Student’s Workbook for Home Reading

Student’s Workbook for Home Reading

 

About a Boy

by Nick Hornby

 

 

Рабочая тетрадь

по домашнему чтению

по книге Н. Хорнби «Всё о мальчике»

 

Барнаул 2010

 

УДК 802.0(075)

ББК 81.43Англ-923-3

   S 90

Печатается по решению УМС

                                                          Лингвистического института

                                                                                 ГОУ ВПО «АлтГПА»

 

Student’s Workbook for Home Reading: About a Boy by Nick Hornby: рабочая тетрадь по домашнему чтению по книге Н. Хорнби «Всё о мальчике» / сост. Н.В. Майзенгер. – Барнаул: АлтГПА, 2010. – 85 с.

 

Составитель: канд. филол. наук, доцент Н.В. Майзенгер

 

Рецензент: канд. филол. наук, доцент Н.В. Сергиенко

 

Настоящее учебное издание представляет собой рабочую тетрадь студента, включающую учебные задания для организации аудиторных и самостоятельных занятий по роману Н. Хорнби «Всё о мальчике» (Nick Hornby. About a Boy. – Penguin Books, 1998), и направлено на развитие навыков говорения и более глубокое понимание содержания романа.

Рабочая тетрадь предназначена для студентов младшей и средней ступени обучения лингвистических институтов и факультетов иностранных языков, а также для широкого круга лиц, изучающих английский язык (уровень Intermediate – Upper-Intermediate).

Рабочая тетрадь является частью комплекса, включающего также книгу по домашнему чтению Н. Хорнби «Всё о мальчике», фильм, снятый по роману «Мой мальчик», книгу для учителя с поурочными планами, ключами к заданиям, дополнительными упражнениями и комментариями, а также аудиодиск с песнями, имеющими отношение к содержанию романа.

 

© Алтайская государственная педагогическая академия, 2010

 

   

ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ

Данное учебное издание представляет собой сборник заданий по книге Н. Хорнби «Всё о мальчике» (About a Boy by Nick Hornby). Обсуждение романа рассчитано на 13 аудиторных занятий (26 часов) и предполагает значительную долю самостоятельной работы студентов.

Упражнения и задания пособия нацелены на развитие умений и навыков самостоятельной работы с художественным текстом, проверку и углубление понимания прочитанного, обогащение словарного запаса и активное использование его в устной и письменной речи. В пособии представлены задания на овладение элементами анализа и интерпретации текста, на совершенствование умений и навыков литературного перевода, комментирования и объяснения прочитанного и изложения собственного мнения по проблемам, рассматриваемым в романе.

Рабочая тетрадь включает культурологические комментарии, объясняющие многие реалии современной жизни Великобритании, музыкальные и социокультурные термины, важные для понимания романа, а также мини-словарь лексических единиц, способных вызывать затруднения в понимании у изучающих английский язык.

В рабочей тетради имеются задания по фильму, снятому по роману About a Boy, просмотр с последующим обсуждением которого предполагается в аудиторное время. Фильм разбит на 4 части в среднем по 20 минут каждая.

Порядок выполнения упражнений и заданий пособия, их количество могут варьироваться преподавателем в зависимости от уровня владения учащимися языком и конкретных условий учебного процесса.

Выбор данного романа был продиктован целью ознакомления учащихся с одним из лучших образцов современной английской художественной литературы. В своём романе About a Boy Ник Хорнби, современный популярный британский писатель, демонстрирует свой изумительный литературный дар, широкий кругозор и тонкий юмор. Роман раскрывает некоторые стороны современной английской жизни и пользуется любовью огромного количества читателей.

Данное произведение рекомендовано к прочтению профессором Оксфордского университета, преподавателем английской литературы Карен Хьюитт в рамках международного семинара «Современная английская литература в учебном процессе в российских вузах». Под редакцией Карен Хьюитт опубликованы комментарии к роману About a Boy, которые также рекомендуется использовать на уроках при обсуждении данного художественного произведения.

 

        NICK HORNBY

Nick Hornby was born in Redhill, a small town south of London, in 1957. His parents divorced when he was eleven. He graduated from Cambridge University and taught English to foreign students. At the same time he reviewed for magazines including Time Out and Literary Review. Nick Hornby is known as a great sports and music lover. Most of his books contain references to popular music bands, singers, musicians and sportsmen, which helps to reveal the English contemporary cultural and social life.

Nick Hornby’s first book was a collection of critical essays on American writers, entitled Contemporary American Fiction (1992).

Hornby's first big book, Fever Pitch, was published in 1992. It is an autobiographical story about his fanatical support for Arsenal Football Club. As a result, Hornby received the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. The book was adapted as a film in 1997.

High Fidelity – his second book and first novel – was published in 1995. It is the story of a neurotic obsessive record collector. The novel was adapted into a film starring John Cusack in 2000 and a Broadway musical in 2006.

