Listening comprehension
A Seven-day Tour to Modern London
Listen to the interview of Sebastian Faulks to BBC and answer the following questions:
1. What are the main issues raised in the book?
2. In what way is the nature of Dickensian characters revealed in the book?
3. How does the lives of the main characters are connected? Does the author embed any background characters in the plot?
4. Some characters in the book have the so-called speaking names. Give the examples.
5. How does a hedge fund work?
6. The setting takes place only in a real world, doesn’t it?
7. One of the characters, Hassan al-Rashid, is treated as both an appalling and appealing hero. Why?
8. Does the author imply any metaphorical meaning to the subway line (particularly to the London Central Line)?
9. What is, on Sebastian Faulks` mind, the purpose of reading?
TASKS
Part 1
Chapter 1(1-14)
Find the meaning of the culture words below
ü the East End
ü The Circle and the Metropolitan Line
ü Parallax
ü Russian pogrom
ü “builders` tea”
ü Financial Services Authority
Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
- mixture of sentimentality and grievance p.1
- a barrister p.2
- to get criminals off p.2
- a claimant p.2
- a solicitor p.2
- to land in one’s lap p.2
- to be sued p.2
- to claim negligence p.4
- a second hearing p.4
- superannuated p.6
- demeanor p.7
- a lame duck p.7
- to be a tough ask p.7
- to break the spell p.9
- a ruse p.9
- to play blackjack p.10
- to be voluble p.12
- a mortgage market p.13
- to cause tremor p.13
- to ditch the trade p.13
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
- Summarize Chapter 1. Which main characters does Faulks introduce in Chapter 1?
- Which impression does the first description of London produce on you? What is the prevailing mood of this passage? Give examples.
- Who is Gabriel Northwood? What is his occupation? What are the main reasons we find him in Chelsea reading the Koran?
- How is the character of Jenni Fortune drawn? Why does she always avoid her reflection? Interpret the stylistic means, which the author used to depict her everyday routine in the Tube (soothing darkness, points, a slither of crossing rails and so on (p.3)). Was her life as somber as the milieu in the Underground? Find and interpret the use of zeugma on p.2. Expand on the phrase “ Don’t look at their faces was the drivers` wisdom (p.4). Can we detect any stroke of good fortune in Jinni’s life?
- How is the atmosphere of upcoming Christmas seen through Jinni’s eyes?
- Jenni Fortune is disposed to reading a lot. What was peculiar about her reading habits?
- Why is she involved into a judicial proceedings? Who is her lawyer?
- What do we learn about Lance and Sophie Tranter? what is peculiar about Lance’s working style? Do you find any sarcasm in Lance’s phrase “builders` tea?
- Why does the narrator attach much significance to presenting all the persons in the guestlist? Who are the most important of them?
- Though Sophie’s perception of the weather we find that Christmas this year was not “ hot and wet ” as she used to. “… the sudden Arctic winds were hard to deal with (p.8). Do you feel any premonition in this phrase?
- What portrait of John Veals does the narrator paint in words? Give a direct and indirect descriptions of this man. Interpret his character paying heed to the description of his office and the staff he works with. What do his peers think of him?
- What do we learn about Veals’s past? How has he built his business? What do you think of the sentences “ The only way to make money was to have an edge” and “He was the house”. What are the ways to get an edge?
- Why did Veals talk to his clients in sporting metaphors (“I think we’ll put the other side in to bat first” (p.12))
- What predominates in Veals’s life? What is your attitude to a man “whose heart beat only to market movements” (p.14)?
Part 1
Chapter 2 (14-25)
Find the meaning of the culture words below.
Tottenham, Edmonton, Harringay, Kurds, Mafeking Street, “Moby-Dick”
Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
- a convex window p. 14
- earplugs p.14
- to blaspheme p.15
- deluded p.15
- to be perplexing p.15
- to pay little heed to smb`s salvation p.15
- a respite p.15
- to feign an acute pain p.16
- a knack with literature p.17
- gridlock p.17
- slothful p.19
- a staple work p.19
- fraudulent p.20
- facetious p.21
- savvy readers p.22
- the rudiments of spelling p.23
- to be up to p.24
- a conciliatory letter p.24
- to have an asset
- to cut out of the loop
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
- Summarize Chapter 2.
- What do we learn about Hassan al-Rashid? What is the purpose of his trip in the London Underground?
- What does the word “kafir” stand for?
