Writing

1. Write the dictation “My Favourite Escape: Books”.

2. Choose the task you would like to do:

1. Write a synopsis of the book you read last.

2. Write an appraisal of the book you read last. First, read the Appraisal of a Book.

3. Write a letter to your favourite author about his/her book you greatly admire.

4. Write a letter to the author of a book you dislike.

An appraisal of a book

"The Collector" is a novel written bу John Fowles. It was first published in 1963, and it is a sort of horror story. It is one of the most sinister books I have read, it holds your attention from the start and becomes more shocking as it progresses. "The Collector" is a good title. The 'hero', Ferdinand Clegg, collects butterflies, but he adds to his collection the girl of his dreams, Miranda, who is an art student. We learn enough about his background, an orphan brought up by his aunt and uncle, to have some understanding of his behaviour. He is a very lonely character and painfully shy, especially with women. We see him following Miranda from a distance, fascinated by her every move. THERE IS A TURNING POINT WHEN HE WINS SOME MONEY, AND HIS PLANS BECOME A REALITY. He buys a remote country cottage, captures Miranda and keeps her there just to look at and admire. All he wants of her is to take her photograph. She is his latest and most precious ‘butterfly’. One of the most interesting aspects of the story is the portrayal of Miranda, as she goes to extremes - from trying to understand Ferdinand and be his friend to violence and trying to escape. In the end she falls ill and dies, while he does nothing to help.

The reader feels all Miranda's hopes and fears until the final dreadful outcome. This is a book which, once you have started, is impossible to put down.

Write an appraisal of a book you have liked. Organize your paragraphs in the following way:

Paragraph 1: Factual information about the book.

Paragraph 2: An introduction to the setting and the characters. (This might need two paragraphs.)

Paragraph 3: Your reactions and the reasons why you liked it.

Paragraph 4: A conclusion.

The following sentences might help:

… tells the story of ...

... based on real life (the author's experiences)

As the story unfolds we see ...

Have your say

Tell the class about your favourite book.

UNIT 3

The Art of Reading

I

1. Read the extract “On Reading” from “Expressive English” by James C. Fernald. Learn the new vocabulary.

2. Sum up the recommendations given by the author. Choose the recommendations you believe the most important and give reasons to support your opinion.

ON READING

(From “Expressive English” by James C. Fernald)

I. Reading

The first requirement for an adequate vocabulary is general reading. This reading for command of words is different from reading for mastery of any particular subject.

In the latter case you will read a number of books of the same kind, аs law books, medical books, or the like. But to gain an extensive supply of valuable words, you want to make your reading аs wide and as various as possible, with the single proviso that it shall be in really good English. It must be excellent of its kind, worth being influenced by, worth remembering.

Vocabulary building should go beyond commonplace words and momentary interests.

Then, we must get over the illusion that “А bооk is a book”. How many of the best-sellers of the last year will be remembered next year, even by their names? Some books are worth reading, even while the authors are alive. There are a few such in almost every generation, it would have been a mistake not to read Vanity Fair or David Copperfield when those works came fresh from the press.

They were аs good then as they are today. But, with the multitude of books now constantly appearing, one who would read for intellect and style can seldom afford to read a new book “to see if it is good”.

There are some books of sudden popularity that a good mind may reject at once on Dr. Johnson's principle. When he was challenged for condemning a book which he hadn't read, the sturdy old scholar replied, "Sir, I don't need to eat a whole joint of meat to find out whether it is tainted. The first mouthful is enough".

The average person will do best to take the opinion of good judges, and pass by any book not so recommended. On the other hand, а book that has lived fifty years is sure to be above the ordinary standard; otherwise it wouldn't have lived.

When the Hungarian patriot Kossuth came to America in the middle of the century, our people were surprised at his excellent and beautiful English. The explanation was that he had learned English from books, and brought back to us what was best in our literature, turned into living speech. Something like this was the experience of Mrs. Browning. For years an invalid, shut out from the active world, she read the best of our older literature and gained a singularly rich and elegant style.