231 Recapitulation of indirect speech

Exercise 1

Use the correct verb form instead of the infinitives in brackets.

A

Wormold believed that in the rich families the custom of keeping a duenna (to linger) still, and sometimes it seemed to him that Milly too (to carry) a duenna about her, invisible to all eyes but her own.... It (to be) long before that Wormold realized that the duenna (not to be) always by her side. Milly (to be) meticulous in her behaviour at meals and never (to neglect) her night-prayers… One day however, when Milly (to be) thirteen, he (to summon) to the convent school of the American Sisters of Clare in the white rich suburbs of Vedado. There he (to learn) for the first time how the duenna (to leave) Milly ... by the grilled gateway of the school. The complaint (to be) of a serious nature: she (to set) fire to a small boy called Thomas Earl Park-man, junior. It was true, the Reverend Mother (to admit), that Earl, as he (to know) in the school, (to pull) her hair first, but this she (to consider) in no way justified Milly's action...

(G. Green)

В

It was Wormold's day-dream that he (to wake) some day and find that he (to have) amassed sowings, bearer-bonds and share-certificates, that he (to receive) a steady flow of dividends like the rich inhabitants of the Vedado suburb; then he (to retire) with Milly to England... But the dream (to fade) whenever he (to enter) the big American bank... Passing through the great stone portals, which (to decorate) with four-leafed clover, he (to become) again the small dealer he really (to be), whose pension never (to be) sufficient to take Milly to the region of safety.

(G. Green)

C

'The story is simply this,' said the painter after some time. Two months ago I (to go) to a crush at Lady Brandon's. ...Well, after I (to be) in the room about ten minutes, ... I suddenly (to

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become) conscious that someone (to look) at me. I (to turn) half-way round, and (to see) Dorian Gray for the first time. When our eyes (to meet), I (to feel) that I (to grow) pale. A curious sensation of terror (to come) over me. I (to know) that I (to come) face to face with someone whose mere personality (to be) so fascinating that, if I (to allow) it to do so, it (to absorb) my whole nature, my whole soul, my very whole art itself... I (to grow) afraid, and (to turn) to quit the room... There, of course, I (to stumble) against Lady Brandon... I could not get rid of her... She (to speak) of me as her dearest friend. I only (to meet) her once before, but she (to take) it into her head to lionize me. I believe some picture of mine (to make) a great success at the time, at least (to chatter) about in the penny newspaper, which (to be) the nineteenth century standard of immortality. Suddenly I (to find) myself face to face with the young man whose personality so strangely (to stir) me... It (to be) simply inevitable... Dorian (to tell) me so afterwards. He too, (to feel) that we (to be) destined to know each other.'

(0. Wilde)

Exercise 2

Render the following dialogues in indirect speech.

A

Robert: Martin didn't take that cheque.

Gordon: What? Is that true? Are you sure?

Freda: Yes.

Gordon: You know, I never could understand that. It wasn't like Martin.

Stanton: Do you really believe that Martin didn't get that money? If he didn't, who did? And if he didn't, why did he shoot himself?

Robert: Stanton, we don't know; But we're hewing you'll tell us

Stanton: Being funny, Robert?

Robert: Not a bit. I wouldn't have dragged you back here to be funny. You told me didn’t you – that you were practically certain that Martin took that cheque?

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Stanton: Certainly I did. And I told you why I thought so. All the evidence pointed that way. And what happened afterwards proved that I was right.

Robert: Did it?

Stanton: Well, didn’t it?

Freda: If it did, then why did you tell Martin that you thought Robert had done it?

Stanton: But of course I didn't.

Olwen: Yes, you did.

(J.B. Priestly)

B

At last... we hauled him [Larry] up the bank... As he entered the house,... Mother uttered a gasp of horror.

'What have you been doing, dear?' she asked.

'Doing? What do you think I've been doing? I've been shooting.’

But how did you get like that, dear? You're sopping. Did you fall in?’

‘...Well, of course I fell in; what did you think I had been doing?’