- What is Hassan`s attitude to Christians? Which arguments made him believe in “their final loss of faith”, that “they`d given up God”? (p.15). When did it happen?
- Why did a young man viewed everyone he knew as “deluded”(p.15)? What` your view on this character? Do you sympathize with the young man?
- What was the predicament Rashid al-Hassan found himself in?
- How did he come to know Shahla Hajiani? What puzzled this girl in Hassan?
- Sum up the information about Ralph Tranter (RT). What can you say about his past? Is he a successful reviewer now? Why is he confused with his name?
- Describe his place of living. Is anything special about it?
- Why did R.Tranter invent Bruno Banks? Did he have any other nicknames?
- The narrator points out that Tranter was “interested only in bas reviews. Crash was what he wanted: crash and burn – failure, slump, embarrassment” (p.21). Analyse other words indicating his attitude to the reviewed books. Point out the stylistic devices used by the author. Do they have any emotive colouring? How does his specialty mirror his human nature?
- Give the examples of allusions in the Chapter 2. Why are they so numerous?
- What is meant by the phrase “Money was tight chez Tranter”?(p.22). Are there any other foreign words in the text? What effect do they produce?
- How is the problem of literacy in schools viewed in the text? Did Tranter succeed in teaching?
- Find the examples of antonomasia in the chapter.
- Is there any hint in a phrase “with a view to advising him on a “literary project” (p.25).
Part 1
Chapter 3 (25-45)
Find the meaning of the culture words below.
Ealing, India of Southall, Harlesden, Allied Royal, Canary Wharf, Spring Break, Bonus Day, to take GCSEs
Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
- a final circuit p.25
- a sponger p.26
- a payslip p.26
- to take up with p.27
- to break the ice p.27
- feasible (plausible) p.28
- to feel a twinge of exhilaration p.30
- with a snooty manner p.31
- an investment house of legendary rectitude p.34
- to catch a glimmer of movement p.35
- to be loath to do sth p.36
- to be on the verge of going broke p.36
- a demise of a bank p.36
- an iris recognition p.37
- to disdain City ostentation p.38
- with grim restraint p.39
- an asylum p.43
- a split personality p.44
- to scrutinize p.44
- a Barking Bungalow p.44
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
- Summarize Chapter 3.
- In the introduction to Chapter 3 the author uses repetition stating that Jenni Fortune “enjoyed her
- privileged view of the city without her own reflection in the way”. Moreover, “she never looked in the mirror”. What are the reasons of her behavior? Is it usual for a woman? By the way, what is privileged about her view?
- Does Jenni find any special mission in her occupation? Prove it by the text.
- Describe the relationship between Jenni and her half-brother Tony. Did Tony approve of his sister’s job? Why? Who was to blame, according to Tony?
- In what way did Liston influence on Jenni? What happened after their parting?
- Comment on the phrase “burying herself beneath the ground”. Which stylistic device is it?
- Why is Parallax Videogame depicted in so much detail?
- What proves Veals to be a rather arrogant and haughty person?
- Why did Allied Royal Bank pique Veals’s interest? Buying a large Spanish bank was surprising to Veals. What did he do to learn the tricks of the trade and a debt covenant? What was his plan to interfere with Allied Royal?
- Look at the writer’s choice of words (their degree of formality, bookishness, length) while describing finance.
- Why do London visitors have a false picture of this city, in Veals’s opinion?
- Speak about Veals’s children. What does his daughter Bella enjoy? What’s his son Finbar’s passion?
- Did Veals succeed as a parent?
Part 2
Chapter 1(46-62)
Find the meaning of the culture words below
Jihadist site (46), YourPlace (47), kafirs (47), the Tube (48), Walthamstow (48), Pudding Mill Lane (51), Royal Mail (52), 10 Downing Street (57), Officer of the Order of the British Empire (57), Oxford Street Mosque (58), OBE, (59) Winifred Holtby (59), Emily Bronte (59), dyslexia (59), MP (61).
Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
- spooks (46)
- jihadist site (46)
- to jab smb’s photograph (47)
- to wage jihad (47)
- to smile vaguely (48)
- remains of acne (48)
- be engaged on jihad (49)
- be the brains (50)
- to rebuke smb into laughter (50)
- steganography (51)
- fallback (52)
- a geek (52)
- play smb’s part in ushering in the new caliphate (53)
- iris (54)
- make a virtue of necessity (54)
- lead a pure life (55)
- be solicitous (56)
- to decamp
- be an apple of smb’s life (58)
- be squeamish about smth
- backer (61)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
- What were the precautions of the head of Muslim Youth Coalition in contacting its members? Do you consider them excessive?
