一TextThe girls in Room 99 had explained it all to me. On2International Women's Day, Soviet women bask in theirmenfolk's love and gratitude. In the morning, as it is aholiday, they lounge in bed instead of going out to work.Their husbands, with much cursing and clattering ofpans, cook breakfast for the family; by ten o'clock theyproudly serve their wives a charred and shrivelled egg.Beside the woman's plate will be a bunch of flowers anda little gift, a bottle of scent perhaps, or a pair of tightswhich she will exclaim over until the children, scarlet withfury, insist that their mother makes them their properbreakfast.Translation
Text 2 The girls in Room 99 had explained it all to me. On International Women's Day, Soviet women bask in their menfolk's love and gratitude. In the morning, as it is a holiday, they lounge in bed instead of going out to work. Their husbands, with much cursing and clattering of pans, cook breakfast for the family; by ten o'clock they proudly serve their wives a charred and shrivelled egg. Beside the woman's plate will be a bunch of flowers and a little gift, a bottle of scent perhaps, or a pair of tights, which she will exclaim over until the children, scarlet with fury, insist that their mother makes them their proper breakfast
TextLater the real celebrations begin. A Soviet woman's3days are usually taken up with dressing the childrenand taking them to school, arriving at the office on time,nipping out of work at lunchtime to buy something fordinner, and again in the afternoon - if they can sneakaway without being reprimanded - to try and find coughmedicine for the little one. They'll leave work on the dotof six so that they can pop into several more shops tocheck if there is anything good on offer, and into themarket where they see some cheap eggs.More....Translation
Text 3 Later the real celebrations begin. A Soviet woman's days are usually taken up with dressing the children and taking them to school, arriving at the office on time, nipping out of work at lunchtime to buy something for dinner, and again in the afternoon – if they can sneak away without being reprimanded – to try and find cough medicine for the little one. They'll leave work on the dot of six so that they can pop into several more shops to check if there is anything good on offer, and into the market where they see some cheap eggs
TextThey'll pay theelectricity bill at the post office and collect the laundry,since they're passing; then they'll dump their shoppingat home and pick up a bucket to fill up with those cheapeggs from the market. By the time their husbands havearrived home, they will have given the flat a vacuum,dusted, and put two lots of dirty clothes on to soak(always advisable if you're washing everything by hand),On International Women's Day, therefore, they go backto bed after breakfast and sleep like squirrelsTranslation
Text They'll pay the electricity bill at the post office and collect the laundry, since they're passing; then they'll dump their shopping at home and pick up a bucket to fill up with those cheap eggs from the market. By the time their husbands have arrived home, they will have given the flat a vacuum, dusted, and put two lots of dirty clothes on to soak (always advisable if you're washing everything by hand). On International Women's Day, therefore, they go back to bed after breakfast and sleep like squirrels
TextTheir husbands, meanwhile, meet up with friends andexpress their feelings for their wives in the simplest andmost sincere way they know: by drinking themselvesinto a stupor with toasts "to our beloved ladies - wherewould we be without them?" Late at night they returnhome and tell their wives they love them. All in all, it'snot a bad day for the women of the former Soviet UnionTranslation
Text 4 Their husbands, meanwhile, meet up with friends and express their feelings for their wives in the simplest and most sincere way they know: by drinking themselves into a stupor with toasts "to our beloved ladies – where would we be without them?" Late at night they return home and tell their wives they love them. All in all, it's not a bad day for the women of the former Soviet Union
TextYakov had spotted the flowers he wanted."Fourteenof the red carnations, please.""Fourteen!" exclaimed Katya, thrilled. "But shouldn't6it be one less or more?" Even numbers of flowers aregiven only at funerals in Russia."l have to give a few to the girls in Room 99," he7explained. "There," he said, dividing up the bunch andhanding her five flowers with his warmest, sweetestsmile. "S prazdnikom , darling.Translation
Text 5 Yakov had spotted the flowers he wanted. "Fourteen of the red carnations, please." 6 "Fourteen!" exclaimed Katya, thrilled. "But shouldn't it be one less or more?" Even numbers of flowers are given only at funerals in Russia. 7 "I have to give a few to the girls in Room 99," he explained. "There," he said, dividing up the bunch and handing her five flowers with his warmest, sweetest smile. "S prazdnikom , darling