A cop: the same as a policeman and also a badge made of copper. A hooligan: This word first appeared in 1898 in the London police reports. There was a certain Mr. Hooley, who had a gang. They did many bad things. Thus, the word hooligan is short for Hooley’s gang. A pound is also […]
It is true that one addresses an audience of English people as ‘Ladies and gentlemen’’, but the singular of these vocatives is another matter. A foreigner would do best to stick to “Madam’’ and “Sir’’; this is the only formally correct way to address strangers, though it is notat all commonly used by the English […]
Most of the Scottish lochs* have their monsters. A large group of Gaelic stories tell of the manster of the deep which came into a loch, causing a high tide; it claimed a human sacrifice and when lots were drawn the king’s daughter was the victim. The young and beautiful princess had to go to […]
Blood transfusion means the passing of blood into the body of a person (or an animal) from an outside source, perhaps from the body of another person or an animal. This is now done with good results every day. Blood transfusion is now part of the regular practice of doctors, and it has saved many […]
In 1516 an outstanding English humanist Thomas More published in Latin a small book, called Utopia. It described an imaginary island, Utopia by name, the inhabitants of which had organized a kind of community life, rejected gold and all private property and where everyone had to work. Thus, at the very beginning of the capitalist […]
In various places of the world archaeologists find the traces of life of our distant ancestors—household articles and instruments of production. By these finds we learn how man, in the process of labour, created various tools and then perfected them. Throughout the whole history of the development of human society men always created new instruments […]
Bernard Shaw, the famous playwright, enjoyed popularity all over the world. His plays were staged not only in Great Britain, but in many other countries too. They have been translated into many languages and in the Soviet Union Shaw’s plays are staged in many cities and towns.
About three hundred years ago a brave sailor lived in Great Britain. His name was Henry Hudson. He was not afraid of anything. Many times he sailed in a small ship far off the coast of England. He dreamt of crossing the Arctic Ocean. Three times he tried to do so and each time he […]
A very young girl who was fond of playing the piano found out that among the guests who were invited to dinner would be a young critic whose name was Bernard Shaw. She had never met him before. At that time B.Shaw was not a famous writer yet. She learnt that he liked music and […]
The name of George Bernard Shaw, the famous English playwright, is very popular both in Great Britain and in many other countries. His plays are often staged in various countries. The Soviet theatergoers know B.Shaw very well. His plays are always a great success.