His second novel, About a Boy, was published in 1998. In 1999 Hornby received the E. M. Forster Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The film version of the novel appeared in 2002 with Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult starring in it.

The novel How to Be Good was published in 2001. It is about contemporary morals, marriage and parenthood. It won the WH Smith Award for Fiction in 2002.

In 2003 Hornby wrote a collection of essays on selected popular songs and the emotional resonance they carry, called 31 Songs (known in the US as Songbook).

Hornby's novel A Long Way Down was published in 2005. It was on the shortlist for the Whitbread Novel Award.

Hornby's book Slam, released on 16 October 2007, is his first novel for young adults and was recognized as a 2008 Best Book for Young Adults. The protagonist of Slam is a 15-year-old skateboarder named Sam whose life changes drastically when his girlfriend gets pregnant.

Hornby’s latest novel, Juliet, Naked, was published in September 2009. This is a novel about rock stars, relationships and last chances. This book was included into The Guardian newspaper as part of "What not to miss in 2009: books". Nick Hornby lives and works in Highbury, North London.

 

The novel is about Will Freeman, a cool 36-year-old bachelor, who has never had to work thanks to the royalties from his father’s Christmas song hit, and Marcus, an eccentric, introverted, bullied twelve-year-old who lives with his suicidal mother, Fiona. Will has a lot of spare time, most of which he spends lounging around, going to movies, watching TV, listening to albums and looking for female temporary companionship. He is absolutely free from any responsibilities until Marcus comes into his life and turns it upside down.

 

The story is narrated by both of the main characters. The language of About a Boy records the everyday colloquial (informal) speech of Londoners and people from southern England typical in the 1990s. Since the narrator’s voice is mainly a device for expressing the thoughts of either Marcus or Will, narrative passages are also rendered in colloquial British English.

 

TITLE

 

About a Boy echoes the title of the Nirvana song About a Girl.

 Nirvana is an American rock band that was formed by singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987. The band established itself as part of the Seattle music scene and belongs to a subgenre of alternative rock called grunge. Kurt Cobain is a major cultural reference in the novel.

As Nirvana's frontman, Kurt Cobain was referred to in the media as the "spokesman of a generation," with Nirvana being considered the "flagship band" of Generation X.

Nirvana's brief run ended following the death of Cobain in 1994, but the band's influence and popularity endured in the years that followed.

In 2006 a documentary about Kurt Cobain About a Son was released. It is narrated by Kurt Cobain and features audio of interviews between Cobain and journalist Michael Azerrad in which Kurt Cobain speaks about his life and his music.

 

 

Lesson 1

Active Vocabulary

1. to split up (1) -                  разойтись, расстаться

2. the point (2) -                    суть, смысл

to miss the point (2) -        пропустить главное; не понять, в чём суть

                                          упустить из вида самое главное

(not) to see the point (4) - (не) видеть смысл, (не) понимать суть

3. to remind sb of sth (4) -              напоминать кому-либо о чём-либо

4. clutter (7) -                                  бардак, хаос

5. not to be right for sth (11) - не подходить для чего-либо

6. to give sb a hard time (13) - обижать, доводить, донимать кого-либо

7. weird (1, 13) -                    странный, чудаковатый

8. for no reason (8, 16) -       без всякой причины    

 

(Note: the same words may be used in a few exercises.

In brackets the pages are given on which the words are used in the novel.)

I. Find in the novel the following words and phrases. Learn them.

Get ready to reproduce the situations in which they were used. Try to use them in answering the questions and discussing the characters and the events of the novel.

 

II. Find in the novel words or word combinations with the following meaning. Put them down, translate them into Russian. Reproduce the sentences where they are used.

1. to stop having relations with sb (1) _______________­___________________

2. strange (1) (16) __________________________________________________

3. not to understand the main idea in sth (2) ____________________________

4. to think (3) (infml) ______________________________________________

5. colloquial word for ‘man’ (3) ______________________________________

6. to use the remote control to switch quickly through the channels (4) _______________________________________________________________

7. to go crazy (6) (16) (infml) _________________________________________

8. feeling weak and looking tired (7) (infml) _____________________________

9. without any reason (8, 16)  ________________________________________

10.  without money (8) (Br slang) ______________________________________

11.  to stare angrily at sb (9) ___________________________________________

12.  to look into sb’s eyes (16) _________________________________________

III. Find in the novel the English equivalents of the following Russian words or word combinations.

1. вполне разумный вопрос (1) ______________________________________

2. убедиться (1) __________________________________________________

3. ссора, перебранка (1)  ___________________________________________

4. ссориться, спорить (2) ____________________________________________

5. всё образуется, всё уладится (3) ____________________________________

6. отрастить/сбрить бородку (5) _____________________________________

7. выживать (6) ___________________________________________________

8. новорожденный (7) ______________________________________________

9. подбадривать, вдохновлять к/л на ч/л (8) ___________________________

10. жалкий (8) ____________________________________________________

11. не говоря уже о (12) ____________________________________________

12. запеть вслух (15) ______________________________________________

13. на перемене, во время перерыва (15) ______________________________

14. быть в здравом уме, в своём уме (15) ______________________________

 

IV. Find in the novel informal equivalents of the following neutral sentences. Put them down.

Does it worry you? (2)_________________________________________________

He hoped that everything would be all right. (3) ____________________________

You are joking. (9) ___________________________________________________

They didn’t understand it. (9) ___________________________________________

It is not for me. (9) ___________________________________________________

 

Mastering the Pronunciation

Consult dictionaries. Put down the transcription of the following words. Practise reading them.

