Read the text & be ready to do the following tasks.

My financial career.

(after St. Leacock).

When I go into a bank I Get irritated. The clerks irritate me; the wickets irritate me; the sight of the money irritates me; everything irritates me.

The moment I cross the threshold of a bank & attempt to do business there, I become an irresponsible idiot.

I knew this beforehand, but my salary had been raised to fifty dollars a month & I left that the bank was the only place for it.

So I walked in & looked timidly round at the clerks. I had an idea that a person about to open an account must consult the manager.

I went up to a wicket marked “Accountant”. The accountant was a tall, cool devil (1). The very sight of him irritated me.

“Can I see the manager ?” I said, & added solemnly, “alone”.

I don’t know why I said “alone”.

“Certainly”, said the accountant, & fetched him.

The manager was a grave calm man. I held my fifty -six dollars clutched in a crumpled ball in my pocket.

“Are you the manager?” I said. God knows I didn’t doubt it.

“Yes,” he said.

“Can I see you,” I asked, “alone?” I didn’t want to say “alone” again, but without it the thing seemed self-evident.

The manager looked at me in some alarm. He felt that I had an awful secret to reveal.

“Come in here,” he said, & led the way to a private room. He turned the key in the lock.

“We are safe from interruption here,” he said; “sit down.”

We both sat down & looked at each other. I found no voice to speak (2).

“You are one of Pinkerton’s men, I presume”, he said.

He had gathered from my mysterious manner that I was a detective. I knew what he was thinking, & it made me worse (3).

“No, not from Pinkerton’s, “ I said, seeming to suggest that I came from a rival agency.

“To tell the truth”, I went on , “I am not a detective at all. I have come to open an account, I intend to keep all my money in this bank.”

The manager looked relieved but still serious; he concluded now that I was a son of Baron Rothschild or a young Gould.

“A large account, I suppose, he said.

“Fairy large,” I whispered. “I propose to deposit fifty-six dollars now & fifty dollars a month regularly.”

The manager got up & opened the door. He called to the accountant.

“Mr. Montgomery, “ he said unkindly loud, “this gentleman is opening an account, he will deposit fifty-six dollars. Good morning.”

I rose.

A big iron door stood open at the side of the room.

“Good morning”, I said, & stepped into the safe.

“Come out”, said the manager coldly, & showed me the other way. I went up to the accountant’s wicket & poked the ball of money at him with a quick convulsive movement. My face was very pale.

“Here,” (4) I said, “deposit it.” The tone of the words seemed to mean,

“Let us do this painful thing while the fit is on us” (5).

He took the money & gave it to another clerk. He made me write the sum on a slip & sigh my name in a book, I no longer knew what I was doing. The bank swam before my eyes.

“Is it deposited ?” I asked in a hollow, trembling voice.

“It is “, said the accountant.

“Then I want to draw a cheque.”

My idea was to draw out six dollars of it for present use. Someone gave me a cheque-book through a wicket & someone else began telling me how to write it out.(6) The people in the bank had the impression that I was an invalid millionaire. I wrote something on the cheque & thrust it in at the clerk. He looked at it.

“What ! (7). Are you drawing it all out again?” he asked in surprise.

Then I realised that I had written fifty-six instead of six. I was too embarrassed. I had a feeling that it was impossible to explain the thing. All the clerks had stopped writing to look at me.

“Yes, the whole thing.”

“You withdraw your money from the bank?”

“Every cent of it”.

“Are you not going to deposit any more?” said the clerk, astonished.

“Never”.

An idiot hope struck me that they might think something had insulted me while I was writing the cheque & that I had changed my mind. I made a poor attempt to look like a man with an awfully quick temper. The clerk prepared to pay the money.

“How will you have it?” he said.

“What?”

“How will you have it?’

“Oh” - I caught his meaning & answered without even trying to think - “in fifties.”

He gave me a fifty-dollar bill.

“And the six?” he asked dryly.

“In sixes.” I said .

He gave it me & I rushed out. As the big door swung behind me I caught the echo of a roar of laughter that went up to the ceiling of the bank. Since then I bank no more. I keep my money in cash in my trousers pocket & savings in silver dollars in a sock.

Proper names:

Leacock [‘ li:kok], Pinkerton [‘pinketen], Baron Rothschild [‘baren ‘rotшilt], Gould [‘gu:ld], Montgomery [ment’gameri].

Notes on the text:

1. The accountant was a tall, cool devil. - банковский служащий был высокий, невозмутимый человек.

2. I found no voice to speak - Я растерялся и не мог вымолвить ни слова.

3. it made me worse - зд. Я еще больше растерялся.

4. Here ... - Вот ...

5. While the fit is on us - пока мы в настроении.

6. how to write it out - как выписывать (чек)

7. What ! - Как! Что!

Phrases to remember:

to do business - заниматься делом.

to look round - оглядеться.

to open an account- открыть счет в банке.

to reveal a secret -открыть тайну (секрет).

to lead the way to - вести кого-либо куда -либо.

we are safe from interruption here - нам здесь не помешают.

to tell the truth - по правде говоря.

to draw a cheque - выписать чек (взять деньги из банка).

for present use - на текущие расходы.

they had the impression that ...- у них создалось впечатление , что ...

in surprise - с удивлением, удивленно.

