The prisoner of Zenda
Date: 2015-10-07; view: 547.
The story takes place in nineteenth-century Europe. Rudolf Rassendyll, a wealthy Englishman, is the cousin of Rudolf Elphberg, who is about to become the new king of Ruritania, a fictional country in central Europe. Rudolf Rassendyll decides to travel to Ruritania to attend the coronation of his cousin, who he has not met before. Soon after he arrives, he is walking through a forest where he meets the future king. The two men are surprised to discover that they are so alike: they are almost identical twins. The cousins talk excitedly about the coronation.
However, on the night before the great occasion, Rudolf Elphberg is kidnapped by his younger brother Michael and locked in the castle in the town of Zenda. Although Michael does not have the right to be the next king of the country, he is popular with some of the people of Ruritania. He wants to stop the coronation so that he can become the next king himself.
Rudolf Rassendyll solves the problem by taking his cousin's place. Because the two men look so alike, nobody realizes what is happening and the coronation takes place as planned. While Rudolf Elphberg remains in the castle, Rudolf Rassendyll lives the life of the king and spends time with his cousin's friends. At the same time, he realizes that he cannot remain the king of Ruritania forever. He decides to rescue Rudolf Elphberg.
The story ends happily for Elphberg when he finally becomes the new king. Michael dies. Rassendyll says goodbye to his friends and leaves the country. The people of Ruritania never find out what has really happened.
Definitions:
| classics | the study of the language, literature and history of ancient Greece and Rome |
| couple | two people who are married or have a romantic relationship |
| debate (n) | an organised discussion on an important subject |
| escapism | entertainment or activity that helps you to forget about your work or worries and think of something more enjoyable |
| fictional | not real, invented by a writer |
| publication | when a book is printed and available to buy |
| well-educated | having had a good education |
| alike (adj.) | almost exactly the same; similar |
| attend | to go to a meeting, school, church, etc. |
| castle | a very large strong building built in the past to protect the people inside from attack |
| coronation | a ceremony in which somebody officially becomes a king or queen |
| (Have) the right to do something | legally or morally allowed to do something |
| occasion | an important event or ceremony |
| wealthy | rich; having a lot of money, land or valuable possessions, especially when you or your family have owned them for a long time. |
Language Notes:
§Invent يخترع / discover يكتشف
· Graham Bell invented the telephone. · Columbus discovered America.
۩ لاحظ استخدام كلمة like مع whatللتعبير عن وصف شيء
¨What + be + فاعل + like …? = describe في حالة السؤال
¨What + + فاعل be + like … = في حالة الجملة
· What was life like in the past?
· She looked in the mirror to see what the new dress was like.
· What is the weather like today?
§ عند إضافة حرف s إلي السنة نقصد بها فترة عشر سنوات أي عقد :decade
¨In the 1980s = from 1980 to 1989
¨Century = 100 years ¨millennium = 1000 years ¨decade = 10 years
¨لاحظ استخدام take للزمن بمعني يستغرق ويأتي بعدها to+inf.
¨The Prisoner of Zenda took Hope a few months to write.
¨How long does it take to do this job?
● Hear of / about يسمع عن شيء أو شخص
● hear from يتلقي أخبارا من (خطاب أو رسالة أو مكالمة)
● Have you ever heard of William Shakespeare? ● I'm looking forward to hearing from my friend.
¨Not in the least = not at all كلا ، علي الاطلاق
● Do you mind if I turn the TV on? – No, not in the least كلا ، مطلقا
¨Train as a/an + job:
● He trained as a doctor.
¨لاحظ استخدام التصريف الثالث بعد as أحيانا وهو هنا اختصار لجملة كانت مبنية للمجهول
¨As + PP. :
● The coronation takes place as planned. = The coronation takes place as it has been planned.
¨die (v) يموت ¨dead (adj.) ميت ¨death (n) الموت ¨deadly (adj.) مميت
● This is a deadly weapon. ● The man was dead on arrival at the hospital..
● We all believe in life after death. ● She died of a heart attack.
Words Often Confused:
¨ be based on يكون معتمد أو قائم علي ¨ be based in يكون مقره في (مكان معين)
● His novel was based on real life. ● The company is based in New York.
¨ politics السياسة (الخاصة بالدولة ونظام الحكم)¨ policy مبدأ أو قاعدة يسير عليها الفرد أو العمل
● He was interested in politics and was a good speaker. ● Honesty is the best policy.
¨ Hero بطل قصة أو رواية أو شخص قام بعمل عظيم ¨ Champion بطل رياضي عادة
● The hero of the novel is ten-year-old boy. ● He is the world basketball champion.
¨ Be alike متشابه = look alike يبدو متشابه ¨ belike مثل (أداة تشبيه)
¨ like (v) يحب ¨ look like يشبه ¨ unlike علي عكس
● The two brothers are very alike. ● She is not like her sister. = She is different from her sister.
● He likes ice cream very much. ● She looks like her mother.
● Unlike his brother, he was very friendly.
¨ Kidnap = abduct يختطف شخص ¨ hijack يختطف سفينة أو طائرة
¨ snatch يخطف شيء من شخص
● Two businessmen have been kidnapped by terrorists.
● The plane was hijacked by two armed men. ● She snatched the gun from his hand.
¨ couple زوج وزوجة أو اثنان من نوع واحد ¨ pair زوج (شيء واحد مكون من جزأين)
¨ double ضعف (العدد أو الكمية)
● I saw a couple of men get out of the building. ●The couple were married in 1997.
● She bought a pair of brown shoes. ● We need double the amount we already have..
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