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V. Write 12 questions suggesting answers with these patterns. (The questions in Ex. IV may serve as a model.)
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TEXT. ROSE AT THE MUSIC-HALL From "They Walk in the City" by J. B. Priestley
Priestley, John Bointon (1894-1984) is the author of numerous novels, plays and literary essays well-known all over the world. Of his pre-war novels the most famous are "The Good Companions", "Angel Pavement", "They Walk in the City", and "Wonder Hero". His war novels "Blackout in Greatley", "Daylight on Saturday" and "Three Men in New Suits", were very popular with the readers during and after the Second World War. The daring and unusual composition of some of his plays (such as "Dangerous Corner", "Time and the Conways") is a device for revealing people's real selves hidden under conventional masks.
Priestley loves people. His favourite character is a little man, an unimportant shy person, lost in the jungle of the big city, helpless in the face of forces which he cannot combat. In the description of an elderly comic actor in the given extract you will find something of the sad tenderness and compassion characteristic of Priestley's attitude towards "little men".
When they arrived at the music-hall,[73] the doors for the second house were just opening,[74] and they walked straight into the stalls, which were very cheap. The audience made a great deal of noise, especially in the balcony. Mrs. Burlow led the way to the front and found two very good seats for them. Rose bought a programme for twopence, gave it to Mrs. Burlow, then looked about her brightly.
It was a nice friendly little place, this music-hall, warmer and cosier and altogether more human than the picture theatres[75] she usually attended. One thing she noticed. There were very few young people there. They were nearly all about Mrs. Burlow's age. So were the attendants. So were the members of the orchestra, who soon crept into their pit, wiping their mouths. Very few of the turns[76] were young; they themselves, their creased and fading scenery, their worn properties, their jokes and many of their songs were getting on in years. And the loudest applause always came when a performer said he would imitate "our dear old favourite" So-and-so, and named a music-hall star that Rose had never heard of, or when a singer would tell them that the new songs were all very well in their way but that the old songs were best and he or she would "endeavour to render" one of their old favourite ditties. The result of this was that though the whole place was so cosy and friendly, it was also rather sad. Youth had fled from it. There was no bloom on anything here. Joints were stiff, eyes anxious behind the mask of paint.
One turn was an eccentric fellow with a grotesque makeup, a deadwhite face and a very red nose, and his costume was that of a ragged tramp. He made little jokes, fell over himself, and then climbed on to the back of a chair, made more little jokes and played the accordion, Rose thought him quite funny at first, but very soon changed her mind about him. She was sitting near enough to see his real face, peering anxiously through that mask. It was old, weary, desolate. And from where she sat, she could see into the wings and standing there, never taking her eyes off the performer, was an elderly woman, holding a dressing gown in one hand and a small medicine glass in the other. And then Rose wanted him to stop clowning for them, wanted the curtain to come down, so that he could put on that dressing gown, drink his medicine or whatever it is, and go away with the elderly woman, and rest and not worry any more.
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But she said nothing to Mrs. Burlow, who was enjoying herself, and laughing and clapping as hard as anyone there, perhaps because she too was no longer young and was being entertained by people of her own age.
VOCABULARY NOTES
1. way n 1. путь, дорога, е.g. The way we took lay through the forest. Syn. road, path, track.
2. направление, е.g. Can you show me the way to Trafalgar Square? (Как пройти...?)
N o t e: way is but seldom used to denote a specially built means of communication between two places, the usual word for which is road; way is more often used to denote direction, е.g. 1 can show you the way to the nearest village (i. e. I can tell you what direction you should take in order to get to the village). But; I can show you a very good road to the village.; path denotes a track made by the feet of people who pass along (тропа, тропинка) as a path through the woods. Of the three synonyms abstract usages are most typical of way, е.g. way to knowledge, way to happiness, etc., path is also sometimes used in such combinations, as "The Path of Thunder", dangerous path, etc.
to make one's way идти вперед, проходить, е.g. They made their way through the silent streets of the sleeping city.
to lead the way вести за собой, идти во главе, е.g. The guide led the way through the forest till we reached a narrow path. This way, please. Пожалуйста, пройдите сюда.
on the way по дороге, е.g. Let's discuss it on the way home.
to lose one's way заблудиться, е.g. The children lost their way in the forest.
by the way кстати, между прочим, е.g. By the way, what was it she told you?
to be (stand) in smb.'s way мешать, стоять поперек дороги, е.g. Let me pass, don't stand in my way. They couldn't even talk in private: there was always someone in the way. What was it that stood in the way of her happiness?
to be (get) out of smb.'s way не мешать, не препятствовать, уйти с дороги, е.g. Get out of my way! I shall get her out of the way for ten minutes, so that you can have an opportunity to settle the matter.
in one's (own) way в своем роде, е.g. The music was unusual but quite beautiful in its own way.
to have (get) one's own way настоять на своем, добиться своего, е.g. She likes to have her own way in everything. Have it your own way.
way out выход из положения, е.g. That seems to me a very good way out. Proverb: Where there's a will there's a way.
