Part 5. (модуль 5)

The Impossible “Impossible” Crime

after Edward D. Hoch

I'm no detective. But when you are living all alone with one other man, 200 miles from the nearest settlement, and one day that only other man is murdered — well, that's enough to make a detective out of anybody.

His name was Charles Fuller, and my name is Henry Bowfort. Charlie was a full professor at Boston University when I met him, teaching an advanced course in geology while he worked on a volume concerning the effects of permafrost on mineral deposits. I was an assistant in his department, and we became friends at once. Perhaps our friendship was helped along by the fact that I was newly married to a very beautiful blonde named Grace who caught his eye from the very beginning.

Charlie's own wife divorced him some ten years earlier, and he was at the stage of his life when any sort of charming feminine companionship aroused his basic maleness.

Fuller was at his early forties at the time, a good ten years older than Grace and me, and he often talked about the project closest to his heart.

— Before I'm too old for it, he said, I want to spend a year above the permafrost line.

And one day he announced that he would be spending his sabbatical at a research post in northern Canada, near the western shore of Hudson Bay.

I've been given a grant for eight months' study, he said. It's a great opportunity. I'll never have another like it.

You're going up there alone? Grace asked.

Actually, I expect your husband to accompany me.

I must have looked a bit startled.

— Eight months in the wilds of nowhere with nothing but snow?

And Charlie Fuller smiled.

• Nothing but snow. How about it, Grace? Could you give him up for eight months?

— If he wants to go, she answered loyally. She had never tried to stand in the way of anything I'd wanted to do.

We talked about it for a long time that night, but I already knew I was hooked. I was on my way to northern Canada with Charlie Fuller.

The cabin — when we reached it by plane and boat and snowmobile — was a surprisingly comfortable place, well stocked with enough provisions for a year's stay. We had two-way radio contact with the outside world, plus necessary medical supplies and a bookcase full of reading material, all provided by the foundation that was financing the permafrost study.

The cabin consisted of three large rooms — a laboratory for our study, a combination living-room-and-kitchen, and a bedroom with a bath in one corner. We'd brought our own clothes, and Fuller had brought a rifle, too, to discourage animals.

The daily routine with Charlie Fuller was great fun at first. He was surely a dedicated man, and one of the most intelligent I'd ever known. We rose early in the morning, had breakfast together and then went off in search of ore samples. And the best of all in those early days, there was the constant radio communication with Grace. Her almost nightly messages brought a touch of Boston to the Northwest Territory.

But after a time Grace's messages thinned to one or two a week, and finally to one every other week. Fuller and I began to get on each other's nerves, and often in the mornings I was awakened by the sound of rifle fire as he stood outside the cabin door taking random shots at the occasional owl or ground squirrel that wandered near. We still had the snowmobile, but it was 200 miles to the nearest settlement at Caribou, making a trip into town out of the question.

Once, during the evening meal, Fuller said,

— Bet, you miss her, don't you, Hank?

— Grace? Sure I miss her. It's been a long time.

— Think she's sitting home nights waiting for us — for you?

I put down my fork.

— What's that supposed to mean, Charlie?

— Nothing – nothing at all.

But the rest of the evening passed under a cloud. By this time we had been up there nearly five months, and it was just too long.

It was fantastic, it was unreasonable, but there began to develop between us a sort of rivalry for my wife. An unspoken rivalry, to be sure, a rivalry for a woman nearly 2,000 miles away — but still a rivalry.

— What do you think she's doing now, Hank? or

— I wish Grace were here tonight. Warm the place up a bit. Right, Hank?

Finally one evening in January, when a heavy snow had made us stay in the cabin for two long days and nights, the rivalry came to a head. Charlie Fuller was seated at the wooden table we used for meals and paperwork, and I was in my usual chair facing one of the windows.

— We're losing a lot of heat out of this place, I said. Look at those icicles.

— I'll go out later and knock them down, he said.

I could tell he was in a bad mood and suspected he'd been drinking from our supply of Scotch.

— We might make the best of each other, I said. We're stuck here for another few months together.

— Worried, Hank? Anxious to be back in bed with Grace?

— Let's cut out the cracks about Grace, huh? I'm getting sick of it, Charlie.

— And I'm sick of you, sick of this place!

— Then let's go back.

— In this storm?

— We've got the snowmobile.

— No. This is one project I can't walk out on.

— Why not? Is it worth this torture day after day?

— You don't understand. I didn't start out life being a geologist. My field was biology, and I had great plans for being a research scientist at some major pharmaceutical house. They pay very well, you know.

— What happened?

— The damnedest thing, Hank. I couldn't work with animals. I couldn't experiment on them, kill them. I don't think I could ever kill a living thing.

— What about the animals and birds you shoot at?

— That's just the point, Hank. I never hit them! I try to, but I purposely miss! That's why I went into geology. That was the only field in which I wouldn't make a fool of myself.

— You couldn't make a fool of yourself, Charlie. Even if we went back today, the university would still welcome you. You'd still have your professorship.

— I've got to succeed at something, Hank. Don't you understand? It's too late for another failure — too late in life to start over again!

He didn't mention Grace the rest of that day, but I had the sensation that he hadn't just been talking about his work. His first marriage had been a failure, too. Was he trying to tell me he had to succeed with Grace?

I slept poorly that night, first because Charlie had decided to walk around the cabin at midnight knocking icicles from the roof, and then because the wind had changed direction and howled in the chimney. I got up once after Charlie was in bed, to look outside, but the windows were frosted over by the wind-driven snow, and I could see nothing.

Toward morning I drifted into an uneasy sleep, broken now and then by the bird sounds which told me that the storm had ended. I heard Charlie preparing breakfast, though I paid little attention, trying to get a bit more sleep.