‘You must change, dear, or you'll catch cold.’

'I can manage,' said Larry with dignity; I’ve had quite enough attempts on my life for one day.'

C

Margo ... burst into Mother's room.

‘The house is on fire... Get out... get out...' she yelled dramatically.

Mother leapt out of bed with alacrity.

‘Wake up Gerry... wake Gerry,’ she shouted...

‘Wake up... wake up Fire...fire! screamed Margo at the top of her voice.

Leslie and I tumbled out on the landing.

'What's going on?' demanded Leslie.

'Fire!' screamed Margo in his ear. 'Larry is on fire!

Mother appeared.

‘Larry’s on fire? Quick, save him,’ she screamed, and rushed upstairs to the attic, closely followed by the rest of us. Larry’s room was full of acrid smoke. ... Larry himself lay sleeping

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peacefully. Mother dashed over to the bed and shook him vigorously.

'Wake up, Larry; for heaven's sake wake up.'

'What's the matter?' he asked, sitting up sleepily.

The room's on fire.'

'I'm not surprised,' he said, lying down again. 'Ask Les to put it out.'

... Les ... hauled the bedclothes off the recumbent Larry and used them to smother the flames. Larry sat up indignantly.

'What the hell's going on?' he demanded.

'The room's on fire, dear.'

'Well, I don't see why I should freeze to death ... why tear all the bedclothes off? Really, the fuss you all make. It's quite simple to put out a fire.'

'Oh, shut up,' snapped Leslie, jumping up and down on the bedclothes.

'I've never known people for panicking as you do,' said Larry, 'it's simply a matter of keeping your head. Les has the worst of it under control; now if Gerry fetches the hatchet, and you, Mother, and Margo fetch some water, we'll soon have it out.'

(G. Durrell)

D

Considered as a group my family was not a very prepossessing sight that afternoon, for the weather had brought with it the usual selection of ills to which we were prone... Only my eldest brother, Larry, was Untouched.

... It was Larry, of course, who started it.

'Why do we stand the bloody climate?' he asked suddenly, making a gesture towards the rain-distorted window. 'Look at it!... And look at you: you're looking more decrepit and hagridden every day.'

Mother peered over the top of a large volume...

'Indeed Fm not,' she said indignantly.

'You are,' Larry insisted; 'you're beginning to look like an Irish washerwoman ... and your family looks like a series of illustrations from a medical encyclopedia.'

'Yes, dear,' said Mother vaguely.

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'What we all need,' said Larry, 'is sunshine... I had a letter from George this morning — he says Corfu's wonderful. Why don't we pack up and go to Greece?'

'Very well, dear, if you like,' said Mother unguardedly... 'When?' asked Larry, rather surprised at this co-operation...

'Well, I think it would be a sensible idea if you were to go on ahead, dear, and arrange things. Then you can write and tell me if it's nice, and we all can follow,' she said cleverly. Larry gave her a withering look.

'You said that when I suggested going to Spain,' he reminded her, 'and I sat for two interminable months in Seville, waiting for you to come out... No, if we're going to Greece, let's all go together.'

'...I can't go just like that. I have to arrange something about this house.' 'Sell it.' 'I can't do that, dear,' said Mother, shocked. '... I've only just bought it.'

'Sell it while it's still untarnished, then.'

'Don't be ridiculous, dear,' said Mother firmly; 'that's quite out of the question...'

So we sold the house and fled from the gloom of the English summer, like a flock of migrating swallows.

(G. Durrell)

E

Gordon [beginning to fiddle about with wireless]: What's disturbing the ether to-night?..

Freda: Oh, Gordon, don’t start bit again. We’ve only just turned it off. Gordon : What did you hear?

Freda: The last half of a play.

Olwen: It was called The Sleeping Dog.

Stanton: Why?

Olwen: You know, I believe I understand that play now. The sleeping dog was the truth, do you see and that man – the husband – insisted upon disturbing it.

Robert: He was quite right to disturb it.

