Exercise 8B, page 1 - English File Studetn's book, pre-intermediate, Oxford

1 READING

a If you're in a slow queue at the supermarket and you change to a different queue, what will usually happen?

b Read the first two paragraphs of the article and check. Who was Murphy? What is his 'Law'?

If something

can go wrong...

If you're in a queue at the supermarket and you change to another queue which is moving more quickly, what will happen? The queue you were in before will suddenly start moving faster. What will happen if you take your umbrella because you think it's going to rain later? It won't rain, of course. It will only rain if you forget to take your umbrella. These are examples of Murphy's Law, which says, 'If there is something that can go wrong, it will go wrong'.

Murphy's Law took its name from Captain Edward Murphy, an American aerospace engineer from the 1940s. He was trying to improve safety for pilots flying military planes. Not surprisingly, he got a reputation for always thinking of the worst thing that could happen in every situation. Here are some more examples of Murphy's Law.

Shopping

1 If you lose a glove and buy a new pair,....

2 If you order something online,...

Transport

3 If you stop waiting for a bus and start walking....

4 If you're in a taxi and you're late for something important....

Technology

5 If a technician comes to fix your computer,...

6 If you need to print a document urgently....

Air travel

7 If you get to the airport early,...

8 If you're late for your flight,...

c Now look at the eight examples of Murphy's Law in the article and match them to sentences A-H.

A it will immediately start working.

B three will come at the same time.

C all the traffic lights will be red.

D you'll find the lost one.

E your flight will be delayed.

F the printer won't have any paper.

G there'll be a long queue at security.

H you'll be out when they deliver it.

d Do any of these things (or things like this) often happen to you?

1a Если вы стоите в медленной очереди в супермаркете и переходите в другую очередь, что обычно происходит?

Ответ: The queue you were in before will suddenly start moving faster. (Очередь, в которой вы стояли раньше, внезапно начнет двигаться быстрее.)

1b Прочитайте первые два абзаца статьи и проверьте. Кем был Мёрфи? В чем заключается его "Закон"?

Ответ: Captain Edward Murphy was an American aerospace engineer from the 1940s. His law is: 'If there is something that can go wrong, it will go wrong'. (Капитан Эдвард Мёрфи был американским аэрокосмическим инженером из 1940-х годов. Его закон гласит: "Если что-то может пойти не так, оно пойдет не так".)

1c Теперь посмотрите на восемь примеров Закона Мёрфи в статье и сопоставьте их с предложениями A–H.

Ответ:

1 - D

2 - H

3 - B

4 - C

5 - A

6 - F

7 - E

8 - G

1d Случаются ли с вами часто подобные вещи?

Ответ: Yes, things like this happen to me sometimes. For example, the bus always seems to come right after I give up waiting and start walking. It's so annoying! (Да, подобные вещи иногда случаются со мной. Например, автобус, кажется, всегда приезжает сразу после того, как я перестаю ждать и начинаю идти пешком. Это так раздражает!)