Номер 1, страница 189, часть 2 - гдз по английскому языку 8 класс учебник Демченко, Севрюкова

1. a. Work in pairs. Answer the questions.

Do you often go to the theatre?

What was the last play you saw at the theatre?

Did you enjoy it?

Why? / Why not?

Have you ever been to a puppet show?

What were your impressions?

b. Have you heard of batleika? Is this puppet theatre for children or for adults? In which season can you see its performances? Why?

c. Read the article about the traditional Belarusian batleika theatre and check your guesses.

Traditions of Belarusian theatre: Batleika

Batleika is one of the earliest types of Belarusian theatre. The traditions of the medieval theatre are still alive and make people happy. Batleika is a mystery play that came to the Belarusian lands from Poland in the late 16^th century. The first puppet shows were widely put on across Belarus. The theatre was named after the ancient town of Bethlehem ['beθlihem] where Jesus Christ was born.

The performance (show) usually included the scenes of the battle between good and evil leading up to a happy ending and had easy-to-understand morals. In fact, the batleika plays were of two genres: the “high” genre focused on religious topics, and the “low” genre telling humorous stories about life.

Because of these genre differences, the frames of batleika boxes were constructed in different ways. Each place inside batleika box had its own symbolic meaning: the “Paradise” was normally located in the upper left corner of the box, while the “Hell” was usually located in the lower right corner. Puppeteers decorated their batleika boxes and the puppets with colour paper and geometrical shapes made of straw, paper, woodcarving, and embroidery.

The Belarusian batleika in the late 19^th – early 20^th century had family traditions. A small music troupe often consisted of batleika puppeteers’ family members. It used to arrive in a town, a city, or a village, and set up their batleika box in a public place. Rich people invited batleika theatre to their houses.

The puppeteers placed batleika on top of a desk, lit some candles, and put the puppets inside while the musicians were playing their instruments. Once they were ready, the performance began. The main character of those shows was often a Belarusian peasant ['pez(ə)nt] (крестьянин / селянин) named Matey who was quite witty and had a good sense of humour. Both children and adults living in towns and villages looked forward to batleika amusing plays.

There were various kinds of puppets. Puppets on a hard stick were the most popular in Belarus. A puppet’s stick and body were usually made of wood. They were stuffed with cotton, wool, rags (лохмотья / лахманы), or paper. A typical puppet was about 25 centimetres tall. However, there were puppets as tall as 35 centimetres. As a matter of fact, those puppets belonged to evil characters.

Batleika puppet theatre traditions have been handed down from one generation of showmen to the next for centuries. These days, the art of batleika is getting a new life, with more and more new batleika theatres coming up. During Christmas holidays bright festivals of batleika’s theatrical troupes are held in Minsk and other corners of our country giving people the opportunity to discover the mystery of this old Belarusian tradition.

b. Слышали ли вы о батлейке? Это кукольный театр для детей или для взрослых? В какой сезон можно увидеть его представления? Почему?

Ответ: Batleika is a puppet theatre for both children and adults. Its performances can be seen during the Christmas holidays. This is because Batleika is a mystery play that was named after the town of Bethlehem, where Jesus Christ was born, and its performances often focused on religious topics.

Перевод: Батлейка — это кукольный театр как для детей, так и для взрослых. Его представления можно увидеть во время рождественских праздников. Это потому, что батлейка — это мистерия, названная в честь города Вифлеема, где родился Иисус Христос, и ее представления часто были посвящены религиозным темам.