She got round to thinking that one of the most charming features of Clelia's room was its sense of prolonged nursery associations.6 The childhood objects were not only lovely in themselves, they were a link with some past and pleasantly remembered time.
They stayed in the bedroom for half an hour or so, talking, looking at the things, talking.
'I think it must be tea time,' said Clelia. 'I think we'd better go down.'
When they reached the drawing room, the only people there were Mrs Denham and Martin.
'This is Clara, mama,' said Clelia.
'Clara, yes,' said Mrs Denham. 'Clelia told me about you. Do sit down, have a cup of tea. Clara, will you have milk or lemon?'
'Lemon, please,' said Clara. And as she stirred her cup of tea, and sipped it, she lost track of the conversation entirely, so engrossed was she in the visual aspect of the scene presented to her:7 She did not know where first to look, so dazzling and amazing were the objects before her.
It was a large, high, long room, and so full of furniture and mirrors and pictures and books and chandeliers and hangings and refracted angles of light that the eye could at first glimpse in no way assess its dimensions.8 It seemed to be full of alcoves and angles,9 though the room itself was a plain rectangle: fish swam in a goldfish bowl on top of a bookcase, and flowers stood on small pedestals here and there. Over the marble mantelpiece was a huge oval mirror with an eagle adorning it. The floor was wooden, and polished, but most of it was covered by a large, intricately patterned coloured carpet.
On one wall hung a large picture of a classical, mythological nature: on another wall was an equally large picture of pale yellow and beige lines. The third wall was lined entirely with books, and the wall that looked over the garden was not a wall but a window, heavily shrouded with curtains of different fabrics and densities.10 Clara was astonished; she could compare the room to nothing in her experience. Mrs Denham herself made a fitting occupant for such a room.11 She talked of books, from what Clara, in her haze of observation, could hear:12 about some books that she was, ah yes, what was that word, reviewing? A critic, then? No, not a critic. A writer, then, perhaps: and Clara, searching for help, directed her excellent vision at the distant titles of the books on the shelves13 behind Martin's head. And help was forthcoming for there was a whole row of somehow familiar books, and the name on the back, she could just decipher it, was Candida something.14 Why, yes, of course, Candida Gray, a name that she had known for as many years as she had known any such names. In the sudden satisfaction of recognition, Clara nearly cried out, into the midst of the conversation, I read your book, I read that book of yours, I read Custom and Ceremony, but she didn't, she kept quiet, she did not want to betray, even directly, the novelty of her discovery.15 And she thought, a little aggrieved: I do think Clelia might have told me, how could she assume that I knew her mother's maiden name? Her discovery did, however, do much to help her understanding of the conversation. She began to feel that she knew where she was, a little: and after a while she too began to talk.
Proper Names
Clara ['kle(@)r@] — Клара
Denham ['den@m] — Денем
Margaret Drabble ['m¸g(@)rIt 'dr{bl] — Маргарет Дрэббл
Jerusalem [³@'rüs@l@m] — Иерусалим
Highgate ['haIgeIt] — Хайгейт
Clelia ['kli:lI@] — Клелия
Martin ['m¸tIn] — Мартин
Candida ['k{ndId@ 'greI] — Кандида Грей
Vocabulary Notes
1. ... wrought iron fence ... — ... кованая железная ограда ...
2. ... it was solid and heavily panelled ... — ... она была массивная, с тяжелой панельной обшивкой ...
3. 'I'll go and get her' — «Пойду и найду ее.»
4. Clara could not think of any scheme in which the man she had just seen could have been described as lovely, but she instantly invented one. — Клара не могла представить, с какой же стороны можно было бы охарактеризовать как привлекательного человека, которого она только что видела, но она тут же придумала, с какой.
5. The room's function — for it was, beneath all, a bedroom — was all but concealed. — Комната эта всё же служила спальней, хотя угадать это было непросто.
6. She got round to thinking that one of the most charming features ofClelia's room was its sense of prolonged nursery associations. — Она подумала, что одной из самых приятных особенностей комнаты Клелии было то, что в ней возникало ощущение, будто детство не ушло.
7. ... she lost track of the conversation entirely, so engrossed was she in the visual aspect of the scene presented to her. — ... она совершенно не слушала, о чём говорят, настолько она была очарована тем, что предстало перед ее глазами.
