voskresenskaya_e_g_i_dr_sost_sovremennye_angliiskie_romany

13Comment on the following quotations and explain their meaning. Do you agree with them?

1)‘They’re not monsters, you know. Not really.’ (p. 9)

2)… Rebecca found herself confronted by a roomful of Winshaws. There were no more than a dozen of them, but to her it seemed like a vast, numberless throng … (p. 12)

3)Should anyone have the temerity to suggest a conflict of loyalty between these activities and the socialist ideals which he professed so loudly in the House of Commons, Henry has a variety of well-rehearsed answers. (p. 14)

4)‘You shouldn’t take notice of anything that Henry tells you, you know,’ … ‘After all, he is a politician.’ (p. 14)

5)… we would be landing money to both sides, of course, and if war broke out we should lend them even more, so that they could be kept at it for as long as possible, using up more and more equipment and losing more and more men and getting more and more heavily in our debt. (p. 17)

6)‘I’ve missed my chance, now.’ (p. 27)

7)As for Yuri, he has been quite forgotten and I can barely even call to mind the film which excited me a couple of hours ago. All I can think of is the fearsome atmosphere of Blackshaw Towers, and the inexplicable scene in the bedroom where this beautiful, beautiful woman asks Kenneth to spend the night with her, and runs away when she isn’t looking. But why did he run away? Out of fear? (p. 42)

Creating a Commentary

14The book is full of references and allusions to the British social, political, cultural life which are very important for understanding and interpretation of the novel.

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

Great Britain in the World War II; Sid James, Kenneth Connor, Jimmy Edwards, Wilfrid Hyde-White (p. 14); CND (p. 14); unilaterism (p. 15); Bertran Russel getting seven days in the slammer (p. 15); testing H-bombs (p. 15); Khrushchev (p. 15); … everyone talking about a bit of a thaw… (p. 15); … the Wall goes up … (p. 15); Kuwait crisis (p. 16); … Kuwait was declared an independent

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Sheikdom in June (p. 16); …Brigadier-General Kassem had announced his intention of absorbing it into his own country… (p. 16); Henry Saglio (p. 18); Yuri Gagarin at the Earl’s Court exhibition (p. 19); Weston-super-Mare 1961 (p. 29); Dairy Milk Chocolate (p. 32); Certificate U (p. 34); Six years later, Yuri would be dead, his MiG15 diving inexplicably out of low cloud and crashing to the ground during an approach to landing. … dark muttering about the KGB and the displeasure my hero may have incurred in his own country for having so charmed the cheering Westerners. (p. 35)

Language and Style

15The narration of Prologue (as well as of the whole book) is a combination of a detective story, tragedy, family saga, autobiography, horror story, gothic story, satire, comedy and black comedy. Find examples of each and complete the chart below.

16Translate one of the following passages.

1)Her irrationality in this respect … ever-resourceful Nurse Gannet. (pp. 5–6)

2)In the car going home, I pretend to be asleep … I can just make out the light from the amber roadlamps flashing across her face. Light, shadow. Light, shadow. Light, shadow’. (pp.42–43)

August 1990

PRE-READING

Focus Activity

1 Discuss the following questions.

1)Is there any film or book dominating and influencing your life? What is it? Why is it so important to you?

2)Have you ever felt lonely? If ‘yes’ what do you usually do to fight loneliness or do you enjoy it?

ACTIVE READING

Vocabulary Practice

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

resolve; pat; sneak (out); deliberate; spin; encounter; scattered; desperate; craving; take over; enchanted; mogul; indignation

3 Find the English equivalents to the following words and expressions. Give the context they are used in.

порог; моргать; захватить врасплох (удивить), поразить; лест- ничная площадка; сложить руки на коленях; собирать деньги на что-либо; сложить вдвое; заложник; отправиться (на прогул- ку); газетная вырезка; живой щит; безжалостный, беспощадный; расслабляться (фр.гл., разг.)

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4 Match the words (1–13) to their synonyms (a-m).

5Fill the gaps in these sentences with a suitable word or expression from the box below. Put it in an appropriate form. Some words and expressions are used more than once.

1)Recent events strengthened her … to find out the truth.

2)She … the job after he left.

3)She had a … for some chocolate.

