'Greasy spoons'

'GREASY SPOONS' very rarely appear in guidebooks, but they are an essential part of life in the UK, especially for people living in the bigger cities. These small restaurants are so common that they often go unnoticed, but if they were removed, the country would be on its knees. In London, the capital city of the greasy spoon, there are hundreds of them, fuelling the population with bacon, egg and sausage.

Greasy spoon cafes are so called because any cutlery that comes into contact with the food they offer is immediately coated with a sticky, greasy layer of lard. More calories can be found in a cup of tea in a good greasy spoon than in a whole meal at a normal restaurant.

Greasy spoons are generally found slightly away from the main streets of most towns, they usually have large glass windows, a plastic sign with the name of the cafe - usually containing the name of the owner, e.g. Mario's, Bob's Place, Rita's Cafe - and a huge menu offering a wide variety of delights. Inside they are generally clean and functional. You'll see old wooden seats, tables covered with cracked linoleum and plain walls. Each table has on it a bottle of brown sauce, tomato ketchup and vinegar, and pots of salt and pepper.

In a typical greasy spoon, you will find people from all walks of life. Poets, builders, hurrying businessmen, students lazing around with huge mugs of tea. Some read novels, some stare into space, and others catch up on the day's news. At weekends there will always be large groups of friends, recovering from a night on the town.

The meals here are dangerously unhealthy, and absolutely delicious. All kinds of fried food can be bought for incredibly low prices. The centrepiece is usually the traditional English breakfast. Although it's called a breakfast, you have to be really brave to eat it first thing in the morning, because it is huge. At least two pieces of becon, two sizzling sausages, two fried eggs, fried mushrooms, baked beans and bread soaked in hot oil and fried. The English breakfast is full of meat and fat. If you want something less filling, there's still a lot to choose from; particular specialities are bacon or fried egg sandwiches (or, of course, bacon and egg sandwiches). There is also often a range of vegetarian sausages and burgers.

Greasy spoons have some devoted followers. Typing 'greasy spoon' into an internet search engine will bring up hundreds of entries. With pictures, reviews, menus and stories, it's the next best thing to going to a greasy spoon cafe yourself. But of course, nothing can beat going to the real thing – especially on an empty stomach.

Текст 4 leisure

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10 Best ways to spend your free time

One of the best things that seems to be coming out of the changesin the economy is that we are finding creative ways to entertain ourselves these days without spending a lot of money. We are cutting back on expenditures for tickets to events and finding new ways to keep our minds and bodies active without spending that kind of cash.

Here is a quick look at 10 fun ways that you could spend your free time while keeping it free:

1. Learn a game for the park. Just going to the park is a really great way to spend your free time but you can enhance it even more by learning a game that you can play yourself.

2. Participate in flash mobs. Cities throughout the nation are home to flash mob events. These are events in which a huge group of people come into an area and do something noticeable. The actual activity varies – they may all start singing or dancing at once or they may participate in a pillow fight or they may dress in costume. You can join up with them, have some laughs, meet some new people and not spend a dime.

3. Play cards. There are tons of different card games out there that you can play alone, with a partner or with a group of people. Get online and find out the instructions to new games. Challenge yourself to master one new card game each week or month. You’ll find that you can really get into this, especially if you’re playing with the right people, and you don’t have to spend much money (if any at all).

4. Take photographs. As long as you already have a digital camera and you don’t feel the compulsive need to print out your pictures, you don’t have to spend any money to enjoy this art.

5. Read something that interests you. Most people find it fun to read something. Whether it’s novels or non-fiction or comic books or just websites, there is probably something that you could sit down and read for hours and not be bored by. Make use of local libraries or bookstores that don’t mind you hanging out for a while to keep this activity free.

6. Draw / color/ paint. Remember when you were younger and you could spend hours making art? Unless you’re an artist now, you may have stopped having that kind of fun. Start up again! You don’t have to be “good at art” to have a good time being creative.

7. Go hiking. Get your blood pumping by finding a spot near you where you can hike. If you don’t have the right equipment for hiking and you don’t want to spend the money on that equipment, just go for regular walks. There is a lot to see when you get out of your car or off of your bike and just slow down. The physical exercise is good for you but it’s the chance to really enjoy your surroundings for a change that makes walking fun.

8. Dance. Dance in the streets. Dance with friends. Dance in the privacy of your own home. You don’t have to have rhythm or special shoes to be able to shake your body and feel good. Loosen up and have fun with it!

9. Resume an old sport or hobby that you gave up. You probably already have the equipment lying around your home so it’s not going to cost anything to do this.

10. Have a picnic in your living room. You can picnic in front of the TV with your loved ones and make a special, fun night out of something pretty normal. Scan the channels or pop in a DVD that everyone loves and settle in together with blankets and your snacks.

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Learning from play

You can learn a lot about people from playing games with them. Before Michelle Obama married Barrack, she sent him to play basketball with her brother. Barrack didn’t know, but it was a test. She wanted to know what he was like as a person. After the game, her brother told her Barrack was a good team player. He shared the ball, but not too much and he liked him. The rest is history.

You can also learn a lot of practical skills from playing games. Researchers have found that people who are good at video games often make the best surgeons. In one study, keyhole surgeons who played video games were 27 percent faster and made 37 per cent fewer errors in the operating room than those who didn’t.

Different games develop different skills. For example, to play backgammon you need to think quickly and calculate risks. To play the card game bridge you need social interaction and communication skills. Chess requires strategic thinking. In fact for many students at Hampton University’s business school, chess isn’t just a game they play for fun. It’s a game they must play to get their MBA. As part of their first year course, students need to play 20 strangers over the internet. The school believes that chess teaches important skills like strategic planning, problem solving and time management. The students have to learn to lose, laugh, and fight again, so it also teaches skills for life.

Определите, являются ли следующие утверждения правдивыми, ложными или в тексте нет соответствующей информации:

1. Michelle Obama played basketball with Barrack to find out what he was like.

2. Michelle’s brother approved of Barrack.

3. Videogames develop important skills for keyhole surgeons.

4. Research shows that most surgeons enjoy video games.

5. You have to evaluate threats and respond fast to play bridge.

6. Students at Hampton Univestity’s business school only play chess with each other.

7. Students can learn many business and life skills from chess.

Задание 3. Прочитайте и переведите текст.

RIVIERA SPORTS CENTRE

This fantastic new sports centre is now open seven days a week. You can enjoy lots of sports with help from our great team of instructors. Book an appointment now to talk to an instructor about which sports you want to do. There are no membership fees. Pay €4.00 each time you visit the club to do sport. Read more about the sports you can enjoy below.

1. Football training Tuesday and Thursday at 4.00 p.m. Tuesday 6-10 years and Thursday 11-16 years. Matches every Saturday.

2. Running club Wednesday at 6.00 p.m. Meet at the front entrance. All levels welcome.

3. Yoga classes Saturday morning at 10.00 a.m. Please bring your own mat.

4. Swimming and diving lessons Learn to dive in a separate diving pool - six metres deep.

5. Tennis coaching available Monday to Saturday. Rackets and balls supplied. Book five lessons and get a discount!

6. Fitness studio with a variety of classes including dance and aerobics. Timetable of classes available at the reception desk.

Определите, правдивыми или ложными являются следующие утверждения:

1. The sports centre is not open on Sundays.

2. You pay .4.00 every time you do sport at the sports centre.

3. There is football training twice a week.

4. Experience is needed for the running club.

5. You need to take a mat to the yoga class.

6. There is one pool for swimming and diving.

7. Tennis lessons are cheaper if you book five lessons.

8. You can find out more about times of fitness classes at the reception desk.