63

Chapters 1-2

Words and expressions to remember

• the bulletproof glass

• untaxing (work)

• a bet (to bet on sth)

• to urge smb to do sth

• a crucifix

• probable odds

• to be on credit

• to be reared on sth

• to be furious with sb

• to be engrossed in

• to keep track of

• to make a point of doing sth

• to stutter / a stutter

• to have a check up

• to tempt sb / to be tempted to do sth

• to come down with an illness

• to give rise to

• irreversible

• conscientious

1. Reproduce the situations from the chapters where these lexical items are used.

2. Comment on or paraphrase the following sentences from the chapters.

• To have a supply of books on hand to suit my tastes;

• The management saved on electricity, as on everything else;

• She had insisted that I learn at least one useful thing;

• The hotel had seen better days;

• I had paid a good part of my way through college in fraternity poker games;

• My financial situation didn’t permit me to demand luxury;

• I was grateful that I had never been tempted to take a job on one of the big airlines;

• I didn’t like being tied down to a schedule;

• I didn’t allow myself to sink into gloom;

• A rather desultory affair;

• Stubbornly unmarried;

• Re-assess the feelings;

• They are not sticky about it;

• To be alert to a whole array of dials;

• How are you fixed for dough?

• History is the most relevant of subjects;

• The hum of education swelled to a roar of freedom.

3. Answer the questions.

• Where is the scene set?

• What are the duties of a night watchman? What are the benefits of working as a night watch?

• What kind of activities was Grimes engaged in during his being on duty?

• What was Grimes’s background?

• In what way can you describe Grimes’s appearance and habits?

• What kind of hotel did Grimes work at?

• What was Grimes’s hobby?

• What were Grimes’s reasons for taking up that occupation?

• What kind of books was Grimes interested in?

• What was striking for Grimes about the date of 15 January?

• Why did Grimes pay so much attention to a flying jet?

• What was the Wales family like?

• What did Grimes and Didi have in common?

• Did Grimes have a girlfriend? Could you call his relationship with the girl friend confused?

• In what way did Grimes’s life change after that physical examination?

• Why did Grimes decide to quit at once after learning the results of the check-up?

• Do you think Grimes’s girlfriend loved him?

4. Do you agree or disagree with the following? Quote the text to prove that.

• Grimes was in a perfect physical form;

• Grimes was fond of reading (he was a devoted reader);

• Grimes was pleased with his work (it suited him);

• Grimes was educated in business;

• Grimes was an enthusiastic gambler;

• Grimes missed his previous occupation;

• Mr.Wales was quite a rich person;

• Didi enjoyed reading;

• Grimes was rather a shy person;

• Grimes was frustrated on hearing the news about his poor vision.

5. Topics for developing argumentation and rhetorical speech skills. Dwell on the following subjects:

• When experiencing a kind of turning point in their lives people may be caught by an unexpected desire to start from scratch.

• Life is made of millions of moments, but we live only one of these moments at a time. As we begin to change this moment, we begin to change our lives (T.Hunt).

• Every move we make today is the result of what men and women have been doing with each other and to each other since before recorded time.

• If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. (P.Buck)

• People’s characters are reflected through their reading habits.

• Books let us into their souls and lay open to us the secrets of our own. (W.Hazlitt)