XVII. Insert the correct article if necessary:

1. What _____ most unusual ring, if you forgive me for saying so.

2. After _____ third large whisky Mr Thornhill gave _____ distinct impression of talking through _____ muslin bag.

3. In _____ bar of _____ Lansdowne Arms all was wrapped in _____ red, subdued light.

4. _____ weather continued warm, sometimes even hot, and Miss Treadwell discarded _____ musquash coat and some of _____ newspaper under it, wearing instead _____ pale pink jersey dress and _____ pair of brown imitation crocodile shoes she had picked up for _____ shilling or two at _____ rummage sale.

5. She always thought they were such pretty names, she said, and _____ gentleman in _____ homburg hat gave her _____ long friendly blue-eyed stare of _____ admiration.

XVIII. Give your own preface of the story (5-7 sentences).

XIX. Relate the events of the story as if you were:

Miss Treadwell;

Mister Thornhill.

XX. Correct the false statement using the conversational formulas of disagreement:

1. Mr Thornhill smacked the palms of his hands together and his voice was barely audible.

2. Walking across the public gardens she kept her hands tightly folded in front of her to keep herself warm.

3. Miss Treadwell’s means consisted of a huge Post Office Savings Account from which she extracted a substantial sum every Monday morning.

4. Her diet consisted mostly, except on Sundays, of lean meat, poultry, dairy products, fruit and vegetables.

XXI. On reading the facts of the author’s biography express your surprise using conversational formulas:

1. H.E. Bates’s youngest son, Jonathan, was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on the 1982 film Gandhi.

2. H.E.Bates was a keen and knowledgeable gardener and wrote many books on flowers.

3. In his home town of Rushden, H.E. Bates has a road named after him to the west of the town leading to the local leisure centre.

XXII. What methods of characterisation does the author use? What feelings do the main characters express? Do the main characters belong to a particular character type or represent a certain idea, value, quality or attitude? What is the social status of the characters, and how can you tell it from how they speak and what they speak about? How does the narrator characterise the personage through comment or through description? Does the narrator sympathise with the characters or remain aloof and detached?

XXIII. Suggest a picture to illustrate the story. Do not draw the picture but say in 25-30 words what should be in it.

XXIV. Which aphorism reflects the idea of the story best of all (if any)? Justify your point of view. Translate them into Russian.

1. Poverty is like punishment for a crime you didn’t commit.

2. The trouble with being poor is that it takes up all your time.

3. A snob is that man or woman who is always pretending to be something better – especially richer or more fashionable – than he is.

4. We’re born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we’re not alone.

5. The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.

6. Lonely people, in talking to each other can make each other lonelier.

7. Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.

8. Pride comes before a fall.

9. The earth is a beehive; we all enter by the same door but live in different cells.