V. Read the passage, permeated with lively humour, and express your viewpoint in connection with Will’s philosophy of filling time:

Filling days had never really been a problem for Will. He might not have been proud of his lifelong lack of achievement, but he was proud of his ability to stay afloat in the enormous ocean of time he had at his disposal; a less resourceful man, he felt, might have gone under and drowned (p. 71).

Task Set 5 (Chapters 13-15)

I. Study the active vocabulary:

• chat smb. up (p. 79)

• barmy (p. 80)

• show smb. up (p. 83) – Br. infml.

• misguided (p. 86)

• come to do smth. / how come you ….? (p. 86)

• malarkey (p. 86)

• not to know the first thing about smth. (p. 87)

• (heavy) number noun (p. 88) – infml.

• force-feed (p. 88) – two meanings (direct and figurative)

• overreact (p. 88)

• send up (p. 89)

• take hold (p. 90)

• hawker noun (p. 91)

• nose (around) (p. 92)

• plausible adj. (p. 92)

• seedy adj. (p. 92)

• daft noun, adj. (p. 94)

• put (smb.) off (p. 96) – infml.

• wally noun (p. 100) – Br. infml.

II. Complete the sentences (using the units from the active vocabulary):

1. Alice was born in a _______ district, and this fact of her biography affected her reputation immensely.

2. The students used to enjoy themselves by _____________ the teacher's manner of speaking.

3. I don't want our neighbour __________into our affairs, so keep quiet about our plans.

4. The factory system began to ____________in Germany, chiefly in Prussia, in the third and fourth decades of the century.

5. A ___________ is a man who travels about selling goods in a car or on foot.

6. His argument was both powerful and ______________. The dispute was over.

7. Jonathan cannot be called handsome. Indeed those who are acquainted with him would rather call him ugly. It’s his face that _________everybody____.

8. – I understand that it’s a very difficult situation, but anyway you shouldn’t ____________.

Try to take it easy.

– Actually, you don’t _____________________about what you are saying. I don’t need your advice.

9) I must confess I used to have a ______________opinion of him. He always seemed a bit _________to me.

10. Peter is at his usual tricks again, _______________ the girls.

11. – How _____________ you cannot translate the word? Aren’t you prepared for today’s class?

– Oh, please, don’t _______me_____. I had to get ready for my mum’s visit yesterday, cleaned the flat and so on. In fact, I didn’t have any time to study.

12) The reporters of the tabloid regularly ________________ crap information on the readers.

III. Match the synonyms:

malarkey number daft wally plausible nose

silly, foolish pry, detect, find out, worm out nonsense; rubbish believable, likely, probable blockhead, dolt, oaf, softhead standard, model, specimen