Mastering the pronunciation

Consult dictionaries. Transcribe and translate the following words. Practise reading them.

coincidence (54) ________________  gesture (60) _______________________

scene (55) _____________________  fault (65) _________________________

nightmare (58) _________________   suicide (68) _______________________

stomach (60) ___________________ breathing (68) _____________________

chef (68) ______________________  breathe (v) ________________________

quiet (68) ______________________ breath (n) _________________________

 

VI. Translate the sentences into English using the vocabulary of the novel (see the exercises).

1. Несмотря на то, что Маркуса обижали в школе и считали чудаковатым, он пытался убедить себя, что всё образуется, и что не стоит волноваться из-за пустяков.

 

2. Уилл не привык работать. Он жил на авторский гонорар, заводил романы и гордился тем, что он крутой парень. Он не собирался зарабатывать себе на жизнь упорным трудом.

 

 

3.  Фиона чувствовала себя в последнее время совсем неважно. Ей было плохо, и она в любой момент ни с того ни с сего могла расплакаться. Она винила себя за то, что не достаточно заботится о сыне, что не может преодолеть депрессию. Жить только ради сына она уже не могла. Ей казалось, что она сходит с ума. Она была сыта по горло своим одиночеством.

Chapter nine

 

1. How did Marcus kill the duck? Did Marcus do it on purpose?

Were there any things in Marcus’s life he had achieved through trying, in his opinion? Why did it happen this time?

 

Using Grammar Why did the duck die in your opinion? Make suppositions.

Begin your sentences with:

It might have been ….

The duck must have died because …

The duck might have died of …

Marcus must have (Part. II)…

It couldn’t have been …

The duck couldn’t have died of ….

 

Remember that

the sentences with ‘might’ express a lesser degree of certainty (‘ возможно ’ ‘ может быть, что’),

the sentences with ‘ must ’ sound more certain (‘ должно быть, что’, ‘вероятно’, ‘наверняка’),

the sentences with ‘ couldn’t ’ express disbelief, improbability (‘ не может быть, что ’).

 

2. What did they find out in Marcus’s home?

What happened to Fiona, Marcus’s mum?

Did the whole scene seem scary to Marcus?

 

Chapter ten

 

Who accompanied Fiona to the hospital? Why did Will have to deal with them?

Did the whole thing seem adventurous to him?

 

Ø On the way to the hospital “ Marcus was staring grimly through the windscreen ”.

Try to imagine what Marcus felt or thought and describe his state.

What was his main concern? What worried him most?

 

Ø Describe the patients in the hospital casualty department.

Was it a tragedy, a disaster, something out of the ordinary for most of them to be there?

Marcus was afraid that his mum might be taken for a vagrant (a social outcast), wasn’t he?

 

Did Will think Marcus’s worries were reasonable?

Did it make any difference, in Will’s opinion? What do you think about it?

 

Chapter eleven

 

1. What did Fiona write in her suicide letter to her son?

 

2. Why did it take Marcus very long to choose a video for himself and his mum to watch in the evening?

 

3. What video did he get in the end? Was it a successful choice?

Describe the plot of the film.

 

Did Fiona and Marcus understand each other’s feelings?

Share your opinion with the class.

 

 

v Find the paragraph: “Two wasn’t enough, that was the trouble …” (p. 66)

Read and translate it. It is a key paragraph, perhaps the most important in the novel. Think it over and get ready to comment on it.

Stargazer machine in the kebab shop (54) – the kind of money-in-the-slot gambling machine that is found in shops, cafes and pubs where people might be tempted to waste their money. The shop sells fast food, hamburgers, kebabs and other popular foods.

curry (67) – a spicy dish of oriental, esp Indian, origin that is made in many ways but usually consists of meat or fish prepared in a hot piquant sauce (блюдо (мясное, рыбное, овощное; подаётся с рисом), приправленное карри - острой индийской приправой)

poppadom (67) = papadum; = popadam; = poppadam, = popadom = poppadum - a thin round crisp Indian bread, fried or roasted and served with curry, etc (тонкая, хрустящая лепёшка (подаётся к индийским блюдам)

 

 

keel over (54) – to turn upside down; to collapse suddenly (перевернуться)

float (in the water) (54) – плавать; всплывать; держаться на поверхности воды

get off with sb (54) – (infml) to establish an amorous or sexual relationship with sb (крутить любовь, заводить шашни)

felt his insides turn to mush (55) (infml) = чувствовал, как у него от страха засосало под ложечкой, чувтвовал, как у него начали подкашиваться колени

lad (56) (infml) – an informal word for a (young) man

Boys will be boys - youthful indiscretion or exuberance must be expected and tolerated

grass sb up (56) (infml) – to inform on sb, esp. to police (настучать, донести, сдать)

to wade (56) – переходить вброд

to loll (57) – свешиваться

sick = puke = vomit (57) – рвота, рвотная масса; рвать, тошнить

kebab skewer (58) – шампур, вертел для мяса

machete (58) – a broad heavy knife used for cutting or as a weapon, esp in parts of Central and South America (мачете)

willies (58) – ‘willy’ is a childish word for a penis

eel (58) – угорь

belly-button (58) – пупок

packed off (59) (infml) – выпроваживать, прогонять

stay tucked (59) – прятаться, укрываться

Shut up (60) (infml) – Замолчи!

be carted off (60) – увезти на каталке

styrofoam cup (60) – пенопластовая (одноразовая) чашка

ruffle sb's hair (60) – взъерошить к/л волосы

to top oneself (61) (infml) – вздёрнуться (покончить жизнь самоубийством)

whine (61) – ныть, хныкать

deadbeat (61) – (infrml) a lazy or socially undesirable person (лодырь, бездельник, тунеядец)

vagrant (61) – a person of no settled abode, income, or job; tramp (бродяга)

junkie (61) (infml) – an informal word for drug addict, esp. one who injects heroin into himself (джанки, наркоман)

shot (61) (infml) – injection (укол)

derelict (62) – a person abandoned or neglected by society; a social outcast or vagrant (отверженный, изгой)

for once (62) – this time (в кои-то веки)

on cue (62) – at the right moment

reckon (63) (infml) – think, suppose (You reckon? (infml) = Do you think so?)

to hail a cab (63) – остановить, поймать такси

to drop off the edge (67) (infml) – to die

come to that (67) – к тому же; если на то пошло

who cares (67) – кому какое дело? не всё ли равно?

chef (68) – повар

guts (68) – кишки, внутренности

to talk rot (69) (infml) – говорить чушь, нести ерунду

for hours on end (69) – (целыми) часами

get my act together (70) (infml) – сосредоточиться, прийти в себя, взять себя в руки

to lose track of sb (70) – дословно: потерять ч/л след, здесь: перестать понимать

Lesson 5