Читаем современную британскую литературу. Четыре романа и одна пьеса = Reading contemporary british literature. Four novels and a play. Учебно-методич

9. Find and translate into Russian the words dealing with hospital life:

chilblain (270), probationer (271), scrub, hygiene (272), sluice (276), stretcher, bandage, fester (290), on crutches (293).

10.Ask your own questions on the part you’ve read.

11.Put down your ideas in the diary.

12.Make up your own list of the vocabulary and learn it.

Assignment 11

Part Three

P.315–349

1.How did the atmosphere in the hospital and Briony’s mood change when France had fallen? (317)

2.Comment on: “The evasions of her little novel were exactly those of her life.” (320)

3.Why did Briony go to the church wedding? Why did she keep silent during the ceremony? (324–326)

4.Comment on: “Perhaps this was the first step in the undoing of her plans”.

(329)

5.How had Cecilia’s appearance changed in the years that Briony had not seen her sister? (332)

6.What new things did Briony understand after her visit to Cecilia? (335–336)

7.Did you as the reader expect Robbie to be in Cecilia’s place? How did Robbie look? (339-342)

8.Comment on: “…it seemed to Briony that she was stepping onto another day”. (347)

9.Comment on the signature and the dated at the end of the chapter. (349)

10.Find and translate into Russian the following words. Find the situations they are used in:

Surly (317), ordained, fornication (323), impediment, anguish, purge oneself of (325), inauspicious (321), confinement (335), irrefutable, act out of malice (336), derision, nauseous (337), she started (338), scorn (339), assault (342), cover for sb (347), retract the evidence (345), conciliatory (348).

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11.Ask your own questions on the part you’ve read.

12.Put down your ideas in the diary.

13.Make up your own list of the vocabulary and learn it.

Assignment 12

Part Three

P.351–372

1.What disease was diagnosed in Briony’s mind? Do you think the author makes any connection between it and Briony’s fault? (354)

2.How did the house and the territory around it change? What impression did it produce now? (363–365)

3.What was the effect of The Trials of Arabella on Briony and Pierrot? (367–

368)

4.Why hasn’t Briony publish her last book? How true to life is it? Why? (370–

371)

5.Comment on: “How can a novelist achieve atonement…?” (371)

6.Find and translate into Russian the following words. Find the situations they are used in:

Vascular dementia (354), deranged, veracity, foundation (356), litigation, verisimilitude (359), guest of honour (364), evanesce, priggish (367), libel (370), outcome (371).

7.Ask your own questions on the part you’ve read.

8.Put down your ideas in the diary.

9.Make up your own list of the vocabulary and learn it.

The whole book analysis

1. Speak on how the following topics are studied in the novel. Find the examples to illustrate your points of view:

Themes of guilt and repentance.

‘Being an author’ in Briony’s perception.

Creative activity vs Warfare. (264, 275–276, 315)

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Theme of social class.

The character of Briony.

The character of Cecilia.

The character of Robbie.

2.What other topics are raised in the novel?

3.Speak about the language and style of the book.

4.Ask your own questions on the novel.

5.Prepare the vocabulary lists, revise the vocabulary and make up situations/ dialogues with the vocabulary.

6.Complete your diaries.

7.Write an essay on one of the problems raised in the book (about 1000

words).

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David Hare

STUFF HAPPENS

Assignment 1

1.Read the Author’s Note at the beginning of the play. Is the book a fiction or a documentary?

2.When was the play first presented?

3.Look at the list of characters. Which of them do you know? Share your knowledge with your group-mates about one or two of the characters. Read the Commentary on p. 24–27; 13–15; 18–21.

4.Comment on the epigraphs before Act One. Explain the notion of ‘preventive war’.

Act One

Scene 1 – Scene 6

P.3–18

1.How would you interpret the paradoxes? (3)*

2.What does the phrase ‘stuff happens’ originate from? (3) Do you think it is a euphemism?

3.What do you know about Saigon in 1975? (4) Read the Commentary on

p. 8–9.

4.Who are the central seven characters? What is common about all of them?

