GIVE HIM A SECOND CHANCE
1. Copy these active words and word combinations into your note-books, give their transcription and translation:
gawky
gauche
to play for time
to be stunned
We were stunned to see him
drunk.
to long for
We longed for peace.
She longed to return home.
to look up
to get in touch
to find out
I would like to find out the
truth.
for good (and all)
I’ll stay here for good.
to let smb down
to treat
He treated my words as a
joke.
sophisticated
Is she enough sophisticated
to deal with these
questions?
to suit
Will that time suit you? He is
not suited to be a teacher.
This dress suits you.
setting
to work out
embarrassed
empty-headed
tongue-tied
awkward
to determine
2. Make sure you read these phrases correctly. Write the transcription: cellophane-wrapped crimson roses, subtle auburn highlights.
3. Give a summary of this story. Do it in writing. Use these phrases:
It’s hard to understand at once...; from the episode of ... we see...; though the facts show...; the main characters are...
4. Answer these comprehension questions:
1. What was the heart-throb's name?
2. What was the gauche boy's name?
3. Why did she mix their names up? How did the voice sound on the phone? What was the girl like?
5. What did Rex Earl look like?
6. What did Rick Searl look like at school?
7. What did he look like 15 years later?
8. She mixed up these two men. Why did not she understand her mistake when she saw him?
9. Did the man do his best preparing for that evening out?
10. Was she disappointed that she had a date with a wrong man?
5. Describe the episodes:
1. A phone call.
2. She remembers the old times.
3. She gets ready for the date.
4. Their way to the restaurant. The setting.
5. Their conversation at table.
6. She realises her mistake.
6. Express your opinion on the following statements:
1. She was pleased to hear his voice.
2. She had always envied Judy Anderson.
3. Julie could make the best of herself.
4. Rick tried to please her.
5. She was happy in her marriage. It had worked out.
6. He just wanted to laugh at her.
7. He was eager to establish close relationship with her.
7. Translate the passage from English into Russian. Do it in writing.
"Actually, I run into Peter ... and so intelligent."
8. Find the English equivalents of the following phrases and reproduce the situations in which they are used.
школа вздыхала по нему, его старая (бывшая) любовь, она поздно развилась, сделала «перышки», показать себя в выгодном свете, получить работу, осуществить мальчишеские мечты, я просто испугался, о чем он все-таки говорит, вильнуть бедрами, упустить шанс, искренний взрыв чувств.
3. MARRIED LIFE AGREES WITH ME (by James Wood)
Franny couldn’t believe this busty, peroxide blond was really in love with her brother. After all, she’d really seen two wealthy husbands to their graves…
The registrar gave the happy couple a professional smile. “And so, by the authority invested in me. I now pronounce you man and wife.”
“You may kiss the bride,” he said. “But please, no confetti outside the porch.” The newly-weds embraced, watched by the witnesses and the bridegroom's younger sister, Frances.
[8]No one else had bothered to attend the register office wedding and Frances had hesitated about coming since she had nothing in common with Judy, the far-from-blushing bride.
In fact. common was precisely the word that came to mind to describe this busty, peroxide blonde who had lured Frances' only living relative into this dubious marriage.
“Thanks for coming, Franny,” said her brother Tom, as he hugged his sister. “Judy and I are glad you could make it, aren't we Judy?”
The blonde tried a weak smile of appreciation, but neither of the two women made any attempt to embrace one another. They knew exactly where they stood.
“Come on, Tom,” said his new bride anxiously. “The taxi's waiting. We have to pick up our suitcases on the way to the airport.”
Tom gave his sister one last, apologetic hug, then meekly followed Judy out through the door and into the taxi to start them on their honeymoon trip to Spain.
“Benidorm!” thought Frances haughtily. How unromantic! Big, brash, noisy, coarse — just like her. Mind you, it's what you'd expect from someone with her background; someone who's already been married twice.
It was that fact that troubled Frances—and the realisation that at 56, her brother was almost twice Judy's age and would inevitably die first, leaving her his money and property. The thought of Judy inheriting the lovely Victorian house in which she and Tom had grown up happily sheltered from the nastiness of the outside world, made her unusually angry.
Frances was determined it wouldn't happen, just as she'd been determined to delve more deeply into Judy's past and find out exactly what had happened to her two previous husbands.
Both of them, apparently, had been in their late 50s when they'd married Judy, and both of them were comfortably off. Not rich exactly, but they had a few thousand in the bank and a house that the grieving widow quickly sold before moving out of the area.
Colonel Mountfield — Judy's second husband — left an estate worth at least £250,000.
But neighbours could tell Frances little about him as the couple seemed to have kept themselves to themselves. No wild parties, no noisy visitors — nothing. Just the occasional nod or 'Good morning' or usual platitudes about the weather.