2. attend υt/i 1. посещать, присутствовать, е.g. All children over seven attend school in our country.
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2. прислуживать, обслуживать, е.g. She was tired of attending on (upon) rich old ladies who never knew exactly what they wanted.
attendant n служитель (в театре — билетер, капельдинер), е.g. The attendant will show you to your seats.
attendance n 1. присутствие, посещаемость, е.g. Attendance at schools is compulsory. The attendance has fallen off. Your attendance is requested.; 2. обслуживание; уход; услуги, е.g. Now that the patient is out of danger the doctor is no longer in attendance.
3. wear (wore, worn) υt/i 1. носить (одежду), быть одетым во что-л., е.g. At the party she wore her wedding dress and he said she looked like a lily-of-the-valley. You should always wear blue: it matches your eyes.
Syn. tohave smth. on
to wear make-up (paint, rouge) употреблять косметику, краситься
to wear scent душиться
2. изнашивать, протирать, е.g. I have worn my shoes into holes. The carpet wss worn by the many feet that had trodden on it.
3. носиться (о платье, обуви и т.д.), е.g. This cloth wears well (badly).
wear n, е.g. This style of dress is in general wear now. Сейчас все носят платья этого фасона. Clothes for everyday wear. Одежда на каждый день. Shoes for street wear. Туфли для улицы.
footwear обувь
underwear белье
4. anxious adj 1. озабоченный, тревожный, беспокойный, е.g. I am anxious about his health. Her face was calm, but the anxious eyes betrayed something of what she felt.
Syn. worried, troubled, е.g. She always gets worried about little things.
2. сильно желающий чего-л., е.g. Не works hard because he is anxious to succeed. The actor was anxious to please the audience.
Syn. eager, е.g. Isn't he eager to learn?
anxiety n 1. беспокойство, тревога, опасение, забота, е.g. We waited with anxiety for the doctor to come. All these anxieties made him look pale and tired.
Syn. worry
2. страстное стремление к чему-л., е.g. That anxiety for truth made Philip rather unpopular with some of his schoolmates.
anxiously ado с беспокойством, с волнением, е.g. We anxiously waited for his arrival.
Note: Cf. the synonyms to be anxious, to worry, to trouble, to bother. The range of meaning of worry is wide: it can denote emotional states of different intensity whereas its synonyms are narrower in meaning. In the sentence "His long absence worried his mother very much" worry expresses a strong feeling of anxiety. It is also possible to say: "It made her very anxious." The intensity of feeling is slightly weaker here; trouble denotes a still weaker emotion; bother describes rather a state of irritation and dissatisfaction than of anxiety. Sometimes either of the synonyms can be used in one and the same sentence. The difference lies in the intensity of the emotion expressed by each verb, е.g. Don't let that bother you (= don't think about it: it is unimportant). Don't let that trouble you (nearly the same, but also: Don't get nervous about it). Don't be anxious about it. (The feeling of fear and anxiety is stronger here than in the previous example.) Don't let that worry you (= don't let that spoil your mood; don't fear that smth. bad will happen).
5. make (made, made) υt/i 1. делать, производить; готовить, е.g. What is the box made of?
2. становиться, оказываться, е.g. I'm sure she'll make an excellent teacher.
3. заставлять, е.g. We'll have to make him take the medicine.
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N о t e: In this meaning make is followed by a complex object. (Observe the absence of to with the infinitive!)
to make a mistake делать ошибку, ошибаться
to make a report делать доклад
to make (a) noise шуметь
to make a (the) bed стелить постель
to make friends with smb. подружиться с кем- n., е.g. Soon she made friends with her fellow-passengers. She easily makes friends.
to make oneself at home чувствовать себя как дома, е.g. Come in and make yourself at home.
to make a joke (jokes) шутить, острить, е.g. Why do you always make jokes? Can't you be serious?
