Study and Discussion

1. Speak on the extra-linguistic features of the text: the author’s personality, the year when the play was published, the place and time of the action.

2. What message did the author want to convey to the reader by this play?

3. In what way are the characters related to each other?

4. Speak on the general atmosphere of the play. Discuss the conflict taking place: is it internal or external, is it the conflict between one set of values against another set of values? Whom of the characters do you support?

5. Make a suggestion about Gerald’s professional occupation. How could you identify that?

6. How do the family members treat each other? Could they be called a united family? Prove your point.

7. Supply the context for the word “Socialist”. Does it have positive or negative implication?

8. What example of natural kindness does Mrs. Conway give? What effect does it produce on the family members?

9. What does one of the characters mean saying “Too good to last?” What is your own opinion on this statement?

Exercises and Assignments

I. Study the stage directions carefully and list all the words and word combinations which denote the characters’ state of mind, emotions, manner of speaking. What do you think promoted the author’s choice of a particular word or word combination in each case?

II. Comment on speech characteristics of the personages. How do the characters differ in their speech behavior?

III. In groups, assign each person a role. Read the play trying to follow the correct dramatic intonation peculiar for each particular character.

IV. Match each of the terms in the first column with a suitable definition from the second column. What terminology do they belong to? Translate the terms.

1) holding	a) a deficit in a bank account caused by drawing more money than the account holds
2) outlay	b) a thing for which someone is responsible, esp. a debt or financial obligation
3) liability	c) stocks, property, and other financial assets in someone's possession
4) asset	d) an amount of money spent on something
5) share	e) wealth in the form of money or another form owned by a person or available or contributed for a particular purpose
6) overdraft	f) one of the equal parts into which a company’s capital is divided, entitling the holder to a proportion of the profits

V. Comment on the semantic and stylistic difference between the following three phrases. Consult the context if necessary.

1) Mother must have been very extravagant.

2) Mrs. Conway hasn’t been as careful as she might have been.

3) …and now it’s all gone – just because mother and Robin between them have flung it away.

VI. Translate the following expressions and supply the context from the play:

hit badly by the slump, to hold in trust, to fling away, cut-and-dried.

VII. Match each word from the first column with a synonym from the second column. Use these words in the sentences of your own.

1) extravagant 2) mercenary 3) substantial 4) convert 5) wicked 6) upset

a) transform b) essential c) wasteful d) vicious e) downcast f) self-interested

VIII. Paraphrase the following sentences from the text.

1. Well, the position is this. Mrs. Conway for a long time now has derived her income from two sources.

2. But this would demand a substantial outlay of capital.

3. Farrow and Conway were hit badly by the slump and have not recovered yet.

4. Now there are two possible courses of action. One is to sell the houses for what they’ll fetch, and to hold on to the Farrow and Conway shares.

IX. Fill in the gaps choosing a suitable word or word combination from the synonymic row. Change the grammatical form of a word where necessary.

Provide for, support, maintain

1. Can you _________ my daughter (if you marry her) in the style she has been accustomed to? 2. My parents didn’t have to _________ me when I was at college as I received a grant. 3. A life insurance policy enables you to _________ your family after your death.

Fetch, cost, sell for

1. The holiday _________ $600 per person, including hotel accommodation, meals, and transport. 2. Rare editions like this usually _________ about $200 apiece in antique bookshops or from special dealers. 3. I admit the old car’s a bit of a wreck, but I am still hoping it’ll _________ £100 or so.

Glimpse, look, sight, view

1. The _________ of his face as he spoke was by no means pleasant (Trollope). 2. I was out of _________ of the rest of them (Viereck). 3. The scientific _________ of the world is not indifferent to quality or value. It seeks to find law, harmony, uniformity in nature (Inge). 4. It was in one of these laboratories that I had my first and only _________ of the fabulous plutonium (Brown).

Blame, accuse, charge

1. Protesters angrily _________ the police of violence and intimidation. 2. I think your plan is crazy, so don’t _________ me if it doesn’t work! 3. He made a very long speech _________ the delegates with being ineffective and wasteful.