Exercises

Exercise 1. Are these statements true or false? Correct the false ones.

1. Jaffe found a very large diamond.

2. Jaffe killed his house-boy Haum with a gun.

3. Nhan was a prostitute working in Blackie Lee’s club.

4. Colonel Khuc was an honest and professional policeman.

5. Jaffe wanted to give the diamonds to the state.

6. Jaffe wanted to come back to the USA with diamonds and marry an American girl.

7. Nhan had been arrested and taken to the Police station.

8. Lee brothers decided to help Jaffe and Nhan to leave the country.

9. Yo-Yo killed Blackie Lee and Charlie Lee and stole the money from Blackie’s safe.

10. Nhan was tortured to death but Jaffe left for Hong Kong.

Exercise 2. Put the events into the right order.

1. Nhan had been arrested and taken to Security Police Headquarters.

2. Jaffe found diamonds.

3. Jaffe realized that he loved Nhan and decided to marry her.

4. Jaffe borrowed Wade’s car.

5. Jaffe killed his boy-servant.

6. Blackie Lee agreed to help Jaffe.

7. Charlie Lee offered to kill Jaffe.

8. Yo-Yo killed Blackie Lee and stole the money from his safe.

9. Jaffe left for Hong Kong.

10. Nhan’s uncle beat her cruelly.

Exercise 3. Choose the right word.

"There is a very simple (answer\explanation) why he wanted to (lend\borrow) Mr. Wade's car and I (assure\warn\guarantee) you it had nothing to do with the car being equipped with C.D. (plates\scute\scutum\number). For some time now, Mr. Jaffe has been seen by my men trying to pick up girls in his car. For (some\several) weeks, he was unsuccessful. It seems to me to be an acceptable (theory\excuse\explanation) that, frustrated by his (lack\need) of success he might easily have (accused\blamed) his failure on the (bit\trifle\smallness) of his Dauphine rather than on the (propriety\decency\politeness\courtesy) of the girls he tried to (molest\vex\annoy). I think Mr. Jaffe borrowed Mr. Wade's big and rather (showy\ostentatious) car in the (expectation\hope) of changing his luck. After all he did (remark\mention) to Mr. Wade he wished to use the car for an (amoral\dissolute\immoral) (purpose\aim\end\goal\ object\objective\intention)."

Exercise 4. Match the words with their definitions and make your own

sentences with the words.

1. atmosphere - a) common; widespread

2. attitude - b) having a happy disposition; in good spirits

3. cheerful - c) embarrassment; abashment

4. suggestion - d) state of affairs; combination of circumstances

5. support - e) consequence or importance

6. general - f) a condition, event, etc., that is complex or confused

7. complication - g) the air or climate in a particular place

8. significance - h) to speak in favour of

9. situation - i) the way a person views something or tends to behave towards it

10. confusion - j) a hint or indication

Exercise 5. Look at the sentences from the story. What are the missing parts?

1. As he________________, he looked searchingly for the girl or Dong Ham, but the street was empty.

2. He had bought this gun _______________ who had been in Saigon during the early air raids.

3. Jaffe had no idea if there were any more of them out there in the darkness and he ____________, peering just over the door.

4. He was suddenly so angry he _________________by his throat and thrown him out of the window.

5. The Inspector turned over in his mind what he had heard, but he still ____________what it was all about.

6. The narrow black gleaming eyes had finally moved to the_____________.

7. There was ____________for the few remaining minutes before it pulled up outside Jaffe's villa.

8. _______________, he opened the door and beckoned to the waiting Inspector.

9. After what_________________________, Khun began to relax.

10. He made sure he had ________________________in his hip pocket, and then he picked up his hold-all and moved to the door.

Exercise 6. Think of the situations where you could use the following phrases.

1. “Hell! What's the matter with you?”

2. “It even scares me a little”.

3. “I'm all right”.

4. “A situation has arisen: it's tricky and strictly confidential”.

5. “If it could be arranged it would be expensive”.

6. “It is possible. I would have to make inquiries”.

7. “You can, of course, rely on me.”

8. “Are you feeling very fine?”

9. “You must tell the police!”

10. “I'll explain on the way.”

Exercise 7. Describe the meaning of the words in English. Make up your own sentences to show the use of the words.

Handle, stun, a cookhouse, squeamish, shutters, anger, kerb, cautiously, brainless, shelter, despondency, a grenade, shiver, support, slump, a brainwave, fury, dishevel, stiffen, disturb.

Exercise 8. Translate the sentences into good Russian.

1. Hearing the sound of the distant explosions, two policemen on road patrol had ridden fast to the post.

2. Looking at the fat, good natured man who lolled opposite him, Jaffe felt a sharp twinge of envy.

3. He wasn't a good fortune teller and consequently he made very little money.

4. However his face remained bland and smiling although his mind was startled.

5. He crossed to a door leading to his living-quarters at the back of the club, ignoring Yu-lan who was looking anxiously at him from across the hall.

6. He found on his desk a number of files and a request for a comprehensive report on the pilfering of stores belonging to the Embassy.

7. Leaving the car at the corner of the street, he walked with one of his men to the apartment block.

8. Families! Jaffe thought irritably. They were a ball and chain on the leg of a man who is trying to run. They were a blanket that stifled impulse.

9. The situation interested him, and after considering it for some minutes, he straightened up and walked over to the club.

10. One of Lam-Than's spies at the Presidency had told Lam-Than that the group opposing the Colonel had finally convinced the President to take action against him.

Exercise 9. Translate the sentences into good English.

1. Джефф не хотел иметь ничего общего с европейками, до тех пор, пока не решит жениться.

2. Он испугался, что слуга выдаст его, и ему придется отдать бриллианты.

3. Блэки Ли не был трусом, но он не хотел бать замешанным в убийстве.

4. Ему нужна была машина с дипломатическими номерами: только так он смог бы добраться до места.

5. Нхан очень хотела уехать с ним, но она боялась оставлять свою семью, так как прекрасно понимала, что им без нее не обойтись.

6. Ради денег Чарли Ли был готов на все, особенно, если деньги были большими.

7. В это миг Джефф осознал, насколько сильно он ее любит и понял, что никуда не уедет без нее.

8. Полковнику было выгодно свалить всю вину на вьетнамских партизан, что давало ему прекрасную возможность спокойно искать бриллианты.

9. Нхан умерла, так и не сказав ни слова.

10. Он налил себе стаканчик крепкого виски, закурил сигарету и отрешенно уставился в окно.

Exercise 10. Which of the following words can be used to describe characters of the story? (Some words can be used more than once.)

Strong, powerful, sly, cunning, nimble, skillful, handsome, beautiful, pretty, clever, devoted, cowardly, apprehensive, self-seeking, greedy, industrious, ambitious, affectionate, cruel, friendly, sociable, patient, unprincipled

a) Fill the chart below.

Jaffe	Nhan	Inspector Ngoc-Linh	Charlie Lee	Blackie Lee	Colonel Khuc

b) Write down the description of the characters using the chart.

Exercise 11. Decide whether the following facts are true or not. If not, correct them.

1. Jaffe killed Haum because he didn’t want him to see the diamonds.

2. Colonel Khuc was a very hard-working policeman.

3. Nhan loved Jaffe but she didn’t want to marry him.

4. Mr. Wade was the best friend of Steve Jaffe.

5. Blackie Lee decided to kill Yo-Yo because Yo-Yo began to blackmail him.

6. Charlie Lee was ten years older than his brother.

7. Inspector Ngoc-Linh tried to help Steve Jaffe.

8. Yo-Yo killed Charlie Lee.

9. Steve decided not to leave the country without Nhan.

10. Colonel Khuc killed Nhan because she didn’t want to tell him where the diamonds were.

Exercise 12. Fill in the gaps with suitable words.

Jaffe moved well away from them and sat in the _______. They were too wrapped up in _________ to be aware even that he was there. Jaffe suddenly realized how ______ it was all going to be. "I suppose your friend wants to _______ the country?" Blackie said mildly. There was that extraordinary look of __________ in her dark eyes that always startled Jaffe. Nhan sat silent, her hands resting on her knees, her eyes on the flow of ________. She stopped speaking and watched him, _______ making her eyes large and glistening in the moonlight. As he passed his small villa, he saw the place was in _________. She couldn't understand how Haum had been found in the _____, but this she thought was very good for Steve. I think Mr. Jaffe borrowed Mr. Wade's big and rather _________ car in the hope of changing his luck.

a) leave b) darkness c) traffic d) adoration e) each other f) ditch g) shade h) ostentatious i) terror j) difficult

Exercise 13. Rewrite the following dialogues using Indirect Speech.