N o t e: Make is also used with numerous adjectives giving emotional characteristics, as to make smb. happy (angry, sad, etc.).
to make up 1. составлять (рецепт, список и т.д.), е.g. Before packing make up a list of things you are going to take.; 2. выдумывать, е.g. You are a fool to listen to his story. He has made it all up. Make up your own sentences using the new words.; 3. гримировать(-ся), краситься, е.g. How long will it take the actors to make up? She was so much made up that I didn't recognize her at first; 4. мириться, as I am sorry for what I said. Let's make it up. You'd better make it up with Ann.; 5. возмещать, компенсировать, е.g. We must make up for lost time. Won't you let me try to make up for all I've failed to do in the past?
to make up one's mind = to decide
make-up n грим, косметика, е.g. Why should you spoil your pretty face with all this make-up? The woman uses too much make-up (...слишком сильно красится).
6. hold (held, held) υt/i 1, держать, е.g. She was holding a red rose in her hand.
to hold on to smth. держаться за что-л., е.g. Holding on to a branch, he climbed a little higher. Hold on to the railing, it's slippery here.
to hold a meeting проводить собрание, е.g. A students' meeting was held in our department yesterday.
2. вмещать, содержать в себе, е.g. How many people will this lecture-hall hold?
3. держаться (о погоде), е.g. Will this weather hold?
hold n
to catch (get) hold of smth. ухватиться за что-л., схватить что-л., завладеть чём- n., е.g. Не nearly fell down, but managed to catch hold of his companion's arm. The child got hold of a bright flower.
to keep hold of smth. удерживать, не выпускать, е.g. With every minute it became harder and harder to keep hold of the slippery ropes.
to lose hold of smth. выпустить (и з рук), е.g. It wasn't her nature to lose hold of anything she had got hold of.
7. entertain υt/i 1. принимать гостей (rather formal), е.g. We are entertaining a lot.; 2. развлекать, занимать, е.g. We were all entertained by his tricks.
entertaining adj развлекательный, занимательный, е.g. The conversation was far from entertaining. In fact, it was horribly dull.
Syn. amusing
entertainment n развлечение, зрелище, представление, е.g. There are many places of entertainment in any big city.
ESSENTIAL VOCABULARY (I)
Words
anxiety n attendant n imitate υ anxious adj
audience n make υ anxiously adv entertain υ
make-up n attend υ entertainment n wear υ
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attendance n hold υ, n wings n, pl wipe υ
Word Combinations
to make (a) noise a long way from
to lead the way (to) to lose one's (the) way
to look about oneself to be (get) out of the way
about (of) smb.'s age to have one's (own) way
members of the orchestra to catch hold of smth.
anxious (worried) about smth. to keep hold of smth.
to make jokes to lose hold of smth.
to make oneself at home to hold a meeting
to make up smth. to hold on to smth.
to make one's way
EXERCISES
1. Bead the text and explain the following points (A. Grammar, B. Word usage, С. Style):
A. 1. Explain the use of tenses in: a) "...a performer said he would imitate 'our dear old favourite' So-and-so, and named a music-hall star that Rose had never heard of"; b) "Youth had fled from it"; c) "She was sitting near enough..."
2. Explain the use of all the articles in the fragment beginning with "One turn was an eccentric fellow", and ending with "played the accordion."
B. 1. How do you understand the word human in "...altogether more human than the picture theatres..."?
2. a) Explain the meaning of the italicized words in the following: "Very few of the turns were young; they themselves, their creased and fading scenery, their worn property were getting on in years"; b) What kind of atmosphere is created by this description? Which characteristic feature of the place is specially emphasized?
3. What is the meaning of the word bloom in "There was no bloom on anything here"? What kind of image is created by the sentence?
4. Explain the meaning of the words anxious in "eyes anxious behind the mask of pain" and anxiously in "his real face peering anxiously through that mask." (Anxious implies fear. Why is the emotion of fear emphasized in these two sentences?)
C. 1. Explain the effect achieved by inversion in: a) "One thing she noticed"; b) "...Standing there, never taking her eyes off the performer, was an elderly woman..." (See Notes on Style, p. 277).
2. a) What is the effect achieved by the syntactical parallelism in: "...So were the attendants. So were the members of the orchestra"? b) Find another case of syntactical parallelism in the last passage but one and comment on it.
II. Transcribe the following words and translate them into Russian:
anxiety, arrival, attendance, imitate, altogether, twopence, properties, creased, wearing, weary, audience, straight, desolate, joint, anxious, grotesque, ragged, perhaps, endeavour.
III. a) Find in the text sentences with:
a great deal of, very few, very few of, many of
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