Word combinations

Lesson One

Text: Big Business

Grammar: The Infinitive (contd). Complex Subject.

For-Complexes.

Big Business

Danny was standing on Manhattan Bridge.¹ Suddenly he noticed a still burning cigarette-end on the sidewalk² and rushed to save it. A few deep puffs and Danny sent little blue clouds of smoke into the mild air of the early morning.

While enjoying the smoke he thought over his present situation. What's the use of it all, he said to himself; here I am a young man look­ing for a job of some kind or other—but not the ghost of a chance³ of getting one.

And I am certainly no fool! I am good at anything, I don't mind what I do—and still—no luck... I must smoke dog-ends⁴ thrown away by others... Oh boy!⁵ what does a man do to become a partner of Ro­ckefeller or Vanderbilt?⁶... I am quite sure they were not very partic­ular about the way in which they made their money—and I shouldn't be either!

... And still, there is only eight dollars and fifty cents in the torn pocket of my trousers. Eight dollars and fifty cents! The devil knows how much longer I shall be able to make both ends meet on eight fifty! A week? A fortnight? A month? Where, for Heaven's sake, could I pick up a job?

Damn it all! Now it is beginning to rain cats and dogs⁷ on top of all, and I have a hole in my shoes. A hole? It's holes I have, nothing but holes and no shoes around them... Where can I hide from the rain? I'll go into the Post Office for a while.

By the time he reached the Post Office he was nearly wet through. Now he stood in the main hall of the post office, watching the people hurrying busily this way and that, and then picked up a letter somebody seemed to have left behind on one of the many writing desks. He read the first few lines, hardly knowing what exactly he was reading; then something struck him. He read again, and this time he gave a low, long whistle of surprise. In no time⁸ he was out in the street again, looked stealthily back, and hiding in a doorway started to learn by heart the short note.

"Dear Friend", it said. "Yesterday, shortly before I left I made up my mind to get rid of my old clothes. I am well on my way⁹ to San Fran­cisco¹⁰ by now, but I just remembered something terrible.

The night before I left I happened to meet Mr. Burbridge at the Sa­voy.¹¹ He paid off an old debt. He gave me a one thousand dollar bill, and I put it into the inside pocket of the blue worsted suit I was wearing. But I have sold that suit along with the other old things. Do please go at once to Black, the old clothes dealer, at 3, Pineapple Street, Brook­lyn,¹² may be he has not resold the suit yet..."

One thousand dollars! whispered Danny, almost beside himself with excitement. That sum might be the making of me... Damn it, I am going to risk my last eight dollars!

* * *

Black & Son, second hand gents' clothiers,¹³ had their shop full of customers when Danny entered. Old man Black, his sleeves rolled up, was wiping the sweat off his face, and after giving instructions to his employees who were busy carrying clothes about the shop, hurried to­wards Danny to serve him.

"What can I do for you, sir?"

"Have you got anything in tweed?" asked Danny with seeming indifference.

"Tweed, sir? Certainly, sir, the very latest... My assistant will at­tend to you. John, run and bring the tweed suit we bought from Mr. Rockefeller the other day!"

"Now I come to think of it,"¹⁴ said Danny who seemed to be chang­ing his mind, "I think I would rather have something in worsted."

"Just my own taste, sir! Worsted is always the smartest wear for a gentleman."

"Well—I think I'd like to have something in navy blue—"

"I can let you have a suit like that, sir. Something quite exceptional," exclaimed Mr. Black. "I say, John, leave the tweed, bring the blue wor­sted one... Yes, the one we have from Mr. Gould—it will be just the right size." And then Mr. Black turned to another customer.

"The blue lounge suit!"¹⁵ cried the attendant to a small boy. "Run, Ralph, be sharp! Get us the navy worsted lounge suit!"

The boy hurried off and a second later Danny was trying on a jacket that hung loosely from his narrow shoulders.

