Reading Tasks

T a s k 1. Do the crossword by filling in the gaps.

Across

3. He gave parties on a … style. (expensive and grand) 7. He could afford to buy these wines though they cost a … . 8. These wines were … expensive. (extremely) 9. He was never … of money. (he was never hard up)

10. He regarded himself as an expert … wine. 11. An expert can … a good wine. (enjoy and understand) 12. Speak clearly. Don’t …! 13. Mr Cleaver turned into a colossal … . (a very boring person) 14. The service was … . (perfect)

Down

1. They were … after they’d learnt the truth. (not able to talk) 2. The bills for these wines were … .(huge) 3. His goal in life was to climb the social … . (to move up in society) 4. They enjoyed the wine … .(greatly) 5. He began to … the butler in front of the guests. (laughed at him in an unkind way) 6. How dare you, you … ! (fool)

11. Notice the … taste of this wine. It’s gorgeous!

T a s k 2. Choose the characteristics that describe Mr Cleaver and the butler the best, and prove them by extracts from the text.

	Mr Cleaver	Tibbs, the butler
Intelligent
Sensitive
Arrogant
Naive
Boring
Generous
Well-educated
Rude
Sensible
Sincere
Responsible
Faithful

T a s k 3. Compare and analyze two main styles of speaking in this story – the style Mr Cleaver has and the style Tibbs has. Why are they different? Use the expressions below to help you.

Formal, informal, upper/lower class, standard, non-standard, background.

T a s k 4. Discuss the questions.

1. How did Mr Cleaver begin to climb the social ladder? Was it the best way?

2. What hardships did he face? Why wasn’t he successful in overcoming them?

3. How did Mr Cleaver consider the role of the butler? What was the butler’s own opinion?

4. Did Mr Cleaver make any mistakes in his attempts to move up in society? If any, what was the fatal one?

5. What was Mr Cleaver’s attitude to the servants, including the butler? How did the butler pay him back? Why did he do it?

6. Was the butler right or wrong to do what he had done?

Post-Reading Tasks

Discuss the following ideas.

Ø Is the story too short? Should we know more about the characters and the situation?

Ø Suggest your own continuation and the ending for this story. What would be the key idea? What events would you add to the story? Would your story be much different from the original?

Ø Imagine that Tibbs has applied for another post. Write a letter of recommendation for him. Make sure that you say both positive and negative things about him.

Date: 2015-02-28; view: 1198

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