Benedict Cumberbatch’s Birthday and Remembrance Day (B2-C1)

☀️ Summer Holidays — Discussion Questions

🧠 After an intensive year of studying mathematics and programming, what helps you switch off mentally and feel that your summer holiday has truly begun?
💻 Would you prefer to spend part of the summer improving your programming skills, working on a personal project, or taking a complete break from technology? Why?
🏙️ What places in Minsk are especially pleasant to explore with friends during the summer, and what makes them enjoyable?
🧩 Do you think taking part in What? Where? When? tournaments during the holidays feels like intellectual entertainment or an extension of studying?
🎯 Which skills developed through mathematics, programming, or intellectual games are useful in ordinary summer situations?
👥 What makes a summer walk with friends memorable: the place, the conversation, an unexpected event, or something else?
🌅 By the end of this summer, what would you like to have experienced, learned, created, or changed in your daily life?

🗣️ Exercise. Read the IPA and Write the English Expression

✍️ Task: Read each phonetic transcription, understand the expression with the help of the Belarusian translation, and write the English expression in ordinary spelling.

👋 1. /haʊ həv juː biːn ˈleɪtli/

Як Вы пажывалі апошнім часам?

👂 2. /aɪ dɪdnt kætʃ ðæt/

Я не пачуў / не зразумеў сказанага.

🔁 3. /kəd juː seɪ ðæt əˈɡen/

Ці маглі б Вы паўтарыць гэта?

❓ 4. /wɒt də juː miːn baɪ ðæt/

Што Вы маеце на ўвазе?

💡 5. /ðæt meɪks sens/

Гэта лагічна / у гэтым ёсць сэнс.

⚖️ 6. /ɪt dɪˈpendz ɒn ðə ˌsɪtʃuˈeɪʃən/

Гэта залежыць ад сітуацыі.

🤝 7. /kəd juː ɡɪv miː ə hænd/

Ці маглі б Вы мне дапамагчы?

⏰ 8. /aɪm ˈrʌnɪŋ ə bɪt leɪt/

Я крыху спазняюся.

🚨 9. /ˈsʌmθɪŋ keɪm ʌp/

Узнікла непрадбачаная справа.

📩 10. /aɪl ɡet bæk tə juː/

Я адкажу Вам або звяжуся з Вамі пазней.

📢 11. /kiːp miː ˈpəʊstɪd/

Трымайце мяне ў курсе.

🕊️ 12. /ɪts nɒt ə bɪɡ diːl/

Гэта не такая ўжо вялікая праблема.

😔 13. /aɪ dɪdnt miːn tʊ əˈfend juː/

Я не хацеў Вас пакрыўдзіць.

🪟 14. /də juː maɪnd ɪf aɪ ˈəʊpən ðə ˈwɪndəʊ/

Вы не супраць, калі я адчыню акно?

🌙 15. /lets kɔːl ɪt ə deɪ/

Давайце на сёння скончым.

📝 16. /aɪl kiːp ðæt ɪn maɪnd/

Я буду мець гэта на ўвазе.

🎭 Exercise. Benedict Cumberbatch: From School Stage to International Recognition

✍️ Task: Choose the correct preposition from the three options. The facts are arranged in chronological order.