"Fits you like a glove, sir!" exclaimed the attendant in admiration. "A suit made to measure by a first-class tailor couldn't fit you better — "

Carefully and yet stealthily Danny passed his hand over the pockets of the jacket, his heart almost stopped beating, he had to clear his throat. Then he asked for the price, and without bargaining he paid the price of seven and a half dollars, and a quarter of an hour later he sat in Columbus Park¹⁶ with a large parcel in his hands. He couldn't help feeling excited.

Hurriedly he opened the parcel, took out the navy blue jacket in the right inside pocket of which he found a black leather wallet, opened it and began to count the money with shaking hands.

"Eleven thousand three hundred dollars!" he stammered. "Eleven— thousand—three—hundred—dollars! Danny, old boy, that was big business, indeed!"...

* * *

When Mr. Black closed his shop long after nine p.m., his managing clerk

said to him with a satisfied smile:

"Well, sir, that was excellent business again today, wasn't it?... We are getting rid of all our old things. We are doing very good business in those cheap suits!"

"Fine," said Mr. Black smiling. "Did you manage to write those letters?"

"Certainly, Mr. Black. Five hundred!"

"All right! My son will deal with that. Tomorrow morning he is going to 'lose' them again in the post offices, the subway and in the telephone boxes... We shall sell out everything in a couple of days. A marvelous idea, those one thousand dollar letters!"

Mr. Black was searching about the shop for something.

"Ralph!" he called, "bring me my jacket!"

"Your jacket, sir?"

"Yes, I hung it here over the chair. The blue jacket!"

"Oh, that one..," stammered the boy and opened his eyes wide, "that one was sold this afternoon, sir!"

NOTES

1. Manhattan Bridge: a bridge across the East River in New York City

2. sidewalk (Am. E): pavement

3. not the ghost of a chance: no chance at all

4. dog-end (sl): cigarette-end

5. Oh boy! (sl): an exclamation of surprise, wonder, etc.

6. Rockefeller, Vanderbilt: American capitalists, millionaires

7. rain cats and dogs (colloq): rain heavily

8. in no time: in a very short period of time (very emphatic)

9. I am well on my way to...: I have covered the greater part of the distance to...

10. San Francisco: a city on the coast of central California

11. Savoy: a fashionable hotel in New York

12. Brooklyn: a borough (district) in New York City. The other bo­roughs are: the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, Richmond.

13. Black & Son, second hand gents' clothiers: магазин фирмы "Блэк и сын" по продаже поношенной мужской одежды

14. Now I come to think of it: поразмыслив; зд. нет, пожалуй...

15. lounge suit: a suit of clothes of the kind usually worn during the day (contrasted with formal dress, evening dress, etc.) пиджачный костюм

16. Columbus Park: a small park in Manhattan.

VOCABULARY

burn (burned, burnt) 1. vt жечь, сжигать; обжигать to burn a letter (a house, wood, coal, meat; one's hand, etc.) 2. vi гореть, пылать Dry wood burns well. Her face was burning with shame.

rush vi спешить, мчаться; бросаться; делать что-л. поспешно Не rushed to catch the bus; to rush into (out of) the room; to rush through a book (one's work, etc.); rush n 1. спешка, поспешность to do one's work, etc. in a rush 2. наплыв (пассажиров, заказов и т. п.) a rush of passengers (orders, work, business, etc.) Phr. rush hour(s) час(ы) "пик" (час(ы) наплыва пассажиров, покупателей и т. п.) to be caught in the rush hour; Buses are usually overcrowded during rush hours.

save vt 1. спасать to save a person (smb's life, one's reputation, a situation, etc.); to save smb from ruin (death, etc.) 2. беречь, экономить to save money (time, energy, etc.); It will save you two days if you trav­el there by air. He saved up enough to buy a colour TV set. 3. избав­лять to save smb the trouble (necessity) of doing smth; (un)safe a (не)безопасный, (не)надежный a safe place (subject for a conversation, question, etc.); It is not safe to drive fast in a big town. Phr. be on the safe side на всякий случай; безопасности ради Even on bright days he carried an umbrella to be on the safe side. safety n безопасность At last he was in safety.

