The Umbrella man. Dip in the pool. The Butler. The Hitchhiker. My Lady Love, My Dove, страница 10

14. “Could you send someone round as soon as possible, do you think?”

2. Answer the following question:

1. What pathological fear did Mrs. Foster usually have?

2. What did Mr. Foster think of that small foible of his wife?

3. Where was Mr. Foster going at the beginning of the story?

4. Why was it so important for her not to miss that plane to Paris?

5. Why was she upset with her husband?

6. Why was the flight postponed?

7. Why did Mrs. Foster return home?

8. How did her husband make her anxious the following morning?

9. What crucial decision did she finally make?

10. How did she feel about being in Paris and why?

11. What does the following phrase tell us: “there was a faint and curious odour in the air that she had never smelled before?” What happened to Mr. Foster?

12. What were Mrs. Foster’s feelings at the end of the story?

Discussion:

1. Was Mr. Foster right to want to live in Paris? Should husbands and wives always go away together?

2. Do you think Mr. Foster was right to say to his wife: “Everything you do you seem to want to make a fuss about it.” Why do you think he said it?

3. Do you sympathize or not with Mrs. Foster? Do you think she should go to prison? Do you understand why she let her husband die?

4. What do you think Mrs. Foster will tell her daughter about her husband’s death? What might be her plans for the future?

                                          Parson’s Pleasure

Pre-reading task:

Before reading the story try to imagine what it might be about. What associations do you have when you look at the title?

Reading:

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

Vocabulary Focus:

1. Look up and learn the following words:

primroses                 handbrake                     sober                      saucy

hawthorn                  showroom                    godly                      inexhaustible

summit                     premises                       masterful                warehouse

pad                           income                          mischievous           inlay

prosperous               obsequious                    arch                        county

revered                     belly                              semicircular           layman

2. Match the words with their definitions:

1. county             a) a chemical substance made by heating limestone

2. parson              b) a more modern copy of an old work of art

3. spinster            c) a person who is not qualified or experienced in a subject

4. inlay                d) a person who connects and repairs water and drainage pipes,

baths, sinks …

5. station-wagon  e) a Christian priest

6. binoculars        f) a design on the surface of the furniture made by putting pieces

of  other wood or metal into it

7. mahogany        g) a small room or a cupboard where food is kept

8. inventory          h) a talk on a religious or moral subject

9. plumber            i) the main body of the piece of furniture

10. larder              j) a detailed list

11. reproduction   k) a region which has its own local government

12. sermon            l)a person who makes things look valuable in order to cheat

others

13. layman           m)a car with a long body, doors at the back and a space behind

the back seat

14. carcass           n) a woman who is not married

15. faker              o) a type of dark, reddish brown wood used for making furniture

16. lime               p) two small telescopes joined together side by side which are

looked through in order to see objects that are far away.

3. Insert the necessary prepositions:

1. He took one hand … the wheel and lit himself a cigarette. The thing now, he told himself, would be to make … the top … Brill Hill.

2. He studied the Georgian house … his binoculars. It had a clean prosperous look, and the garden was well ordered. That was a pity. He ruled it … immediately. There was no point … calling … the prosperous.