4)I had hard work at it for several weeks; you see I never did get drunk, but I found that I was not my own master, and that when the … came on it was hard work to say `no'. (Black Beauty by Anna Sewell)

5)I used to … of my window when I was a boy, so I need not disturb the aunts, and now I rather like it, for it's the shortest road, and it keeps me limber when I have no rigging to climb. (Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott)

6)He … his pocket, checking for his keys.

7)The teacher was … by the little girl sweet voice.

8)In 1972, Murdoch acquired the Sydney morning tabloid The Daily Telegraph from Australian media … Sir Frank Packer, who later admitted regretting selling it to him.

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9)Imagine my surprise and when I saw the floor occupied by at least a dozen other lodgers. (Present At A Hanging And Other Ghost Stories by Ambrose Bierce)

10)Broken glass lay over the floor.

11)The boy had … of the room while we weren't looking.

12)His first … with Wilson was back in 1989.

13)With her as … I could force acquiescence to my every demand. (The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs)

14)She … at dawn for town.

6 Translate the sentences into English using words and expressions from Vocabulary Practice Section. Pay attention to the underlined words and expressions.

1. Шейла долго собирала деньги на колледж, но потом переду- мала туда поступать. 2. Талибы все чаще используют мирных жи- телей в качестве живого щита, пытаясь противостоять совместной военной операции сил НАТО и армии Афганистана. 3. Расслабь- ся, беспокоиться не о чем. 4. Мы все были чрезвычайно удивлены, что он так неожиданно сменил свою точку зрения. 5. Террори- стическая группировка удерживает 4 туристов из Австралии в качестве заложников. 6. На лестничной площадке между пер- вым и втором этажом расположена доска объявлений. 7. Их слу- чай казался безнадежным, так как не было никого, кто бы мог им помочь. 8. Салли похлопала по сиденью, приглашая меня сесть рядом. 9. Семья была в восторге от нового дома. 10. Соискатель- ница сидела прямо на краешке стула, сложив руки на коленях. 11. Она открыла дверь и переступила через порог. 12. Я не пойму, почему он мне моргает? 13. Группа отправляется в европейское турне в марте. 14. Сверните лист бумаги вдвое по пунктирной линии (along the dotted line). 15. Марго отправила ему несколь- ко газетных вырезок о свадьбе Джона. 16. Она не помнила нашу случайную встречу летом прошлого года. 17. Террористы про- явили безжалостное неуважение к правам человека. 18. Маль- чишки часто пробирались в кинотеатр тайком бесплатно.

7Make up your own sentences or a story using the vocabulary from the exercises above.

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Comprehension and Discussion 8 Answer the questions below.

1)Why are some scenes from the film “What a Carve Up!” repeated in August 1990? Why did the film impress Michael so much?

2)How did Michael spend two or three last years of his life? Why? Why did he watch the same scene from “What a Carve Up!”?

3)What happened once on an August evening? Who knocked on Michael’s door? What was the reason? Describe the visitor.

4)Why did Michael have problems concentrating on what Fiona was saying?

5)How did Michael’s relationships with Fiona develop? What did her visit change in his life?

6)What are the two articles on p. 63 about? Analyse them. What opinions does Hilary express in each of them?

7)What did Michael want to say / prove by comparing the articles? How do they characterise Hilary?

8)Could you characterise Michael and his lifestyle? What are your first impressions of him? Support your ideas from the text.

9Present the events of the chapter from Fiona’s point of view.

10Act out the scene between Michael and Fiona when she first comes to his place to raise some money for charity.

11Comment on the following quotations and explain their meaning. Do you agree with them?

1)…in the old days you’d have to have talked to someone: going into shops and things. But now you can do all your shopping in the supermarket, and you can do all your banking by machine, and that’s all about it.’ (p. 54)

2)‘You can’t switch me off,’ she said. (p. 58)

3)This was without doubt an extraordinary day and to prove it I now did yet another extraordinary thing. I went for a walk. (p. 59–60)

4)Countless thousands of readers seemed to have been charmed, over the years, by her endearing habit of professing almost total ignorance of any subject which she chose to discuss – her specialty in this regard being a willingness to put forward the most strident opinions relating to controversial books and

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films while cheerfully admitting that she had been unable to find the time to read or see them. (p. 63)

Creating a Commentary

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

Battersea Park (p. 60); Chelsea, London (p. 63); Presidency of Saddam Hussein (p. 63); SODI (p. The Supporters of Democracy in Iraq) (p. 63); Iraq-Kuwait War (p.63); Invasion of Kuwait (August 2, 1990); Iraqi-American relations; Iraqi-British relations; International reaction to Invasion

Language and Style

13 Translate the following passage.

I woke up the next morning … . I went for a walk. (pp. 59–60)

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES

14Answer the question below.

1)Technological development makes people more and more isolated, lonely, people barely talk to each other though the quality of life improves. Is technology a blessing or a curse? Give you reasons.

Hilary

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PRE-READING

Focus Activity

1 Discuss the following questions.

1)What is the role of media in our life? Could it form public’s opinion on anything? Why or why not?

2)Is there any correspondence between reality and the world presented in the media? Why?

3)Which media source (TV, newspaper, radio) is the most influential? Why?

ACTIVE READING

Vocabulary Practice

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

are used in.

tedious; schedule; reiterated; scrutiny; acquisition; deputy; juxtapose; malevolently; impartiality

3 Find the English equivalents to the following words and expressions. Give the context they are used in.

принимать что-то как должное; стремление, сильное желание; взять под крыло; целевая аудитория; непристойная (грубая) шутка; поддерживать высочайшие стандарты качества; иметь право на что-либо; отвечать требованиям по качеству; постоян- ный (заядлый) читатель; вести дела; вращающийся стул; канц- товары (канцелярские принадлежности)

4 Match the words (1–11) to their synonyms (a-k).

5 Match the words (1–4) to their antonyms (a-d).

6 Fill the gaps in these sentences with a suitable word or expression from the box below. Put it in an appropriate form. Some words and expressions are used more than once.

1)The Chinaman turned his shrewd, slant eyes … upon the doctor. (The Monster Men by Edgar Rice Burroughs)

2)The work was tiring and … .

3)She … her story to the police.

4)Careful … of the company's accounts revealed a whole series of errors.

5)The Art Society is holding an exhibition of recent … .

6)Oversized color photos … human figures and faces in counterpoint to nature and seasonal change in this striking contemporary survey of human relationships to the elements. (Counterpoint by California Bookwatch)

7)A pensioner has laid claim to the title of Britain's most … reader after it was disclosed she is on the brink of borrowing her 25,000th library book.

8)He gave her a dark, … look.

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9)It is almost impossible for the best parent to observe an exact … to his children, even though no superior merit should bias his affection; but sure a parent can hardly be blamed, when that superiority determines his preference. (The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding)

10)Independent exit data taken by TouchPoll revealed that 87% of those surveyed had either conducted business with exhibitors or were planning to … with exhibitors in the future.

11)Her first album is … for release in September.

12)People my age should … treatment on the NHS.

13)Continuing "rapid" changes to GCSEs and A-levels are making it harder to ensure standards are … , the head of England's exams regulator said yesterday.

7Translate the sentences into English using words and expressions from Vocabulary Practice Section. Pay at-

tention to the underlined words and expressions.

1. Президентские выборы были назначены на декабрь. 2. Он повторил, что уйдёт в отставку. 3. Незнакомец внимательно и с любопытством смотрел вниз. 4. Она вытащила моё последнее приобретение с нижней полки и уставилась на обложку. 5. Со- временные технологии соседствуют с традиционными. 6. Жите- ли Бали весьма гордятся своими традициями и обычно строго следуют кодексу поведения, туристам при посещении острова следует это принимать как должное и приспосабливаться к ме- стным обычаям. 7. Компания Microsoft официально представила свой мобильный телефон, получивший название Kin, его целе- вая аудитория – молодые люди, активно пользующиеся соци- альными сетями. 8. Тогдашний лидер консерваторов Майкл Ховард взял его (Дэвида Кэмерона) под свое крыло и поручил ему координацию политических вопросов, а затем сделал его теневым министром образования. 9. Приключившийся 17 лет назад инцидент, в котором нынешний генеральный директор Би-би-си Марк Томпсон укусил своего коллегу-журналиста за руку, был всего лишь "грубой шуткой", заявила пресс-служба Британской вещательной корпорации. 10. Японцы – заядлые читатели газет: 80 процентов населения прочитывают хотя бы одну газету каждый день. 11. В любой цивилизованной много- национальной стране ребенок имеет право не только получать

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