Vocabulary Practice

1. Write in transcription and read the following words and phrases and translate them:

Rudolf Steiner; a true adventurer; walking along the street; a Negro; three steps in front of him; salesman; the adventurous piano salesman; a store; to walk rapidly up the stairs; neat but great poverty was the story he read; unrealized dreams; with sympathy; after a pause; awfully sleepy; piano tuner; a bright electric sign.

2. Translate into English:

Самое интересное может находиться прямо за углом; мечтать о приключениях; перевернуть визитную карточку; сунуть визитку в руку; слиться с потоком людей; несколько карточек лежали на тротуаре; коридор был плохо освещён; он засомневался на какое-то мгновение; выскочить в дверь; низкий заработок; потерянное из-за болезни время; фактически (на самом деле); девушка глубоко вздохнула; постучать в дверь по ошибке; он обнаружил к своему великому удивлению; рука Судьбы.

3. Reproduce the situations from the text where the active vocabulary is used. Think of your own sentences with the words from the list.

1. Suggest words and word combinations from active vocabulary for the following:

• to end one’s examination

• to brighten

• to think about

• to distribute cards

• to live without food

• the dreams which didn’t come true

• to find out to one’s astonishment

• a person who sets the piano at the proper pitch

• to let out a deep breath

• to have neither relatives nor friends

• a shop assistant who sells pianos

• to try to find to a great surprise

• writing done by the same hand

• to look around quickly

• to be nearly to lose consciousness

1. Choose the correct statement:

1. Rudolf Steiner was…

4. a young pianist

5. a great writer

6. a young piano salesman

1. Once when he was walking along the street his attention was attracted by …

1. a Negro handing out dentist’s cards

2. little children crossing the road

3. a young nice woman looking at him

1. When he was passing the Negro the second time he again…

1. noticed a mysterious smile on his face

2. got a card

3. asked him the way to the theatre

1. Whatever the written words on the card might mean, the Negro …

1. had helped him understand them

2. had given him a good piece of advice

3. had chosen him twice from the crowd

1. When the girl cheered up a little …

1. she told him her story

2. she asked him about his unexpected visit

3. she invited him to go for a walk

1. In the hallway he looked around and discovered to his great surprise that …

1. there was only one flat on the floor

2. all the doors were green

3. the girl’s door was dark brown

1. Answer the following questions:

1. Who is the main character of the story?

2. What did he do?

3. What did he look for in the evening?

4. What was Rudolf’s attention attracted by when he was walking along the street?

5. What did he read on the card the Negro had given him?

6. Where did the young man find his adventure?

7. Who did he meet behind the green door?

8. What story did the girl tell Rudolf?

9. What did the young people have in common?

10. What did the words on the Negro’s card really mean?

1. Topics for general discussion

1. What kind of history is it?

2. What kind of a man was Rudolf?

3. What role did his adventurous character play in Rudolf’s life?

4. Do you think the friendship between Rudolf and the girl will grow into love?

Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 — July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on 21 July 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Hemingway was the first son and the second child born to Clarence Edmonds "Doc Ed" Hemingway - a country doctor, and Grace Hall Hemingway. Hemingway's mother once aspired to an opera career and earned money giving voice and music lessons. She was narrowly religious.

While his mother hoped that her son would develop an interest in music, Hemingway adopted his father's outdoorsman hobbies of hunting, fishing and camping in the woods. The family owned a summer home called Windemere on Walloon Lake and often spent summers vacationing there. These early experiences in close contact with nature instilled in Hemingway a lifelong passion for outdoor adventure and for living in remote or isolated areas.

Hemingway attended Oak Park and River Forest High School from September, 1913 until graduation in June 1917. He excelled both academically and athletically; he boxed, played American football, and displayed particular talent in English classes.

After high school, Hemingway did not want to go to college. Instead, at age eighteen, he began his writing career as a cub reporter for The Kansas City Star.

During World War One Hemingway was a military reporter. His war experience provided the background for his famous novels “A Farewell to Arms” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls”. During his life E. Hemingway wrote many novels and short stories in a simple and direct style. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954. The writer died in 1961 by shooting himself.