Яков Аракин - Практический курс английского языка 2 курс

oral speech), the omission of the conjunction that and the syntax imitating that of oral

communication by its free and careless structures.

2. The story presents an interesting example of the indirect method of characterization. The

author does not say directly that the members of the family were selfish, callous and hard-hearted

people (that would be the direct method of characterization) but makes them act and lets the reader

draw his own conclusion.

3. "How We Kept Mother's Day" is a humorous story. Humour in fiction may be of two

principal types. It may be humour of situation when the author makes us laugh at certain funny or

absurd facts, е.g. the members of the family buying presents for themselves on Mother's Day, but

buying nothing for their mother. There is also humour of words when the reader does not laugh at

what is happening in the story but at how it is put by the author. E. g. But of course we all felt that it

would never do to let Father stay at home, especially as we knew he would make trouble if he did.

ESSENTIAL VOCABULARY (I)

Words

afford υ

funny adj

repay υ

effort n

get υ

sacrifice υ, n

enjoy υ

guess υ

treat υ, n

especially adv

hire υ

treatment n

fetch υ

keep υ

trim υ

fun n

occur υ

turn υ

purpose n

unfortunately

adv

Word Combinations

for smb.'s sake

to get over smth.

to stay (at) home from college (classes, school)

to take smb. for a drive

to dress in one's best (worst)

in case

just as well

to stand (be) in smb.'s way

for such an occasion

to make trouble

to turn out

to be no use

in the end

to get on smb.'s nerves

to care for smb. (or smth.)

to turn inside out

to keep back

to turn over

for a little (short, long)

to turn up

while

to turn upside down

to get up and down

for (in) fun

to get to some place

to make fun of smb.

EXERCISES

1. Read Text of Unit Four and the Notes on Style and talk on the following

points (A. Grammar, B. Word usage. С. Style):

A. 1.Which verbs used in the text are modal verbs? Comment on their meanings and

translate the sentences in which they are used.

2. What are the meanings of the verbs to get, to make, to keep, to take in the text? (Translate

the sentences with these verbs.)

3. Mother and Father are capitalized and used without articles in the text. How would you

use the words in reported speech (oral and written)?

B. 1.in the phrases to decorate the house and to trim the hats we have two different

equivalents of «украшать». What can be trimmed or decorated?

2. We say in the morning (evening, afternoon), but in the phrase "on the very morning of the

day" on is used. Why? (Cf: on that evening, on the morning of his arrival.)

C. 1.Point out as many colloquial words and phrases as you can find. Supply their Russian

equivalents if possible. What is the author's purpose in introducing so many units of informal style?

2. Point out the passages which characterize the members of the family and their real attitude

to the mother. What is the method of characterization used by the author?

3. Which sentences or passages bear touches of humour? Try to explain how the humorous

effect is achieved in each case. Which type of humour prevails in the story? (See Notes on Style.)

II. a) Search the text for English equivalents of the phrases listed below and

write them ia your exercise book:

отмечать (праздновать) День Матери, не пойти в школу, одеться по-праздничному

(принарядиться), взять напрокат машину, почти все время, на случай если.... мог бы с таким

же успехом остаться дома, скоротать время, от нас бы не было никакой пользы, ушибить руку

обо что-нибудь, убирать со стола, хотя бы на этот раз, обед продолжался долго, ради такого

случая, в такой чудесный день, повезти ее на машине за город, вернуться домой к

праздничному обеду, не так уж много места, не годится оставлять отца дома, выяснилось, что

все равно.,., махал ей рукой, сели обедать, приносить и уносить что-л., мы чувствовали себя

вполне вознагражденными за...

b) Get the student sitting next to yon translate half of the Russian phrases into

English (in writing) and check them with the key in your notebook. Translate the

other half yourself and ask your neighbour to correct your translation.

