1 Read the text and answer the questions.
1. What nationality is the narrator of the story?
2. Does the narrator think that the Americans are a crazy gang of people who eat huge hamburgers and drink Coke all the time?
3. Why did the Americans want to buy the London Bridge? Was it the bridge they really wanted to buy?
4. What did the American man admire?
5. Did the American man do anything wrong with his lawn?
6. What advice did the grandfather give the American?
7. Did the narrator change his mind about Americans when he went to the States?
8. What did the narrator like about the Americans?
9. According to the narrator, what is one the best university in the world?
10. What have the Brits and the Americans got in common?
The Americans and the British. What do we really think of each other?
Before I went to the States for the first time, I used to think that the Americans were a crazy gang of people who ate huge hamburgers, drank lots of Coke and had no proper education. I thought that they spent most of their time in front of the TV. I also couldn't forgive the Americans for buying up a lot of the nice buildings and structures in Europe. Did you know, for example, that the Americans bought our London Bridge? I used to think the Americans were secretly jealous of the British, that they wanted to have the quiet and peaceful lifestyle that we have, our traditions, and even our accent. My grandfather is a gardener and one day he was approached by a man from the States. The guy was admiring the grass on my grandfather's lawn and asked him for some seeds. My grandfather was happy to help and gave the seeds to the man. A year later my grandfather received a letter from him. The American wrote that he had done everything properly and had cut and watered his lawn regularly, but it didn't look as good as the English lawn. The man wanted to know what he was doing wrong. My grandfather smiled and wrote a quick answer. "Nothing wrong, my friend. Just keep working on your lawn for the next five hundred years." I found it very funny, probably because it was true.
Anyway, I finally went to the States and was surprised at how wonderful and warmhearted the Americans were. In fact, a lot of my ideas were wrong: these people do know how to have fun, and can make good and reliable friends. A lot of them watch what they eat and don't eat hamburgers at all. And as far as their education, Harvard University is actually one of the best universities in the world. And yes, they do like our British accent, although, very often they make fun of it. I also found out that we have a lot in common. Both the Americans and the Brits are very sentimental about their animals, traditions, and their history. And finally we share a common language, so we can't be so different, can we?
1. What nationality is the narrator of the story?
2. Does the narrator think that the Americans are a crazy gang of people who eat huge hamburgers and drink Coke all the time?
3. Why did the Americans want to buy the London Bridge? Was it the bridge they really wanted to buy?
4. What did the American man admire?
5. Did the American man do anything wrong with his lawn?
6. What advice did the grandfather give the American?
7. Did the narrator change his mind about Americans when he went to the States?
8. What did the narrator like about the Americans?
9. According to the narrator, what is one the best university in the world?
10. What have the Brits and the Americans got in common?
The Americans and the British. What do we really think of each other?
Before I went to the States for the first time, I used to think that the Americans were a crazy gang of people who ate huge hamburgers, drank lots of Coke and had no proper education. I thought that they spent most of their time in front of the TV. I also couldn't forgive the Americans for buying up a lot of the nice buildings and structures in Europe. Did you know, for example, that the Americans bought our London Bridge? I used to think the Americans were secretly jealous of the British, that they wanted to have the quiet and peaceful lifestyle that we have, our traditions, and even our accent. My grandfather is a gardener and one day he was approached by a man from the States. The guy was admiring the grass on my grandfather's lawn and asked him for some seeds. My grandfather was happy to help and gave the seeds to the man. A year later my grandfather received a letter from him. The American wrote that he had done everything properly and had cut and watered his lawn regularly, but it didn't look as good as the English lawn. The man wanted to know what he was doing wrong. My grandfather smiled and wrote a quick answer. "Nothing wrong, my friend. Just keep working on your lawn for the next five hundred years." I found it very funny, probably because it was true.
Anyway, I finally went to the States and was surprised at how wonderful and warmhearted the Americans were. In fact, a lot of my ideas were wrong: these people do know how to have fun, and can make good and reliable friends. A lot of them watch what they eat and don't eat hamburgers at all. And as far as their education, Harvard University is actually one of the best universities in the world. And yes, they do like our British accent, although, very often they make fun of it. I also found out that we have a lot in common. Both the Americans and the Brits are very sentimental about their animals, traditions, and their history. And finally we share a common language, so we can't be so different, can we?