mild а мягкий, умеренный a mild climate (remark, joke, person, etc.) Phr. put it mildly мягко выражаясь, мягко говоря

use n 1. польза, смысл It's no use going there. What's the use of talk­ing to him? Phr. be of (great, much, little, etc.) use to smb/smth приносить (большую, малую и т. п.) пользу кому-л/чему-л 2. употребление, применение, использование The uses of atomic energy for peace pur­poses are very wide. Phr. make use of smth (smb's advice, information, a situation, etc.) использовать, воспользоваться чем-л (чьим-л со­ветом, информацией, положением и т. п.); useful а полезный useful advice (information, etc.); useless а бесполезный a useless argument (attempt, etc.)

certain a 1. уверенный Не was certain that she would come. I am not certain whether I can do it. I was not certain about the time (the arrangement, etc.) They are certain to come. uncertain а неуверенный Phr. for certain наверняка I know for certain. 2. какой-то, некоторый a certain person (difficulty, etc.); for certain reasons; under certain con­ditions; to a certain degree, etc. 3. определенный (обусловленный, намеченный) They were to meet at a certain hour. (un)certainty n (не)уверенность Не could not say with certainty when he would finish the work. certainly adv конечно Certainly he will come.

particular a 1. особенный, особый a particular day (book, reason, interest, situation, etc.) 2. разборчивый, привередливый, щепетиль­ный to be particular about one's clothes (food, etc.); Mind your table manners, the people there are very particular. Phr. in particular в част­ности; в особенности, особенно Не did not mean anybody in particu­lar when he said it.

tear (tore, torn) vt разорвать, рвать to tear one's dress (a letter, etc.) Phr. tear smth in/into/to (small) pieces разорвать на (мелкие) кусочки; tear smth in half (two, three, etc. parts) разорвать пополам (на две, три и т.п. части)

pick up 1. поднимать, подбирать to pick up a pencil (a book, a hand­kerchief; passengers, etc.) 2. {coiloq) приобретать, находить, "подце­пить" to pick up an accent (manners, words, an expression, friends, a job, etc.)

nearly adu почти, чуть не It's nearly time to start. She nearly went mad when she heard it.

risk vt рисковать to risk one's life (one's health, money, one's rep­utation, etc.); to risk doing smth рисковать, отважиться, решиться что-л сделать; risk n риск to do smth at one's own risk; at the risk of one's life, health, etc.; He decided to take the risk. Phr. run the risk of doing smth рисковать, подвергаться риску, опасности Don't go out in such a rain, you are running the risk of catching cold; risky a рискованный, опасный a risky job (step, etc.)

employ vt держать на службе, предоставлять работу How many people does this office employ? She was employed at the Post Office. employee n служащий, работник The firm has about 1,000 employees. employer n предприниматель; работодатель, employment n служба, работа; занятость All people in our country have employment, unem­ployment n безработица Unemployment is one of many problems in capitalist countries, unemployed а безработный The number of unem­ployed in Great Britain reached one million in the first quarter of 1972.

serve vt 1. служить (родине, народу; в армии и т. п.) to serve one's country (one's people, etc.); He served in the Army (for) two years. 2. обслуживать (покупателя и т. п.) to serve a customer (a client, etc.) 3. подавать на стол (обед и т. п.) to serve dinner (tea, etc.); service n служба, обслуживание to take smb into one's service; to be in smb's service; bus (train, etc.) service; The service at the hotel was good. Phr. do smb a service оказать кому-л услугу. a self-service shop магазин самообслуживания

indifference n равнодушие, безразличие Не took the news with indifference. indifferent а равнодушный, безразличный to be indiffer­ent to smb/smth; an indifferent look (stare, etc.)

attend vt уделять внимание, заниматься чем-л to attend to one's work (one's business, one's lessons, customers, patients, smb's orders, etc.) He does not attend to his work properly. The doctor had some more patients to attend to. Your order will be attended to immediately.

