1. Study the following words and word combinations, explain their meaning in English, give the context in which they are used:

1. not to sleep a wink

2. not to stir a finger to do smth

3. on the verge of tears

4. a matter of life and death

5. to bury a face in one’s hands

6. to induce to come

7. to be nothing but skin and bone

8. to be jealous of

9. to make oneself a perfect fool

10. privations

11. to bear no resentment

12. to be worn out

2. Say whether the following statements are true or false:

1. Blanche Stroeve had no objection to her husband’s nursing Strickland, but didn’t want to allow Dirk to bring him to their house.

2. Strickland agreed at once to come to Stroeve’s studio and stay there.

3. Blanche proved herself not only a capable, but a devoted nurse.

4. Strickland and Dirk Stroeve both painted in Dirk’s studio.

5. Dirk’s wife left him, because she was in love with Strickland.

6. Dirk was not angry with his wife, he didn’t reproach her.

7. Dirk was grateful for all the happiness his wife gave him in the past, and wasn’t against her decision to stay with Strickland.

8. Strickland was not a man to make a woman happy.

9. The narrator had no sympathy for Blanch Stroeve.

3. Fill in prepositions:

1. Strickland needed the care … loving hands.

2. Blanche Stroeve was … the verge of tears.

3. She sank … a chair and buried her face … her hands.

4. Dirk Stroeve, giving … his work entirely, nursed Strickland … tenderness and sympathy.

5. His clothes hung … him like rags …a scarecrow.

6. Dirk had got it … his head that his his wife cared … Strickland.

7. Dirk told his wife how passionately he loved her, and reminded her … all the devotion he had lavished … her.

8. He went … the drawer which he kept his money and took … several bank-notes.

9. He went … again every word … the scene.

4. Discussion.

Give the précis of the part. Answer the questions and motivate your answer:

1. What made Blanche consent to Strickland being moved to their house?

2. Do you think Blanche Stroeve was really in love with Strickland?

3. Was Strickland capable of love?

4. Why did Dirk think that Blanche would suffer the most awful privations with Strickland?

5. Was Dirk prepared to take his wife back?

6. Why was the narrator puzzling over the suddenness of the whole affair?

7. Had Dirk expected his wife’s decision to go with Strickland?

8. Why did Dirk wish with all his heart that he had held his tongue?

9. What was Dirk going to do?

10. Did he predict that the connection between Strickland and Blanche would end disastrously?

5. Enact a conversation between:

1. Dirk Stroeve and his wife. (Chapter XXVIII).

2. The narrator and Dirk Stroeve. (Chapter XXIX).

Unit VII

Chapters XXX-XXXIV

1. Study the following words and word combinations, explain their meaning in English, give the context in which they are used:

1. a wakeful night

2. to forsee disaster

3. to resist the temptation of doing smth.

4. averted face

5. the smart of the blow

6. to be at hand

7. a woman of violent passions

8. demure appearance

9. to fly into a temper

10. to make despairing gestures with one’s hands

11. a hint of mockery