2017-12-14
729
...Не worked his company hard. They rehearsed every morning from ten till two, when he sent them home to learn their parts and rest before the evening's performance. He bullied them, he screamed at them, he mocked them. He underpaid them. But if they played a moving scene well, he cried like a child, and when they said an amusing line as he wanted it said, he bellowed with laughter. He would skip about the stage on one leg if he was pleased, and if he was angry, would throw the script down and stamp on it while tears of rage ran down his cheeks. The company laughed at him and abused him and did everything they could to please him. He aroused a protective instinct in them, so that one and all they felt that they couldn't let him down. Though they said he drove them like slaves, and they never had a moment to themselves, flesh and blood couldn't stand it, it gave them a sort of horrible satisfaction to comply with his outrageous demands.
W. S. Maugham, Theatre, ch. 2
Упражнение 5. Переведите текст, обращая внимание на лексико-фразеологические и стилистические особенности
The Proverbial English Teacher
(or Experience is the Mother of Wisdom)
Bob Jordan
Our English teacher is called Robin. S/he can, therefore, be male or female. After all, what's in a name? Robin is somewhat round. At school he had always rushed to join the dinner queue. He had learned that man cannot live by bread alone. When older, he had married a woman who knew that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. His rotundity increased.
Robin decided it was never too late to learn, and so considered becoming an English teacher. He remembered his father's comment: those who can, do; those who cannot, teach. Oh, he thought, there's no fool like an old fool. He ignored his father, and took up ELT. He had heard that travel broadens the mind. He also found that it emptied the pocket. Never mind, he thought, the love of money is the root of all evil. After all, the best things in life are free! His inner voice said, name one! Robin responded with alacrity - health is better than wealth. Remember, you can't take it with you when you die. The inner voice continued to torment him - you haven't any 'it' to take! All that glitters is not gold, Robin retorted. But you haven't anything that glitters either, continued the voice. Robin didn't rise to the bait this time.
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Robin settled into a semi-comfortable rut. He tried his best - if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well. He was a stickler for punctuality: Robin was the early bird who catches the worm. His approach was not shared by his class, in spite of his telling them that early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. Their attitude was: better late than never. Robin's encouragement of 'a stitch in time saves nine' always fell on deaf ears. There are none so deaf as those who will not hear, he thought.
Robin detested noise. Speech classes were anathema to him. 'Silence is golden', he would shout, followed by 'do as I say, not as I do'. He then explained: a still tongue makes a wise head, while empty vessels make the most sound. 'Remember', he said, thinking of grammatical accuracy, 'least said, soonest mended'. By way of encouragement, he added 'ask a silly question and you'll get a silly answer'.
With group work, Robin was out of his depth. He didn't understand the methodology, though he admitted that there was more than one way to skin a cat. Still, he gave it a try. If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again. He agreed that practice makes perfect. But practice in what? His students seemed to have adopted the motto ‘ignorance is bliss'. He lectured them to make hay while the sun shines, and strike "while the iron is hot. As soon as he left the room, they put this into practice. It was a matter of when the cat's away, the mice will play.
Robin returned to uproar. This increased when he explained that he had forgotten to mark their homework. It never rains but it pours, he thought. 'I know,' he said, 'take your essays and mark each other's'. In the ensuing silence he started to congratulate himself. But his inner voice cautioned - don't count your chickens before they are hatched. But think of the advantage, countered Robin, many hands make light work. Ah, but too many cooks spoil the broth, replied the voice.
The students finished their task, and called out the marks they had given each other. They were all the same! Seeing is believing, Robin muttered. But, after a while, he gave up. It was a matter of once bitten, twice shy. He knew: if you want a thing done well, do it yourself. Robin's students, on the other hand, were complimenting each other great minds think alike!
Dismissing them, Robin admonished himself- look before you leap, next time. Then, DO looking at his watch, he noticed how time flies. He rushed along to the staff room, where birds of a feather flock together. He had difficulty in agreeing with his colleagues that the pen is mightier than the sword. The attitude of spare the rod and spoil the child was beginning to gain favour with him. But his inner voice had the final word. Robin, it advised, know thyself.
