VII. Summarize the story.

THE RANSOM OF RED CHIEF (pp.211 – 224)

I. Transcribe and explain the meanings, give Russian equivalents of the words.

1. philoprogenitiveness, n	6. pesky, adj
2. undeleterious, adj	7. wabble, v
3. rowdy, adj	8. subjugated, adj
4. stockade, n	9. cauterize, v
5. yeomanry, n	10. decry, v

II. Recall the situation in which you come across the following expressions.

1. to be having the time of one’s life (p.213)

2. to patch up the argument (p.216)

3. to have got smb going (p.218)

4. to warm smb good (p.220)

III. Make up a dialogue between the Dorsets at the boy’s absence.

IV. Read, translate and comment upon the following extract on pp.220 — 221: “When I got back … hand cauterized.”

V. Find some additional information about King Herod, remind of the context where this name used and comment upon the purpose if its usage.

VI. Speak on the following:

1. Who was selected as Bill and Sam’s victim? How did they explain their choice?

2. Give a character sketch to the boy. In what way does a during-dinner speech (p.213) characterize him?

3. Finish the circle with the suitable vocabulary:

4. Prove that the boy had great imagination concerning inventing different games and involving two desperate men into them.

5. Dwell upon Bill and Sam’s reaction to Mr. Dorset’s answer.

6. What do you think two desperate men’s total mistake was?

7. What would you do with the boy if you were Sam or Bill?

VII. Summarize the story.

THE LADY HIGHER Up (pp.225 – 229)

I. Transcribe and explain the meanings, give Russian equivalents of the words.

1. vacillating, adj	6. perpetrator, n
2. steerage, n	7. brogue, n
3. rollick, v	8. disseminate, v
4. sinecure, n	9. warbler, n
5. whirly-whirly, adj	10. veer, v

II. Read, translate and comment upon the following extract on pp.225 — 226: “New York City … A,B,C’s”.

III. Speak on the following:

1. Dwell upon the peculiarity of creating the plot of the story. Why do you think O. Henry chose such a manner of presenting things in his story?

2. Comment upon the statement: “This with statues the same as with people – this not their makers nor the purposes for which they were created that influence the operations of their tongues at all – it’s the associations with which they become associated…”

3. What can be said if we compare statues and people in the story?

IV. Summarize the story.

JEFF PETERS AS A PERSONAL MAGNET (pp.230 – 238)

I. Transcribe and explain the meanings, give Russian equivalents of the words.

1. liniment, n	6. peddle, v
2. cinchona, n	7. fallacy, n
3. jimpson-weed, n	8. coloratura, n
4. disciple, n	9. turpentine, n
5. clavicle, n	10. lobe, n

II. Recall the situation in which you come across the following expressions.

1. to start off like sweetbread-on-toast (p.231)

2. to canvass the town for a few dollars (p.232)

3. to alleviate smb’s distress (p.233)

4. to be in arrears (p.234)

III. Read and translate the following extract on pp.234 — 235: “Mr. Mayor, says I … life’s worth that much”.

IV. Analyze the extract in the written form.

V. Speak on the following:

1. Dwell upon Jeff Peters’ way of making a livelihood. Why did he choose that way, to your mind?

2. Find in the story the pseudo-medical terms used by Jeff and find the context they’re used in. Give their real meanings in English.

3. What scheme did Jeff and Andy invent to get some money?

VI. Make up a dialogue between Jeff and Andy that might have been on their way to another town discussing some other scheme.

VII. Summarize the story.

A MADISON SQUARE ARABIAN NIGHT (pp.239 – 247)

I. Transcribe and explain the meanings, give Russian equivalents of the words.

1. innuendo, n	6. waft, v
2. chop-suey, n	7. jovial, adj
3. antidote, n	8. victuals, n
4. egregious, adj	9. fudge, n
5. mendicant, adj	10. gratis, adj

II. Recall the situation in which you come across the following expressions.

1. to whisk aloft the delectable dinner (p.240)

2. to go down like a chunk of lead (p.243)

3. to swim like a cork (p.243)

4. to sleep on feathers (p.245)

III. Read, translate and comment upon the following extract on pp.244 — 245: “I soon found out … your peculiar brush?”

IV. Speak on the following:

1. Mr. Carson Chalmers was nervous because of some doubt or problem. What might it be?

2. Explain his strange whim.

3. Who was his guest? What story did he narrate?

4. Why did Mr. Chalmers ask Plumer to make a sketch from the photo?

5. What did Mr. Chalmers’ neighbour say about the sketch?

V. Summarize the story.

VI. Imagine that some painter made your portrait in a very true-to-life manner. Express either your approval or disapproval of it.