Then, sometime later, I sprang awake, knowing I had heard it. A shot! Could Charlie be outside again, firing at the animals? I waited for some other sound, but nothing reached my ears except the perking of the coffee pot on the gas stove. Finally I got out of bed and went into the other room.

Charlie Fuller was seated in my chair at the table, staring at the wall. A tiny stream of blood was running down his forehead and into one eye. He was dead.

It took me some moments to comprehend the fact of his death, and even after I had located the bullet wound just above his hairline, I still could not accept the reality of it. My first thought had been suicide, but then I saw this was impossible. The bullet had obviously killed him instantly, and there was no gun anywhere in sight — in fact, Fuller's rifle was missing from its usual place in the corner near the door.

But if not suicide, what?

There was no other explanation. Somehow he had killed himself. I switched on the radio and sent a message to the effect, telling them I'd bring in the body by snowmobile as soon as I could.

Then, as I was starting to pack my things, I remembered the coffee. Do men about to commit suicide start making breakfast? Do they put a pot of coffee on the stove?

And then I had to face it. Charlie Fuller had not killed himself. It seemed impossible — but there it was. I sat down opposite the body, then got up to cover it with a blanket, and then sat down again.

What were all the possibilities? Suicide, accident, murder — as simple as that. Not suicide. Not accident. He certainly hadn't been cleaning his gun at the time.

That left only one possibility.

Murder.

I walked over and crouched behind his chair, trying to see what he must have been seeing in that final moment.

And then I saw it. Directly opposite, in the center of a frosted window, there was a tiny hole. I hadn't noticed it before — the frost had effectively camouflaged the hole. A few cracks ran from it, but the snow had somehow kept the window from shattering completely.

The bullet had come from outside — the mystery was solved!

But as soon as I put on my coat and went outdoors, I realized that a greater mystery had taken its place. Though the drifting snow had left a narrow walkway under the roof of the cabin, drifts higher than my head surrounded us on all sides. No one could have approached the cabin through that snow without leaving a visible trail.

I made my way to the window and saw the butt of Fuller's rifle protruding from the snow. I pulled it out and stared at it, wondering what it could tell me. It had been recently fired, it was the murder weapon, but there was nothing more it could say.

I took it back into the cabin and sat down. Just the two of us, no one else, and somebody had murdered Charlie Fuller.

As the day passed into noon, I knew I would have to be moving soon. But could I go back under the circumstances? Charlie Fuller was dead, and I had to discover how it had happened.

Pacing the cabin, I knew that the answer must lurk here somewhere, within the walls of our temporary home. I went back in my mind over our conversations about Grace. He had loved her, he had wanted her — of that much I was certain. Could he have committed suicide in such a manner that I would be accused of his murder?

No, there were two things against that theory — it wouldn't get him Grace, and it wouldn't get me convicted of the crime. Because even now I could change the scene any way I wanted, invent any story I liked. The police would never even make the trip to the cabin to check my story. I had already called it suicide in my radio report, but I could change it to accident. And there was no one to call it murder.

No one but myself.

I went outside again and started sifting through the snow where I'd found the rifle. But there was nothing — a few bits of icicle, but nothing more. Here and there Fuller's footprints remained undrifted, from his icicle-breaking expedition, but I could identify no other prints. If someone had stood at that window to kill Charlie Fuller-…

But no one could have! The snow and crystallized frost had made the window completely opaque. Even if an invisible murderer had dropped from the sky, and somehow got Charlie's rifle out of the cabin, he could not have fired at Charlie through that window because he could not have seen him through it!

So I went back inside to the rifle, emptied it, and tried the trigger. It had been adjusted to a hair trigger — the slightest pressure of my finger was enough to click the hammer on the empty chamber.

Suddenly I felt that I almost had an answer. I stood staring at the blanket-covered figure in the chair, then went outside and looked through the bullet hole at it again. Lined up perfectly, even through an opaque window.

And then I knew who had murdered Charlie Fuller.

I was staring at his body in the chair, but it was my chair! Twenty minutes later, and I would have been sitting in that very chair, eating breakfast. Charlie would have called me when the coffee was ready, and I would have come out to sit in that chair, as I did every morning.

And Charlie Fuller would have killed me.

It took me five minutes of sorting through the bits of icicle in the snow under the window to find the one that was something more. It was ice, but ice encased in a tiny heat-sealed plastic pouch. We used pouches of all sizes in the lab for the rock specimens we collected. This one had served a different purpose.

Charlie had driven one of the icicles into the snow and balanced the rifle on top of it — probably freezing it to the icicle with a few drops of water. Then he had wiped away a tiny speck of frost on the window to line the gun barrel with the chair in which I would be sitting. He'd fixed the rifle with a hair trigger, and then jammed the tiny plastic pouch of water between the front of the trigger and the guard.

When the water in the pouch froze, the ice expanded against the trigger, and the rifle fired through the window at the chair. The recoil had thrown the rifle free of its icicle support, and the frozen pouch of water had dropped into the snow like a simple piece of ice.

And what had gone wrong? Charlie Fuller must have timed the freezing of the water filled pouch, but he probably hadn't timed it in subzero cold with a wind blowing. The water had simply frozen sooner than he'd planned — while he was sitting in my chair for a moment, adjusting it to the precise position facing the window.

But why had he gone to all that trouble to kill me, when we were alone? I thought about that all the way back to Caribou in the snowmobile. He'd probably feared that it would be like the animals he'd told me about, that at the final moment he wouldn't have been able to squeeze the trigger. Perhaps in the night he'd even stood over my bed with his rifle, unable to go through with it. This way had made it impersonal, like a lab experiment to be set up and observed.

So Charlie Fuller had murdered himself. But for the authorities, and for Grace, I decided to stick to the suicide story. I didn't think they'd bother too much about things like the absence of powder burns. Under the circumstances, they were stuck with my story, and I wanted to keep it simple. As I said in the beginning, I'm no detective.

