Пособие по домашнему чтению для студентов II курса. Учебное пособие

7.He had always basked … his parents’attention.

8.Tenerife was basking … afternoon sunshine as they arrived.

9.He basked … his moment of glory, holding the trophy up to the

crowd.

10.For a minute perhaps I stared aghast … this blackness that was creeping over the day, and then I realized that an eclipse was beginning.

6.Guess the word or word combination by its definition:

1.confident, elegant and polite

2.very interested in something so that you are not paying attention to anything else

3.talking or behaving in a way that shows they are crazy

4.showing bad temper or hostility

5.not having a clear shape, indistinct

6.strong and healthy

7.a wooden frame to hold a picture while it is being painted

8.confused and anxious

9.furious and indignant

10.a feeling of being extremely tired

11.horrified, appalled

12.aflat pieceofstone,metal,etc,usuallywithanameanddateson

13.to enjoy sitting or lying in the heat or light of something

14.to persuade somebody gently to do something

15.to think a lot about something that makes you annoyed, anxious or upset

7.Translate into Russian:

1.When they are not in school, young Americans are spending nearly every waking hour absorbed in entertainment media on mobile phones, MP3 players, and other consumer electronics

2.“I didn’t know you were looking for some new shoes.” “Oh, I wasn’t – I just saw them on display in the shop window and bought them on impulse.”

3.He needed to bask himself in that smile, he said, in order that the chill of so many lonely hours among his books might be taken off the scholar’s heart.

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4.Sir Nigel, who had entered the room with a silvery-haired old lady upon his arm, stared aghast at this sudden outburst of candor.

5.Well, I am not interested in the kind of expression that you have when you paint a painting with brush strokes. It’s all right, but it’s already done and I want to do something new. (Donald Judd)

6.Happiness is like a cat, if you try to coax it or call it, it will avoid you; it will never come. But if you pay not attention to it and go about your business, you’ll find it rubbing against your legs and jumping into your lap. (William Bennett)

7.Deprived of meaningful work, men and women lose their reason for existence; they go stark, raving mad. (Fyodor Dostoevsky)

8.It is often easier to become outraged by injustice half a world away than by oppression and discrimination half a block from home. (Carl T. Rowan)

9.I never know what I’m going to put on the canvas. The canvas paints itself. I’m just the middleman. (Peter Max)

10.Do not brood over your past mistakes and failures as this will only fill your mind with grief, regret and depression. Do not repeat them in the future.

11.When I paint a person, his enemies always find the portrait a good likeness. (Edward Munch)

12.The 2006 FIFA World Cup ended in a blaze of colour and a roar of sound Sunday night when Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro lifted the coveted trophy in the centre of Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.

13.The ladies will appear in uniform, perform two routines, pose for photos, sign autographs and mingle with the crowd.

14.Havingsetoffin the small hoursofthefourteenth,accompanied by a bugler and two Cossacks, Balashev reached the French outposts at the village of Rykonty, on the Russian side of the Niemen, by dawn.

15.We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future. ( George Bernard Shaw)

8. Translate into English:

1. У меня были смутные воспоминания об этой картине, выставленной в Национальной галерее. Но я точно помню, что был

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поражен дерзкими (bold) мазками кистью, которые выглядели так будто художник, стоя перед мольбертом, плеснул краски прямо на холст, а потом покрыл его лаком. Но как бы я ни старался, я не мог вспомнить имени художника, написанного на маленькой медной табличке, прикрепленной к картине.

2.Молодой человек выглядел очень элегантно и был учтив, всего за несколько недель он уломал Джейн выйти за него замуж.

Ее отец был в ярости, в то время как мать была сбита с толку

иумоляла дочь ничего не делать, поддавшись порыву чувств.

3.Нет смыла размышлять над тем, что произошло. Когда-то ты был жизнерадостным, пышущим здоровьем молодым человеком, но эти грустные воспоминания превратили тебя в угрюмого старика, увлеченного лишь прошлым.

4.Она так хотела его обнять, но он отстранился. Мэри взглянула на него, ужаснувшись такому поведению.

5.Как прошла вечеринка? Тебе понравилось быть звездой

икупаться в лучах славы? — Можешь считать меня сумасшед-

шим, но мне не стоило туда ходить. Я падал от усталости, не говоря уж о том, чтобы смешаться с толпой и веселиться далеко

за полночь.

6.Нечего злиться, мы должны оставаться спокойными и сосредоточенными. Нам нужно начать искать решение. Жаль, нам не добраться до нужных документов.

7.Мы были заворожены картиной Рембрандта, особенно ве-

ликолепием цвета.

Detailed Comprehension 1. Answer the questions:

1.What were the relations between Drioli, Soutine and Josie? Why did Drioli take to the boy?

2.Did Drioli and Soutine have much in common?

3.Why do you think Soutine’s talent was not recognized in his youth? Does it often happen to talented people? Why do so many artists fail in their quest to earn a living through their art?