- How did Hassan react to the given instructions?
- What was the kind of organization Hassan had joined to? What comforted him regarding the activity of the organization?
- How did the members of the organization choose their kafir names? Give examples.
- Did Hassan feel all the seriousness of the meeting? Find examples in the book.
- Why, do you think, the organization chose the site for adults as a way of contacting its members? How did Salim explain the choice for the members of MYC?
- What were Hassan’s relations with girls? How did he treat them? What decision did he make after a night spent with Dawn?
- Did he succeed in rejecting girls? What made it possible \ impossible?
- What was the kind of letter Farooq al-Rashid once received?
- What business did Farooq al-Rashid run? Was he enthusiastic about it?
- How did Farooq al-Rashid find himself in different culture?
- What worried him most before his appointment with the Queen? What solution came to his mind?
- How can you characterize Farooq al-Rashid’ character and Hassan’s family in general?
- Summarise Chapter 1.
Part 2
Chapter 2 (62-69)
Find the meaning of the culture words below
PetJet (62), High Level’ trades (63), ARB (63), Iliad (64), G7 (66)
Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
- rental share (62)
- insipid food (62)
- to short-sell the stock(64)
- shares (64)
- cash flows (65)
- to gag for a bit of action (65)
- get hammered (66)
- shaky dollar (66)
- be on the deathbed (67)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. What is the advantage of the rental share?
2. Comment on the following statement: ‘Sometimes you had to spend to earn’.
3. What do we get to know about Duffy’s background – his occupation, private life, traits of character?
4. What was the reason of Veals and Duffy’s meeting in Switzerland?
5. How does the following statements on p.63 describe Veals and Duffy:
‘Making certain our interests are aligned’ – Veals
‘Not throwing a hospital pass’ – Duffy
6. Find as much banking terms as possible on p.p. 64-65. Translate them into Russian. What significance do they bear in the context of the book?
7. What did you understand from the description of the African debt? How was Veals engaged into that scheme?
8. Why do you think Veals refused to go to the place Duffy had offered to him?
9. What policy did Veals follow while running his business? Do you find it appropriate? Justify your answer.
10. What impression do you have of Veals as a manager after reading the chapter?
11. Translate the following pasage into Russian.
‘The simple, but perhaps….Veals knew about the debt covenant’ (p/64)
12. Summarise Chapter 2.
Part 2
Chapter 3 (70-86)
Find the meaning of the culture words below.
J.Conrad (70), Human Resources (71), CCTV cameras (71), an Oyster card (72), the Disability Discrimination Act (72), QC (72), raspberry ripple (71), Soho (73), hen nights (73), Tfl headquarters (73), QC (74), The Human Right Act (76), The European Convention on Human Rights (76), the Allies (76), the Court of Appeal (76), The Attorney General (76), the Bar Council (76), the Law Reports (77), National Savings (80), the Last (secular) Trump (81), DNA tests (85).
Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
- to have it all off pat (71)
- to be a big gun (71)
- a control room (71)
- a throwback (72)
- to flinch a little at one’s surliness (74)
- a shift rota (74)
- to be on trial (75)
- a plaintiff (75)
- to have three bites of cherry (76)
- to be off the hook (78)
- an adultery (79)
- to manage a double life (80)
- to forfeit control (80)
- a dissenting judgement (82)
- to be in trepidation (83)
- to live up to a billing (84)
- gruffness (85)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
- Does the narrator suggest that Jenni Fortune was a solitary person? Why does the narrator attach great significance to Jenni’s passion for book? Expand on the phrase “She had made her own path into literature”(70).
- Who was Dave? What effect does the repetition “too much of Dave – too much person, too bulky, too real” produce on you?
- What did Jenni feel about the trial?
- Describe Gabriel Northwood’s office. What was peculiar about it? Why was his room depicted through Jenni`s eyes? What did Jenni dream about? How convincing do you find the argument “He was human”(73)?
- G.Northwood seemed to be a bit of mystery to Jenni. What impressed her in the barrister’s personality?
- How familiar was London for Jenni? Why?
- What happened in the Tube in 1987?
