Analytical reading-Part 11

From Dracula

Bram Stoker

S

oon we were hemmed in with trees, which in places arched right over the roadway till we passed as through a tunnel; and again great frowning rocks guarded us boldly on either side. Though we were in shelter, we could hear the rising wind, for it moaned and whistled through the rocks, and the branches of the trees crashed together as we swept along. It grew colder and colder still, and fine, powdery snow began to fall, so that soon we and all around us were covered with a white blanket. The keen wind still carried the howling of the dogs, though this grew fainter as we went on our way. The baying of the wolves sounded nearer and nearer, as though they were closing round on us from every side. I grew dreadfully afraid, and the horses shared my fear; but the driver was not in the least disturbed. He kept turning his head to left and right, but I could not see anything through the darkness.

                Suddenly, away on our left, I saw a faint flickering blue flame. The driver saw it at the same moment; he at once checked the horses and, jumping to the ground, disappeared into the darkness. I did not know what to do, the less as the howling of the wolves grew closer; but while I wondered the driver suddenly appeared again, and without a word took his seat, and we resumed our journey. I think I must have fallen asleep and kept dreaming of the incident, for it seemed to be repeated endlessly, and now, looking back, it is like a sort of awful nightmare. Once the flame appeared so near the road that even in the darkness around us I could watch the driver’s motions. He went rapidly to where the blue flame arose—it must have been very faint, for it did not seem to illumine the place around it at all—and gathering a few stones, formed them into some device. Once there appeared a strange optical effect: when he stood between me and the flame he did not obstruct it, for I could see its ghostly flicker all the same. This startled me, but as the effect was only momentary, I took it that my eyes deceived me straining through the darkness. Then for a time there were no blue flames, and we sped onwards through the gloom, with the howling of the wolves around us, as though they were following in a moving circle.

Notes and comments:

to hem in/about/round-ограждам, обкръжавам, заобикалям (with)

to guard a prisoner-пазя пленник

to guard a tradition-пазя традиция

to guard from/against-предпазвам от, опазвам от, закрилям от

guard of honour-почетна стража

on guard-на пост

under close guard-под строга охрана

to go on guard-поемам караула

to come off guard-свършвам караула

to relieve guard-сменям караула

to keep something a guarded secret-пазя нещо под строга тайна

to rise to the surface-издигам се (изплувам) на повърхността

to rise to greatness-ставам велик

to rise in the world-прен. издигам се

to rise to one’s feet-ставам на крака

to rise from the dead-възкръсвам от мъртвите

Her colour rose. Тя пламна (се изчерви).

Tears rose to her eyes. В очите й бликнаха сълзи.

A picture rose in my mind. В паметта ми изникна картина.

to rise above-прен. издигам се над

rise to power-идване на власт

to give rise to-предизвиквам, пораждам

to sweep by/past/along/down-преминавам бързо, профучавам, нося се

A wave swept the deck. Една вълна заля палубата.

to sweep the board-syn. to gather the whole pot; обирам всичко (при хазарт); прен. спечелвам всички награди

a sweep-syn. an expanse; пространство, протежение

a fine sweep of grass-прекрасна затревена (тревиста) площ

sweeping reforms-радикални реформи

a sweeping statement/generalization-твърде необосновано твърдение/обобщение

howling-ревящ, виещ, стенещ; прен. крещящ

a howling tempest-ураган

It is a howling shame that… Цял скандал е, че…

a howling wilderness-пустиня/пустош, пълна с диви зверове

to check-спирам, възпирам, сдържам

incident-syn. affair, circumstance, episode, event, fact, happening, occasion; accident

to put/set something in motion-пускам в движение

to make a motion towards the door-запътвам се към вратата, понечвам да тръгна към вратата

She motioned him to a chair. Тя му кимна (даде знак) да седне на стола.

device-способ, приспособление, изобретение, апарат, устройство, механизъм

to leave someone to his/her own devices-оставям някого да си блъска главата

things of rare/strange device-изкусно/странно изработени неща

to raise a ghost-викам (извиквам) дух

as white as a ghost-смъртно блед, блед като смъртник

ghost town-запустял град

He is a ghost of his former self. Станал/Заприличал e на сянка.