I had a feeling that ... - Мне показалось, что...

to make a poor attempt to do smth - тщетно пытаться сделать что - то.

to catch the (someone’s) meaning (of) - уловить смысл.

a roar of laughter - взрыв хохота.

Prepositional & Adverbial Phrases.

To look round, to be about to do smth., to go up to, in alarm, to be safe from, to call to someone, to step into, to draw out (money), for present use, in surprise, to keep money in cash.

Grammar notes on the text.

1. He said unkindly loud. “Loud” is an adverb here. Some English adverbs have two forms. One has to remember the idiomatic usage of English adverbs without “-ly”.

Don’t talk so loud. They laughed loud & long.

But:

He insisted loudly on his rights.

A loudly-dressed person.

2. He gave it me ...

In colloquial speech, when the indirect object is a pronoun , the preposition “to” is sometimes not used.

But: Give it to Mary.

Exercises.

1. Answer the following questions.

1. How did a bank affect the hero of the story? 2. What made him go to the bank though everything irritated him there? 3. Why did he wish to see the manager ? 4. Why did the manager take him to his private office? 5. Why did the manager have a false impression of the visitor? 6. Why did the visitor dislike the way the manager spoke to the accountant? 7. What shows that the man was very excited & embarrassed ? 8. What did he have to do to have his money deposited? 9. How can you explain his desire to draw a cheque the moment he deposited his money? 10.What surprised the clerk when he looked at the cheque the man had written out? 11. How did he explain his decision to draw out all his money? 12. Where did the man keep his money after his visit to the bank.

2. Paraphrase the following using the words & prases from the list below.

1. His eyes were fixed on the ground, I did not know why he seemed so anxious & uncomfortable . 2. I had the pleasure of being introduced to Frank last night. He’s an extremely nice person, I think. 3. As soon as I cross the examination room I get so terribly nervous. 4. I am planning to keep all my money in a savings-bank since next month. 5. I always had an idea that people who were going to fly in a plane must feel excited. 6. If you want to have good seats, you’ll have to reserve them in advance. 7. If I were you I would discuss with your father what your next move should be. 8. We didn’t expect him to take us to his own office to talk about such unimportant things. 9. Have you got one more copy of the article? Peter has been asking if he could have a look at it. 10. You are not going to draw out all your money, I believe? 11. The policeman examined the documents with a very serious expression on his face.

( the moment, about to, to consult, step, to intend, to presume, grave, embarrassed, private, to propose, awfully, beforehand, extra)

3. Replace the following words & word combinations by those from the text & vocabulary.

Not responsible, to make angry, pay, grave & important, to go & bring, extremely good, to conclude, to be going to, serious, to have in mind as a purpose, to go to someone for advice or information.

4. Give antonyms for the following.

Responsible, to reduce, kind, to withdraw money from a bank, slow, calm.

5. Make up questions on the text using the given words & phrases.

At the sight of, to look relieved, very embarrassing situation, to catch the meaning, to make a poor attempt, in surprise, for present use, to lead the way to, to look round, to consult.

6. Suggest the English for the following from the text.

Я имел в виду ;на текущие расходы ; у нас создалось впечатление, что ; Как !; вместо; я очень смутился; все до копейки; мне в голову пришла абсурдная мысль; передумать; вспыльчивый человек ; один только вид его ;я тщетно пытался ;по правде говоря; открыть счет в банке; заранее; пройдите сюда.

7. Which words from the text answer the following definitions.

To hurt someone’s feelings, money in the form of coins or notes, to go & bring, a piece of paper money, to put money in a bank to be kept safely, to write one’s name on, the entrance to a building or room, a person who manages, controls or directs a business or a department of a business, a person who keeps acounts in a business, to make know what is secret, a strong box in which money & other valuable things are kept, a number of cheques fastened together in paper or cardboard covers, a person whose business is to get information especially about how crimes have been commited, difficult or impossible to understand or explain, sudden excitement caused by danger.

Федеральное агентство по образованию

Елабужский государственный педагогический университет

Факультет иностранных языков

Контрольная работа № 5

для студентов II курса заочного отделения.

(практика устной и письменной речи)

Елабуга, 2006.

CONTROL WORK N 5

on topiс “Hotel”

for the second year students.

1. Read the following text & do the exercises below.

AN EVENING IN NUEVO LEON.

(after E. Caldwell).

It was ten o’clock in the evening when we drove into Nuevo Leon. After winding through the streets for a while we found the hotel & stopped in front of the entrance. There were few persons out that late.

While we were taking some of our things from the car, the proprietor of the hotel came out bowing & smiling. He helped us with a couple of the bags & led us into the lobby.

“ It is an honour to have you come into my hotel (1),” he said, stopping in the centre of the lobby & bowing again. “I am very pleased to have you as my guests. The Reforma Hotel is honoured.”

We smiled in return. It made us feel good to be welcomed in such a manner.

The proprietor went behind the desk. Then he placed the register in front of me & handed me the pen.

“The house is yours, senor” , he said. “Have you been long in Mexico?”

We were tired & dusty & far from being in a talkative mood. It had been a hard trip across the desert & mountains from the coast. Although the distance was less than three hundred miles, it had taken us since five that morning to reach Nuevo Leon.