 

weird ________________________            pathetic ___________________________

questionnaire _________________     glare _____________________________

goatee _______________________        hypothermia _______________________

frivolity ______________________       row ______________________________

 

Think over the answers to the following questions and get ready to discuss them in class.

 

Marcus and His Mum

 

1. How old was Marcus?

How old was his mum?

How long had Marcus and his mum lived in London?

Where had they lived before?

What had happened in their life four years before?

 

Speak on “ two different sorts of life ” Marcus had.

 Which life do you think he preferred? Why?

 

2. What was Marcus’s “basic problem”?

What made him different from other kids at school?

 

3. How did the kids treat Marcus at school?

Were his relations with kids different when they lived in Cambridge?

 

 Why, in your opinion?

                       What was the basic reason for his troubles?

 

4. What did Marcus’s mum think about her son’s problems at school?

Did she take them seriously?

 

Speak on Marcus’s mum ’s principles.

Find in the novel and take notes of what she thought about

modern films, music, computer games: ____________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

fashion: ____________________________________________________________

 

 Do you think she was right?

 

Marcus’s Character Sketch

How can you characterize Marcus? What traits of character did he possess? Circle the adjectives which can be used to describe the boy’s character. Give reasons. What other qualities can you name?

 

kind     shy      envious        brave          sympathetic   

outgoing         quarrelsome           timid           shrewd ill-mannered           weird                  obstinate     sensible                  sensitive              arrogant              frank

   ______________      __________      ___________

                       

 

 

 Do you think Marcus was lonely and unhappy?

                       Do you feel sorry for Marcus?

Will Freeman

 

1. How old was Will Freeman?

2. What were the criteria according to which Will scored extremely high points for being cool?

3. Why did Will think that he wouldn’t have been able to survive 60 years ago?

4. What was Will’s occupation?

5. What was his daily routine?

6. What was Will’s attitude to children and family life?

Why did people have children in his opinion?

 

 Do you share Will’s point of view?

p. 4 “He found the remote control down the back of the sofa and zapped through the channels. …”

This paragraph is one of the examples of Hornby’s wry humour. In order to distract his mum from her sorrows, Marcus selects a programme about a fish. Has he made the right choice?

What do you think the fish symbolizes?

p. 14 “He was quite happy at home, listening to Joni Mitchell and reading books … kids and teachers and lessons.”

Get ready to read and translate this paragraph. What is the main idea of the paragraph? Why did the kids give Marcus a hard time at school? What is the meaning of the word ‘ funny ’ in this paragraph?

 

 

Humour in the novel

Like many distinguished English writers, Nick Hornby uses humour to explore different issues of life. Sometimes the situations themselves are comic, sometimes the humour is achieved by the discrepancy between what Marcus is thinking and what the grown-up reader is thinking.

Point out any situations described in the novel which seemed comic to you and made you laugh.

 

Commenting on the Grammar

Find in the novel the following sentences. Read them and translate them. Comment on the grammar structures used in them.

But he would have missed the clubbing more (9).

She would show him pictures …, he would tell her …. (9).

You can look at all the references to music, TV programmes, etc in two ways.

If you read the novel without any knowledge at all of the singers, players, lyrics and everything else which fills the life of the characters, you can still enjoy the book immensely. All you need to understand is that Marcus’s mum’s tastes are very unfashionable, and regarded as comic by most of the characters, while Will wants to be cool and he listens only to cool music.

On the other hand, the references in the novel are very important and help to understand the characters of the novel. As Nick Hornby is fond of music and is an expert in this field, music is an important part in his novels. The reader is expected not just to recognize the references, but to share the characters’ reaction to them.

That is why, if you do not know anything about the following bands, singers, etc, surf the Internet and find the bands, singers mentioned in the novel (especially such as Nirvana, Snoop Doggy Dog, Tupac, Warren G, Joni Mitchell, Bob Marley) and listen to this music.

Holloway (4) – is an inner-city district in London with a multicultural population and is one of the most densely populated areas of London.

Labour (5) – In 1993 the Labour Party had been a minority (non-ruling) party in British Parliament since 1979. Suddenly it was fashionable to support the Labour party. Will is not interested in politics, but he knows what is fashionable.

Nirvana (6) – massively popular band in the early 1990s, ‘cool beyond words’ for many people. Nirvana was the chief exponent of ‘grunge’ music. Particularly cool was Kurt Cobain, the lead singer, song writer and guitarist of the band.