not to have the ghost of a chance-нямам ни най-малък изглед за успех

a ghost of a smile-едва забележима (бегла) усмивка

to ghost-write-пиша вместо друг автор, редактирам анонимно работата на друг

ghosted memoirs-memoirs compiled by a ghost-writer

vague shapes, looking ghostly in the darkness

a face blue with cold-посиняло от студ лице

You may talk till you are blue in the face! Можеш да говориш до пръсване/посиняване!

to look blue-имам унил вид

to look blue around the gills-имам болнав/измъчен/лош вид

things are looking blue-нещата изглеждат зле, лоша работа

to feel blue-в лошо/потиснато настроение съм

once in a blue moon-много рядко, от дъжд на вятър

blue-blooded-с аристократичен произход

a bolt from the blue-гръм от ясно небе

to have the blues-обзет съм от меланхолия, в лошо настроение съм

it gives me the blues-потиска ме, разваля ми настроението

to appear/come out of the blue-появявам се неочаквано

Analytical reading-Part 10

From Stepping Westward

Malcolm Bradbury

O

n the day after, the teaching programme began. The wooden hut occupied by the English Department was next to one of the main paths that led across the campus, so that from their offices the members of the faculty could see the co-eds flouncing past their windows, notebooks in their arms, on their way from class to class. On fine days they wore neat blouses and skirts or else cut-off jeans and T-shirts with the Greek letters of their sororities painted in white across their backs; on wet ones they wore slickers in red and blue and yellow or, if it was cold, quilted or fur-lined jackets with hoods. The men wore denims and shirts, or sweaters with the university crest across the bosom. They were a bright sight, and Walker spent a good deal of time peering through the fly-screens on his windows at this campus display. It took place every hour, when the bell rang, the floors boomed, and classes emptied out. The faculty dashed in and out of their offices, taking off and putting on their jackets, servicing the many needs of the students. You could see them as you walked down the corridors, teaching affably, the door open, their voices genial from the podium. The teaching associates, who taught only the composition classes and were usually working for graduate degrees as well, were packed six or eight to an office and could be seen there, with the doors again open, marking themes, preparing classes, writing novels, smoking and occasionally eating lunch. All these people were mentors for Walker in the conduct of his academic life, these men of abstract ideas who read Shakespeare in the morning and played with a football on the grass in the afternoon. They were neither convincingly intellectual nor convincingly philistine; they mixed the materialistic and the aesthetic approaches; they were coarse where they might be sensitive and sensitive where they might be coarse.

Notes and comments:

blind path-едва забележима пътека

beaten path/track-(и прен.) утъпкан път

pathfinder-водач, изследовател (на непознати, непроучени, диви земи)

the path of a tornado-посоката на движение на торнадо

to dash to the ground-тръшкам o земята

to dash to pieces-разбивам на парчета

to make a dash for-затичвам се към

to dash somebody’s hopes-унищожавам нечии надежди

philistine-еснафски

coarse jokes-груби шеги

coarse-featured-с груби (едри) черти (за лице)

coarse-minded-неделикатен, груб

Give the meaning of each of the following words:

digger, brawler, flier, onlooker, drawer, stammerer, swimmer, diner-out, dyer, chatterer, hopper, comer-by, designer, whisperer, spinner, finder-out, burnisher, admirer, snuffer, baby-sitter, carver, avenger, sower, propeller, can-opener, atomizer, silencer, tooth-picker, fanner, eraser, three-decker, condenser, poker, two-seater, boiler, six-bedder, lawyer, collier, courtier, glazier, soldier, sawyer, grazier, cashier, generator, compressor, creditor, creator, indicator, collector, oppressor, survivor, radiator, selector, conductor, inheritor, insulator, inspector, protector, visitor, refrigerator, director, conqueror, manipulator, lubricator, elector, supervisor, vendor, operator, editor, sailor 

Memorize the following words and use them in sentences of your own:

scholar, friar, commissar, registrar, pillar, singular, bursar, burglar, pedlar, liar, beggar, grammar, dollar, familiar, circular, spectacular, altar, caterpillar, regular, cellar, collar, peculiar, sugar, calendar

