The conquest of England by the Normans began in 1066 with the battle of Hastings, where the English fought against the Normans. The conquest was complete in 1086.

Who were these Normans who conquered England? They were Vikings or ''Norsemen', men from the North.

Some 150 years before the conquest of England they came to a part of France, opposite England, a part which we now call Normandy.

What did the Norman Conquest do to England? It gave it French kings and nobles. The Normans also brought with them the French language. After the Norman Conquest there were three languages in England.

There was Latin, the language of the church and the language in which all learned men wrote and spoke; the kings wrote their laws in Latin for some time after the Conquest.

Then there was French, the language which the kings and nobles spoke and which many people wrote.

Finally, there was the English language which remained the language of the masses of the people.

Some men might know all these languages; many knew two; but most of the people knew only one. There were some people who understood the French language though they could not speak it. Rich people who owned land, the landowners, often knew French and Latin. But poor people, the peasants did not understand French or Latin. They understood only English.

In time, however, came the general use of the English language. About 1350 English became the language of law; and at that time lived the first teacher who taught his boys to read and write English and to translate, not from Latin into French, but from Latin into English.

Then between 1350 and 1400 lived Wyclif who made the first complete translation of the Bible into English, and Chaucer, ''the Father of English poetry'.

But the English language when it came into general use was not quite the same as it was before the Conquest. The grammar remained, but many words came into it from the French language.

Jim and Della were very poor. They lived in New York in a small room on the top floor of a high building. Jim was twenty-two years old, Della was twenty-one.

Both husband and wife worked very hard, but there never was any money in the house; for all they got went to pay the grocer, the bother, and the baker. And the rent was $8 a week.

And yet they owned two treasures of which they were very proud. These treasures were - Jim’s gold watch, which he received from his father, and Della’s beautiful hair.

It was the eve of New-Year’s Day. Della wanted to give Jim a present. She counted her money. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all she had. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. So she sat down on the sofa and wept. Suddenly she got up and went to the looking – glass. Her eyes shone brilliantly. Quickly she undid her hair. It reached below her knees and covered her like a cloak. And then she did it again quickly and nervously. She put on her old brown hat. Then she ran out of the door and down the stairs to the street.

She stopped before a sign and read the words: “M-me Sofranie. Hairgoods of all kinds”. Then she entered the shop. She saw Madame sitting at the counter. She was fat and red cheeked.

“Will you buy my hair?”, asked Della.

“Let me see it,” said Madame.

Della took off her hat and undid her hair.

“Twenty dollars”, said Madame, lifting the mass of Della’s golden hair with a practiced hand.

“Give me a money”, said Della…

The next two hours were like a happy dream. Della hurried from shop looking for Jim’s present.

She found it at last. It was a watch chain for which she paid $21. And then she hurried home with the chain and the remaining 87 cents.

Jim was not at home. Della got out of curling irons and lighted the gas and went to work. In forty minutes her head was covered with tiny curls. She looked like a schoolboy. She said to herself: “I hope Jim not kill me. But what could I do – oh, what could I do with one dollar and 87 cents.

At seven o’clock the coffee was ready. Della sat waiting for Jim. She heard his steps on the stairs, and she turned white for just one moment. The door opened and Jim entered the room. He looked thin and very serious… and suddenly Jim stopped. His eyes were fixed upon Della, and there was an expression in them that terrified her.

“Jim, darling! She cried, “don’t look at me like that: I sold my hair because I wanted to give you present. My hair will grow again. It grows very fast. Say ‘A Happy New Year’, Jim, and let us be happy. You don’t know what a beautiful present I have for you”.

Jim sighed. He drew a package from his overcoat pocket and threw it on the table.

“If you open that package, you will understand,” he said.

Della took off the paper and string. There lay the beautiful combs that Della saw in a Broadway shop window. Now they were hers, but her hair was gone.

Suddenly Della jumped and cried:

“Oh, Jim, I shall give you your beautiful present.” She held it out to him upon her open palm.

“Isn’t it a beautiful chain? Give me your watch: I want to see how it looks on it.”

Jim did not obey. He fell on the sofa and put his hands behind his head and smiled.

“Della”, said he,” I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. It the coffee ready?”

Task 1. Agree or disagree with the following statements.
Correct the incorrect options if necessary.
Use expressions:

I’m afraid that’s wrong.
That’s not quite true to the fact.
That’s (quite) right.
According to the story…

1. Jim and Della lived on the ground floor a low building.
2. Jim was forty-three years old, Della was forty-one.
3. Jim and Della were brother and sister.
4. Jim was proud of his silver watch which he had got from his mother.
5. Della took off her new brown jacket and undid her hair.
6. Madam Sofronie was a young woman, thin and pale, she was standing at the counter when Della entered the shop.
7. Della sold her hair because she wanted to buy a new watch for Jim.