Snoop Doggy Dog (6) – an American rap band

East Enders (7) – a popular BBC television soap opera set in the East end of London. It does not deal with the glamorous rich, but with ordinary working-class Londoners.

Some kids, he knew, got taught by their parents at home (11) – It is legally possible in Britain for parents to teach their children themselves rather than send them to school. It is not easy – parents and any individual tutors have to teach the National Curriculum, and to be inspected as if they were a school, but there are a few thousand parents who organize their own lives around home teaching.

Macaulay Culkin (12) – a child star who played the chief part in the film Home Alone.

Joni Mitchell (13) – a singer from the Hippy era (late 60s, early 70s). She was a noted Canadian musician, songwriter and painter. At the time of the events described in the book her popularity had declined.

Bob Marley (13) – was a very popular Jamaican reggae singer in the 1970s – died young of cancer.

registration (15) – In English schools pupils go at the beginning of the day to their ‘own classroom’ where their class teacher ‘takes the register’, i.e. marks down in the register who is present.

 

 

Here are some notes to help you understand some difficult words or phrases used in the novel.

I dunno (2) = ‘I don’t know’ when spoken by someone who is bored or irritable.

Ecstasy (5) – the street name of a banned drug

polenta and shaved parmesan (5) – polenta is a rather boring Italian cornmeal dish – a kind of heavy “каша”. Shaved parmesan means tiny scrapings of this expensive hard cheese.

Sub-zero, dry ice, Frosty the Snowman (6) – Will, according to the questionnaire is ‘very cool’. Or even extremely cold, as he reminds himself – for here he is playing with different senses of ‘cool’.

speculation (6) – размышление

he would have gone round the twist otherwise (6) – иначе бы он рехнулся (у него бы крыша поехала)

washed out (7) (infml) – измученный, измотанный, измочаленный

  to burn the candle at both ends (7) – to start working early and go on working late – with no rest.

sodding (7) – irritating (vulgar, rude slang) (чёртов, долбанный) (sod - сволочь) 

non sequitur (8) – ‘it does not follow’ (Latin). A remark, which is ridiculous because it is not connected to the previous argument (нелогичное заключение, неочевидное высказывание). Will considers the statement “Barney’s lovely” to be nonsense, and a contradiction of what was said before.

nappy (8) – подгузник

froth (9) – вздорные мысли, пустые слова, болтовня

oblivion (9) – забвение

embrace (9) – обьятья

you have hidden depths (9) = дословно: ‘ты скрывал свою глубину’, т.е. только казался легкомысленным, несерьёзным

swallowed his pride (10) – проглотил свою гордость

domesticity (10) – семейная жизнь, домашняя жизнь

monogamy (10) – единобрачие, моногамия

what was bothering him (11) – что его беспокоило, по поводу чего он переживал

c aravan (12) – дом на колёсах, дом-прицеп (к автомобилю; фургон, оборудованный под жильё)

crap (12) (slang, vulgar) – дерьмо

rape (13) – насиловать

on the lookout (13) – наготове, начеку

dement (13) (bookish) – сводить с ума

thump sb (14) (infml) – побить, поколотить

mean (adj) (14) – недоброжелательный, низкий, подлый

decency (14) – приличие; вежливость, любезность

the tune just sort of slipped out (14) – мелодия как-то так сама вырывалась наружу

tough out (15) (infml) – выдержать, выдюжить, вынести, вытерпеть, устоять (Tough it out! — Держись!, Крепись!, Не падай духом!)

potty (16) (infml) – crasy or silly (a childish word) (слабоумный; помешанный, сумасшедший)

Put down the words or phrases which caused difficulties when reading the novel and ask the teacher about their meaning.

 

Lesson 2

Active Vocabulary

1. to browse (17) –                              просматривать, бесцельно проглядывать

2. a turning point in one’s life (19) –  переломный момент в жизни

3. to grasp the bull by the horns (22) –    взять быка за рога (фраз.)

4. to hang around with sb (infml) (30) –   водиться с кем-либо, тусоваться

to hang out (infml) (31) –             обитать, тусоваться

5. to prevent sb from doing sth (31) –    не позволять, не давать кому-либо 

 сделать что-либо

6. to run out of sth (31) –               заканчиваться, иссякать (о ч/л)

7. to work out (infml) (32) –      получаться, срабатывать

8. to start an affair (35) –           завести роман на стороне

 

I. Find in the novel the following words and phrases. Learn them.

Get ready to reproduce the situations in which they were used. Try to use them in answering the questions and discussing the characters and the events of the novel.

II. Find in the novel words or word combinations with the following meaning. Put them down, translate them into Russian. Reproduce the sentences where they are used.

