Учебно-методическое пособие по работе с книгой А. Кристи «Избранная детективная проза»

12)Why did Mr. Wade come to Mr. Parker Pyne's office again?

13)Who followed him?

14)How did Madeleine react to the proposal?

15)How did Mr. Parker Pyne characterize this case?

Vocabulary and Grammar

1.Find in the text The English equivalents to the following words and expressions:

молчаливый тип (p. 7), развестись (p. 8), банальное заявление (p. 8), сочувствовать кому-л. (p. 10), выбрать новую тактику (p. 10), мини- мальная вероятность (p. 11), убитый горем (p. 13), реплика (p. 14), побуждать / поощрять кого-л. (p. 16), интеллектуал (-ка) (p. 16), задумчиво (p. 18), взволнованное / обеспокоенное лицо (p. 19), две недели (p. 20), назревать / достигать опасного уровня (p. 21), бракоразводный процесс (p. 22), поверенный / адвокат (p. 22), видеть кого-л. / что-л. в последний раз (p. 23).

2.Find in the story the synonyms to the following words:

advantage (p. 7), to conclude (p. 7), clear / definite (p. 8), embarrassment / confusion (p. 10), hesitatingly (p. 11), unclear / indefinite (p. 13), immensely (p. 14), extremely (p. 15), to enter (p. 16), mockery / nonsense (p. 17), to scrutinize (p. 18), to put right / to correct (p. 18), to plot / to plan (p. 19), to despair (p. 20), new (p. 21), amazement / stupor (p. 23), bad / immoral (p. 23), to beat / to whip (p. 24).

3.Use ex. 2 to make up the sentences of your own (7-10 sentences).

4.Give Russian equivalents to the following words and expressions from the text:

sympathetic manner (p. 7), cryptic remarks (p. 7), to see eye to eye with smb. (p. 8), in a shamefaced manner (p. 9), to get fed up with smb. /

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smth. (p. 9), merely a matter of business (p. 10), your stock goes up (p. 11), to do the trick (p. 11), to ask / to have smb. down (p. 13), opulent (p. 14), exquisitely dark curls (p.14), the picture of conscious guilt (p. 17), to unburden oneself (p. 18), the utmost respect for smb. (p. 19), to give a wail (p. 23).

5. Fill in the gaps using ex. 4:

1)The boy was really ashamed to have skipped the lesson. When he was talking to the teacher he was ____.

2)They are a wonderful match. She ____ with her husband!

3)Tanya ____ when she saw that her ball had fallen into the river. She loved it so much!

4)– You mean you are going to the restaurant without me!

–But honey, it’s only a ____. I have to meet my colleagues.

–Oh really! No, I’m ____ your lies! Look at yourself! This ____

of yours doesn’t let me trust you!

–OK, I can ____ them ____ next time if you want to see them!

5)She changed a lot since her school years. The mess of her hair became

____, her clothes were ____, her speech was full of ____. She evidently did ____ as in the eyes of her former classmates ____ up.

6)The old lady was unquestionably the head of the house and all her offsprings showed ____ for her.

6.Make up a dialogue using as many words and phrases from ex. 1,

4as possible.

7.Explain the meaning of the following expressions. Reproduce the situations in which they were used in the story.

To pave the way for smth. (p. 7), rum sort of show (p. 7), to be in a bad

way (p. 8), one's got to play the game (p. 9), to be no good at smth. (p. 9), to adopt the attitude (p. 9), to be put to (no) trouble (p. 10),

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temperamentally unsuited (p. 11), to be afflicted with (p.12), to get over smth. (p. 13), to start nervously (p. 14), out of things (p. 14), to get snapped up (p. 15), not to care a pin (p.17), to put smb. against smb. (p. 18), to put in a bit of good work (p. 18), rough luck (p. 19), a fresh bulletin to impart (p. 19), uphill work (p. 20), to dance attendance on smb. (p. 21), to come out in the open (p. 21), to take (no) notice of smb. (p. 23), an error of judgement (p. 24).

