3. Quote the context these expressions are used in the text. Come up with their Russian equivalents.

1) to hold the line

• Удерживать линию, висеть, ожидать на линии

• ‘She’s far too personal, in my opinion. I can’t pretend that I approve of this modern habit of staff calling their bosses by their Christian names. No doubt it’s all part of the Labour Party’s absurd notion of equality. However, I felt it necessary to remind her that it’s Lady Virginia.’ ‘I am sorry,’ said Giles. ‘She’s usually so polite.’ 53 ‘With you perhaps, but when I rang yesterday, she asked me to hold the line, something I’m not in the habit of doing.’ ‘I’ll have a word with her about it.’ ‘Please don’t bother,’ said Virginia, which came as a relief to Giles. ‘Because I shall not be contacting your office again while she remains on your staff.’

2) to do a first-class job

• Проделать первоклассную работу

• ‘I’ll have a word with her about it.’ ‘Please don’t bother,’ said Virginia, which came as a relief to Giles. ‘Because I shall not be contacting your office again while she remains on your staff.’ ‘Isn’t that a little extreme? After all, she does a first-class job, and I’d find it almost impossible to replace her.’ Virginia leant over and kissed him on the cheek. ‘I do hope, Bunny, that I will be the only person you will find it almost impossible to replace.’

3) to remain on smb’s staff

• остаться на посту, на чьей-то стороне

• ‘With you perhaps, but when I rang yesterday, she asked me to hold the line, something I’m not in the habit of doing.’ ‘I’ll have a word with her about it.’ ‘Please don’t bother,’ said Virginia, which came as a relief to Giles. ‘Because I shall not be contacting your office again while she remains on your staff.’

4) on a regular basis

• Периодически, регулярно, на постоянной основе

• Mr Siddons perched a pair of half-moon spectacles on the end of his nose and cleared his throat to indicate that proceedings were about to begin. He looked over the top of his spectacles at the assembled gathering, before making his opening remarks. He didn’t require any notes, as this was a responsibility he carried out on a regular basis.

5) to cast a spell on smb

• Очаровать, околдовать кого-то

• ‘The remainder of my estate, including twenty-two per cent of Barrington Shipping, as well as the Manor House –’ Mr Siddons couldn’t resist a glance in the direction of Lady Virginia Fenwick, who was sitting on the edge of her seat – ‘is to be left to my beloved . . . daughters Emma and Grace, to dispose of as they see fit, with the exception of my Siamese cat, Cleopatra, who I leave to Lady Virginia Fenwick, because they have so much in common. They are both beautiful, well-groomed, vain, cunning, manipulative predators, who assume that everyone else was put on earth to serve them, including my besotted son, who I can only pray will break from the spell she has cast on him before it is too late.’

6) in her right mind

• В здравом (своем) уме

• ‘I’LL DO ANYTHING, my darling,’ he said, ‘but please don’t break off our engagement.’ ‘How can I be expected to face the world after your mother humiliated me in front of your family, your friends and even the servants?’ ‘I understand,’ said Giles, ‘of course I do, but Mother was clearly not in her right mind. She can’t have realized what she was doing.’ 55 ‘You said you’ll do anything?’ said Virginia, toying with her engagement ring. ‘Anything, my darling.’

7) to contest the will

• Оспаривать завещание

• ‘That completes the reading of the will,’ said Mr Siddons. ‘If there are any questions, I will be happy to answer them.’ ‘Just one,’ said Giles, before anyone else had a chance to speak. ‘How long do I have to contest the will?’ ‘You can lodge an appeal against judgment in the High Court at any time during the next twentyeight days, Sir Giles,’ said Mr Siddons, having anticipated the question, and the questioner. If there were any other questions, Sir Giles and Lady Virginia did not hear them, as they stormed out of the room without another word.