1. to start liking sb/sth (20, 29) _______________________________________

2. to begin a relationship with enthusiasm (23) __________________________

3. to have no connection with sb/sth (30) ________________________________

4. to come on time, punctually (34) ___________________________________

5. a person who is suffering from extreme nervous strain (34) _______________

6. a long list of sth (36) _____________________________________________

7. to be accepted (as a member of sth) (37) ______________________________

 

III. Find in the novel the English equivalents of the following Russian words or word combinations.

1. покраснеть от стыда, залиться румянцем (18) _________________________

2. здравомыслие, рассудок (18) ______________________________________

3. встречаться, ходить на свидания с к/л (20) ___________________________

4. скрывать, маскировать раздражение (22) ____________________________

5. измена, неверность (23) __________________________________________

6. рассердиться на к/л (26) __________________________________________

7. восьмиклассники (28) _____________________________________________

8. потакать капризам (32) ___________________________________________

9. приступ угрызений совести (32) ___________________________________

10. уличать в мошенничестве (33) _____________________________________

11. выдавать, разоблачать себя (34) ___________________________________

12. предательство, измена (36) _______________________________________

IV. Find in the novel the sentences that might be translated into Russian like this.

Извините, я обознался (18). ___________________________________________

Извините за назойливость (18). ________________________________________

Я понял (19). ________________________________________________________

У неё не получилось прийти в кино. (22) ________________________________

Mastering the pronunciation

Consult dictionaries. Put down the transcription of the following words. Practise reading them.

wrestle ______________________              fraud _____________________________

browse ______________________              whim _____________________________

peer of the realm ______________     to christen _________________________

rapport ______________________             vehicle ____________________________

missile ______________________     treachery __________________________

hilarious _____________________             hastily ____________________________

 

Think over the answers to the following questions and get ready to discuss them in class.

Chapter Four

Chapter five

Marcus and His Mum

1. What did Marcus feel when his mum started crying?

What did he think the reasons for her crying were?

 

2. How did the children treat Marcus at school?

Speak on Marcus’s troubles at school.

Did Marcus know how to behave to avoid being bullied?

 

 

 Why didn’t Marcus’s friends Nicky and Mark want to hang

around with him anymore?

3. What was Marcus’s mum’s occupation?

4. What were her principles? What did she think about money?

 

Chapter six

Will at SPAT

1. Why did Will decide to pretend to be a single father?

Was it easy for him? What prevented him from believing it?

2. Was Will scared to join a single parents’ group?

3. Had Will ever pretended to be someone he was not? Was he a success?

 

4. What is SPAT?    Describe the place.

 

Do some linguistic research

In the book the full name of SPAT, a society for single parents, is Single Parents Alone Together.

But can it mean anything else?

Consult dictionaries for possible meanings of the word ‘spat’.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Try to explain why Will was taken aback when he saw that note on the door.

 

What does the sentence “It was trying too hard” mean (p.33)?

 

5. Who were the members of SPAT?

What was the reason most of them had split up with their husbands?

What was the bad news Will had to the members of SPAT?

Was he happy to announce it?

· Watching Video in Class

Director     Paul Weizt, Chris Weitz

 

Will      Hugh Grant

Marcus Nicholas Hoult

Fiona    Toni Collette

Angie Isabel Brook

Suzie   Victoria Smurfit

Christine Sharon Small

Episodes 1-4 (16 min: 00:00-16:30)

 

Plot:

· Will at home;

· Marcus at home;

· Will rejects being a godfather;

· Will meets Angie;

· Fiona’s crying;

· Marcus at school;

· Will joins SPAT.

 

While watching

 

Who of the characters of the film and under what circumstances said (or thought) the following?

_______ All men are islands. This is an island age…. I like to think I’m pretty cool.

I like to think I am Ibiza.

 

_______ I didn’t fit at my old school. I definitely didn’t fit at my new one.

 

_______ ‘You’re 38 and you’ve never had a job or a relationship that lasted longer

than two months.’

 

_______ ‘You don’t have to walk me to school any more now.’

 

_______ ‘Who are you?’

    ‘I’m me.’

    ‘And what are you not?’

    ‘A sheep.’

    ‘Right. And what does a sheep go?’

    ‘Baa-a.’

_______ It was hard work to be wonderful all the time.

 

_______ ‘You’re breaking up with me?’

    ‘You’re self-centered bastard.’

    ‘You useless, superficial loser.’ 

 

_______ ‘I am not ready to launch into a relationship with anybody new.’

 

_______ Passionate sex, a lot of ego massage and a guilt-free parting.

    Fabulous, sexy, gorgeous single mums.

 

_______ ‘We don’t really want you hanging around with us anymore.’

‘We never had trouble with them before we started hanging out with you.’

 

_______ There you have it. I was having a shit time at home and a shit time at school.

 

_______ ‘… and then one day her bags were packed, and my best friend was waiting

outside in his Ferrari.’

 

_______ What a performance! I was even fooling myself.

 

After watching

Some events are presented differently in the screen version of the novel.

What are the differences between the book and the film? Complete the table.