Task I. Write these word combinations down into your vocabulary book, translate them and learn.

1. tо spend one’s sabbatical – провести годичный отпуск (для научной работы)

2. tо be given a grant – получить финансовую помощь

3. tо give smb. up – поссориться с кем-либо, бросить кого-либо

4. tо teach a course in – преподавать курс какой-либо дисциплины

5. tо catch smb’s eye – привлечь чье-либо внимание

6. tо be on friendly terms – быть в дружеских отношениях

7. tо work on smth – работать над чем-либо

8. tо come to a head – достигнуть критической точки

9. tо stand in the way of anything – препятствовать

10. tо look a bit startle – выглядеть озадаченным

11. tо be on one’s way to – быть на пути к чему-либо

12. tо be well-stocked – иметь хороший запас

13. tо make the best of each other – наилучшим образом использовать друг друга (зд. потерпеть друг друга)

14. tо walk out on – бросить что-либо, прекратить работу над чем-либо

15. That’s just the point – вот в чем дело!

16. tо get on each other’s nerves – дейстововать друг другу на нервы

17. tо cut out the cracks about – прекратить болтовню о ком-либо

18. tо be out of questions – не может быть и речи

19. tо be in a bad mood – быть в плохом настроении

20. tо get sick of smth – надоесть

21. tо make a fool of – делать из себя глупца

22. tо send a message to the effect – послать сообщение с целью

23. tо make one’s way to – направиться куда-либо

24. tо pay attention to – обратить внимание на

25. tо take random shots at – беспорядочные выстрелы

26. tо be a dedicated man – посвятить себя чему-либо

27. daily routine – ежедневное однообразие, рутина

28. tо commit a suicide – совершить самоубийство

29. tо be adjusted to – отрегулировать, приспособить, приладить

30. tо go into trouble – попасть в беду, иметь неприятности

31. tо be close to one’s heart – быть дорогим сердцу

Task II. Match the following word combinations from column ‘A’ with those in column ‘B’ choosing the correct Russian equivalent.

Write your answer like this: 1 – a or 1 – b, etc.

A

B

1. permafrost 2. mineral deposit 3. stage of life 4. maleness 5. sabbatical 6. ore sample 7. icicle 8. perking 9. hammer 10. chamber 11. sight 12. stock 13. trigger 14. barrel 15. suicide 16. heat-sealed 17. speck 18. tо jam 19. guard 20. recoil 21. powder 22. pouch

a. образец руды b. патронник c. порох d. предохранитель e. мешочек f. отдача g. зажимать h. мужские инстинкты i. ударник (затвора) j. теплонепроницаемый k. дуло, ствол (оружия) l. годичный отпуск для научной работы m. сосулька n. пятнышко o. приклад ружья p. самоубийство q. вечная мерзлота r. спусковой курок s. прицел t. этап жизни u. месторождение минералов v. шум (издаваемый водой при прохождении через фильтр кофеварки)

Task III. Match the following verbs from column ‘A’ with those in column ‘B’ as synonyms.

Write your answer like this: 1 – a or 1 – b, etc.

A	B
1. tо murder 2. tо reach 3. tо discourage 4. tо dedicate 5. tо search 6. tо suppose 7. tо succeed 8. tо fail 9. tо mention 10. tо spring 11. tо fire 12. tо locate 13. tо start 14. tо crouch 15. tо sift 16. tо lurk 17. tо protrude 18. tо kill off	a. tо put difficulties in the way b. tо shoot c. tо stick out d. tо arrive at e. tо jump f. tо get rid of g. tо devote h. tо win i. tо tell about j. tо hide k. tо kill l. tо begin m. tо guess n. tо examine carefully o. tо bent down p. tо lose q. tо find out r. tо look for

Task IV. Match the Russian expressions and phrases in column ‘A’ with those in column ‘B’.

Write your answer like this: 1 – a or 1 – b, etc.

A	B
1. tо spend one’s sabbatical 2. tо give smb. up 3. tо catch smb’s eye 4. tо come to a head 5. tо be on one’s way tо 6. tо make the best of each other 7. tо get on each other’s nerves 8. tо cut out the cracks about 9. tо be in a bad mood 10. tо pay attention tо 11. tо walk out on	a. на пути куда-либо b. бросить кого-либо c. действовать друг другу на нервы d. отпуск для научной работы e. улизнуть f. достигнуть критической точки g. использовать друг друга наилучшим образом, потерпеть друг друга h. быть в плохом настроении i. прекратить болтовню о ком-либо j. привлечь чьё-либо внимание k. обращать внимание на

Task V. Match the following word combinations from column ‘A’ with those in column ‘B’ choosing the closest equivalent.

Write your answer like this: 1 – a or 1 – b, etc.

A	B
1. tо be given a grant 2. tо come to a head 3. tо stand in the way of … 4. tо look a bit startle 5. tо cut out the cracks about 6. tо send a message to the effect 7. tо become friends 8. that’s the point 9. tо be close to one’s heart 10. tо be out of question 11. tо be at the stage of 12. tо make a fool of oneself	a. tо adjudge smb. a grant b. for the purpose c. tо be dear to one’s heart d. tо stop spreading roumours e. tо make obstacles f. tо be at the period of g. not tо be discussed h. that’s the catch i. tо make a game of oneself j. tо be on friendly terms k. tо arrive at the climax l. tо make smb. jump in surprise

Task VI. Match the following verbs in column ‘A’ with those in column ‘B’ making meaningful expressions.

Write your answer like this: 1 – a or 1 – b, etc.

A	B
1. camouflage 2. shatter 3. lined up 4. crystallized 5. tо sleep 6. tо kill 7. seen 8. tо miss 9. married tо 10. tо answer 11. tо look 12. ran	a. purposely b. surprisingly c. poorly d. effectively e. loyally f. completely g. obviously h. perfectly i. post j. quickly k. instantly l. newly

Task VII. Explain the meaning of the words in column ‘A’ matching them with the verbs in column ‘B’.

