B iographical note on the author

Herbert Ernest Bates was born in 1905. He received his education at Kettering Grammar School and when he left at the age of sixteen he became, first, a clerk and then a provincial journalist. His first novel, The Two Sisters, was published in 1926 by Jonathan Cape after being rejected by 9 other publishers. By 1931, Cape had published three further novels. In 1941, the Royal Air Force recruited Bates as a short story writer under the pseudonym of 'Flying Officer X'. This work included, The Greatest People in the World (1942) and Fair Stood the Wind for France. The latter was published by Michael Joseph who was to be his publisher for the rest of his life. The Darling Buds of May (1959) began a popular series of earthy novels set in a rural context and for this work, he may be best remembered. His acclaimed autobiography was published in three volumes: The Vanished World (1969), The Blossoming World (1971) and The World in Ripeness (1972).

READING TASK

1. Write out words and expressions to help you talk about the following:

• Mrs. Palgrave, her being a mother and a wife.

• Heidi and her duties.

• Young Franklin.

• Mr. Palgrave.

2. Read the following passage for detailed comprehension and translate it into Russian in writing:

• p.67 ‘After that…prey.’

3. Learn to pronounce:

Bavaria

Connoisseur

4. Search the encyclopedia or the geographical dictionary to learn information about:

‘Serpentine’

5. Bear in mind that: ‘the Head of the River’ is a special kind of boat racing in which boats go one by one; their task is to catch up with the boat ahead, push it and overtake it.

Learning vocabulary

1. Learn the following words in situations from the story and interpret their meaning using an English dictionary.

1. a confounded nuisance (56)

2. all over (55)

3. to be ravenous (57)

4. to hold smb. in a gaze (58)

5. meticulously (59)

6. to pamper (60)

7. rancour (61)

8. impetuous (61)

9. take up (63)

10. for a fraction of a second (65)

11. to coax (67)

12. at the outside (68)

13. to get the point of (71)

14. connoisseur (71)

15. to be emblazoned with (72)

16. to be hold spellbound (72)

17. aridity (73), arid with (78)

18. prodigious (74)

19. assiduous(ly) (75)

20. to play fast and loose (76)

2. Translate the sentences into Russian focusing on the active vocabulary.

1. What a lump I was to play fast and loose with virtue, honour and integrity. 2. He tried to coax me, but I said we had to part. 3. Her every gesture was displaying rancour. 4. She wrote a truly prodigious number of novels. 5. ‘I think she was near twenty,’ said the Vicar. ‘Oh, no, William. Sixteen or seventeen at the outside.’ 7. Nanny had a ravenous appetite; she ate up everything off the plate. 8. Mother and father were assiduous, frugal without stinginess. 9. The winds were of extreme heat and aridity. 10. They pampered their only son a bit too much. 11. Colds do not ‘last for weeks’ - they last for three to ten days at the outside. 12. Jacob took up pottery classes at college. 6. ‘I am so thirsty, do you mind if I have a glass of champagne?’ Julia was silent for a fraction of a second. It was his champagne. 13. We need people with special knowledge, connoisseurs, on our staff. 14. It was impetuous of her to do that. 15. He gazed on Niagara Falls like entranced. 16. His feat was emblazoned on the front page. 17. It's a nuisance that there's no hot water in the flat. 18. She was getting meticulously dressed to go out on a special date. 19. You’ll have to wait two days at the outside. 20. I urged him, coaxed him and finally begged him to tell me the truth. 21. That's him all over: late again. 22. He didn’t get the point of the joke.