 

	Book	Film
Will
Marcus
Angie
SPAT
?

 

· What are your impressions of the film?

Do you think the actors are a good choice?

Mike Leigh (20) –   is an English writer and director of film and theatre. He makes British arthouse films. By taking his girlfriend to a Mike Leigh film, Will is trying to seem fashionable and impress her.

 

she’d let him put a variety pack in the supermarket trolley (25) – Most breakfast cereals come in large cardboard boxes. A variety pack contains six little packs containing different cereals. Coco Pops is a cereal found in one of these packets, and is probably the most popular of all six flavours.

Ginger! Chris Evans! Speccy! (28) – mocking, derisive words for having red hair and glasses. Chris Evans was a DJ with red hair, glasses and an alcohol problem, often mocked in the press.

Marcus knew all the stuff about sticks and stones and names (30). – This alludes to the saying: “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me”.

soup kitchen (32) – a place where free food is offered to the poor, usually run by volunteers. Will liked to imagine doing something useful – as long as he did not actually have to do it.

VSO (32) – Voluntary Service Overseas, a large international charity that sends volunteers to work in difficult parts of the world.

SPAT (32) – a fictional organization, but there are many similar ones.

Worzel Gummidge (33) – a living scarecrow in a children’s story. Aunt Sally was a wooden painted figure who also came alive.

Lorena Bobbitt (35) – famous in 1993 when she cut off her husband’s penis with a kitchen knife while he was asleep in Virginia, USA. The angry women at SPAT obviously sympathise with her.

 

surly (17) – угрюмый, сердитый; грубый

husky (17) – с хрипотцой (голос)

withering look (17) – испепеляющий взгляд

to hurl oneself (18) – броситься, метнуться

gambit (18) – гамбит; начальная определяющая фраза, установочный тезис (в дискуссии)

to dec a pi t ate (18) – обезглавливать, отрубать голову

to write sb off (infml) (19) – списать к/л со счета

hastily (19) – опрометчиво, поспешно, необдуманно; впопыхах

crow ’ s feet (20) – гусиные лапки, морщинки (у уголков глаз)

peer of the realm (20) – (in Great Britain and Northern Ireland) any member of the nobility entitled to sit in the House of Lords (пэр Соединённого Королевства)

blemish (20) – дефект, несовершенство, порок, изъян

cogitation (20) – обдумывание; размышление, раздумье

to rant (20) – разглагольствовать

Redeemer (20) – искупитель

rapport (20) – a sympathetic relationship or understanding (хорошие взаимоотношения, взаимопонимание; согласие)

to the core (20) – целиком, глубоко, насквозь; ≈ до мозга костей

hands down (21) – without effort; easily (легко, без усилий; бесспорно, несомненно)

to repel (21) – отвергать, претить; вызывать отвращение, неприязнь; отпугивать; отталкивать

appal = appall (21) – ужасать; потрясать; приводить в смятение

overlap (22) – накладка

I am not sure this is working out (22) (infml)

    How is your new job working out? — Как у тебя дела на новой работе?

I hope it all works out very well for you — Я надеюсь, что у тебя все будет хорошо.

Their marriage doesn't seem to be working out — По-видимому, их семейная жизнь не

ладится.

Things didn't work out at all well for him — Дела у него сложились неважно.

Things didn't work out that way — Все получилось по-другому.

I'm sure things will work out for the best — Я уверен, что все устроится наилучшим

образом.

I've never been able to work him out — Я никак не мог понять, что он за человек.

I can't work out why the deal went wrong — Я не могу понять, почему сорвалось это дело.

I tried to work out what she meant — Я пытался понять, что она имела в виду.

You can work that out for yourself — Сами пораскиньте мозгами.

Surely he can manage to work things out for himself — Я думаю, он сам во всем разберется.

puffed-up (25) – одутловатый; отёкший

snuffled up (25) – с заложенным носом

ladder (25) – кладовая (для продуктов)

soppy (26) – сентиментальный, слащавый (soppy – мокрый, сырой)

pitiful (26) – несчастный, ничтожный; презренный, низкий; недостойный, жалкий

pathetic (26) = pitiful (жалкий, вызывающий презрение)

lousy (26) (infml) – низкий, подлый, отвратительный (букв.: вшивый)

go round the bend (27) (infml) – go mad, crazy

nerd (28) – the kind of person who is obsessively interested in (for example) computers or mathematical problems; who cannot communicate with other people except by talking about his own narrow view of life, and who is mocked for being boring and also weird.

geek (28) – means much the same as ‘nerd’.

hilarious (28) – very funny

sunk (29) – past form of ‘sink’ – тонуть (здесь: Ответь им – он пропал.)