8. Paraphrase:

1)Though his business trip looked familiarizing its real aim was to set the ground for the future negotiation.

2)He is really bright at math, but he evidently lacks talent for chemistry.

3)It is really a misfortune to have a flat on an empty road.

4)Unfortunately his parents paid too much attention to him, and he grew selfish having no concern for others.

5)I can’t believe they decided to get married! Judging by their characters they are a bad match.

6)When one is depressed everything seems to go wrong. Or it may be on the contrary, when everything goes wrong one gets depressed.

7)When she entered the room the whole party was so absorbed in discussing their vacation plans that no one turned a head to her.

9. Insert the necessary prepositions:

1)He was well acquainted ____ the kind of paralysis that disclosed

____ on clients ____ they got ____ his office.

2)The type that finds it hard to put ____ words anything connected

____ the emotions.

3)Madeleine flung herself ____ a chair, tore ____ the beret she was wearing and ran her hands ____ her exquisitely dark curls.

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4)He was all ____ me – especially as he thought ____ my clothes that I had money.

5)Everything boiled ____ last night. Mrs. Wade came ____ ____ the open. She accused me ____ of breaking ____ her home.

6)"I can assure you…" began Mr. Pyne, recovering ____ the stupefaction that had descended ____ him.

10. Translate the following passages into Russian:

1)p. 7. From "Undoubtedly one of Mr. Parker Pyne's..." to "...with all the pathos of a dumb animal."

2)p. 12. From "The grounds of Lorrimer Court..." to "...stocks and shares and golf alternately."

3)p. 16. From "Well, one's sorry for people sometimes..." to "...don't you, Mrs. Wade?"

11.Retell the story on the part of:

1) Mr. Reginald Wade

2) Mr. Parker Pyne

3) Iris Wade

4) Madeleine de Sara

12.Act out the following conversations:

1)Between Mr. Reginald Wade, Madeleine de Sara and Mrs. Wade (pp. 14–16)

2)Between Mr. Reginald Wade and Madeleine de Sara (pp. 19–20)

Discussion

1. Discuss the following:

1)What do you think of Mr. Pyne's classification of human troubles?

2)What can you say about Mr. Wade's attitude towards his wife at the beginning and at the end of the story? Why has it changed abruptly?

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3)Do you agree it is correct never to adopt an apologetic attitude with a woman? (p. 9) Comment on the statement: "The humble spirit is a wash-out in matrimony."

4)Say if you agree or disagree with Mr. Pyne's assessment of the feminine human nature. (pp. 10–11)

5)Comment on the statement: "She has probably been driven into this affair through boredom..." Is the problem of boredom always decisive in relationship between a man and a woman? (p. 12)

6)Do you agree with Miss de Sara's statement that "the men want someone young and bright to talk to"? What did she mean by "bright"?

7)Why in your opinion did Mr. Pyne call Miss de Sara "the Queen of Vamps"? Was she really one?

8)Comment on the last two lines of the story.

9)Whom do you think are the author's sympathies with?

10)Do you think such agencies as Mr. Parker Pyne's are necessary at all? Give your reasons.

2. Give a character sketch of:

1)Mr. Reginald Wade

2)Iris Wade

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2. The Mystery of the Spanish Chest

Pre-reading task

Make sure you know how to pronounce these words:

entirely, precision, voluptuous, siren, Geneva, vigorously, Elizabethan, frailty, admirably, precis, rueful, gruesome, imbecile, supremely, unperturbed, to seize, Eucledean, premeditated, fervour, evangelist, candour, impertinent, neurotic, dispute, innuendo, wrathful, cerise, minute (Adj.), hoaxer, sinewy, plausible, deferential, postulate, luxurious, anchovy, to gnaw, draught, dishonesty, conjurer, incorrigible, asylum, ascertain, incredulous.

Comprehension

Correct the following statements using the expressions given:

I'm afraid that's wrong. It's not quite right. That's not quite so.

As far as I know… On the contrary… I don't think so.

According to the story…

1)In the afternoon Miss Lemon brought Hercule Poirot a newspaper and attracted his attention to the article about the Spanish chest mystery. She had no idea what a Spanish chest was.

