Exercises

Exercise I. Practise the pronunciation of the following a) words and b) word-combinations:

launch, hinterland, hospitality, entertaining, tobacco, experience, superior, magnificent, discomfort, privation, cawlboy, migrate, barren, particular, gaunt, exhausted, socket, predicament, famine, isolated, erratic, stomach, mac­aroni, blizzard, anguish, ominous, community, moccasin, aghast, bait, tissue, miracle, jovial, factual, basis, myth, area

Exercise II. Drills, a) Read and repeat; b) Use the structures in sen­tences of your own:

I. 1. The launch was to take him out of the hinterland. 158

1. The men were to hunt the caribou and make a supply of meat for the winter.

2. We were to meet on the shore of a lake.

3. At what time is he to come?

4. What are they to do?

II. 1. I'll have Uncle bring in some fresh tea.

2. He had the typist type all the letters and telegrams.

3. Please, have the porter carry my luggage to the plat­form.

4. I shall have her lay the table for dinner.

III. 1. The hunter must have missed the herd.

2. The boy must have laid by food for the winter.

3. The villagers must have realized the danger.

4. He must have been exhausted after the trip.

Exercise III. Replace the italicized parts of the sentences by word; and word-groups from the text:

1. They are such strange people, it's difficult to under­stand them. 2. In this country there are plenty of rabbits to be shot if you are short of food. 3. By the middle of the month we had eaten everything that was fit to eat including the dogs. 4. It is difficult for you to understand the dangerous situation we found ourselves in. 5. To make things worse, the temperature fell to seventy degrees below zero. 6. We were sure to die soon. 7. It's impossible to describe the scene. 8. We couldn't guess what he was going to do. 9. Filled with horror we saw him cut a strip of flesh from his own leg.

Exercise IV. Find in the text English equivalents for the following and use them in sentences of your own:

занимательный; охотно; странный (2); изможденный; предложить кому-либо гостеприимство; выше (лучше) кого-либо; умирать тысячами; отложить (запасти) пищу на зиму; все съедобное; невероятно; в довершение ко всему; горько рыдать; остальные; пристально глядеть; прорубь; рыба не клюет; крючок; приманка; насаживать наживку на крючок; в ужасе; это невозможно описать; выжить; давать в изобилии; холодный, как лед; взглянуть (на)

Exercise V. Fill in the blanks with prepositions or adverbs:

1. As the carriage did not show time he decided to walk .. the station. 2. ... one ... his hunting trips he had laid ... enough food to last ... the winter. 3. It was difficult ... him to understand why they had not sent ...

... help ... time. 4. Early ... the morning he set snowshoes, hoping to get ... the nearest village before dark.

A shout ... joy went him when ... last he saw glimmering lights ... the distance. 5. ... the fisherman's suggestion we baited the fishhooks ... pieces ... dry meat, as we had nothing else ... bait, and dropped them ... the water. 6. They spent hours ... end ... the desolate shore lying ... wait ... knives fastened ... poles. But their efforts came ... nothing. 7. Little did they suspect ... those dismal days that very soon nature would shower them ... food.

Exercise VI. Pick out sentences from the text that contain answers to the following questions:

1. What did the hunter say about the Indians? 2. Why do the Indians prefer winter to any season of the year? 3. How did Bob Hilton describe the men who had returned after fail­ing to find the caribou? 4. What happens if the hunters miss the herd? 5. Why did Bob Hilton advise Julius to wait with the cache? 6. What was the cache made of? 7. Why did they bait the fishhooks with rawhide? 8. What shows the fish did not like that kind of bait?

Exercise VII. Construct 5 disjunctive questions that are not true to fact and ask your comrades to correct them (see p. 147, Ex. VIII).

Exercise VIII. Use words and expressions from the text In answering the following questions:

1. Why did Spencer Scott find himself in a difficult sit­uation? 2. Whose hospitality did Spencer Scott gladly accept? 3. What seemed odd to Spencer? 4. How did Bob Hilton describe the lean years? 5. What was the trouble in the year Hilton told his guest about? 6. Why did Hilton say he would never forget the trip to the cache Julius had made? 7. How did Julius show himself twice a man of action? 8. Why did a doubt lurk in Spencer's mind? 9. How did Hilton prove to Spencer the truth of his story?

Exercise IX. Imagine that you are Julius. Go to the front of the class and answer the questions the students ask.

Exercise X. Retell the story using the following words:

was to take him; failed to show up; there was nothing for him but; to offer hospitality; entertaining; armful; odd way; superior to; truly magnificent; lean years; to take for granted; die by the thousand; this particular year; to travel in a herd; to miss (the herd); to last out; gaunt; exhausted; he must have laid by food; safe; to make it last; everything edible; to send out for help; extremely isolated; improbable; nor could they spare it; all the food was gone; to set out on snowshoes; to seem endless; to make matters worse; raised on poles; to bring down the bundles; to tear open (the bundles); a cry arose; to sob bitterly; I should have known better; the rest; to stare fixedly; to bait a hook (with); holes chopped in the Ice; to refuse to bite; at my suggestion; to lie in wait; to come to nothing; it defies description; a strip of flesh; aghast; to break the spell; obviously; to survive the winter; fortunately; showered us with food; a doubt lurked; to arise from a legend; to betray; stone cold; I'll have him bring in; take a look at; a whitish scar

Exercise XI. Translate Into Russian:

1. He was a good story-teller and the boys listened to him spell-bound. 2. He is an entirely different man now. Hé seems to be under a spell. 3. The story goes that once a Wicked Witch cast a spell on a beautiful young princess. 4. The friends sat in silence watching the fire burning low, when the servant's sudden entrance broke the spell.

1. Nature showered us with food. 2. "Take a shower. It'll make you feel better." 3. "You can't very well expect Grandfather to shower gifts on you after you've done all you could to disgrace him!" 4. Letters and invitation cards were showered on the beautiful starlet by cinema fans. 5. When the Negro boy appeared in the school-yard he was met with a shower of stones.

Exercise XII. Translate these sentences Into English using handful, spoonful, armful:

1. Прими ложку этого лекарства, и тебе станет лучше. 2. Она дала мне горсть спелых ягод. 3. Вдали была видна кучка людей. 4. Старик взял охапку дров и отнес ее в дом.

Exercise XIII. Choose the correct word from those in brackets: