Home reading 2-3

"What right have you to question me?" she answered.

"The right of a man who loves you", 1 replied. "1 came here to ask you to be my wife."

She hid her face in her hands, and burst into floods of tears. "You must tell me", I continued.

She stood up, and, looking me straight in the face, said, "Lord Murchison, there is nothing to tell you."

"You went to meet someone", I cried; "this is your mystery" She grew dreadfully white, and said, "1 went to see no one." "Can't you tell the truth?" 1 exclaimed.

"I have told it", she replied.

1 was mad, frantic; 1 don't know what 1 said, but I said terrible things to her, and rushed out of the house. She wrote me a letter the next day, but 1 sent it back unopened, and started for Norway. After a month I came back, and the first thing 1 saw in the newspapers was the death of Lady Alroy. She had caught a chill at the Opera, and had died in five days of congestion of lungs10. I shut myself up and saw no one. I had loved her so much, I had loved her so madly. Good God! How I had loved that woman!

"You went to the street, to the house in it?" I asked. "Yes", he answered.

One day I went to Cumnor Street. I could not help it; 1 was tor­ tured with doubt. I knocked at the door, and a respectable-looking woman opened it to me. I asked her if she had any rooms to let.

"Well, sir", she replied, the drawing rooms are supposed to be let"; but I have not seen the lady for three months, and as rent is owing on them12, you can have them'.

"Is this the lady?" I said, showing the photograph.

"That's her, sure enough", she exclaimed; and when is*she co­ ming back, sir?"

"The lady is dead", I replied.

"Oh, sir, I hope not!" said the woman; "she was my best lodger. She paid me three guineas a week merely to sit in my drawing-rooms now and then -"

"She met someone here?" 1 said; but the woman assured me that it was not so, that she always came alone, and saw no one.

"What on earth did she do here?" I cried.

"She simply sat in the drawing-room, sir, reading books, and unetimes had tea", the woman answered. I did not know what to say,

in I gave her a sovereign and went away.

"Now, what do you think it all meant? You don't believe the nan was telling the truth, do you", 1 asked.

"I do."

"Then why did Lady Alroy go there?"

"My dear Gerald", I answered. "Lady Alroy was simply a wo­ rn, in with a mania for mystery. She took these rooms for the pleasure "I going there with her veil down, and imagining she was a heroine.

• lie had a passion for secrecy13, but she herself was merely a Sphinx \\ ilhout a secret."

"Do you really think so?" "I am sure of it", I replied.

He took out the silver case, opened it, and looked at the photograph. "I wonder?14" he said at last.

Vocabulary study

/ Study the active vocabulary of the text.

splendour, n shabbiness, n sable, n brougham

|'Ьги:зт, bru:m] moonbeam, n anxiety, n

,iuxious, adj trot, v

slight, adj vague, adj Bond Street Park Lane

magnificence, greatness a bad condition, poverty

a small animal valued for its beautiful dark fur

a four-wheeled horse-drawn closed carriage having a raised open driver's seat in front

a ray of moonlight

emotional condition in which there is fear and uncertainty about the future

feeling anxiety; troubled

(of horses) go at a pace faster than a walk but not so fast as a gallop

small, not serious or important not explicit; imprecise

a street in London famous for its expensive shops a wide street in central London, famous for its

expensive hotels and houses. It has buildings on one side and Hyde Park on the other

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супроводжувати її в обідню залу відчайдушно занурився у тему

я часто з нею бачився я був надзвичайно щасливий

обрав коротший шлях занедбани­ ми вуличками зайшла в будинок

шпигувати, стежити за нею застій, гіперемія легенів (тепер термін - запалення легенів) вважається, що всі вітальні здано в оренду

я був радий зустріти його

butler, n

unapproachable, adj

lodging, n guinea, n

sovereign, n

the male servant of a household in charge of the wines, table, etc.; usually the head servant

1)discouraging intimacy, friendliness;

2)inaccessible

a temporary residence

the sum of 21 shillings (£ 1.05), still used in some contexts, as in quoting professional fees

a former British gold coin worth one pound sterling

//. Give English equivalents of the following words or word combi­ nations.

Соверен (золота монета в один фунт стерлінгів); неприс­ тупний; гінея (англійська грошова одиниця = 21 шилінгу); зане­ покоєння, тривога; тимчасове житло; зубожіння / жалюгідність; дворецький / старший слуга; невизначений / невиразний / неясний; незначний / легкий; пускати (коня) риссю; занепокоєний / стриво­ жений; місячний промінь; однокінна двомісна карета; соболь; блиск / пишнота / велич.