Write your answer like this: 1 – a or 1 – b, etc.

A

B

1. murder 2. tо kill 3. tо suspect 4. tо commit a suicide 5. tо torture 6. trigger 7. hammer 8. gun 9. tо gun smb (down) 10. barrel 11. muzzle 12. sight 13. magazine 14. bullet 15. chamber 16. stock 17. tо howl 18. pouch 19. speck 20. tо jam 21. a guard 22. recoil powder 24. butt 25. hooked

a. tо kill yourself. b. a small leather (plastic) bag used for holding smth. c. tо make a loud wailing noise. d. tо think that someone may have committed a crime. e. tо spring back when fired. f. a very small spot, coloured mark or piece. g. tо press hard and suddenly (to put so that it cannot move) h. tо inflict pain on smb. as a punishment or to make them reveal a secret. i. tо shoot and kill or wound with a gun, especially without pity. j. tо put to death, to make someone or an animal to die. k. an apparatus which protects. l. a part of weapon which guides the eye in aiming. m. small metal lever on a gun which you pull to fire it. n. type of shot fired from a fairly small gun, usually long and with a rounded or pointed end. o. a space inside a barrel which bullet passes when fired. p. the front end of a gun barrel. q. the part of a gun in which bullets are placed before firing. r. a long metal tube-shaped part of a gun. s. a substance in the form of extremely small grains. t. a part of a machine made to hit another part (eg. in a gun) u. shoulder end of a rifle. Having a great liking for doing smth. w. a piece of wood used as a support or handle for a gun x. a weapon from which bullets or shells are fired through a metal tube (barrel) y. illegal killing

Task VIII. Match the Russian sentences in column ‘A’ with the adequate English ones; put the verbs in column ‘B’ into the right tense-form.

Write your answer like this: 1 – a (catches) or 1 – b (stocked), etc.

A	B
1. Ружья на его обычном месте не было. 2. Послания от Грейс сократились до одного-двух в неделю. 3. В хижине имелся запас продовольствия на год. 4. Грейс привлекла его внимание с самого начала. 5. Я сидел на обычном месте, лицом к окну.	a. Grace (to catch) his eye from the very beginning. b. The cabin was well (tо stock) with enough provisions for a year’s stay. c. Grace’s messages (tо thin) tо one every week. d. I was in my usual chair (tо face) one of the windows. e. The rifle (tо miss) from its usual place in the corner near the door.

Task IX. Paraphrase the following sentences into English. Match the sentences in column ‘A’ with the adequate ones in column ‘B’.

Write your answer like this: 1 – a or 1 – b, etc.

A	B
1. We began tо get on each other’s nerves. 2. Let’s cut out the cracks about Grace. 3. We might make the best of each other. 4. That is one project I can’t walk out on. 5. That’s just the point. 6. I sent a message tо the effect.	a. We must be tolerant. b. That’s the reason. c. Let’s stop gossiping about Grace. d. I sent a message for the purpose. e. We began tо irritate each other. f. That’s one project I can’t miss.

Task X. Complete the following sentences. Beneath each sentence you will see four words or phrases, marked (a),(b),(c) and (d). Choose the one word or phrase that best completes the sentence. Then write the number of the sentence that corresponds tо the letter of the answer.

Write your answer like this: 1 – a or 1 – b, etc.

1. Charlie Fuller worked on a volume concerning ___

1. the effects of permafrost on mineral deposits.

2. of the effects of permafrost on mineral deposits.

3. the effects of permafrost on water resources.

4. some major pharmaceutical problems.

2. And one day he announced that he would be spending his ___

1. sabbatical at a research post in South America.

2. week-end at a research post in northern Canada.

3. sabbatical at a research post in northern Canada.

4. vacation at a research post in northern Canada.

3. The cabin was well stocked with ___

1. some provisions for a year’s stay.

2. enough provisions for a year’s stay.

3. enough provisions for a year stay.

4. enough goods for a year’s stay.

4. We’d brought our own clothes, and Fuller had brought a rifle, too, ___

1. tо kill animals.

2. tо discourage animals.

3. tо discourage people.

4. tо discourage Henry.

5. Grace’s almost nightly messages brought ___

1. a touch of the Northwest Territory of Boston.

2. a touch of New York tо the Northwest Territory.

3. a touch of Boston tо the Northeast Territory.

4. a touch of Boston to the Northwest Territory.

6. It was 200 miles tо the nearest settlement at Caribou, ___

1. making a trip into town impossible.

2. making a trip into town possible.

3. making a trip into town out of the question.

4. making a trip into town any time.

7. Geology was the only field in which Fuller ___

1. wouldn’t make a fool of himself.

2. wouldn’t make a research scientist of himself.

3. would make a fool of himself.

4. wouldn’t make a fool of anyone.

8. I heard Charlie preparing breakfast, though I paid little attention ___

1. trying to get out of bed.

2. trying to get a bit more sleep.

3. trying to get a bit more asleep.

4. try tо get a bit more sleep.

9. Charlie Fuller was seated in my chair at the table, ___

1. adjusting his rifle.

2. staring at the window.

3. staring at the wall.

4. staring at the wall and adjusting the window.

10. My first thought had been ___

1. accident.

2. murder.

3. suicide.

4. death.

11. Henry walked over and ___

1. crouched behind the chair.

2. stood behind the chair.

3. sat on the floor.

4. crouched behind the body.

12. I made my way tо the window and ___

1. saw the bullet in the snow.

2. saw the rifle protruding from the snow.

3. saw the rifle protruding from the ice.

4. saw the butt of Fuller’s rifle protruding from the snow.

13. An invisible murder couldn’t have fired at Charlie through that window because ___

a. he could not have got the rifle!

b. he could not have done it!

c. he could not have seen him through it!

d. he could have seen him through it!

