BACKGROUND READING

Chapter 15

FFin de siècle (French pronunciation: [fɛ̃ də sjɛkl]) is French for "end of the century". In a broader sense the expression fin de siècle is used to characterise anything that has a mixture of beautiful luxury and/or decadence, combined with a shared prospect of unavoidable radical change or some approaching "end."

FFin de globe – “end of the world”.

FThe Union Jack (or The Union Flag) – the national flag of the United Kingdom, being a composite design composed of Saint George’s Cross (England), Saint Andrew’s Cross (Scotland), and Saint Patrick’s Cross (Ireland). The word "jack" was in use before 1600 to describe the maritime bow flag (Jacks are additional national flags flown by warships (and certain other vessels) at the head of the ship).

Chapter 17

Fsphinx [ÈsfINks] – a mythological creature that is often depicted as a lion with a human head. Among the Egyptians, sphinxes were placed at the entrance of the temple to guard the mysteries. As a Masonic (масонский) emblem, the sphinx has been adopted in its Egyptian character as a symbol of mystery.

Fthe Troyans – people who lived in Troy– a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey. It is best known for being the focus of the Trojan War described in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer.

Chapter 19

FPerdita [ÈpÎùdIt«] – the heroine of Shakespeare's play The Winter's Tale.

FFlorisel [ÈflrIz«l] – is a fictional character in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale.

I. PRE-READING TASKS.

1. Learn the pronunciation and meaning of these words

epigram [ÈepIgrQm] – a witty, often paradoxical remark, concisely expressed.

chaos [ÈkeIs] – a situation in which everything is happening in a confused way and nothing is organized or arranged in order.

II. COMPREHENSION TASKS.

Chapter 15

1. Explain the meaning of the word-combinations and set phrases from the list below. Quote the sentences in which they were used in the book. Consult the dictionary if necessary.

at one’s ease; a double life; consolation; incorrigible.

2. Give extensive answers to the following questions:

1. Why couldn’t anyone have believed that Dorian Gray had murdered a person?

2. How was Dorian Gray feeling at the dinner?

3. What subjects were discussed?

4. Why did Dorian Gray have to go home?

5. What was the thing that he took out of a small Chinese box?

6. Where do you think Dorian Gray headed for at midnight?

3. Give your opinion on the following quotations:

1. “They get up early, because they have so much to do, and go to bed early because they have so little to think about”.

2. “What fire does not destroy, it hardens” (cf. “Anything that doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger” (Niezshe).

Chapter 16

1. Explain the meaning of the word-combinations and set phrases from the list below. Quote the sentences in which they were used in the book. Consult the dictionary if necessary.

Oblivion; sick to death; hideous; monotony; dominate sth; temper (n); ugliness; outcast; (to be laid) at one’s door; a short cut; have a clue; confess one’s sin; take vengeance; give away.

2. Give extensive answers to the following questions:

1. What secret did Dorian Gray remember?

2. How was Dorian Gray’s soul feeling?

3. Why was Dorian Gray so desperate to get to his destination place as quickly as possible?

4. What ‘one thought’ persisted in Dorian Gray’s mind?

5. What did the place where Dorian Gray arrived look like?

6. Who did Dorian Gray meet at the place?

7. What does the word ‘things’ refer to? What did this word refer to in Chapter 13?

8. Why were the outcasts from the opium den better off than Dorian Gray?

9. Whose presence troubled Dorian Gray?

10. Who had been following Dorian Gray and then cornered and nearly killed him?

11. How did Dorian Gray manage to escape?

12. Who was the woman who was afraid of Dorian Gray?

3. Give your opinion on the following quotations:

1. “As long as one has this stuff, one doesn’t want friends”.

2. “There goes the devil’s bargain”.

3. “Each man lived his own life, and paid his own price for living it…”

4. “In her dealings with man Destiny never closed her accounts”.

Chapter 17

1. Explain the meaning of the word-combinations and set phrases from the list below. Quote the sentences in which they were used in the book. Consult the dictionary if necessary.

call a spade a spade; underrate; to balance sth by sth; search for; premature; surrender; thrill (n).

2. Give extensive answers to the following questions:

1. Why did Lord Henry plan to rename everything?

2. Why did Dorian Gray call Lord Henry Prince Paradox?

3. Had Dorian Gray ever quarreled with Lord Henry?

4. Why did Dorian Gray faint?

3. Give your opinion on the following quotations:

1. “Decay fascinates me more”.

2. “I have never searched for happiness. I have searched for pleasure”.

Chapter 18

1. Explain the meaning of the word-combinations and set phrases from the list below. Quote the sentences in which they were used in the book. Consult the dictionary if necessary.

Consciousness; remorse; revolt against; a bad omen; concentrate on sth; a burden.

2. Give extensive answers to the following questions:

1. What sensation dominated Dorian Gray the next day after the shooting-party?

2. What happened after the shooting-party?

3. What did Dorian Gray think of the accident?

4. What thought struck Dorian Gray when he recognized the person who was killed?

3. Give your opinion on the following quotations:

1. “There is no one with whom I would not change places, Harry”.

2. “You would sacrifice anybody, Harry, for the sake of an epigram”.

3. “My own personality has become a burden to me”.

Chapter 19

1. Explain the meaning of the word-combinations and set phrases from the list below. Quote the sentences in which they were used in the book. Consult the dictionary if necessary.

Uncivilized; novelty; disgrace (n); self-sacrifice; genius (n); vanity; cease (v); fatality; flawless; moralise.

2. Give extensive answers to the following questions:

1. Why did Lord Henry think that anybody could be good in the country?

2. What did Dorian Gray decide to do with his own self?

3. What is the story of Dorian Gray’s last romance?

4. How did Lord Henry try to reassure his friend?

5. What news had been discussed by the British public for the past three months?

6. How did Lord Henry take the news of his wife’s affair?

7. Why didn’t Lord Henry believe that Dorian Gray had murdered Basil Hallward?

8. Why did Lord Henry think Basil Hallward’s painting had gone off much?

9. Did Lord Henry envy Dorian Gray?

10. What couldn’t Dorian Gray forgive Lord Henry for? What did he ask his friend about?

3. Give your opinion on the following quotations:

1. “The soul is a terrible reality. It can be bought, and sold, and bartered away. It can be poisoned, or made perfect. There is a soul in each one of us”.

2. “The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young”.

3. “Life has been your art”.

Chapter 20

1. Explain the meaning of the word-combinations and set phrases from the list below. Quote the sentences in which they were used in the book. Consult the dictionary if necessary.

Irretrievable; bear the burden; mockery; alter; weigh upon (one’s mind); hypocrite; conscience.

2. Give extensive answers to the following questions:

1. Was Dorian Gray flattered to hear his own name said by some young men in the streets?

2. What were the questions that Dorian Gray asked himself when he got home?

3. What, in Dorian Gray’s opinion, ruined him?

4. Who or what did Dorian Gray blame for everything?

5. What did Dorian Gray really want and was waiting for?

6. What did he expect to see in the portrait and what did he see?

7. What did Dorian Gray think the look on the portrait meant to him?

8. What did Dorian Gray do to the portrait? What happened to him?

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 703