Chapter XII Active vocabulary:

To conjure up, glorious past, prosaic present, to strongly urge sth. upon sb., to spoon, to have one's mind fixed on sth., to sigh over the hollowness of all earthly desires, to stagger sb., to rise to the occasion, meek suggestions, to laugh sb. to scorn, to enliven the journey, to trail along, in the disguise of sth., handy, to put sb. up for the night, to fall upon sb's neck, to be overcome with joy, to faint, to recover consciousness, a truckle bed, uppish, to tackle, to back out of the bargain, to kick up a row, to dress one's wounds, to tell stretchers, to hurl one's curses (at), a steam-launch, to go out on a spree.

Vocabulary

1. Fill the gaps with the appropriate lexical units given below.

a) He … visions of the past so vividly that he could clearly see himself as a young boy.

b) She … her pupils the importance of hard work.

c) Whenever he comes home late his wife ….

d) The tired children … behind their father.

e) He went to the ball … a clown.

f) He is trying ….

g) Don't throw that plastic bag away; it may come in ….

h) Don't be too … about it!

i) She is as … as a lamb.

The lexical units to be inserted: to get out of his bargain, uppish, to kick up a row, to urge upon, to trail along, meek, to conjure up, in the disguise of, handy.

2. Guess the lexical units of the active vocabulary by their definitions:

1. to prove oneself able to deal with an unexpected problem, a difficult task;

2. to clean and bandage (a wound, etc.); 3) to go out to enjoy; 4) to deal with, to attack (a problem, a piece of work); 5) obtain lodging and food; 6) shock deeply; cause worry or confusion; 7) to behave in a way that shows that one is in love; 8) use violent language.

3.Translate and rephrase the following:

1. «I decline to commit myself as to whether the great charter really was signed there» (p.89);

2. «I should have strongly urged upon my comrades the advisability of our getting such a slippery customer as King John on to the island» (p.89);

3. «…an old priory in the grounds of Ankerwyke» (p.89);

4. «It is the haunt of the river swell and his overdressed female companion» (p.96);

5. «the heroine of the 3-volume novel always dines there when she goes out on the spree with sb. else's husband» (p.96);

6. «the gloaming lay around us» (p.98).

Comment on the stylistic peculiarities of the above phrases and their relationship with the context of the story.

4. Translate into English the phrases given below:

1. от дней славного прошлого к прозаическому настоящему;

2. мы бросились ему на шею;

3. мы с аппетитом принялись за холодную говядину;

4. перевязывать раны;

5. изрыгать проклятия;

6. рассказывать небылицы;

7. этот мир – всего лишь испытание;

8. мы врезались прямо в эту плоскодонку.

Speaking

Work with a partner. Discuss the following topics using the given phrases.

a) What it is like to be in a house where there are a couple courting? (march off to the drawing room, his soul held in thrall, hang about, to edge up to the door, to slip out, a conservatory, to poke your nose, to back out, for some wicked purpose of your own).

b) The difficulties arising when people are too choosy about the hotels (to have one's mind fixed on honeysuckle, to sigh over the hollowness of all earthly desires, to trail along, heavenly messenger, to fall upon sb's neck, to be overcome with joy).

c) The problems people are likely to have when they don't have a tin-opener with them (to dress one's wounds, to tell stretchers, the stirring tale, to be worn out and sick at heart, to fling sth. far into the midle of the river).