🎂 Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch was born ___ 19 July 1976 in Hammersmith, London, into a family of professional actors. at / on / in
🎭 While studying ___ Harrow School, he became actively involved in theatre and began developing his distinctive acting style. on / at / into
🏔️ During his gap year, he worked as a volunteer English teacher ___ a Tibetan monastery near Darjeeling in India. through / among / at
🎓 After returning to Britain, he studied drama and graduated ___ the University of Manchester in 1999. from / by / towards
🎬 He later continued his professional training ___ the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, where he earned a master’s degree in classical acting. onto / at / through
🧠 In 2004, his sensitive portrayal ___ the young physicist Stephen Hawking in the BBC drama Hawking brought him a BAFTA Television Award nomination. as / for / of
🎟️ In 2005, he received his first Olivier Award nomination ___ his stage performance in Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler. with / for / across
🔎 In 2010, he gained international recognition ___ portraying a brilliant but socially unconventional detective in the BBC series Sherlock. about / for / against
⚡ In 2011, he alternated the roles of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature ___ Jonny Lee Miller in Danny Boyle’s emotionally intense production of Frankenstein. from / with / beside
🐉 ___ 2012 and 2014, he used both his voice and motion-capture performance to bring Smaug and the Necromancer to life in The Hobbit trilogy. During / Between / Among
🚀 In 2013, he appeared ___ both the science-fiction blockbuster Star Trek Into Darkness and the historical drama 12 Years a Slave. at / in / onto
🧩 In 2014, he stepped ___ the demanding role of mathematician and codebreaker Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, which earned him his first Academy Award nomination. into / over / among
🏅 In 2015, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE, ___ his services to the performing arts and charity. by / with / for
🔮 In 2016, he made his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ___ Doctor Stephen Strange, an arrogant surgeon who becomes a master of the mystic arts. like / as / for
🥃 In 2018, he took ___ the psychologically demanding title role in Patrick Melrose and later won the BAFTA Television Award for Leading Actor. on / at / by
🐎 In 2021, his unsettling performance as Phil Burbank in The Power of the Dog was widely praised ___ critics and earned him his second Academy Award nomination. from / among / by
🧸 In 2024, Cumberbatch returned ___ television in the Netflix miniseries Eric, playing a troubled puppeteer searching for his missing son in 1980s New York. to / into / at

🕊️ Exercise. Peace Day 1919: From Victory Parade to Remembrance

📖 Read the story and put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense and voice.

📖 Прачытайце аповед і пастаўце дзеясловы ў дужках у слушную часавую форму і стан.

🕰️ On 11 November 1918, the Armistice (come) into force and (end) most of the fighting on the Western Front, but it was not yet a formal peace treaty.
📜 The Treaty of Versailles, which formally established peace between Germany and the Allied powers, (sign) on 28 June 1919.
🏛️ By that time, the British government (already / begin) planning a national celebration of victory and peace.
After Prime Minister David Lloyd George (learn) that the French victory parade would include a temporary monument to the dead, he asked the architect Edwin Lutyens to design something similar for London.
✏️ Lutyens’s design (approve) on 7 July 1919, which left only eleven days for the monument to be constructed.
🪵 By 18 July, workers (complete) the temporary Cenotaph using wood, plaster and canvas painted to resemble stone.
🪦 The word “cenotaph” means “empty tomb”, and no individual names (inscribe) on the monument, allowing families to remember their own dead.
🎖️ On 19 July 1919, British and Empire troops (march) through London during the great Peace Day victory parade.
🏳️ As the soldiers (pass) the temporary Cenotaph in Whitehall, they saluted the memory of those who had died in the war.
💐 Almost immediately after the parade, members of the public (begin) laying flowers and wreaths at the base of the monument.
👥 Within only a few days, more than a million people (visit) the Cenotaph to pay their respects.
🪨 Although the temporary structure (intend) to remain in Whitehall for only one week, the Cabinet approved the creation of a permanent monument on 30 July 1919.
🔕 Several months later, King George V (ask) people throughout the British Empire to stop their normal activities for two minutes at eleven o’clock on Armistice Day.
🕚 On 11 November 1919, everyday life (come) to a standstill while people across Britain and the Empire (observe) the first official two-minute silence.
👑 On 11 November 1920, King George V (unveil) the permanent Cenotaph, built of Portland stone, before the Unknown Warrior (bury) in Westminster Abbey.
📅 During the Second World War, the principal national service (move) from 11 November to the nearest Sunday, and in 1946 the government formally (adopt) Remembrance Sunday.
🌺 Since those early commemorations, the Cenotaph (remain) the central focus of Britain’s national remembrance ceremonies, which now (honour) those who died in both world wars and subsequent conflicts.