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Файл:A Books Discussion. Учебное пособие для студентов гуманитарных специальностей
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5. In the Text below some lines are correct but some have a word that
should not be there. Indicate the correct lines with a tick (✓). For the incorrect
lines, write down the word which should not be there.
1 _____ Among all of writers in history, Shakespeare is perhaps the most
2_____ well-known. Many of the plays he wrote are still performed regularly
3 _____ in many of countries in the world. Over the years there has been a
4 _____ lot of disagreement among scholars and experts about the meanings
5 _____ of Shakespeare’s plays; some of the books about him even suggest
6 _____ that he didn’t really write all the plays that have his name. There has
7 _____ bee a lot of research into his life and work but few of the theories
8 _____ about him can be proved. A few people have even said that
Shakespeare
9 _____ was really a woman but there is little of support for this theory!
10 _____ Many visitors go to Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford in England
11 _____ and a lot of them go to see a play at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
there.
12 _____ A few of tourists find it difficult to understand the play because the
13 _____ language is old. Because they don’t understand much it they either
14 ____ leave after a short time or are asleep all the evening! However,
15 _____ with a little of effort it is possible to enjoy the plays even if you don’t
16 _____ have much of knowledge about them. The productions are always
17 _____ entertaining and few of people have difficulty in following what is
happening.
6. Read the story of Hamlet and answer the questions:
- What kind of story is this? (a ghost story/a story of revenge/a love story/a
funny story)
- What is the general idea of what happens?
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When Hamlet, the King of Denmark, died, his brother Claudius became the
new king. After only a few weeks, Claudius married Gertrude, the old king’s wife.
Hamlet was angry with his mother because she remarried so quickly. He also hated
Claudius, his stepfather.
One cold, dark night on the walls of Elsinore
Castle, a friend of Hamlet’s saw the ghost of Hamlet’s
father. The friend told Hamlet about the ghost and
that night, they both went up onto the castle walls. It
was another cold night, and as the clock struck
midnight, the ghost suddenly appeared.
He took Hamlet aside and talked to him.
“People say a poisonous snake killed me but they
are wrong. I was sleeping in my garden when
Claudius came and he put poison in my ear! It was
a painful death. Your uncle is a very evil man. You
must take revenge for my murder and kill him!
But please, do not harm your mother!” Then the ghost disappeared.
Hamlet was full of anger and hatred. He wanted to kill Claudius, but he was
indecisive. He started behaving strangely and Claudius began to suspect that Hamlet
knew something. He asked Polonius, his chief minister, to find out about Hamlet’s
strange behavior.
Polonius knew that Hamlet was in love with his daughter Ophelia. He sent her
to look for Hamlet to find out what was wrong. When Ophelia found Hamlet, he was
thinking about life and death: “To be or not to be – that is the question…” Ophelia
tried to comfort Hamlet but he became angry and told her to get out of his life.
Ophelia was very upset and believed Hamlet was mad.
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A few days later, Hamlet was walking around the castle when he saw Claudius
praying. Hamlet had to make a quick decision. “Now is my chance to kill him,” he
thought. “But no, not while he is praying – he will go straight to heaven.”
Hamlet went to his mother’s room. She looked sad. “You have offended your
father,” said Gertrude. “And, mother, you have offended my father,” replied
Hamlet. While they were talking, Hamlet heard a noise behind a curtain. He was
suspicious and thought it was Claudius. This time, Hamlet was decisive. He took out
his sword and killed the person behind the curtain. But it was not Claudius – it was
Polonius!
The situation in Elsinore was getting worse. Claudius sent Hamlet to England.
While he was there, Ophelia went mad and killed herself. When Hamlet returned, he
was more depressed – now both his father and Ophelia were dead while the evil
Claudius was still alive!
Soon, Laertes, Ophelia’s brother, arrived back in Elsinore. He blamed Hamlet
for the deaths of his relatives, and challenged Hamlet to a fight. Claudius wanted
Hamlet to lose and so he poisoned Laertes’s sward. He also prepared a glass of
poisoned wine to give to Hamlet in case he won.
The fight began. During the fight, Hamlet’s mother drank some of the
poisoned wine from Hamlet’s cup. Hamlet cut Laertes and then Laertes cut Hamlet.
Suddenly, Gertrude fell to the floor. Laertes told Hamlet that his sword and the wine
were poisoned – and that was Claudius’s plan. Without hesitation, Hamlet killed
Claudius – and then died himself. Elsinore Castle was dark and silent.