- Who was sued in a trial: Jenni herself or her employer? Who would profit from the trial case, in Hutton’s opinion? How many hearings were supposed to be conducted?
- Read the passage about G.Northwood. Pay attention to all syntactic and stylistic means exposing the internal and external features, peculiarities, demands of the character. How can you explain “the Inner Temple way of thinking”(77)?
- Pick out pieces of information about Catalina and interpret the way they are introduced.
- How did she manage her double life?
- Gabriel was obsessed with Catalina, wasn’t he? Describe his desperate passion for this woman, giving heed to stylistic devices used to bring about the desired effect. What are the key words and phrases that are being repeated in the passage?
- How did Gabriel endure the loss of Catalina? Did he have any lover since Catalina?
- Why, do you think, the story about Catalina is embedded into the book after Gabriel had met Jenni? Do you feel any connection?
- What did Gabriel think about Jenni? Did she seem cheerless and gruff to the barrister?
Part 2
Chapter 4 (86-98)
Find the meaning of the culture words below.
Ferrers End (86), Updike (88), the Trade Descriptions Act (89), Collingwood (92), Beardsley (92), Arkell (92), NHS (92), X-RAY (92), Long-Stay Unit (92), Secure Wing (92), Rainbow Room (92), Electroconvulsive Therapy (92), The Shepherd`s Bush (97).
Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
- a familiar anguish (86)
- a book launch party (86)
- an obsequious letter (86)
- on spec (87)
- a compliments slip (89)
- a publicity department
- to get the end of a knife into (89)
- a palpable untruth (89)
- a cortex (90)
- a garish temptation (92)
- a benefactor (92)
- to go out of the fug (94)
- to feel a clutch of panic in one’s abdomen (97)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
- How did R.Tranter use to make his reviews?
- Why was he so tormented by Alexander Sedley? What portrait of Sedley does the narrator paint? Find the stylistic devices highlighting his traits of character. Was he a respected and promising reviewer? Prove it.
- What was Tranter’s first impression of Sedley’s book?
- Did Tranter find any flaw in the book after reading it intently?
- Translate the passage “Tranter felt tears of mirth… if that was the term he wanted.” How can you render the book’s title “Winter Crossing” into Russian?
- How does the choice of words (e.g. shivered with pleasure, tears of mirth, shiver of compassion) characterize Tranter? Look for more stylistic devices which help identify Tranter’s poignant sarcasm.
- Fish out the examples revealing London’s reverse side seen through G. Northwood’s eyes.
- What was Gabriel’s brother Adam treated for? Was the illness diagnosed in proper time?
- Describe the hospital where Gabriel had been visiting Adam for five years. What do the names of Collingwood, Beardsley, Arkell signify? What atmosphere does the choice of colours create?
- Comment on Gabriel’s inner monologue in the ward (94).
- How did Gabriel feel about his existence in comparison with Adam’s?
- Adam’s following phrase is worth noticing: “It’s better to shed blood than not to believe. You have chances to believe”. What was he talking about? Is there any sense in his statement? Complete his phrase: “And if you choose not to…”(96)
- Describe Finnbar’s both physical and mental state. What does “throwing a whitey’ (97) stand for?
- Why was he envious of the inhabitants of the houses he was going by?
- Find the symbols in the description of a rose garden. Which incongruity can you trace in Finnbar`s mind?
- Summarize Part 2.
Part 3
Chapters 1-2 (99-119)
Find the meaning of the culture words below.
North Park, traiteur (99), GCSE (100), the Dark Ages (102), the New Testament (106), the Left Student group (109), the Mormons (113), road to Mecca (116)
Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
- be eased out of smb’s job (99)
- in the phrase of time(99)
- prattle on (100)
- eff (100)
- glider pilot’s license (100)
- bolt up (102)
- be reinvigorated in the faith (103)
- tunnel vision (102)
- dirty one’s hands in the world (104)
- betraying shame (105)
- turn a blind eye (105)
- to pay lip service (106)
- pith of sth (106)
- congregation (106)
- gaudy coach (107)
- gawp at smb (107)
- to yearn for smth (108)
- subliminal staccato (108)
- to be given a conditional discharge (109)
- to squeeze into the university (109)
- to sponsor a debate (110)
- enlightened regimes (113)
- jab smb in the ribs (114)
- to spat the word out (115)
- crude intervention (115)
- to gear economic systems (116)
- far-flung aunties (116)
- to have a ‘jab’ (116)
- run a discussion group (118)
- to give public declarations (119)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. Vanessa Veals. How is Vanessa Veals depicted in this chapter? Does she approve of her husband’s attitude towards children?