Analytical reading-Part 9

From Eating People Is Wrong

Malcolm Bradbury

T

erm had just begun. Professor Treece, Head of the Department of English, sat at his desk, his back to the window, with the cold, clear October light shining icily over his shoulders on the turbulent heaps of papers upon his desk, on the pale young faces of three new students. As the rain rattled against the panes behind him, and the students stared speculatively out at the last leaves falling damply from the trees, Professor Treece spoke sonorously. His comments were academic and solid. To speak in this mode had meant, over the last years, a certain settling down, a certain closing in of interests, a certain assumption of weighty mannerisms. It was not that he had ever been what was called, disparagingly, in the Senior Common Room a “bohemian”, or “a bit of a wild man”; if he had affectations, they were all permissible ones. The matter of it was really that for this appointment he was a very young man. Not too many years behind him were the wet and lonely days of postgraduate research, which persisted for him in the image of walking, with a briefcase full of books, among cold Bloomsbury houses, near the British Museum, breathing in the odour of the Underground Railway and of teashops that smelled always of weak tea.

Notes and comments:

to rattle-тропам, чукам, тракам, хлопам, трополя, трещя, гърмя, дрънча

to rattle the sabre-дрънкам оръжие, заплашвам с война

death rattle-предсмъртно хъркане

rattle-brain-прен. празноглавец, глупак, празнодумец (to be rattle-brained)

a rattling breeze-чудесен/прекрасен вятър

rattle snake-гърмяща змия

to close in-намалявам, стеснявам (интереси и пр.)

to draw to a close-наближавам края си, завършвам

the close of the season-закриване (край) на сезона

close-down-затваряне на фабрики и пр., спиране на производството

close confinement-строг тъмничен затвор

a close call-syn. almost an accident, disaster or failure; критична ситуация

in close proximity-в непосредствена близост

close coordination-тясно сътрудничество

to shoot at close range-стрелям отблизо/в упор

close resemblance-голяма прилика

close study/examination-внимателно/щателно проучване

to follow close behind-следвам отблизо, вървя по петите на

to keep close to the original-придържам се към оригинала (при превод и пр.)

close to-syn. almost; почти

We didn’t actually hit the other car, but it was a close call. Не се ударихме с другата кола, но се разминахме на косъм.

basic assumption-syn. prerequisite; основно положение, предпоставка

popular assumption-общоразпространено мнение

on the assumption that-в случай, че

disparaging-пренебрежителен, презрителен, непочтителен

disparagement-очерняне, подценяване, пренебрежително отношение

This is not written in disparagement of his work. С тези редове не желая да подценя работата му.

to run wild-раста без контрол/на свобода (за деца)

to lead a wild life-водя разгулен живот

to spread like wildfire-разпространявам се като мълния (за слухове и пр.)

wild disorder-страшен безпорядък

wild with joy-полудял от радост

wild with rage-обезумял от ярост

to be wild/crazy about someone-луд съм по някого, падам си по някого

a wild-goose chase-syn. a foolishly useless enterprise; безнадеждна работа, търсене на нещо несъществуващо

to send someone on a wild-goose chase-пращам някого за зелен хайвер, пращам някого да гони Михаля

Form adjectives from the nouns given below:

eloquence, adolescence, innocence, silence, evidence, transparency, turbulence, reverence, refluence, abhorrence, absence, affluence, antecedence, benevolence, coincidence, competence, concurrence, confidence, consequence, corpulence, correspondence, currency, delinquency, dependence, despondency, diffidence, efficiency, imminence, impatience, imprudence, impudence, indolence, inherence, malevolence, obedience, insolence, occurrence, convenience, eminence, existence, prominence, recurrence, prudence, precedence, consistence

Fill in the blanks with –a or –e in the following sentences:

The children are impati…nt to start.

He had the impud…nce to say that I was telling lies.

He has an inher…nt love of beauty.

Soldiers act in obedi…nce to the orders of their officers.

It requires pati…nce to knit a jumper.

What is your prefer…nce?

He was requestioned in the pres…nce of a large number of people.

Somehow provid…nce preserved him from the fate of the others.

You should make refer…nce to a dictionary.

There wasn’t enough evid…nce to prove him guilty of the crime.

This may arouse resist…nce.

He is a nuis…nce.

Her perform…nce was excell…nt.

The doctor ordered him total abstin…nce.

