2. Vocabulary

1) to make a go of sth (also to give sth a go; to have a go at sth/doing sth); 2) to digress; 3) emanation, to emanate; 4) to get entangled with sb; 5) to get away (with sth); 6) to keep on (at sb) about sth; 7) to crave (for) sth; 8) to mimic sb/sth; 9) to fish for sth; 10) to commission sth / to be commissioned to do sth; 11) to go about sth; 12) so far so good; 13) to hit the nail on the head; 14) to gloat, gloating; 15) to be up in arms; 16) come to think of it.

3. Find in the story the English for:

1) свалять ужасного дурака; 2) изысканный вкус; 3) если я правильно помню; 4) выпить на посошок; 5) портрет Глэдис в полный рост; 6) приступить сразу к делу; 7) достичь совершенства; 8) изображать портретируемых обнаженными; 9) пойти на небольшую уступку; 10) развеять скуку; 11) для твоего же блага; 12) прийти в себя; 13) телефонный справочник; 14) весьма влиятельный человек в обществе; 15) я сразу перешел к делу; 16) как бы это сказать?

17) бесплатно; 18) кричать от радости; 19) тем временем; 20) реставратор;

21) кусочек/шарик ваты; 22) чрезвычайно кривоногая; 23) жажда мести; 24) с моей стороны (= что касается меня); 25) быть в лучшей физической форме.

Make up 1 sentence with any of the items for oral translation in class.

4.Find words and phrases in the story with the following meanings:

1) offended or shocked very much by something, because it is extremely unpleasant or bad; 2) to cause something unpleasant to happen; 3) wanting or trying to harm someone because they have done something bad to you; 4) making you feel excited or hopeful about having something you want, often something that you never get;

5) the unhappy feeling you have when you are not satisfied with something;

6) something that is not normal or not what you would usually expect; 7) attractive; 8) full of folds and wrinkles; 9) a little/a bit; 10) extremely silly, absurd; 11) very ugly or frightening in appearance; 12) constantly, continually; 13) to stop competing or arguing and accept that you cannot win; 14) lazy; 15) to talk about something for a long time in a very boring way; 16) to faint; 17) a person or animal that someone is trying to find or catch; 18) to stop yourself from doing something; 19) to combine or join together to form one thing; 20) tending to work hard; 21) to look at or consider someone or something carefully, especially in order to form an opinion about them; 22) a machine or piece of equipment that has been made or invented for a special purpose; 23) cheerful and active.

Which of these words are dated? Formal? Informal?

5. Give Russian equivalents of the words/phrases and sentences below:

a)

1) a sly nonchalance that is not entirely unpractised; 2) to overlook the southern fringe of Regent’s Park; 3) a puckered little face; 4) with mounting excitement;

b) 1. … she swivelled her eyes and glanced at me cautiously out of the corners of them. 2. … the news of an entertainment like this would spread through their ranks like smallpox. 3. It all happened in a few minutes – a sudden, violent welling up of a hatred that filled me till I was going to burst. 4. …once, during my exercises, when I overbalanced doing a double-knee-bend, I sat on the floor and giggled like a schoolboy. 5. … his Lordship kept shaking his head slowly from side to side like an old and dispirited metronome. 6. Every time I heard Janet’s voice … a little ball of excitement exploded inside me and I felt the fire of it running under my skin. 7. They all screwed up their eyes, opened them again, gazed about them.

6. Which character in the story was referred to as:

1) a bounder? 2) sylph-like? 3) an outcast? 4) a cad?

Say what these words mean.

7. Say what you know about:

1) Regent’s Park; 2) Tahiti; 3) the Royal Academy; 4) the Tate.

8. Rephrase or interpret the given sentences (without using the underlined parts).

1. …there is something in his make-up that compels him secretly to look down upon all people who never had the wit to learn the difference between Rockingham and Spode… 2. … she felt rebuffed and was now clearing decks for action. 3. “A penny for your thoughts?” 4. By Gad, the fellow’s got a nerve! 5. “… the old boy was ninety, if he was a day…”

9. ARE YOU A CAREFUL READER?

1. What was Lionel’s last name? 2. When did Lionel have that final party? (State the exact date) 3. Which painter was not mentioned in the story: Constable, Bonington, Goya, Manet, Matisse, Redon, Vuillard, Smith? 4. Lionel was in his late sixties. (True or False?)

10. Answer the questions and do the following tasks:

1. What do you know about the author of the story?

2. What do you make of the end of the story? Why is it entitled in this way, do you think?

3. How can you characterise Lionel’s feelings for Janet de Pelagia? If he only had a romantic interest in the lady, why did Gladys’ story hurt him so much? If it was love, how come he revenged himself on Janet in such a humiliating and sophisticated way?

4. “She was a faker. No question about it. But do many other females practise this sort of deception, I wondered.” Do you agree with Lionel’s definition of the means to which women resort in order to look better as “faking” and “deception”?

5. The main characters of the story act according to the principle “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”. What’s your attitude towards this principle? Are there any situations in which it could be justified?

6. Share your impressions of the story. Did it seem humorous/cynical/instructive/… to you?