2. Mrs Veals says: ‘But lately he seems to have lost interest’ (100). What is the meaning of her statement? Find more examples in the text to justify your answer.
3. What does Mrs Veals crave for? Why?
4. Why is Vanessa so nostalgic about her youth? Describe the language the author uses in that episode.
5. Why do you think John Veals ‘seemed so exactly suited to the world’?
6. What do you know about Veals’ background?
7. How does the language of the narration change when Vanessa Veals starts reasoning about business world?
8. What intrigued Vanessa about John Veals? Why did she find all her psychological classes to be useless?
9. Find some facts on the Internet about the following quotation: “What you have done for the City of London, we now intend to do for the entire British economy”. Who was the author of these words?
10. Summarize Chapter 1.
11. What were the qualities of Allah that Farooq Knocker-al-Rashid was interested in?
12. What was the prevailing atmosphere of Hassan’s childhood? What truth did he learn after an accident at school? (107)
13. How do you understand the statement ‘Hassan tried on different disguises’ (107). Find examples in the text.
14. What kind of life did Nasim have before her meeting with Farooq?
15. Did Hassan succeed in school?
16. Make a summary about what Hassan heard at a meeting of the Left Student’s group?
17. Comment on the statement: ‘Power expressed through money. But really just power’. (111)
18. What do you get to know about the American and British occupation of Iraq from the text? (113) How was this problem viewed in European press?
19. Who is Jason? What is peculiar about the way he speaks? Find examples in the text.
20. What was the main reason of Hassan to begin a blog on the site YourPlace?
21. Once Hassan’s homepage had a ‘jab’. Who was Grey_Rider? How did he look like? Give examples. What was peculiar about his behaviour? What, do you think, was Salim’s real intention?
22. Summarize Chapter 2.
Part 3
Chapter 3 (119-131)
- Find the meaning of the culture words below.
the Royal Courts of Justice (120), the Embankment (121), Michael Caine (122), S.Bellow (122), Philip Roth (122), J.Updike (122), BBB (126), Klondike (127)
- Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
- to brief smb (120)
- to scintillate on matters of jurisprudence (121)
- a human outcome of persecution and upheaval (122)
- the panoply of law (123)
- to clam up (123)
- a pin-up (124)
- to suspend credit lines (125)
- a mortgage holder (125)
- iffy mortgage (126)
- a ravenous demand (127)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
- Find the description of London and the Thames in Chapter 3. Read the paragraphs and interpret the language means used by the narrator. Pay attention to the choice of words. What mood do they reflect? Comment on the gradation “the warm drizzle (119) – swollen with December rain (121)”.
- Can you trace any similarities between Gabriel Northwood and Jenny Fortune’s reading habit? Prove it. Why does he always remember her in his thoughts? What does he think about her confidence?
- Pierre Janet and Sigmund Freud’s quotations are full of suggestions (p.119-120). How can you apply their meaning to the storyline of the book?
- What is the main reason of Gabriel’s lack of work?
- What was especially attractive in visiting The Toppings?
- Is there any apprehension in the phrase “lethally quiet morning”? What stylistic device is it?
- Why has a photo of Olya taken John Veals’s eye?
- What are the grounds of chasing ARB debts?
- What is the essence of the synthetic bonds plan offered to Veals?
Part 3
Chapter 4 (131-142)
- Find the meaning of the culture words below.
Paul Éluard (132)
- Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
- confinement (132)
- watery gruel (133)
- to push on to verisimilitude (134)
- to harness (134)
- a coup (134)
- a prude (136)
- a by-blow (137)
- in defiance of law (138)
- to have an off-lesson (138)
- to cede control (138)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
- Why was Shahla Hajiani’s “mind wholly occupied elsewhere”? Reproduce her feeling and somatic signs. Does a book of love “The Capital of Pain” have any reference to her present inner state?
- Why was Jenni Fortune so fond of celebrity magazines and specialist monthlies? Which “longing” did they awake in her?
- Find the similarities and differences between Jenni and Miranda. Did it remind us of a children’s computer game? How do the two worlds clash?
- Who was Jason Dogg in reality? Discuss his background and occupation. Specify the drags of his work. Did he put up with the system?