his mind went blank (29) – на него нашло затмение, он перестал соображать

a blow job (29) (vulgar, taboo) – an act of oral sex performed by a woman on a man

hang round (30) = hang about – околачиваться, шляться, отираться, слоняться

insult (n.) (30) – оскорбление

missile (30) – any object or weapon that is thrown at a target - (метательный) снаряд

waif (31) – беспризорник, бесхозное имущество

groovy (31) – (infml, old-fashioned) fashionable, attractive and interesting (клёвый)

dearth of prey (32) – нехватка добычи

to report for duty (32) – выйти на дежурство

a beaten-up B-reg 2CV (33) – a very small French car, old, battered and damaged

just for good measure (34) – as an extra precaution or beyond requirements (на всякий случай, в дополнение к тому, что было необходимо)

take the cue (34) – понять намёк

scatty (35) (infml) – from “scatterbrained” – чокнутый

he came out (36) – he announced that he was gay (a homosexual).

just for the hell of it (36) – просто так, без причины

Did you get dumped then? (36) – Так она тебя бросила?

Lesson 3

Mastering the pronunciation

Consult dictionaries. Put down the transcription of the following words. Practise reading them.

failure _______________________             imaginary _________________________

gorgeous _____________________             requisite __________________________

disease _______________________       presumption _______________________

duvet ________________________            belligerence ________________________

 

IV. Find in the novel the following sentences and put down your translation of them into Russian.

1. ‘I’ll bet you could do with a coffee,’ said Suzie (46). _____________________

______________________________________________________________

2. I took the afternoon off sick (40). ___________________________________

3. She just needs a weekend taking it easy (51). ___________________________

4. He drew the short straw (52). _______________________________________

 

Think over the answers to the following questions and get ready to discuss them in class.

 

Chapter seven

Marcus and His Mum

 

1. What was Marcus’s relationship with his father’s new family?

What was his and his mum’s attitude to Lindsey, his father’s wife?

 

2. Did the kids from school continue bullying him?

What did they do this time?

What advice did Mr Patel give him?

3. Was Marcus angry with his mum for her constant crying? Why?

What words of his mum’s hurt him so much?

Did you feel sorry for Marcus?

 

Chapter eight

 

Picnic in Regent’s Park

 

1. Why was Suzie furious the morning they went on a picnic?

2. Had Will thought his story with imaginary child through?

Were there any weak points in the story?

Did he see any way out?

 

Speak on Will and the way he made his living.

Had he ever tried to get a job?

 

3. What was Will’s first impressions of Marcus?

Did Marcus seem kind and merciful to Will?

4. Did Will try to break the ice and talk with the boy?

What did he try to talk to him about?

5. Why did Will think he could communicate with teenagers on equal terms?

Why did he fail this time?

6. What did Will and Suzie feel after their talk with Marcus?

 

v Try your hand at acting

 

The conversation on pages 50-51(especially the end of it on page 51) is very interesting from the point of view of different conversational lines the speakers follow.

The conversation begins as a talk of three people (Marcus, Will and Suzie) but by the end of it Marcus embarrasses the two adults so much that they become absolutely confused and deep in thought start talking to themselves.

 

Dramatize the conversation like a play (3 people are talking).

 

Think about how your characters might look, how they behaved during the conversation, what mimics and gestures they might have when talking. Try to be natural when performing your part.

 

 

7. How did Will entertain himself during the picnic?

What did other picnickers do? What did Marcus do?

Think!

The author attracts readers through pleasures of recognition. What details are used in the novel (in all these eight chapters) as ways of defining the characters, their social class and their attitudes?

 

 

C.S. Lewis (46) – an author of a famous book for children called The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, in which four children squeeze into a large wardrobe, and find they can go through it into a magic land.

Santa’s Super Sleigh (47) – a fictional song, but Hornby probably has in mind a song like ‘Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer’ which was composed in 1939 by an American advertising executive for children. That song is still in copyright.

Val Doonican (48) – he represents the sort of sentimental popular music played at Christmas time which is in the same tradition as Will’s father’s song.

Time Out, iD, the Face, Arena, the NME (50) – magazines devoted to popular contemporary culture, which Will uses as his sources of information on fashions in music.

Hip-hop (50)– 1990s rap music, almost always made by Afro-Americans.

Acid house (50)– drug-influenced dance music

Grunge music (50)– is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song dynamics, and apathetic or angst-filled lyrics. It was mostly popular with the working class calling to smash the system, go down with “the man”, etc.

Grunge became commercially successful in the first half of the 1990s, due mainly to the release of Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten. Although most grunge bands had disbanded or faded from view by the late 1990s, their influence continues to impact modern rock music.

Madchester (50)– a rock/dance hybrid popular in the early 90s. a lot of the bands came from Manchester, and used to shout out in interviews that they were “mad for it” (i.e. desperate for drugs, sex, parties).