taste (lit. & fig.) n вкус The dish has a pleasant taste. She has good (poor, etc.) taste in books (clothes, etc.). The joke was in bad taste. The apple is bitter to the taste. Phr. in smb's taste в чьем-л вкусе; to smb's taste по чьему-л вкусу. tasty а вкусный (о еде); tasteless а без­вкусный; taste 1. vt пробовать (на вкус) to taste an apple (a dish, etc.) 2. vi иметь вкус The fruit tastes good (sweet, bitter, etc.)

size n размер, величина; номер (перчаток, пальто и т. п.); to be of a large (small, etc.) size; to be large (small, different, etc.) in size; What size shoe (dress, etc.) do you wear? I take size six in shoes.

sharp a (lit. & fig.) острый, резкий, сильный, проницательный a sharp knife (wind, noise, remark, criticism, fight, look, child, etc.); sharp mind (eyes, etc.); Phr. be sharp = be quick; sharp adv точно Не came at three (o'clock) sharp. sharply adv резко She spoke very sharply to him.

loose a 1. свободный, просторный, широкий (об одежде) a loose coat (jacket, etc.) 2. свободный, неточный, слишком общий a loose transla­tion 3. не (плотно) прикрепленный, несвязанный, шатающийся a loose window (tooth, etc.)

fit vt годиться, быть впору (об одежде); подходить, соответство­вать The coat does not fit you, it is too loose. He fitted the description (role, etc.). Phr. fit like a glove сидеть как влитой (об одежде); (un)fit а (не)годный, (не)пригодный, (не)подходящий Не is fit for the job. The house was no longer fit to live in.

shake (shook, shaken) 1. vt (lit. & fig.) трясти, качать, потрясти to shake one's head (smb's hand, a tree, etc.); He shook me by the shoul­der. She was shaken by (at, with) the news Phr. shake hands with smb пожать руку кому-л, поздороваться за руку с кем-л 2. vi дрожать, трястись Her voice shook when she began to speak. He was shaking with fright (cold, laughter, etc.)

manage vt 1. суметь, удаваться (что-л сделать) How did you manage to get the book? 2. справляться с (кем-л, чем-л) to manage a child (a horse, a job, etc.). manager n заведующий, управляющий, manage­ment n управление, заведование; администрация

satisfy vt удовлетворять to satisfy a customer (smb's needs, one's hunger, etc.); His answer did not satisfy them. to be (dis)satisfied with smb/smth быть (не)удовлетворенным кем-л, чeм-л. dis(satisfaction) n (не)удовлетворение Не expressed (dis)satisfaction with the results. (un)satisfactory а (не)удовлетворительный an (un)satisfactory answer (report, etc.); (un)satisfactory results (progress, etc.)

deal (dealt) vt 1. рассматривать, касаться; иметь дело (с кем-л, чем-л) The book deals with modern art. He is easy to deal with. 2. тор­говать (чем-л) The firm deals in turbines.

WORD COMBINATIONS

make both ends meet сводить концы с концами

for smb's sake == for the sake of smb ради кого-л

for the sake of smth ради чего-л

on top of all (everything) ко всему, в довершение ко всему

for a while в течение некоторого времени, на время

to be (get) wet through промокнуть насквозь

in no time мгновенно, моментально, необыкновенно быстро

shortly before незадолго до

get rid of smb/smth избавляться, отделываться от кого-л, чего-л

be beside oneself with excitement (joy, anger, etc.) быть вне себя от волнения (радости, злости и т. п.)

be the making of smb содействовать успеху кого-л; обеспечить успех кому-л

the other day на днях, недавно

would rather (do smth) охотнее, лучше (сделать что-л)

try on примерять (об одежде, обуви, и т. д.)

made to measure (order) сделанный на заказ (об одежде)

clear one's throat откашляться

I (he, etc.) can't help doing smth я (он и т. п.) не могу (может) удержаться от чего-л

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