Funny stories / Сборник лучших смешных рассказов. Уровень 2

“Now all of you sit round and throw your pennies in the cap,” says the author, “and I will pretend that there lives in Bayswater[38 - Bayswater – Бейсуотер] a young lady named Angelina[39 - Angelina – Анжелина], who is the most beautiful young lady that ever existed. And in Notting Hill[40 - Notting Hill – Ноттинг-Хилл], we will pretend, there lives a young man named Edwin[41 - Edwin – Эдвин], who is in love with Angelina.”

And then, if there are some pennies in the cap, the author pretends that Angelina thought this and said that, and that Edwin did all sorts of wonderful things.

We know he is making it all up[42 - is making it all up – измышляет всё это]. We know he is making up just to please us. But we know well enough that if we stop to throw the pennies into the cap, the author can do another things.

The manager bangs his drum.

“Come here! come here!” he cries, “we are going to pretend that Mrs. Johnson[43 - Mrs. Johnson – миссис Джонсон] is a princess, and old man Johnson is going to pretend to be a pirate.

Come here, come here, and be in time!”

So Mrs. Johnson, pretending to be a princess, comes out of a paper house that we agree to pretend is a castle; and old man Johnson, pretending to be a pirate, is swimming in the thing we agree to pretend is the ocean. Mrs. Johnson pretends to be in love with him, but we know she is not. And Johnson pretends to be a very terrible person; and Mrs.

Johnson pretends, till eleven o’clock, to believe it. And we pay money to sit for two hours and listen to them.

But as I explained at the beginning, my friend is a mad person.

Exercises

1. Выберите правильный вариант:

1.В We make believe about quite serious things.

2.В We make believe about quite stupid things.

3.В We make believe about quite incredible things.

4.В We make believe about quite common things.

ОТВЕТ: We make believe about quite serious things.

2.В Where does a young man, who is in love with Angelina, live?

1.В in Bayswater

2.В in Dover

3.В in London

4.В in Notting Hill

ОТВЕТ: in Notting Hill

3.В Who is the Prince of Wales?

1.В It is a title granted to princes lived in Wales.

2.В It is a title granted to princes born in England.

3.В It is a title granted to princes married in Wales.

4.В It is a title granted to princes born in Wales.