2)In the newspaper there was a photo of a man whom Poirot knew, but Miss Lemon didn't.

3)Miss Lemon brought Poirot a handwritten sheet with the report about the party. The facts of this case were quite uncertain, and with no further details.

4)Miss Lemon was willing to express her opinion of the party.

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5)Lord Chatterton phoned Poirot and asked him about a trifle business.

6)When Poirot saw Margharita Clayton he at once had an idea how to help her.

7)Margharita Clayton didn't trust detectives, so she was not eager to speak about the case.

8)Inspector Miller firmly believed in the innocence of Mrs. Clayton in this case.

9)According to Commander McLaren, Mrs. Clayton and Rich were lovers and planned the murder together.

10)Linda Spence had no idea about the telegram and had no suppositions about the case.

11)Poirot's visit was unexpected for Major Rich. He believed it was Burgess who had killed Mr. Clayton.

12)William Burgess confessed that he had made three holes in the chest and had moved the screen that used to cut off the draught from the bedroom door.

13)Margharita Clayton was sure her husband was not jealous at all.

14)In the end Commander McLaren confessed that he was the murderer and explained his motives.

Vocabulary and Grammar

1. Find in the text The English equivalents to the following words and expressions:

исполнительный / квалифицированный секретарь (p. 25), быть не в настроении делать что-л. (p. 27), недоделки в работе (p. 27), краткое изложение фактов (p. 29), экстренное сообщение в газете (p. 33), появиться / подвернуться (p. 37), подводить кого-л. (p. 38), принимать что-л. как должное (p. 40), косвенный намек / инсинуация (p. 55.), небольшой дом (p. 57), подделка / фальшивка

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(p. 59), быть в хороших отношениях (p. 62), опаздывать / отставать / задерживаться (с чем-л.) (p. 71).

2. Find in the story the synonyms to the following words:

foolishness (p. 25), enormous / amazing (p. 25), to glance over (p. 26), to ponder (p. 26), to examine / to study (p. 27), threatening / evil (p. 27), submissively / dutifully (p. 28), to narrate / to report (p. 28), energetically (p. 29), fault (p. 29), sad / regretful (p. 29), ghastly (p. 31), paralyzed / overwhelmed (p. 31), deduction / assumption (p. 34), idiot (p. 34), to please / to satisfy (p. 37), hidden / inner (p. 38), thorough (p. 39), to abandon (p. 39), to surround / to harass (p. 39), honesty / directness (p. 41), difficulty / complication (p. 47), gloomy (p. 49), spiteful / ill-natured (p. 49), plotter / intriguer (p. 50), charm (p. 50), influence (p. 51), guy (p. 51), harmless (p. 51), absent-minded (p. 53), angry (p. 55), witch (p. 56), swindler (p. 60), to kill (p. 60), insane (p. 61), charming / attractive (p. 62), dismay / anxiety (p. 64), muscular (p. 64), unconsciousness (p. 66), to inform (p. 67), huge / massive (p. 68), flawless (p. 72), to blow up (p. 74), strange (p. 74), to give in (p. 79), refuge (p. 79), to steal (p. 79), to find out (p. 81), almost / nearly (p. 83), bit / piece (p. 83).

3. Find in the story the antonyms to the following words:

badly off (p. 30), unintelligent (p. 34), worried (p. 35), unprofitable (p. 36), spontaneous (p. 37), tactfully (p. 40), well-mannered (p. 41), sure (p. 45), unqualified (p. 46), tense (p. 47), considerate / polite (p. 51), pale (p. 54), talkative (p. 54), sharp (p. 62), explainable (p. 62), unreasonable (p. 65), to find (p. 79).

