I shall never forget, as long as I live, the day when I first set foot in London. I came from a quiet little town in Switzerland and I had never before lived
in a big city, so London was a new world to me and I was dying to find out
more about it for myself.
The general opinion abroad is that London has fog or rain, or both every
day of the year, but on the day that I arrived it was fine and warm, the sun was
shining brightly and the sky was cloudless. The next day was just as beautiful; a
slight wind was blowing and you could smell the spring in the air. I went for a
walk in Kensington Gardens. I found the way there quite easily. When I got my
first sight of the gardens the beauty of it took my breath away. The trees were
just bursting into leaf, fresh and green, and there were beds of spring flowers,
red and yellow and blue. People in light spring clothes were walking about, and
to my surprise, they were walking not only along the paths but also across the
grass. I passed a pool in which ducks were swimming: children were playing in
playgrounds.
It was time for me to go home, but which way was it? I hurriedly turned
down one path that I thought would take me back – and found myself in Hyde
Park. I ran to the left and to the right, asked several men for the way to the street
where I had stayed, but I found to my horror that I could not understand a single
word they said in reply. I wandered on till I came to a big open place where men
were standing on a chair, or on a platform, or on the ground. They were speaking or preaching, and people of all kinds were listening or asking questions or
making remarks and sometimes laughing at the speaker. Other groups were
singing loud. This was the famous Hyde Park meeting. Meanwhile, the sun went
behind the cloud, I was terribly tired. At last I got to the park gate and came out
into the street, but this was worse than ever. Motorcars, bicycles, buses were
running, People were climbing in buses or hurrying along. In despair I crossed
the street on to an island where I found a policeman who explained the way to me.



Ответьте на следующие вопросы на английском языке.
1. What city does the author describe? 2. Where did he come from?
3. What was London to him? 4. What is the general opinion of London weather?
5. What was the weather like when he arrived in London? 6. Where did he go
for a walk? 7. How did he find the way there? 8. What did he see in the park?
9. How were people dressed? 10. Where were they walking? 11. Where were
the ducks swimming? 12. Where did he turn down? 13. Where did he find himself? 14. What did he ask several men for? 15. Who was standing on chairs or
on platforms? 16. What were these people doing? 17. Who(m) were the people
laughing at? 18. What were other people doing? 19. What place did he get to at
last? 20. Where did he find the policeman?