RULE EIGHT: Two persons living in holy matrimony must avoid slipping into the subjunctive mood. The safest place for a happily married couple is the indicative mood, and of its tenses the present is the most secure. The future is a domain of threats and worries, and the past is a wasteland of sorrows and regrets.
I can hope in conclusion, that this treatise itself will not start, in any household, a widening gap that can never be closed.
1 disparage [di'sp^ri^] - относиться с пренебрежением
2 beaux [bauz] (pl) - girl’s admirer
3 Mug (si) - face (рожа)
4 blight - plant disease
Ex.17. Translate the story from Russian into English.
Мне рассказали историю о близнецах из Огайо, которых при рождении усыновили две разные семьи.
Они впервые встретились только в возрасте 39 лет. Оба хотели узнать, много ли у них общего (have smth in common). И оказалось, они оба были женаты на женщинах, которых звали Линда. Оба развелись и женились во второй раз на женщинах, которых звали Бетси. Обе пары, которые усыновили их, называли своих сыновей «Джим». В жизни с ними происходило много одинаковых случаев (similar things). Почти все, что они делали, было одинаковым. Как сказал Джим, когда он впервые встретил Джеймса: «Это не было похоже на встречу с незнакомцем».
Ex. 18. Read, translate and render the dialogues in indirect speech.
“How old is your younger brother?”
“But I have no brothers.”
“Isn’t this kid your brother?”
“Oh, no, he’s my nephew.”
LU
“Have you sent greetings to our relations?”
“Only to grandparents.”
“And what about aunts, uncles and cousins? Christmas is only a week away.”
“I think I’ll still manage. I’ll write them in the afternoon.”
“What relationship is Jack to you?”
“Well, he’s my remote kinsman.”
“Oh, really? But he always says you are close relations.”
“If he likes to say that, let him do it. In fact I’ve got some new relations of late since I starred in that successful film”.
“So my daughter has consented to become your wife. Have you fixed the day of the wedding?”
“I’ll leave that to my fiancee.”
“Will you have a church or private wedding?”
“Her mother will decide that, sir”.
“What have you to live on?”
“I’ll leave that entirely to you, sir.”
| 5 |
Looking at Photos
A: Good afternoon, is your wife in?
B: No, Jane isn’t home yet. Won’t you sit down?
A: Thank you. It’s a fine day, isn’t it?
B: Oh, yes, it’s very warm and sunny. While waiting would you like to have a look at our family album?
A: Sure. Who are these people?
B: They are our parents. This man and woman are Jane’s parents, my motherin-law and my father-in-law. And here are my parents.
A: I see. Your mother is very young and beautiful in this picture.
B: And father? He is still a very handsome man, isn’t he?
A: How old is he now?
B: He is 67, but he is still very handsome. And this is our son Martin. He is nineteen. He is a student.
A: What a lovely face! Who’s this?
B: This is Jane’s cousin, my sister-in-law. Her mother, Jane’s aunt, is a famous actress, and her uncle is an artist, and a very good one. His son is also an artist. A: This is a very old photograph... Who’s this funny little baby? A boy, isn’t it? B: Yes, and a very big boy now.
A: Oh! It’s not you, is it?
B: It is!
(©) 6 The Family Album (continued)
A: And who is this elderly woman?
B: This woman is my grandmother. She is a very nice, kind and loving grandmother.
A: And whose photo is this? Who is this man?
B: This man is my grandfather.
A: In this photo, your grandfather is young and he’s riding a horse. Is he alive?
B: No, he isn’t. He is dead.
A: I’m sorry. And your grandmother, where is she now?
B: With us, in St.Petersburg.
A: And who’s this pretty girl?
B: This is Helen, my girlfriend. She is very, very beautiful.
A: How old is she?
B: She’s 19. She’s a ballet dancer.
A: Oh, I see. And who are these people?
B: They’re Helen’s parents. Helen’s mother is a very nice woman and very kind. And Helen’s father is a very good person, too. He is kind and generous.
A: Helen’s mother is your future mother-in-law, isn’t she?
B: Yes, I hope so.
(®) 7 Bush and Clinton Are Remote Relatives
A: Did you happen to know that George Bush and Bill Clinton are distant cousins? B: Well, I’ve never heard of it! Where on earth did you find that out?