4. Use ex. 2, 3 to make up 10–12 sentences of your own.

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5.Give Russian equivalents to the following words and expressions from the story:

inward meaning (p. 27), romantic flights of imagination (p. 27), to dispose of smth./smb. (pp. 29, 34), urgent business (p. 31), the bald facts of the case (p. 31), to be charged with (p. 33), to be taken into custody (p. 33), uphill work (p. 34), enormous bonus (p. 39), admirable simplicity (p. 43), a chatty man (p.46), to keep smb.'s own counsel (p. 46), a tower of strength (p. 49), a first-class financial brain (p. 56), a judicious understatement, a tame cat (p. 61).

6.Fill in the gaps using ex. 5.

1)I’m not sure I don’t envy him: he has to do an ____, of course, but besides good salary he also gets ____ every month.

2)I don’t think he really didn’t want to talk to you, but you see, he is not a ____ and prefers to keep to the ____ instead of inventing details. Personally I prefer talking to men: they are able to understand that sometimes business can be really ____ and don’t waste your time for those ____ of ____ that women like so much.

3)He’s really got ____ brains and in his speech he easily ____ his opponent’s weak arguments.

4)According to the evening papers a group of terrorists ____ blowing up a gas station and ____.

5)Although she seems to speak with ____ still ____ of her words can be really deep.

7. Make up a dialogue using as many words and phrases from ex. 1, 5 as possible.

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8. Explain the meaning of the following expressions. Translate the sentences they are used in.

A comprehensive sweep of the arm (p. 26), elbow grease (p. 26), on an impulse (p. 27), they pulled him through all right (p. 28), gospel truth (p. 30), to break up (p. 31), to be summoned to (p. 32), to be engaged in (p. 32), to leap to the eye (p. 34), to seize the opportunity (p. 35), high up (p. 36), in the heat of rage (p. 37), to leak out (p. 39), impertinent questions (p. 42), to know smth. to smb.'s discredit (p. 45), to be remanded for (p. 48), to get at smb. (p. 51), to have got a way with oneself (p. 55), to puzzle smth. out (p. 56), to wiggle smb. out of smth. (p. 58), to be bottled up (p. 60), to be quick in the uptake (p. 61), (to give smb.) the flea in the ear (p. 65), to expunge smth. from one's mind

9. Paraphrase:

1)Strike out the witness's last remark; it has no place in the court record.

2)She spent her young years on a farm and she knows what toil is.

3)The new project he is busy with now is supposed to bring 1 million profit.

4)He always declared he was not afraid of blackmail as there was nothing compromising about his background.

5)He’s got a gift to catch a drift at any rate.

6)When critics disagree the artist is in accord with himself.

7)The news of his appointment filtered out before it was officially advertised.

8)It was impudent of her to answer like that.

9)He received a subpoena to appear in court in two weeks.

10)Corking up your anger leads to trouble.

11)I could hear the director rebuking Jim for being late.

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10. Translate the following passages into Russian:

1)p. 25. From "Punctual to the moment..." to "...to have no imagination whatever."

2)p. 36. From "The mystery of..." to "...hatred and all the other romantic causes of murder!"

3)pp. 38–39. From "Lord Chatterton..." to "...to activate a rocket to the moon."

4)pp. 40–41. From "The woman who had been sitting..." to "...a kind of childlike candour."

5)p. 58. From "Poirot looked at her..." to "...and tight black trousers."

11. Retell the story on the part of:

1)Miss Lemon

2)Margharita Clayton

3)Lady Chatterton

4)Major Charles Rich

5)Commander McLaren

6)Arnold Clayton

7)Linda Spence

8)William Burgess

12. Act out the following conversations:

1)The first meeting of Margharita Clayton with Poirot at Lady Chatterton's (pp. 41–49).

2)Inspector Miller and Poirot discussing the case. (pp. 51–54)

3)Linda Spence and Poirot discussing the party. (pp. 58–62)

Discussion

1. Discuss the following:

1)How can you evaluate the fact that Hercule Poirot considered Miss Lemon to be "a human machine – an instrument of precision"? (p. 25)

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2)What kind of women did Hercule Poirot call "the sirens of this world"? What did he mean? (p. 28)

3)Why did Hercule Poirot get interested in the case of the Spanish chest?

