READING COMPREHENSION EXERCISES

1. a) Consult a dictionary and practise the pronunciation of the following
words. Pay attention to stresses:

pseudonym, imperious, frivolous, depravity, asperity, obstinacy, effectually, artichoke, raspberry, paradise, germinate, tapestry, ridic­ulously, mandarin, discernment, disastrous.

b) Get together with another student. Listen to his/her reading of the ex­ercise. What recommendations would you give to correct any mispronuncia­tions?

2. Read the following words observing: a) two primary stresses; b) the sec­
ondary and the primary stress; c) a primary stress:

a) self-righteous, nevertheless, uninteresting, uncounted, unautho­rized, unsympathetic, undignified, unmerited;

b) disposition, imagination, expedition, concentration, execution, illumination, vegetation, energetic, disobedient;

c) ungovernable, unwarranted, unrivalled, forfeited, satirize, char­acterize, fortify, privilege.

 

3. a) Read out the following word combinations and phrases paying atten­
tion to the phonetic phenomena of connected speech (all types of assimilation,
the linking "r", all kinds of plosions, etc.):

on the seemingly frivolous ground; older and wiser and better peo­ple; seemed the veriest nonsense; the dramatic part; he felt entitled to know; you said there couldn't possibly be; you are in disgrace; he felt perfectly capable; in the first place; and consign them; bare and cheerless; hidden behind the trees; were in a tight corner; quaint twist­ed candlesticks in the shape of snakes; behind the sheltering screen; the gooseberry garden; while the wolves feasted on the stricken stag.

b) Ask your partner to read the exercise aloud; write down all cases of erro­neous pronunciation; correct them.

4. Complete the following sentences:

a) 1.1 can't possibly... 2. How can I possibly...? 3. We couldn't pos­sibly... 4. You can't possibly... 5. How could we possibly...? 6. ...if you possibly can.

b) 1. This textbook is meant for... 2. I wonder who... meant for? 3. ...is evidently meant... 4. ...wasn't meant...

c) 1. That part of the house was nice if... 2. The lecture was educa­tional if... 3. The meeting was useful if...

d) 1. Sunny days are too rare here for the plants.... 2. There will be no room for her.... 3. There had been no sands....

 

5. Make up five sentences on each pattern.

6. Pair work. Make up and act out a dialogue using the speech patterns.

7. Translate the following sentences and word combinations into English:

 

a) 1. Как же я могу это сделать, если вы отказываетесь мне помочь? 2. По­мой, пожалуйста, посуду. — Боюсь, что никак не смогу это сделать. 3. Не могу же я заставлять их ждать, у них уйма других дел. 4. Мы никак не можем отправ­ляться сейчас, я еще не все купил. 5. Я ведь не могу делать одновременно две вещи, подожди немного.

b) женщина со вкусом; человек действия; женщина с характером; мужествен­ный (смелый) человек; чувствительный человек; человек слова; женщина со средствами; ученая женщина; человек с опытом; немногословный человек, ге-

ниальный человек; многословный человек; ограниченная женщина; состоятель­ный человек.

c) 1. Существует много различных упражнений, предназначенных для раз­вития навыков устной речи. 2. Этот дом предназначается не для того, чтобы в нем жили, в нем разместится учреждение. 3. Эти деньги тебе на покупку но­вого пальто (на то, чтобы ты купила на них себе новое пальто). 4. Они были созданы друг для друга. 5. Его прочили в пианисты. 6. Сад был красивый, но запущенный. 7. Урок был хороший, но скучный. 8. Квартира была удобная, но маленькая.

d) 1. У меня еще десять тетрадей, которые мне надо проверить. 2. Наш путь и далек и долог; нам надо еще пройти 10 миль. 3. В вашей курсовой работе есть один вопрос, который надо развить. 4. Для вас есть письма, на которые вам надо срочно ответить.

