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Файл:The Legacy and Other Stories (Завещание и другие рассказы). Учебное пособие для студентов бакалавров, изучающих английский язык (второй год обучения),
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himcorrectly—of‘littlepeople’;secondly,thathehadnoviewsas
totherespectivemeritsofjournalismandpolitics,excepttoobserve
thatnowadaystheformerofferedbetterrewards,ineverysense,and
thereforeattractedindividualsof greater talent;thirdly,thatno jour
nalistever reveals hissources; and nally that he had no particular
animusagainstmepersonally,buttooktheimpartialviewthatallpoli
ticiansweremadandliars,andthereforethatwhoeverwasPrimeMi
nisteratanygiventimewas,bydenition,likelytobethebiggestand
maddestliarofthelot.
I am not sure precisely how long this conversation lasted.
AstheHousewillrecall,Inolongerhadawatch.NorcanIsayforcer
tainwhenIrstrealizedthatMrAwasdeliberatelykeepingmeoccu
pied.ButIshouldsaythatroughlytwentyminuteshadelapsedwhen
MissB,whohadtakenupapositionbythewindow,suddenlyinter
ruptedourdiscussiontoreportthatthe street belowwasllingwith
policemenandphotographers.ItwasthenthatMrAdisclosedthathe
hadmisledus.Hehadnot,infact,leftusaloneinordertospeaktoone
ofhisstaff,butrathertoalertthepicturedeskofanationalnewspaper.
TheHousewillappreciatethat,untiltheCrownProsecutionSer
vicehasdecidedwhetherornottoinitiatecriminalproceedings,Iam
describeasfullyasIwouldwishtodoexactlywhat
happenednext.Nopartyhasyetbeenchargedwithacriminaloffence,
and unless and until that happens, Mr A has a right to anonymity.
MissB’spublishedaccountis,frankly,incoherent.Whatisnotindis
puteisthatwitnessesheardvoicesraised,andthatatsomepointMrA
andmyselfbothfell,entwined,downthestairs,landinginthehallat
exactlythemomentwhen,asluckwouldhaveit,thefrontdooropened
toadmittherstofMrA’sdinnerguests,myrighthonourablefriend
theChancelloroftheExchequer.
Mr Speaker, I have tried to set out the facts as clearly and
unemotionallyaspossible.Someone—IthinkitmayhavebeenAbra
hamLincoln,orpossiblyitwasWinstonChurchill—oncewrotethat
a night in a police cell is good for any man, and I feel that I have
181
personallyfromthisexperience.Ihavebeentreatedasany
othercitizenwouldhavebeenunderthecircumstances,andthatisall
Ihaveeversought.
Tohavebeenallowedtoservethiscountryhasbeenagreatprivi
lege.Overthecourseofthenextfewhours,Ishallbehavingfurther
discussionswithmyministerialcolleaguesand others,andlaterthis
eveningIhopetohaveanaudiencewithHerMajestytheQueen.After
thatmyownpersonalpositionwillbeclearer.
Nodoubtmuchmorewillbesaidonthesemattersinthedaysand
weekstocome.Inthemeantime,itonlyremainsformetothankyou,
MrSpeaker,and through youthe House, forthe courtesy youhave
showninlisteningtomypersonalstatement.
T a s k s a n d e x e r c i s e s
vehicle, cubicle, abrasion,
forensic,pedestrian,ally,civility
WhatisthenameofthePrimeMinister’sofcialresidency?
a)DowningStreet b)Chequers
c)Windsor d)Greenford
HowoldwasMissB?
a)21 b)19 c)18 d)15
182
WheredidMrAconsiderstudyingpolitics?
a)London b)Cambridge c)Eton d)Oxford
WhogavethewristwatchtothePrimeMinister?
a)theRussianPresident b)theQueen
c)theUSPresident d)MissB
HowmanytimesdidthePMtrytoenterhisPIN?
a)1 b)2 c)3 d)0
WhodidMissBlivewith?
a)husband b)grandmother c)father d)parents
Mr.Awentupstairsto:
a)makearrangementsforhisdomesticstaff
b)togreethisguests
c)toalertthepicturedeskofanationalnewspaper
d)toreporttothepolice
Howmanyprotectionofcerswerethereintheadvancecar?
a)one b)three c)four d)none
_____ A visit to Mr A’s. _____ In the House. _____ Leaving
for the weekend. _____ An incident at a Service Station. _____
Lookingforataxi.
1. Where does the story take place? Who is the main character
ofthestory?2.Where was the Prime Minister travellingto?Whattime
washetravelling(season,dayoftheweek,timeoftheday)?3.Howwas
securityorganizedduringhistravels?4.WhatwasPMdoingonhisjour
ney?5.Whatishisattitudetopress?6.WhatmadePMwanttoescape?
