VOCABULARY. 1) rakish(ly); 2)remote; 3)to be tensed up (cf: to tense up); 4)to take over; 5)to thrust at sb; 6)insinuating(ly)
1) rakish(ly); 2)remote; 3)to be tensed up (cf: to tense up); 4)to take over; 5)to thrust at sb; 6)insinuating(ly), to insinuate (cf: to insinuate oneself into sth); 7)to break loose (cf: to cut loose, to keep/stay loose); 8)near thing (cf: the done thing, a thing of the past, sure thing, the whole thing, the real thing); 9)to close in; 10) derisive (derision, derisory).
3. Find in the story the English for:
1) парадная форма; 2) лихо заломленная фуражка; 3) экипаж; 4) проехать на красный свет; 5) на пути к автомобильной стоянке; 6) операционный стол;
7) белый халат; 8) поправить маску; 9) натянуть перчатки; 10) спешно нажать на тормоза; 11) ключ зажигания; 12) носить руку на перевязи; 13) талый снег, слякоть; 14)еженедельные поездки в город; 15) судебный процесс;
16) освежить в памяти; 17) окружной прокурор; 18) огнестрельное оружие;
19)произвести выстрел; 20) лучший в мире стрелок; 21) вестибюль отеля;
22) старый номер «Либерти»; 23) взъерошенные волосы; 24) двум смертям не бывать; 25) измерить ч-л температуру; 26) вращающиеся двери; 27) закурить 28) мокрый снег (снег с дождем); 29) расправить плечи; 30) затянуться сигаретой в последний раз.
Make up 1 sentence with any of the items for oral translation in class.
4.Find words and phrases in the story with the following meanings:
1) careworn, looking tired; 2) defective, malfunctioning; 3) cowardly; 4) to leap, to spring; 5) galoshes; 6) to sit down into a chair with a thump; 7) to sing a tune with one’s lips closed; 8) mysterious about what one is really thinking.
5. Give Russian equivalents of the words and phrases below:
1) the huge, hurtling eight-engined Navy Hydroplane; 2) to seem grossly unfamiliar; 3) to race the engine a little; 4) to look distraught and haggard; 5) Mitty … lurched ahead; 6) the craven figure of Benbow; 7) the attendant vaulted into the car; 8) the witness stand; 9) the bickering attorneys were stilled; 10) any known make of gun; 11) he said evenly; 12) ammunition dump; 13) dugout; 14) (he poured another brandy and) tossed it off; 15) flamethrower; 16) erect and motionless, proud and disdainful, Walter Mitty the Undefeated, inscrutable to the last
6. Say what you know about:
a) Roosevelt; b) Kleenex; Buick; c) a firing squad.
7. Rephrase or interpret the given sentences (without using the underlined parts).
1. We can’t make it, sir. It’s spoiling for a hurricane… 2. The Old Man’ll get us through… 3. We’re having the devil’s own time with McMillan… 4. Coals to Newcastle, bringing Mitford and me up here for a tertiary. 5. The new anaesthetiser is giving way! 6. If you would take over, Mitty? 7. The attendant vaulted into the car, backed it up with insolentskill, and put it where it belonged. 8. Walter Mitty raised his hand briefly and the bickering attorneys were stilled. 9. …Mitty let the man have it on the point of the chin.
Find in the story 3 sentences containing the word ‘down’. Translate them into Russian. Note the effect of ‘down’ on the meaning of the verb. Translate the sentences below into Russian.
1. It seems that you’ll have to be cutting down on your expenses if you’ve really decided about the car. 2. There’s no reason why you should look down on people.
3. The offer was turned down. 4. They say the house burnt down. 5. The engine keeps breaking down. 6. Films like that get me down. 7. The old houses will soon be pulled down. 8. The office was shut down. 9. In 2005, the Council had voted down a petition to close the factory. 10. Stop putting yourself down – it’s getting annoying.
9. ARE YOU A CAREFUL READER?
1. Who was Gregory Fitzhurst? 2. “They’re so damn cocky, … they think they know everything.” Who did Walter Mitty mean? 3. Where did the Mittys do their shopping? 4. Walter Mitty was to wait for his wife at a hotel. (True or False?)
5. “Couldn’t you have put them on in the store?” What is Mrs Mitty talking about?
10. Answer the questions and do the following tasks:
1. What do you know about the author of the story?
2. Speak about a) Walter Mitty’s attitude towards his wife, b) Mrs Mitty’s attitude towards her husband, c) their type of family relationship in general.
3. Analyse Walter Mitty’s fantasies considering
a) Walter Mitty’s role;
b) difficulties aggravating each imaginary situation;
c) Walter Mitty’s personal qualities revealed in each particular daydream;
d) what in Mitty’s real world triggers each dream;
e) ‘linking elements’ that Walter Mitty’s daydreams have in common;
f) the details of Walter Mitty’s real life, which get incorporated into each particular dream.
4. Walter Mitty has particular problems with the modern marvel of his time: the car. If you were to update J. Thurber’s story, how might you show Mitty’s clumsiness or incompetence in the 21st century?
5. Does the author want us to respond to his character? Are we to relate to him? Laugh at him? Feel sorry for him? To what extent is Mitty like most people?
6. Comment on the final episode of the story. What did Walter Mitty imagine in that dream, do you think? Why is he described as ‘inscrutable to the last’, in your opinion?
7. Are Walter Mittys born or made?
8. Daydreaming: is it good or bad?
THE HAPPY MAN