8) to fight tooth and nail

• Сражаться, биться изо всех сил

• ‘The first thing you must do is sack your secretary. And her replacement must meet with my approval.’ ‘Consider it done,’ said Giles meekly. ‘And tomorrow, you will appoint a leading firm of lawyers to contest the will and, whatever the consequences, you’ll fight tooth and nail to make sure we win.’ ‘I’ve already consulted Sir Cuthbert Makins KC.’ ‘Tooth and nail,’ repeated Virginia. ‘Tooth and nail,’ said Giles. ‘Anything else?’

9) to issue a court order

• Выдать судебный приказ

• ‘It will. Because I want everyone who was in that room to know what it feels like to be rejected.’ Giles bowed his head. ‘Ah, I see,’ said Virginia, removing her engagement ring. ‘So you didn’t really mean you’d do anything.’ ‘Yes I did, my darling. I agree, you alone can decide who’s invited to the wedding.’ ‘And finally,’ said Virginia, ‘you will instruct Mr Siddons to issue a court order removing every member of the Clifton family from Barrington Hall.’ ‘But where will they live?’

10) the validity of the will

• Действительность, правомерность завещания

• ‘That’s a bit rich,’ said Emma, looking up. ‘The villa was left to Grace and me to dispose of as we saw fit.’ ‘Behave yourself, Emma,’ said Harry. ‘You saw fit to let Giles have the villa in exchange for us being allowed to move into the Manor House until the courts decide on the validity of the will. Is that it?’ ‘No, the really juicy bit is still to come. “However, it now looks as if a major rift has divided the family following the death of Sir Giles’s mother, Lady Elizabeth Barrington. In her recently published will, she left the bulk of her estate to her two daughters, Emma and Grace, while bequeathing nothing to her only son. Sir Giles has issued proceedings to contest the will, and the case will be heard in the High Court next month.” That’s it. What about The Times?’

11) to come to an out-of-court settlement

• Прийти к внесудебному соглашению

• ‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ he began. ‘It is my job to listen to the arguments presented by both leading counsel, assess the evidence of witnesses, and consider the points of law that are relevant to this case. I must begin by asking counsel for both the plaintiff and the defence if every effort has been made to come to an out-of-court settlement.’ Sir Cuthbert rose slowly from his place and tugged the lapels of his long black gown before addressing the court. ‘I speak on behalf of both parties when I say that sadly, m’lud, that has not been possible.’

12) to be in rude health

• Быть в добром здравии

• ‘If it so pleases your lordship, in this case I represent the plaintiff, Sir Giles Barrington. The case, m’lud, concerns the validity of a will, and whether the late Lady Barrington was of sufficiently sound mind to put her signature to a long and complex document, with far-reaching ramifications, only hours before she died. I submit, m’lud, that this frail and exhausted woman was in no position to make a considered judgement that would affect the lives of so many people. I shall also show that Lady Barrington had executed an earlier will, some twelve months prior to her death, when she was in rude health, and had more than enough time to consider her actions. And to that end, m’lud, I would like to call my first witness, Mr Michael Pym.’

13) to break off engagement

• Разорвать помолвку

• ‘I’LL DO ANYTHING, my darling,’ he said, ‘but please don’t break off our engagement.’ ‘How can I be expected to face the world after your mother humiliated me in front of your family, your friends and even the servants?’ ‘I understand,’ said Giles, ‘of course I do, but Mother was clearly not in her right mind. She can’t have realized what she was doing.’

14) to make one’s point

• Выражать свою позицию, точку зрения

• ‘So you never met Lady Barrington, and you are not familiar with her case?’ ‘No, sir.’ ‘So it’s quite possible, Mr Pym, that she could be the exception that proves the rule?’ ‘Possible, but highly improbable.’ ‘No further questions, m’lud.’ Sir Cuthbert smiled as Mr Todd sat down. ‘Will you be calling any other expert witnesses Sir Cuthbert?’ enquired the judge. ‘No, m’lud, I feel I have made my point. However, in your bundle of evidence I have placed three written statements for your consideration from equally eminent members of the medical profession. If either you, m’lud, or Mr Todd feel they should appear before the court, they are all on hand and available to do so.’

