Exercise

Ex.1. ANALYSE the ing-form: state whether it is a Gerund or a Verbal noun. TRANSLATE into Russian.

1. Teddy could almost feel the earth shake from the bombing. 2. But whoever had done the killing, who had been his target? 3. His mind kept returning to the amazing distance he had traveled. 4. It was at that moment that they heard the ringing of Mr. Bateson’s bell. 5. The writer of the book relates these questions and answers in the language or manner of speaking used in the time they are said to have been spoken. 6. After weeks of waiting, she began to understand how awful it was to be alone, with nobody to say a word to. 7. It seemed strange that she should have given no warning to my wife or to me. 8. If this man has any chance of becoming a teacher, these misspellings destroy it. 9. I wouldn’t want to risk adding my name to the blacklist by misbehaving during the ceremony of the school opening. 10. There was much sewing to be done, and many things to be talked over and arranged. 11. Before departing for Moscow she, who was generally a mistress of the art of dressing well yet inexpensively, had given her dressmaker three dresses to make over. 12. I was carried down to the kitchen, a dark and dirty place, full of the grease and soot of the cooking where the pots were always boiling and dozens of menials were at work at the chopping of vegetables and the cleaning or plucking of the fowl, and all the other tasks. 13. The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each State, but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators (US Constitution). 14. The drive to the airport took twenty minutes, plus more for parking, shuttling, walking, pushing, and shoving. 15. “Little Raphael,” as her sisters called her, had a decided talent for drawing, and was never so happy as when copying flowers, designing fairies, or illustrating stories with queer specimens of art. 16. Those who offered him presents were as much pleased with his manner of accepting, as were those who received gifts from him with his graciousness and amiability in giving them. 17. Then a war broke out and he went away to join the fighting.

Revision of the Gerund

Ex.1. LEAVE the appropriate verb form.

The Titanic

All the fanfare surrounding Cameron’s blockbuster movie Titanic was rubbing this review the wrong way. When it had first been released I’d resisted to see / seeing it, because I just didn’t feel like to watch / watching 1,500 people drown.

The next day at my desk at the newspaper, I jotted down ten reasons why I shouldn’t have to see / seeing Titanic and write a review of it. But it was before my wife dragged me to the picture. And now my advice to you is this: The movie is worth to go / going to. Before to see / seeing the picture I was aware that many people have gone back again and again to see / seeing it, and I wondered why. “It must be because of the special effects,” I said to myself. But what really makes the picture to work / work / working is the story-within-the-story framework. As the film opens, we focus on a modern-day treasure hunter who has mounted an expedition in which divers will attempt to recover / recovering a famous and valuable necklace reported to have gone / having gone with the Titanic. The expedition just happens to be televised / being televised, and the telecast just happens to be watched / being watched by a 101-year-old woman who not only was on the Titanic but who has the necklace. Before we know it, the woman and her granddaughter have joined the expedition, at which time they proceed to tell / telling everyone what it was really like the night of the disaster. Once the old lady begins to tell / telling her tale, the film proceeds in flashbacks of her recollections.

To watch / watching a movie like this, one is faced with the inevitable question: Is it more suspenseful to know / knowing the end of a story or not? I come down on the side of the former. We all know what happened when the Titanic sank. Somehow, to know / knowing the outcome makes the suspense greater.

By the way, I must assure my readers that I will not be a member of that group responsible for destroy / destroying the pleasure of many moviegoers by divulge / divulging the secret of what happens to the necklace. Find out for yourself by go / going and see / seeing the movie.

Ex.2. POINT OUT gerundial phrases and STATE their functions.

1. Emily was confused by our all observing her. 2. There has been some talk on occasion of my going to a boarding school. 3. On setting the box on the table, he looked around the room. 4. Don’t mind my mentioning it. 5. There cannot be any objection to your seeing her presently, ma’am. 6. Don’t you remember your coming to the coach to meet me, and my having breakfast here, and our riding out to Wales together? 7. It was so early that there was so little fear of his being seen. 8. Instead of calling the bank’s night manager the guard switched the television back on and stared at it. 9. You don’t mind my being frank, do you? 10. Riding inside the dimly lit cargo was like being transported inside a cell. 11. There is not the remotest possibility of anyone’s calling upon me. 12. She went to the door to listen to his coming up. 13. John Dawkings objected to their entering London before nightfall. 14. Annette’s being French might upset him a little. 15. His coming down is really no excuse for his not writing on Sunday.

Ex.3. FILL IN the blanks by the form of infinitive or gerund.

1. I’m certain you will never regret (follow) my advice. 2. Casey couldn’t remember (see) armed guards in a hangar, as there wasn’t any need for the guards to be armed in a secure facility. 3. Just remember (take) all the time you want. The interview is taped, so they’ll cut out any pauses. 4. Who has taught you (sing) so well? 5. When you were at school, did you learn (dance)? 6. When you forget (pack) the most important equipment it makes me think you don't really want to go on this trip. 7. From the plane he saw the Nile River that was not very different from the way he was used to (see) it. 8. This is not the way (treat) a small child, I think. 9. He used (like) to climb trees. He was a good tree-climber. 10. At first we thought (give) you a nice photo album, but then decided you’d enjoy (have) roller skates. 11. He was scared and not ashamed (admit) it.