7. Put the sentences into the order of when they actually happened.
a. Claudius put poison onto the Laertes’s sword.
b. Hamlet spoke to his father’s ghost.
c. Hamlet and Laertes started to fight.
d. Hamlet behaved strangely and was nasty to Ophelia.
e. Gertrude married Hamlet’s uncle.
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f. Hamlet killed Claudius.
g. Claudius killed Hamlet’s father.
h. Gertrude drank the wine and died.
i. Hamlet killed Polonius.
8. Are these statements true (T) or false (F)? Correct the false information.
1. Gertrude married Claudius a few month after King Hamlet died.
2. The ghost appeared before midnight.
3. A snake killed Hamlet’s father.
4. Hamlet never had an opportunity to kill Claudius.
5. Claudius wanted to poison Gertrude.
9. Complete these sentences with the words from the story. Make new
words from the words in brackets.
1. A _____ (poison) snake didn’t kill Hamlet’s father but it was a _____ (pain)
death.
2. Hamlet was full of _____ (hate) for his stepfather and his mother’s behavior
filled him with _____ (angry).
3. Hamlet was not very _____ (decision) and he started behaving _____
(strange).
4. Hamlet was _____ (suspect) and thought that Claudius was listening to him
and his mother.
5. When he returned from England, Ophelia was ____ (die) but Claudius was
still _____ (live).
10. Work in pairs. Discuss these questions.
1. In Hamlet, who is your favourite character?
2. Who is the most famous writer from your country? What sis or she write?
3. What is your favourite play or story in your language? Why do you like it?
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11. Read about Edgar Allan Poe. What kind of writing is he well-known for?
Translate underlined phrases or sentences.
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49) is most famous for his
short stories, especially crime and horror stories. Poe was
an orphan and when he was young, a businessman, Richard
Allan, looked after him. He left university after a year and
went into the army before becoming a literary critic.
After his wife died in 1847, Poe became ill and he
died two years later.
Poe’s first books were of poetry and he first started writing short stories to
make money. He was the inventor of the modern detective story with stories like
The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841) and The Mystery of Marie Roget (1842-3). He
also wrote stories about horror and fantasy such as The Fall of the House of Usher
(1839) and The Cask of Amontillado (1846).
Poe wrote A Descent into the Maelstrom in 1841. It is about a violent
whirlpool near the cost of Norway, which is very dangerous for ships. Poe describes
the horror when a small fishing boat disappears into the whirlpool.
orphan - сирота
maelstrom = whirlpool - водоворот, вихрь
12. Read the story and answer the questions:
- Why did the fisherman’s younger brother fall
overboard?
- Why did the boat go towards the whirlpool?
- Why did the man tie himself to a barrel?
- Why didn’t his brother do the same?
- Why did his old companions not recognize him?
The Maelstrom
I was visiting Norway when I met an old fisherman.
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He took me up one of the mountains near the coast to show me the famous
whirlpool or Maelstrom. The sea was calm then we got to the top of the mountain
but then we heard a frightening sound in the distance. Suddenly, the sea became
rough and the whirlpool appeared, going round and round and making a louder
noise than Niagara Falls. We watched it for some time and then started to go down
the mountain again. Then the fisherman started to speak.
“About three years ago, something terrifying
happened to me. Those six hours of terror have
broken my body and soul. You think I am a very
old man – but I am not. It took less than a single
day to change my hair from black to white. One
day in the summer, my two brothers and I were
coming back from the islands, where the fishing is
excellent. Our boat was full of fine fish after a
good day’s work. All at once the horizon was
covered with a cloud and in less than a minute we were in a terrible storm. It was
the worst storm I have ever seen.
An enormous wave covered our boat and I
watched in horror as my younger brother fell
overboard. Our boat survived and I was trying to
recover when my elder brother put his mouth close to
my ear, and screamed out a horrifying word
“Whirlpool!” With the wind and waves, we were going
in the direction of the whirlpool and nothing could
save us! We soon heard the horrible noise of the
whirlpool in the distance and got closer and closer to
it. It may seem strange but at that moment, when we
were on the very edge of the whirlpool, I felt less frightened than when we were
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moving towards it. We went round and round and nearer to the edge of the
whirlpool.
Suddenly, we went over the edge. I said a prayer to God; I thought my life
was over. But moment after moment went by and we were going round in circles at
great speed. I saw clearly that there were other objects in the whirlpool – trees,
barrels, parts of ships and even pieces of furniture. Gradually, we went down and
down towards the bottom. I noticed that the heavier objects went down more
quickly than the smaller ones. So I tied myself to a barrel to help me float and got
ready to throw myself into the water. I tried to make my brother understand but he
was terrified and stayed in a heavy boat. Without waiting, I dived into the sea to try
and escape.