(8)

5.Why is G. Bush said to have been “born again”? (8)

6.How does An Actor characterize George Bush? (9)

7.What is Condoleeza Rice’s role at the meeting of the National Security Council? (10)

8.What is G. Bush’s way to solve the Israeli-Palestinian problem? (11)

9.What does C.I.A. mean? (12)

10.Are the members of the meeting confident that Iraq produces chemical or biological weapons? How do they justify their supposition? Do you think they have enough evidence? (13)

* Здесь и далее по тексту в круглых скобках указаны страницы из [14].

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11.What is specific about Scene 5 from the point of view of composition? (14)

12.Do you agree with the Angry Journalist’s view on ways of extending democracy? (15)

13.Why do you think President Bush and Tony Blair speak about freedom? What kind of freedom do they mean? (16–17)

14.Find and translate into Russian the following words and word combinations. Find the situations they are used in:

verbatim (Author’s Note), looting, pillage (3), deferment (5), beacon of democracy (6), surveillance (12), round the clock (13), highjack, suicide bomber, crash into, smash into, underground bunker (16), hegemony, custodianship, reap the fruits (17).

15.Ask your own questions on the part you’ve read.

16.Put down your ideas in the diary.

17.Make up your own list of the vocabulary and learn it.

Assignment 2

P. 18–46

Act 1

Scene 7 – Scene 10

1.What do you think is behind Tenet’s words: “…make sure that if we go in, we can energise support, we can make sure there are people ready to take over the running of the country when the Taliban falls”? (19)

2.Why do Wolfowitz and Rice warn Bush against attacking Afghanistan?

(19–21)

3.Comment on Rumsfeld’s words: “That’s vague… That way we can do anything”. (23–24)

4.How does the company spend the evening of 11 September 2001? (25–26)

5.Comment on the telephone conversation between Bush and Blair. What is Blair anxious about? (28–30)

6.Comment on the New Labour Politician’s words: “we have to finish the job”.

(32)

7.Which rhetorical devices does Bush use in his speech to make it impressive? What are other countries’ reactions to his speech? (33)

8.What strategy does Bush choose in talking to Blair? (28–30, 36)

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9. What do MPs express “deep unease” about? (37) Read the Commentary on

p. 40.

10.Is Blair really against the war with Iraq? What are his reasons? (39–41)

11.How does Bush behave after the agreement with Blair? What is Blair’s reaction? (44–45)

12.Explain what is meant by:

War Cabinet (18), Northern Alliance (19), bait and switch (24), axis of evil (32).

13.Mind the pronunciation: dossier (19).

14.Mind the translation: Middle East (20).

15.Find and translate into Russian the following words and word combinations. Find the situations they are used in:

expanded powers (19), air and missile strikes (27), capture (29), ring the bell (29), controversial (31), unleash, take a course, weapons of mass destruction (32), tricky (44), issue an order, fateful (45).

16.Ask your own questions on the part you’ve read.

17.Put down your ideas in the diary.

18.Make up your own list of the vocabulary and learn it.

Assignment 3

P. 46–76

Act 1

Scene 11

Act 2

Scenes 12–15

1.Which law of the UN Charter does Bush repudiate? How does he justify it?

(46–47)

2.What is Powell’s attitude to the planned war in Iraq? (47–52)

3.What kind of person is Wolfowitz’s consultant on Iraq? (53)

4.How does Cheney propose to present to the world the necessity for weapons inspection in Iraq? Does Cheney have any proof for Iraq having weapons of mass distraction? Does Blair? (58–60, 62–63)

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5.What does Blair make the focus of the dossier? (64) Read the Commentary

on p. 44.

6.What happens while Bush delivers his speech to the UN General Assembly? What does it result in? (66, 73,74)

7.Why does de Villepin have doubts about the US compliance with the International Law? (69)

8.What do you know about the Kyoto Protocol? (70)

9.Find and translate into Russian the following words and word combinations. Find the situations they are used in:

pre-emptive strike, deterrence (46), tinderbox (50), offensive, at odds, strike a blow (60), compliance (68), coercive (70), glitch (74).

10.Ask your own questions on the part you’ve read.

11.Put down your ideas in the diary.

12.Make up your own list of the vocabulary and learn it.

