Сборник текстов и упражнений по английскому языку. Практикум для студентов 2-3 курсов филологического факультета по направлениям подготовки 44.03.05 П

The gypsies had been caught on Broxley meadows, but she was not with them. It was clear that for that night, Virginia was lost for them.

Just as all the family were passing out of the dining room, midnight began to boom from the clock tower. When the last stroke sounded they heard a crash and a sudden cry. A dreadful thunder shook the house, a wall at the top of staircase flew back with a loud noise. And looking very pale and white stepped Virginia. In a moment they all ran up to her.

“Good heavens! Child, where have you been?” said Mr. Otis, angrily. “You must not play these jokes anymore.”

“Papa,” said Virginia. “I have been with Ghost. He is dead, and you must come and see him. He was really sorry for all he had done, and he gave me the box of jewels before he died.”

And she led them down a narrow secret corridor. Washington followed with a candle. Finally, they came to a great oak door. When Virginia touched it the door opened, and they found themselves in a little low room. In the wall was a huge iron ring, and chained to it was a skeleton. A jug and a plate were pleased just out of his reach. There was nothing but inside them now. Virginia began to pray silently, while the rest of the party looked on in wonder at the terrible tragedy whose secret was now disclosed to them.

“Hullo! The old withered almond three has blossomed. I can see the flowers in the moonlight,” suddenly exclaimed one of the twins.

“God has forgiven him,” said Virginia. “What an angel you are!” cried the young Duke kissing her.

VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR TASKS

1 Insert some, any, any, somebody, anywhere, nothing:

1The boys could not find any trace of their sister….

2Mr. Otis suddenly remembered that… days before a band of gypsies had camped in the park.

3Soon he heard …galloping after him.

4I can’t eat … dinner as long as Virginia is lost.

5Not …. trace of Virginia was discovered.

6You must not play these jokes …. more.

7there was … but inside them now.

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2 Open the brackets using Past Simple, Past Continuous, Present Perfect or Perfect Tense.

Explain your choice:

1They (be) all in the greatest state of excitement, and (not/know) what to do.

2When Virginia (touch) it the door (open), and they (find) themselves in a little low room.

3God (forgive) him.

4Mr. Otis found that the gypsies (go).

5He (run) home and (send) telegrams to all the police inspectors in the country.

6Just as all the family (pass) out of the dining room, midnight began to boom from the clock tower.

7“Papa,” said Virginia. I (be) with Ghost. He is dead”.

8About ten minutes later the bell (ring) for tea, but Virginia (not/come) down/

9Mr. Otis suddenly remembered that some days before a band of gypsies (camp) in the park.

10Hullo! The old withered almond tree (blossom) I can see the flowers in the moonlight.

3 Look through the next of Chapter 6 and copy the sentences in Passive Voice.

4 Look through the next Of Chapter 6 and copy the sentences with Complex Object.

READING COMPREHENSION AND DISCUSSING TASKS

1 Answer the questions:

1How did the family discover that Virginia was out?

2What did Mr. Otis remember?

3What did he do then?

4Who followed him? Why/

5Where did they gallop?

6Could they find Virginia anywhere?

7When and how did she appear?

8What did she tell to Mr. Otis?

9Where did she lead the family?

10What did this mean?

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2 Tell what each member of the family did to find Virginia and help her.

3. Make up the dialogue to the sixth chapter.

Chapter Seven

Four days after these curious incidents a funeral started from Canterville Chase at about eleven o’clock at night. Lord Canterville came up specially from Wales to attend the funeral. He sat in the first carriage along with little Virginia. Then came the United States Minister and his wife, then Washington and three boys, and in the last carriage was Mrs. Umney. A deep grave was in the corner of the churchyard. Virginia stepped forward and laid on the coffin a large cross made of white and pink almond-blossoms. As she did so the moon came out from behind a cloud, and a nightingale began to sing.

The next morning, before Lord Canterville went up to town, Mr. Otis had an interview with him on the subject of the jewels the ghost had given to Virginia.

“My Lord,” he said, “it is quite clear for me that these jewels belong to your family. As to my daughter, she is only a child. And it is impossible for me, as a republican, to remain them in the possession of any member of my family.”

