What Are the Times of Meals?
Mr and Mrs Williams had always spent their summer holidays
in England in the past , in a small boarding-house at the seaside. One
year, however, Mr Williams made a lot of money in his business , so they
decided to go to Rome and stay at a really good hotel while they went
around and saw the sights of that famous city.
They flew to Rome, and arrived at their hotel late
one evening. They expected that they would have to go to bed hun- gry,
because in the boarding-houses they had been used to in the past, no meals
were served after seven o'clock in the evening. They were therefore surprised
when the clerk who received them in the hall of the hotel asked them whether
they would be taking dinner there that night.
"Are you still serving dinner then?" asked
Mrs Williams.
"Yes, certainly, madam," answered the clerk.
"We serve it until half-past nine. "
"What are the times of meals then?" asked
Mr Williams.
"Well, sir," answered the clerk, "we
serve breakfast from seven to half-past eleven in the morning, lunch from
twelve to three in the afternoon, tea from four to five, and dinner from
six to half-past nine. "
"But that hardly leaves any time for us to see
the sights of' Rome ! " said Mrs Williams in a disappointed voice.
Text B
The Food Is Bad
Lise, Nick
and Bill had gone out walking for the day. Nick got back about six.
"Haven't Bill and Lise arrived yet?" he asked. "I thought
they were ahead of me. . . "
It was 7. 30 when Bill and Lise came in. The others
were just finishing supper. " Where on earth have you been?"
Nick asked.
"We'll tell you all about it after supper,"
Bill said. "We'd better go and get our food. The warden's alreatly
told us that we're late. . . "
After supper, the group sat around talking.
STEVE:
Ugh ! The food
here really is bad. My soup was cold. And the meat-huh! -it
was like
leather!
LtsE:
Yes, and they
don't give you very much, either. I'm still hungry. Are hostels
in
England always
as- badas this?
Anna:
I haven't stayed
in one for ages. But I'm sure this
one is especially
bad. And the warden is so unpleasant. . .
MALC:
"Don't do
this, don't do that. You mustn't do this, you can't do that.
. . "
STEVE:
WEll, I'm going
to write a letter of complaint. To the Secretary of the Youth
Hostels Association!
LIsE:
And we'll all
help you. . .
Questions on
Text B
7. Read the following dialogue once. Underline the key words while reading
and retell to your partner the dialogue in your own words.
A:
They don't really think you took it, do they?
B:
1 don't know. I just know I've never been asked so many questions
in my life.
A:
How many of them were there?
B:
Three-but there was one of them who kept asking really stupid
questions.
A:
Like what?
B:
Oh, he wanted to know what time I got up this morning and if
I bad a bath or a
shower - you know, things like that.
A:
What on earth has that got to do with some money disappearing?
B:
I've no idea. Oh yes, and the most ridiculous thing. He asked
me what I had for
breakfast this morning.
A:
Oh well, that's it. They obviously think you're a desperate
criminal and you have
to steal to eat. I should think you'll get thirty years.