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4.What made Drioli choose the “hotel owner’s” offer rather than the one of the gallery owner?

5.Comment on the ending of the story. Why doesn’t the author give an explicit explanation to what happened to Drioli?

6.What is the message of the story?

7.The title of the story is translated into Russian as «Шкура». Do you find the translation appropriate? Why?

8.Why do you think rich people are ready to pay millions of pounds for the masterpieces that originally no one wanted to buy even for a reasonable price? Does it mean that they are the only ones who can recognize a real talent when they see one?

2.Describe the picture that Chaim Soutine painted on Drioli’s

back.

3.Speak about:

1.Drioli

2.Young years of Chaim Soutine

4. Develop the situations checking your knowledge of the context:

1.How had it started?Ah, yes — he had got rich one day, that was it, and he had bought lots of wine.

2.His concentration, as soon as he began to paint, was so great that it аppeared somehow to supersede his drunkenness.

3.No, the boy could not possibly be saying that because if anyone knew about the tattoo it was he — Drioli.

4.On a sudden impulse, Drioli turned, pushed open the door of the gallery and went in.

5.There was a sudden absolute silence in the room, each person arrested in what he was doing, standing motionless in a kind of shocked, uneasy bewilderment.

5.a) Comment on the following quotations from the story:

1.“The trouble is,” the boy said, scowling, “that in themselves they are not nourishing. I cannot eat them.”

2.“Slowly,methodically,theysetaboutgettingthemselvesdrunk. The process was routine, but all the same there was a certain ceremony

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to be observed, and a gravity to be maintained, and a great number of things to be said…”

3.“The dealer lowered the hand from his nose and looked Drioli up and down, slowly, like a farmer appraising an old horse.”

4.That — and the fact that there is no hotel in Cannes called Bristol — causes one to wonder a little, and to pray for the old man’s health, and to hope fervently that wherever he may be at this moment, there is a plump attractive girl to manicure the nails of his fingers, and a maid to bring him his breakfast in bed in the mornings.

b) Comment on the following quotations about Art:

1.A great artist is always before his time or behind it. (George Edward Moore)

2.Art for art’s sake is a philosophy of the well-fed. (Frank Lloyd Wright)

3.The auction room, as anyone knows, is an excellent medium for sustaining fictional price levels, because the public imagines that auction prices are necessarily real prices. (Robert Hughes)

4.It’s very hard as an artist to admit you have a desire to be famous. To be an artist is not about fame; it’s about art, which is this intangible thing that has got to have lots of integrity, whereas being famous doesn’t really take any integrity. But I think you have to admit that you want to be famous, otherwise you can’t be an artist. Art and fame together are like a desire to live forever. (Damien Hirst)

5.If you were in a burning house and there was a cat and a Rembrandt, what would you save? The cat ... you would save the cat, because the cat is alive. The art is dead. It’s just paint on a canvas, ink on a page. To live for art is to deny life. It’s just to destroy life. (Diane Frolov andAndrew Schneider)

6.Speak your mind on:

1.“little Kalmuck” as if you were Drioli’s wife;

2.the scene in the gallery as if you were one of the visitors;

3.Drioli as if you were the owner of the gallery.

7.Make up a dialogue between Drioli and the “owner” of the Bristol Hotel at dinner discussing the conditions of the deal.

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a)in a street b) in a picture gallery c) in Drioli’s studio d) in a cafe 4. Why did Drioli approach Soutine?

a)Because Soutine looked sad and miserable.

b)Because Soutine looked like a Russian.

c)Because he liked his paintings.

d)Because he was looking for a lodger.

6. Why did Drioli like the boy?

a) They were from the same city. b) The boy was really talented.

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11. Which does not refer to Soutine?

a) an ugly little Kalmuck with a bitter sullen face

b) a man with broad face, high cheekbones and a coarse nose c) a small, skinned almost hairless body

d) a man with small white hands and delicate fingers 12. Which description refers to the owner of the gallery?

a)a plum short man with a flabby face

b)a tall man with a long flexible neck

c)a small man with a thick sullen mouth and ears which stood out sharply from the head

d)a man with strong white teeth with a flash of gold among them

13.Why did a man from the crowd warn Drioli against selling the picture to the gallery owner?

a)He wanted to buy the picture himself.

b)He knew the gallery owner was trying to fool Drioli.

c)He was concerned for Drioli’s health.

d)He did not believe that the picture was original.

14.The “owner” of the Hotel Bristol may be best described as

a)a suave man looking like a snake

b)a short plump man with hands like fat white paws

c)a deadly-serious man with small dark eyes

d)a man with a flabby face with the cheeks like that of a spaniel

15.Who is Drioli compared to at the beginning of the story?

2.Chooseandpreparethepassageforartisticreadingandtranslate it into Russian:

1.“That year — 1946 — winter was a long time going. … Just imagine that!”

2.“Drioli remained awake …………in a mass of dark-green curling strokes.”

1.Write an essay on one of the following topics:

1.Art for art’s sake vs art for money’s sake

2.How much is a human life truly worth?

