Analytical reading-Part 5

My Family and Other Animals

by Gerald Durrell

M

argo was always badly affected by the spring. Her personal appearance, always of absorbing interest to her, now became almost an obsession. Piles of freshly laundered clothes filled her bedroom, while the washing-line sagged under the weight of clothes newly washed. Singing shrilly and untunefully she would drift about the villa carrying piles of flimsy underwear or bottles of scent. She would seize every opportunity to dive into the bathroom, in a swirl of white towels, and once in there she was hard to dislodge. The family in turn would bellow and batter on the door, getting no more satisfaction than an assurance that she was nearly finished, an assurance we had learnt by bitter experience not to have any faith in. Eventually she would emerge, glowing and immaculate, and leave the house humming, to sunbathe in the olive groves or go down to the sea to swim.

            It was during one of these excursions that she met an over-good-looking young Turk. With unusual modesty she did not inform anyone of her secret bathing assignations. It was, of course, Spiro who discovered it. He watched over Margo’s welfare with the earnest concern of a St. Bernard, and there was precious she could do without Spiro knowing about it. He cornered Mother in the kitchen one morning, glanced surreptitiously round to make sure they were not overheard, sighed deeply, and broke the news to her.

            Acting on the information received, Mother mentioned the matter to Margo, and suggested that the young Turk be brought up to tea. Mother hastily made a cake, and warned the rest of us to be on our best behaviour. Delighted, Margo went off to fetch him.

Lexical analysis:

affect v influence, touch, impress, strike, sway are more or less closely synonymous when  they mean to produce or to have an effect upon a person or upon a thing capable of a reaction¾действам на, въздействам на, повлиявам на, засягам

check out the Bulgarian equivalents of the following verbs:

1. Affect always presupposes a stimulus powerful enough to evoke a response or elicit a reaction (our eardrums are affected by ten octaves, at most, out of the endless range of sounds— Jeans) (even changes of season affect the townsman very little—Huxley) Often, in addition, affect implies a definite alteration or modification (I am afraid . . . that this adventure has rather affected your admiration of her fine eyes— Austen) When the object of the verb is a person, an intellectual or emotional effect is usually implied (such poetry affects one as trite and meaningless) (the sight affected her to tears)
2. Influence always presupposes an agent that moves a person or thing in some way or to some degree from a course, or effects changes in nature, character, or behavior
3. Touch frequently equals affect, but it often carries a more vivid suggestion of close contact or of the force of an impact, and therefore variously connotes stirring, arousing, or harming (he was for the first time powerfully touched by the presence of a woman— Anderson) Touch, most often, but impress and strike always, imply a mental or emotional effect
4. Impress usually stresses the depth and the lastingness of the effect, for something that impresses is commonly what is remembered or noticed or is worth remembering or noticing (only one of the speeches that evening impressed him) (the men he wanted to impress were only amused—Anderson)
5. Strike is often felt to be more colloquial than impress and less rich in its suggestions (a hat that struck her fancy) However strike connotes suddenness or sharpness of response rather than depth of impression; it may even carry a hint of a swift passing (the remark struck him as extremely acute) (they strike mine eyes, but not my heart—Ben Jonson)
6. Sway, which basically means to influence, differs from the latter word in implying both the pressure or control of some force that is either not resisted or is in itself irresistible, and resulting change or fluctuation in character, opinions, or decisions of the person concerned (влияя на, въздействам на; he is not to be ~ed той е непоколебим, не може да му севъздейства)

assignation n arrangement to meet, meeting, rendezvous, get-together, appointment

surreptitious adj underhand, underhanded, secret, covert, stealthy, furtive, clandestine

Ana sneaking, slinking, skulking, lurking (see LURK): hidden, concealed, screened (see HIDE)¾adj таен, потаен, подмолен, нелегален; ~ look поглед изпод вежди

…singing shrilly and untunefully¾като пееше пискливо (пронизително) и фалшиво

...bottles of scent¾шишенца с аромати

... piles of flimsy underwear¾купчини ефирно бельо

... in a swirl of white towels¾във водовъртеж от бели хавлии

... the family in turn would bellow and batter on the door¾семейството се изреждаше да вика и тропа на вратата

... she met an over-good-looking young Turk¾тя срещна един твърде добре изглеждащ млад турчин

... with the earnest concern of a St. Bernard¾със сериозната (решителната) загриженост на санбернар (a St. Bernard¾a Swiss breed of rescue dogs)