This afflu…nt society was strange to him.

In spite of her appar…nt indiffer…nce, she gave him the cheap-hotel-sign smile.

No admitt…nce!

He is an old acquaint…nce of mine.

She told him everything in a burst of confid…nce.

He is an ard…nt adher…nt to this idea.

I call this depend…nce upon the circumst…nces.

His accept…nce of the nuis…nce is in accord…nce with his prud…nce.

Memorize the following set expressions:

impudent accusation, obedient boy, to give evidence, in silence, a fair inference, indolent student, at your earliest convenience, a consistent friend, prudent answer, turbulent water, transparent curtains, succulent meat, resplendent Christmas tree, to live in affluence, absences from school, benevolent man, concurrence of ideas, competent knowledge, a man of consequence, current events, corpulent person, turbulent passions, an appliance for opening tins, a convalescent hospital, in accordance with, a clear utterance, an emergency fund, a violent wind, a fearful vengeance, in compliance with your wishes, a look of deep significance, his easy assurance of manner, an efficient secretary

Analytical reading-Part 8

From The Avenging Chance

Anthony Berkeley

F

or a moment Beresford demurred politely and then, most unfortunately for himself, accepted. The money so saved meant nothing to him for he was a wealthy man; but trouble was always worth saving.

            By an extraordinarily lucky chance neither the outer wrapper of the box nor its covering letter were thrown into the fire, and this was the more fortunate in that both men had tossed the envelopes of their letters into the flames. Sir William did, indeed, make a bundle of the wrapper, letter and string, but he handed it over to Beresford, and the latter simply dropped it inside the fender. This bundle the porter subsequently extracted and, being a man of orderly habits, put it tidily away in the waste-paper basket, whence it was retrieved later by the police.

            Of the three unconscious protagonists in the impending tragedy, Sir William was without doubt the most remarkable. Still a year or two under fifty, he looked, with his flaming red face and thick-set figure, a typical country squire of the old school, and both his manners and his language were in accordance with tradition. His habits, especially as regards women, were also in accordance with tradition—the tradition of the bold, bad baronet which he undoubtedly was.

            In comparison with him, Beresford was rather an ordinary man, a tall, dark, not unhandsome fellow of two-and-thirty, quiet and reserved. His father had left him a rich man, but idleness did not appeal to him, and he had a finger in a good many business pies.

            Money attracts money. Graham Beresford had inherited it, he made it, and, inevitably, he had married it, too. The daughter of a late ship owner in Liverpool, with not far off half a million in her own right. But the money was incidental, for he needed her and would have married her just as inevitably (said his friends) if she had not had a farthing. A tall, rather serious-minded, highly cultured girl, and not so young that her character had not had time to form (she was twenty-five when Beresford married her, three years ago), she was the ideal wife for him. A bit of a Puritan perhaps in some ways, but Beresford, was ready enough to be a Puritan himself by that time if she was. To make no bones about it, the Beresfords succeeded in achieving that eighth wonder of the modern world, a happy marriage.

Notes and comments:

to demur [di’m¶:] (-rr-) противя се, дърпам се, опъвам се, колебая се

without demur(ring) без колебание/възражение, безпрекословно

in that syn. inasmuch as, since, because; тъй като, защото

manners pl. (добри) обноски, държание, поведение, маниери

in this manner по този начин

in such a manner that по такъв начин, че

bad manners лошо/невъзпитано държание

to have no manners липсва ми възпитание

a novel after the manner of Michael Crichton роман в стила на Майкъл Крайтън

good manners добро държание, благоприличие, учтивост

it’s bad manners to невъзпитано/неучтиво е да

reserved--reticent, antisocial, bashful, demure, diffident, modest, quiet, restrained, shy, silent, taciturn, timid, uncommunicative, unsociable, withdrawn

to have a finger in the pie имам пръст в, меся се в, участвам в

done by the finger of God божа работа

not to lift a finger не си мърдам и пръста

a finger of brandy един пръст бренди

to make no bones about не се церемоня, не се стеснявам, не му цепя басмата

to bone up--(амер. разг.) зубря, кълва

Copy the words listed below into two groups according to their suffix –ance or –ence. Learn those words and try to use them in sentences of your own.