1. Was PM searched for? 2. Did PM try to get in touch
withthe DowningStreet? 3.Whatproblems did PM face while out
inthestreets? 4.Whydid PM placecopies of somedocuments and
therecordintheLibraryoftheHouse?5.ThePrimeMinister’sChief
183
PressSecretarydisapprovedofhisplan.Why?6.WhydidPMwant
to postpone his encounter with his security ofcers? 7. According
tothePrimeMinisterwhathappenswhenaPrimeMinistertakesof
ce?8.WhathappenedwhenPMwantedtowithdrawmoneyfromhis
card?Didhesucceedinit?9.WhatwasthereasonforgivingtheHouse
minordetails?10.Wheredidhegetthewristwatch?
1.Whydidn’tmotoristsstoptopickupPM?2.Whywasayoung
girlcalled‘MissB’inthehouse?3.WhatwasshedoingwhenPMsaw
her?4.DidsheagreetogivePMalift?
1.Whatoffencedidtheycommitontheroad?2.Did‘MissB’recog
nizeimmediatelyPM?Why\Whynot?3.Didshehaveafamily?4.What
wasPM’sreactionwhenhelearntthatMissBwasofschoolage?
1.WhatdidPMhearonthecarradio?2.Whatdidthecolumnist
writeaboutPMinthenewspapers?3.Whycouldn’tthenameofMrA
bedisclosed?4.HowdidMissBdescribeMrA?
1.HowdidthemeetingwithMrAgo?2.HowdidMrAbehave?
3.WhatdidPMreadonthecomputerscreen?
1. The Prime Minister was a victim. 2. Miss B was a good dri
ver. 3. Mr A considered that real political power no longer resided
intheHouse. 4.ThePrime Minister’sactions aredescribed as ‘agross
derelictionofduty’5.MissBhelpedPM.6.MrAwasanunsuccessful
politician.7.MissBwasanignorantperson.8.MrAwasafamousjour
nalist.9.ThePrimeMinisterwasaliaraccordingtosomenewspaperpub
lications.10.MissBdidn’thaveafamily.11.MrAwasadishonestman.
184
1.Peopleneed…freshairtofeelhealthy.2.Theywerelistening
to… Richard veryattentively andtook …careful note ofevery …
wordhesaid.3.…rstthingyoushoulddowhenyougo…abroadis
get…visatoenter…country.4.On…rainySaturdaynightwede
cidedtostayinandnottogoout.5.For…legalreasonssomemilitary
mencannotbenamed.6.You’llgetinto…lotoftroubleifyoudon’t
follow… rulesof our team. 7.These daysyou can nd … various
Britishnewspapersonline:… Observer,…Times,…Guardian,…
Sun.8.…highestlegislativeauthorityin…Britainis…Parliament,
consistingof…Houseof…Commons,whichexercises…effective
power,…Houseof…Lords,and…sovereign.
1.As he already (tell) they were driving through the busy streets
of London. 2. He (expect) a phone call from his boss the whole after
noon.3.NowIregretthatI(nottotake)thechancethen.4.Icould(be)
afootballerif I (notinjure)my knee.5.I (have) hopefullyanaudience
ofHerMajestytheQueennextweek.6.Aftertheanesthesiahe(render)
temporarilyunconscious.Whenhe(come)tohissenseshe(feel)asud
densensationofdread.7.Aprerecordedmessageinformedthatthey(be)
awayonholiday.8.The potentially hazardouscourse(excite)consider
ablemediaspeculation.However,it(turn)outtobequiteasafejourney.
1.Thebossdisapproved…theprojectdeveloped…hissubordinates.
2.Doyouhaveanymoney…you?3.Ihavealwaysbelieved…family
values. 4.You should not accuse me … insincerity.5.You are not …
libertytohirestaff.6.Protectionofcersbehaved…theirusualmanner.
7.Hefranklydisapproved…thisplan.8.Notaxiswereavailabletohire
…thatparticularpartofGreenford…thattimeoftheevening.9.Abond
hadsprung…us.10.Wasthis,…reection,asensiblecourse?
185
bonnet havingbeenrecorded(ontape,video,etc.)
beforehand
unanticipated corrupt
nausea thehingedmetalpartofamotorvehicle
bodythatprovidesaccesstotheengine,
ortotheluggagespaceinarearenginedvehicle
benet inprison
garbled todoorreceivegood;prot
prerecorded thesensationthatprecedesvomiting
tobeinside unforeseen
PreChristmasperiod
toberenderedtemporarilyunconscious
toexciteconsiderablemediaspeculation
eitherforcashorbarter
topinpointthelocation
tobeinadvanceofone’strueage
tobeunderway
tofeelasuddensensationofdread
inasimilarvein
apotentiallyhazardouscourse
tobeatlibertytodosmth
186
1.Внезапноеосознаниетого,чтооноказалсяодиннанеоби
таемом острове, поставило его в затруднительное положе
ние. 2. «Добрый вечер. Я хочу позвонить в Сидней, Австра
лия. Звонок за счет абонента». 3. Не под чьимлибо влиянием,
а действуя по собственной воле, премьерминистр решил уйти
отсвоейохраны.4.Послемоегоисчезновениявсевофисезнали,
чтоявбезопасности. 5.Приношусвоиизвинения запричинен
ныенеудобства.6.Очевидно,чтояпричинилнеудобствамногим
людям. 7. Во время публичного выступления важно сохранять
самообладание. 8. У меня сохранились смутные воспоминания
одетстве.