8. ... the eye could at first glimpse in no way assess its dimensions. — ... с первого взгляда нельзя было даже определить её размеры.
9. It seemed to be full of alcoves and angles ... — Казалось, в ней было полно ниш и закутков ...
10. ... heavily shrouded with curtains of different fabrics and densities. — ... плотно задрапированное занавесками из тканей разной выделки и плотности.
11. Mrs Denham herself made a fitting occupant for such a room. — Образ самой миссис Денэм очень соответствовал такой обстановке.
12. She talked of books, from what Clara, in her haze of observation, could hear... — Она говорила о книгах, и из её слов Клара, не вдумывавшаяся в их смысл, так как разглядывала предметы, могла уловить ...
13. ... and Clara, searching for help, directed her excellent vision at the distant titles of the books on the shelves ... — и Клара, у которой было отличное зрение, в поисках подсказки устремила взгляд на корешки с названиями книг, стоявших на полках у дальней стены ...
14. ... Candida something — ... какая-то Кандида.
15. ... she did not want to betray, even directly, the novelty other discovery. — ... даже прямо она не хотела обнаружить, что сделала для себя неожиданное открытие.
Comprehension Check
1. What was the Denhams' house like?
2. What was there in front of the building?
3. What did Clara choose, the bell or the brass ring?
4. Who opened the door?
5. Was Clara left alone on the doorstep or did the man let her in?
6. What was the hall like?
7. Where did Clelia take Clara?
8. Why was Clara staggered and bewitched mClelia's room?
9. Where did the girls go after half an hour?
10. Who was there in the drawing room?
11. What did Clara see in the drawing room?
12. What impression did the drawing room produce upon Clara?
13. Was Clara listening to the talk? Why?
14. How did Clara make her discovery?
15. Did Clara's discovery help her somehow or not?
Phonetic Text Drills
○ Exercise 1
Transcribe and pronounce correctly the words from the text.
Courtyard, elaborate, wrought iron, balding, diagonal, vaguely, scheme, quantity, bewitched, engrossed, chandelier, assess, dimension, intricately, mythological, beige, fabric, to review, forthcoming, to decipher, to aggrieve, to assume.
○ Exercise 2
Pronounce the words or phases where the following clusters occur.
1. consonant + w
It was, squared, and white, covered with, that way, invented one, lined with, and walls, was wooden.
2. plosive + 1
Middle, marble, instantly, almost lost, and letters, tables, glimpse, rectangle, mantelpiece, eagle, that looked, little.
3. plosive + m/n
Gulped nervously, and nodded, had never seen, could not think, did not feel, good many, but most of it, had known, told me.
4. plosive + fricative
Get her, and he, had shutters, glad you came, could have been, but she, looked hard, stirred her cup, occupant for, could hear, that she, directed her, and help, could she.
5. plosive + plosive
Paved courtyard, deep purple, had just seen, white door, but concealed, flowered cover, and postcards, adult decorations, great quantity, ancient toys, sit down, coloured carpet, could compare, kept quiet.
○ Exercise 3
Pronounce after the announcer and explain what kind of false assimilation may occur in the phrases below.
1. Was semi-detached, was separated, was painted, was tiled, was hard, was staggered, was she.
2. Of which, of tea, of furniture, of pale yellow, of somehow familiar, of course, of her discovery.
○ Exercise 4
Transcribe and intone the following sentences from the text. Note that the intonation pattern of sentences, starting with "there" is similar to the pattern of predicative statements. Explain the use of the intonation marks.
1. There was 'also a'\bell | and 'Clara 'chose the \bell ||
2. There \was 'also | she 'vaguely \noted | in 'one 'comer a pi\ano | and the 'windows had 'shutters of a kind that she had 'never 'seen in \England ||
3. There were a 'good 'many \books in the 'room | 'one 'wall was \lined ,with them | and they 'lay in 'heaps on 'chairs and on the \floor ||
EXERCISES
Exercise 1
Work with the text and say what we call:
— large pieces of cloth that we put as a decoration on a wall or a curtain over a window;
— a measurement in space such as length, width,or height;
— an open space wholly or partly surrounded by buildings, next to or inside a large house;
— a house that is one of a pair of joined houses;
— a paved surface or path at the side of a street for people to walk on;
— a sort of stone that is hard, cold to the touch, smooth when polished, and used for buildings and statues, etc.;
— the opening for a coal fire in the wall of a room, with a chimney above it and a hearth;
— a pair of wood or metal covers that can be unfolded in front of the outside of a window to block the view or keep out the light;
— a block of stone or wood forming the base of a doorway;
— a flight of stairs with a handrail;
— a small partly enclosed space in a room;
— a flat shape with four straight sides forming four right angles;
— a person who lives in a place, though without necessarily owning it;
— a frame surrounding a fireplace, especially the part on top which can be used as a small shelf;
— number of things, mass of material, piled up.