 

a fiver (38) – a five-pound note (Cp.: a tenner)

Oi, Mohammad (39) – Mr Patel comes from a Muslim country. The boys call him “Mohammed” as the most common Muslim name, and in this case as a name of casual contempt.

to be all for sth/doing sth (40) – ратовать за ч/л, быть «за»

duvet (41) – пуховое одеяло

vasectomy (43) – вазэктомия (иссечение семявыносящего протока)

whisk away (45) - быстро увозить

thespian (45) = dramatic, theatrical

pervert (45) – извращенец, регенерат

when it comes to the crunch (45) – когда дело дойдет до решающего момента, когда наступит критический момент

wimp (45) – бесхарактерный человек, тряпка

belligerence (50) – воинственность

 

Lesson 4

Active Vocabulary

1. to hit sb on the head with sth (54) -     ударить кого-либо по голове чем-либо

2. to throw sth at sb (54, 55) -        кидать чем-либо в кого-либо

(compare: to throw sth to sb -             кидать кому-либо что-либо)

3. to accuse sb of sth (56) -                      обвинять кого-либо в чем-либо

4. to call for an ambulance (57) -             вызвать скорую помощь 

5. out of the ordinary (61) -            необычный, из ряда вон выходящий

6. for sb's sake (65) -                      ради кого-либо

7. to get over sth (infml) (65) -        преодолеть что-либо, оправиться от  

чего-либо, приходить в себя от чего-либо

8. to blame sb for sth (65) -            обвинять кого-либо в чем-либо

9. to be left on one's own (67) -      остаться одному

10.  to be fed up with sth (infml) (68) - быть сытым по горло чем-либо

11.  to commit suicide (69) -             совершить самоубийство

12.  o drive sb mad (69) -                 сводить к/л с ума

 

I. Find in the novel the following words and phrases. Learn them. Get ready to reproduce the situations in which they were used. Try to use them in answering the questions and discussing the characters and the events of the novel.

II. Find in the novel words or word combinations with the following meaning. Put them down, translate them into Russian. Reproduce the sentences where they are used.

1. to look at sb/sth fixedly, for a long time (54, 59) _________________________

2. a person responsible for the order in a park (55) ________________________

3. to have a foul (very unpleasant) smell (57) ____________________________

4. to be angry with sb (57) (infml) _____________________________________

5. gloomily, dismally (59) ____________________________________________

6. a hospital department in which victims of accidents, violence, etc. are treated (61) ______________________________________________________________

7. to take care of sb (65, 66) _________________________________________

8. to buy a meal at a restaurant, take it with you and eat somewhere else (66) _____________________________________________________________

9. to manage, be able to do sth (68) ___________________________________

10.  stupid, slow at understanding (69) (infml) _____________________________

11.  not to understand sb (69, 70) (infml) ________________________________

 

III. Find in the novel the English equivalents of the following Russian words or word combinations.

1. умереть от сердечного приступа (инфаркта)  (54) _____________________

2. потопить (тело утки) (56) ________________________________________

3. эпидемия (56) __________________________________________________

4. подвозить, высаживать к/л (из машины) (57) (infml) ___________________

5. выдумать, придумать, сочинить (57) _______________________________

6. заметить, увидеть ч/л (57, 64) _____________________________________

7. промыть желудок (60) ___________________________________________

8. мелочь, мелкие деньги (60) _______________________________________

9. торговый автомат (61) ___________________________________________

10. чистое невезение (61) ___________________________________________

11. точка зрения, мироощущение (62) ________________________________

12. разрешить остаться ночевать (63) ________________________________

13. предсмертная записка (65) ______________________________________

14. отличить ч/л (67) ______________________________________________

15. перемотать плёнку (67) _________________________________________

16. застрять, завязнуть (67) _________________________________________

17. спасти к/л от ч/л (69) ___________________________________________

 

IV. Find in the novel the sentences (or parts of sentences) that might be translated into Russian like this:

1. Дело не в этом. (59) _____________________________________________

2. Им было всё равно (61) __________________________________________

3. Какая разница? (62) _____________________________________________

4. Я всё же не улавливаю твою мысль (69) _____________________________

5. Я совсем тупица, да? (69) _________________________________________

6. Но в данный момент он не понимал её совсем. (70) ______________________________________________________________

7. Я бы хотела посмотреть, чем всё закончится (70) _____________________

 

 

V. In chapter nine of the novel some phrases connected with crime are used. Match the phrases to their Russian equivalents.

1. to be imprisoned for sth (54)      a. место преступления

2. the scene of the crime (55)          b. совершить преступление

3. a criminal offence (55)                c. обвинять к/л в ч/л

4. to accuse sb of sth (56)               d. заключать под стражу за ч/л

5. to jail for a crime (56)                 e. посадить в тюрьму

6. to commit a crime (56)                f. уголовное преступление

 

Speak shortly (in 3-4 sentences) about the duck accident using these phrases. Begin with the following: Marcus was sure that ….

 

Mastering the pronunciation

Consult dictionaries. Transcribe and translate the following words. Practise reading them.

coincidence (54) ________________  gesture (60) _______________________

scene (55) _____________________  fault (65) _________________________

nightmare (58) _________________   suicide (68) _______________________

stomach (60) ___________________ breathing (68) ________________