But they had seemed happy enough in each other's company, holding hands like a couple of young lovers as they walked down the street. No one had ever heard a harsh word pass between them.
“Mind you,” said one rather talkative neighbour, “Colonel Mountfield was in no condition to argue with anyone towards the end.”
“How do you mean?” asked Frances.
“Well, he was a shadow of his former self. Sallow, stooping, hardly able to walk on his own. Such a shame, really. And them only married for just over a year.”
“What caused it?”
“Who knows? Old age? Illness? I don't rightly know. But I don't think the diet helped him.”
“Diet?”
“Yes. His wife put him on some special diet — one of these peculiar herbs and spices things.”
“How do you know?”
“I remember him saying that his wife was a great believer in natural, organic foods and these homeopathic remedies. She'd put funny things in his food.”
“Did he enjoy it?”
[9]“Not at first. Tasted quite bitter, apparently. But he was just about getting used to it when he died, poor man.”
Was that the way she did it, thought Frances — poisoning them slowly but very efficiently over a period of months?
Frances was convinced she had the solution, but she had no proof, just the ramblings of a rather garrulous neighbour. The police would need more than that if they were ever to consider exhuming the bodies of Judy's late husbands.
The only person who could provide the evidence was her brother. But Tom was hardly likely to believe that his beloved wife was trying to kill him, and Judy was astute enough to take things easy for the first few months of their married life.
So Frances would have to wait. But for how long? Could she bear to see Tom getting weaker and weaker without doing something to prevent it?
Although she telephoned her brother every week to make sure he was still alive and healthy, it was difficult for her to see him as she lived more than 100 miles away. And the idea of staying overnight with her sister-in-law didn't appeal to either of them.
Even so, she found it hard to believe him when he promised her he was fine and very happy. Even as a child he would never admit a mistake on his part; he'd rather suffer in silence than own up to an error of judgement.
On the pretext of visiting a flower show in Harrogate, Frances arranged to meet her brother on her way up north. The meeting was to be over lunch at an hotel not far from Tom's home, where Frances would be spending the night. As she sat in the hotel lounge, anxiously waiting for him, Frances made up her mind she would tell her brother her suspicions.
She'd tell him about the untimely death of both of Judy's previous husbands, who'd simply get gradually weaker over the months until they faded away, leaving her comfortably off.
When Tom walked through the door, however, Frances barely recognised him. He looked years younger, his walk was bouncy, his smile radiant. He was — as they say — the picture of health and happiness and he greeted his sister with an affectionate, powerful hug.
“You look well,” said Frances with a touch of reluctance.
“Married life agrees with me,” said Tom, beaming. “A good wife and a sensible-diet. That's the secret longevity.”
Over lunch Frances tried to find out exactly what this “sensible diet” was and whether Tom realised that his two predecessors had also been subjected to the same diet, which may have eventually proved fatal for them.
She was very tactful in her approach but Tom soon realised what she was getting at.
“No, you've got it all wrong, Franny. Judy's previous husbands died of natural causes; she told me that they both had heart complaints when she married them but she hoped that with quiet, sensible living and a special diet to reduce their weight they'd live long and happy lives.”
“But they didn't live long or happy lives.”
“That wasn't her fault,” answered Tom.
Frances realised there was no point in any more arguing, so she changed the subject and they talked about old times.
At the end of the meal she noticed Tom take out a small plastic box from which he took a large, blue pill and swallowed it with a sip of water.
“Heartburn?” she asked.
“No. It's all part of the diet. I take one pill after each meal. They help me to digest the best of the food and remove all the nasty, unwanted elements. I don't know exactly [10]what they are — Judy got them — but they certainly do the trick. I've never felt younger or more vigorous.”
“Don't you think you ought to have them analysed?”
“There you go again, Franny, getting all suspicious. Don't you go worrying your head about your big brother. He can take care of himself.”
When she got home she made up her mind not to keep phoning him as he obviously didn't appreciate her concern.
About three months later. when she'd almost got over worrying, Frances received a letter. She recognised Tom's bold scrawl but the postmark was the south of France.
“Dearest Franny,” it began. “Thought you'd like to know that Judy and I have split up. She's gone to a sanatorium with an old codger of 63, but she gave me a good cash settlement to keep my mouth shut and give her a quick divorce. So I've rented a villa in the sun for the winter. You must visit us (see photo).”
Inside the envelope Frances found a photo of her brother looking 20 years younger, standing by the pool of a lovely, sun-drenched villa, his arm around a petite brunette who couldn't have been more than 19.
Frances was still confused until she read the postscript.
“PS I had the blue pills analysed just to satisfy myself. Seems they're perfectly harmless but they're not really recommended for someone with a dicky ticker as they increase the heart-rate and energy level. Judy gave me her complete supply as a parting gift. Seems that after being married to me, her heart can no longer cope with aphrodisiacs.”