General Comprehension

1. Who said it? What do the words in bold refer to?

1. “Its function is to satisfy the ever-increasing need of science, industry, and administration for rapid mathematical calculation….”

2. "It's a delicious idea, but so impracticable it doesn't really bear thinking about at all."

3. “The market is limited. We've got to be able to produce the right stuff, at the right time, whenever we want it. It's a matter of business, that's all.”

4. “What we'll have to do, is to say that we're merely building another mathematical calculator, but of a new type. That'll keep the secret."

5. "No sir, it's fine. Can't you see? It's simply that she's not breaking up the words. That's an easy adjustment. But the story's there”.

6. “What I'm going to do is a serious novel, something that'll make 'em sit up and take notice

2. Who did it and why?

   1. Who wanted Adolph Knipe to have a holiday?

   2. Who smiled for the first time in many, many months.

   3. “At that point, Adolph Knipe noticed a slight change in the man's expression, an extra brightness in the eyes, the nostrils distending, the whole face becoming still, almost rigid.” Who is this man?

   4. Who arranged for a friend to hold up the rich man’s daughter on a dark night when she was driving home.

   5. Who started wearing a bottle-green velvet jacket and longer hair?

   6. Who became so enthusiastic about what the machine could do that immediately signed the contract to never write again?

3. Mark the following statements as true (t), false (f), not stated (ns). Correct the false statements. Prove your answer using the text.

1. Adolph Knipe built the fastest electronic calculation machine in the world.

2. Adolph Knipe thought of the editors as his greatest enemies.

3. Mr Bohlen immediately realized the commercial value of Knipe’s invention.

4. Adolph Knipe valued his job at the office a lot, while writing has always been his favourite hobby.

5. Mr Bohlen didn’t like the first story they’d run off while Knipe thought it was a good one.

6. All the stories created with the help of the machine were bought by the editors of different magazines.

7. Writing a novel using Knipe’s machine was not an easy task.

8. It was easier to persuade the female writers to sign up the contract rather than the male ones.

2. Answer the questions:

1. What irritated Knipe in Mr Bohlen’s appearance and manners?

2. How did Knipe come up with an idea of a machine for writing stories?

3. What was Mr Bohlen’s first reaction when Knipe showed him his project?

4. Did Mr Bohlen sympathize with Knipe when the latter tried to explain about his “creative urge”?

5. Was Knipe able to convince Mr Bohlen of the commercial value of the project?

6. Did the idea of having his own name on some stories appeal to Mr Bohlen?

7. Why didn’t the machine work out at first? How long did it take to fix it?

8. Why did Mr Bohlen insist on Knipe’s adapting the machine for writing novels?

9. Was the project financially successful?

10. Were all the writes eager to sign a contract with Knipe’s agency?