Tommy’s house

Marina Nitsinska

Дорогие читатели!Я бы хотела превратить изучение английского языка для вас в увлекательный процесс с помощью книги, где за языковым слоем – лексикой, грамматикой стоит более глубокий подтекст.В этой книге удивительная история, раскрывающая внутренний мир героя, сопровождается упражнениями, направленными на отработку лексико-грамматического материала и развитие навыков устной речи и логического мышления.

CHAPTER 4

The Library

Later he headed for the Library, the place of intellect in the house. The boy thought that his mum was still there, but she had already left.

It was a snug room, panelled in black oak, with large windows and purple curtains. It had a special smell of wood and ink. Fine curled leaves and buds of the carved ornament on the wall were replicated on different subjects in the house — on the family china print, and on the embroidery on the cushions and coverings. That tracery always reminded of the invisible presence of family roots and standards².

There was a very high wooden bookcase, dark of age, full of different dictionaries, thick volumes of directories and books of all genres — adventures, detectives, novels, science fiction, poems, fantasy and fairy tales.

Tommy had a special ritual of choosing a book. He climbed the ladder to get to the upper shelves of the bookcase and slowly ran his fingertip over the many-coloured spines of the books³, reading the titles and the names of the books’ authors. The process was really serious for the boy. It took him quite long. Some books attracted him by their uncommon prints, others by bright covers or even by the special paper and printer’s ink smell of the pages. He was able to define if the book was fresh or old only by its smell.

Sometimes the kid chose a book just to look at the pictures. He thoroughly followed each line of a drawing with his observant look and could distinguish grade and grade⁴. Tommy saw the pictures a thousand times and was able to reproduce them in detail even with his eyes closed. They were alive for him.

A lot of incredible stories captured his attention. The boy spent hours, reading in the old rocking chair in front of the fireplace, he was absorbed in the imaginary world of books so deep that forgot about time.

Another object that aroused the child’s interest was ivory chess. The ancient chess box had been on the bureau long before Tommy’s birth. Sometimes he played with his father when he had spare time, although the boy more often played chess with himself. The chessmen came to life in his hands, and the battle on the chessboard was a real intellectual challenge for the kid.

Tommy often climbed to his favourite place on the wide window sill behind the curtains, where he twisted the globe, dreaming about travelling around the world. He imagined trekking through rain forests, observing wild animals of jungles, admiring the ocean from the shore and from his yacht. Inspired by the literature characters, he was longing for adventures. He couldn’t know that inside the house something wonderful was possible and waiting for him.

HELPFUL WORDS AND NOTES

snug room [snʌg] [rum] — уютная

комната

to climb the ladder [klaɪm] [ðə] [lædə] — подниматься, взбираться по лестнице

uncommon print [ʌnkɔmən] [prɪnt] — необычный, редкий шрифт

printer’s ink smell [prɪntəz] [ɪŋk] [smel] — запах книжной печати, типограф. краски

to capture attention [kæpʧə] [əten(t)ʃ(ə)n] — завладеть вниманием, увлечь

rocking chair [rɔkıŋ] [ʧeə] — кресло-

качалка

to be absorbed in smth [əbzɔ bd] —

погружаться, быть поглощённым чем-то

ivory chess [aɪv(ə)rɪ] [ʧes] — шахматы из слоновой кости

chessmen [ʧesmən] — шахматные

фигуры

window sill [wɪndəu] [sɪl] — подоконник

to twist the globe [twɪst] [ðə] [gləub] — вертеть глобус

rain forest [reɪn] [fɔrɪst] — тропический лес

inspired [ɪnspaɪəd] — вдохновлённый

VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR TASKS

I Find in the text the English equivalents for the following words and word combinations:

Особенный запах дерева и чернил; резной орнамент; воспроизводиться на разных предметах; фамильный фарфор; вышивка на подушках и покрывалах; узор; напоминать о незримом присутствии; родовые корни и устои; тёмный от времени; особый ритуал; корешки книг; определять по запаху; тщательно; улавливать тончайшие оттенки; воспроизвести детально; захватывать внимание; погружаться в воображаемый мир; старинная шахматная коробка; любоваться океаном с берега или яхты; вдохновлённый.

II Match the words that go together.

A to climb 1. attention

B snug 2. chair

C rocking 3. chess

D capture 4. globe

E ivory 5. sill

F twist 6. bookcase

G window 7. print

H rain 8. room

I uncommon 9. ladder

J wooden 10. forest

III Make up sentences of your own using the word combinations from exercise II.

IV Translate the following sentences using the vocabulary of chapter 4. Pay attention to there is/there are construction.

1. Питер поднялся по лестнице и взял старинную коробку шахмат с верхней полки книжного шкафа.

2. В этом доме было потайное место, где мальчик мог погрузиться в воображаемый мир героев книг.

3. Эти герои оживали в его фантазии, и их приключения захватывали воображение ребёнка.

4. Рядом с камином стояло старое кресло-качалка. Том часто сидел в нем, мечтая о походе через тропические леса.

5. В его комнате на подоконнике был большой глобус. Дети вертели его, вдохновлённые рассказом дедушки о кругосветном плавании.

6. На столе отца лежала старинная книга с потрёпанным корешком и необычным шрифтом.

7. В кабинете профессора было много научных книг и журналов. В этом месте в воздухе витал особенный аромат орехового дерева и чернил.

8. На кожаной обложке той книги был удивительный рисунок, потемневший от времени.

9. Этот рисунок напоминал изысканный узор на фамильном фарфоре.

10. На шахматной доске не было нескольких пешек, но остальные фигуры из слоновой кости продолжали сражение.

DISCUSSION TASKS

I Describe the Library in Tommy’s house.

II Answer the following questions.

1. What ritual did Tommy have in the Library?

2. What did some books attract Tommy by?

3. How could the boy define if a book was new or old?

4. What was Tommy’s attitude to the pictures from the books?

5. Did the boy like reading?

6. What else aroused Tommy’s interest in the library?

7. What did Tom imagine when he was twisting the globe?

8. What was the kid longing for?

TALKING POINTS

I Answer the following questions.

1. Do you like reading?

2. What kind of books do you prefer to read? Which genre?

3. What is your favourite work of literature? Who is your favourite author?

4. Where do you usually read?

5. If you were a writer, what would you write about?

II Retell a story that you read some time ago. Describe the main characters. What is the main idea of the story?

Примечания

2

Fine curled leaves and buds of the carved ornament on the wall were replicated on different subjects in the house — on the family china print, and on the embroidery on the cushions and coverings. That tracery always reminded of the invisible presence of family roots and standards. — Утончённые завитые листья и бутоны резного орнамента на стене повторялись на разных предметах в доме — на рисунке на фамильном фарфоре и на вышивке на диванных подушках и покрывалах. Этот узор всегда напоминал о незримом присутствии родовых корней и устоев.

3

…slowly ran his fingertip over the many-coloured spines of the books… — медленно проводил кончиком пальца по разноцветным корешкам книг

4

He thoroughly followed each line of a drawing with his observant look and could distinguish grade and grade. — Он тщательно прочерчивал каждую линию рисунка своим внимательным взглядом и мог уловить тончайшие оттенки.