Vocabulary and Grammar Task

1. Find in the story the English for:

Трудолюбивый, заслуживать чего-либо, хозяин дома, проницательный, ухаживать за кем-либо, стать моряком, прийти к заключению, сходить (съездить) за кем-либо, уравновешенный, иметь что-либо общее, успокаиваться, пойти кому-либо на пользу, ухмыляться, сожалеть о чем-либо, насколько я понимаю, нажить состояние, копить деньги, интересоваться чем-либо, уговаривать кого-либо, хвастаться.

2. Use one of the words or word combinations from the box in an appropriate form to fill each gap.

to go to sea, to have smth in common, as far as I can see, to deserve, to come to the conclusion, to grin, to boast, to court

1. They were happy and they __________ their happiness.

2. When Emily Green married Tom, George __________ .

3. At last they __________ that he must be dead.

4. She thought that because we had both been in China we must _______.

5. He, talking to her, __________ with his toothless gums.

6. Well, one thing you haven’t done, George, _________ , and that’s to make a fortune.

7. He __________ that he would live for another twenty years.

8. George Meadows and Tom __________ Mrs. Meadows when she was Emily Green.

3. Say the opposite of:

lazy

dull

unbalanced

to do smb harm

to go broke.

to spend money

4. Choose the right word and use it in an appropriate form.

landlady

the master of the house

a hostess

1. He owned his _________ a month’s rent.

2. As Mrs. Hill was away, Jane, the eldest daughter, acted as ________ at the dinner party.

3. But the __________ was Geogre’s mother.

to court

to take care of

4. George Meadows and Tom both __________ Mrs. Meadows when she was Emily Green.

5. The officers ___________ Loise as though they were all her husbands.

to be interested

to wonder

6. He will ___________ to know what the old man has seen in his life.

7. I ____________ if they remembered what they had felt then and what they had said to one another.

to persuade

to convince

8. They had a good deal of difficulty in ___________ him to go to bed.

9. The old man’s words _________ him that he made a success of his life.

5. Ask “do you think questions” as in the example:

EXAMPLE: Who do you think is coming here today?

1. They deserved their happiness. (general)

2. Mrs. Meadows was the master of the house. (Who?)

3. They remembered what they had said to one another. (What?)

4. He didn’t make a fortune. (Why?)

5. For the last ten years he had been living in the sailor’s home. (Where?)

6. He would tell all the stories I wanted to hear. (What?)

7. Fate was kind to him. (general)

8. “I’m glad he came back,” she said. (Why?)

Reading Comprehension and Discussion Tasks

1. Answer the following questions:

1. What was the farm like?

2. What kind of people lived in the house and farmed the land? What was their only boast?

3. Who was the master of the house? What did she look like?

What was she like?

4. What was the story of George Meadows? Why had he gone to sea? How had he spent fifty years of his exile’s life?

5. Why had the matron of the sailor’s home written to them?

6. What did the old man look like?

7. How had he got to the house? Why was he proud he could walk?

8. Why was it strange to look at the old people, Emily Meadows and George Meadows?

9. Why had the old man never married?

10. Why hadn’t he made a fortune?

11. Why did the author look at the old man with admiration and respect?

12. What did the author see when he came the next morning?

13. Why does the author say fate was kind to the old man?

14. What was Mrs. Meadow never quite sure of ?

2. Match the adjective on the left with the nouns on the right according to the story. Say which character of the story each word combination refers to.

stolid, sturdy and unpretentious life

patriarchal old man

tall, upright and dignified eyes

bright and shrewd people

despotic but kindly woman

toothless, crippled, penniless rule

3. Tell the story of George Meadows according to the outline below:

1. The old man and his home.

2. The old man and Emily Meadows.

3. The old man and his exile’s life.

4. The old man back home.

4. Discuss the following:

1. Why does the author call the life of the Meadows patriarchal? What kind of life is patriarchal to you?

2. Why do you think they were a happy family? What makes a family happy?

3. Why do you think George Meadows had gone to sea?

4. Do you think he was a one-woman man? What do you think there was about Emily Meadows that he would never marry anyone but her?

5. Why had he never visited them during his exile’s life?

6. Make guesses about the things he had seen in his day.

7. What is your main impression of the story?

8. Read out the proverbs you wrote down in the pre-reading task. Do you remember the proverbs:

East or West – home is best.

There’s no place like home?

Comment on the proverbs with reference to the sto

Text-based activities

Read the text below.