THE HIDING OF BLACK BILL (pp.248 – 263)

I. Transcribe and explain the meanings, give Russian equivalents of the words.

1. emolument, n	6. tendril, n
2. masticate, v	7. muckraker, n
3. despoiler, n	8. scoop, v
4. lineaments, n	9. posse, n
5. interstice, n	10. expatriate, v

II. Recall the situation in which you come across the following expressions.

1. to be on (p.250)

2. to be like a toot on Broadway (p.252)

3. to cut for deal (p.255)

4. to be on the lookout (p.258)

III. Read, translate and comment upon the following extract on pp.260 — 261: “Come nearer, captain … she set the Philip Steins on to Samson”.

IV. Speak on the following:

1. Who was the man that narrated the whole story? Describe him in detail: his appearance and character.

2. Dwell upon short “friendship” between the herder and Henry Ogden.

3. Why did the herder give H. Ogden up to the law? What proves did the deputies find?

4. The author said: “A man asleep is certainly a sight to make angels weep.” Do you agree? Why? Then why did the author write about a sleeping woman that “… no matter how she looks, you know it’s better for all hands for her to be that way”? Compare these two statements.

V. Summarize the story.

VI. Make up a text for an announcement entitled “Most wanted”.

ART AND THE BRONCO (pp.264 – 279)

I. Transcribe and explain the meanings, give Russian equivalents of the words.

1. besmeared, adj	6. calcimined, adj
2. appropriation, n	7. coterie, n
3. intrepidity, n	8. valiant, adj
4. lukewarm, adj	9. prance, v
5. auspices, n	10. cohort, n

II. Recall the situation in which you come across the following expressions.

1. a spore of the afflatus (p.265)

2. to philander along about smth (p.268)

3. to receive one’s meed of praise (p.272)

4. to cut the mustard (p.275)

III. Read, translate and comment upon the following extract on pp.265 — 266: “The painting – … land-and-er-live-stock”.

IV. Speak on the following:

1. Speak about the San Saba country. What were its sons famous for before it became “the stronghold of aesthetics”?

2. Dwell upon the picture Lonny Briscoe produced. What is humorous in its description?

3. Speak about Senators Kinney and Mullens’ cooperation. What was their scheme?

4. How did Lonny’s friends contribute to the picture’s success?

5. What did the artist tell Lonny about the picture?

6. What made Lonny “rip through the great canvas like a shell from a mortar”?

V. Summarize the story.

VI. Make up a dialogue between two people standing in front of the picture mentioned in the story and discussing it.

THE ROADS WE TAKE (pp.280 – 286)

I. Transcribe and explain the meanings, give Russian equivalents of the words.

1. aqueous, adj	6. trump, v
2. orifice, n	7. pommel, n
3. ordnance, n	8. cayuse, n
4. tender, n	9. sorrel, n
5. tug, n	10. vamoose, v

II. Recall the situation in which you come across the following expressions.

1. to make a haul (p.282)

2. by jingoes (p.282)

3. to bag the boodle (p.284)

4. when the market catches smb short (p.285)

III. Read and translate the following extract on pp.280 — 281: “Twenty miles west … by one-sixth each”.

IV. Analyze the extract in the written form.

V. Speak on the following:

1. Decipher the meaning of the story’s title.

2. When Mr. Dodson woke up in his office in New York he said he “had a most remarkable dream”. Do you think that was a dream? What was it about?

3. People acquire some words and even sayings that they use frequently to characterize some situation. What were Dodson’s favourite words? Why? What are yours?

VI. Summarize the story.

VII. Make up “Shark” Dodson’s biography, using the facts known from the story, if necessary imagine your own.

BEXAR SCRIP No.2692 (pp.287 – 299)

I. Transcribe and explain the meanings, give Russian equivalents of the words.

1. slab, n	6. inadvertence, n
2. exudation, n	7. berserker, n
3. knavery, n	8. vacate, v
4. preemptor, n	9. circumspection, n
5. endorsement, n	10. laxity, n

II. Recall the situation in which you come across the following expressions.

1. to lock up (p.289)

2. by virtue of (p.291)

3. to be clotted with blood (p.299)

III. Read, translate and comment upon the following extract on pp.294 — 295: “It was his intention … and grasped the file”.

