Lesson 18

Ch. 49-51

1. Find the English equivalents in the text and recollect the situations they are used in:

Ch.49: to sell by auction	an air of straitened circumstance
to turn smb. out	for old time’s sake
to work smb’s passage	one piece of luck
to scrub the deck	at the waste
to take in cargo	a rotten thing
to take smb’s dying oath	Ch. 51: to praise smb’s prudence
Ch. 50: the leafy lanes	to shell peas
aliens	a torrent of abuse
to create profound astonishment	to get smth over
to step into smb’s shoes	wheezy music

2. Give the synonyms and make up your examples:

Ch. 49: effects, to fall on adversity, to thrash;

Ch. 50: amid, kindred, to urge, to have no private means, it didn’t generally carry a doctor, on short leave, kink;

Ch. 51: to moon about.

3. Answer the questions:

1/ Who was Mrs. Johnson? Describe her. What sad story did she share with the author?

2/ How did she get to know Strickland? How did Strickland appear in Tahiti? Did he like the island?

3/ What was the author’s idea that some men are born out of their due place? Who did he tell us about? Do you agree with the author that a man needs a good deal of character to throw up a career for the sake of starting new life in an unknown place?

4/ How did it happen that Strickland had got married? Who was his new wife?

5/ What idea did Mrs. Johnson have of love between husband and wife? Do you think it is rather strange?

6/ Do you have any predictions for this period of Strickland’s life? Do you think it will be happy? Why?

Lesson 19

Ch. 52-54

1. Find the English equivalents in the text and recollect the situations they are used in:

Ch. 52: извилистая тропинка	шорох мириад живых существ
навес циновка	спасаться бегством
изодранная одежда	глухой шум прибоя
сросшиеся деревья	горние страны
кормясь тем, что давала земля	принимать обличье
не любят ходить пешком	без дальнейших церемоний
Ср. 53: придавать слитность	Ch 54: чужак
белоснежный полотняный костюм	мы оба стремились к одному
кроить платье	она гнала его все дальше и дальше
выглядеть убого	по-своему
босиком	отважная женщина
бросить злорадный взгляд	спать, как убитому
с причитаниями	у нас родились дети
что касается насекомых	благодаря труду своих рук
непроницаемая тишина	решительный характер

2. Give the synonyms and make up your examples:

Ch. 52: started things, a host of relatives, a happy-go-lucky way,

Ch. 53: he would come here, varied colour, unmindful of the world, ceaseless like time, he did me an injustice, fish out.

Ch. 54: haunted by, to be deeply wronged, to live in penury, to look back on.

3. Answer the questions:

1/ Do you agree with the author that the following three years were the happiest of Strickland’s life? Describe his house and his life in it.

2/ How did the author know about Capitain Brunot and what did he learn from him about Strickland? Did Capitain visit Strickland? What was his impression? What talk did they have? Comment on Strickland’s “I shall stay here till I die”.

3/ What did Captain mean when he said about Strickland and himself that “ …we were both aiming at the same thing”. What story did he tell the author about his own life?

4. Comment on the following:

1/ “To these people, native and European, he was a queer fish, but they were used to it”

2/ “There are men whose desire for truth is so great to attain it they will shatter the very foundation of their world”