Ответить на вопросы по тексту и сделать упражнения

First response

• Is the ending of the story predictable? Does it come up to your expectations? Why or why not? Explain.

Close reading

Examining subject and style

1. Does the author provide any physical description of Miss Brill? What does she look like do you think? Develop a detailed description that would be consistent with her behaviour, the simple pleasures she enjoyed and other telling details. Does anything suggest her age?

2. Where is the story set? Specify your answer. Discuss Miss Brill’s Sun- days in the park. Why does she go there, and how does she feel when she is there? What time of year is it? Explain how this setting might provide an appropriate backdrop for a character like Miss Brill.

3. Through whose eyes are the events viewed in the story? Give your arguments.

4. What does Miss Brill’s observation about the people she encounters reveal about her? What word strikes you as the most recurrent one in their description? Does it shed light on her self-assessment?

5. Discuss the function of the minor characters in the story. Analyze how Mansfield uses them to reveal Miss Brill’s character. How does the woman in the ermine toque function as a foil to Miss Brill? Who is Brute? What do you know about him? Who said Et tu, Brute?” and under what circumstances?

6. Locate the climax of the story. How is it resolved? Speak about the revelation Miss Brill makes and the role of the “hero and heroine”.

7. What is the nature of conflict in the story? Is there an antagonist? If so, who or what? 90

8. Is Miss Brill a static or dynamic character? Why? How transformative is her experience in the park? How does the calculated omission of Miss Brill’s first name contribute to her characterization? to the message of the story?

9. What is the purpose of the fur piece? What or who else does the “something” in the final sentence of the story refer to besides the fur?

10. Is the tone of voice consistent or inconsistent throughout the story? Why?

11. What is the effect of having Miss Brill as central consciousness? Explain why the use of an omniscient point of view in the story would be inap- propriate.

Responding to the writer’s ideas

• How does the story echo with the Cowley’s essay A View from 80? Trace down the similarities. What ideas are in common? How is the tone of voice different?

Language practice — vocabulary

1 Look up the verbs denoting a specific mode of walking.

trot, patter, parade, march, hobble, rock, rush, swoop, shuffle, trudge, plod, stride.

In online resources, find sentences with any 5 verbs to translate from English into Russian and prepare handouts for your fellow students.

2 Match the words denoting hat styles with their definitions. Give Russian equivalents.

panama hat, toque, beret, bowler (hat), bucket hat, custodian helmet, deerstalker, turban, kippah, kepi, pillbox hat, sombrero, tam o’shanter, tubeteika, tyrolean hat, ushanka.

__________ 1. a French military hat with a flat, circular top and visor;

__________ 2. a headdress consisting of a scarf-like single piece of cloth wound around either the head itself or an inner hat;

__________ 3. a straw hat made in Ecuador;

__________ 4. a helmet traditionally worn by British police constables while on foot patrol;

 __________ 5. a Russian fur hat with fold-down ear-flaps;

__________ 6. a round, slightly pointed cap with embroidered or applique patterns worn throughout Central Asia;

__________ 7. a felt hat with a corded band and feather ornament, originating from the Alps;

__________ 8. a tall, pleated, brimless, cylindrical hat;

__________ 9. a Scottish wool hat originally worn by men;

__________ 10. a warm, close-fitting tweed cap, with brims front and behind and ear-flaps that can be tied together either over the crown or under the chin; originally designed for use while hunting in the climate of Scotland; worn by — and so closely associated with — the character Sherlock Holmes;

__________ 11. a soft cotton hat with a wide, downwards-sloping brim;

__________ 12. a Mexican hat with a conical crown and a very wide, saucershaped brim, highly embroidered made of plush felt;

__________ 13. a soft round cap, usually of woollen felt, with a bulging flat crown and tight-fitting brimless headband; worn by both men and women and traditionally associated with France, Basque people, and the military;

__________ 14. a hard felt hat with a rounded crown created in 1850 by the hatters to Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester, for his servants; more commonly known as a Derby in the United States;

__________ 15. a close-fitting skullcap worn by religious Jews;

__________ 16. a small hat with straight, upright sides, a flat crown, and no brim.

3 Find Russian equivalents to the words denoting pieces or small quantities of food. Translate the sentences into Russian.