benevolence, ambulance, equivalence, vigilance, excellence, prevalence, jubilance, violence, turbulence, resemblance, condolence, corpulence, pestilence, indolence, opulence, virulence, admittance, competence, reluctance, inheritance, persistence, existence, circumstance, resistance, insistence, transmittance, distance, subsistence, assistance, importance, acceptance, acquaintance, accidence, abundance, dependence, evidence, coincidence, attendance, providence, incidence, independence, guidance, residence, superintendence, accordance, confidence, diffidence, resplendence, conscience, luxuriance, disobedience, experience, obedience, radiance, efficiency, brilliance, sapience, audience, sufficiency, alliance, appliance, reliance, compliance, defiance, variance, annoyance, convenience, expediency, patience, proficiency, subservience, consistency, delinquency, eloquence, mellifluence, fluency, sequence, consequence, influence, continuance, reference, preference, conference, abhorrence, severance, utterance, adherence, deference, inference, sufferance, concurrence, transference, reverence, occupancy, clearance, assurance, endurance, appearance, interference, forbearance, reassurance, disappearance, coherence, procurance

Insert –a or –e:

allow…nce, disturb…nce, griev…nce, nuis…nce, perform…nce, abhorr…nce, afflu…nce, circumfer…nce, coincid…nce, compet…nce, concurr…nce, condol…nce, confid…nce, consequ…nce, corpul…nce, curr…ncy, defer…nce, delinqu…ncy, depend…nce, despond…ncy, differ…nce, diffid…nce, effici…ncy, continu…nce, immin…nce, impati…nce, imprud…nce, impud…nce, infer…nce, inherit…nce, malevol…nce, melliflu…nce, obedi…nce, occurr…nce, opul…nce, consist…ncy, constitu…ncy, conveni…nce, emin…nce, excell…nce, exist…nce, expedi…ncy, flu…ncy, perman…nce, prefer…nce, promin…nce, prud…nce, alli…nce, appli…nce, reli…nce, defi…nce, rever…nce, subsist…nce, transpar…ncy, turbul…nce, innoc…nce, eloqu…nce, adolesc…nce, luxuri…nce, brilli…nce, radi…nce, audi…nce, abund…nce, attend…nce, guid…nce

Translate into English!

Иван Вазов

“под игото”

            Тая вечер Марко беше в добро настроение на духа. Той с любопитство следеше боричкането на ситите, с розови бузички деца, които цепеха въздуха със звънливите си смехове. На всеки миг те образуваха живописна група, из която шумно излазяха звънливи крясъчета, весели кискания, сърдити гласчета: те приличаха на рояк птичета, що играят из клоните. Но тая невинна радостна игра сдоби изведнъж по-войнствен характер: ръчичките замахаха по-живо, размениха се малки юмручета, чуха се застрашителни крикчета и се вдигна писък и врява, птичият концерт се обърна на сражение… Победители и победени—всички се затекоха към баща си да се тъжат или оправят. Един сочеше баба си за защитник, друг назначаваше майка си за прокурор. Сега от безпристрастен зрител Марко се обърна на съдия. По право и по длъжност той трябваше да гледа делото. Но съдията, въпреки съдебната практика, не щя да чуе ни обвинения, ни защита, а издаде присъда: някои погали по главичките, други потегли за ушите, а най-малките—сиреч обидените—той целуна по бузките.

            И народът се умири.

Analytical reading-Part 7

Couples

By John Updike

T

he house had been built as a one-storey cottage around 1900. In the early twenties it had been jacked up on posts and a new first floor built under it, with a long screened porch that darkened the living room. Then new owners had added a servant’s wing whose level differed by two steps from the main structure. Piet showed Angela the shabby carpentry, the crumbling gypsum wallboard, the corroded iron plumbing, the antique wiring with its brittle rubber insulation, the rattling sashes chewed by animals and rain. A skylight in the main bedroom leaked. The only heat came from a single round register in the living-room floor, above a manually fed coal furnace in an unwalled clay hole. A full cellar would have to be excavated. Solid interior walls and a complete heating system were essential. The roof must be replaced. Gutters, sashes. Ceilings. The kitchen was quaint, useless; servants had run it, summers only, making lobster salads. On the two windward sides the cedar shingles had been warped and whitened and blown away. Forty thousand the asking price, and twelve more immediately, minimum. It was too much to ask him to take on. Standing at the broad slate sink contemplating the winter view of ditch-traversed marsh and the brambled islands of hawthorn and alder and the steel-blue channel beyond and the rim of dunes white as salt and above all the honed edge of ocean, Angela at last agreed.

