- •Introduction
- •Robert Burns “To a Mouse”
- •Questions and tasks. Chapter 1. (Track 2 Disk 1 - track 12 Disk 1)
- •II. Listen further (till the words: “I bet it was more than four miles. Damn hot day”) and offer the English equivalents for the following words and phrases:
- •III. Listen to the excerpt “Lennie looked timidly over to him. “George?”………… “Awright. You got that. But we’re gonna sleep here because I got a reason.” Say whether these statements are true or false:
- •IV. Listen up to the end of George and Lennie’s conversation (till the words “The sycamore leaves whispered in a little night breeze”).
- •Chapter 2. (Track 13 Disk 1 – track 7 Disk2)
- •II. Listen till the words “At that moment a young man came into the bunk house.” Suggest the English variants for the following words and phrases from this part of the novella:
- •III. Listen further (till the words “George laid down his cards thoughtfully, turned his piles of three.”) and offer the English equivalents for the following words and phrases:
- •Chapter 3. (Track 8 Disk 2 – track 6 Disk 3)
- •Listen to the chapter in portions
- •Chapter 4. (Track 7 Disk 3 – track 19 Disk 3)
- •I. Listen to the introductory episode of chapter 4 and find the English equivalents for the expressions in bold type:
- •II. Say whether these statements are true or false:
- •Chapter 5. (Track 1 Disk 4 – track 12 disk 4)
- •Chapter 6. (Track 13 Disk 4 – track 19 Disk 4)
- •I. Listen to the final chapter and find the English equivalents for the following words and phrases:
- •The novella Of Mice and Men (1937)
- •Vocabulary Notes To chapter 1
- •To chapter 2
- •To chapter 3
- •To chapter 4
- •To chapter 5
- •To chapter 6
IV. Listen up to the end of George and Lennie’s conversation (till the words “The sycamore leaves whispered in a little night breeze”).
Explain the words and expressions and reproduce the situations in which they were used:
lumbered to his feet
brusquely
an elaborate pantomime of innocence.
to sock
imperiously
to blubber
dejectedly
to scoff
cat house
irrigation ditch
craftily
keep smb in hot water
to get a kick out of that
to blow their stake
to live off the fat of the land
to tend the rabbits
a big vegetable patch
a rabbit hutch
furry
a coyote yammered
Answer the questions:
In the opening scene of the 1939 Lewis Milestone film of Of Mice and Men, Lennie carries a dead bird, not a mouse. The studio thought that a mouse would be too unsettling for the audience, particularly a female audience. Why is a mouse a more appropriate image?
What did the men have for supper?
What did Lennie pick up and how did George react to his find?
Who hadn’t allowed Lennie to keep mice in his past?
Why did the idea of finding a cave in the mountain occur to Lennie?
What did George promise to give Lennie when they arrived at the new place?
A jungle is a roadside hobo camp; the first recorded reference to the term was to "Hobos Jungles," used in 1908. Why do Lennie and George first stop at a jungle rather than go directly to work? Why is it here, and only here, that the entire dream that Lennie and George share is articulated? Describe the dream George and Lennie share for their future. Why is it so important to both men?
What did George advise Lennie to do when in trouble?
Chapter 2. (Track 13 Disk 1 – track 7 Disk2)
(From “The bunk house was a long, rectangular building” until “The dog raised his head, but when Curley jerked out, the grizzled
head sank to the floor again”).
I. Listen to the description of the place the two companions came to and the people they met. Pay attention to the following expressions, reproduce the situations they were used in (up to “The old swamper looked quickly at him,….”):
барак
длинная прямоугольная постройка
койка
посмеиваться/насмехаться
мешок/мешковина (2 variants)
сутулый
метла
он был зол, как черт
круглое, похожее на палку запястье
подсобный рабочий/уборщик
вши, тараканы и прочая нечисть
чистить отварной картофель
если на яйце было красное пятно, он его соскребал
расправить складку на одеяле
дать конюху взбучу
горбун
деревянная щеколда поднялась
коренастый человек
расстегнутый жилет
квадратная металлическая пряжка
ботинки на каблуках
шпоры
Answer the question:
How is the bunk house described? What does the description tell the reader about the men who live there?
II. Listen till the words “At that moment a young man came into the bunk house.” Suggest the English variants for the following words and phrases from this part of the novella:
водитель дал нам неверную информацию (слэнг)
босс прищурился
Джордж нахмурился/хмуро посмотрел на Ленни
он не разговорчив
сильный как вол
что ты скрываешь/кого пытаешься обмануть
чего ты его расхваливаешь
он глуповат
ссыпать ячмень в мешки
копали сточную яму
когда звук шагов затих
Джордж напустился на Ленни
держать пасть на замке
не делать ошибок
выглянул за дверь
овчарка, волочащая ноги
с серой мордой
собака, хромая, прошла в угол комнаты
совать нос не в свое дело
он потер седую щетинистую щеку костяшками пальцев
State whether these statements are true or false:
The boss wrote Murray and Ready he wanted two men that morning.
It was Murray and Ready’s fault that George and Lennie were not there for work that morning.
The boss said suddenly, “Listen, Small!” Lennie raised his head. “What can you do?” Lennie answered, “I can do anything you tell me.”
Lennie wasn’t bright but he could put up a four hundred pound bale.
Lennie was George’s cousin. George promised Lennie’s old lady to take care of him.