Ex.4. This is an abstract from a speech. PROOFREAD the text for the forms of the Infinitive and the Gerund and the choice between them.

I want to begin this evening by being asked all of you: How many of you live your lives by the clock? Are you guilty of any or all of the following: To speed? To skip a meal? Frequenting fast-food restaurants? Ordering meals over the phone? Getting angry in a traffic jam? To honk your horn if that terrible person in the car ahead of you waits more than two seconds to resume having driven when the light changes to green? Becoming impatient if some idiot in the supermarket is moving his cart too slowly? Dividing up your day into small blocks, like half hours or even quarter hours? Carrying around a daily planner in which you’ve got everything scheduled, including parties and entertainment, for the next several weeks?

I, too, used to be guilty of overschedule my life and charge through everything I did, but fortunately I saw the light. My having changed my basic relationship with time is probably the best thing I ever did. I’m an anthropologist, and about six years ago I did some field work on group relationships among the Navajo people in Arizona and New Mexico. My work included to spend time with Navajo elders, to observe their activities, and recording many of the things they said. One thing I learned very quickly was that the notion of hurrying is basically foreign to the Navajo.

I was assigned to an elderly man named Mr. Begay. I would be spending my days with him and watch what he did. I loved being allowed to participate in Navajo culture, but at first I was irritated by Mr. Begay’s taking so long to doing things, and I’m sure he was amused at my becoming so impatient with him.

Gradually, though, I started slowing down and enter into the Navajo lifestyle. For many Navajos, having started and finished things at prescribed times is basically alien. Accomplishing something takes as long as it takes. Eventually I started looking at things in a new way, and today I’d say that my having been given this opportunity to seeing how another culture deals with time probably taught me more than any other single thing.

I remember to go to pueblo dances later on and to be amused by tourists who were impatient for the dancing to begin. I’d hear irritated voices saying things like, “When are they going starting the dance? It was supposed to start at 11:30. If they don’t hurry, we’re going to have miss our lunch reservation.”

But at those pueblo dances, Native Americans start dancing when they’re ready to start. Things take as long as they take. Now it wouldn’t be a bad idea if we in the mainstream culture gave some thought to adopting part of that lifestyle. Too many of us want everything being instantaneous: fast food, microwavable meals, instant money from automatic tellers, instant credit. When things don’t go according to schedule, we feel stress, and stress can kill us. And it keeps us from being enjoyed things as we experience them.

OK. Now let’s take a break – a leisurely break. When we come back, I’ll give you some suggestions for slow things down.

Ex.5. TRANSLATE the sentences using the models.

Model 1: mind/like/hate/avoid, etc. doing smth.

1. Надеюсь, вы не возражаете, если я дам вам ответ завтра? Не люблю принимать поспешные решения. 2. Мне очень нравится дом у озера – люблю сидеть вечерами на берегу и слушать звуки природы. 3. Эту передачу стоит посмотреть. 4. Мне не удалось избежать встречи с деканом. 5. Давайте отложим обсуждение на завтра, если вы не возражаете, чтобы прийти сюда еще раз. 6. Он представил, как его награждают олимпийской золотой медалью. 7. Он никак не мог припомнить разговора на эту тему и предложил посетителю выслушать его еще раз. 8. Эта должность требует, чтобы каждый день вы приходили в офис ровно в 8 часов. 9. Не переношу, когда меня жалеют. 10. Почему ты избегаешь высказывать свое мнение?

Model 2: think of/object to/insist on, etc. doing smth.

1. Мы решили, что встретимся в пятницу. 2. Его обвинили в обмане официального лица. 3. Петр преуспел в исполнении мексиканских народных песен. 4. Я не привыкла к тому, чтобы меня перебивали. 5. Мое сообщение удержало его от появления на вечеринке. 6. Он настаивал на том, чтобы оплатить нашу работу заранее. 7. Я думаю о поездке в летний лагерь в этом году. 8. Он был несказанно удивлен, увидев всех нас вместе в его доме. 9. Приносим извинения за опоздание рейса. 10. Буду ждать ваших предложений для нашего проекта.

Model 3:

way (intention, talent, etc.)

of (for, etc.) doing smth.

1. Это был хороший способ избежать наказания. 2. У него была способность угадывать чужие мысли. 3. Его раздражение по поводу моей бестактности быстро угасло. 4. Он пришел с целью предложить свои услуги. 5. Мы приняли меры предосторожности, чтобы не заразиться инфекцией. 6. У меня нет возражений относительно переезда в другое здание. 7. Искусство выражать ясно свои мысли – это то, чем я пытаюсь овладеть. 8. Выступающий выразил удовлетворение обсуждением на конференции насущных вопросов охраны среды. 9. Его манера спрашивать разрешение по любому поводу уже никого не удивляет. 10. Страх остаться одному в большом пустом доме заставил меня согласиться на поездку в деревню.

Model 4:

On, after, before, by, through, because of, without, in spite of, by means of, in case of, etc.

+ doing smth.