 

8. Note down from the text the sentences containing the phrases and word combinations and translate them into Russian.

9. Complete the following sentences using the phrases and word combina­tions:

1. After it was discovered that the politician had stolen others' speeches he was ... in the public eye for a long time. 2. I can write you a letter of recommendation any time.... I'll do it right now. 3. In answer to my question she said nothing and I found it best to.... 4. Every time that Mary sat in her dingy city apartment she would ... a nice suburbian home. 5. All her friends in Moscow had told her that visiting the Bolshoi Theatre would be her most exciting expe­rience and as a matter of fact it.... 6.... you are on the wrong bus ..., the road to your destination is closed. 7. The bay window in her sea-side apartment... the harbour. 8. On the bus this morning there was a man who kept looking ..., but when I looked back at him he would turn away. 9. Try as he might, Smith couldn't... his rigorous work schedule. 10. I would ... to pay the painters later so that the work gets done properly. 11. Down 3 to 1 (3—1) in the final period, it looked like the Canadian hockey team was .... 12. As you walked into Isabella's house the Shagal hanging in her living-room imme­diately... . 13. ... other great cities Moscow has many more parks. 14. All day we rummaged through the office ... the old manuscript and only at five o'clock did we find it. 15. The builders worked day and night in ... finishing the new metro station.

 

10. Paraphrase thefollowing sentences using phrases and wordcombina­
tions:

1. We spent most of the day discussing our plans for the holidays.

2. He told a lie and is in disfavour. 3. Henry always looks so conceit­
ed; in reality he is very shy. 4. We've discussed the problem fully, let's
talk about something else. 5. The woman travelled all over the coun­
try in order to find the child. 6. Try to imagine the beauty of the
ocean on a bright sunny day. 7. He has a tendency towards business.
8. The ballet was as good as I had expected it to be. 9. The two rooms
face the garden. 10. There are several urgent matters that attracted
my attention. 11. The wood is at a very short distance from the cot­
tage. 12. I see someone coming towards us. 13. To begin with, your
story lacks confirmation, furthermore, I very much doubt it could
have happened at all. 14. I'm afraid I won't be able to deal effectively
with all these difficulties.

11. Translate the following sentences into English using the phrases and word
combinations:

1. Мне не хотелось разговаривать с Бобом, так как он был наказан за плохое поведение. 2. Чем вы занимаетесь большую часть своего свободного времени?

3. Джеймс жаловался, что ему никто ничего не говорит, но на самом деле он
был в курсе всех событий. 4. Студент впервые читал Пушкина в оригинале, И
красота стиха поэта привлекала его внимание. 5. Джейн пыталась представить
себе человека, которого знала только по переписке (по его письмам). 6. Когда
она увидела его, он не оправдал ее ожиданий. 7. Во-первых, он был довольно
старый, а во-вторых, суетлив и раздражителен. 8. Я могу подробно описать все,
что случилось. 9. Я в это время стояла в двух шагах от того места, где произо­
шел несчастный случай. 10. Окна моей комнаты выходят во двор. 11. Кто эта
девушка, которая смотрит в нашу сторону? 12. Этот дом кажется совсем кро­
шечным по сравнению с новым. 13. Я все перерыла в поисках билета в театр,
куда же я могла его положить? 14. В спешке отъезда никто не заметил, что ста­
рик остался на мосту.

12. Pair work. Make up and act out situations using the phrases and word combinations.

13. Decide whether the following statements are true or false.

A.

1. The children were to be driven to the sand of Jagborough be­cause Nicholas had asked the aunt to improvise something of a festi­val nature.

2. The moment the aunt brought in the bowls of wholesome bread and-milk Nicholas stopped talking nonsense.

3. The breakfast was partaken in silence because there was noth­ing to talk about.

4. Nicholas was a God-persevering boy and never wanted to dis­play older and wiser and better people to their disadvantage.

5. The aunt was a kind and loveable old woman and she went out of her way to please her little charges.

6. The children felt sorry for Nicholas as he started crying when the moment for the departure of the expedition arrived.