- Describe Radley’s style of teaching. What steps did he make to become competent in lesson and pupil management?
- Expand on the current situation in a British comprehensive school and the teacher’s rights. Is it similar to a Russian one?
Part 3
Chapter 5 (143-155)
- Find the meaning of the culture words below.
the Chattanooga Express (146), Red Caps (146), the SEC (146), Rothschild (152), a therapeutic challenge (153)
- Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
- to develop a facility (143)
- précis (143)
- a purple passage (143)
- an embarrassing hiatus (145)
- a softball question (145)
- a bespoke product (147)
- an august name (148)
- so far so good (151)
- a staple of work (151)
- bonhomie (155)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
- What was a special secret of Ralph Tranter’s reviews?
- How did he try to obstruct Sedley’s stroke of luck and slag off him in print?
- What was Sedley’s attitude to Tranter when he attended the Book Launch Party?
- How did Tranter behave during the party? Fish out the words describing his gestures. Which feelings do they mirror?
- What experience did John Veals gain while working in the bank?
- Comment on the statement:” He was trading Polish credulity; he was trading Czech naivety; he was trading stupidity” (148). How is Veals’s astuteness revealed?
- What did Kieran Duffy intend to achieve managing “gilt-edged” bonds?
- Indicate two problems Veals came across in analysing the bond market situation.
- What were the aftereffects of Finbar’s overdose?
Part 4
Chapters 1-2 (156-186)
- Find the meaning of the culture words below.
Dover to Calais ferry (156)
Victoria (156)
Sayyid Qutb ‘Mikestones’(156)
Special Branch (159)
‘The Toad’ (160)
Rodin ‘The Burghers of Calais’ (161)
Mirpur Valley (161)
Surah (165)
The International Marxist Group (166)
The Socialist Workers Party (166)
Red International (166)
Chelsea (175)
Auschwitz (180)
The Holocaust (180)
Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. throngs (156)
2. gunmental sky (156)
3. hugh pewter sea (156)
4. a tubby old-timer (156)
5. to divide (about the train) (157)
6. be coltish on smb (159)
7. feel bombarded by cynicism (160)
8. exhilarating (160)
9. busload of vomiting fans (161)
10. to feign a call (161)
11. bent to say a brief prayer (162)
12. screw tops (163)
13. let out a screech (164)
14. provide a landscape of smb’s life (165)
15. pay the alms levy (166)
16. have a slur of assumed racial superiority about smth (167)
17. old banger (167)
18. adamantine belief (169)
19. bib (170)
20. take a blow (173)
21. iron hoof (175)
22. to be relegated (176)
23. larcenously priced delis (177)
24. predictive text (178)
25. to keep one’s balance topped up by a trickle-down from smb’s accounts (178)
26. horticulture (182)
27. to reveal one’s ignorance (182)
28. johnson (29)
29. gaffer (184)
30. event management (185)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
- Why did Hassan feel embarrassed to give his real name on registration? What was the reason of his ferry-trip?
- How did Hassan prepare for the trip? How did he explain to Shahla his wish to practice his French conversation? Did she believe him at once?
- At Shahla’s he examines her with keen interest. Does his behaviour run counter with his belief?
- Translate the following statement and comment on it (p.159): ‘The minor deception of a friend would be forgiven in the long perspective of establishing justice on earth and gaining paradise afterwards’.
- Hassan says that the he could not tell Shahla abot his real intention of the trip to France ‘was that he felt she would laugh’. Can a true believer be afraid of smb’s mockery? How can you explain Hassan’s reaction?
- What adjectives does Hassan use regarding London? (p.160) Does it have any proof in reality?
- What bothered Hassan most of all about ordinary people on the ferry? What version of Islam does he stick to?
- Summarize Hassan’s trip to France in details. How did he overcome the language barrier?
- What was special about the box of alcohol? What was the purpose of it purchasing?
- On p.165 again we come across Hassan’s thoughts about Islam. What are the real claims of Islam? What is the problem with both of them? What is the main task of Islam as it is said in the text?
- How does the conversation on p.165 between Hassan and his father characterizes Knocker?
- What is symbolic about the last passage of chapter 1 on p.169? How would you translate the warning?
- Summarize chapter 1.
- Who are the two main characters of this chapter?
- What do we get to know about Spike Borowski? Find as more examples in the text as it is possible. What is he? Find the phrases and words he uses to prove his occupation. How would you translate all these expressions? Does the atmosphere of the new football center Spike is going to work in differ from that in his country?
