Sports have never interested me. I cannot explain why it is so: may be because, unlike most boys, I do not enjoy wearing dirty clothes and muddy boots. Clothes certainly cannot be neat and clean when one plays football or something. Or, more likely, it is because I am too lazy. I first got acquainted […]...
- Земля в опасности – The Earth is in Danger I want to tell you about our Earth. I want to say what people ruins and want they can lose. Many people want to save the Earth, but they don`t know how to do it. They don`t know how to protect wild animals, plants, and how to keep water clean and air fresh. Water is […]...
- We Never Saw Him Again When we arrived in London, we were two hours late because our train had been held up by the bad weather. Outside the station it was snowing hard and there was a long queue of people waiting for taxis. As we were about to join it, a young man pulled up his car and asked […]...
- Незабываемое путешествие – Unforgettable trip Almost everyone likes to travel. Some people like travelling by air. As for me, I’m afraid of this way of journey. But I want to try it in my future life. Some people like the sea. You can feel the deck of the boat under your feet, the cry of sea-gulls and of course to […]...
- TRAVELLING Modern life is impossible without travelling. To understand how true it is you’ve to go to a railway sta an airport where you can see hundreds of people hurrying to board a train or a plane. Those who wish to have at their disposal various means of transport. Some people prefer to travel by plane, […]...
- Какого цвета твое лето? – What colour does YOUR summer have? Hello, everybody! I would like to share my ideas with you in this essay which covers an interesting topic. By the way, it is a tricky question, really what colour does MY summer have? First of all, answering this question, I should say that MY summer has the rainbow colour though it is not only […]...
- Как спасти окружающую среду? – How to protect the environment? I think that Russia is one of the dirtiest countries in the world. In Russia almost every family has a car. And fumes of cars are very dangerous. Our factories, cars, trains and planes make the air dirty, so the atmosphere is polluted. I believe that one day somebody will invent energy that hasn’t fumes. […]...
- Город или деревня – что лучше? – What is better – the city or the countryside? There are a lot of different opinions about living in the country. Most citizens even can`t imagine how people live in the country without heating, hot water, television. On the other hand there are many people who live there all their life and can`t imagine living in the city. In my opinion the village is […]...
- Oedipus and the Riddle of the Sphinx Oedipus was born to Queen Jocasta and King Laius in the city of Thebes. When Oedipus was born, the gods told Laius he would be killed by his own son. The son would then marry his own mother. Laius felt he had to get rid of the boy. So he sent the baby Oedipus up […]...
- “A Stolen” Theme The famous Italian composer Leoncovallo loved to listen to what people said about his operas. One evening, when his “Pagliacci” was on, he was sitting next to a girl who clapped with enthusiasm. Between claps she looked angrily at the gentleman sitting next to her who didn’t applaud at all. When the curtain went down […]...
- Gulliver`s Travels (book review) In 1726 Swift`s masterpiece “Gulliver`s Travels” appeared. This work made a great sensation in Ireland as well as in England, it equally strirred the interests of those in politics as well as the readers of novels. In this work Swift intended to satirise the evils of the existing society in the form of fictions travels. […]...
- Mark Twain in France Mark Twain, a famous American writer, liked to travel very much. Once he was travelling in France. He was going by train to one little town. That day Mark Twain was very tired and wanted to sleep. He asked the conductor to wake him up when the train got to that town. He said, “I […]...
- The Travellers and the Purse You have read and heard several little stories by Aesop who lived more that two thousand years ago. As you know, Aesop laughs in his stories at what is bad and foolish and so helps people to become better. The stories are still told today. Here is one of them for you. Two men were […]...
- Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) Robert Louis Stevenson was born in 1850 in Edinburgh. He was a descendant from a wealthy family of Scottish civil engineers. At school he began to write stories and poems and wanted to be a writer. Robert first studied engineering and afterwards law at the Edinburgh University. In 1875 he was called to the bar, […]...
- Lewis Carroll (1832 -1898) Lewis Carroll was an English writer. His real name was Charles Dodgson. Charles Dodgson was the third child in the family. He had seven brothers and sisters. The children were brought up in the country among gardens, fields and woods. When Charles was twelve years old, he went to school. He was a good pupil. […]...
- Огонь путешествий – Fire of travel There is one kind of people who can`t stand at one place for a long time. Our family belongs to this kind. From time to time fire of travel burns in our souls. And when this fire attains the highest top we set off. There aren`t any things more beautiful than the road – whether […]...
- O`Henry My favorite foreign writer is O. Henry. He was born in 1862. O. Henry is one of the most widely published American authors. His works have been translated into many languages. The best of his stories were published in books: “Cabbages and Kings”, “The 4 million”, “Heart of West” and others. His credo was-art should […]...
- Getting around in britain Britain has almost the same population as France but less than half the space. With 238 people per square kilometre, it is a densely populated country. So it is not surprising that the transport system is fairly comprehensive. With the notable exception of the Highlands of Scotland, almost every square centimetre of the map of […]...
- Мой английский, Америка и я – My English, America and I I want to tell you about my most exciting vacation and why I want to learn English. When I came to the U. S. A. the first time, I couldn`t ask anyone for directions or a drink, because I couldn`t speak English at all. In a few weeks, I came back home and decided to […]...
- Camping holidays The best holiday we ever had was entirely unplanned and unprepared for in any way. Two weeks holidays suddenly popped up and at a day’s notice we took off for Scotland. We left London at six in the morning, the two boys being barely awake. We were early enough to get well clear of the […]...
