Analytical reading-Part 24

James Thurber

From University Days

I

t wasn’t that agricultural student but it was another a whole lot like him who decided to take up journalism possibly on the ground that when farming went to pot he could fall back on newspaper work. He didn’t realize, of course, that that would be very much like falling back full length on a kit of carpenter’s tools. Haskins didn’t seem cut for journalism, being too embarrassed to talk to anybody and unable to use a typewriter, but the editor of the college paper assigned him to the cow barns, the sheep house, the horse pavilion, and the animal husbandry department generally. This was a genuinely big “beat,” for it took up five times as much ground and got ten times as great a legislative appropriation as the college of Liberal Arts. The agricultural student knew animals, but nevertheless his stories were dull and colorlessly written. He took all afternoon on each of them, on account of having to hunt for each letter on the typewriter. Once in a while he had to ask somebody to help him hunt. “C” and “L,” in particular, were hard letters for him to find. His editor finally got pretty much annoyed at the farmer-journalist because his pieces were so uninteresting. “See, here, Haskins,” he snapped at him one day, “why is it we never have something hot from you on the horse pavilion? Here we have two hundred head of horses on this campus—more than any other university in the Western Conference except Purdue—and yet you never get any real lowdown on them. Now shoot over to the horse barns and dig up something lively.” Haskins shambled out and came back in about an hour; he said he had something. “Well, start it off snappily,” said the editor. “Something people will read.” Haskins set to work and in a couple of hours brought a sheet of typewritten paper to the desk; it was a two-hundred-word story about some disease that had broken out among the horses. Its opening sentence was simple but arresting. It read: “Who has noticed the sores on the tops of the horses in the animal husbandry building?”

Notes and comments:

to take up—заемам се с, започвам да се занимавам с

to go in for—занимавам се с, участвам в (Ex.: to go in for politics; to go in for sports—спортувам

to go in for an examination—явявам се на изпит

to go in for a competition—участвам в състезание

I don’t go in for fur coats—не съм по (не нося, не обичам) кожените палта

to engage in—занимавам се с, включвам се в, залавям се с, заемам се с, захващам се с

to embark on—(прен.) предприемам, започвам, залавям се с, впускам се в

to take something in hand—заемам се с нещо

to fall back on/upon—прибягвам до/към

to resort to-прибягвам до/към

to have recourse to—обръщам се за помощ към

to run to—(прен.) изпадам в, отивам до (Ex.: to run to the other extreme—изпадам в другата крайност)

hunting kit—ловджийска екипировка

a kit of tools—комплект инструменти, набор

soldier’s kit—войнишка торба

first-aid kit—личен превързочен пакет, походна аптечка

to go to pot-sl. отивам по дяволите

to fail completely-пропадам, загазвам, провалям се

to come to naught-осуетявам се

to lose the day-претърпявам загуба, загубвам сражението

to come a cropper-не успявам/сполучвам, пропадам, загазвам, провалям се; разорявам се, фалирам, претърпявам крах

to be cut (out) for—to show natural ability for = създаден съм само за

big bug-big gun-big dog-big shot-big pot-big wig = (прен.) важна особа, голяма клечка, големец

big beat—“големия джаз”

big deal(!)—sl. “голямо нещо,” “голяма работа” (използва се предимно иронично)

Ex.: “When you’ve washed the dishes, made the beds, and prepared the vegetables for dinner, I’ll give you 50p.” “Oh, thank you! Big deal!”

legislative appropriation—funds allocated by the Federal Government to the separate states = предназначаване/отпускане/определяне/разпределяне на суми на отделните щати от Федералното правителство на САЩ за определена цел

to hunt for a job-to look/search for a job¾to seek an opportunity = търся работа

(n.) a job-seeker

to fish in one’s handbag—ровя из чантичката си

to fumble in one’s pockets—тършувам из джобовете си

to rummage a prison—правя тараш в затвор

to ransack premises—правя полицейско претърсване

to ransack one’s brains/memories—опитвам се да си спомня

a man-hunt—хайка за хора

a search(-)warrant—разрешение/заповед за обиск

a house-to-house search—обиск на всички къщи

to be annoyed at—to be vexed with—to be irritated by = раздразнен/ядосан съм от

to snap at—to retort; to address in an angry, curt manner = (прен.) озъбвам се на, отговарям грубо (троснато, отсечено)

to snap one’s fingers—изщраквам с пръсти

The thin oar was ready to snap. = Тънкото весло заплашваше да се счупи.

to snap up—разграбвам (идеята е при покупка на особено търсена стока)

Ex.: The tickets are being snapped up like hot cakes. = Билетите буквално се разграбват.

a snapshot—моментална снимка

to start off snappily—започвам поривисто/чевръсто/живо

to shamble—тътря се, влача си краката, влача се, мъкна се (syn. to lag behind, to dawdle, to saunter, to loiter, to linger, to dally, to idle, to fall behind, to hang back, to tarry, to delay)

Shoot over to… = Бягай до…

to arrest one’s attention-to attract one’s attention¾to draw one’s attention = привличам нечие внимание

to divert one’s attention-to distract someone’s attention¾to get one’s attention to ramble = отвличам нечие внимание

to pay attention to—обръщам внимание на

to stand to attention—заставам “мирно”

to give a lady one’s attentions—ухажвам дама

to be sore on somebody—(to be irritated) = имам “зъб” някому

to feel sore about not being invited to the party

to make someone pay sorely for—връщам си тъпкано някому

to have a sore throat—имам възпалено гърло