Vocabulary Training

I. Understanding Word Meaning from Context.

Choose a word or a word group that has the same meaning as the word in bold.

1. His sudden departure threw the office into chaos.

a. dismissal b. action c. going away d. speech

2. He was very frank about his relationships with the actress.

a. proud b. happy c. ashamed d. honest

3. I’d be absolutely delighted to come.

a. not able to b. very pleased c. not eager to d. not interested

4. How long have you been unemployed?

a. not informed b.unhappy c.without a job d.without a place to live

5. We had been waiting for an hour but he didn’t turn up.

a. approach b. call c. get better d. arrive

6. Evidently, she had nothing to do with the whole affair.

a. actually b. obviously c. unfortunately d. luckily

II. a) In what meaning is the verb “miss” used in the text? What other meanings does it have? Illustrate two of them with your own examples.

b) In what meaning is the verb “turn” used in the sentence “Ainsley turned pale”? How can you substitute it?

III. a) When Ainsley was trying to get away with the letter “the door of the post-office was locked”. What is the difference between a closed door and a locked door?

b) Find the words with the meaning opposite to “hire” in the text.

IV. Note the structure “worth + V-ing”. Make sure you understand its meaning and usage. Now think of your own example with it.

V. The construction “would not + Infinitive” is used to complain about people who refuse to do something or things that don’t “obey”. (I asked him not to do it, but he wouldn't listen to me!) Can you think of an example of your own?

VI. Note the use of the word “something” in the following sentence: "Uncle Tom had something over sixty thousand”.

The expressions “something like/over/between/under” are used in informal English to state an approximate number or amount of something.

E.g. Something between 20 and 30 per cent attended the meeting.

Think of an example of your own with one of these expressions.

VII. Explain the following words in English. Use an explanatory dictionary if necessary. If a word has several meanings, point out the meaning in which it is used in the text.

1) jealousy 2) housekeeper 3) to hire 4) will (noun)

Recounting and Interpreting Details

1. Who are the characters of the story and what are their family relations?

2. What was Ainsley’s job?

3. What kind of wife was Adela?

4. Where did Dicky live for many years?

5. What happened to Dicky’s letters to Adela?

6. How did Ainsley lose his job?

7. Why did Dicky come to Ainsley’s family one day? What was the reason for his coming back in Ainsley’s opinion?

8. What were Dicky’s letters about?

9. Where did uncle Tom’s money go?

10. What did each of the characters feel at the end of the story, to your mind?

11. The element of the plot where Ainsley burns Dicky’s letters can be described as dramatic irony. Look up this term in the “Glossary of Literary Terms”. Explain the origin of dramatic irony in the story.

Creative Follow-up Work

Finish the story in any way you like. You may choose to make up a dramatic, happy, humorous, realistic, fantastic, didactic or any other ending you can think of.