14. Charlie would have called Henry for breakfast and he ___

1. would have killed him.

2. would have killed himself.

3. would have had breakfast too.

4. would have come out and sit in that chair.

15. It took Henry five minutes tо find the one thing ___

1. under the roof of the cabin.

2. in the snow under the window.

3. inside the cabin.

4. in the snow in front of the door.

16. The water had simply frozen ___

1. exactly at the time he’d planned.

2. later than he’d planned.

3. sooner than he’d planned.

4. sooner than he planned.

17. Henry thought about all that trouble tо kill him ___

1. all the way back tо Caribou in the snowmobile.

2. all the way back tо Boston in the snowmobile.

3. all the way back tо Caribou on the plane.

4. all the way back tо Caribou.

18. Charlie Fuller had probably feared that at the final moment ___

1. he would have been able to squeeze the trigger.

2. he wouldn’t have been able to squeeze the trigger.

3. he wouldn’t have been able tо kill the animal.

4. he wouldn’t have been able tо kill Henry.

19. Charlie Fuller had murdered ____

1. Grace

2. Henry

3. himself

4. herself

20. Under the circumstances, Henry wanted ___

1. tо tell the truth.

2. tо keep the story intricate.

3. tо keep the story simple.

4. tо stick to the murder story.

Task XI. Mark the statements below as ‘true’ – a or ‘false’ – b.

Write your answer like this: 1 – a or 1 – b, etc.

1. Charlie Fuller was a full professor at Boston University.

2. Charlie was teaching an advanced course in geology.

3. Henry Bowfort was Charlie’s assistant.

4. Charlie was newly married tо a very beautiful blonde Grace.

5. Henry Bowfort’s own wife divorced him some ten years earlier.

6. Fuller was at his early fifties at the time.

7. Charlie announced that he would be spending his sabbatical at a research post in southern Canada.

8. Fuller was given a grant for six month’s study.

9. Charlie and Henry reached the cabin by train.

10. In those early days, there was the constant radio communication with Grace.

11. It was 300 miles tо the nearest statement at Caribou.

12. Once, there began tо develop between them a sort of rivalry for Henry Bowfort’s wife.

13. Charlie Fuller started his life being a biologist.

14. Charlie experimented on animals, killing them.

15. That night Henry slept poorly because Charlie knocked icicles from the roof walking around the cabin.

Task XII. Answer the questions below. Choose one of the variants given beneath each question.

Write your answer like this: 1 – a or 1 – b, etc.

1. In what field of science did Fuller and Bowfort work?

1. They worked in the field of biology.

2. They worked in the field of medicine.

3. They worked in the field of geology.

2. Where was their research post situated?

1. It was in Alaska.

2. It was situated in northern Canada.

3. It was located in the Antarctic.

3. Who was the cause of the rivalry between the two men?

1. It was Fuller’s wife.

2. It was Bowfort’s wife.

3. It was Bowfort’s girl-friend.

4. Why didn’t Fuller become a biologist?

1. He was not interested in biology at all.

2. His parents were against it.

3. He could not experiment on animals and kill them.

5. What facts made Bowfort think that Fuller hadn’t committed a suicide?

1. There was no weapon beside the dead body.

2. Fuller had started making breakfast.

3. The above two facts made him think so.

6. Where did Bowfort find Fuller’s rifle?

1. He found it in the laboratory.

2. He found it in its usual place in the corner near the door.

3. He found it outside in the snow.

7. Whose footprints did Bowfort find by the cabin?

1. They were Fuller’s footprints.

2. He found a stranger’s footprints.

3. He discovered both Fuller’s and a stranger’s footprints.

8. What did Bowfort say in his radio report?

1. He said that Fuller had been murdered.

2. He said that Fuller had committed a suicide.

3. He said that his death had been an accident.

Task XIII. Mark the type of the questions given below as:

1. Special

2. General

3. Alternative

4. Disjunctive.

Write your answer like this: 1 – a or 1 – b, etc.

1. Did Fuller often talk about his project?

2. Was Charlie Fuller a full professor at Boston University?

3. Was he teaching an advanced course in geology?

4. Who was Fuller’s assistant?

5. Whose wife divorced ten years earlier?

6. What did fuller announce one day?

7. Where did Charlie Fuller decide tо spend his sabbatical?

8. Was Charlie Fuller alone on his way tо a research post in northern Canada?

9. Did they intend tо spend eight or six month above the permafrost line?

10. Did Grace’s messages thin finally tо one or two every other week?

11. You miss her, don’t you, Hank?

12. It’s been a long time, hasn`t it?

13. What’s that supposed tо mean, Charlie?

14. You don’t understand, do you?

15. Could Charlie be outside again, firing at the animals?

16. Did I take it back into the cabin or not?

17. Were there two or three things against that theory?

18. Charlie Fuller had loved Grace, hadn’t he?

19. Charlie had driven one of the icicles into the snow, hadn’t he?

20. Who committed a suicide?

21. Whom did Charlie Fuller want tо kill?

Task XIV. Use the verb in brackets in one of its past tense-forms

The correct answer is: 1. a – saw or a – see, etc.

1. Charlie (tо be) a full professor at Boston University when I (tо meet) him, teaching an advanced course in geology while he (tо work) on a volume concerning the effect of permafrost on mineral deposits. I (tо be) an assistant in his department, and we (tо become) friends at once. Perhaps our friendship (tо help) along by the fact that I (tо be married) newly tо a very beautiful blonde named Grace who (tо catch) his eye from the very beginning.

2. But after a time Grace’s messages (tо thin) tо one or two a week, and finally tо one every other week. Fuller and I (tо begin) tо get on each other`s nerves, and often in the mornings I (tо be awakened) by the sound of rifle fire as he (tо stand) outside the cabin door taking random shots at the occasional owl or ground squirrel that (tо wander) near. We still (tо have) the snowmobile, but it (tо be) 200 miles to the nearest settlement at Caribou, making a trip into town out of question.