III. Translate in writing these passages. Compare and discuss different

variants of students' translation:

1. It occurred to Father that a thing it would be better to do even than to take Mother for a

motor drive would be to take her fishing; if you are going to fish, there is a definite purpose in front

of you to heighten the enjoyment. 2. Father said not to mind him, he said that he could just as well

stay home; he said that we were not to let the fact of his not having had a real holiday for three years

stand in our way,

IV. Try your hand at teaching:

A. Preparation.Pick out from the text all the words with the letter g in them. Classify them

according to the way g is pronounced and put them down in columns. Make up a list of words to

illustrate the same rules.

B. Work in Class.a) Show the table to the class and let the students comment on it.

b) Dictate the words in class with one student writing them on the board. Correct the

mistakes on the board. (See 'Classroom English", Sections IV, VII, VIII.)

V. a) Write the words below in the Past Indefinite. Classify them into two

groups: one with the final г doubled, the other one with one final r in the Past

Indefinite.

b) Explain to the students when the final r should be doubled:

enter, occur, offer, remember, clear, refer [rÌfE:], cheer, bar, utter [Àtq], star, prefer, stir

[stE:].

VI. a) Write an outline of the text (see Ex. IX on p. 59). (The outline may be

written in the Present or Past Indefinite tenses.)

b) Discuss the outlines written by several students and choose the best one.

Improve it by using some variants from other students' works. Write it down on the

board and make the students copy it in their exercise books.

VII. Write two questions to each item of the outline: one should help to reveal

the contradictions between what the members of the family said and did, the other

(with a modal verb) — what they could or ought to have done.

e.g. 1 . Did the girls really think that their mother's old bonnet was "awfully becoming" to

her? 2. Don't you think they should have bought something for their mother too? (Make the students

reason out their answers.)

VIII. Study the Vocabulary Notes end Essential Vocabulary (I) and a)

Paraphrase the following (in writing):

1. to make smb. do smth.; 2. to have smth. arranged; 3. to recover after a disease; 4. to stand

up and sit down; 5. to look in the opposite direction; 6. to come to one's mind; 7. to appear

unexpectedly; 8, a great pleasure; 9. at last; 10. to be able (to spend money on smth., etc.); 11. to

continue to do smth.; 12. not to let smb. do smth.; 13. to conceal some tact; 14. to enjoy oneself; 15.

to love (take interest in); 16. for a short time; 17. to take a taxi; 18. to become dirty; 19. to laugh at

(mock) smb.; 20. to get other people into a mess.

b) Make op sentences with the phrases yea have written.

IX. A word in one language may have different equivalents in another.

е.g. место — room, place

жертва — sacrifice, victim приносить — fetch, bring

a) Look op the words given above in an English-Russian dictionary, find out

the exact meaning of each pair of words and write sentences illustrating the

difference in their use.

b) Ask the students to translate the Russian variants of your sentences.

X. Translate the sentences into English using Essential Vocabulary (1);

1. Какое удовольствие слушать ее пение! 2. После концерта детей угощали чаем с

пирожными. 3. Выключи радио, эта музыка действует мне на нервы. 4. Я повернула за угол и

столкнулась лицом к липу со своей подругой. 5. Почему нужно переворачивать все вверх

дном, чтобы найти какой-то пустяк? 6. Мальчика лечили от кори, но оказалось, что у него

скарлатина. 7. Девочке нравилось, что с ней обращаются как со взрослой. 8. Она не могла

удержать ребенка от шалостей. 9. Мы прекрасно провели время на пляже. Было очень весело.

10. Дэвиду не приходило в голову, что он всех задерживает. 11. Детей нужно приучать хорошо

(kindly) обращаться с животными. 12. Кто бы мог подумать, что она станет талантливой

актрисой! 13. Ах, вот как ты держишь свое слово! 14. Ваш приятель — такой весельчак, —

Да? Представьте, мне это никогда не приходило в голову. 15. Это случилось много лет назад.

Она, должно быть, уже забыла обо всем. 16. Как весело играть в эту игру! 17. Школьные

товарищи Роберта смеялись над его зеленым костюмом. 18. Какая забавная шляпка!

XI. Retell the test following the outline (see Ex. VI, p. 132). Speak about the

contradictions between the words and the behaviour of the members of the family: