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– a predator
– agility
– dexterity
– a kind of contorted smile
– the script
– a propman
– a couch
– a wormwhole
– a tamer
III. Find adverbs in the text. Make up your own sentences with them.
IV. Unscramble the words in bold.
1. A travelling circus was giving the first mcnproearfe of the season in a small
country town.
2. The town residents were not spoiled by qtrfnuee visits from performing
guests.
3. The jrocounr had a few minutes before his appearance on the stage.
4. Do you remember the srtcpi
5. The white-haired npramop showed his head from behind the door.
6. He stared at the btarib and could not believe what had happened.
7. But he works only with prderstao, so he can’t be responsible.
8. His gaset name was Faust.
9. A cokkn at the door brought him back to reality.
10. A mwloheor is a hypothetical topological feature of space time.
V. Give definitions of the following verbs.
– to erect
– to spoil
– to demand
– to examine
– to reveal
– to grip
– to stroke
– to craft
– to vanish
– to swear off
– to vow
VI. Grammar.
1. Find and translate sentences in the Past Simple Tense.
2. Find and translate a sentence with homogeneous parts.
3. Find and translate one sentence in the Present Perfect Tense.
4. Find and translate one sentence in the Present Perfect Continuous Tense.
5. Find sentences with the direct speech. Change them into the indirect
speech.
VII. Answer the following questions.
1. What kind of person was the magician?
2. Where did he work?
3. Where was a travelling circus giving the first performance?
4. What did the magician ask the propman for?
5. How did the black box look like?
6. What happened in the arena?
7. What story did the propman tell the conjuror?
8. What is the wormhole?
9. Do you believe in the human ability to travel through time in the future?
10. What is the main message of the story?
11. Which of the tricks do you think would be the most impressive to watch?
12. Have you had any experience of mind-reading or illusions? Give details.
13. If the magician asked a member of the audience to participate on stage,
would you do it?
VIII. Say whether the following sentences are true, false or not given in the text.
Say what is wrong with the false ones.
1. A travelling circus was giving the second performance.
2. The town residents hated frequent visits of performing guests.
3. A novice magician demanded to be given a box for a hare to fit in.
4. The public was marveled by the performance.
5. The conjuror demonstrated stunts and tight rope walk.
6. The black box vanished with the rabbit inside.
7. The illusionist Faust appeared on the stage with the rabbit.
8. The propman told the story about wormholes.
9. According to the text rabbits live forty years.
10. The animal ceased to nibble on its carrot.
IX. Speaking.
1. Describe the magician.
2. Speak about the atmosphere in the town before the show.
3. Describe the performance of the conjuror.
4. Act out the dialogue between the propman and the magician.
5. Give the summary of the story.
X. Which of the sayings best summarises the main idea of the story?
1. The fated thing will happen.
2. There is a time and place for everything.
3. The world is a mere illusion.
XI. Solve a crossword puzzle.
Across:
2/ A person who performs tricks that seem strange or impossible to believe.
6/ A long pointed orange root vegetable.
8/ A group of people, sometimes with trained animals, who perform acts with
skill in a show that travels around to different places.
10/ An individual responsible for objects used by actors during the performance
of a play.
11/ The act of performing a play, concert or some other form of entertainment.
14/ A small animal with soft fur, long ears and a short tail.
Down:
1/ A large board on the outside of a building or at the side of the road, used for
putting advertisements on.
3/ A person who trains wild animals.
4/ A trick intended to make somebody believe something that is not true.
5/ Typical of something in a story about magic for children.
7/ The ability to move quickly and easily.
9/ A clever action that somebody performs as a way of entertaining people.
12/ A piece of special flat glass that reflects images.
13/ A person who can do magic tricks.
The Watchmaker
“I feel I have to admit I’ve always had a keen interest in time,” said an elderly watchmaker taking a break from his sophisticated work.
There was a watch mechanism resting on the table in front of him which he had already been fixing for nearly an hour. The watch was a vintage framed in gold, and the work was extremely delicate. The watchmaker addressed a visitor, who was reading a magazine while waiting patiently in an armchair in the corner of the workshop. He put the magazine aside and said, “The concept of time definitely contains philosophy and mystery, which people are prohibited to perceive by their limited five senses.” Here the visitor paused studying the reactions of the watchmaker and continued, “Otherwise, the scientists have managed to prove that intellect is the human’s sixth sense.”
“Indeed. And interestingly enough, humans can only move forward along the time line, while they ca
“H’m! I would argue with you about the return to the starting time point. You know, there’ve been some instances. And I would not agree with you about the time line too. The time is flowing in the spiral.”
The puzzled watchmaker looked at his strange guest. The man was not tall, medium build, wearing a suit, but without a tie. He had a black wide-brimmed hat on, which for some reason he refused to take off in the room, so the shop owner could not fully discern his facial features. However, he drew particular attention to his prominent, determined chin.
“Your thoughts are really intriguing.”
The tired watchmaker could not have helped but get up groaning and come up to his interlocutor.
“Have a sit,” the guest offered.
The watchmaker sat in the armchair opposite to him and with his back to the working desk. Only then he was able to glance into the eyes of the weird visitor. The watchmaker felt something repellent in his cold stare and he asked shivering: “Who are you?”
“Me? Soon you will understand.”
The old man was frightened to the bits, but gave no sign of it. He did not want to discuss anything more with the stranger and wanted to get rid of him the quicker the better. Не returned to the subject of the item being repaired.
“Oh! By the way, your watch. You are the owner of a rare miraculous specimen. You could get for it a decent amount of money at auction. But I ca