voskresenskaya_e_g_i_dr_sost_sovremennye_angliiskie_romany

8Discuss the problem of consideration of all the things around from two points of view: scientific and religious.

9Make a list of all the links to previous chapters. What is their role?

10Сharacterise Colonel and his daughter. Compare their points of view on different things: death; form, size of fruits and plants; faith, believers and unbelievers. What is the base of this difference?

11Looking at the halo around Ararat Amanda Fergusson says: ‘There always appear to be two explanations of everything.’ As you read complete the chart below with examples of two explanations of everything.

Which explanation is closer to your understanding of those phenomena and things? Why?

Why did Amanda persist in her beliefs? Was it because she really believed in everything she claimed or did she want to object / argue with her father?

12Comment on the following quotations and explain their meaning. Do you agree with them?

1)It was a provocation, that’s what it was, thought the Colonel. (p. 169)

2)… he believed in the world’s ability to progress, in man’s ascent, in the defeat of superstition. (p. 170)

3)Mere novelty is no proof of value. (p. 173)

4)… God had created both Man and Nature, placing Man into hat Nature as a hand is placed into a glove. (p. 174)

5)There always appear to be two explanations of everything. That is why we have been given free will, in order that we may choose the correct one. (p. 183)

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6)Having come this great distance to intercede for her father, she now seemed to instead to be constantly arguing with his shade. (p. 192)

7)It seemed evident that you could lose your bearing here in other ways as well. (p. 193)

Creating a Commentary

13Comment on the meaning and usage of the following references and allusions, give the context they are used in.

1)What do we call “Mumbo-jumbo”? What did it originally denote?

2)What currency is mentioned by (Admission) 1s. (Description) 6d?

3)Where can we find the line “Vive Henrico!”?

4)Find information about the insect “Death-watch beetle”.

5)With what purposes can Essence of ginger be used by people?

6)Where can we find table d'hôte nowadays? Where and when did it take its origin?

Language and Style

14 Translate the following passage.

“And thus it was agreed… – crushed from the fruit of Noah’s vineyard.” (pp. 177–178)

How are the lists of things taken to the journey represented by the author?

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES

15Work in pairs/groups and discuss the following points.

1)Do you agree that Nature is a divine creation? Could you give the examples to prove it?

2)What is the role of religion in modern society? Has it changed in the cause of time? Why?

3)What is faith: unquestioning obedience or following only some laws of religion?

4)Fathers and sons: how should both behave to avoid conflicts?

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Chapter 7. Three Simple Stories

PRE-READING

Focus Activity 1 Discuss the following questions.

1)Read title of the chapter. What do you anticipate to read about in the chapter?

2)What do you know about “Titanic”? How many people got drowned? Who survived?

3)Do you know the story of Prophet Jonah? What is the moral of this story?

4)What was going on in the world in 1935–1945?

ACTIVE READING

Vocabulary Practice

2Find the following words in the text, give their definitions, derivatives and translations. Give the context they are used in.

Deteriorate; maroon; disembark; quota

3Find the English equivalents to the following words and

expressions. Give the context they are used in.

Вызывать трепет, волновать; подлинные работы маслом; вводить в замешательство; вызывать у кого-либо что-либо; гармонировать с чьи-либо взглядом на жизнь; умолчать, не упомянуть; на ред- кость страшная буря; козырная карта; туз; отталкивающая мо- раль; быть порожденным мифом; непредвиденные обстоятельст- ва; пассажиры, отрезанные от берега; достаточное оправдание.

4 Give the Russian equivalents to the following English words and word combinations.

Premises; maiden voyage; octogenarian; to insinuate oneself into; annihilating wicked cities; penitent; gourd; shabby; evasion; insane; escapade; salvation; deliverance; to suffocate

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5 Explain the meaning of the following words and word combinations.

Premises; to insinuate; gourd; deliverance; to suffocate; salvation; evasion; repellent; marooned passengers; sufficient justification

Make your own sentences using these words and word combinations.

6Translate the sentences into English using words and expressions from Vocabulary Practice Section. Pay atten-

tion to the underlined words and expressions.

