1. Sharing Ideas
Discuss the following question with a partner, in a small group, or with the whole class:
What are the main problems highlighted in the story?
2. Analyzing the story
1. What is the stylistic tone of the passage?
neutral
humorous
sarcastic
ironical
nerve-(w)racking
relaxing
2. What type of presentation is chosen by the author?
narration
description (static / dynamic)
reported speech
direct speech
Give examples and state their functions.
3. Divide the text into logically completed fragments. Think of the headings for each part.
4. How can you characterize the bulk of the vocabulary of the extract in question? Find examples of the following groups of words and comment on their function in the text.
academic words
medical terms
emotionally coloured words
bookish (learned) words
colloquial words
students jargons
5. Study the syntactical organization of the text. Mention types of sentences used in the text:
simple
complex
compound
Define their function in the context of our interpretation.
6. Look back at the Literary Terms and discuss:
the effectiveness of the allusion “judgment day” for conveying the students’ fear of the examinations.
what figure of speech is employed to describe the difference between the psychological types of students at the examinations? Render the experience of anticipating the exams as if you were one of the students introduced by the author?
the example from the text: “One comes down, one muffs, one is ploughed, plucked, or pipped”. Bring out the effectiveness of this linguistic means in the text under consideration.
the meaning and stylistic value of the expression “frustrated brilliance” used in the presentation of some type of students at the written part of the final examination.
the stylistic means employed in the passage “The world stood still. The traffic stopped, the plants ceased growing, men were paralysed, the clouds hung in the air, the winds dropped, the tides disappeared, the sun halted in the sky.”
8. By commenting on the cases of simile chosen from the text discuss the effectiveness of this stylistic means in the description of examinations. Would you agree that the attempt to find similarity between such distant domains of activities like medicine and boxing contributes to the ironical style, on the one hand, and underlines the seriousness of the events, on the other hand?