7. Nicholas was not cheerful as the party drove off with the elation of high spirits.

8. Nicholas agreed with the aunt that it would be a glorious after­noon for racing about those beautiful sands and that the children would enjoy themselves.

9. Nicholas was determined to get into the gooseberry garden be­cause it was his favourite place.

 

10. The aunt spent the whole afternoon in the house because she had many things to do about the house.

11. Nicholas stayed in the garden until the children came back.

12. He could not get into the lumber-room because he did not know where the key was.

B.

1. Nicholas was disappointed when he opened the door of the lum­ber-room, as there was nothing interesting in it.

2. He sat on a roll of Indian hangings knowing not what to do.

3. Nicholas was so tired that could not concentrate his attention on the tapestry picture.

4. Apart from the tapestry picture there was nothing that might have claimed his attention.

5. Nicholas did not leave the lumber-room until the tea-time.

6. When the evening meal was made, the aunt went to the garden to air herself.

7. As soon as he heard a cry to come quickly he rushed out of the house to give a helping hand.

 

8. Nicholas and a kitchen-maid fetched the ladder and rescued the aunt from the rain-water tank.

9. The aunt was so elated that she promised strawberry jam for tea.

10. Tea that evening was partaken in a cheerful atmosphere as there
was no end to the children's stories about their expedition.

14. Finish the sentences:

A.

1. Nicholas was not to be one of the party.........................

2. Only that morning he had refused to eat his wholesome bread-and- milk

 

3. He continued to talk what seemed the veriest nonsense and

4. The dramatic part of the incident was that there was really a frog in Nicholas's basin of bread- and- milk; he had put it himself so he........................

5. The sin of taking the frog from the garden and putting it into a bowl of wholesome bread-and-milk

6. But the fact that stood out clearest in the whole affair as it pre­sented itself to the mind of Nicholas was that the older and wiser and better people.

7. It was her /aunt's/ habit whenever one of the children fell from grace

8. If all the children sinned collectively they were suddenly in­formed of a circus in to which

9. A few decent tears were looked for..................

 

10. As a matter of fact, however all the crying was done by his younger girl- cousin who

11. Nicholas did not admit the lawlessness of the reasoning; he felt

12. The aunt had many other things to do that afternoon but she spent

13. Nicholas made one or two sorties into the front gar­
den

14. As a matter of fact he had no intention of trying to get into the gooseberry garden but it was extremely convenient to him.............................

15. It was a belief that......................

16. Having thoroughly confirmed and fortified her suspicions,

17. The key turned stiffly in the lock, but it turned. The door
opened and...................

B.

1. Often and often Nicholas pictured to himself that region that was so carefully sealed from

2. First and foremost there was a piece of framed tapestry that

3. To Nicholas it was...........................

4. That part of the picture was....................

5. Nicholas sat for many..............................

6. And as he was admiring...........................

7. She had grown suspicious at his long disappearance, and

8. She was now engaged in................................

9. Presently the angry repetition of Nicholas' name

10. There was an unusual sense of luxury in being able to talk to aunt as though one was talking to the Evil One, but Nicholas knew,............

11. Tea that evening was partaken of..................

12. The tide had been at its highest when the children had arrived at Jagborough Cove — a circumstance that the aunt

13. The tightness of Bobby's boots had.....................

14. The aunt maintained the frozen muteness of one who had suf­fered

15. As for Nicholas, he too, was silent.....................

15. Match the words on the left with the words on the right.

delight ground merits nonsense obstinacy paradise assurance

' A. 1 frivolous a

2 veriest b

[ 3 utmost с

I 4 favourable d

f 5 rigorously e

6 festival f

7 unrivalled g

8 considerable	h	debarred
9 forbidden	i	nature
10 stale	J	ground
1 dimly	a	muteness
2 unimagined	b	canes
3 to consign	с	the conclusion
4 growing	d	discernment
5 to keep	e	detention
6 to claim	f	lit
7 raspberry	g	treasure
8 to leap	h	to effect
9 childish	i	vegetation
10 disastrous	к	to dust
11 unmerited		to heel
12 frozen	m	one's attention

