The national trust

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as The National Trust, is the largest non-governmental conservation organisation in Europe. The Trust looks after the national heritage in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is a registered charity relying for income on membership fees, donations and legacies, and revenue raised from its commercial operations. It has about 3.4 million members and 43,000 volunteers. Every year more than 12 million people visit National Trust´s pay for entry properties and an estimated 50 million visit its open air properties.

The National Trust was founded in 1895 by three Victorian philanthropists - Miss Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley. Concerned about the impact of uncontrolled development and industrialisation, they set up the Trust to act as a guardian for the nation in the acquisition and protection of threatened coastline, countryside and buildings of outstanding importance and interest.

More than a century later, The National Trust owns, protects and opens to the public over 300 historic houses and gardens, 49 industrial monuments and mills, 49 churches and chapels, 35 pubs and inns, archaeological remains, castles, and villages. As Britain´s largest private land owner it also cares for over 248,000 hectares of beautiful countryside and more than 700 miles of coastline. It looks after forests, woods, fens, beaches, farmland, downs, moorland, islands and nature reserves. Most of these properties, which are open to public, are held in perpetuity and so their future protection is secure.

Moreover, there are millions of objects in the care of the National Trust. Conservation staff and volunteers care for objects of an astonishing range, from 26 sets of samurai armour, or 19 magnificent paintings by Turner, to the Oscar awarded to George Bernard Shaw, the national collection of lawnmowers, 57 meat strainers or a photograph album the size of a postage stamp.

The National Trust works to preserve and protect the national heritage of England, Wales and Northern Ireland through practical caring and conservation, through education and research, and through encouraging millions of people to visit and enjoy their national heirloom.

While much of this work is well known, the National Trust is 'more than a pretty place'. The Trust invests over £160 million a year in the nation’s environmental infrastructure and works with over 40,000 companies, including 2,000 specialist conservation businesses. It runs long-term programmes to help educate people about the importance of the environment and of preserving their heritage for future generations. It also contributes to important debates over the future of the economy and the quality of the local environment in both town and country. 

Are the following statements true or false?

1. The National Trust receives some money from Government.
2. Some of the National Trust´s money comes from its business activities.
3. The entry to the National Trust´s properties is free of charge.
4. The founders of the National Trust were afraid that uncontrolled development and industrialisation could     threaten nature and historic buildings in Britain.
5. The Trust takes active part in discussions relating to the issues of further economic development and environmental conservation in Britain.

conservation – ochrana prírody/pamiatok, heritage – dedičstvo, revenue – výnos, impact – dopad, guardian – ochranca,/strážca, perpetuity – večnosť,

KEY
False - 1, 3    True - 2, 4, 5

WORD ORDER Slovosled v niektorých vetách je zlý. Opravte ho.

 1. There is quite a good film on Saturday at the Cairo Cinema.
 2. I don't like very much action films.
 3. She has been working in the garden this morning.
 4. Did you meet John today at school?
 5. They go always fishing on Saturday.
 6. And now you will see on your right the building of the US Capitol.
 7. Do you see every weekend your boyfriend in Chelsea?
 8. Please write your name at the top of the page.
 9. Why did you return so late?
10. I usually have a short rest when I get home from work.
11. He not only crashed the car. Also he injured some man walking along the road.
12. Almost she fainted when she heard the news.
13. I am going tomorrow to the party.
14. Lilla eats meat hardly ever and never drinks alcohol.
15. You have always been my best friend.
16. He has always a lot of tests to mark.
17. He drives a red big old car.
18. It is not clear why was he imprisoned.
19. Despite the bad weather he decided to set off early in the morning.
20. Salary gets my father every month.

KEY
1. at the Cairo Cinema on Saturday, 2. action films very much, 3. ---, 4. at school today, 5. they always go, 6. the building of the US Capitol on your right, 7. your boyfriend in Chelsea every weekend, 8. ---, 9. ---, 10. ---, 11. he also injured, 12. she almost fainted, 13. to the party tomorrow, 14. Lilla hardly ever eats meat, 15. ---, 16 she always has, 17 an old big red car, 18 he was imprisoned, 19. ---, 20. my father gets salary every month

COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS alebo slová, ktoré si často mýlime

Running a Business Meeting

Keeping the Meeting on Course II/Udržanie mítingu v rámci vymedzeného programu II

We have to/should keep to the point. - Musíme sa/mali by sme sa držať témy.
We’re getting sidetrack. - Dostávame sa mimo témy.
Could you confine yourself just to the topics on the agenda please? - Mohli by ste sa obmedziť len na body  programu ...?
Could you stick/keep to the subject/point, please.  - Mohli by ste sa držať témy, ...?         
Come to the point, please. - Vráťte sa k téme, ...
Let's get back on track, why don't we? - Vráťme sa k veci, dobre?
Keep/Stick/Come to the point, please. - Držte sa témy = K  veci, prosím.
Let's stick to the task at hand, shall we? – Držme sa toho, čo máme urobiť, dobre?
Now where were we? Oh yes, let's … - Takže, kde sme to boli? ….
May I suggest confining ourselves to the issue under discussion? - Môžem navrhnúť, aby sme sa  obmedzili na otázku = bod, ktorá/-ý je predmetom diskusie?
Perhaps we can leave any other questions you have till the end (of the meeting). - Snáď môžeme nechať  akékoľvek ďalšie otázky, ktoré máte, na koniec (porady.)
We have to return to the main focus of today's meeting. - Musíme sa vrátiť k hlavnej téme.
I think we'd better leave that for another meeting. - Myslím si, že by sme to mali nechať radšej na inú poradu.
Maybe we'll have to leave that to another time. - Možno to budeme musieť nechať na inokedy.
The debate can be resumed at a later time. - K tejto debate sa môžeme vrátiť neskôr.
I propose to resume the debate concerning this issue at a later time. - Navrhujem pokračovať v debate k tejto  veci neskôr.
I think you can discuss this among yourselves at another time. – Myslím, že si to môžete medzi sebou prediskutovať inokedy.
If time allows, we will discuss the issue later. – Ak bude čas, prediskutujeme túto záležitosť neskôr.
Getting back to item number 5, ... – Aby sme sa vrátili k bodu 5, …

Informal and very direct:
We don't seem to be getting anywhere with this. Can we get to the point please? – Zdá sa, že sa takto nikam  nedostaneme. Mohli by sme sa vrátiť k veci?
That's not really why we're here today. - Kvôli tomuto tu dnes nie sme.