A: I’ve just read it in “The Japan Times”, in the October 23, 1992 issue1.
B: What information agency does the paper refer to?
A: Reutor-Kyodo from London.
B: Oh, that’s a reliable source. What does the article say?
A: Both presidents share royal ancestors traced back to the 13-th century in England.
B: Any relationship to Queen Elizabeth of Britain?
A: Exactly. Bush is her 13-th cousin. It’s a matter of common knowledge now.
B: How very interesting! And who is the common ancestor Clinton and Bush are descended from?
A: Both are descended from King John of England, Bush through John’s son Henry III and Clinton through his daughter Eleanor2.
B: Fancy that! Both have connections to ancient noble families and even to the royal ones!
A: There is one more interesting point. Clinton also descended from Eleanor’s husband, Simon3 de Montfort, Earl of Leicester4, who was a great democrat of his days and was called “the champion of Parliament”.
B: So, the descendant of a democrat is himself a representative of the Democratic Party of the USA.
A: Yes, exactly! At the same time, Bush is a representative of the opposition party, the Republicans.
B: So, Henry III and Simon, brothers-in-law, were opponents in those far away days, and their descendants were presidential contenders in the fall of 1992.
1 issue - выпуск, номер
2 Eleanor ['elma]
3 Simon ['saiman]
4 Leicester ['testa]
(®) 8 Brigitte Bardot. An Improptu1 Marriage
A: I looked through an English newspaper and came across a short article titled “Bardot admits improptu marriage”.
B: Is it about the famous French actress who starred in so many films in the 60’s and 70’s?
A: Yes, she is not in films any more. She is on the bad side of her fifties and she leads a secluded2 life rarely appearing in public.
B: How did she meet her present husband, then?
A: They met at a party, they say.
B: Does it say there that they decided to marry? Love at first sight?
A: Not quite so. The urge to get married came upon them when they took their trip to Norway, where Brigitte’s son lives.
B: They both had to get divorced from their previous marriages, I suppose.
A: No, Brigitte had been divorced for 23 years. It was her fourth marriage, by the way.
B: Which marriage is her son by?
A: Brigitte’s son Nicolas was born during her second marriage. His father was an actor, too.
B: What does her present husband do?
A: He is a businessman, 7 years her junior.
B: Was it a marvellous wedding ceremony in a church?
A: Nothing of the kind. This is how Brigitte describes it, “We came upon a chapel3 I lost in the romantic countryside. It was raining hard. We went through the doors of the chapel. And there, suddenly, we decided to get married.”
B: But the pastor could give them his blessing only in the presence of witnesses.
A: The taxi driver and the church caretaker4 served as witnesses.
1 impromptu [im'promptju:] - экспромт
2 secluded [si'klwdad] - замкнутый
3 chapel [t|tepl] - часовня
4 caretaker - сторож, смотритель
® H
N answers the door and shows in her friend, Ann.
N: Ann, meet the aunts and uncles, grannies and grandpas, the nephews and nieces, and all the rest.
A: Pleased to meet you all, I’m sure. My, what a big family you are!
N: This is only the immediate family. You’re the only outsider here now. You will sit next to the oldest member of family present - my greatgrandfather. Grandpa, dear, I’m going to put my friend in this seat near you.
GR.-GRANDF: The pleasure is all mine. Please sit down, my dear. Make yourself at home. So, Nadya must give me away at once and tell my age.
A: You don’t look your age at all. So don’t mind her.
GR.-GRANDF: A person is as old as he feels, they say. Still...
A: Nadya is your great-grand-daughter, isn’t she? She’s the exact image of you (there’s a strong family resemblance between you) - of course, taking the difference in age into consideration.
GR.-GRANDF: Does she really look like me so much? I’m flattered. She’s a good-looking girl, isn’t she?
A: How wonderful it must be for you to look round the table and see four generations of your descendants!
GR.-GRANDF: We are a long lived family. Only your dear granny died young.
N: (to A) She was 50 when she died.
A: Your family, it seems to me, are very much attached to each other.
N: Well, more or less, I suppose.
1 A guest is shown into the house; afterwards he is shown (seen) out of house
2 one’s immediate family - семья, состоящая из ближайших родственников
3 The pleasure is all mine = I’m very pleased