Exercises

1. Paraphrase or explain the following sentences paying special attention to their underlined parts.

1) [Grace] was attending a boarding-school that would fit her for college.

2) He had arrived at home looking so pale, heavy-eyed and shaky that his mother doubted the wisdom of the concentrated mental effort, while his father secretly hoped the stuff had been non-poisonous and would not have lasting effects.

3) … trying to get to sleep is a painful and hopeless business when you are kind of jumpy.

4) “You look rumpled.” – “They made me sit in the ‘rumple’ seat.” She laughed at her joke and went upstairs. She had not come within hand-shaking distance of her father and mother.

5) She entered her daughter’s room and found Caroline semiconscious.

6) The “children” responded to their parents’ salutations with almost the proper warmth.

7) And if I don’t drive this Gorham at all, maybe you could get them to take it back or make some kind of a deal with the Barnes people.

8) Tom didn’t speak till he was sure of his voice.

9) Tom and Grace sat down to the elaborate Christmas dinner and didn’t make much impression on it. Even if they had any appetite, the sixteen-pound turkey would have looked almost like new when they had eaten their fill.

10) The living-room looked as if an army had just passed through.

2. Translate the following words and phrases into Russian and use them in situations based on the text.

• to lighten the burden

• to have a lasting effect

• to be behind schedule; according to/ on schedule

• to do smth (conceal smth etc) with fair success

• to thrill smb

• to give smb advantages

• offspring

• to have a long-standing date, appointment, agreement etc

• to take a nap

• to forestall smb

• to do smth with alacrity

• to have/ be a treat for smb; to provide a treat

• to invite oneself

• (to keep a promise) up to a certain point

• to be strewn with smth

• to take the trouble to do smth

3. Look up the following phrasal verbs from the text and bring out their contextual meaning. Complete the sentences below with the right verbs.

• to go astray

• to track down

• to frighten away

• to try on

• to pick out

• to put out

• to pass through

• to break in

1) Come with me for a ride, I’m going to ___ ___ my new car.

2) After a long search I finally ___ ___ the sort of ribbon I needed in a little shop in Chelsea.

3) Dolly’s malicious remark must have ___ ___, as Stella didn’t turn a hair.

4) Let’s go out tonight, I’m dying to ___ ___ my new dress.

5) Will you come with me and help me ___ ___ the right dress for the occasion? I’m at a loss.

6) Today a bird came to the kitchen window, but I moved and ___ ___.

7) Some of my papers have ___ ___, I wish you would keep out of my things.

8) The burglars were ___ ___ by the sound of our dog barking.

9) She was so ___ ___ by his rudeness that left the party right away.

10) She ___ the dress ___ so that we could have a good look at it.

11) The witness ___ ___ the wrong man in the identification parade.

12) What countries did you ___ ___ on your way to Austria?

13) Eventually, the doctors were able to ___ ___ the cause of the infection.

14) The country is ___ ___ a difficult period of change.