1. The Prime Minister and ‘Miss B’ 2. The Prime Minister
and ‘Mr A’. 3. The Prime Minister and his Chief Press Secretary.
4. The Prime Minister and the House. 5. ‘Miss B’and the House.
6.‘MissB’and‘Mr.A’.
1.Thecumulativeeffectofaseriesoflogicalstepswastoprove
fateful.
2.‘ … bear to hearthe truthyou’ve spokenTwistedbyknaves
tomakeatrapforfools…’
Ifeltnosensationofdanger;ratherthereverse.
187
It was at this point that I became aware of another pedestrian
onthatstretchofroad.
HonourableMembersmayimaginethethoughtswhichwererun
ningthroughmymind.
Mypoliticallife,if notexactlypassingbefore my eyes,seemed
atanyratetobepassingbeforemyears.
1.Themediahadfrequentlyturnedupuninvitedonmydoorstep
overtheyears.WhyshouldInotdothesametooneofthem?
2.AllPrimeMinistersgo mad eventually.Thedifferenceisthat
thisonewasmadfromthestart.
1. The escape of the PM was preplanned. 2. The PM escaped
fromtheHouse.3.MrAstudiedpoliticsatOxford.4.Thenewspapers
publishedfavourablereports about thePrimeMinister.5.MrAwas
madecolumnistoftheyearandthePrimeMinisterpresentedhimthat
award.6.ProtectionofcersdidnotplantolookforthePrimeMinis
ter.7.ThePrimeMinisterwasspeakingintheHousesofParliament.
8.ThePMlosthisinscribedwristwatch.
1.Whydoyouthinkwasalinefromthepoem“If”byR.Kipling
quoted?Findthewhole poem. Reciteitinclass. Find itstranslation
intoRussian.2.Analysethequotationfrom“Macbeth”,Act3Scene
4:“… in blood, stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, retur-
ning were as tedious as go o’er .”WhydidtheauthorofPMQstory
quotedit?Drawaparallelbetweentheplay’sprotagonistandthemain
characterofthestory.
188
1. WhydoestheauthorstartthestorywiththePrimeMinister’s
personalstatement?2.WhatkindofpersonandjournalistwasMr.A?
HowimportantisMr.AfordepictingthePrimeMinister?3.Whydid
MissBdecidetojointhePrimeMinisteronthedoorstepofMr.A’s
house?WhatistheroleofMissBinthestory?4.WhywerePM’sac
tionsdescribedinthepressas‘anendangeringofnationalsecurity’?
5. In your opinion whose responsibility for what happened was it?
6.Doyouthinkthisstorycouldhappeninreallife?Ifyes,withwhich
politician? 7. How in your opinion should the government work?
8.Whatistheroleofmassmediainpolitics?Canwefullytrustmedia
reports?9.Doyouthinkitisimportanttobeunbiasedinpressreports?
10.Whatisyourattitudetocensorship?11.‘Whitelie’or‘bittertruth’.
Whichis better?12. Whatshows that the Prime Ministerwas inse
cure?13. In conclusionthe PrimeMinistersaid thatafter he hasan
audienceofHerMajestytheQueenhisownpersonalpositionwillbe
clearer.Whatdoyouthinkitwillbe?14.Howdoyouunderstandthe
titleofthestory?
The world would be a better place if
politicians ….
• Afreepressisanessentialelementofafreesociety.
• DoesaPrimeMinisternotenjoythesamecivillibertiesasany
othercitizenoftheUnitedKingdom?
• Lyingistheessenceofthepolitician’scraft.
• Heshouldhavebeen,ifnotafriend,thenatleastanally.
189
• Theprospect of for once seizingthe initiativeheld acertain
undeniableappeal.
• Journalismoffersbetterrewardsthanpolitics,ineverysense,
andthereforeattractsindividualsofgreatertalents.
• Anightin a police cell isgood for any man, andI feel that
Ihavepersonallybenetedfromthisexperience.
Wheredoyouliketogetthelatestnewsorothersortofinformation?
Do you trust mass media? Do you think it covers events
objectively?Howcanyoucharacterizethestateofmodernpress?
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1.ThePrimeMinisterandhisescape.2.ThePrimeMinisterandhis
work.3.‘MissB’.4.‘Mr.A’.5.TheworkoftheDowningStreetstaff.
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