Английский язык. Рассказы. Уровень В2+

For my friend it was like an upside-down world, as in Siberia everything closes at about nine, life finishes and everybody goes to bed.

Another thing that surprised Alex was that whereas in Russia it’s very unusual for children to go out with their parents to restaurants and to places in the evening, in Damascus it’s normal. The children may be three or four years old; you will be sitting and drinking and talking, and the children either sit down next to their parents or, more usually, run around between the tables and play.

This was so unusual for my friend to experience, especially as Russia had been so restricted because of the Iron Curtain and he’d never had the opportunity to travel abroad before.

Their dancing tour was a great success. They were in several cities – Damascus, Aleppo and two or three more, and in each place that they danced the audiences went wild. They applauded and called for encores again and again and again. They were accompanied by a small group of musicians playing Russian instruments, balalaikas, and this was very unusual for the local people who were mostly Arabs, as their music was absolutely different, so they were altogether amused, amazed and thoroughly entertained.

They were especially successful in Aleppo, as thirty thousand Armenians live there. Armenia was a republic of the Soviet Union, and when they learnt that a group from Russia were playing, and also that they played music by Khachaturian, the famous Armenian composer, they flocked to the performance.

They were fantastically well-received. The audience applauded and encored them many times and were very enthusiastic, maybe because they liked this music so much and felt a deep connection with it.

They stayed in a beautiful five-star hotel, with luxurious facilities, swimming pools, huge four-course meals, top-class service, and things like this, and that was such a surprise for my friend, who had never been out of Russia before in his life. It was an absolutely fantastic experience for him, one of the greatest experiences of his life.

Balalaikas in Syria

1. Where did Alexander travel?

2. What was he doing then?

3. How did those teenagers become professionals so early?

4. When did they travel to Damascus?

5. What was the weather like in Siberia when they left?

6. What did Alexander warn his group about?

7. What surprised them when they arrived at the airport?

8. What was the temperature like the next day?

9.