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Stantоn: Was he? I wonder. I think it a very sound idea — the truth as a sleeping dog... I think telling the truth is about as healthy as skidding round a corner at sixty.

Freda: And life's got a lot of dangerous corner — hasn't it, Charles?

Stanton: It can have — if you don't choose your route well.

(J.B. Priestly)

F

F Betty:

Betty: You're talking about me, all of you. I know you are. I wanted to go to bed. I started to go. And then I couldn't. I knew you were all talking about me. I couldn't stand it. I had to come back.

Freda: Well, you were wrong. As a matter of fact, you're the only person we haven't been talking about.

Betty: Is that true?

Robert: Yes, of course... Not a word's been said about you. In fact, we all wanted to keep you out of this.

(J.B. Priestly)

G

The King and the Queen were talking together in a frightened whisper.

The King was saying, ‘I assure you, my dear, I turned cold to the very end of my whiskers!'

To which the Queen replied, 'You haven't got any whiskers.'

The horror of that moment,' the King went on, ‘I shall never forget!'

'You will, though,' the Queen said, 'if you don't make a memorandum of it.'

(L. Carroll)

H

I suppose the small greenish statue of man in a wig on a horse is one of the famous statues of the world. I said to Cary,

‘Do you see how shiny the right knee is? It’s been touched so often for luck, like St. Peter’s foot in Rome.’

She rubbed the knee carefully and tenderly, as though she were polishing it.’ Are you superstitious?’ I said.

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‘Yes.

‘I’m not.’

‘I’m so superstitious I never walk under ladders. ... I try not to tread on cracks in pavements. Darling, you’re marrying the most superstitious woman in the world. Lots of people aren’t happy. We care. I’m not going to risk a thing.’

‘You’ve rubbed that knee so much, we ought to have plenty of luck at the tables.’

‘I wasn’t asking for luck at the tables,’ she said

I

‘[I] don’t have a mother,’ he said...

‘Oh, Peter, no wonder you were crying.’ She said, and got out of bed and ran to him.

‘I wasn’t crying about mother,’ he said rather indignantly.

‘I was crying because I can’t get my shadow to stick on. Besides, I wasn’t crying.’

(J.M. Barrie)

Exercise 3

Translate into English.

A

Когда он назвал своё имя, на него посмотрели с любопытством, а потом посадили в лифт и повезли, к его удивлению, не наверх, а вниз. Теперь он сидел в длинном подземном коридоре (basement corridor) и смотрел на красную лампочку, горевшую над дверью; ему сказали, что он может войти, когда загорится зеленый свет, но не раньше. Люди, не обращавшие внимание на лампочку, входили и выходили… Никто не смотрел на него; он чувствовал, что стесняет их. (to embarrass)

...По коридору лифта прошел Гордон (Hawthorne)... Он тоже не взглянул бы на Уормолда (Wormold), если бы тот его не окликнул.

– Привет, Готорн.

– Ах, это вы, Уормолд.

–…Что здесь происходит? Можно подумать, это военно-полевой суд.

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— А это и в самом деле военно-полевой суд,— сказал Готорн ледяным тоном (frostily) и прошёл в дверь, над которой горела лампочка. Часы показывали 11.25. Его вызывали на одиннадцать. Он раздумывал, могут ли они что-нибудь с ним сделать, кроме того, что выгонят (to sack smb.), впрочем, они уже и так его выгнали. Сейчас они, вероятно, решают его судьбу.

(Г. Грин)

B

Увидев Милли, он сразу всё понял. За ней шёл молодой приказчик (shop assistant) и нёс такой огромный пакет, что не было видно его лица. Уормолд подумал с тоской (sadly): опять что-то купила. Он поднялся наверх ... и услышал, как в соседней комнате Милли говорит приказчику, куда положить пакеты.

• Милли, что ты купила?

• Пойдем покажу.

Они пошли в спальню. На кровати лежало седло... Уормолд спросил упавшим голосом (hopelessly):

— А где лошадь?

Он так и ждал, что лошадь появится из ванной.

(Г. Грин)