Владимир Аракин - Практический курс английского языка 3 курс [calibre 2.43.0]

windows2 and awkward stairs and winding passages.

We roamed about sweet Sonning for an hour or so, and then, it being too late to push on past Reading, 3 we decided to

go back to one of the Shiplake islands, and put up there for the night. It was still early when we got settled and George

said that, as we had plenty of time, it would be a splendid opportunity to try a good, slap-up supper. He said he would

show us what could be done up the river in the way of cooking, and suggested that, with the vege tables and the remains

of the cold beef and general odds and ends, we should make an Irish stew.4

It seemed a fascinating idea. George gathered wood and made a fire, and Harris and I started to peel the potatoes. I

should never have thought that peeling potatoes was such an undertaking. The job turned out to be the biggest thing of its

kind that I had ever been in. We began cheerfully, one might almost say skittishly but our light-heartedness was gone by

the time the first potato was finished. The more we peeled, the more peel there seemed to be left on; by the time we had

got all the peel off and all the eyes out, there was no potato left — at least none worth speaking of. George came and had

a look at it — it was about the size of pea-nut. He said:

"Oh, that won't do! You're wasting them. You must scrape them."

So we scraped them and that was harder work than peeling. They are such an extraordinary shape, potatoes — all

bumps and warts and hollows. We worked steadily for five-and-twenty minutes, and did four potatoes. Then we struck.

We said we should require the rest of the evening for scraping ourselves.

I never saw such a thing as potato-scraping for making a fellow in a mess. It seemed difficult to believe that the

potato-scrapings in which Harris and I stood, half-smothered, could have come off four potatoes. It shows you what can

be done with economy and care.

George said it was absurd to have only four potatoes in an Irish stew, so we washed half a dozen or so more and put

them in without peeling. We also put in a cabbage and about half a peck5 of peas. George stirred it all up, and then he

said that there seemed to be a lot of room to spare, so we overhauled both the hampers, and picked out all the odds and

ends and the remnants, and added them to the stew. There were half a pork pie and a bit of cold boiled bacon left, and we

put them in. Then George found half a tin of potted salmon, and he emptied that into the pot.

He said that was the advantage of Irish stew: you got rid of such a lot of things. I fished out a couple of eggs that had

got cracked, and we put those in. George said they would thicken the gravy.

I forget the other ingredients, but I know nothing was wasted; and I remember that towards the end, Montmorency,

who had evinced great interest in the proceedings throughout, strolled away with an earnest and thoughtful air,

reappearing, a few minutes afterwards, with a dead water-rat in his mouth, which he evidently wished to present as his

contribution to the dinner; whether in a sarcastic spirit, or with a general desire to assist, I cannot say.

We had a discussion as to whether the rat should go in or not. Harris said that he thought it would be all right, mixed

up with the other things, and that every little helped; but George stood up for precedent! He said he had never heard of

water-rats in Irish stew, and he would rather be on the safe side, and not try experiments.

Harris said:

"If you never try a new thing how can you tell what it's like? It's men such as you that hamper the world's progress.

Think of the man who first tried German sausage!"

It was a great success, that Irish stew. I don't think I ever enjoyed a meal more. There was something so fresh and

piquant about it. One's palate gets so tired of the old hackneyed things; here was a dish with a new flavour, with a taste

like nothing else on earth.

And it was nourishing, too. As George said, there was good stuff in it. The peas and potatoes might have been a bit

softer, but we all had good teeth, so that did not matter much; and as for the gravy, it was a poem — a little too rich,

perhaps, for a weak stomach, but nutritious.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

1. Sonning['sonig]: a picturesque village on the bank of the Thames.

2. latticed window:a window with small panes set in.

3. Reading['redirj]: a town on the river Thames, Berkshire, South England. It is an important town for engineering, transport "and

scientific research. It is also important for its cattle and corn markets. It is proud of its university which specializes in agriculture.

4. Irish stew:a thick stew of mutton, onion and potatoes.

5. peck:a measure for dry goods equal to two gallons. Half a peck is equal approximately to four litres.

6. German sausage:a large kind of sausage with spiced, partly cooked meat.

ESSENTIAL VOCABULARY

Vocabulary Notes

1. gossip n 1) (uncount .) idle talk, often ill-natured, about persons or events, also what appears in newspapers about people well-

known in society, as the gossip column, a gossip writer, e. g. Don't believe all the gossip you hear. 2) (count.) a person who is fond of

talking about other people's affairs, as the town gossips.

gossip vi (over smth.) to talk about the affairs of others, to spread rumours, e. g. Aren't you ashamed of gossiping over his affairs?