Exercise 2
Pick out all the words and word combinations which describe:
1. The hall in the Denhams' house;
2. The bedroom in the Denhams' house;
3. The drawing room in the Denhams' house.
Exercise 3
I. Find in the text nouns modified by the adjectives:
1. tall/high;
2. flowered/patterned;
3. large/huge.
II. Explain the difference in meaning between these adjectives and say in what other collocations they can be used. Give examples.
Exercise 4
I. Three names of building materials occur in the text: brass, marble, wood. Think of other names of materials and say what is usually made of them.
II. Three nouns denoting a certain number of things are used in the text: heap, quantity, row. Think of other similar nouns and say in what collocations they may occur.
Exercise 5
I. Work with the text and complete the list of participles II:
Paved, painted, ...
II. Complete the list of nouns, denoting furnishings or pieces of furniture:
A fireplace, a pot, ...
III. Complete the list of adjectives, used to describe a building, a room or furniture:
Tall, lovely, ... '
Exercise 6
I. Find sentences with the following adjectives and adverbs in the text. Read and translate the sentences.
elaborate distant solid
amazing ancient familiar
densely deep plain
huge classical intricately
II. Make up other parts of speech from these words where possible.
Exercise 7
Translate into English.
A.
Один из домов под общей крышей; четырёхэтажное здание; кованая железная ограда; калитка; звонок; стоять на пороге; общее впечатление; быть завешанным картинами; появиться из дверей; впустить кого-либо; распахнуть; выходить на что-либо (об окнах, комнате); цветастый; незаконченное полотно; отражённые лучи света; определить размеры; правильный прямоугольник; аквариум; украшать; с затейливым рисунком; плотно задрапированный; разной выделки.
В.
Было трудно сказать; такие, каких никогда не видел; следовать за кем-либо; по всем меркам; всматриваться; различить; никогда в жизни; размешивать сахар в чае; совершенно не слушать, о чём говорят; с первого взгляда; в поисках подсказки; знакомый; в середине разговора, немного огорчённо.
Exercise 8
Make up phrases opposite in meaning to the phrases from the text.
a tall building different fabrics
a steep hillside amazing objects
a large courtyard pale lines
deep purple charming features
throw open familiar books
Exercise 9
I. Find in the text sentences with phrases denoting location of things, translate them into Russian and ask your classmates to translate them back into English.
In front of, in the centre, on the doorstep, in most directions, at the far end, in one comer, to the second floor, on top of a bookcase, on small pedestals, over the mantelpiece, on one wall, on the shelves.
II. Try to reproduce the context where the following phrases occurred.
Covered with, lost beneath, lined with, pinned up, pasted on, carefully arranged, covered by.
Exercise 10
Put in the missing prepositions.
1. There was a marble statue of a Greek warrior... the far end of the hall.
2. The window of the bedroom looked ... the green park.
3. A long corridor led... the direction of a huge home library.
4. The garden was separated ... the street... a hedge running in a neat line.
5. The piano was placed ... the corner of a big dancing hall and so there remained enough space for dances.
6. Small semi-detached houses are scattered ... the hillside.
7. All walls in the library were lined ... bookshelves.
8. The two girls were standing ... the doorstep when they saw somebody in the garden.
9. The room was in a mess: everything lay ... heaps on the floor.
10. The hostess appeared... the back door so that it was hard to notice when she entered.
11. The house gave the impression ... a glass cube under a steel roof.
12. The walls of the bathroom were tiled ... green and white squares.
13. The book was lost... a heap of papers on the table.
14. There were lots of framed photographs... the mantelpiece.
Exercise 11