IV. Speak on the following:

1. Describe the building in which General Land Office resided.

2. What is “Bexar Scrip No.2692”? How long has it been missing from the Office?

3. What is the story of this file?

V. Summarize the story.

VI. Make up a police account for the body found on the banks of Shoal Creek.

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION AND ESSAYS

1. The topic of “a small person” who is searching for his happiness in O. Henry’s stories.

2. O. Henry’s stories devoted to New York life. Dwell upon their peculiarities and their characters.

3. O. Henry’s stories devoted to a ranch life. Dwell upon their peculiarities and their characters.

4. Humour as a powerful device in O. Henry’s short stories.(take one story as an example)

5. The world of reporters and journalists represented in O. Henry’s short stories. (choose one story as an example)

6. The characters of adventurers and dodges represented in O. Henry’s short stories.

7. The role of allusions in O. Henry’s style of writing.

8. “The Ransom of Red Chief” as the best O. Henry’s short story. Dwell upon its peculiar features.

9. The construction of the plot in O. Henry’s short stories. What singles them out from other writers’ short stories?

10. Choose your favourite story and be ready to speak about its plot, characters and the problems raised in it.

TOPICS FOR REPORT

King Solomon (970 – 928 BCE)

Solomon’s reign was marked by a constant tension between two conflicting orientations: faithfulness to the God of Israel and fulfillment of the Judaic religious precepts, against a propensity to yield to the pervasive foreign influences that penetrated the kingdom as a result of the obligations imposed by its grandiose nature.

The major undertaking of Solomon’s reign – besides his almost complete success in preserving the kingdom which he inherited from his father King David – was the building of the magnificent Temple to the God of Israel on the summit of Mount Moriah, a project which his father, for various reasons, had not undertaken. The resplendent Temple was an expression of the power that resided in Solomon’s kingdom and of its beneficent foreign relations. The monumental sanctuary received the symbolic affirmation of the God to whom it was dedicated: “the priests came out of the sanctuary for the cloud had filled the House of the Lord and the priests were not able to remain and perform the service because of the cloud, for the Presence of the Lord filled the House of the Lord...”. Solomon also experienced a divine revelation in the form of a vision following the conclusion of the dedicatory service: “I have heard the prayer and the supplication which you have offered to Me. I consecrate this House which you have built and I set My name there forever”. The concentration of religious ritual in the Temple, together with the institutionalization of the biblical injunction regarding the pilgrimage festivals, transformed Jerusalem – despite its unpromising natural features – into an important political and commercial center during Solomon’s reign. At the same time, the king’s earthly imperial rule involved him in the affairs of the surrounding peoples: “Solomon allied himself by marriage with Pharaohking of Egypt. He married Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the City of David and built her a palace.” This unique historical evidence of an Egyptian princess leaving her country attests both to Solomon’s power and Egypt’s temporary weakness. However, this marriage, and others he made with high-born foreigners for political expediency, inclined the king to the culture and religion of those peoples, causing him to neglect his own God: “At that time Solomon built a shrine for Chemosh the abomination of Moab on the hill near Jerusalem, and one for Moloch the abomination of the Ammonites. And he did the same for all his foreign wives who offered and sacrificed to their gods”. A strong impression was also made by the foreign dignitaries who visited Jerusalem, of whom the most famous is probably the Queen of Sheba. She had “heard of Solomon’s fame, through the name of the Lord, and she came to test him with hard questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large retinue, with camels bearing spices, a great quantity of gold, and precious stones”.

Maintaining the excessive splendor necessitated the use of forced labor on a vast scale. This, and the many palaces that Solomon built in the “miloh”, the area that he prepared for this purpose on the slopes of Mount Moriah, including the palace for Pharaoh’s daughter, turned the people against him.

At a spiritual level, the pagan rituals that flourished at his encouragement seemed to dull the divine luster of his monarchy: “And the Lord said to Solomon, Because you are guilty of this – you have not kept My covenant and the laws which I enjoined upon you – I will tear the kingdom away from you... But, for the sake of your father David, I will not do it in your lifetime; I will tear it away from your son”. The united imperial kingdom of David and Solomon endured for only two generations. Around Solomon there sprang up the myth of extraordinary kingly splendor and superhuman wisdom.

The Queen of Sheba

The Queen of the South, being of course, not a football team, but the Queen of Sheba. We learn only a little about her from the Bible, but it is what happens to the story in the telling that is most fascinating. Kings describe her visit to Solomon. She came to “test him with hard questions” – she wanted to know whether he was really as wise as they said he was. So, the Bible is interested in her because of her mind. She was a wise woman, a Carol Vorderman or a Joan Bakewell. But posterity has remembered her for the rich gifts she brought with her, spices, gold and precious stones, gifts that lend her a kind of oriental exoticism. The text says that she was “breathless” before Solomon’s wisdom and admitted that his God must be the greatest. We are told that Solomon gave her all that she desired. Later readers have assumed that her desires were erotic rather than intellectual and that she was breathless with passion rather than with hard thinking, but its hard to tell. I suppose that whoever has ears to hear will hear it their own way. But whether it was mind or body or both, Sheba is seduced by Solomon. Though almost he’s equal in money and brains, she gave in and adored him. A foreign queen from a distant land with strange gods, she converted to Solomon and his god. An outsider with an insider’s understanding. This is the woman who Jesus later claimed would rise up to condemn unbelievers.