1. Он настоящий ценитель искусства, и подлинные работы мас- лом всегда вызывали у него особый трепет. 2. Первый рейс этого корабля был неудачным, он попал в на редкость страшную бу- рю, и не смог прибыть вовремя в порт. 3. Он всегда был намного моложе своих лет, и многих вводило в замешательство то, стиль жизни и идеи подростка гармонируют с взглядом на жизнь этого восьмидесятилетнего человека. 4. Он любит настольные игры и особенно карточные, все эти трюки с тузами и козырными кар- тами, блеф вызывают у него особый восторг. 5. В средствах мас- совой информации даже не упомянули о спасении этих людей и о раскаявшемся человеке, взявшем их в заложники. 6. Все его отговорки, увертки лишь подтверждали то, что он был жалким, подлым человеком. 7. Судя по его шальным выходкам, он был душевнобольной, ненормальный человек, который рано или поздно станет угрозой не только для самого себя, но и для всего общества. 8. Он предусмотрел все, и никаких непредвиденных обстоятельств быть не могло.

Comprehension and Discussion

7 Answer the questions below.

Story 1

1)Who is the main character of the first story? How does he describe himself? What is his occupation?

2)How is the prep-school represented?

3)Can the grandfather be called an example of inevitable valedictory condition?

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4)What were the two theories of Beesley’s escape from ‘Titanic’? Which did the narrator / do you support? Why?

5)Why was the narrator so cruel towards Beesley? How did he tease the poor man?

6)Why did Beesley want to take part in the film?

Story 2

1)What is the second story devoted to? What is the style of telling it? Is it appropriate?

2)What fascinates us about the story of Jonah and James Bartley?

3)God is described playing different parts. What are these parts?

4)Do you agree with the narrator’s evaluation of God as the author of the story about Jonah: ‘… we have to mark him down for the plot, motivation, suspense and characterization.’? Why? / Why not?

5)How could you characterise the narrator’s attitude to God in the second story? Find examples from the text.

6)What is the moral of the story about Jonah in Barnes’ interpretation?

Story 3

1)What is the setting of the third story?

2)How were the Jews treated by the Nazis?

3)What was going on the board? How did their trip end? Why was it called ‘the ship that shamed the world’?

4)What was normal and abnormal in the third story? Give examples from the text.

5)Why didn’t any country want to host the ship? Did they really care about the fate of the people on board? Is their attitude much different from that of the Nazis?

6)The name of the ship is St Louis. Is there any connection between the name of the ship and the role it played in this story?

7)What do the following numbers refer to? Why are they important? 937, 40, 250, 350, 194, $ 150, $500, $250,000, $1,000,000, $453,500, $443,000

8)In the last passage of the chapter Barnes mentions that ‘the passengers from St. Louis shared the fate of European Jewry. Their chances rose or fell depending upon the country to which they had been allotted.’ What was the role of Belgium, Great Britain, Holland and France in WW II?

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Three Simple Stories

1)Is there any idea that unites three stories of the chapter? Why are they called simple?

2)What is the place of this chapter in the history of the world? Why did Barnes choose these episodes for his history?

8Make a list of all the links to previous chapters. What is their role?

9Having read the six chapters the reader gets used to the idea of two possible interpretations of any story: common, recognized by the majority and an original one. Can you find examples of two versions in this chapter?

10Comment on the following quotations and explain their meaning. Do you agree with them?

1)… life amounted to the survival of the fittest: did not the Beesley hypothesis prove that the ‘fittest’ were merely the most cunning? (p. 206)

2)“Life is a cheat and all things show it. I thought so once and now I know it.” (p. 206)

3)Was this not deft proof of how the human gene-pool was constantly deteriorating, how bad blood drove out good? (p. 206)

4)… history repeats itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce. (p. 208)

5)We know how to distinguish myth from reality. We are sophisticated people. (p. 213)

6)Myth will become reality, however skeptical we might be. (p. 215)

7)Immigration, like emigration, is a process in which money is no less important than principles or laws, and often sounder than either of them. (p. 218)

8)If the shame belongs to the whole world, then why should one particular country – which had already accepted many Jewish refugees – be so frequently expected to bear it? (p. 220)

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Creating a Commentary

11Comment on the meaning and usage of the following references and allusions, give the context they are used in.

1)Who is Meritocrat? When did this word originate?

2)What was the significance of wearing “a flat cap” at different times?

3)What kind of institution is Gonville and Caius?

4)Who are studying in Dulwich college?

5)Find out the meaning of the word combination “the good breeding stock”.

6)Was Lawrence Beesley a real person?

7)What is depicted in the film “A Night to Remember”?

8)Is Pinewood only a forest of pines?

9)Consult Dictionary of Idioms to find out the meaning of the word combination “Top dog”.

10)What meaning did the word “Untermenschen” have in Nazi jargon?

11)What is German origin of the word “Gestapo”?

12)How can the fame of Dachau city be explained?

Language and Style

12Compare the passage of the original text with its translation. (Reality proved more local… – or at least another chapter. (pp. 203–204)). What transformations were made

by the translator?

