Неличные формы глагола. Артикль. Гоголь О.В. - 48 стр.

Yet, if someone is very dear to us, we say that he or she is the “apple of   These huge majestic creatures, also known as bisons, once roamed
our eye.” Most people believe that the forbidden fruit which Eve gave        freely across the Great Plains of America, the western part of Canada
to Adam in the garden of Eden was an apple even though the Bible             and northern Mexico. They grazed in huge herds commanding the great
never mentions it as such. The apple, therefore, is deeply embedded in       expanse of the West as their native habitat. Their heavy heads have two
the language and folklore of America, but it is also the one fruit which     short black horns and their humped shoulders are covered with long fur.
is most favored among the people.                                            This thick fur offers them protection against the bitterly cold winters
                                                                             which sweep down across the plains. They may reach a shoulder height
While an apple may be the forbidden fruit, it is also one of the most        of 1.5 meters and weight as much as 1,130 kgs. In the past, however,
delicious and finds its way into the American diet with much ingenuity.      their natural endowments for survival did not protect them against the
Apples can be baked as they are with cinnamon and syrup or they can          cruelty of man.
be fashioned into a pie with raisins and spices. They can also be
glazed-over with a candied syrup and serves at parties. During the holi-     They were much prized by the Plains Indians who hunted them for
day season they also can be made into a sweet sauce to be served along       their skins and meat. The hides of these animals were used to make
with roasted pork or as a simple dessert for young children. For break-      clothing and tents. The warmth of the buffalo fur protected the Indians
fast one can enjoy apple butter spread generously onto toast and             from the harsh winds and snow of winter. The flesh of these animals
washed down with apple juice. Likewise no Thanksgiving dinner                became a protein source for their diet. It is easy to see that the presence
would be complete without apple cider, a sweet juice heated in the cold      of the buffaloes was essential to the life and culture of the Native
season and spiced with cinnamon drink around a warm fireplace.               American.

In many parts of the country during the harvest season a popular             It had also been believed that eating the warm heart of a fallen buffalo
  ejectity is to go into the apple orchards to pick apples. The states of    after a hunt would endow the Indian with strength and courage.
Washington and New York are especially famed for their apples. The
whole family loads up in the car with several empty baskets and takes        At their peak, the buffaloes numbered more than sixty million, a figure
back with them all the apples they can eat.                                  which would have guaranteed their endurance for hundreds of genera-
                                                                             tions. Such was not to be the case.
The humble apple has also entered the age of high-tech where the
number one choice for a computer might very well be the Macintosh            With the expansion of the West and the development of cities and in-
Apple. Finally, when it’s time to take a vacation, one can always visit      dustry, the herds began to diminish. In particular, the building of the
New York which is called the biggest apple of them all.                      transcontinental railroad spelled doom for the bison. The white settlers
                                                                             wantonly slaughtered millions of buffaloes, at times only for sport,
TEXT FOURTEEN                           THE AMERICAN BUFFALO                 leaving them an endangered species at the turn of the century. This un-
                                                                             abashed slaughter of these magnificent animals for sport and meat re-
The figure of the American buffalo was once imprinted on the nickel          duced the great herds to near extinction. In 1900 there were only three
coin. These coins are now collector’s items and very rare. Ironically,       hundred left in the United States. This condition drastically altered the
the buffaloes themselves were just as rare at the turn of the century and    life of the Plains Indians.
today they are a protected species.


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