Lesson by Nina M. Koptyug © 2007

We are flying!

A letter home Dear 12345, We have just visited the third planet from the sun. The natives call it Earth. It is not very important in the Galaxy, but it is a nice place to see. This is how it looked from our spaceship.

There are some curious features about this world. You may not believe it, but the planet is populated by living creatures who consider themselves PEOPLE. They are very strange to look at. Imagine a monster who has two eyes, two ears, two arms, two legs, two breathing openings, and just one mouth. Here’s a picture I took for you in their ZOO:

Some of them live in “cities”, which are not like our beautiful cities at all! They resemble piles of blocks put together any which way. Since the creatures cannot fly, they have to go inside first, and then use a mechanical device to get to their own housing unit. I don’t think this one is very comfortable to live in.

Many of those “people” use very strange machines to move around in, with a lot of noise. You wouldn’t believe the smell these things produce! And their so-called spaceships are even worse.

Some of them walk around in parks, with very peculiar companions. They do it late at night, too, even though they have no night vision. For some reason, those “animals” speak in mono- syllables only. I distinctly heard one of them greet another one with a very loud “Woof!” You won’t believe it, but the reply was even worse. “How-how!” What sort of greeting is that?!

And their young! I nearly had a glgg attack, once I figured out the sense, or rather the absence of it. Not only do they have “BOYS” and “GIRLS”, that is two separate varieties of “people”, which are determined at birth. I don’t understand how they manage to do it, because their “babies” look absolutely the same.

When they reach maturity, they become, not beings, but “men” and “women”. I could not see why they needed this division into two totally different species. They work the same jobs, wear the same sort of outer covering, and take care of their young together. Evolution gone sadly wrong?

And they do not control their weather! Imagine going out on a Day of Sun, suitably energized to cope with the warmth…

And without any warning, it becomes a Day of Rain! I was quite shaken, and my antennae needed an extra recharging right afterwards.

All in all, it is a very educational and informative tour. I’m glad I went. But I miss you, dear Thanks to this amazing experience, I’ve learned to appreciate our way of life better. Inserted is a picture of myself meeting one of those strange aliens at a “Halloween Party”. Yours, 12346

Task 1. write a letter of words about your visit to a strange place. Tips. Use the lesson letter as a model. Do not forget to: a)Address the person you are writing to; b)Mention some points of interest; c)sign

MEETING PEOPLE. Questionnaire from “World Club”, Longman. You are meeting some people for the first time. Do you: Kiss them? Shake hands? Say ‘hello’?

A person is talking to you. Do you: Look at him/her? Close your eyes? Look at the floor?

You are visiting a person’s house. Do you: Say nice things about his/her house? Ask to watch the TV? Read a magazine?

A person is offering you food, but you don’t like it. Do you: Say you are not hungry? Take some food, but not eat it? Say you hate it?

Task 2. Make your own List of Etiquette. Are the rules of communication the same for any situation? Do you use the same language, behaviour pattern, and gestures, no matter what the age of your communication partner is?

If you don’t succeed, try, try, try again!