- Sebastian Faulks often quotes different web sites. What is the purpose of it?
- What is the relationship between the football teammates? Does Spike feel unease? Why do you think Sebastian Faulks gives so much description of the play?
- What linguistic misunderstandings can you find on p.175?
- On pp. 175-177 we first meet Finn Veals. What is his behaviour like? How does he speak to Spike? Is Spike surprised? What does Finn want from him? What is Dream Team? What is the purpose of it?
- One morning Finn goes to the Pet’s Rest. Comment on the conversation between Tindle and Finn. What impression do they produce?
- What was the phrase Finn say that radically change their talk and revealed the true purpose of Finn’s visit? What was it? How does Tindle describe his garden of marijuana? Why, do you think, Finn bought the grass?
- On p.183 we again come across Spike and his environment. Make a description of Kundak – his behaviour, background, appearance, manners of speech – anything you find in the text.
- What do we get to know about Spike’s private life. Does he love his girlfriend? Explain. Describe Olya – her appearance and background.
Part 4
Chapter 3 (186-208)
Find the meaning of the culture words below.
Greeview Alternative Investment Services (186), the Imperial War Museum (186), PA (187), First New York (187), Sod`s Law (187), the Deputy prime Minister (188), HSBC (190), FSA (192), FT (192), Rober Fleming (192), the Chase Manhattan/J.P.Morgan (192), the Exodus (193), Jahweh (193), the Angel Gabriel (193), the Prophet (193), Deuteronomy and Leviticus (195), david Niven (201), a Savile Row suit (201), Dick Francis (204), Ch.Dickens, W.M.Thackeray, A.Trollope, G.Eliot (205), Alfred P. Edgerton (206), FX screen (207).
Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
- a sizzling waffle iron (186)
- an A4 buff envelope (186)
- to enter the most gut-wrenched hours of one’s trade (187)
- to scoop up the remains of sth (188)
- an executive recruitment agency (188)
- to have toxic assets (189)
- underlying strengths and liabilities (189)
- to fiddle with sth (190)
- to shoot the breeze (190)
- to dabble online between clients (191)
- to bite one’s hand off (192)
- avuncular (103)
- to pass off (192)
- an implacable and unsympathetic portrayal of a divinity (193)
- an apparition (194)
- the fierce iterations of the book (195)
- the live rail (198)
- a penultimate visit (200)
- to look crestfallen (206)
- to put two per cent collateral (207)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
- In what mood does Chapter 3 begin?
- Comment on the scene in the Oasis Coffee Bar. What was the purpose of Veals and Wing’s business talk?
- What bothered Veals in the present time? What idea does the author try to render to the reader telling about some “ rumour ” Veals was about to start? How can Veals be entrapped in case of some miscalculations of his blueprint?
- Analyze the scene in a tennis club in Chelsea. Why did John Veals look so “ stressed ”? Give the indications of Veals’s mood comparing two scenes. Pay attention to the choice of words revealing his state of mind.
- Speak on the special assignment that Veals had entrusted to Martin Ryman.
- Compare the so-called missions that three men (Alan Wing, Steward Thackeray and Martin Ryman) were charged with. How did John Veals treat them? How did they talk to him? Why? Give the examples.
- There several references to Christmas coming in Chapter 3: “silly season” (192), “something good in your Christmas stocking” (193). What do these phrases mean?
- How do you account on the Ryman’s sarcastic phrase: “I think people could mistake you for Father Christmas”.
- Comment on Gabriel Northwood’s view of the Koran and the Koranic prophecy.
- Peruse the conversation between Jenni and Gabriel in the train cab. What truth about books did Gabriel disclose to Jenni?
- What lexical means are used to conjure up Jenni’s portrayal through Gabriel’s eyes? Why is he so attentive to her?
- Gabriel’s inner monologue in the cab (199) is worthy of analysis. Comment on the abounding questions in his inner monologue. What did he want to offer this girl? Did he have any opportunity to change her mindset?
- Describe Tranter’s first visit to Knocker al-Rashid’s home. Is there any discrepancy between Knocker’s expectations to see a man of words and Tranter’s real behavior? What was Tranter’s verdict on all the books of overrated British writers?
- What is implied by the last phrase of Chapter 3:”Rheumatism definitely easing. Expect full movement tmw” (208)?
Part 4
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