15) to be on hand

• Быть под рукой

• ‘No, m’lud, I feel I have made my point. However, in your bundle of evidence I have placed three written statements for your consideration from equally eminent members of the medical profession. If either you, m’lud, or Mr Todd feel they should appear before the court, they are all on hand and available to do so.’ ‘That’s good of you, Sir Cuthbert. I have read all three statements, and they confirm Mr Pym’s opinion. Mr Todd, do you wish to call any of these witnesses, or indeed all three of them?’ ‘That will not be necessary, m’lud,’ said Todd. ‘Unless of course any of them knew Lady Barrington personally, or were familiar with her case.’

16) a family GP

• семейный врач-терапевт

• ‘My name is Kenneth Langbourne, and I am the senior surgeon at the Bristol Royal Infirmary.’ ‘How long have you held that position, Mr Langbourne?’ ‘For the past nine years.’ ‘And were you the surgeon in charge of Lady Barrington’s case while she was at the Bristol Royal Infirmary?’ ‘Yes, I was. She was referred to me by Dr Raeburn, her family GP.’

17) to speed things up

• Ускорить процесс

• ‘Thank you, m’lud. Mr Siddons, you told the court that you were under considerable pressure to get the new will completed and signed, and for that reason you prepared it expeditiously, to use your own word.’ 61 ‘Yes. I had been warned by Mr Langbourne that Lady Barrington didn’t have long to live.’ ‘So, understandably, you did everything in your power to speed things up.’ ‘I didn’t have much choice.’

18) to have one's word for smth

• Верить кому-то на слово

• ‘Certainly not, m’lud, but I am suggesting she had no idea what she was signing.’ ‘Mr Siddons,’ Sir Cuthbert continued, turning back to the solicitor, who was now gripping the edge of the witness box with both hands, ‘once you’d completed the new rushed will, did you take your client through it clause by clause?’ ‘No, I didn’t. After all, there was only one major change from the earlier will.’ ‘If you didn’t take Lady Barrington through the document clause by clause, Mr Siddons, we only have your word for that.’

19) to withdraw a statement

• Отозвать заявление

• ‘M’lud, that is an outrageous suggestion,’ said Mr Todd, leaping to his feet. ‘Mr Siddons has had a long and distinguished career in the legal profession, and does not deserve such a slur on his character.’ ‘I agree with you, Mr Todd,’ said the judge. ‘Sir Cuthbert, you will withdraw that statement.’ ‘I apologize, m’lud,’ Sir Cuthbert said, offering a slight bow before turning back to the witness once again. ‘Mr Siddons, in the earlier will, who was it that suggested that all thirty-six pages should be initialled with the letters EB?’

20) to flick through the will

• Пройтись по пунктам завещания

• ‘I didn’t feel it was necessary. After all, there was, as I have said, only one significant change.’ ‘And on which page will we find this significant change, Mr Siddons?’ Siddons flicked through the will and smiled. ‘Page twenty-nine, clause seven.’ ‘Ah yes, I have it in front of me,’ said Sir Cuthbert. ‘But I don’t see the initials EB, either at the bottom of the page or next to the relevant clause. Perhaps Lady Barrington was too tired to manage two signatures on the same day?’

21) to lodge an appeal

• Подать апелляцию

• It was clear to Mr Siddons from the looks of shock and the whispered chattering that broke out from all quarters of the room that no one had expected this, although he did observe that Mr Clifton remained remarkably calm. Calm was not a word that would have described Lady Virginia, who was whispering something in Giles’s ear. ‘That completes the reading of the will,’ said Mr Siddons. ‘If there are any questions, I will be happy to answer them.’ ‘Just one,’ said Giles, before anyone else had a chance to speak. ‘How long do I have to contest the will?’ ‘You can lodge an appeal against judgment in the High Court at any time during the next twentyeight days, Sir Giles,’ said Mr Siddons, having anticipated the question, and the questioner. If there were any other questions, Sir Giles and Lady Virginia did not hear them, as they stormed out of the room without another word.