III. Study the commentary to the

1. / was delighted to come across him

2.Women are meant to be loved, жінок треба не розуміти, а любити not to be understood

3. to take her in to dinner

4. plunged recklessly into the subject

5. / saw a great deal of her

6. / was in the seventh heaven of delight

7. look a short cut through a lot of shabby little streets

8. let herself in

9. spy on her

10. congestion of lungs

11. the drawing rooms are supposed to be let

12. rent is owing oh them	за ці кімнати треба заплатити
I 1. She had a passion for secrecy	квартирну плату
	виявляла пристрасть до таємниць
14. / wonder?	оце так дивина!
IV. In groups A and В match the pairs of synonyms.
A	В
1. poor, adj	a) magnificent
2. anxious, adj	b) hesitation
3. miserable, adj	c) chance
4. curiosity, n	d)shabby
5. beg, v	e)interest
6. extraordinary, adj	f) unusual
7. occasion, n	g) troubled
8. torture, v	h) prey
9. doubt, n	i) look
10. terrible, adj	j) torment
11. glance, n	k) horrible
12. splendid, n	1) unhappy

V. Translate the sentences guessing the meaning of the underlined words from the context.

1. He took from his pocket a little silver case, and handed it to me. I opened it. Inside there was the photograph of a woman. She was (all and slight, and strangely picturesque with her large vague eyes and loosened hair, and she was wrapped in rich furs. It seemed to me that it was the face of someone who had a secret, but whether that secret was good or eyjl I could not say. Its beauty was a beauty mounded out of many mysteries, and the faint smile that just played across the lips was far too subtle to be really sweet.

VI. Fill in the blanks with the prepositions from the table below. Mind that some of them may be used several times.

to by, in, afterwards, with, down for, after, out from, since, in to, of, down

Close the pavement was standing a little yellow brougham,

which, _ _ some reason or other, attracted my attention. As I pas­ sed there looked _ it the face I showed you this

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afternoon. About a week					I was dining _ _ Madame de Rastail.
Dinner was
			eight o'clock; but at half past eight we were still wai­
ting
	the drawing-room. Finally the servant opened the door, and

announced Lady Alroy. It was the woman 1 had seen and had been

looking

all the time

that meeting. She came very slowly.

my intense delight, I

looking like a moonbeam

grey lace, and,

, I remarked

was asked to take her

dinner.

we had sat

you

quite innocently, "I think I caught sight

Bond Street so­

me

a

me time ago, Lady Alroy." She grew very pale, and said

low voice, "Pray do not talk so loud; you may be overhead."

Grammar

/. Put the Infinitives in brackets into the correct tense form.

1. We not

(to meet) since we

(to be) at college

together, nearly ten years before, so I

(to

delight) to

come

across him again, and we

(to shake)

hands warmly.

2. At

Oxford we

(to be) friends. 3. The servant

(to open) the

door, and _____ (to announce) Lady Alroy. 4. It was the woman I

(to see) and

(to look) for all the time since that meeting.

5. The next day I

(to arrive) at Park Lane punctual to the

moment, but

(to tell) by the butler that Lady Alroy just

(to go) out.

6. I

(to have) no answer for several days, but at last

I

(to

get) a

little note saying she

(to be) at home on

Sunday at four and with an extraordinary postscript: "Please do not

write to me here again; I

(to explain) when I

(to see) you."

7. After a month 1

(to come) back, and the first thing I

(to see) in the newspapers was the death of Lady Alroy. 8. She

(to catch) a chill at the

Opera, and

(to die)

in five days of

congestion of lungs. 9. One day I

(to go) to Cumnbr Street. I

could not help it; I

(to torture) with doubt. 10. The woman said

she not

(to see) Lady Alroy for three months.

II. Choose the correct form of the verb to complete the sentences with the Infinitive complexes, and define these complexes.

1. One afternoon when I was sitting outside the cafn in Paris I heard someone _ _ _ my name, and saw Lord Murchison.

a) to call b) called c) call

l le looked anxious and puzzled, and seemed	in doubt about
Jbmething.
a) was b) to be c) had been

\ respectable-looking woman said that the drawing rooms were sup­ posed .

a)to let b) to be let c) to have been let

<.miprehension check

/ Say whether these statements are true or false.

1. Lord Murchison was one of the author's old college friends. ' Bond Street is one of the central streets in Paris. 3. Lady Alroy had a lecret which didn't allow her to see Lord Murchison in public. 4. She answered the Lord's letter at once. 5. There were reasons why she і ouldn't receive any letters in her own house. 6. The atmosphere of mystery never left Lady Alroy. 7. Her strange behaviour can be ex­ plained by the fact that she was in the power of some man. 8. Lord Murchison asked Lady Alroy to be his wife. 9. She always told the truth. 10. She rented a drawing room at Cumnor street to receive there

.nine strange people.

// ('hoose the correct item to complete the sentences.