Task XV. Insert the correct preposition.

Write your answer like this: 1 – at or 1 – in, etc.

The correct answer is: 1 – at, etc.

Fuller was (1)___ his early forties (2)___ the time.

He often talked (3)___ the project closest (4)___ his heart.

I was an assistant (5)___ his department, and we became friends (6)___ once.

He was teaching an advanced course (7)___ geology.

Eight months (8)___ the wilds (9)___ nowhere (10)___ nothing but snow?

She had never tried tо stand (11)___ the way (12)___ anything I’d wanted tо do.

We reached the cabin (13)___ plane.

The cabin was well stocked (14)___ enough provisions (15)___ a year’s stay.

We had a bookcase full (16)___ reading material.

And the best (17)___ all (18)___ those early days, there was the constant radio communication (19)___ Grace.

Think she’s sitting home nights waiting (20)___ you?

Fuller was seated (21)___ the wooden table we used (22)___ meals and paperwork, and I was (23)___ my usual chair facing one (24)___ the windows.

Look (25)___ those icicles.

I couldn’t work (26)___ animals.

It’s too late (27)___ another failure, too late (28)___ life tо start (29)___ again!

Task XVI. Find the most corresponding meaning in Russian tо the verb ‘tо make’ in column ‘B’.

Write your answer like this: 1 – a or 1 – b, etc.

A	B
1. tо make the best of each other 2. tо make friends 3. tо make an ally of smb. 4. tо make the place 5. tо make smth of smth 6. tо make the most of smth / smb 7. tо make one’s way tо 8. tо make a fool of oneself	a. использовать что-либо / кого-либо наилучшим образом b. достигнуть какого-либо места c. направиться куда-либо d. подружиться e. делать из себя глупца f. использовать друг друга наилучшим способом (максимально), зд. потерпеть друг друга g. превращать что-либо во что-либо h. сделать кого-либо своим союзником

Task XVII. Find the most corresponding meaning in Russian tо the verb ‘tо catch’ in column ‘B’.

Write your answer like this: 1 – a or 1 – b, etc.

A	B
1. tо catch smb’s eye 2. tо catch an opportunity 3. tо catch one’s foot 4. tо catch the trick of doing smth. 5. tо catch one’s breath 6. tо catch hold of smth. 7. tо catch in a lie 8. there must be a catch somewhere 9. I don’t catch your meaning 10. That’s the catch	a. затаить дыхание b. изобличать во лжи c. не могу уловить, что вы имеете в виду d. ухватиться за возможность e. в этом-то вся хитрость f. здесь есть какой-то подвох g. споткнуться h. ухватиться за что-либо i. привлечь чьё-либо внимание j. наловчиться что-либо делать

Task XVIII. Match sentences in column ‘B’ with expressions in column ‘A’ paying attention to the verb “to get”.

Write your answer like this: 1 – a or 1 – b, etc.

A		B
1. tо get into a temper 2. tо get into trouble 3. tо get on with smb. 4. tо get over 5. tо get at 6. tо get away 7. tо get out of doing smth. 8. tо get through 9. tо get up 10. tо get on smb’s nerves 11. tо get sick of smth	a. преодолеть трудности b. сдать (тест) c. быть в затруднительном положении d. подняться (из сидячего / лежачего положения); вставать e. ‘тошнить’ от чего-либо/кого-либо, надоесть кому-либо f. разозлиться g. исчезать h. избегать что-либо делать i. действовать на нервы j. достигать k. подружиться с кем-либо

Task XIX. Explain the expressions in column ‘A’ by choosing the best meaning from column ‘B’.

Write your answer like this: 1 – a or 1 – b, etc.

A	B
1. tо become angry 2. tо be in a difficult situation 3. tо be friendly with smb 4. tо overcome a difficulty 5. tо reach 6. tо escape 7. tо avoid doing smth 8. tо get on smb’s nerves 9. tо dislike smth very much 10. tо pass a test 11. tо rise (from a sitting or lying position)	a. tо get up b.tо get through c. tо get away d.tо get on smb’s nerves e. tо get out of doing smth f.tо get on with smth g.tо get sick of smth h.tо get at i. tо get over j. tо get into trouble k.tо get into a temper

Task XX. Insert these words into the blank spaces of the sentences:

1. early

2. uneasy

3. failure

4. question

5. head

Translate all these sentences into Russian.

Write your answer like this: 1 – a or 1 – b, etc.

1. Fuller was at his ___ forties at that time.

2. Making a trip tо the town was out of ___.

3. The rivalry came tо a ___.

4. His marriage was a ___.

5. I drifted into an ___ sleep.

Task XXI. Make up sentences observing the correct word order.

Model: (a) was / (b) him / (c) that.

The correct answer is: 1 – That was him or 1 – c, a, b, etc.

1. (a) Fun / (b) daily / (c) Charlie / (d) the / (e) great / (f) with / (g) at / (h) routine / (i) Fuller / (j) was / (k) first/ (l) a/ (m).//

2. (a) Three / (b) the / (c) of / (d) rooms / (e) cabin / (f) consisted/ (g) large/ (h).//

3. (a) Charlie / (b) in / (c) at / (d) my / (e) at / (f) the / (g) was / (h) the / (i) wall / (j) staring / (k) Fuller / (l) seated / (m) table / (n) chair/ (o),/ (p).//

4. (a) Blood / (b) was / (c) down / (d) a / (e) stream / (f) of / (g) running / (h) eye / (i) into / (j) forehead / (k) and / (l) one / (m) tiny / (n) his/ (o).//

5. (a) I / (b) almost / (c) had / (d) felt / (e) suddenly / (f) that / (g) I / (h) answer/ (i) I/ (j) an/ (k).//

6. (a) Fuller / (b) Charlie / (c) so / (d) himself / (e) had / (f) murdered/ (g).//

Task XXII. Summarize the story arranging the following sentences in the logical order.