a slice of cake/bread

a square of chocolate

a cube of sugar

a block of ice

a segment of orange

a pinch of salt

a squeeze of lemon juice

a hunk of cheese

a dollop of jam

2 1. We bake delicious gourmet cakes from scratch and caramel cake and slices of cake to go which are famous both locally and nationwide. 2. A cube of sugar contains approximately 12 calories. 3. Learn how to cut segments of orange flesh out of their membranes for a prettier presentation in salads. 4. Top off the cream with a dollop of jam. 5. I would like to purchase a hunk of cheese. 6. Are you among the fringe group who prefers to add a pinch of salt to their coffee? 7. Cocktail makers believe that a block of ice in this beverage is crucial. 8. When you are on a slim-fast diet can you put a large bar of chocolate in your fridge and eat one square every day? 9. Don’t forget to add a squeeze of lemon juice into borscht to preserve the colour.

Language practice — grammar

4 Translate the sentences into English. Use present continuous and adverbial modifiers, such as always, constantly, etc. to express actions characterizing the typical, usually annoying, traits of a person or thing.

1. Я не хочу очки в черепаховой оправе. Они тяжелые и вечно сваливаются с носа! 2. Ты ужасно глупа, Мэри! Как ты не можешь понять такую простую, как дважды два четыре, вещь? 3. Этот мой сосед! И всегда-то он действует мне на нервы тем, что топает ногами, поднимаясь по лестнице по вечерам. 4. Ох уж эти англичане! Только о чае и думают! 5. «Ты всегда выпендриваешься перед тетушкой, — проши- пел он злобно брату на ухо. — Думаешь получить от нее семейный особняк в наследство?» 6. «И всегда-то ты жалуешься, что у тебя много дел по дому», — сказал он матери. 7. «Когда ты мне купишь новую норковую шубку, милый?» — «Милочка, какая ты все же несносная! Я только вчера купил тебе бриллиантовое ожерелье!» 8. Ты всегда делаешь едкие замечания по поводу приготовленной мной еды! 9. Не бери в голову! Твоя жена вечно делает много шума из ничего!

5 Work with a partner. Respond to the questions using must + perfect infinitive to express probability or supposition.

1. But the nose, which was of some black composition, wasn’t at all firm. Do you think it had a knock or what? 2. The teacherisn’t here. Do you think she has forgotten about the lecture or it’s we who got the schedule wrong? 3. Our daughter is not at home yet. Has she been delayed after classes or lost her way home? 4. Peter, a calm and quiet person as a rule, is obviously angry. Is he angry because the police officer has insulted him or have I done something wrong to him? 5. Mary was never late for classes when a student. Do you think she lived close to the university or is she simply a punctual person? 6. She is a good pianist. Has she started playing the instrument since childhood? 7. John seems depressed after the exam. Do you think it has been difficult? 8. I wonder why the car stopped. Are we out of petrol or has the engine broken down? 9. It smells nice in the kitchen. Has Kate baked her almond cake for the party? 10. The instructor looks tired. Did he finish correcting our essays last night do you think or is he not well?

6 Complete the sentences and translate them. Remember that there are several verbs that do not usually occurin the present continuous tense, e.g. verbs of sense perception: feel, hear, see, smell, taste which usually refer to actions of the senses that are involuntary. Sometimes, when they express voluntary actions or change their meaning, they are used in the present continuous tense.

1. Miss Brill __________ the fur talking to it. 2. I __________ cold air. Close the window, will you? 3. What is Mom doing? — She __________ this fish to see if it is spoilt. 4. Margaret __________ the bag to see if it is genuine leather. 5. I __________ something burning. 6. It’s time to begin a New Year party! Where’s the hostess, I wonder? — She’ll be in a minute! She __________ the cake to see if it is ready. 7. I can’t __________ anything. It’s pitch dark outside! 8. This Japanese dish __________ great! Yet Sara __________ it. She is afraid her husband has put too much salt into it. To me, food without salt __________ bland. 9. Mary, you know what! Our boss __________ a new secretary!!! 10. I __________ the drum. 11. I constantly __________ stories about sugar and how it is truly evil.