I’m telling you this story now – so you see that I did escape. I will bring my
story quickly to a conclusion. Some time after I left the boat, with my brother in it, it
sank once and forever into the bottom of the whirlpool. Soon afterwards, the
whirlpool grew gradually less and less violent. The sky was clear, the winds calmer
and the moon was shining. I was still tied to the barrel and the waves soon carried
me to an area where the other fishermen were. In the end, a boat picked me up. I
was completely exhausted. The fishermen were my old companions but they did not
recognize me. When I told them my story, they did not believe it. Now I have told
you, and I cannot expect you to believe me more than the fishermen did.”
13. Order these sentences.
e.g. 1-h
a. A wave washed his younger brother overboard but the boat survived.
b. They were coming back from the fishing trip when there was a terrible
storm.
c. he tried himself to a barrel and dived into the water.
d. The boat got closer and closer to the edge of the whirlpool.
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e. The writer and the fisherman saw the whirlpool from the top of the
mountain.
f. His elder brother disappeared into the bottom of the whirlpool.
g. When some fishermen picked him up, he was exhausted.
i. The boat went over the edge into the whirlpool.
j. The writer met the fisherman with completely white hair.
14. Complete the table with words from the story.
Noun
Verb
Adjective
fright
to frighten
1 frightening
2 __________
3 ___________
to terrify
4___________
5 ___________
6 ___________
7 ____________
to horrify
8 ___________
9 ___________
15. Complete these sentences with words from ex. 14.
1. I was absolutely ______ (terror) when I saw a ______ (horror) insect on my
arm.
2. There was a _______ (terror) storm last night and I was very ______
(fright).
3. I don’t think cockroaches are _____ (fright) but I find rats _____ (terror).
16. Work in groups and discuss these questions.
1. Do you think the story by Poe is true? Why or why not?
2. What other stories or films do you know which are so horror or tantalizing?
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17. What do you know about Agatha Christie? Read the Text about the
“Queen of the Maze”.
Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is known throughout the world as the Queen of
Crime or Maze. Her books have sold over a billion copies in English with another
billion in foreign languages. She is the most widely published author of all time,
outsold only by Bible and Shakespeare. She is the author of 80 crime novels and
short story collections, 19 plays, and six novels written under the name Mary
Westmacott.
Her characters were much
less exotic: doctors, lawyers, army
officers, clergymen. Her stalking
grounds were usually genteel
English house. She laid her
tantalizing plots so exactly and dropped her false leads so cunningly that few – if any
readers could guess the idea. Poison was a preferred method of dispatching the
victim. Agatha Christie is extremely good at building up suspense in all her stories.
The plot is logically developed. Her gripping stories keep the reader guessing
through to the very end. Curtain, the novel about Hercule Poirot, predeceases his
author, is still №1 on best-seller lists.
maze = crime
stalking ground – стержень, основа
clergymen – священник
genteel – благородный
dispatching - отправлять на тот свет, убивать
predecease – пережить кого-то
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18. Read the text and look carefully at each line.
Some lines are correct, and some have a word which
should not be there. Write the wrong word in the
spare provided and tick (✓) the correct ones.
Hercule Poirot
1 _____ Hercule Poirot is Agatha Christie’s
greatest creation, many have say. One of
2 _____ the most famous detectives in all fiction, he was been created in 1916
3 _____ (when Agatha Christie penned the first novel The Mysterious Affair at
Styles).
4 _____ The Belgian detective have appeared in 33 novels and 65 short stories
and is
5 _____ the only fictional character to be honored with a front of page
obituary of the New York Times.
6 _____ He doesn’t have any disorders to speak of, but demands order. He
likes things
7 _____ in an orderly manner (books arranged on a shelf according to its
height) and
8 _____ approves of symmetry everywhere (residence Whitehaven Mansions
is packed
9 _____ because of its symmetry). He despises of dust and unclean homes and
favours
10 _____ indoors (especially central heating in the winter). Poirot had also
values method
11 _____ to him the greatest method or tool in solving all crime is using the
“gray cells”
12 _____ of the brain. He derides such methods as examining footprints,
collecting
13 _____ cigarette ash, searching for clues with a magnifying glass, or taking
to
14 _____ fingerprints. He says any crime can be solved with simply placing the
puzzle pieces correctly.
15 _____ He is rarely an armchair detective – he has to simply “sit in an
armchair and think”.
deride - высмеивать
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