I. Vocabulary List

Vulnerable years, to reserve judgments,to be privy to(fml.), to feign(lit.), tolerance, to have(feel) scorn, gorgeous, to descend from smb, an eyesore, to overlook smth, one's second cousin,for no particular reason, to drift, sturdy, supercilious, arrogant, (ir)relevant, tobe about to do smth, to be sophisticated, contemptuous(ly), to give smb a heart-to-heart talk, a libel, peremptory

1. Express the same notion in one word:

To be carried along by circumstances; allowing no denial or refusal; worldly- wise; having nothing to do with the point; to keep back one’s opinion for later use; reluctance to interfere with the freedom of thought or action of others; not to notice; a piece of writing which contains bad or false things about a person; having the intention of doing smth immediately or almost starting; an unpleasant or ugly sight in a public place; aware of or knowing about; to pretend to feel (esp. an emotion); a very great lack of respect for smb or smth, contempt;

2.Find in the text of Chapter 1 all the verbs with the general meaning “блестеть”. Supply other words to this group.

3. Study the use of the active vocabulary in these word combinations and sentences; use the same vocabulary in situations of your own:

a) a peremptory order (demand, command, request, tone); a supercilious manner (air, smile, remark, assumption); an irrelevant question (criticism, pause, laugh, joke); a sophisticated woman (learner, admirer, writer); to show (need, demand, insist on) tolerance, to treat smth tolerantly, to be tolerant of different religious views, to be intolerant of smoking;a sturdy truck (person, defenсe); vulnerable age(position, spot, to criticism, to air attacks);contemptuous manner(laugh, remark, expression); to drift through life; sturdy fellow(policy, defenсe, truck). What a gorgeous room (place, dress, flower, colour)!

b) 1. Reserve your judgment before the matter becomes quite clear. 2. The Stuart kings showed great intolerance of the Puritans. 3. The youth's ever growing sophistication alarmed his parents. 4. In the thirties a great many people drifted in the USA in search of work of any kind. 5. If people dislike peremptory words, why are they so blind to their own? 6. "Well, what do you expect me to say to this?" he asked superciliously. 7. Now I see who has given you a heart-to-heart talk. 8. Affected phrases are hardly relevant at a meeting.9. I don’t like going to that shop because the assistants are always so supercilious.10.He is one of those arrogant people who think that they’re always right about everything.11.He says he is descended from William the Conqueror.12. Only top members of the Cabinet were privy to secret information about the safety of the nuclear industry.13. You know how everyone feigns surprise when you tell them how old you are.14. She feels/has nothing but scorn for such people.15.We’ll overlook your bad behavior this time, but don’t do it again.

4. Translate using the active vocabulary.

1.Люди произошли от обезьян. 2.Казалось, что она вот-вот заплачет. 3.Это ее слабое место. 4.Его внешний вид оскорбляет мой взор. 5.Я не хочу никуда идти сегодня - сделаю вид (притворюсь), что болит голова.6. Он не обращал внимания на доводы против.7. Он великолепен в роли Ромео. 8.Надменный, высокомерный, презрительный, заносчивый, самонадеянный (3 words). 9.Искушенный, умудренный опытом, опытный (бывалый) путешественник, изысканные манеры, утонченный вкус.10. Приказы не подлежат отмене. Он сказал это повелительным тоном.11.Эта книга клевещет на человеческую природу.

5. Paraphrase or explain:

1. Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope. (p. 14)

2. Conduct may be founded on the hard rock or the wet marshes,... (p. 15)

3. I participated in that delayed Teutonic migration known as the Great War(p.15)

4. He had casually conferred on me the freedom of the neighborhood..(p.16)

5....one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterward savors of anticlimax, (p. 17)

6. There were men in New Haven who had hated his guts.(p.18)

7. Something was making him nibble at the edge of stale ideas as if his sturdy physical egotism no longer nourished his peremptory heart, (p. 27 )

II. Discuss the following:
A.

1.Who is charged with relating the story? What are the advantages and disadvantages of first-person narration? Is Nick Carraway trustworthy as narrator?

2. In the preface (or really afterward to the novel) F. Scott Fitzgerald establishes the narrator's moral position. What is it? Are the narrator's initial judgements modified?

3. Some critics say that F. Scott Fitzgerald wanted to impose some kind of order on the haphazard circumstances of life: "He tried to find an ordered cosmos in his own terms. Fitzgerald seemed to think he could discover in that magic world of the rich 'safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor' the sanctuary he seems always to have sought." Find some words of confirmation of this opinion in the opening lines of the novel.

4. Speak on the narrator's first mention of the central figure of the novel. Don't you find Carraway's attitude towards Gatsby ambivalent? Give your reasons.

5. Comment on the way the novel begins. What is the role of the preface?

6. Where is the story set? Define the time of the events described in the novel. What indication of the time and place of the events can you find?

В.

1. Dwell on the narrator —his age and vocation, his background, mode of life, environment.

2. Comment on the way Nick Carraway's great-uncle gave his family "economic ballast."

3. Comment on the following: "I enjoyed the counter-raid so thoroughly that I came back restless." Pay attention to the word "restless" used throughout the chapter and explain what it suggests. Did Nick take part in World War I? What do they call the generation Carraway belongs to? Say why the heroes of the novel came East. Note the frequency of the "motion terms" (drift, move, run, ride). Explain what they suggest. Sum up your observations and characterize the period Carraway came East.

4. Describe the community Carraway began his new life in. Describe Gatsby's mansion; the Buchanans' mansion. What is the role of the descriptive paragraphs? What colours pre­vail in the descriptions? What do they symbolize? Give a summary of Nick's visit to the Buchanans. Describe the atmosphere of the dinner-party at the Bucha­nans'. Comment on the behaviour of those present before and after the telephone call. What disappointed Nick in the Buchanans after seeing them?

5. Speak on the narrator's first mention of the char­acters of Tom Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan, Jordan baker. Describe their appearance (make a list of "terms of ap­pearance" used by the author). What features of the char­acters are accentuated in the descriptions of their appear­ance and behaviour? Discuss the elements of direct and indirect char­acterization in the portrayal of Tom and Daisy.

a) Tom Buchanan

Give a character sketch of Tom. Find the passage on p.18: "He had changed... who had hated his guts". Point out nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs which reveal a general tendency in the passage. What sort of characterization is this? Find instances of Tom's indirect characterization in this chapter.

Speak on Tom Buchanan's social standing; his views. Did Nick think Tom’s ideas new or old?What does the word "scientific" used by Tom Buchanan suggest?

b) Daisy Buchanan

Give a character sketch of Daisy. Why does indirect characterization prevail in Daisy's portrayal? Dwell on Daisy's manner of speech. Can you say that she was a clever woman? Prove your point.

Speak of Daisy's married life. What kind of person is called "sophisticated"? What does the root-repetition of "promise" suggest? Why did Nick Carraway feel the basic insin­cerity of what Daisy had said? Why do you think she had no intention "to rush out of the house, child in arms"?

c) Jordan Baker.

Speak on Jordan Baker's life-style. Express your opinion about it. Was Jordan Baker's fame nation-wide?

6. Speak on Carraway's first glimpse of Gatsby.

С

What is the narrator's attitude towards the heroes of the novel? Are they depicted with sympathy? irony? contempt? humour? What are the methods by which Nick Carraway informs the reader of what is happening or has happened:

a) his own eye-witness account;

b) the account of other people (in their words or in his own)?

Speak on the composition of the chapter. Judging by the descriptive passages of the chapter say whether they testify to Nick Carraway's romantic or real­istic disposition of mind.

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