У реальности оказалось меньше размаху. Один триместр я пре- подавал в подготовительной школе не дальше полумили от до- ма и, вместо того чтобы коротать ленивые часы с симпатичными детьми, чьи матери, надежно защищенные шляпками, снисхо- дительно улыбались бы и все же флиртовали со мной в теченье бесконечного, сбрызнутого пыльцой дня спортивных состязаний, проводил время с сыном местного букмекера (он одолжил мне свой велик; я его разбил) и дочкой пригородного адвоката. Но полмили – вполне приличный конец для мало повидавшего; и в

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восемнадцать лет даже крохотные градации в средних слоях общества волнуют и устрашают. Школа существовала с семьей в придачу; у семьи был дом. Все здесь было другим и потому луч- шим: горделивые латунные краны, форма перил, подлинные работы маслом (у нас тоже имелась подлинная работа маслом, но она была не такая подлинная), библиотека, которая по непо- нятной причине казалась чем-то большим, нежели просто наби- той книгами комнатой, мебель, достаточно старая для того, что- бы в ней завелись древесные черви, и беззаботное приятие унаследованных вещей. В холле висела ампутированная ло- пасть весла; на ее черной поверхности были золотыми буквами выписаны имена представляющей колледж восьмерки, каждого члена которой наградили подобным трофеем в осиянные солн- цем довоенные дни; эта штука казалась до невозможности экзо- тической. В саду находилось бомбоубежище, которое заставило бы моих домашних краснеть и подверглось бы энергичной мас- кировке многолетней зимостойкой зеленью; однако здесь оно служило только предметом слегка иронической гордости. Семья соответствовала дому. Отец был шпионом; мать прежде была актрисой; сын носил воротнички с петлицами и двубортные жи- леты. Нужно ли добавлять еще что-нибудь? Прочти я к тому времени побольше французских романов, я знал бы, чего мне ожидать; и, конечно, именно здесь я впервые влюбился. Но это уж другая история или, по крайней мере, другая глава.

Chapter 8. Upstream!

PRE-READING

Focus Activity

1 Discuss the following questions.

1)Read the title of the chapter. What do you anticipate to read about in the chapter?

2)Do you like writing letters? Do you like receiving letters? Do you keep a diary? Why or why not?

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3)Have you ever been isolated from civilization for some time? How did you feel? Did you have any insight?

4)What do you know about “the kitchen” of film industry? What problems and difficulties may occur in life of actors and actresses?

ACTIVE READING

Vocabulary Practice

2Find out words and phrases that are informal and give a formal variant for each of them.

Comprehension and Discussion

3 Answer the questions below.

1)What are the peculiarities of the narration? Comment on the language of the chapter.

2)What happened with the team of film-makers in the jungles?

3)What happened on the raft? Is there any connection with what happened to the Jesuits a couple of hundred years ago and what happened to Charlie and Matt?

4)How is the main character represented at the very beginning of the chapter? What changes happen to Charlie throughout the chapter? What has changed in his perception of: film, jungles, friend Matt, life around, Pippa? What causes them? Why does he start thinking about having a baby? What is going on between Charlie and Pippa?

5)Is the idea of the previous chapter that history repeats itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce revealed in this chapter?

6)Having read the story, could you explain the meaning of the title?

7)What is the place of this chapter in the history of the world? Why did Barnes choose these episodes for his history?

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4Make a list of all the links to previous chapters. What is their role?

5Make a plot of the chapter.

6Characterise Charlie, use his letters as a proof. Is he characterised directly or indirectly?

7Charlie constantly compares his views, behaviour, beliefs of a civilized man to those of the Indians. As you read complete the chart below with examples of these versions.

Whose views are closer to real life / to nature? Why?

8Comment on the following quotations and explain their meaning. Do you agree with them?

1)But they just stood there as if we were the odd ones not them …. (p. 235)

2)The truth is it’s only fantastically healthy ones who get by at all. (p. 247)

3)… but it’s about the sort of conflict running through human life in every time and every civilization. Discipline v. permissiveness. Sticking to the letter of the law v. sticking to its spirit. Means and ends. Doing the right thing for the wrong reasons v. doing the wrong thing for the right reason. (p. 249)

4)How Christianity starts off as the religion of peace but ends up violent like other religions. (p. 250)

5)Go to the Jungle and you really find out what people are like. (p. 255)

6)You go along thinking you know exactly what everything is, and then you stop and look at it and it doesn’t make any sense and you think maybe it made any sense in the first place because everyone was pretending it did. (p. 255)

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