It was like an upside-down world for my friend, as in Siberia everything closed at about eight, the day finished and everybody went home and stayed there watching TV or rather going to bed.

Another thing that surprised me was that, whereas in Russia it was very unusual for children to go out with their parents in the evening, in Damascus it was quite common. Children of three or four years old would be sitting next to their parents in restaurants or cafes or, more usually, playing between the tables. I found this especially unusual as Russia was still behind the Iron Curtain at that time and I’d never had an opportunity to travel abroad before.

The dancing tour was a dazzling success. The group performed in several cities, including Damascus, Aleppo and Latakia, and in each place the audiences went wild. They applauded and called for encores again and again. The dancing tour was a great success. The dancers were accompanied by a small group of musicians playing Russian folk instruments, balalaikas, which was very unusual for the local people, who were mostly Arabs, as their music was completely different; they were altogether amused, amazed and thoroughly entertained.

The group was especially successful in Aleppo, as thousands of Armenians live there. Armenia was a republic of the Soviet Union at that time, and when the locals learnt that a group from Russia were playing, and also that they played music by Khachaturian, the famous Armenian composer, they flocked to the performance. The group was very warmly received. The audience applauded and encored them many times, and was very enthusiastic, maybe because they liked the music so much and felt a deep nostalgic connection with it.

The group stayed in a beautiful five star hotel in Damascus, with luxurious facilities, swimming pools, tennis courts, huge four course meals and top class service, which was a real novelty for me. To this day, I still think the whole experience was one of the greatest of my life. It was my first trip abroad, and the first impressions are the strongest.

compose составлять

to see them dance смотреть, как они танцуют

couldn’t help admiring не мог не восхищаться

magnificent великолепный

chilly прохладный

blistering hot здесь очень жарко

awning навес из плотной ткани над входом

unbearable невыносимый

carry on продолжать(ся)

dazzling success здесь оглушительный успех

go wild здесь приходить в неистовство

applaud хлопать в ладоши

encore еще раз (на “бис”)

amazed удивленный

thoroughly здесь полностью

flock здесь собираться

luxurious роскошный

novelty здесь было в новинку

experience здесь впечатления от поездки

Who was Alexander and why did he go to Damascus?

Why did Alex like the dancing group?

What did the group feel when they arrived in Damascus?

Why was Syria like an upside-down world for Alex?

Was the tour a success? Prove your point of view.

Why was Alex so much impressed by his trip to Syria?

Read aloud and translate any paragraph you like.

(1052 words)

It happened when I lived in Budapest with my mother who worked at the American International School of Budapest. One August evening, as I was coming back from a fitness center, I saw an ad. Or rather, I saw the ad that advertised Michael Jackson’s concert. I felt dizzy with excitement. The King of Pop was coming to Budapest. This was more than I could possibly dream of.

I was a big fan of Michael at the time. The walls in my room were covered with his pin-ups and posters, and all my schoolbook covers had pictures of Michael in various poses plastered all over them.