2. wind[wamd] (wound[waund] vt/i 1)to turn round and round: to wind the handle; 2) to make into a ball or twisted round

shape, as to wind wool; 3) to follow a direction in a twisting shape, e. g. The path winds through the wood. 4) to tighten the working

parts by turning, as to wind a clock; 5) to bring or come to an end, e. g. It's time he could wind up (his speech), to wind someone

round one's little fingerto make someone do what one wants.

3. peel vt/i 1) to take off the skin, as to peel oranges (apples, potatoes, bananas, etc.); 2) to come off in thin layer or strips, e. g.

The skin peels off the nose or face when a person gets sunburnt. The wallpaper is peeling (off).

peel n the outer skin of fruit or vegetables, as orange peel, potato peel; candied peelthe peel of oranges, lemons, etc., preserved

and coated with sugar.

4. scrape vt/i 1)to remove (material) from a surface by pulling or pushing an edge firmly across it repeatedly, e. g. I scraped the

skin off the vegetables. 2) to clean or make (a surface) smooth in this way, e. g. She scraped the door (down) before painting it again.

He scraped his boots clean before coming in the house. 3) to rub roughly (esp. on, against): a chair scraping on the floor, e. g. He

scraped his chair against the wall.

4) to hurt or damage in this way, e. g. He scraped his knee when he fell.

5) to succeed in a class by doing work of the lowest acceptable quality, e. g. She just scraped through the examination, to scrape a

livingto get just enough food or money to stay alive; to scrape upalso to scrape togetherto gather (a total, esp. of money) with difficulty by putting small amounts together.

5. steady adj 1) firmly fixed, not likely to fall, as a steady foundation, to make a chair or table steady, with a steady hand, e. g.

The chair is steady enough, syn. firm, as firm ground, foundation, steps, muscles; 2) regular in life, work, etc.; industrious, as a steady person; 3) constant, as a steady wind (rain, growth, increase), steady progress.

steadily adv in a steady manner, e. g. It has been raining steadily since the morning.

steady vt/i to make or become steady, e. g. With an effort he steadied the boat. The boat soon steadied again.

6. mess n (rarely pi.) a state of confusion, dirt or disorder; to be in a mess,e. g. The room was in a mess, to make a mess of smth.to do it badly, e. g. You've made a mess of the job. to get into a messto get into trouble or into a dirty state, e. g. You'll get into a mess if

you are not more careful.

7. crack vt/i 1) to break or cause to break, in such a way, however, that the pieces remain together, e. g. A vase may crack if

washed in boiling water. You've cracked the window. 2) to make or cause a thing to make a loud noise, as to crack a whip, e. g. His

rifle cracked and the deer fell dead, to crack a joke(si.) to make a somewhat rough joke, e. g. There is no one like him to crack jokes.

crack n an incomplete break; a sharp noise, as a wide (small, loud, sudden) crack, e. g. The walls are covered with cracks. I heard

a crack as if of a branch.

8. contribute vt/i 1) to give money, supply help, etc. to a common cause, e. g. The development of friendly ties with other

countries contributes to mutual understanding of their peoples. Good health contributes to a person's success in work. 2) to write

articles or other material for newspapers, magazines, etc., as to contribute articles to a wall-newspaper, to contribute a poem to a

magazine.

contribution n the act of contributing; that which is contributed, e. g. Montmorency brought a dead water-rat as his contribution to

the dinner.

9. spiritn 1) moral condition, tendency, as the spirit of the army, the spirit of the times (age), the spirit of the law, to take smth. in

the right (wrong) spirit, to show a proper spirit, e. g. That's the right spirit! He found himself in conflict with the spirit of the time. 2)

energy, courage, liveliness, e. g. Put a little more spirit into your work. He spoke with spirit. 3) pi. mood, as to be in high (low) spirits,

e. g. His spirits rose (fell or sank), to raise smb.'s spirits; out of spiritsdepressed, unhappy, e. g. You seem to be out of spirits today.

10. taste n 1) flavour; quality of any substance as perceived by the taste organs, e. g. The doctor prescribed her some pills with a

bitter taste. I don't care for this bread, it has a very bitter taste. I dislike the taste of olives. 2) liking, e. g. You may choose any flowers

to your taste here. There is no accounting for tastes. Tastes differ. 3) ability to form judgements in questions of beauty and manners,

e. g. The room was furnished in good taste. They say she dresses in poor taste. I was ashamed of you, your jokes were in very bad

taste.

taste vt/i 1) to try by eating or drinking; to recognize after taking into the mouth, e. g. There we found some strange meals and