4)Comment on the statement: "Lady Chatterton had not been a spoilt beauty all her life for nothing". (p. 40)

5)Do you agree with Hercule Poirot’s words "it is very necessary for a woman to lie sometimes"? Comment on his further words concerning the truth. (p. 42) How do they sound?

6)Comment on Hercule Poirot’s statement: "it is because you do not care that men are driven mad." Whom was he talking about? (p. 44)

7)How do you understand the words: "Could one postulate a negative killer?" (p. 68)

8)Was Arnold Clayton a jealous person? Prove it with the help of examples from the story?

9)What were the reasons for McLaren’s actions in the story?

10)What typical features of a detective story can you trace in this one?

2. Give a character sketch of:

1)Hercule Poirot

2)Miss Lemon

3)Margharita Clayton

4)Lady Chatterton

3. Speak about Hercule Poirot as if you were:

1)Miss Lemon

2)Lady Chatterton

3)Commander McLaren

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3. Greenshaw’s Folly

Pre-reading task

Make sure you know how to read these words.

Aesthetic, awe, Genoa, exuberance, chateaux of Loire, Venetian, marquise, beneficiary, reconciliation, jowls, assiduously, dubious, indelicately, alibi, plaguey.

Comprehension

Answer the following questions:

1)What house were two men watching? What’s its history?

2)Who were those two men?

3)Why did they want to enter the house?

4)Who was the owner of the house? Who also lived there?

5)Why did Miss Greenshaw invite the visitors to the library?

6)How did the library look like?

7)What job did Lou get?

8)What happened in the garden after Lou heard the scream?

9)Why did inspector Welch come into the Wests’ house?

10)Who was the real beneficiary of the will? Why?

11)According to Miss Marple conclusions:

a.Why was Lou hired?

b.How was one of James Barry’s plays connected with this murder?

c.Why was such an unusual way of murder used?

Vocabulary and Grammar

1. Find in the text The English equivalents to the following words and expressions:

лучший образец эпохи (p. 84), около этого, обанкротиться, благо- состояние (p. 85), скупец / скряга (p. 86), осмелиться (p. 87), почте- ние (p. 88), смешок / усмешка (p. 89), засвидетельствовать завеща- ние (p. 90), самый настоящий мошенник (p. 91), жеманный / манер-

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ный (p. 92), злоупотреблять чьей-либо добротой (p. 93), отдел уго- ловного розыска (p. 95), вражда (p. 98), высшая точка (p. 100), в изумлении (p. 101), весьма вероятно (p. 102), показывать точное время (p. 105), незаконнорожденный / внебрачный ребенок (p. 108), бессердечный (p. 111), ставить в тупик (p. 111), с недоверием / скептически (p. 113), легкое дело / пустяк (p. 117).

2.Give Russian equivalents to the following words and expressions from the story:

one of the gems of my collection (p. 84), immense prosperity (p. 85), malevolent glance, insolent glance, French window (p. 90), from a cursory glance (p. 91), to give oneself airs (p. 92), set-up (p. 95), to go broke, to put by a very good sum, to come unstuck (p. 96), to stagger (p. 101), to pound on (p. 102), hanky-panky (p. 106), to look completely fogged (p. 109), an unscrupulous woman (p. 114), to smile bashfully (p. 118).

3.Translate the sentences using the words and expressions from ex. 1, 2:

1) Несмотря на огромное состояние, в обществе она имела репута- цию бесчестной и бессердечной женщины, и ей никто не выка- зывал особого почтения.

2) Предложение засвидетельствовать дядино завещание вызвало у него грустную усмешку – это означало, что сам он не получит ничего. Мысленно обозвав дядю скрягой и пожелав ему перед смертью обанкротиться, он вышел из дома, хлопнув дверью.

3) Этот парень – настоящий жулик, и местный отдел уголовного розыска давно уже интересуется им.

4) Думаю, он звонил в 12 или около того; у меня часы идут непра- вильно, ты же знаешь.

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5)Джек явно был смущен и, чтобы скрыть замешательство, от- вернулся к широкому, до самого пола, окну гостиной. Ситуация поставила его в тупик.