Task 2. Answer the questions. Try not to look into the text.

1. Where did Jim and Della live?
2. How old was Jim and how old was Della?
3. Why was there never any money in the house?
4. What were their “treasures”?
5. What did Della want to give Jim?
6. Why did she weep?
7. What did Della do to get some money?
8. What did she buy?
9. What did she do when he came home?
10. What did she look like in forty minutes?
11. What did Della say when Jim saw her?
12. What did Jim buy for her?
13. Could she use the beautiful combs?
14. Why did Della want to see Jim’s watch?
15. Did Jim give her his watch? Why?

I have always believed that a man must be honest. “Never ask for money you haven’t earned”, I always said.

Now I shall tell you a story which will show you how honest I have always been all my life.

A few days ago at my friend’s I met General Miles. General Miles was a nice man and we became great friends very quickly.

“Did you live in Washington in 1867?”, the General asked me. “Yes, I did”, I answered.

“How could so happen that we didn’t meet then?” said General Miles.

“General”, said I, “we could meet then, you forget that you were a great general then, and I was a poor young writer whom nobody knew and whose books nobody read”.

“You do not remember me”, I thought, “but we met In Washington at that time.

I remember it very well. I was poor then and very often I did not have money even for my bread. I had a friend. He was a poor writer too. We lived together. We did everything together: worked, read books, went for walks together. And then we were hungry, we were both hungry.

Once we were in need of three dollars. I don’t remember why we needed these dollars so much, but I remember that we had to have three dollars by the evening.

“We must get these three dollars”, said my friend, “I shall try get the money, but you must also try”.

I went out of the house, but I did not know where to go and how to get the three dollars.

For one hour I was walking along the streets of Washington and was very tired. At last I came to a big hotel. “I shall go in and have a rest”, I thought.

I went into the hall of the hotel and sat down on a sofa. I was sitting there when a beautiful small dog ran into the hall. It was looking for somebody. The dog was nice and I had nothing to do, so I called it and began to play with it. I was playing with the dog when a man came into the hall. He wore a beautiful uniform and I knew at once that he was General Miles. I knew him by the pictures in the newspapers.

“What a beautiful dog”, said he. “It is your dog?”

I did not have time to answer him when he said: “Do you want to sell it?”

When I heard these words I thought about my friend and the three dollars which I had to get. “Well, I… I think …”

“Good”, said the General. “How much do you want for it ?”

“Three dollars” I answered at once.

“Three dollars?” he asked. “But it is very little. I can give fifty dollars for it”. “No, no. I only want three dollars”. “Well, it’s your dog. If you want three dollars for it, I shall be glad to by your dog.”

General Miles paid me three dollars, took the dog , and went up to his room.

Ten minutes later an old man came into the hall. He looked round the hall. I could see that he was looking for something.

“Are you looking for a dog, sir?” I asked.

“Oh, yes. Have you seen it? Said the man.

“Your dog was here a few minutes ago and I saw how it went away with a man”, I said. “If you want, I shall try to find it for you”.

The man was very happy and asked me to help him.

“I shall be glad to help you, but it will take some of my time and…”

“I am ready to pay you for you time”, cried the man. “How much do you want for it?”

“Three dollars.”, I answered.

“Three dollars?”, said the man, “but it is very good dog. I shall pay you ten dollars if you find it for me”.

“No, sir. I want three dollars and not a dollar more”, I said.

Then I went to General Mile’s room. The General was playing with his new book.

“I came here to take the dog back”, said I.

“But it is not your dog now. I have bought it. I have paid you three dollars for it”, said the General.

“I shall give you back your three dollars, but I must take the dog.”

“But you have sold it to me, it is my dog now”.

“I could not sell it to you, sir, because it was not my dog”.

“Do you want to tell me that you took three dollars for a dog that was not yours” cried the General.

“I took the money, but I never said that it was my dog. You asked me how much I wanted for the dog, and I said that I wanted three dollars. But I never told you it was my dog”. General Miles was very angry now.

“Give me back my three dollars and take the dog back”, he shouted.

When I brought the dog back to its master, he was very happy and paid me three dollars with joy. I was happy too because I had the money, and I felt that I earned it. Now you can see why I say that honesty is the best policy and that a man must never take anything that a man must never take anything that he has not earned.

Post-text questions

1. Did the author live in Washington in 1867?
2. Why did General Miles forget that they met in Washington?
3. Did the author meet General Miles in Washington?
4. How did the author and his friend live in Washington?
5. How much money did they need?
6. Did the author know where and how to get the money?
7. Where did the author see the dog?
8. Why did the author know General Miles?
9. Why did General Miles want to buy the dog?
10. Did he pay fifty dollars for a dog?
11. Did he want to give the dog back?
12. Why was the author happy when he got the 3 dollars?

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