- When in Rome, do as Romans do When going abroad to different countries with various cultures and religions one should tolerate and accept not only laws and regulations, but also unspoken rules of people behavior. Moreover, one must act according to these very rules, so as not to insult country dwellers and cause criticism towards him. Some countries are especially famous for […]...
- Знову за партами. Переклад з англіської мови Закінчилось літо, і ми знову за партами. Це було чудове літо. Ми займалися спортом, подорожували, оглядали визначні пам’ятки. Ми дізналися багато цікавого про міста, в яких ми побували. У теплу погоду ми ходили купатися до річки й майже весь день проводили там. Але коли йшов дощ і була погана погода, ми були вдома або ходили […]...
- Today’s Weather and My Attitude to It Останні кілька днів погода була мінлива. Але вона подобається мені найбільше. Коли я сьогодні прокинувся, день здавався нудним і сірим. Але потім прояснилося, і зараз яскраво сяє сонце і дуже тепло. Я помітив, що більшість днів починається саме так: небо в хмарах, сонця ні, вітер сильний, але потім часто погода поліпшується. Я дуже люблю теплу […]...
- The Weather Forecast. Прогноз погоди Ми промокаємо до нитки, коли потрапляємо під зливу без пальта. Іноді ми надягаємо светр і виявляємо, що погода стала більш теплою. Ми не завжди знаємо, яку погоду варто очікувати. Є щоденні прогнози погоди по телевізору і радіо. Іноді прогноз не завжди правильний, тому що погоду важко пророчити. Цілодобово метеорологи збирають інформацію з кораблів, літаків, метеорологічних […]...
- Стилистический анализ текста: Katherine Mansfield “The Garden-Party” The text under stylistic analysis “The Garden-Party” is written by Katherine Mansfield in the style of fiction. It deals with author;s feelings and emotions about relations in society. The author is told us about garden-party, where young girl Laura had to be a master o this party at first time. But this girl was pretty […]...
- Your teacher has asked you to write an article describing a famous person from the history of your country I would like to tell you about Lesia Ukrayinka – one of the most famous Ukrainian poets. Lesia Ukrayinka is a pseudonym of Larysa Petrivna Kosach-Kvitka. She was a poet, dramatist, short-story writer, essayist, and critic who was the foremost woman writer in Ukrainian literature and a leading figure in its modernist movement. The daughter […]...
- Сегодняшняя погода и мое отношение к ней – Today;s Weather and My Attitude to It Последние несколько дней погода была неустойчивой. Но она нравится мне больше всего. Когда я сегодня проснулся, день казался скучным и серым. Но затем прояснилось, и сейчас ярко сияет солнце и очень тепло. Я заметил, что большинство дней начинается именно так: небо в тучах, солнца нет, ветер довольно-таки сильный, но затем часто погода улучшается. Я очень […]...
- Weather in UK Englishmen say “There is no bad weather, there are bad clothes”, It means that they like all the seasons, all kinds of weather. Every season is good in its own way. Each person likes this or that season. It depends on his character, mood. They say that Pushkin liked autumn very much. This season is […]...
- Two Friends Two friends went on a trip to London. In London they went into a restaurant for dinner. On a table stood ajar of mustard. Not having seen mustard before, one of them took a big spoonful into his mouth. Tears immediately filled his eyes. His friend asked him what he was crying about. “I am […]...
- Climate and nature of Great Britain The climate in Great Britain is generally mild and temperate due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. The south-western winds carry the warmth and moisture into Britain. The climate in Britain is usually described as cool, temperate and humid. British people say: “Other countries have a climate, in England we have weather.” The weather […]...
- Unsuccessful Experiment In 1608 an Englishman, Thomas Coryate by name, was in Italy. He liked the country and wrote down everything which he found interesting. But there was one thing which he thought more interesting than any others. On one of the pages Thomas wrote: “When the Italian eat meat, they use little forks. They do not […]...
- Russia Russia is one of the largest countries in the world. The vast territory of the Russian Federation stretches from the Baltic Sea in the West to the Pacific Ocean in the East, from the Arctic Ocean in the North to the Black Sea in the South. Due to the large territory the climate and nature […]...
- Ray Duglas Bradbury (1920) Ray Bradbury is an American author of many imaginative science-fiction short stories, novels and plays. Ray Bradbury was born on August 22,1920, in the town of Wokehan, Illinois, into the family of an electric plant worker. His mother was a devoted cinema fan, and Ray got his second name after his mother’s favourite actor, a […]...
- A Clean Kitchen Once a young man came to a small restaurant, in London. He sat down at a little table near the window and ordered dinner. The waiter put a plate, a knife and a fork on the table in front of the young man, and brought some bread and soup. The young man began to eat […]...
- A Laconic Answer There was a time when the people of Greece were not united but instead there were several states each of which had its own ruler. Some of the people in the southern part of the country were called Spartans and they were famous for their simple habits and their bravery. The name of their land […]...
- England England is the southern and the largest component of the United Kingdom. Its poetic name is “Albion”, th Romans associated it with the term “albus” (white) and identified it with the Dover chalk cliffs. England has a total area of 50,383 square miles and is divided into 46 counties. The population of England’ 46 million […]...
- The Renaissance The Renaissance or the revival of learning was the period then european culture was at it’s high. It lasted from the 14’th centure till 17’th centure, and was coursed by complex economic situation and social conditions. The feudal system was been shuttled by the bourgeoisie, thich was getting stronger and stronger. It was more profitable […]...