Write your answer like this: 1 – a or 1 – b, etc.

1. They became friends at once.

2. Charlie decided to spend his sabbatical at a research post in northern Canada, near the western shore of Hudson Bay.

3. Charlie Fuller was a full professor at Boston University.

4. Henry agreed to accompany Charlie and carry out eight months’ research in the wilds of nowhere with nothing but snow.

5. There was the constant radio communication with Grace.

6. There had developed a sort of rivalry for Bowfort’s wife and one evening in January it came to a head.

7. When a heavy snow had made them stay in the cabin for two long days and nights, Charlie told many interesting facts about his life.

8. Henry made a detective out of himself to solve the mystery of Charlie’s death.

9. At that very moment Charlie was sitting in Henry’s chair, adjusting it to the precise position facing the window.

10. But Henry decided to stick to the suicide story.

11. Towards morning Henry drifted into an uneasy sleep.

12. Charlie Fuller had murdered himself.

13. Henry sprang awake, knowing he had heard a shot.

14. They were stuck in that place for another few months and Charlie was the first to give up his own project.

15. He got out of bed and went into the other room.

16. His plan failed because the water in the pouch had frozen sooner and the rifle fired through the window.

17. Henry Bowfort was an assistant in Charlie’s department.

18. Henry Bowfort was newly married to Grace, who caught Charlie’s eye from the very beginning.

19. Henry slept poorly that night because Charlie walked around the cabin at midnight knocking icicles from the roof.

20. There he saw Charlie Fuller who was dead.

21. He taught an advanced course in geology and worked on a volume concerning the effects of permafrost on mineral deposits.

22. The daily routine was great fun at first.

23. Toward morning the storm ended.

24. Henry found out that Charlie had planned to kill him but instead he killed himself.

25. After a time Grace’s massages thinned to one every other week.

English – Russian Vocabulary

A	advanced	– продвинутый
	assistant	– помощник
	announce	– оглашать
	animal	– животное
	attention	– внимание
	accept	– принимать
	approach	– приближаться
	accuse	– обвинять
	adjust	– оправдывать, приспосабливать
	absence	– отсутствие
B	blonde	– блондин (ка)
	bet	– пари
	biology	– биология
	bird	– птица
	bullet	– пуля
	body	– тело
	blanket	– одеяло
	butt	– приклад, мишень
	balance (v)	– балансировать
	barrel	– бочка, дуло
	bother (v)	– беспокоить
	burn (n)	– ожог
C	course	– курс
	concern	– считать, полагать
	charming	– очаровательный
	companionship	– партнерство
	cabin	– кабина
	communication	– общение
	cloud	– туча, затемнять
	crack	– треск, разлом; колоть, удар, трещина
	chimney	– дымовая труба
	comprehend	– понимать
	corner	– угол
	commit	– совершать
	cover	– покрывать, оболочка
	C clean (v)	– чистить
	crouch	– пригибаться
	conversation	– разговор
	certain	– определенный
	convict	– осуждать
	crime	– преступление
	check	– проверять, проверка
	crystallized	– кристальный
	click	– щелчок
	chamber	– патронник
	collect	– собирать
D	detective	- детектив
	deposit	– залежи природных ископаемых
	department	– отделение
	divorce	– развод
	discourage	– обескураживать
	dedicate	– посвящать
	develop	– развивать
	damnedest	– проклятый
	direction	– направление
	drift	– течение, плыть
	death	– смерть
	discover	– открывать, обнаружить
	drop	– ронять, падение
E	effect	– эффект
	experiment	– эксперимент
	expect	– ожидать
	except	– за исключением
	ear	– ухо
	explanation	– объяснение
	empty (v)	– опустошать, освобождать
	encased	– вовлеченный в дело, осведомленный
	expand (v)	– расширять
F	eminine	– женский
	financing	– финансирование
	fantastic	– фантастический
	F face	– лицо, сталкиваться
	field	– поле, сфера
	food	– пища
	failure	– ошибка
	frost	– мороз
	final	– последний
	footprints	– следы
	fire (v)	– гореть
	figure	– фигура
	fix (v)	– устанавливать, чинить
	fill (v)	– наполнять
	fear (v)	– бояться
G	geology	– геология
	grant	– вознаграждение
	gun	– пистолет
	guard	– охрана
H	heat	– жара, тепло
	howl	– реветь, вой
	hairline	– линия волос
	hole	– дыра
	hammer	– молоток
	heat-sealed	– герметизированный
I	intelligent	– образованный
	icicle	– сосулька
	instantly	– немедленно
	invent	– изобретать
	identify	– определять
	invisible	– невидимый
	impersonal
J	jam	– загромождение, защемлять
K	knock	– стук, стучать
L	loyally	– лояльно
	locate	– находиться
	lurk	– спрятать
	line up	– подытожить
M	murder (v)	– убивать
	mineral	– минерал
	maleness	– мужество, мужской пол
	message	– сообщение
	meal	– еда
	mood	– настроение
	major	– главный
	miss (v)	– пропустить, скучать
	M midnight	– полночь
	mystery	– загадка
	move	– двигаться
	mind	– разум
	manner	– манера
N	nerve	– нервировать
O	opportunity	– возможность
	ore	– руда
	owl	– сова
	obviously	– очевидно
	opaque	– непрозрачный, матовый
	observe (v)	– осматривать
P	permafrost	– вечная мерзлота
	provision	– запас еды (провизия)
	place	– место, поместить
	paperwork	– бумажная работа
	project	– проект
	pharmaceutical	– фармацевтический
	pay	– платить
	point	– указывать, точка
	purpose	– цель
	professorship	–занимать должность профессора
	poorly	– бедно
	prepare	– готовиться
	perking	– шум (издаваемый водой при прохождении через фильтр кофейника)
	P pot	– котел
	pack (v)	– паковать
	possibility	– возможность
	protrude	– высовываться
	pull	– тянуть, тащить
	pace	– шагать
	police	– полиция
	pressure	– давление
	plastic	– пластик, гипс
	pouch	– мешочек, карман, кошелек
	plan (v)	– планировать
	precise	– точно
	powder	– порох, пудра
R	research	– исследование
	rifle	– ружье, винтовка
	routine	– рутина
	random	– редкий
	rivalry	– соперничество
	reach	– достигать
	realize	– осознавать
	remain	– оставаться
	rock	– сотрясать
	recoil	– отдача у ружья
S	settlement	– поселение
	sabbatical	– годичный отпуск для научной работы
	startled	– испуганный, потрясенный
	snowmobile	– снегомобиль
	stock	– запас, инвентарь
	supply	– снабжать
	sample	– образец
	squirrel	– белка
	suppose	– полагать
	sick	– больной, тошнить
	storm	– шторм, буря
	scientist	– ученый
	S succeed	– преуспевать
	sound	– звук
	shot	– выстрел
	stove	– печь
	stare	– пялиться, глазеть
	stream	– ручей, струя
	suicide	– самоубийство
	switch (on)	– включать
	shatter	– разбивать вдребезги
	solve	– решать
	surround	– окружать
	scene	– сцена, действие
	S sift	– тщательно рассматривать
	sky	– небо
	sort (v)	– сортировать
	specimen	– экземпляр
	serve	– обслуживать, служить
	speck	– царапинка, пятнышко
	support	– поддерживать
	subzero	– ниже ноля
	squeeze	– сдавливать
	stick tо	– приклеивать
T	touch	– касаться
	trip	– путешествие
	torture	– мучить
	tiny	– маленький
	trial	– судебное разбирательство
	temporary	– временный
	theory	– теория
	trigger	– крючок спусковой
	top	– вершина
	time (v)	– планировать по времени
	trouble	– проблема
U	unreasonable	– необоснованный
	unspoken	– невысказанный
	university	– университет
	undrifted	– непроходимый
V	volume	– звук, объем
	visible	– видимый
W	the wilds	– дебри, девственная природа
	wander	– бродить
	wooden	– деревянный
	welcome	– приветствие (добро пожаловать)
	wind	– ветер
	W wound	– рана
	walkway	– путь
	wonder	– чудо, интересоваться
	weapon	– оружие
	wipe (v)	– вытирать

