Chapters Twelve - Fourteen (pp. 71-93)

Active Vocabulary

1. to be on paternity leave (71) -              находиться в отпуске в связи с

отцовством

(paternity leave - отпуск в связи с отцовством, отпуск отцу (по уходу за ребёнком);

Compare: to be on maternity leave – быть в отпуске по беременности и родам, быть в декретном отпуске)

2. to apply for a job (72) -                  подавать заявление о приеме на работу

3. to be distracted by sb/sth (73) - быть расстроенным ч/л

4. to treat sb (75) -                          угощать к/л

5. to beat around/about the bush (75) -    ходить вокруг да около, говорить

обиняками; церемониться

6. to be well off (78) -                     быть состоятельным, богатым

7. to have something in common (83) -    иметь что-либо общего

8. to let it/the matter drop (88) -     предать дело забвению, перестать

заниматься ч/л

9. sincerity (89) -                            искренность

10.  to be engaged in sth (90) - быть заинтересованным, поглощённым ч/л

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 visit, attend sth regularly (71)_____________________________________

2. resourcefulness, inventiveness (71) __________________________________

3. refusal (72) _____________________________________________________

4. to sleep (73) ____________________________________________________

5. weird (74) (infml) ________________________________________________

6. to make sb do sth (75) ____________________________________________

7. to have no money (75) ____________________________________________

8. not to understand (76) (infml) __________________________________________

9. pound (sterling) (77) (slang) _______________________________________

10.  to spoil sth by making a mess (77) __________________________________

11.  to look bad (79) ________________________________________________

12.  to become angry with sb (85) ________________________________________

13.  clever, intelligent (87) (infml) _______________________________________

14.  without effort (90, 91) ___________________________________________

15.  not normal, not adequate (90) _____________________________________

 

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

1. держаться на плаву (71) __________________________________________

2. иметь подходящую квалификацию для к/л профессии (72)______________

3. прилагать анкету (резюме) (72)____________________________________

4. необходимость перемен (73) ______________________________________

5. добавить в жизнь немного веселья (73) _____________________________

6. быть законопослушным (75) ______________________________________

7. с запозданием, запоздало (76) ____________________________________

8. марка, тип (77) _________________________________________________

9. грубость, чёрствость (77) ________________________________________

10. переодеться (79) ______________________________________________

11. стоять в очереди (81) __________________________________________

12. изобличать, выдавать (83) ______________________________________

13. заменить отца (84) _____________________________________________

14. бросать в холодный пот от стыда, смущения (88) ____________________

15. слова песни (90)_______________________________________________

16. ранимый, уязвимый  (90) ________________________________________

17. раздался звонок в дверь (91) ____________________________________

18. следить за к/л (92) (93) _________________________________________

19. правдоподобный (92) ___________________________________________

20. проникать, вторгаться в чью-либо жизнь (93) _______________________

 

Mastering the Pronunciation

Transcribe and translate the following words. Practise reading them.

drown (71) ____________________      gaiety (73) _________________________

brochure (72) _________________        allure (75) _________________________

career (72) ____________________       malevolent (74) _____________________

queue (81) ____________________       sincerity (89) ______________________

ingenuity (71) _________________        suicidal (71) _______________________

 

 

Chapter Twelve

 

1. How did Will spend his free time during the day?

2. What did he do in the evenings?

3. Why did he divide his days into units of time?

How long was a unit? How many units of time were there in one day?

 

4. Did Will think that he was a busy man?

5. What jobs had Will ever applied for? Was he a success? Did he despair?

6. How many pages were there in his CV?

7. What does Will find more attractive – to have a job or to be unemployed and be bored?

 

Sum up everything you know about Will and speak on his way of life.

 

8. Was Will distracted by the events of the previous weekend?

9. Did the lives of Marcus and his mum begin to worry him?

Find the sentence in the book proving your answer and put it down.

________________________________________________________________

 

10.  Why did Will decide to treat Marcus and his mum?

11.  Where did he want to take Marcus to?

 

12.  What did Will do to prove that he had a child?

 

Chapters Thirteen-Fourteen

 

1. Why did Marcus want Will to invite his mum out for a meal?

Did he think that Will was good enough to be his mum’s husband?

2. Why did Marcus want to go to Planet Hollywood for lunch?

3. What topics for discussion did Marcus suggest to start the conversation between Will and Fiona?

 

v What did each of them order at the restaurant?

 

How does the choice of dishes characterize the characters?

 

v Fiona’s character sketch

· What did Fiona look like? What was she wearing at the restaurant? Describe her.

· What did she usually wear? Were clothes important to her?

· What was Fiona’s opinion about marriage?

· What things was she interested in?

· How does the choice of songs and the way she was singing characterize her?

· What was Fiona’s basic problem in Will’s opinion?

 

Did Will and Fiona have any interests in common?

How did Will’s good intentions to help Fiona and Marcus ruin?

 

What did Will feel after his visit to Fiona’s home (after the singing)?

How did he try to restore his habitual way of life?

 

Speak on Will’s attitude to Fiona.

 

Why do you think Will did not want to have anything to do with Fiona and Marcus any longer?

 

Who made an attempt to intrude into Will’s life one day?

Was Will pleased to see the visitor? Why or why not?

  

 

v Listening to Music

Surf the Internet for the following songs and listen to them. Do the songs belong to the same musical style? Which style do they belong to?