Assignment 4

P. 76–105

Act 2

Scenes 16–20

1. How do the Senate and the Parliament react to the idea of US forces in Iraq?

(77)

2.What do you know about Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei? Why are Hans Blix and ElBaradei invited to the White House? How does Blix respond to what he is offered? (78, 82)

3.What are the arguments about between the Security Council and Colin Powell concerning the draft of the resolution? What is the result of the negotiation? (82–83)

4.What information is removed from the document provided by Blix? (86)

5.Does Blair make logical statements about the result of the investigation into the WMD? (87–88)

6.What is the Brit in NY’s attitude to the statement “America changed”.

(92–93)

7.What is meant by “lethal rhetoric of global wealth and privilege”? Read the Commentary (p. 47–48).

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8.What reasons does Rumsfeld give to prove the legitimacy of the US attack on Iraq? (99–101) What is Powell’s counter-argument? (101–103) Read the Commentary on p. 41.

9.What is Cheney’s attitude to Blair? (102–103)

10.Find and translate into Russian the following words and word combinations. Find the situations they are used in:

embark on (76), subpoena (81), material breach, false declaration, general failure (82), hold out on sb (83), negotiate (84), concede, brief (85), infantile (92), ambush (94), bashing (96), legitimate (99), get to sb (100).

11.Ask your own questions on the part you’ve read.

12.Put down your ideas in the diary.

13.Make up your own list of the vocabulary and learn it.

Assignment 5

P. 105–120

Act 2

Scenes 21–24

1.What kinds of speeches do Powell and Blix make in the USA? What is the result? (105–107)

2.Why does Tony Blair call his strategy “masochism”? (108) Read the Commentary about the cultural differences in handclapping on p. 50.

3.Why does Manning say “Power doesn’t make deals… Power does what it wants”? (111)

4.Do the USA and the UK get the second UN resolution? (112–113)

5. What is Robin Cook’s speech about? (112) Read the Commentary on

p.50–52.

6.In what tone does the author describe Bush’s victory? (113–114)

7.What confession do Paul Wolfowitz and Cheney make in 2003? (114–115)

8.How does Bush explain his decision to invade Iraq? (118)

9.What conclusion does the Iraqi Exile make? (120)

10.Mind the pronunciation: siren. (113)

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11.Find and translate into Russian the following words and word combinations. Find the situations they are used in: back up, solid sources (105), eyewitness (106), mascot (107), bereaved (108), road-map, renege on, resign (112), air raid, mission accomplished (113), move on (115) – read the Commentary on p.52, insurgency (116), take charge of oneself (120).

12.Ask your own questions on the part you’ve read.

13.Put down your ideas in the diary.

14.Make up your own list of the vocabulary and learn it.

Assignment 6

Final Discussion

1. Speak on the following topics:

The characters of G. Bush and T. Blair as created by David Hare.

The language and style of David Hare’s play.

Manipulative communicative strategies in David Hare’s “Stuff Happens”.

The world of politics in the book.

2.Listen to David Hare’s reading of the play [11].

3.Watch the video “Theater Talk: Playwright David Hare on "Stuff Happens"

[12].What does David Hare say about Colin Powell and George Bush? What reference to Shakespeare does he make?

4.Act out one of the episodes of the play.

5.Write an essay on one of the above topics (appr.1000 words).

6.Make up a situation or a dialogue with the vocabulary from the book.

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Ruth Rendell

PORTOBELLO

Assignment 1

1)What is the author famous and respected for?

2)What are the main features of a detective genre?

Chapters 1–3

P.1–19

1.How does the author explain the name of the Portobello road?

2.What’s the author’s attitude to the story?

3.How does the author describe the modern state of the road? (2–3)*

4.What painting made Arnold Wren prosperous? What might it symbolize? Who bought it from him?

5.What do we find out about Albert Gibson?

6.What do we learn about Joel Roseman and his relationship with his parents from chapter 2? What happened to him?

7.What do we learn about Eugene Wren? What were his secrets? Why did he have doubts about telling them to Ella?

8.How does the author make the reader realize how important the sugar-free sweets were for Eugene?

9.What writing technique does she use?

10.What did Eugene decide to do with the money?

11.What mode of writing prevails? What’s the effect on the reader?

12.What features of a detective story can you identify?

13.Find the vocabulary dealing with crime, medicine, addiction.

*Здесь и далее по тексту в круглых скобках указаны страницы из [16].

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