Now you’re welcome to read the story “Two gentlemen of Verona”. Enjoy reading, please

We were driving from Switzerland toward the lovely old Italian city of Verona and were exhilarated by our forthcoming sightseeing tour. Our car was moving in high gear¹. Just outside the city two small boys stopped us. They were selling strawberries that looked delicious.

“Don’t buy them,” our driver said. He seemed to be exasperated² making such an impulsive remark. “You’ll find better strawberries in Verona.” He didn’t like their appearance.

The behaviour of the boys, as well as their whole appearance showed that they were most ardent³ in their desire to sell the strawberries. My friend spoke to the boys and found that they were brothers. Nicolo was 13, Jacopo, the smaller, was almost 12. We bought their biggest basket of strawberries and then continued toward Verona.

The next morning, coming out of our hotel we easily discerned the boys in the crowd near the fountain in the public square, shining the shoes of men who passed by. They were very busy but they said “hello” to us in a friendly way.

“I thought you sold strawberries,” I said.

“We do many things, sir,” Nicolo answered seriously. He looked at us hopefully. “We sometimes guide people through the city, showing them places of interest.”

“All right,” I smiled. “You can guide us. Let’s go.”

In the week that followed, we saw Nicolo and Jacopo several times a day. If we wanted American cigarettes, or tickets for the opera, or the name of a good restaurant, Nicolo and Jacopo were always there to help us. They worked all day under the hot summer sun, shining shoes, selling fruit and newspapers, guiding people through Verona. They were always dependable, always efficient, and always busy.

One night I saw them alone in the windy square. Nicolo was sitting on the ground beside the fountain. His face looked pale and tired. Jacopo was asleep, with his head on his brother’s shoulder.

“Why aren’t you at home?” I asked.

“We are waiting for the last bus,” they said. “We will sell our newspapers when it comes.”

The next morning, while Nicolo was shining my shoes, I said: “You and Jacopo work very hard. Tell me, how do you spend your money?”

“We have plans, sir,” the boys said.

“Well,” I said, “we’re leaving Verona on Monday. Can I do anything for you before we go?”

“Every Sunday we go to a village not far from Verona,” Nicolo began. “We usually go by bus; but tomorrow, sir, maybe you will take us in your car.”

“I’ll drive you there myself,” I said. “My driver doesn’t work on Sundays.”

In the village we stopped in front of a lovely big house with a red roof and a high stone wall. “We won’t be here long, sir. Not more than an hour.” And the boys disappeared around the corner of the wall.

I waited a few minutes, and then I followed the boys. A nurse led me through the beautiful cool rooms of a hospital. At the door of one room we looked inside. The two boys were sitting beside the bed of a girl who looked about 20 years old. It was easy to see that they were her brothers, because she looked so much like them.

As we walked back through the cool rooms of that lovely hospital, the nurse said, “Nicolo and Jacopo are alone in the world, except for their sister Lucia. Their mother died when they were very young. Their father, a famous opera singer, died in the early years of the war. Then bombs were dropped on Verona. The boys and their sister lived in the streets of Verona because not a wall was standing in their house.

Soon the enemy assaulted Verona and took it. During the occupation the boys began to carry secret messages across the mountains, coming and going through the night with secret letters in their shoes. Those were very tense days for the boys. They were worried about their sister in the city.

“When the war ended,” the nurse said, “the boys were exultant⁴ to find their sister alive in Verona. But that happy meeting was blemished⁵ by their sister’s illness. She was sick with tuberculosis, because of her hard life during the war. They brought her here and asked us to take her into the hospital. Of course everything is very expensive now. We must ask the people in our hospital to pay. But every week the boys come to pay us.”

I thanked the nurse and waited outside, just thinking until the boys came back to the car. Then I drove with them to the city. They sat beside me quietly, looking serious and proud, these two gentlemen of Verona.

Notes:

¹in high gear – на высокой скорости

²to be exasperated – быть раздраженным (раздражаться)

³ardent – горячий, пылкий; страстный

⁴were exultant – ликовали, торжествовали

⁵was blemished – было испорчено (запятнано, омрачено)

Have you enjoyed the story? What new have you learnt about the men from Verona?

Now do some tasks to see if you know it well.

Translation tasks

Task 1. Find Russian equivalents to the following English word combinations from the text.

were exhilarated by our forthcoming sightseeing tour; to be exasperated; easily discerned; in a friendly way; places of interest; you can guide us; always dependable; are alone in the world except for their sister Lucia; in the early years of the war; not a wall was standing; the enemy assaulted Verona; coming and going through the night with secret letters in their shoes; tense days,

Task 2. Find English equivalents to the following Russian word combinations from the text.

на высокой скорости; страстно хотели продать; водить по городу; следующую неделю; деловитый; исполнительный; быть похожим на кого-либо; нападать; атаковать; беспокоиться о ком-либо; встреча была испорчена (омрачена); болеть чем-либо

Task 3. Translate the following sentences into English using the indicated words.

indicated words	sentences
to be exasperated	Казалось, его раздражало все вокруг.
to look so much like	Нетрудно было догадаться, что Майкл - брат Джорджа, ведь он так похож на него.
to work hard	Если хочешь добиться хорошего результата, ты должен много работать.
in high/low gear	У нас было много времени, поэтому мы ехали на маленькой скорости.
in a friendly way	Несмотря на плохое настроение, шеф поздоровался с нами весьма дружелюбно.
alone in the world, except	У Миссис Роуз нет никого в этом мире, кроме ее большого черного кота.
hopefully	Саша был очень напуган и смотрел на всех с надеждой.
to be exhilarated by	Мы собирались в отпуск и были приятно возбуждены от предстоящей поездки в Париж.
to be ardent	Мэри – очень креативный человек, и она страстно желала выиграть этот конкурс.
tense	Прошлая неделя была очень напряженной для Бена.