Write 10 sentences incorporating these word combinations. 16. Explain what is meant by:

the fact that stood out clearest in the whole affair; an unwarrant­ed stretch of imagination; the delights that he had justly forfeited; a circus of unrivalled merit and uncounted elephants; without any of the elation of high spirit that should have characterized it; (did not) admit the flawlessness of the reasoning; wriggling his way with obvi­ous stealth of purpose; self-imposed sentry duty; having thoroughly confirmed and fortified her suspicions; the aunt by assertion; there were wonderful things for the eyes to feast on; such luxuries were not to be over-indulged in; the children could not have been said to have enjoyed themselves; (of) one who has suffered undignified and un­merited detention.

17. Answer the following questions and do the given assignments:

a) 1. What made the boy commit the offence thus bringing the punishment upon himself? 2. What was the aunt's method of bring­ing up the children and what did it result in? How are the ideas of punishment and pleasure treated in the story in general? 3. Had the trip to the sands any appeal to the boy and what did he think of the

pleasures promised by the aunt? What is his idea of a "treat"? 4. The author calls the boy "a skilled tactician" and not for nothing. What strategy did Nicholas work out to get into the lumber-room unno­ticed and leave it without trace? 5. At the same time the author evaluates the aunt as "a woman of few ideas with immense power of concentration". How does this feature of her character define her actions in the story? What motivates her actions — strong faith or false piety? 6. The lumber-room in spite of its dust and desolation came up to the boy's expectations. What role does the lumber-room play in the evaluation of his character? 7. It was a kitchen-maid who came to the aunt's rescue. What was wrong in the family that made its members so indifferent to each other? 8. For what reasons were the members of the family silent at tea that evening? Why does the author lay special emphasrs so indifferent to each other? 8. For what reasons were the members of the family silent at tea that evening? Why does the author lay special emphasis on the cause of their silence?

9. How did Nicholas manage to fight the aunt with her own weapon
and finally disarm her? Speak on the conflict between the boy and
the aunt: a) Does the punishment of the aunt at the hands of Nicho­
las suggest anything to you? b) On what issues are they opposed?

10. Speak on the story in terms of unchangeable conventional real­
ity versus poetry and intellectual freedom. 11. On whose side do
the author's sympathies lie? Based on your interpretation of the
story say a few words about the author.

b) 1. In what vein is the story written? 2. What are the butts of the author's irony? What does he ridicule through the character of the aunt? 3. How is irony achieved on a verbal plane? How does the ironic intention of the author affect his style (wording and syntax)?

4. Is the vocabulary employed by the author in keeping with the sub­ject-matter or out of place? If it is out of place what is the author's criteria for word-choice? Account for the frequent use of a) military terms; b) religious words; c) judicial phrases; d) scientific arguments.

5. Is the author straightforward and direct in presenting the charac­ters and telling the story or is he evasive and ambiguous? What is the device he resorts to, when saying: "a woman of few ideas", "prisoner in the rain-water tank", etc.? 6. How does the syntax contribute to the ironic effect? Is it formal or informal, bookish or colloquial? What turns of a phrase strike you as formal and pompous? What are the grammatical constructions favoured by the author? What does the story gain through them? 7. Besides verbal, there is dramatic irony that lies in the story, the plot, the complications of the story, the rela­tionship of the characters. Say something about the story, the turns

and twists of the plot, the ending in terms of dramatic irony. 8. The theme of the story is the conflict between prose and poetry, dogmat­ic, pedantic, philistine mind and poetic imagination. How does the theme affect the tone and the style of the story? 9. When does the story shift to a more poetic plane? What is presented in poetic terms? Dwell upon the description of the lumber-room. What stylistic de­vices are employed by the author? 10. Explain the title of the story in the light of your observation on the theme, the point and the style of the story.