1. Reproduce the situations from the chapters where these lexical items are used.

2. Comment on or paraphrase the following sentences from the chapters.

• For the first time I had an inkling of the fact that the prisons of the world might be filled with men who had read Plato and appreciated music, literature, modern painting, fine wines, and thoroughbred horses;

• Whatever Miles Fabian may have lacked, he had aplomb;

• For a man who had lived a precarious existence for most of his life, he had lordly habits;

• The German Economic Miracle;

• Too many Americans are still fighting World War II;

• My credentials as an art expert had been confirmed;

• Pleasure delayed is pleasure increased;

• The days in the heavy atmosphere of Zurich and the dealings with lawyers and bankers had made me long for clear mountain air and violent exercise;

• What we don’t know can’t hurt us;

• I calculate and I intend to teach you to calculate too;

• You and I are no longer permitted the luxury of morality;

• Sometimes frankness is not the virtue it’s cracked up to be.

3. Answer the questions.

• What kind of agreement was signed between Fabian and Grimes?

• Did Grimes have any kind of doubts after concluding the agreement? Why?

• Why did Grimes leave decisions up to Fabian? (as far as their investment operations were concerned)

• Do you think Grimes envied the way Fabian was acting in business?

• In what way did Grimes start to feel after eating all those delicious meals?

• Why didn’t Grimes dare to court or date Eunice?

• How did Grimes feel about the fact that he had to be present at all business meetings Fabian arranged?

• What surprised Grimes about Fabian’s habits and behavior?

• How do you account for Fabian’s tastes in art?

• How did Grimes feel when Fabian took him to museums and galleries and tried to educate him? Why?

• What kind of deal did Fabian find in Lugano?

• What impression did Herr Steubel produce on Grimes?

• What made Fabian so angry after visiting Herr Steubel?

• Why did Grimes and Fabian argue a lot after visiting Herr Steubel? What happened to Herr Steubel?

• Why did Grimes think that the police should arrest him and Fabian?

• Why did Fabian want Grimes to marry somebody?

• Why did Fabian call English countryside hospitable to eccentrics?

4. Do you agree or disagree with the following? Quote the text to prove that.

• Fabian didn’t like to allow money to lie idle. How does it characterize him?

• Grimes was rather naïve, not adventurous (enterprising) by nature;

• Fabian was a cold-blooded businessman (imposter; swindler);

• Fabian wasn’t scrupulous about money, he was (spender; unthrift);

• Fabian was a kind of modern hero;

• Grimes was a shrewd man;

• Grimes wasn’t a criminal by nature;

• Grimes had an excellent intuition;

• There was something fatherly in the way Fabian treated Grimes;

• Fabian was rather cynical;

• Grimes was worried;

• There was something like a spy activity in their business.

5. Topics for developing argumentation and rhetorical speech skills. Dwell on the following subjects.

• Admiration for art doesn’t stand idle people of inert minds;

• Even if you are adventurous and risk-liking that doesn’t mean you are a born criminal;

• Success is the child of audacity. – B. Disraeli

• Somebody recently figured out that we have 35 million laws to enforce the ten commandments. – E. Wilson

• To marry either for money or of convenience – should you be driven by heart or mind in marriage matters;

• Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate. – B.R. Brickner

• Don’t marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can’t live without. – J.C. Dobson

• Where are the limits for morality?

• Travelling is only amusing when you have a home to return to;

• The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. – St. Augustine