Her story has grown over the centuries and she appears later in Christian and Muslim folklore. In medieval Christianity she is part of the legend of the true cross. The story goes that when she visited Solomon she refused to walk on a bridge because it was made of the wood which would later be turned into the cross of Christ. Her gifts to Solomon prefigure the gifts from those other pagan royals that later visited Bethlehem. In Muslim legend she is a sun worshipper who visits the faithful Solomon. She has a deformity in her lower body, which varies from having webbed feet to a donkey’s hoof or just exceptionally hairy legs. Solomon heals her of these various ills (in the latter case by inventing a depilatory cream made from lime and arsenic) and she converts to the true faith.

But perhaps the most significant thing about Sheba is that she was black. It’s not clear where the land of Sheba was historical. It could have been the Yemen or it could have been North Africa, but traditionally it was definitely Ethiopia. To this day Ethiopian Christians claim to be descended from Menelik, the son of Solomon and Sheba, presumably conceived on that momentous visit. In the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, in the roof section owned by the Ethiopians, there is a fresco of Solomon and Sheba. Rastafarians too would see themselves as descendents of Sheba. Christians in these parts of the world have always seen her as black. She has long been associated with the bride in the Song of Solomon, where it says in chapter 1 verse 5 “I am black but comely”. W.B.Yeats wrote in his poem “Sang Solomon to Sheba
and kissed her dusky face.”

But there is a problem. It was the Latin of the Vulgate version of the Bible that introduced the but. “Nigra sum sed formosa” – I am black but comely. Not black and comely, but comely despite being black. Where African Christians celebrated Sheba’s colour, European Christianity gradually marginalised and tried to forget it. In Sheba they had a story of a heathen, foreign woman who had surrendered to the true faith. In her surrender, apparently, she lost her colour too. So from being the story of a wise and resourceful woman, the story changes to one of terrifying will to power and carries with it the church’s terror and dread of otherness. The “other” is overwhelmed, seduced and tamed. Sheba capitulates to Solomon, woman to man, pagan to believer, black to white. Only rarely in European art is Sheba portrayed as black. In one appalling depiction she is black, but with the long golden tresses of a Rapunzel. In Piero della Francesca’s fresco in Arrezzo she is almost an English rose, with only one maid in the middle distance wearing a strange hat to hint that she has any connection with Africa at all.

Sheba might have been a match for Solomon and the Bible text almost has it so. But tradition has made him her conqueror and so inspired and validated many other victories of Europe over the orient, of man over women, of “Truth” over error. But Jesus promised that Sheba would have her day, that she would rise up in judgement. We still live in a world in which the old conquerors are still at work, a world marred by racism, sexism, imperialism, and terrifying will to power. And, as Jesus promised, the Queen of Sheba still rises in judgement. In Britain today you are more likely to suffer harassment and violence and less likely to find work, if you are black. Just a few miles from here is a detention centre where 120 mostly black men are held without trial, for undetermined periods of time, subject to racist abuse, and many in desperate fear. And the Queen of Sheba rises in judgement. Many black Christians coming to this country feel excluded from “white” churches and as they set up their own. And the Queen of Sheba rises in judgement.

The people of Israel left Egypt, fleeing from oppression and racism, from a land where foreigners could only be slaves. Joseph had even put it in his will that his bones were to be repatriated. But the Kingdom of God, the place of our dreams, must be one in which no one ever needs to flee, in which the whole earth could be home to any man or woman, in which Sheba and Solomon could be each other’s match, whether in wits or in love. In Christ there is no East or West. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek. All are one in Christ. Until earth and heaven are made new, Sheba will still rise in judgement. Until she and all her sisters can be black and comely, until all wisdoms will be recognised, until any Jew could rest his bones in Egypt, until any human being could hold the hand of another in honest and co-equal love, the queen of the south will rise in judgement.

Magi

(Plural of Latin magus; Greek magoi).

The “wise men from the East” who came to adore Jesus in Bethlehem (Matthew 2).

Rationalists regard the Gospel account as fiction; Catholics insist that it is a narrative of fact, supporting their interpretation with the evidence of all manuscripts and versions, and patristic citations. All this evidence rationalists pronounce irrelevant; they class the story of the Magi with the so-called “legends of the childhood of Jesus”, later apocryphal additions to the Gospels. Admitting only internal evidence, they say, this evidence does not stand the test of criticism.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-26