Assignment 3 (chapters 6–10)

I. Pre-reading task – translate the words from the active vocabulary, write their transcription.

Active Vocabulary

p. 16

smooth (hair)

sum sb. up

p. 17

parsimonious

nag

p. 19

odds and ends

p. 20

frustration

be at a loss

lumpy (figure)

p. 21

dazzling

p. 24

know sb. / sth. from Adam

be taken aback

p. 25

on leave

p. 26

get sb. / sth. off one’s hands

II. Exercises

1. Paraphrase the following sentences using the active vocabulary

1. Resting in the same plane; without bends or irregularities; silky to the touch.

2. Miscellaneous items or articles.

3. To scold or annoy constantly.

4. Full of or having a small solid mass without definite shape.

5. Officially excused from work or duty.

2. Fill in with suitable words from the active vocabulary.

1. It is the chairman's duty to ____ at the end of the meeting.

2. He was momentarily ____ by the headlights.

3. The stone he had found on that beach was black and ____.

4. If she keeps on ____ at her husband like that, he'll leave her.

5. He belongs to that kind of ____ men who try to be economical even with tea.

3. Translate the following sentences into Russian.

1. I am fed up with the frustrations of everyday life.

2. She dazzled me with a smile.

3. I was taken aback by her assumption that I knew all about her domestic misfortune. (W. S. Maugham, ‘The Moon and Sixpence’, ch. VIII)

4. ‘Who is she anyway? Interfering... bothering… you must know.’ ‘I don't know her from Adam,’ the boy said. (on Gr. Greene, ‘Brighton Rock’, part V, ch. II)

5. There's a dirty mark on the wall that I can't get off.

III. Questions for discussion.

1. Describe Mrs Garstin. What was her role in the making of Kitty’s character? Kitty’s attitude to life? Kitty’s fate (adultery and so on)?

2. What was Kitty’s opinion about Walter Fane before he had made a proposal to her?

3. Dwell upon the reasons of Kitty’s final decision to marry.

4. What was Kitty’s attitude to her marriage just after it (ch. VI)?

Assignment 4 (chapters 11–15)

I. Pre-reading task – translate the words from the active vocabulary, write their transcription.

Active Vocabulary

p. 29

stroll

speak with one’s tongue in one’s cheek

p. 30

awkward

p. 33

considerate

p. 34

conjugal (relations)

p.35

rain cats and dogs

p. 36

vague

reserved

p. 37

like wax in one’s hands

p. 38

hostility

p. 39

go all to pieces

II. Exercises

1. Find the words in the active vocabulary that match the following definitions.

1. Of or relating to marriage or the relationship between husband and wife.

2. To walk about in a leisurely manner.

3. Lacking dexterity, proficiency, or skill; clumsy.

4. Enmity or antagonism.

5. Thoughtful towards other people; kind.

2. Fill in with suitable words from the active vocabulary.

1. This table is ____. Please go to that one.

2. He was very ____ on this point. He just had no idea at all.

3. Despite a great deal of practice she remained an ____ dancer.

4. She took the children for a ____.

5. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ gives us an example of a long-lasting ____ between two families.

3. Translate the following sentences into Russian.

1. He came to this idea while strolling along the beach.

2. Monday is awkward for me.

3. I have not the vaguest notion what to do.

4. He was of a reserved character.

5. Mr. Savage was a hard-headed business man, and yet he was clearly as wax in this woman's hands. (A. Christie, ‘Why Didn't They Ask Evans?’, ch. XXV)

4. Explain the meaning of the following lexical units in your own words.

Startled, emergency, put on airs, smooth, odds and ends, dazzling, stroll, awkward, to rain cats and dogs, to be like wax in one’s hands

III. Questions for discussion.

1. Describe the scene of the proposal. Dwell specially upon Kitty’s answers and her thoughts that were awaken by Walter’s words.

2. Try to describe the same scene of the proposal from Kitty’s and then from Walter’s points of view. What was their attitude to it? What was their attitude to each other? To their future marriage?

3. Rewrite the scene of proposal so that you would be able to stage it.

4. What differences in their characters were discovered during the first year of marriage? Do you consider these differences insuperable? Comment on the scene starting with ‘Kitty was lively…’ (p. 35 – till the end of the chapter).

5. Sum up Kitty’s and Walter’s characters.

6. How has Kitty got acquainted with Charles Townsend? Describe him from Kitty’s view.

7. Describe Hong Kong of that time. What was the life of the British colonists like there?

IV. Extra writing task.

Write an autobiographical essay.