Part 24 (Chapters lxxiii-lxxv)

LEXICAL TASKS

1. Transcribe, read, translate the following words and restore the context from the chapters.

1) alert; 2) weary; 3) amiable; 4) approve; 5) balderdash; 6) bereavement; 7) discreet; 8) compunction; 9) fragile; 10) insolence; 11) luxurious; 12) prudence; 13) rapture; 14) superiority.

2. Give the three forms of the following verbs.

Bereave, burn, drink, drive, forgive, keep, seek, shoot, sob, spring, tear, think, win.

3. Match the words with their definitions and restore the context from the book. ONE WORD IS EXTRA!

alert balderdash be a brute to smb bereavement by design extra insolence look upon smb loyalty make friends prudence rapture shift into take smb in under a strain weary

ability to think carefully before taking actions; additional, beyond what is usual or necessary; as a result of purposeful planning; behave towards smb as a rough, cruel and insensitive person; change from one state into another; cheat, deceive; disrespectful rudeness; foolish talk or writing, nonsense; forgive each other after a quarrel or conflict; restore one’s friendship; great joy and delight; have an opinion of smb; in a state in which one is greatly troubled by anxieties and difficulties; lively, energetic; occasion of losing one’s close relative through death; very tired, esp. after a long journey or work.

4. Complete the following sentences with an appropriate preposition or adverb and explain what the marked expressions mean.

1. A woman in love is easy to take … .

2. Charles skillfully took charge … the conversation at table.

3. Charlie swore that he had fallen head … ears … love … Kitty.

4. Chris faces … the privations of life bravely.

5. Everybody tried to cheer … Kitty.

6. How can you be such a brute … a person whom you called your friend?

7. I will gladly keep … your company till the other guests come.

8. Joanna’s behaviour in this situation can be only approved … .

9. Kitty’s hurt feelings played a bad trick … her.

10. Nobody would be able to live … so much strain.

11. Pamela had never looked … Freddy as a possible husband but some time later their friendship shifted … love.

12. Their meeting had certainly been arranged … design.

13. What conclusion have you come … after studying the papers?

14. Why are you ever getting … this or that sort of scrape?

15. Doris cut herself off the world … her bereavement.

5. Substitute the marked expressions with their synonyms from the chapters (the number in brackets denotes the number of the page). Make all the necessary changes.

1. Clegg has got into a trouble again! (243)

2. I have always considered you to be my friend. (241)

3. I think we will need some additional chairs to seat all the invited. (240)

4. I think your decision to change the job is right. (238)

5. I would be very grateful to you if you lead the conversation at the meeting. (237)

6. I’m afraid we are going to encounter the problem of workforce pretty soon. (242)

7. I’m not going to listen to this nonsense another minute longer! (239)

8. In the course of the conversation Charlie grew more and more lively. (237)

9. Kitty was determined not to let Charles cheat her again but her attempts to resort to her reason failed. (239), (245).

10. After Walter’s death Kitty was tortured with pangs of conscience. (244)

11. Pregnant women’s mood easily changes from happiness into gloom. (245)

12. The hostess’s friendly manner helped the guests feel comfortable. (241)

13. The pleasure of Charlie’s lips on hers was almost unbearable. (246)

14. What can we do to raise your mood? (237)

6. Substitute the marked expressions with their antonyms from the chapters (the number in brackets denotes the number of the page). Make all the necessary changes.

1. Are you sure of your wife’s unfaithfulness? (243)

2. Being always unpleasant with everybody won’t do you any good. (240)

3. Her energetic speech didn’t produce any impression on the audience. (240)

4. Hilda made an impression of a strong woman but appearances are deceitful. (240)

5. Maria’s inferiority prevented her from efficient communication with people. (237)

6. The hotel struck me as the most sordid place I had ever been to. (240)

7. To tell the truth, I have never meant to quarrel with you. (244)

8. Your behaviour is too imprudent to let us win the competition. (240)

7. Translate the phrases into English, paying special attention to the marked words. Make your own sentences with these phrases.

1) без сожаления; 2) благоразумное поведение; 3) хрупкое телосложение; 4) дополнительная плата; 5) жить под гнетом забот; 6) оказаться по уши в долгах; 7) оскорбительная надменность; 8) составить кому-либо компанию; 9) помириться; 10) преданность идеалам; 11) придти к выводу; 12) приятная внешность; 13) сыграть плохую шутку с кем-либо.

READING COMPREHENSION TASKS

Recall the Contents of the Story.

1. Who took charge of the conversation during Kitty’s first luncheon at the Townsends’? What was the talk about?

2. What services was Charlie going to do for Kitty?

3. What kind of social life did Kitty participate in?

4. What was Kitty doing when Charlie came to speak to her in private?

5. How did it happen that they were alone?

Questions and Tasks for Analytical Reading.

1. Did Kitty enjoy Charlie’s table-talk? How did Dorothy participate in the conversation? Was Kitty absolutely at ease with them? Why?

2. What picture of Charlie had Kitty created in her mind living in Mei-tan-fu? Did it differ much from Charlie’s actual image Kitty observed at table? What was the reason for Kitty to alter her lover’s image thinking about him in Mei-tan-fu? What did she feel looking at him now?

3. What effect did the comforts of the Townsends’ house produce on Kitty? How did the colonial society treat her? Why? Why did she miss Waddington’s company?

4. Why did Charlie wait for a few days before making an attempt to speak to Kitty in private? Why didn’t she try to avoid such a talk? Why did she feel “completely mistress of the situation”?

5. Was what Charlie said to justify himself reasonable? Was Kitty right pointing out his egotism as the genuine driving force of his actions? Why was Charlie so sure that he and Kitty could make up and “be friends”?

6. Why did Kitty start to cry when Charlie made a facetious remark about Walter’s death though she hadn’t cried before? Was Charlie sincere in his condolences? What made him follow Kitty in her room – did he really regret his hurting her feelings?

7. What made Kitty yield to Charles’s caresses? When did she start to lose her self-control? What part of her personality did Charlie appeal to?

8. Make a monologue in the name of either Charlie or Kitty. Speak about the events of the past few days since Kitty’s arrival in Hong-Kong, render the dialogue in Kitty’s sitting-room giving reasons for the personage’s behaving this or that way, reveal their emotional background. Finish with a general evaluation of the situation and prospects of the nearest future.