3.Art fairs are about money not art.

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Culture Corner

1. Do some research and tell your group mates about Chaim Soutine. Do you believe the story above might be a true one?

You may find the following links helpful: http://www.soutine-chaim.com/ http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/soutine_chaim.html http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Soutine.html

2. Some commentary on places mentioned in the story

rue de Rivoli — is a famous street in Paris linking the Louvre and theAvenue des Champs-Élysées

the Cite Falguiere — is a street in the south of Paris Smilovichi — is a town in Belarus in the Minsk Province Céret — is a city in the south-east of France, not far from the

border with Spain.

Céret is famous for its Museum of ModernArt, which has numerous Picasso paintings, paintings by Chagall, Matisse, Herbin, Soutine, lots of Fauves and a few Impressionists. Chaim Soutine lived in Céret for a period and painted many landscapes of the village and its surrounds.

Le Havre — a city in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Its port is the second busiest in France

Cannes —one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera (in the south of France), a busy tourist destination

Gesturing

by John Updike

She told him with a little gesture he had never seen her use before. Joan had called from the station, having lunched, Richard knew, with her lover. It was a Saturday, and his older son had taken his convertible; Joan’s Volvo was new and for several minutes refused to go into first gear for him. By the time he had reached the center of town, she had walked down the main street and up the hill to the green. It was September, leafy and warm, yet with a crystal chill on things, an un-

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canny clarity. Even from a distance they smiled to see each other. She opened the door and seated herself, fastening the safety belt to silence its chastening buzz. Her face was rosy from her walk, her city clothes looked like a costume, she carried a small package or two, token of her “shopping.” Richard tried to pull a U-turn on the narrow street, and in the long moment of his halting and groping for reverse gear, she told him. “Darley,” she said and, oddly, tentatively, soundlessly, tapped the fingers of one hand into the palm of the other, a gesture between a child’s clap of glee and an adult’s signal for attention, “I’ve decided to kick you out. I’m going to ask you to leave town.”

Abruptly full, his heart thumped; it was what he wanted. “O.K.,” he said carefully. “If you think you can manage.” He glanced at her rosy, alert face to see if she meant it; he could not believe she did. Ared, white, and blue mail truck that had braked to a stop behind them tapped its horn, more reminder than rebuke; the Maples were known in the town. They had lived here most of their married life.

Richardfoundreverse,backedup,completedtheturn,andtheyheaded home, skimming. The car, so new and stiff, in motion felt high and light,asifit,too,hadjustbeenvaporizedinherlittleplayfulclap.“Things are stagnant,” she explained, “stuck; we’re not going anywhere.”

“I will not give her up,” he interposed. “Don’t tell me, you’ve told me.” “Nor do I see you giving him up.”

“I would if you asked.Are you asking?” “No. Horrors. He’s all I’ve got.”

“Well, then. Go where you want, I think Boston would be most fun for the kids to visit.And the least boring for you.”

“I agree. When do you see this happening?” Her profile, in the side of his vision, felt brittle, about to break if he said a wrong word, too rough a word. He was holding his breath, trying to stay up, high and light, like the car.They went over the bump this side of the bridge; cigarette smoke jarred loose from Joan’s face.

“As soon as you can find a place,” she said. “Next week. Is that too soon?”

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“Probably.”

“Is this too sad? Do I seem brutal to you?”

“No, you seem wonderful, very gentle and just, as always. It’s right. It’s just something I couldn’t do myself. How can you possibly live without me?”

In the edge of his vision her face turned; he turned to see, and her expression was mischievous, brave, flushed.They must have had wine at lunch. “Easy,” Joan said. He knew it was a bluff, a brave gesture; she was begging for reprieve. But he held silent, he refused to argue. This way, he had her pride on his side.

The curves of the road poured by, mailboxes, trees, some of which were already scorched by the turn of the year. He asked, “Is this your idea, or his?”

“Mine. It came to me on the train.AllAndy said was, I seemed to be feeding you all the time.”

Richard had been sleeping, most nights, in the weeks since their summer of separated vacations, in a borrowed seaside shack two miles from their home; he tried to sleep there, but each evening, as the nights grew longer, it seemed easier, and kinder to the children, to eat the dinner Joan had cooked. He was used to her cooking; indeed, his body, every cell, was composed of her cooking. Dinner would lead to a postdinner drink, while the children (two were off at school, two were still homebound) plodded through their homework or stared at television, and drinking would lead to talking, confidences, harsh words, maudlin tears, and an occasional uxorious collapse upward, into bed. She was right; it was not healthy, nor progressive. The twenty years were by when it would have been convenient to love each other.

He found the apartment in Boston on the second day of hunting. The real-estate agent had red hair, a round bottom, and a mask of make-up worn as if to conceal her youth. Richard felt happy and scared, going up and down stairs behind her. Wearier of him than he was of her, she fidgeted the key into the lock, bucked the door open with her shoulder, and made her little openhanded gesture of helpless display.

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