1. Путем переговоров удалось достичь согласия между наемными рабочими и хозяевами. 2. Я пользуюсь этим инструментом для полировки мебели. 3. Мы вылечили его от сыпи наложением повязок с мазью. 4. Не смотря на то, что 50 лет назад здесь была больница, здание не вполне подходит для современного медицинского учреждения. 5. Он перебрался жить в другой район, не известив об этом своих родителей. 6. Прежде чем принять окончательное решение, нужно установить цель постройки этого древнего сооружения. 7. Он упустил возможность стать членом команды, потому что серьезно заболел перед соревнованиями. 8. У него быстро закончились все деньги из-за того, что он покупал слишком много лотерейных билетов. 9. Если бы я не встретил Дика, никогда не узнал бы о его счастье. 10. Чтобы не случилось так, что его неверно поняли, он объяснил все детали дела еще раз.

Ex.6. This is an abstract about Walt Disney, the world-famous cartoon producer. PARAPHRASE the underlined parts to use the Gerund.

Example: After 1926, Walt Disney never drew a cartoon character.

à After 1926, Walt Disney stopped drawing cartoon characters.

After 1926, Walt Disney never drew a cartoon character. Outstanding draftsmen working for him could design and animate the cartoons much better than he ever had, so he concentrated on his imagination, original ideas while he created amusing characters and his ability to carry the project through. A first class editor, he had a talent – he could reject needless details from a cartoon, keeping just enough to make it rich and entertaining. He was never satisfied when he had to repeat a successful formula – new techniques beckoned him. Nothing would give him pause when he felt that he wanted to experiment with something new – sound, then color and eventually with amusement parks and cities of the future.

Pleased with the overwhelming popularity of his Mouse, in the early thirties Disney began to worry that he was trapped in the Mickey series. After he introduced new characters to bring some variety in the cartoons, Disney began to use color. The first color cartoon, Flowers and Trees, brought Disney the first of his twenty-one Academy Awards (the record number of awards received by one person). From then on the production was made in costly Technicolor, except Mickey, who remained black and white until 1935. While the team was rolling out one splendid short after another like a well-oiled machine, Disney was pondering a long-cherished idea – how to make a full-length animated movie. It had never been done! For this bold project, known as “Disney’s Folly”, large backgrounds were to be given three-dimensional qualities and human characters should not be drawn as caricatures. After Snow White premiered on December 21, 1937 it went on to an international career that grossed $8 million on its first run. Walter Disney had concluded that the only thing that could be better than one long feature film was three new ones. Three teams were put to work on Pinocchio, Bambi and Fantasia.

Ex.7. TRANSLATE the sentences using the Gerund.

1. Она продолжала смотреть по сторонам и прислушиваться к шуму наверху. 2. Он опять рассмеялся, не дождавшись от нее ответа. 3. Я помню, что однажды встречался с вами в Дрездене. 4. У Томми была привычка читать газету за завтраком. 5. Я ничего не имею против того, чтобы вы пользовались моими книгами, при условии, что вы положите их обратно на надлежащее место. 6. Я почувствовал необходимость кому-нибудь позвонить, а еще лучше встретиться с кем-нибудь. 7. “Раз увидеть – лучше, чем сто раз услышать”, гласит русская пословица. 8. Неизвестно, как долго продолжался бы этот лесной пожар, если бы не пошел сильный дождь. 9. Это пальто нуждается в починке, оно порвано в нескольких местах. 10. Он сказал это таким тоном, что я не могла не рассмеяться; у него, право, большой комический талант. 11. Когда обмениваешься мнениями, это позволяет лучше сформулировать свои собственные мысли. 12. Я не выношу, когда люди спорят о таких пустяках. 13. Простите, что я снова напоминаю Вам об этом, но, зная, какая Вы рассеянная, я боюсь, что Вы забудете принести мне эту книгу. 14. Я не сержусь, когда меня критикуют, если это критика по существу. 15. Вам лучше взять зонтик; может пойти дождь; небо все покрыто тучами, и барометр упорно падает. 16. Спасибо, что позвонили. Было так приятно поговорить с вами. Не зашли бы Вы как-нибудь до отъезда? С нетерпением жду встречи с Вами. 17. Рассказ был такой смешной, и он прочел его с таким мастерством, что вся аудитория разразилась смехом. 18. Доклад может быть рекомендован к опубликованию только после того, как он будет обсужден и одобрен ученым советом. 19. Никто не требует, чтобы вы оставались здесь до вечера; вы можете уйти, как только окончите работу. 20. Сидеть на боковых местах неудобно, поскольку не видно всей сцены. 21. Она занята посадкой цветов в саду; надеюсь, она не будет против того, чтобы мы ей немного помогли. 22. Этого не стоило упоминать, вам следовало бы достать более надежные сведения. 23. Когда был дан сигнал, они все пустились бежать по направлению к лесу. 24. Очень неразумно, что вы сидите с открытым окном, вы легко можете простудиться. 25. Они продолжали грести вдоль правого берега, где река была глубже, и где не было песчаных мелей (sand bank). 26. В Англии многие художники, не имея работы, пытаются выручить хоть немного денег, рисуя на тротуарах.