Success Story

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 439.

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fit

Ghm Russian equivalents for the following words and expressions from the text anduse them in the sentences of your own.

be addressed to smb, make some (much, no) differ­ence to smb, lock the door, get in through..., become unemployed, borrow smth from smb, be delighted, come into one's money, be lucky, turn pale (red), be worth doing, keep (break) silence

III

Questions on the text:

1) What was Ainsley?

2) Who was Dicky Soames?

3) What was the main reason for Ainsley's hiding
Dicky's letters from Adela?

4) How did Ainsley behave when the second letter ar­
rived?

5) What happened as a result of his behaviour?

6) Was Adela's uncle a rich person? Prove it.

7) Did he want Adela to come into his money and why
did he have to change his will?

8) What did Ainsley mean saying, "Those two letters
were worth reading"?

9) What proves that Ainsley's wife guessed every­
thing?

10) Why do you think she said that the letters had been
lost?

IV

True or false?

1) Ainsley read Dicky's letters before throwing them into the fire.

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2) Adela often gave reason for jealousy.

3) It was a long time since Dicky Soames had gone away

to Australia to join his uncle.

4) This fact made Ainsley forget his jealousy.

5) When the working hours were over Ainsley took the
letter and left the post-office together with his fel­
low-workers.

6) The postmaster saw Ainsley getting out of the win­
dow and thinking that he had stolen something dis­
missed him.

7) Ainsley envied Dicky when he learned that the lat­
ter had come into his uncle's money.

8) When Ainsley understood that he was to blame for
everything he told the truth.

V

"Adela was as frank as the day"—what does it meanl There are a lot of idioms of the same kind. Explain their meaning, try to give the corresponding Russian expres­sions and use these idioms in the sentences of your own,

— as strong as an ox

— as fresh as a cucumber

— as strong as nails

— as busy as a bee

— as sure as fate (as certainly as)

— as thick as thieves (very friendly)

— as hungry as a hunter

— as old as the₄sea

— as slow as a snail

VI

Retell the story on the part of 1) Ainsley, 2) Adela,3) Dicky Soames.

J. G. Cozzens

I met Richards ten or more years ago when I first went down to Cuba* He was a short, sharp-faced, agreeable chap, then about 22. He introduced himself to me on the boat and I was surprised to find that Panamerica Steel¹ was sending us both to the same job. Richards was from some not very good state univer­sity engineering school². Being the same age myself, and just out of technical college I saw at once that his knowledge was rather poor. In fact I couldn't imagine how he had managed to get this job.

Richards was naturally likable, and I liked him a lot. The firm had a contract for the construction of a pri­vate railroad. For Richards and me it was mostly an easy job of inspections and routine paper work. At least it was easy for me. It was harder for Richards, because he didn't appear to have mastered the use of a slide rule. When he asked me to check his figures I found his calculations awful. "Boy," I was at last obliged to say, "you are undoubtedly the silliest white man in this province. Look, stupid, didn't you ever take arithmetic? How much are seven times thirteen?" "Work that out," Richards said, "and let me have a report tomorrow."

So when I had time I checked his figures for him, and the inspector only caught him in a bad mistake about twice. In January several directors of the United Sugar Company came down to us on business, but mostly pleasure; a good excuse to get south on a vacation. Richards and I were to accompany them around the place. One of the directors, Mr. Prosset was asking а„ number of questions. I knew the job well enough to

answer every sensible question — the sort of question that a trained engineer would be likely to ask. As it was Mr. Prosset was not an engineer and some of his ques­tions put me at a loss. For the third time I was obliged to say, "I'm afraid 1 don't know, sir. We haven't any calculations on that". When suddenly Richards spoke up.

"I think, about nine million cubic feet, sir", he said. "I just happened to be working this out last night Just for my own interest".

"Oh," said Mr. Prosset, turning in his seat and giving him a sharp look. "That's very interesting, Mr. -er-Richards, isn't it? Well, now, maybe you could tell me about —"

Richards could. Richards knew everything. All the way up Mr. Prosset fired questions on him and he fired answers right back. When we reached the head of the rail, a motor was waiting for Mr. Prosset He nodded absent-mindedly to me, shook hands with Richards. "Very interesting, indeed," he said. "Good-bye, Mr. Richards, and thank you."

"Not, at all, sir," Richards said. "Glad if I could be of service to you."

As soon as the car moved off, I exploded. "A little honest bluff doesn't hurt; but some of your figures...!"

"I like to please," said Richards grinning. "If a man like Prosset wants to know something, who am I to hold out on him?"

"What's he going to think when he looks up the fig­ures or asks somebody who does know?"

"Listen, my son," said Richards kindly. "He wasn't asking for any information he was going to use. He doesn't want to know these figures. He won't remem­ber them. I don't even remember them myself. What he is going to remember is you and me." "Yes," said Richards firmly. "He is going to remember that

Panamerica Steel has a bright young man named Richards who could tell him everything, he wanted — just the sort of chap he can use; not like that other fel­low who took no interest in his work, couldn't answer the simplest question and who is going to be doing small-time contracting all his life."

It is true. I am still working for the Company, still doing a little work for the construction line. And Richards? I happened to read in a newspaper a few weeks ago that Richards had been made a vice-presi­dent and director of Panamerica Steel when the Prosset group³ bought the old firm.

NOTES: