The complex object

179. Open the brackets using the verbs in the proper form.

Beatrice and the nightingale

One warm May night in 1924, the cellist Beatrice Harrison went out to play her cello in the woods behind her cottage in Surrey, in the south of England. After playing for some time in the moonlight, she paused. To her surprise, she heard a bird (echo 1) her playing. She started again, and heard the bird (sing 2) with her. She thought it (be 3) a nightingale, as the sound was incredibly beautiful.

The next night, Beatrice expected the nightingale (be 4) there again. And there it was. She could hardly believe what was happening: she was playing duets with a wild bird! It was an astonishing experience, and she wanted other people (share 5) her joy. So she decided to have the duet (record 6).

Beatrice contacted the BBC. She wanted them (set 7) up microphones in her garden. She knew it (be 8) a difficult task as the technology of the time was far from being perfect. The BBC had never before tried an outside broadcast of this kind. But Beatrice made them (believe 9) in her plan. The sound engineers made careful preparations, and one night in May 1924 everything was ready.

They expected the nightingale (begin 10) singing at once, but for a long time they didn’t hear it (make 11) a single sound. Beatrice played for nearly two hours with no reaction. She was desperate. How could she make the bird (sing 12)? But suddenly, to everyone’s relief, they heard wonderful liquid notes (begin 13) to fill the night. The duet of the musician and the nightingale was heard in London, in Paris, even in Italy.

Several more broadcasts were made, and the following year HMW made a record of Beatrice and the Nightingale, which became one of the most successful records sold in the 1930s.

180. Rewrite the text replacing the underlined parts by the Complex Object.

During Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, his troops were battling in the middle of yet another small town in that endless wintry land, when he was accidentally separated from his men. Napoleon saw that a group of Russian Cossacks was chasing him through the twisting streets. He ran for his life and ducked into a little furrier’s shop on a side alley.

As Napoleon entered the shop, gasping for breath, he saw that the furrier came out. The Emperor cried piteously, ‘Save me, save me! Where can I hide?’ The furrier said, “Quick, under this big pile of furs in the corner,’ and he covered Napoleon up with many furs.

No sooner had he finished than he heard how the Russian Cossacks burst into the door shouting, ‘Where is he? We saw how he came in.’ Despite the furrier’s protests, they tore his shop apart trying to find Napoleon. Terrified, the furrier watched how they were poking into the pile of furs with their swords. But they never found him. Soon, they gave up and left.

After some time, Napoleon crept out from under the furs, unharmed, to see how his soldiers were coming in the door. The furrier expected that Napoleon would be grateful to him and said timidly, ‘Excuse me for asking this question of such a great man, but what was it like to be under those furs, knowing that the next moment would surely be your last?’

To his horror, he saw how Napoleon drew himself up to his full height and heard how he said indignantly, ‘How could you ask me, the Emperor Napoleon, such a question? Guards, take this impudent man out, blindfold him and execute him. I, myself, will personally give the command to fire!’

He watched how the guards grabbed the furrier, dragged him outside, stood him against a wall and blindfolded him. The furrier could see nothing, but he could hear how the guards shuffled into line and prepared their rifles. Then he heard how Napoleon cleared his throat and called out, ‘Ready! Aim!’ At that moment, he felt how tears were pouring down his cheeks.

Suddenly he felt how the blindfold was stripped from his eyes. Although partially blinded by the sunlight he could see how Napoleon’s eyes were looking intently into his own – eyes that seemed to see every dusty corner of his soul.

Then Napoleon said, ‘Now you know.’

181. Fill in each of the gaps with one suitable word.

1. Bear Bryant, the winningest coach of his era, had a squad meeting one time and he told his players, ‘This is a class operation. I want your shoes to _______ (1) shined. I _______ (2) you to have a tie on, get your hair _______ (3) and keep a crease in your pants. I also want _______ (4) to go to class. I don’t want any dumbbells on this team. If _______ (5) is a dumbbell in the room, I’d _______ (6) him to stand up.”

Joe Namath _______ (7) to his feet, and Bear said, “Joe, _______ (8) come you’re standing up? You ain’t dumb.” Nammath told him, “Coach, I just _______ (9) want you to stand up there all by yourself.”

2. One day during the production of The Incredibles, the director _______ (10) young Spencer Fox to shoot a panting scene. “He’s not your average director,” the actor once complained. “He didn’t _______ (11) me do it in my mind. He didn’t make _______ (12) just act the panting. He _______ (13) me run a mile around Pixar Studios! It was, like, 110 degrees.”

3. Famed photographer Yousuf Karsh _______ (14) once commissioned _______ (15) take an official portrait of the Pope. He was accompanied _______ (16) Bishop Fulton Sheen to the Vatican, where Pope John warily watched Karsh _______ (17) up his equipment before turning to Sheen. “If God expected me to _______ (18) elected Pope,” he remarked with a sigh,”why couldn’t he have _______ (19) me a little more photogenic!”

182. Find and correct 10 mistakes in the following text.

If you ever become famous you will have people follow you everywhere. This is exactly what happens to the famous artist Claude Monet. While lived near Paris, he was frequently badgered by aspiring artists, who wanted Monet help them with their work. They expected him be enthusiastic about sharing his professional experience. The boldest of them would set up their easels right beside his. “They would follow me about for days together,” he later recalled. “I wanted they to leave me alone, but I could not get rid of them. I had nothing else to do only watch them followed me. Where I went, they went. What I painted, they would paint also. They made me to look at their work and then, when not to be impolite, I said two or three words, they would go away and told the world that they were pupils of Monet!”

183. Translate the text using the Complex Object.