пересказ текста: A Christmas Carol (after Ch. Dickens) Have you ever heard about Christmas carols?1 They are religious songs sung at Christmas. At Christmas time groups of people sing carols, both indoors and outdoors. They usually collect money for homeless and poor people. Sometimes carol singers, especially children, go along the streets from house to house, singing in front of each house and asking for money. But there is a Christmas carol which is not a song or a hymn [himn], it is a story told more than a century and a half ago by one of the most wonderful storytellers in the world — Charles Dickens, the famous English writer. 1 a carol — рождественская песнь, гимн Part I Once upon a time old Ebenezer Scrooge was busy in his office. It was Chrismas Eve. The weather was cold and foggy. The door of Scrooge’s office was opened so that he could keep an eye on his clerk,1 Cratchit I'kraetfit], who was writing letters. Scrooge paid him less than a pound a week. That was not half enough for Cratchit’s large family. Scrooge did not like to spend his money, that is why the fire in his office was very small and Bob Cratchit’s hands were so cold that he could hardly write. Suddenly, a young and cheerful2 voice cried, “Merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!” It was Scrooge’s nephew. “Humbug!”3 said Scrooge, using his favourite word. “Merry Christmas! You have no right to be merry.4 You are poor.” Scrooge was telling the truth: his nephew was poor but he was a happy man because he was married to a woman whom he loved. Scrooge could not understand that. He thought that love was even sillier than a Merry Christmas. Scrooge’s nephew wanted to invite his uncle to have Christmas dinner with him and his young wife but Scrooge did not want to hear about it and the young man left wishing his uncle and Cratchit a Merry Christmas again. Five minutes later Scrooge had two more visitors with papers in their hands. They were collecting money for poor people and told Scrooge that thous