The Umbrella man. Dip in the pool. The Butler. The Hitchhiker. My Lady Love, My Dove, страница 5

5. to purr            e. narrow pieces of stringlike material used to fasten shoes

6. solicitor          f. unable to see

7. bricklayer       g. a dishonest activity that is used to make money

8. bonfire      h. a person who travels by getting free rides in other people’s vehicles

9. blind         i. a piece of metal at the end of the belt which is used to fasten it

10. buckle     j. a person who is trained to give legal advice, and sometimes

represents people in court.

4. Replace the words in the bold type with the expressions listed above.

Flat out                             a tidy pocket                     

torn it                                slack off

keep mum                         give up

did up the button               get smb. wrong

1. It must have cost a lot of money.

2. What can the car do at the top speed?

3. Go on! Don’t go slower!

4. “Oh, my sainted aunt!” I said. “That’s spoiled things.”   

5. Just sit tight and keep quiet.  

6. Then the cop returned the book to his pocket and fastened it.

7. But don’t misunderstand me!                 

8. All right. I stop truing to guess.           

5. Choose the appropriate preposition to fill in the gap.

1. What part of London are you headed … ?

a) to              b) for           c) on

2. I never bet … horses.

a) on             b) by            c) with

3. The secret of life is to become very good … something that is very hard to do.

a) at              b) for            c) in

4. I’ll deal … you in a minute.

a) to              b) at              c) with

5. He strolled … to the front of the car and read the number from the license plate and wrote that down as well.

a) among      b) around      c) about

6. The cop filled … the date, the time and the details of my offence.

a) in              b)on              c) down

7. My passenger fished in his pockets and came out with a driver’s license … his own.

a) of              b) on             c) for

8. I was watching him … the corner of my eye and the speed with which he performed this rather difficult operation was incredible.

a) with           b) by             c) out of

9. It’s never any trouble getting rid … quality goods.

a) at               b) of              c) to

10. You catch … pretty quick.

a)in             b) on             c) up

Reading Comprehension:

1. Look through the story to find passages in there to …

a) characterize the writer;

b) characterize the hitchhiker;

c) characterize the cop.

2. Answer the following questions:

1. Why did the writer give a lift to the hitchhiker?

2. What sort of animal did the hitchhiker look like?

3. Where was the hitchhiker going?

4. Why did the cop stop them?

5. Why did the cop pay attention to the hitchhiker?

6. The driver tried to guess the hitchhiker’s job. List the jobs he guessed.

7. What did the hitchhiker do to show the writer what his job was?

8. Why did the policeman need his notebook?

9. What did the hitchhiker show to the writer at the end of the story?

Discussion:

1. A “fingersmith” is a superior kind of pickpocket. Do you approve of the hitchhiker more or less because he is so professional? Is he really a criminal?

2. Would you give lifts to hitchhikers? What are the benefits? What are the disadvantages?

3. Have you ever hitchhiked in your life? Would you like to try?

                                       Mr. Botibol

Pre-reading task:

Before reading the story “Mr. Botibol” try to imagine what it might be about.

Reading:

Read the following story carefully and try to understand it in detail.

Vocabulary Focus:

1. Look up and learn the following words:

Revolving              banter               amplifiers                  trifle

Asparagus              rostrum            auditorium                 mantelpiece

Briefly                   conductor         encore                        to embarrass