Номер 1, страница 110 - гдз по английскому языку 4 класс книга для чтения Верещагина, Афанасьева

1. Read the text and say why the animals wanted to know the name of Mrs Jemma's tree.

The Ossopit Tree

One terribly hot summer, in the forests of Africa, there was very little food for the animals to eat. There were very few plants and there was very little fruit. The animals were roaming the woods, but could find only few things to eat. They were very hungry indeed.

Suddenly they saw a wonderful-looking tree. There was a lot of bright fruit on it. “My! What’s that?” said the elephant. “Can we eat this fruit? I have never seen such a tree. I don’t know its name. Is its fruit safe?” Nobody could help him. Nobody knew the name of the tree. They realized that they simply had to know its name.

Luckily, they knew whose tree it was. It was Jemma’s tree. Jemma was an old lady who lived rather far away. So the animals decided to send the hare to Jemma as he was the fastest of all the animals.

“You are the fastest runner,” they said to the hare. “Go to Jemma and ask her what the name of the tree is.”

The hare ran as fast as he could and soon he was in front of the lady’s house. “Oh, Mrs Jemma,” he said. “We, animals, are dying of hunger. If you could only tell us the name of that wonderful tree – your tree in the middle of the forest! Then you will be able to save us from starvation.”

“Gladly I will do that,” said Jemma. “It’s absolutely safe to eat this fruit. Its name is OSSOPIT.”

“Oh,” said the hare, “that’s a very difficult name. I shall forget it by the time I get back.” “No, it’s really quite easy,” said Jemma. “Just think of opposite and then sort of say it backwards, like this: opposite – OSSOPIT.”

“Oh, thanks very much,” said the hare and ran away.

While he was running, he was saying, “opposite, ottipis, ossipit.” So when he got back to the other animals, all he could say was, “Well, Jemma did tell me the name, but I can’t remember it now. It could be ossipit or ottipis. Maybe it is ossupit. I only know it has something to do with opposite.”

“Oh dear, oh dear,” all the animals said. “Let’s send to Jemma someone with a better memory.”

“I’ll go,” said the goat, “I never forget anything.”

When he came up to Jemma’s house, he said, “Excuse me, Mrs Jemma. I have to ask you the same question. What is the name of your tree in the middle of the forest? That stupid hare couldn’t remember it at all. Will you tell me the name of the tree again?”

“Gladly I will,” said the old woman. “It’s OSSOPIT. Just think of opposite when you try to keep it in your memory: opposite – OSSOPIT.”

“Right,” said the goat. “And thank you very much, I’m sure.”

And he went to the animals as fast as he could. And all the way he kept saying: “ottopis, opposit, possitto, otto …” till he got back. “I know the name of the tree,” said the goat. “It’s ottipis, no, no … it’s ossipit. Oh dear, I just can’t get it right.”

“Who can we send this time?” the animals asked. They didn’t want to bother old Jemma again.

“I shall go!” said a young sparrow. “I’ll be back in no time.”

“Good morning, gentle Jemma,” he said. “Could you please tell me the name of that tree once more. Hare and goat just could not get it right.”

“Gladly I will,” said old Jemma. “It’s OSSOPIT, OSS-O-PIT. It’s a little difficult, but just think of opposite and then sort of say it backwards: opposite – OSS-O-PIT.”

“Thank you very much, madam,” said the sparrow and flew off. While flying to his friends he said to himself: “opposite, ossittup, ottupus, oisoppit.” When he came to his hungry friends, they said, “Tell us, sparrow!” “Yes,” said the little bird. “I’m absolutely sure it’s ossittup, no … no … oitussip, no … no … oippisui …, oh dear, I’m sorry. I forgot.”

The animals just didn’t know what to do. Just imagine! They were sitting round the wonderful tree full of wonderful fruit. They were hungry but couldn’t eat the fruit. Suddenly up spoke the tortoise. “I shall go,” he said. “I know it will take a lot of time, but I will not forget the name. My family has got a very good reputation in the world for wonderful memories.”

“No,” cried the animals. “You are too slow. We shall all be dead by the time you get back.”

“Shall I take tortoise on my back and go to Jemma with him?” asked the zebra. “I’m very bad at remembering things, but I’m fast. I’ll take tortoise there in no time.” They all liked the idea very much. So the zebra and the tortoise went to Jemma together.

“Good morning, Madam Jemma,” said the tortoise. “I’m sorry. But if we don’t get the name of your tree, most of us will be dead tonight. That’s why I’ve come on zebra’s back. He’s faster than I am, you know.”

“Yes. I rather think he is,” smiled old Jemma. “Well, the name of the tree is OSSOPIT. Just think of opposite and then sort of say it backwards, like this: opposite – OSS-O-PIT.”

“Just a minute,” said the tortoise. “I’ll repeat it three times before I go.” Then the tortoise said very, very slowly: “oss-o-pit, oss-o-pit, oss-o-pit.” “Bravo!” said Jemma. “You’ll never forget it now.”

And she was right.

When the tortoise and the zebra came back, the tortoise was sure what name it was and said, “It’s OSS-O-PIT.” “OSSOPIT, OSSOPIT, OSSOPIT,” they all cried.

“It’s an OSSOPIT tree. It’s safe to eat.”

They all began eating the fruit. They were not hungry any more. They decided to make the tortoise their Chief Adviser. And he still is Chief Adviser to this very day.

1. Прочитайте текст и скажите, почему животные хотели узнать название дерева миссис Джеммы.

Ответ: The animals were very hungry and found a tree full of bright fruit. They wanted to know the name of Mrs Jemma's tree to find out if its fruit was safe to eat.
Животные были очень голодны и нашли дерево, полное ярких фруктов. Они хотели узнать название дерева миссис Джеммы, чтобы выяснить, безопасно ли есть его плоды.