How do they help to reveal the characters of the novel?

Which songs do you enjoy most?

 

Bob Marley: Exodus

Bob Dylan: Knocking On Heaven’s Door

James Taylor: Fire And Rain

Joni Mitchell: Both Sides Now

Joni Mitchell: Killing Me Softly With His Song

‘Roll Out The Barrel’

‘Knees Up, Mother Brown’

paternity leave (71) – a period of time when a father is allowed to be away from work after the birth of his child so that he, his wife and his baby can spend private time together. Mothers have longer maternity leaves.

media pages of the Guardian (72) – The Guardian is a national daily newspaper which has a section once a week advertising jobs in the media. In Britain all jobs in health, education, the BBC and other state-funded institutions must be advertised, and if they are skilled, specialist jobs, they must be advertised nationally. In fact, most other professional and business jobs are advertised nationally as well. People regularly move house to get a more interesting or better-paid job; and employers are always searching for the best talent.

CV (72) – curriculum vitae – a document giving details of your education and qualifications and the jobs you have had in the past. You have to send your CV to the appointments committee that will choose the successful applicant whenever you apply for a job. Numbering his pages “one” and “three”, Will sends to his potential employers only his personal information and information on his hobbies and interests.

Soho (74) – a district in central London, known for restaurants, nightclubs, striptease clubs, etc.

Brent Cross (75) – a place in North London where there is an enormous shopping centre. The centre has such an attraction that it has become better known than the place after which it is named.

Blue Peter (75) – the long-running BBC TV children’s programme. Will thinks that when children are too old for this programme – at around, say, 12 – they should go to sleep and only wake up when it is time to go to the employment centre and ‘sign on’ as unemployed. In this fantasy, Will still cannot imagine anyone choosing to work.

Planet Hollywood (79) – this is a real place that advertises itself as ‘London’s top restaurant for kids.’ It has a cinema theme and thousands of noisy children. Obviously Will hates the idea of going there.

John Major (85) – Prime Minister of Britain from 1990 to 1997, i.e. at the time when the novel was set.

 Kramer vs Kramer  (86) – an American film about a divorce in which the parents were very antagonistic and fought for custody of the child.

Mother Teresa and Florence Nightingale (88) – both women are popular examples of women who were always eager to help people in need. Both women were tough, uncompromising, and super-efficient.

Mother Teresa (1910 - 1997) worked among the poverty-stricken in Calcutta.

Florence Nightingale (1820 - 1910) was a pioneer of modern nursing, whose most famous contribution came during the Crimean War of 1854 – 1857.

 

squash (71) = squash rackets – скуош (игра в мяч с ракеткой)

pool (71) – пул (род игры в бильярд)

ingenuity (71) – изобретательность, находчивость

intimidating (71) – пугающий, устрашающий

acute (73) – острый, сильный, пронзительный

encounter (73) – встречаться, сталкиваться с ч/л

have a nap (73) – вздремнуть

embellishment (73) – украшение, декорирование, эпитет речи

batty (74) (infml) – insane, crazy; odd, eccentric (сумасшедший, тронутый)

malevolent (74) - злобный, недоброжелательный

barmy (74) (80) (infml) - balmy, crazy, eccentric or foolish (придурковатый, спятивший; идиотский)

sod’s law (74) (Br, slang) – закон подлости (sod – сволочь)

brass-rubbing (74) – producing a special kind of picture from designs based on mediaeval church art.

coolometer (74) – Will’s invented word for an instrument which would show how ‘cool’ he was

in loco parentis (Latin) – a legal term meaning ‘in place of the parent’ (в качестве родителей)

rent-boy (75) (infml) – a young male prostitute

slumber (75) (poetic) – сон; дремота, сонное состояние

sign on (75) (Br) – to register as unemployed with the Department of Social Security (регистрироваться на бирже труда)

the token sops to teens (75) – sop means ‘some soft and comforting food for an invalid’ which is here used metaphorically as something soft and sentimental to please teenagers.

chicken dippers (75) – bits of chicken, fried and then dipped in a spicy sauce

simpleton (76) – a foolish or ignorant person (простак, простофиля, дурачок)

to chat up sb (79) (infml) – to talk flirtatiously to (a person), esp with the intention of seducing him or her (заигрывать, закадрить)

conk out (80) (infml) – to fall asleep, or to faint, or to die (отключиться)

Gosh (81) – an exclamation of mild surprise or wonder (Боже!)

fries (81) – another name for French fried potatoes, French fries, chips (картофель фри)

malarkey (86) (slang) – nonsense; rubbish (бред, мура)

contemplate (88) – рассматривать

good works (88) – добрые дела, благочестивые дела

scotch (90) - Scotch whisky – скотч, шотландское виски

urge (90) – побуждение, порыв, сильное желание

vulnerable (90) – capable of being physically or emotionally wounded or hurt

excruciating (91) – мучительный

hawker (91) – (продавец-)развозчик товаров; разъездной торговец

loo (91) (infml) – lavatory

paraphernalia (92) – атрибуты, принадлежности, личные вещи

to nose around/ about (92) (infml) – любопытствовать, вынюхивать, выведывать

seedy (92) (infml) – жалкий; бедный, убогий, сомнительный, нездоровый

Lesson 7