6)Я с недоверием выслушал его рассказ о том, что все последние сделки окончились провалом; я слишком хорошо его знаю и уверен, что он где-то припрятал круглую сумму.

7)Девочка застенчиво улыбнулась, старик бросил на нее надмен- ный взгляд. Его раздражали дети прислуги, всех их он считал внебрачными.

4.Make up a dialogue using as many words and phrases from ex. 1,

2as possible.

5.Insert the necessary preposition:

1)I can’t conceive ___ how Mr. Greenshaw thought ____ it all.

2)____ he spoke Raymond was congratulating himself ____ having thought ____ Greenshaw’s folly ____ a means ____ entertaining his guest.

3)Those literary critics always profess themselves ____ longing ____

a weekend ____ the country.

4)Miss Greenshaw had no reverence ____ literary critics.

5)“We mustn’t trespass ____ your kindness any longer,” he said.

6)____ a lapse ____ some days, a letter arrived, written ____ spidery old-fashioned handwriting, ____ which Miss Greenshaw declared herself anxious to avail herself ____ the services ____ Mrs. Oxley, and making an appointment ____ Mrs. Oxley to come and see her.

7)The question is, did Alfred Pollock know that the old lady made a will ____ his favour?

8)Then, once inside the drawing-room, she threw ____ a table with porcelain ____ it – and ran quickly upstairs, put ____ her marquise

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wig and was able a few moments later to lean her head ____ ____

the window and tell you that she, too, was locked ____. 9) He smiled bashfully ____ them

6. Find in the story the synonyms to the following words:

respectful (p. 85), eyesore (p. 85), abundance (p. 85), to intrude (p. 85), uncombed (p. 87), ridiculously (p. 88), heir (p. 90), past (p. 91), distaste (p. 92), to scribble (p. 92), coming / arrival (p. 93), generous / extravagant (p. 96), to save (up) (p. 96), hostility (p. 98), reunion (p. 99), apathetic (p. 103), to chuckle (p. 107), puzzled (p. 111).

7. Find in the story the antonyms to the following words:

resembling (p. 89), compliant (p. 89), amiable (p. 90), respectable (p. 90), logical / coherent (p. 97), inert (p. 103), impolitely (p. 108)/

8.Use ex. 6, 7 to make up 10–12 sentences of your own.

9.Explain the meaning of the following expressions. Reproduce the situations in which they were used in the story.

Greenshaw's Folly (p. 84), success story of the time (p. 85), sprawling exuberance (p. 87), to brood over the past (p. 88), a man of standing (p. 90), furnishing a gentleman's library (p. 91), to keep smb. up to the mark (p. 92), old-world lady (p. 94), to buy smth. for a song (p. 96), to avail oneself of (p. 97), prunes and prisms (p. 98), a town bred girl (p. 100), to succumb to the pleasures of frankness (p. 101), futile endeavour (p. 101), to take smb. over smb's statement (p. 105), a chief suspect (p. 106), a practical joker (p. 107), to be set on smb. (p. 107), to look at sea (p. 109), the matter in hand (p. 109), to be crystal clear (p. 111), the key witness (p. 113), to assume smb's disguise (p. 115), far fetched (p. 117).

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10. Paraphrase:

1)Inspector informed him that in three days he was to appear in the court to be examined as a chief spectator.

2)Sandra has been thinking about that boy for too long.

3)In spite of their hard economic situation they had to have life up to par to keep the respect of the society.

4)The girls were not twins, but they were so incredibly alike that it took them no trouble to pretend each other with strange people.

5)The car itself is OK, but because of its disgusting colour he bought it at a give-away price.

6)In that case he had nothing to do but to make use of a bank loan.

7)He was born and raised in a city and had no idea of a country lifestyle.

8)Jim fell for Mary in a big way when they first met.

9)We made an attempt to get in touch with them, but it was useless.

11. Comment upon the usage of the articles:

1)He writes to me sometimes, but of course he is not a Greenshaw.

2)I’m the last of the Greenshaws.