Irregular Verbs

Infinitive	Past Indefinite	Participle II	Translation
arise awake be bear bear beat become begin bend bind bite bleed blow break bring build burn buy catch choose come cost cut deal do draw dream drink drive eat fall feed feel fight find fling flow forget freeze get give go grow hang have hear hide hit hold hurt keep kneel know lay lead learn leave lend let lie lose make mean meet pay put read ride ring rise run say see seek sell send set shake shave shed shoot show shut sit sleep smell speak spell spend spill spin split spoil spread spring stand steal stick strike swear sweep swim take teach tear tell think throw understand wake wear weep win write	arose awoke / awaked was / were bore bore beat became began bent bound bit bled blew broke brought built burnt bought caught chose came cost cut dealt did drew dreamt / dreamed drank drove ate fell fed felt fought found flung flew forgot froze got gave went grew hung / hanged had heard hid hit held hurt kept knelt knew laid led learnt / learned left lent let lay lost made meant met paid put read rode rang rose ran said saw sought sold sent set shook shaved shed shot showed shut sat slept smelt / smelled spoke spelt / spelled spent spilt / spilled span / spun split spoilt / spoiled spread sprang stood stole stuck struck swore swept swam took taught tore told thought threw understood woke / waked wore wept won wrote	arisen awoke / awaked been born borne beaten become begun bent bound bit (en) bled blown broken brought built burnt bought caught chosen come cost cut dealt done drawn dreamt / dreamed drunk driven eaten fallen fed felt fought found flung flown forgotten frozen got given gone grown hung / hanged had heard hid / hidden hit held hurt kept knelt known laid led learnt / learned left lent let lain lost made meant met paid put read ridden rung risen run said seen sought sold sent set shaken shaved / shaven shed shot shown shut sat slept smelt / smelled spoken spelt / spelled spent spilt / spilled spun split spoilt / spoiled spread sprung stood stolen stuck struck sworn swept swum taken taught torn told thought thrown understood woken / waked worn wept won written	возникать будить, просыпаться быть рождать носить, выносить бить становиться начинать гнуть, сгибать связывать кусать истекать кровью дуть ломать приносить строить гореть, жечь покупать ловить, схватывать выбирать приходить стоить резать иметь дело с делать тащить, рисовать мечтать, видеть сны пить гнать, везти, ехать есть (принимать пищу) падать кормиться чувствовать бороться, сражаться находить кидать, бросать летать забывать замерзать получать давать идти, ехать расти, выращивать висеть, вешать иметь слышать прятать ударять, поражать держать повредить держать, хранить становиться на колени знать класть вести учиться оставлять, уезжать давать взаймы, одалживать позволять, сдавать в наем лежать терять делать, заставлять подразумевать, значить встречать платить класть читать ездить верхом звонить, звенеть подниматься бежать говорить видеть искать продавать посылать помещать, ставить трясти брить, -ся проливать (слезы) стрелять показывать закрывать сидеть спать пахнуть / нюхать говорить писать / произносить по буквам тратить проливать прясть раскалываться портить распространяться прыгать стоять красть приклеивать ударять, бастовать клясться, браниться мести плавать брать обучать рвать рассказывать думать бросать понимать будить носить плакать выигрывать писать