Стихи на английском языке для проведения фонетического конкурса

1. A Joke (Anonymous)

They walked in the lane together,
The sky was covered with stars,
They reached the gate in silence,
He lifted down the bars.

She neither smiled nor thanked him
Because she knew not how;
For he was just a farmer’s boy
And she – the farmer’s cow.

2. School Is Over (by Robert l. Stevenson)

School is over,
Oh, what fun!
Lessons finished,
Play begun.
Who’ll run fastest,
You or I?
Who’ll laugh loudest?
Let us try.

3. After the Party (by William Wise)

Jonathan Blake
Ate too much cake,
He isn’t himself today;
He’s tucked up in bed
With a feverish head,
And he doesn’t much care to play.
Jonathan Blake
Ate too much cake,
And three kinds of ice-cream too –
From latest reports
He’s quite out of sorts*,
And I’m sure the reports are true.
I’m sorry to state
That he also ate
Six pickles, a pie and a pear;
In fact I confess
It’s a reasonable guess
He ate practically everything there.
Yes, Jonathan Blake
Ate too much cake,
So he’s not at his best today.
But there’s no need for sorrow –
If you come back tomorrow,
I’m sure he’ll be out to play.

*out of sorts - не в духе;

4. Mice

I think mice
Are rather nice.
Their tails are long,
Their faces are small,
They haven’t any
Chins at all.
Their ears are pink,
Their teeth are white,
They run about
The house at night.
They nibble things
They shouldn’t touch,
And no one seems
To like them much.
But I think mice
Are nice.

5. Who’s In? (by Elizabeth Fleming)

The door is shut fast
And everyone’s out.”
But people don’t know
What they’re talking about!
Says the fly on the wall,
And the flame on the coals,
And the dog on his rug,
And the mice in their holes,
And the kitten curled up,
And the spiders that spin –
“What, everyone’s out?
Why, everyone’s in!”

6. My new Neighbour (by Rose Fyleman)

Have you had your tonsils out?
Do you go to school?
Do you know that there are frogs
Down by the Willow Pool?

Are you good at cricket?
Have you got a bat?
Do you know the proper way
To feed a white rat?

Are there any apples
On your apple tree?
Do you think your mother
Will ask me in to tea?

7. I’ll Try

The little boy who says “I’ll try”,
Will climb to the hill-top.
The little boy who says “I can’t”,
Will at the bottom stop.

I’ll try” does great things every day;
“I can’t” gets nothing done.
Be sure that you say “I’ll try”,
And let “I can’t” alone.

8. Autumn Leaves (by Margaret P. Sutphen)

The leaves are dropping from the trees,
Yellow, brown, and red.
They patter softly like the rain –
One landed on my head!

But when the sleep of winter comes
They cuddle down to rest;
Then Mother Nature tucks them in
With snow as she thinks best.

9. No Enemies (by Charles Mackay)

You have no enemies, you say?
Alas! My friend, the boast is poor;
He who has mingled in the fray
Of duty that the brave endure,
Must have made foes! If you have none,
Small is the work that you have done.
You’ve hit no traitor on the hip,
You’ve dashed no cup from perjured lip,
You’ve never turned the wrong to right,
You’ve been a coward in the fight.

10. Seven Ages (by William Shakespeare)
from “As You Like It”
(«Весь мир театр, а люди в нем - актеры»)

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
And then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel,
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school.