3)…Raymond West wrote a letter to Miss Greenshaw telling her that he knew of a Mrs. Louisa Oxley who would be competent to undertake work on the diaries.

12. Translate the following passages:

1)p. 87. From "The figure in the printed dress…" to "…shrewd eyes surveyed them appraisingly."

2)pp. 88 – 89. From "Approaching them from the house…" to "…she might have had trouble over dropping her h’s."

3)p. 98. From "I’ve hardly seen the housekeeper…" to "…but there was always friction."

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13. Retell the story on the part of:

1)Miss Greenshaw

2)Mrs. Cresswell

3)Miss Marple

4)Alfred Pollock

Discussion

1. Discuss the following:

1)Comment on the statement: "These literary critics always professed themselves as longing for a weekend in the country, and were wont to find the country extremely boring when they got there." (p. 86)

2)Was Raymond West a well-known writer? Prove your point of view with the help of the facts from the story.

3)What was in your opinion Horace Bindler's "collection of monstrosities" like?

4)What did Horace Bindler mean by saying: "The only thing the library needs is a body"? (p. 94)

5)Comment on Raymond West's words: "Murder is a speciality of hers." (p. 94)

6)Comment on Miss Marple's words: "… he liked giving people false impressions just for fun." (p. 97) What connection do these words have with the further part of the story?

7)How do you understand Miss Marple's phrase: "It's exactly like a serial, isn't it?" (p. 99)

8)Express your opinion on Raymond West's idea that "One treats a thing lightly to take away from … the horror of it." (p. 111) Do you think this idea is up-to-date?

9)Comment on Miss Marple's statement: "One so often looks at a thing the wrong way round." (p. 112) What did she mean do you think?

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2. Give a character sketch of:

1)Raymond West

2)Miss Greenshaw

3)Mrs. Cresswell

4)Miss Marple

4. Finessing the King

Pre-reading tasks

1.Find the names for the card’s suits and pictures.

2.Find the meanings of the card terms:

a game, a rubber, a trick, to finesse. Do you play bridge?

3. Make sure you know how to pronounce these words:

intrigued, magnanimously, scintillate, iniquity, tongue, nestle, outrageous, hospitably, misapprehension, awkward, imperturbable, triumphant.

Comprehension

Answer the following questions:

1)What was the spouses’ attitude to dancing?

2)What was the difference in the headlines of the three newspapers?

3)Why did Tuppence want to go to the Three Arts Ball?

4)What did the costumes look like?

5)What people attracted Tuppence’s attention at the Ace of Spades?

6)Why did Tuppence go to the next booth? What did she see there?

7)Who did the girl call her murderer?

8)Who came to Tommy’s house next morning? What news did they bring?

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9)What was found clasped in the dead lady’s hand? What did this thing mean?

10)Why did Inspector Mariot come again in the evening?

11)What did Tuppence observe while poring over the fragments?

12)Why did Tommy ask Sir Arthur to come round?

13)How did Sir Arthur react at the beginning of Tuppence’s narration? How did he react at the end?

14)Why had Sir Arthur committed a murder?

15)Why did he commit a suicide?

Vocabulary

1.Find in the text The English equivalents to the following words and expressions:

страстно желать (p. 121), будь человеком (p. 122), с некоторым опа- сением (p. 122), быть в хорошем настроении (p. 123), намеренно (p. 124), слегка приоткрыта (p. 124), упасть на колени (p. 126), пре- рывающимся голосом (p. 127), с ввалившимися глазами (p. 129), оправдать (p. 135), находиться в заблуждении (p. 137), негодяй / темная личность (p. 138), невозмутимый (p. 138).

2.Fill in the gaps using ex. 1:

1)For the first time since his leave reminiscences came over him and he felt he ____ to see the town of his birth again.

2)The old lady ____ before the crucifix, her lips whispering a prayer for her sick husband.

3)He opened the envelope with ____ as he never expected any good news from his sister.

4)Obeying her mother’s order Lisa came out of the room, but she left the door____, she did it ____ to be able to hear at least something from their talk.

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