Lexical analysis:

house

types of houses: cottage, hut, shack, shed, shanty, cabin, chalet, bungalow, country house, manor house, lodge, villa, mansion, palace, castle, detached house, semidetached house, terraced/row house, tenement house, condominium, skyscraper, penthouse, bedsitter, a two-/three-/multistory building, flat/apartment, brownstone

parts of a house: chamber, lounge, parlour, larder, pantry, scullery, attic, loft, garret, cellar, basement, hall, hallway, vestibule, foyer, lobby, porch, verandah, balcony, terrace

jacked up—to jack up—to lift with a jack крик: to jack up a car

shabby—dingy, dilapidated, dog-eared, mangy, paltry, ragged, seedy, tattered, lousy, decrepit

crumbling—to crumble—decay, deteriorate, disintegrate, decompose

plumbing—mute ‘b’

insulation—but in Bulgarian изолация

sashes—a sash—frame of a window or door рамка на прозорец

skylight—a glass-covered opening in a roof to let in light

leaked—to leak—to let some liquid/gas in/out of a crack; leeks—(usually pl.) a vegetable of the onion type праз лук

register—a hot-air register—one controlling the flow of  hot air in a building, heated from a basement fire or furnace

essential—essential to sb/smth; important for sb/to smth, interesting to sb

roof—like motif, belief, handkerchief, chef, chief—do not change the final’f’on forming plural forms

scarf, wharf, hoof—show both patterns for forming their plural forms—scarf→scarfs/scarves, hoof→hoofs/hooves, etc.

gutter—1) an open pipe fixed at the lower edge of a roof to collect rainwater; 2) a channel at the side of the street

run it—to be in charge of: to run a place/a company/one’s life

            phrasal verbs:

to run off with smth—to run away with

to run out of smth—to have finished smth

to run through sb’s fortune—to spend it away

to run up a bill—to make a great bill

            to run smth up in a shop—to find smth

            to run across smth/into sb—to come across/to meet unexpectedly

shingle—a small thin piece of wood or a tile laid in rows to cover a roof or wall шинда, шиндел (дъсчица, използвана вм. керемида)

warped—to warp—to turn or twist out of shape: (Syn.) to distort, to contort, to misshape

whitened—to whiten—варосвам

            some verbs are formed by an adjective plus the postfix –en:

            wide—to widen, broad—to broaden;

            whereas other verbs are formed by a noun plus the postfix –en:

            high—height—to heighten, long—length—to lengthen

forty but four, fourth, fourteen and forty-four

slate—a roof tile, a tile-shaped stone плоча за покрив

contemplating—to contemplate—to behold, to envisage, to meditate, to mull over, to ponder, to reflect on, to ruminate, to speculate, to muse размишлявам върху, размислям, обмислям

ditch—a drainage/sewage channel to carry away water: (Syn.) dyke, furrow, gully, trench, gutter канал, дренаж, ров

marsh: (Syn.) bog, fen, morass, quagmire, mire, swamp, slough [slau] блато, тресавище, мочурище

brambled—(n.) bramble—wild blackberry or any other wild prickly bush of the rose family къпина

hawthorn глог

thorny shrubs: thistle магарешки бодил; blackthorn/sloe трънка; dog rose/briar rose/wild briar шипка

alder елша

            deciduous trees широколистни дървета: birch бреза; poplar топола; willow върба; beech бук; ash ясен; lime липа; sycamore явор; elm бряст

honed—to hone—to sharpen, to whet точа, наточвам

John Irving

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/10/books/review/john-irving-by-the-book.html?src=un&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjson8.nytimes.com%2Fpages%2Fbooks%2Freview%2Findex.jsonp&pagewanted=all

The Big Bang

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/books/review/zbigniew-brzezinski-and-robert-kagan-on-the-state-of-america.html?nl=books&emc=edit_bk_20120406&pagewanted=all