Analytical reading-Part 16

From Martin Eden

Jack London

T

he days were too short. There was so much he wanted to study. He cut his sleep down to five hours and found that he could get along upon it. He tried four hours and a half, and regretfully came back to five. He could joyfully have spent any one of his waking hours upon any one of his pursuits. It was with regret that he ceased from writing to study, that he ceased from study to go to the library. It was very hard for him, when he was with Ruth, to stand up and go; and he hurried through the dark streets as to get home to his books at the least possible waste of time. And hardest of all was it to shut up the algebra or physics, put notebook and pencil aside, and close his tired eyes to sleep. He hated the thought of ceasing to live, even for so short a time, and his sole consolation was that the alarm clock was set five hours ahead. He would lose only five hours anyway, and then the clock would wake him up and he would have before him another glorious day of nineteen hours.

                In the meantime the weeks were passing, his money was going, and there was no money coming in. A month after he had mailed it, the adventure serial for boys was returned to him by “The Youth’s Companion”. The rejection slip was so tactfully worded that he felt kindly toward the editor. But he did not feel so kindly toward the editor of “The San Francisco Examiner”. After waiting for two whole weeks, Martin had written to him. A week later he wrote again. At the end of the month he went over to San Francisco and personally called upon the editor. But he did not meet that gentleman, thanks to a Cerberus of an office boy, of tender years and red hair, who guarded the door. At the end of the fifth week the manuscript came back to him, by mail, without comment. There was no rejection slip, no explanation, nothing. In the same way his other articles were tied up with the other leading San Francisco papers. When he recovered them, he sent them to the magazines of the East, from which they were returned more quickly, accompanied always by the printed rejection slip.

Notes and comments:

Mark the preposition usage in:

He could get along upon five hours of sleep—also possible with = Можеше да мине с пет часа сън.

He could have spent these hours upon any one of his pursuits. = Можеше да прекара тези часове във всяко едно от заниманията си.

He ceased from writing to study (no preposition in Bulgarian) = Спираше да пише, за да учи.

An office boy of tender age and red hair = Разсилен в крехка възраст и с рижа коса.

to be wide awake to one’s duty = чувството за дълг е будно в мен

waking hours - (ant.) bedtime

wakeful = 1) страдащ от безсъние; 2) бдителен

a Cerberus of an office boy—разсилен-цербер

a lion of a soldier—безстрашен войник

a midget of a fellow—човек-джудже

a riddle of a woman—жена-загадка

a devil of a woman—жена-дявол

to hate the guts of s.b. —мразя някого в червата

to hate the thought of doing smth. —противна ми е самата мисъл да направя нещо

to hate to think of smth. —не обичам да мисля за

to have a hatred for—изпитвам ненавист към

a woman-hater—женомразец

to word = to formulate = to phrase = to articulate = to express in semantic terms

the wording of a communiqué

to put into words—давам словесен израз на

word for word—дословно

by word of mouth—лично предадено

to get word of—получавам известие за

the word of it spread—новината за това се разнесе

a man of few words—лаконичен човек

to slip into foul practices—затъвам в лоши навици

to slip into oblivion—потъвам в забвение

a rejection slip—a rejection form

a slip of the tongue—грешка на езика (from Latin lapsus linguae)

to be slipshod—немарлив съм

to speak in a slipshod manner—говоря небрежно

slippery ground—хлъзгав терен

slippers—чехли

a slip—парче, къс, ивица, (прен.) малко нещо

a slip of wood—треска, дъсчица

a slip of a garden—мъничка градинка

There is many a slip ’twixt the cup and the lip (proverb) —Нищо не е сигурно, докато не приключи.

a leading paper—водещ/авторитетен вестник

a leading figure—видна личност

a leading article—уводна статия

a leading team—водещ отбор