A

Jaffe stiffened.

"How did they find out?"

"I will explain everything later," Charlie said. "You must leave immediately. There is not a minute to lose."

"Where's Nhan?" Jaffe asked.

"She is quite safe. Blackie is looking after her. She will join us in a few hours. If you have anything you want to take with you, please get it. I have the car here. We must leave at once."

"You are sure she is safe?"

"Of course. Please hurry."

B

"What is it?" he said thickly, backing away from her.

"It's the police!" she hissed at him and for a moment he thought she was going to scratch his eyes out. "They want you!"

He couldn't believe he had heard aright.

"The police?" he stammered, turning hot, then cold. "Me?"

With a furious gesture, she waved him to the door.

"Get out of here!"

C

She tried to control a shiver of fear.

"I don't know."

"I've got to trust him. I don't know anyone else who I can trust. Does he know your grandfather lives here?"

"I've never told him. I don't think he does."

"I've got to deal with him. I'll have to meet him somewhere. Where can I meet him, Nhan? Not in Saigon. It'd be too risky, but not far from here. I'll have to walk."

"You could use my grandfather's bicycle," she said.

Exercise 14. Rewrite the passage replacing the words in bold with their synonyms from the list below. Translate the text into your mother tongue.

leave slacks return ransacked still understood cautiously unexpected suddenly looking

He remained motionless, staring at the telephone. The bell continued to ring: the sound tore at his nerves. He realized that Dong Ham and the girl must also be listening to the bell. They were probably standing as motionless as himself, looking at each other, wondering why he wasn't answering the telephone.

The bell abruptly ceased to ring. The sudden silence in the room pressed down on him. Carefully, he stepped away from the broken pieces of glass. He must get out of the house, he told himself. He couldn't stay here a minute longer. Later, he would come back, but right now, until his nerves settled, he must get out.

He went quickly up the stairs, took off his shorts and had a shower. He put on a pair of trousers and a shirt that were lying on a chair, thus avoiding opening the closet. He checked his money and was dismayed to find he had only 500 piastres in his wallet. He rummaged among his handkerchiefs in a drawer in his closet and found another too piasters note.

Exercise 15. Fill the gaps with the appropriate prepositions and adverbs.

He had no idea how menacing he looked when he was angry. His huge, towering figure, his hard, angry expression and the viciousness ____ his voice struck terror ____ Haum. The Vietnamese had now only one thought: to get ____ ____ the room and tell the police _____ the diamonds. He darted _____ the table, _____ the wall, putting the table ______ himself and Jaffe, and then made a wild dash _____ the door.

_____ spite _____ his size, Jaffe had perfect balance and his body, still hard _____ spite _____ his drinking and his lack _____ exercise, responded _____ his quick mind _____ a degree Haum hadn't suspected.

As Haum's sweating fingers closed ______ the door handle, Jaffe's fingers closed _____ his shoulder and jerked him _____. Haum was horrified _____ the strength _____ those fingers. It was as if his flesh was being squeezed ______ steel pincers. The agony _____ the grip made him cry _____: a thin scream like that ____ a terrified rabbit. He tried to break free, struck feebly _____ Jaffe's wrist, then opened his mouth to scream again.

Exercise 16. Fill the gaps with the appropriate articles where necessary.

Suppose he told ___ police that he had come upon Haum stealing ___ diamonds and that Haum had attacked him and that during ___ struggle, Haum had been accidentally killed? Such ___ story might get him off ___ murder charge, but it would mean giving up ___ diamonds, and there was always ____ risk he would receive ___ prison ___ sentence.

It was at this moment that Jaffe made up his mind that whatever ___ risk, he was going to stick to ___ diamonds, and having decided this, his panic subsided and he began to think more clearly.

If he could get to ___ Hong Kong with the diamonds, he could get lost without any difficulty. He would be ___ very rich man. He could begin ___ new life. With ___ money from ___ sale of ___ diamonds, he would be free to do anything he liked. But ___ trick question was, of course: how to get to ___ Hong Kong?

Exercise 17. Read the passage and fill in the missing sentences (A-G). There is one extra sen­tence that you do not need to use.

The old man was staring blankly at the closed door and he picked nervously at the hard skin of his hand. ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_______________ .She said something. The old man went to her with slow, shuffling steps. They began jabbering together: their voices discordant and loud in the hot silence of the courtyard.