1. The action of the story takes place in .

a) London b) New York c) Paris

2. Lord Murchison was .

a)a close friend of Lady Alroy

b)deeply in love with Lady Alroy

c)Lady Alroy's ex-husband

3. Lord Murchison didn't want to go for a drive in a yellow carriage because .

a)he didn't like yellow colour

b)he liked to go for a drive in green carriages

c)yellow carriages reminded him of some sad event in his life

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4. Lady Alroy was

.

a)a married woman

b)not married

c)a widow

5. She rented a drawing room in				.
a) Park Lane
b) Cumnor Street
c) Green Street
6. In this drawing room Lady Alroy				.
a) secretly met some man
b) read books and had tea
c) sat doing nothing
7. Lady Alroy		.

a)had some mystery

b)had a mania for mysteries

c)was afraid that Lord Murchison would discover her mystery

8. Lady Alroy died because

.

a)she got seriously ill

b)she had a passion for secrecy

c)she was sorry about her behaviour

///.Fill in the blanks with the proper words from the table below.

a)mystery, b) begged, c) unapproachable, d) latch-key, e) delight,

f)consideration, g) conclusion, hi miserable, i) extraordinary,

j) plunged, k) veiled, I) shabby

I felt very ' at having made such a bad beginning, and

2 recklessly into the subject of the French plays. The next day I arrived at Park Lane punctual to the moment, but was told by the butler that Lady Alroy had just gone out. After a long 3 I wrote

her a letter, asking if I might be allowed to try my chance some other afternoon. I had no answer for several days, but at last I got a little note saying she would be at home on Sunday at four and with an 4 postscript: "Please do not write to me here again; I will explain

when I see you". On Sunday she received me, and was perfectly charming, but when I was going away she 5 of me if I ever had

... casion to write fo her again, to address my letter to "Mr.Knox, care 0І Whittaker's Library, Green Street. There are reasons," she said, why I cannot receive letters in my own house". Al l through the seaЮП I saw a great deal of her, and the atmosphere of 6 never left her. Sometimes I thought she was in the power of some man, but she

looked so		7 that I could not believe it. It was really very difficult
і. її
	me to come at any			8, but at last I determined to ask her to be
m\	wife. 1 wrote to her at the library to ask her if she could see me the

following Monday at six. She answered yes, and I was in the seventh heaven of 9. When Monday came round I went to lunch with my

u n c l e who lives in Regent's Park.	I wanted to get to Piccadilly, and
took a short cut through a lot of __	10 little streets. Suddenly I saw in
front of me Lady Alroy, deeply _	" and walking rather fast. On co-

ming to the last house in the street, she went up the steps, took out a 1 2 , and let herself in.

/I Match the words in groups A and В to form the word combinations from the text; translate these word-combinations.

i) adj / noun + (prp) noun
A	В
1. a respectable-looking	a) eyes
2. a crash	b) woman
3. the atmosphere	c) of life
4. large vague	d) for mystery
5. terrible	e) fur
6. shabbiness	f) smile
7. a mania	g) case
8. a silver	h) of mystery
9. rich	i) things
10. a faint	j) of carriages
b) verb + noun
A	В
1. to be delighted	a) for a drive
2. to look	b) one's curiosity
3. to go	c) unapproachable
4. to attract	d) at some conclusion
5. to feel	e) on somebody

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6. to excite	f) anxious
7. to look	g) a chill
8. to come	h) miserable
9- to spy	i) one's attention
10.to catch	j) to come across

Speaking

Discuss the following items supplying your answers with the facts from the text or using your own judgement and imagination to des­ cribe this situation.

•What sort of a woman was Lady Alroy?

•Why didn't Lord Murchison want to go for a drive with his colleague friend in a yellow carriage?

•Why did Lady Alroy rent the lodging in Cumnor Street?

•What was Lady Alroy's mystery?

•What, in your opinion, was the real reason of Lady A l ­ roy's death?

•Describe the situation drawn in the picture on page 39.

Writing

Write an essay on one of the following topics using the active vo­ cabulary of the lesson.

• How do you understand the title of the story?

•We can't love where we can't trust.

•Why did Lady Alroy behave in such a strange way?

Cross-cultural studies

Do you know thai:

•Sphinx (pi. sphinxes, sphinges) is a compound creature having a lion's body and a human head, either male or female. It originated in Egypt and the concept of the sphinx spread throughout the ancient world

•the word sphinx originated from Greek sphingein, what means to bind together

representations of the sphinx are found in Egyptian, As­ syrian, Greek, Mayan and Roman art and sculpture. The heads of Egyptian sphinxes are usually royal portraits, and the lyon bodies represent the pharaoh's strength

in Greek mythology, it is a creature with the feet and tail of a lion, the wings of a bird and the head of a woman. She lay outside Thebes and killed people who could not answer her riddle. Oedipus answered her riddle, and the Sphinx killed herself

the great sphinx of Giza, 187 feet long, has the head and body carved of living rock

in everyday English, this word is used to denote an in­ scrutable person (загадкова істота, незрозуміла людина)

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