PART II
Romeo Brown and Juliet Gray met at a party given by a friend of Juliet’s who lives in North London. It was a warm afternoon in May. Romeo came first. Then he saw Juliet come in. They looked at each other and they knew at once: it was love at first sight.
They didn’t talk much on that day. They didn’t realize that their surnames (Brown and Gray) signified a danger to their new born love. They never thought of their fathers – after all, Brown and Gray are very common English names. There are thousands of people in London whose names are Brown and Gray. They met on the following day and went for a walk in Hyde Park. It was then that they discovered that their fathers were bitter enemies. At first it seemed funny to them. What did it matter? Romeo’s father wrote novels which Juliet’s father criticized. That surely wasn’t serious. That main thing was they were in love, and they decided to get married at once. Being so young and without any money of their own, they needed their parents’ consent. And they were sure that they would get it.
Explanations
a friend of Juliet’s = one of Juliet’s friends
he saw Juliet come in – zobaczył, jak Juliet weszła
it was then that they discovered – to wtedy odkryli
without any money of their own – bez własnych pieniędzy
consent – zgoda
Exercises
1. Describe how Romeo and Juliet first met.
2. Explain why Romeo and Juliet did not at first realize the significance of their surnames.
3. Explain why Romeo needed their parents' consent before getting married.