Not a good lie, Jaffe thought uneasily, but the best he could have thought of in the circumstances. He had had to say something. ____________________________ .On these occasions Haum always wore his white drill coat and trousers. He always spent some time in preparing himself. He enjoyed these outings, and invariably boasted to Dong Ham where he was going.

_____________________ .He would never have gone to any of Jaffe's friends in this dress. The old man would know that. He and the girl had only to go to Haum's sleeping quarters, to find the white drill clothes and nail Jaffe's lie to the mast. Then what would they do? Jaffe wondered. _______________________ .Even if they had heard Haum's cry and knew he was lying about Haum going out, they wouldn't go to the police. Probably they would wrangle and talk together for the rest of the evening._____________________. They would try to believe that Haum had gone out wearing his blue working clothes. But eventually, of course, they would be forced to accept the fact that something had happened to Haum, and then trouble would begin for Jaffe.

At least he had a little time. He felt certain these two would wait to see if Haum returned. They would wait until the morning, then, possibly, the girl would go to the police. Jaffe returned to the sitting-room. _________________________ . He felt tempted to go to someone and ask for help. Maybe if he went to the Embassy . . .

A. He stood looking down at Hum's body with revulsion.

B. They would try to persuade each other they hadn't heard the cry.

C. This Sunday, he had worn his blue working dress.

D. He felt pretty certain they wouldn't have the initiative nor the courage to call the police.

E. He turned the key and put it in his pocket.

F. It was true that from time to time he did lend Haum to one or the other of his friends who happened to be throwing a party.

G. The girl too was staring at the door.

Exercise 18. Fill the gaps with the words from the list below.

bandits killed villa immaterial headquarters convenient alive drive sum divide

"It is _________, Lieutenant, whether Mr. Jaffe or the boy had the money. One of them had it during the ______ because there is no trace of it in the ______. I think Mr. Jaffe retained it when he was threatened with the gun. He could have said he hadn't been able to raise such a ______. I think when the bandits found he had ______ Haum and when they searched him and found the money, they killed him. The ______ would _______ up the money between themselves before returning to __________. If they took Mr. Jaffe back ______, he would tell their leader about the money and the leader would recover it from his men and keep it for himself. It would be more _________ for the bandits for Mr. Jaffe to die. I feel certain that is what happened."

Exercise 19. Rewrite the passage translating the words in brackets into English.

As the bus (прибыл) at the Saigon Central Market, she thought of her parting with him. He had (внезапно) become (нежнее), but his tenderness hadn't reduced her terror. With him she was sure she could (встретиться лицом к лицу с любой опасностью), but to have to cope with this deception alone filled her with (безнадёжным отчаянием).

As she hurried along the narrow streets towards her apartment, wondering how she could (убедить) her mother and her uncle to believe the lies she had to tell, Colonel On-dinh-Khuc was completing his (распоряжения) to Inspector Ngoc-Linh.

He was saying that he had reason to believe that the American, Steve Jaffe, (не был похищен) by the Viet Minh. For reasons as yet unknown, Jaffe had murdered his houseboy. That was an (установленный факт). It would be very (удобно) for Jaffe if it were believed he had been kidnapped. There was a possibility that Jaffe had gone into hiding and would attempt to (выехать из страны); he must be prevented from doing so.

The Inspector (пришлось навести справки). He was to satisfy the Colonel that either Jaffe had been kidnapped or was hiding. If he was in hiding, the Inspector was to discover his hiding place. When the hiding place (было найдено), he was to make no move to arrest the American. He was to tell the Colonel where the American (прятался) and the Colonel would then decide (какие действия предпринять).

Exercise 20. Retell the story in short.

Exercise 21. Find ten names of the heroes of the stories.

A	N	A	C	U	T	R	E	L	O
S	N	K	H	U	C	O	T	E	M
T	H	N	A	Y	Z	I	P	P	N
R	A	B	R	J	A	F	F	T	I
Y	N	B	L	A	C	K	I	E	B
U	O	T	I	F	U	I	O	N	U
L	E	Y	E	F	S	T	E	V	E
A	R	T	O	E	W	A	D	E	S
N	K	Y	E	D	O	J	M	O	F
H	A	M	B	L	E	Y	T	S	A