A. PRE-READING

1. Think before you read.

1. What are possible methods for evaluating the student’s knowledge?
2. Do exams give the opportunity to consolidate a student’s knowledge of the subject, which he has gained through lectures, discussions and a great deal of independent study?
3. Do exams give a student a clear goal to work towards?
4. Do you support the idea that “Examination is an unfair and imperfect way of checking knowledge?”
5. How do you feel about having to take exams?

- nervous

- overanxious

- resentful

- terrified

- gratified

- proud

2. Literary Terms

synonyms-specifiers – two or more synonyms that follow one another to characterize the object in a more precise way. Their main functions are to make the description as exhaustive as possible under the circumstances and to provide additional shades of the meaning intended.

allusion – is a brief reference to some literary or historical event commonly known.

hyperbole – is the use of word, a word-group, or a sentence which exaggerates the real degree of a quantity of the thing spoken about.

euphemism – a polite word or expression used instead of a more direct one, to avoid shocking or upsetting effect.

oxymoron – a subordinate word combination in which elements have polar meanings.

asyndeton – the deliberate omission of conjunctions.

Focus

As you read the passage from “Doctor in the House” by R. Gordon, identify these stylistic phenomena the author uses to create the images which describe the students’ experience in taking their examinations.

B. THE STORY

Provide basic biographical information about Richard Gordon.

Phonetics

Consult a dictionary and practice the pronunciation of the following words: authority, contest, prize-fighter, enthusiastic, solo, despondently, paths, invigilator, flagrant, anonymous, nonchalant, admirably, viva, imminent, tetanus, plough, opiate, sponge.

Idioms and Expressions

Phrasal Verbs

Match the phrasal verbs with their definitions.

Supply the appropriate particle:

1. To be ashamed of his own father is perhaps the bitterest experience a young man ca _____.
2. “Will you let me take you out to dinner tonight?” “As long as _____.”
3. That is very far-fetched and morbid. We can’t _____ that.
4. All of our best laid plans ______.
5. He laid there thinking. _____ the whole business from the beginning.

Translate the following sentences:

1. Ей пришлось многое пережить в связи со смертью мужа, и она сильно постарела (подурнела).
2. Цены на эту мебель снизились, так как она выходит сейчас из моды.
3. Разбирая свои старые письма и бумаги, я нашла твою фотографию.
4. Я думаю, им придется понести большие расходы, построить дом стоит больших денег.
5. Эти продукты следует держать в холодильнике. В такую жару они быстро теряют свежесть.
6. Странно, что Ваша жена последнее время не появляется в обществе.

Idioms

Go over the idioms connected with problematic situations. Think of the situations in which these idioms can be used.

Complete the following sentences inserting proper idioms:

1. This is the time to _____ and tackle the complex issues of finance.
2. You will be aware that there are some situations when it is wise to_____ .
3. Friends are a blessing – they_____, drag to parties and make you feel loved.
4. He _____, leaving some attorneys with whom he’s worked to describe him as secretive and manipulative.
5. Herb was a big, muscular man on the edge of 50: a guy who could obviously fend for himself if placed_____.
6. At the same time, the production process now appears_____ , in as much as it is not able to make the transition into the process of circulation.
7. I’m sorry, I’m_____; could you explain that again?
8. No, please, don’t say anything; you’ll only______.

Grammar

Confusing verbs: lie – lay; sit – set; rise – raise; arise – arouse.

Consult grammar reference books for the right usage of each of the verbs. Provide brief comments on them. In the exercise that follows use the right verb in the appropriate grammar tense and form according to the context.

1. Very often my mother _____ down in afternoons.
2. The cat is _____ on the couch. She’s probably sleeping.
3. The book _____ on my desk all day, and nobody noticed it.
4. Farley _____ the gun down and surrendered.
5. Before you start packing _____ all the clothes on the bed.
6. Turtles _____ their eggs on the beach at night.
7. I always _____ in the rocking chair near the fireplace.
8. She _____ in the same chair for many years.
9. Esther _____ the basket on the table.
10. We ____ the clock back yesterday.
11. The cement will ____ in two hours.
12. Jelly _____ as it cools.
13. The plane _____ steadily.
14. The cliffs _____ far above the sea.
15. Tomorrow the sun _____ at six o’clock.
16. Don’t _____ so much dust,
17. Do not _____ your voice.
18. The farmer _____ wheat.
19. The conflict _____ from tensions between the different ethnic groups.
20. His strange behaviour _____ my suspicions.

C. THINKING ABOUT THE STORY

1. Sharing Ideas

Discuss the following question with a partner, in a small group, or with the whole class:

What are the main problems highlighted in the story?

2. Analyzing the story

1. What is the stylistic tone of the passage?

- neutral

- humorous

- sarcastic

- ironical

- nerve-(w)racking

- relaxing

2. What type of presentation is chosen by the author?

- narration

- description (static / dynamic)

- reported speech

- direct speech

Give examples and state their functions.

3. Divide the text into logically completed fragments. Think of the headings for each part.

4. How can you characterize the bulk of the vocabulary of the extract in question? Find examples of the following groups of words and comment on their function in the text.

- academic words

- medical terms

- emotionally coloured words

- bookish (learned) words

- colloquial words

- students jargons

5. Study the syntactical organization of the text. Mention types of sentences used in the text:

- simple

- complex

- compound

Define their function in the context of our interpretation.

6. Look back at the Literary Terms and discuss:

a) the effectiveness of the allusion “judgment day” for conveying the students’ fear of the examinations.

b) what figure of speech is employed to describe the difference between the psychological types of students at the examinations? Render the experience of anticipating the exams as if you were one of the students introduced by the author?

c) the example from the text: “One comes down, one muffs, one is ploughed, plucked, or pipped”. Bring out the effectiveness of this linguistic means in the text under consideration.

d) the meaning and stylistic value of the expression “frustrated brilliance” used in the presentation of some type of students at the written part of the final examination.

e) the stylistic means employed in the passage “The world stood still. The traffic stopped, the plants ceased growing, men were paralysed, the clouds hung in the air, the winds dropped, the tides disappeared, the sun halted in the sky.”

8. By commenting on the cases of simile chosen from the text discuss the effectiveness of this stylistic means in the description of examinations. Would you agree that the attempt to find similarity between such distant domains of activities like medicine and boxing contributes to the ironical style, on the one hand, and underlines the seriousness of the events, on the other hand?

Date: 2015-01-12; view: 1462