Lord Canterville listened very gravily to the Minister’s speech, pulling his grey moustache now and then1 to hide a smile. When Mr.

Otis had ended, he shook him by the hand, and said, “My dear sir, your charming little daughter made me unlucky ancestor, Sir Simon, a very great service. And I and my family thank her for her great courage. The jewels are clearly hers.”

And finally Lord Canterville induced the Minister to allow his daughter to take the present the ghost had given her. When in the spring of 1890, the young Duchess of Cheshire was at the Queen’s first drawing room on the occasion of her marriage, her jewels were the universal theme of admiration. For Virginia was married to her boylover as soon as he came to age. They were both so charming, and they loved each other so much that everyone was delighted at the match.

The Duke and the Duchess, after the honeymoon was over, went down to Canterville Chase. On the day after their arrival they walked over in the afternoon to the churchyard by the pine-woods. The

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Duchess had brought with her some lovely roses, which she put on the grave, and after they had stood by it. There the Duchess sat down on the stone. Suddenly her husband said to her, “Virginia, a wife should have no secrets from her husband. You have never told me what happened to you when you were locked up with the ghost.”

“Please don’t ask me, Cecil, I cannot tell you. Poor Sir Simon!

He made me see what Life is and what Death is, and why Love is stronger than both.”

Note

1. now and then – временами

VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR TASKS

1 Give the Russian equivalents of the following: funeral

churchyard coffin nightingale moustache now and then ancestor drawing moon honeymoon

a large cross made of white and pink almond-blossoms

2 Translate the sentences into Russian:

1Virginia stepped forward and laid on the coffin a large cross made of white and pink almond-blossoms.

2As she did so the moon came out from behind a cloud, and a nightingale began to sing.

3Mr. Otis had an interview with Lord Canterville on the subject of the jewels the ghost had to Virginia.

4It is impossible for me, as a republican, to remain the jewels in the possession of any member of my family.

5When the young Duchess of Cheshire was at the Queen’s first drawing room on the occasion of her marriage, her jewels were the universal theme of admiration.

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6 They were both so charming, and they loved each other so much that everyone was delighted at the match.

3 Complete the sentences with prepositions:

1Four days…these curious incidents a funeral started …Canterville Chase … …eleven o’clock…night.

2A deep grave was …the corner…the churchyard.

3It is quite clear…me that these jewels belong…your family.

4When Mr. Otis had ended, he chook him…the hand.

5…Virginia was married…her boy-lover as soon as he came…age.

6…the day…. their arrival they walked……the afternoon…the churchyard…the pine-woods.

4 Copy the dialogue in Reported Speech:

Duke: “Virginia, a wife should have no secrets from her husband. You have never told me what happened to you when you were locked up with the ghost.”

Duchess: “Please don’t ask me, Cecil, I cannot tell you. Poor Sir Simon! He made ma see what Life is, and what Death is, and why Love is stronger than both.”

READING COMPREHENSION AND DISCUSSING TASKS

1 Answer the questions:

1Why did Lord Canterville come up from Wales?

2Who sat in the first carriage? In the second? In the last one?

3Where was a grave?

4What subject did Mr. Otis have with Lord Canterville on?

5Why was it impossible for Mr. Otis to remain the jewels in the possession of any member of his family?

6How did Lord Canterville induce the Minister to allow his daughter to take the present the ghost had given her?

7When was Virginia married to her boy-lover?

8Why was everyone delighted at the match?

9When did the Duke and the Duchess go down, after the honeymoon was over?

10What did the Duke ask his wife for?

11What did she answer?

2 Tell you believe in ghost. He you ever seen one of them? Describe it.

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ASSIGNMENT No. 2

THE PASSIVE VOICE

(СТРАДАТЕЛЬНЫЙ ЗАЛОГ)

Most verbs in English can take direct objects can form passive constructions (e.g. I wrote that letter yesterday. - The letter was written yesterday).

If the subject is acted upon then the predicate is used in the form of the passive voice.

I am often invited by my friends to the cinema.

Меня часто приглашают мои друзья кино.

The Voice is a category of the verb that shows the relation of the action to the subject or object.

The Active Voice shows that the object or person which is the subject performs the action.

Corrosion of iron causes great economic losses.

Коррозия железа вызывает большие экономические потери.

