1. Answer the following questions

1. Whom did Augustus find at his bedside on waking up?

2. What did he take the unexpected visitor for? 3. Why did Augustus start telling the stranger the story of his life? 4. How did ft happen that Augustus became a painter? 5. What were the stages in his artistic career? 6. How did Augustus explain his failure? 7. Why did the stranger keep interrupting him? 8. What was the purpose of the stranger's visit? 9. What was actually wrong with Augustus?

2. Paraphrase or explain.

1. You are one of the soulless public, and it is of no im­portance to you if a clever young man should take to his bed in the height of his youth. 2. But I suppose you have been sent here by some interfering so-called friend of mine to save me from the Silent Grave. 3. I was delicately brought up. 4. No­body came to have their pictures painted, and I had no heart to paint any more of myself. 5. ... there is a certain sameness in your remarks. 6. I turned from painting people to painting the country. 7. ... and I decided ... to forget my soul and paint for money. 8. I gave up the struggle. 9. My heart was broken. 10. I feel it in my bones that I shall never rise from this bed.

3. Find in the text the English for

засмеяться с горечью; не иметь значения для кого-либо; слечь в постель; в расцвете юности; история жизни; получить премию за что-либо; предоставить возможность; открыть собственное дело; заказать портрет; рисовать пейзаж; ри­совать карикатуры; хотите верьте, хотите нет; опускаться все ниже и ниже; рисовать рекламу; затеряться при пересыл­ке почтой; отказаться от борьбы; искусство врача; мебель­ный магазин

4. Study the following phrases. Recall the situations -in which they were used in the text. Make sentences with each.

be (go) wrong with smb. (smth.)

e. g. 1. There's something wrong with the lock. It won't open. 2. Her plans went wrong.

have (get) smth. done

e.g. 1. You must get this work done by Monday at the latest. 2. He wondered where he could have the report typed.

get a story (facts, information, etc.) out of smb., smth.

e. g. 1. I couldn't get a word out of him. 2. She complain­ed she had got very little out of the book.

would rather (... than)

e. g. 1. Which would you rather have, tea or coffee? 2. She said she would rather stay at home and watch TV than go places. 3. He would give away his books rather than sell them.

by the hundred (thousand, etc., dozen, score, etc.) e. g. In England eggs are sold by the dozen or half-dozen.

Give up smth. (smb.)

e. g. 1. He's sure to give up the idea sooner or later. 2. They had given him up as lost.

5. (K) Recast the following using adjectives with -less derived from the Italicized nouns. Make other necessary changes

Model: The work was done without care. It was careless work.

1. I was rather surprised to hear that he had no friends. 2. It's no use trying to make him understand. 3. As far as I could judge there were no faults in the work. 4. There's no hope that the case will ever be settled. 5. Faced with danger he showed no fear. 6. There were no children in the family. 7. Beyond doubt it was a most startling coincidence. 8. It was a strange kind of song, without a tune. 9. I knew that without my help he would be lost.