Denis Waitley

BEING THE BEST

(from the Рrologue)

Part 1

Pre-reading instructions

Language section. Vocabulary

Difficult and unfamiliar words and expressions:

Mythical (adj.) – imaginary, existing in fantasy;

my weekly binge at the public library (fig) – my weekly portion of books which never seemed enough to me; (binge – a time in which one eats or drinks a great deal; direct meaning);

dog-eared (adj.), of a book etc.– having the corners of the leaves turned down with use;

fascinate (v) – to interest greatly, to attract, to charm;

mysterious (adj.) – not easily understood;

myth (n) – here: wide-spread but false idea;

carry forward (v) – to go further, to continue;

cling to (v) – to remain loyal, to trust;

dead-end – closed end of the road without exit (dir); hopeless situation (fig);

slip in (v) – to enter secretly;

worthless (adj.) – useless;

frustrating (adj.) – disappointing, discouraging;

prime (adj.) – chief, most important;

spawn (v) – spread out, expand, give rise to, generate;

The silver screen became a prime spawning ground for imagination – The silver screen stimulated my imagination to grow;

pretend (v) – to imagine oneself as; to make believe;

get along (v) – to continue to live in spite of difficulties;

recall (v) – to recollect, to bring back to mind;

cardboard (n) – thick, stiff kind of paper used for making boxes, binding books, etc.;

twinkle (n) – look of amusement in the eyes.

Language section. Grammar

Pay attention to the sentences which contain:

a) Gerunds (prepositional and non-prepositional):

... We cling to the myths in the arena of real living.

I did a lot of pretending when I was growing up.

I recall cutting out pieces of cardboard and slipping them my shoes...

... My mom was good at making us seem rich.

b) Complex Object Construction:

My mom could even make poverty fun!

My mom was good at making us seem rich.

(Mind that after make the infinitive in the COC does not have the particle «to», it is a bare infinitive).

с) Passive verb forms:

All my life I have been fascinated by the mysterious relationship between myth and truth.

...Before we know it, we have been sold a bill of goods...

I was born and raised in San-Diego, California...

d) Attributive phrases in which the head-word is modified by a chain of pre-positive attributes:

my dog-eared orange library card

my slick orange-and-gold MasterCard

worthless, frustrating dead-end road

the post-depression and World War II years

e) Replacive words (word-substitutes):

Like that of most kids of my generation, my fantasy world centered on the radio... («that» replaces (substitutes) fantasy world).

She answered, with a twinkle in her eye, «Why, today you’re getting a delicious chicken sandwich ... without the chicken!» And so I did. («did’ is used to replace the verb» to get).

Read the text.

Denis Waitley

BEING THE BEST

(from the Prologue)

Part 1

You might say I had a mythical childhood. What few fantasies radio didn’t inspire, storybook characters from my weekly binge at the public library did. When I look back at the 1930s and early 1950s, I realize that my dog-eared orange library card was more valuable to me then than my slick orange-and-gold MasterCard is to me now. It didn’t matter if the books were fiction or non-fiction. All of them were passports to faraway places and wonderful adventures.

All my life I have been fascinated by the mysterious relationship between myth and truth. As children, we regularly mix myths and truths. This is of no real concern unless we carry forward and cling to the myths in the arena of real living. For many of us, the myths slip in as facts, and before we know it, we have been sold a bill of goods that leads us down a worthless, frustrating dead-end road.

Like that of most kids of my generation, my fantasy world centered on the radio, the library and, of course, Saturdays at the Roxy Theatre. When I could earn the dime for a ticket and the extra two nickels for popcorn and a soft drink, the silver screen became a prime spawning ground for my imagination. I did a lot of pretending when I was growing up. My comic book collection helped mc pretend I was the «Green Lantern», «Hawkman», and «The Blue Beetle» all rolled into one undersized kid. I pretended my father didn’t have to go to war. I pretended my parents got along better and they didn’t always have financial problems.

I was born and raised in San Diego, California, during the post-depression and World War II years. Like many of my friends, I recall cutting out pieces of cardboard and slipping them inside my shoes each morning so I wouldn’t wear holes through my socks.

What a pair of shoes mine were! They were my school shoes, gym hoes, and Sunday shoes all in one pair, and I took good care of hem knowing that they had to last at least a year or until my feet outgrew them.

We had little money, but my mom was good at making us seem rich. She packed my lunch, usually a sandwich and an apple, as if it were a delicacy. I remember the morning I asked her what the .sandwich-of-the-day was, expecting her usual answer «of peanut butter and something». She answered, with a twinkle in her eye, «Why, today you’re getting a delicious chicken sandwich ... without the chicken!»

And so I did. My chicken sandwich without the chicken was two pieces of bread with margarine, lettuce, salt, pepper, and mayonnaise between them. My mom could even make poverty fun!