The Passive Voice shows that the object or person which is the subject is being acted upon.

Great economic losses are caused by corrosion of iron.

Большие экономические потери вызываются коррозией железа.

The Passive Voice in English is expressed by combining the auxiliary verb to be with the Past Participle (or Participle 2).

The Forms of the Passive Voice

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There are two kinds of passive constructions: two-member passive constructions and three-member passive constructions.

E.g. 1. The papers have not yet been signed.

2.The papers have not yet been signed by all members of the commission.

We mostly use the two-member constructions. We use active constructions when we are interested in the doer of the action and twomember passive constructions when we are interested in the action itself and when the doer is either unknown or of no interest to the speaker.

Compare:

1.I had made the salad myself. The salad had been already made.

2.He will meet you at the station. You will be met at the station.

3.He is reading his new play in the other room.

His new play is being read in the other room.

The three-member passive is used in emphasis speech to stress the doer of the action.

E.g.

1.By that time the point of the story had been long forgotten even by the story-teller himself.

2.Your story is being typed by our best typist.

The three-member passive is used comparatively seldom.

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ASSIGNMENT No. 3

DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH

(ПРЯМАЯ И КОСВЕННАЯ РЕЧЬ)

When we want to report something said by another person we use reporting verbs.

Four verbs in the English language are mostly used to name the process of speaking: to say, to tell, to talk, to speak.

To say and to tell are reporting verbs. They are used with direct objects, giving the contents of what was said.

The verb to tell takes an indirect object as well as direct object. To say}

to tell} it, this, so, nothing, something, that …

E.g.

1.He said nothing. He told me nothing.

2.Why did you not say so? Why did you not tell me this?

3.He said (that) he did not want to do it. He told me (that) he did not want to do it.

Note 1.

The verb to tell is used without an indirect object:

a)in the following expressions: to tell the truth, to tell a lie, to tell a story;

b)if it means угадать, различить – How can I tell what may happen? They are so much alike that only their mother can tell which is which. Can you tell at this distance what ship it is?

Note 2.

The verb to tell may take a prepositional object when it means рассказать – to tell smb about smth. Will you tell me about it?

Direct speech is a speech transmitted on behalf of the person by whom it was delivered while maintaining its features.

Indirect speech is a speech in which a speaker conveys someone’s words on his own behalf not literally, but retelling their content. In this case, the retelling is grammatically expressed by an additional subordinate clause:

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1.The verb to say as a predicate of the main clause in the presence of an indirect object is replaced by the corresponding form of the verb to tell;

2.the conjunction that is used;

3.Since indirect speech is conducted on behalf of the author, and not on behalf of the person by whom it was said all personal and possessive pronouns in indirect speech are replaced by the meaning.

ASSIGNMENT No. 4

THE GERUND

The gerund developed from the verbal noun.

Objective verbs have four forms of the gerund:

Subjective verbs have only two forms of the gerund.

They have no passive forms:

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Note 1.

1. There is a tendency at present to avoid using the Perfect forms of the gerund.

The gerund can take a direct object (writing a letter) and be modified by an adverb (writing slowly).

We say that the gerund has verbal features because it has tense and voice forms, can take a direct object and be modified by an adverb.

The gerund has also nominal (noun) features. It can be used with a preposition (by writing; after writing; before writing). Most of its syntactical functions strongly remind us of the noun because the gerund can be the subject and the object in the sentence.

Like noun the gerund can be modified by possessive pronoun or a noun in the possessive case. But the relations between the noun and the modifying pronoun or noun in the possessive case are attributive while the relations between the gerund and the modifying pronoun or noun in the possessive case are predicative.

His reading has considerably improved. - the possessive pronoun his is an attribute to the verbal noun reading – его чтение… His reading this passage was a mistake. - the possessive pronoun his plays the role of the secondary subject to the gerund

reading – то, что он читал этот отрывок…

The gerund is the non-finite form of the verb. It has the grammatical features of both a verb and a noun and always expresses an action as an evolving process. For example:

burning горение heating нагревание

building строительство, построение welding сварка

refining перегонка fighting борьба

The gerund historically derived from a verbal noun which is in the modern English.

While retaining some of features of a noun, the gerund acquired the properties of a verb including tense and voice forms.

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