Discuss this before you read the story.

1. Do you like reading?

2. What kind of prose (or poetry) do you prefer? (detective stories, classi­
cal novels, humorous stories, books by new authors, etc.)

3. Would you prefer reading from a book or a computer screen? Why?

4. What kind of information is dominating in your reading?

5. Do you mostly read for entertainment or for professional information?

6. How many English books have you read?

7. Does your English vocabulary expand after reading a book you really
liked?

8. Do you look up the words in the dictionary or do you rely on your ability
to guess the meaning?

9. Have you got any reliable dictionaries at home?

10. Are you sometimes baffled by the grammar you have never learnt?

PART1

Read the story and make sure that you understand it. The list of new words on p. 31-32 will help you.

THE STORY-TELLER*

by Hector Hugh Munro (pseudonym Saki, 1870-1916), short-story writer and novelist

It was a hot afternoon, and the railway carriage was correspondingly hot and stuffy, and the next stop was nearly an hour ahead. The occupants

* The Best of Saki. Penguin Popular Classics, 1994.

Unit two

of the carriage were a small girl, and a smaller girl, and a small boy. An aunt belonging to the children occupied one corner seat, and the further corner seat on the opposite side was occupied by a bachelor who was a stranger to their party, but the small girls and the small boy emphatically occupied the compartment. Both the aunt and the children were engaged in a monotonous conversation. Most of the aunt's remarks seemed to begin with " Don't, " and nearly all of the children's remarks began with " Why? " The bachelor said nothing out loud.

" Don't, Cyril, don't, " exclaimed the aunt, as the small boy began smack­ing the cushions of the seat, producing a cloud of dust at each blow.

" Come and look out of the window, " she added.

The child moved reluctantly to the window. " Why are those sheep being driven out of that field? " he asked. " I expect they are being driven to another field where there is more grass, " said the aunt weakly.

" But there is lots of grass in that field, " protested the boy, " there's noth­ing else but grass there. Aunt, there is lots of grass in that field."

" Perhaps the grass in the other field is better, " suggested the aunt.

" Why is it better? " came the swift, inevitable question.

" Oh, look at those cows! " exclaimed the aunt. Nearly every field along the line had contained cows or calves, but she spoke as though she were drawing attention to a rarity.

" Why is the grass in the other field better? " persisted Cyril.

The bachelor couldn't help seeing and hearing it all and became more and more irritated, which showed on his face correspondingly. He was a most unpleasant man, the aunt decided in her mind. She was utterly unable to come to any satisfactory decision about the grass in the other field.

The smaller girl created a diversion by beginning to recite On the Road to Mandalay. She only knew the first line, but she put her limited knowledge to the fullest possible use. She repeated the line over and over again in a dreamy but resolute and very audible voice; it seemed to the bachelor as though some one had had a bet with her that she could not repeat the line aloud two thou­sand times without stopping. Whoever it was who had made the bet was likely to lose it.

" Come over here and listen to a story, " said the aunt, when the bachelor had looked twice at her.

The children moved reluctantly towards the aunt's end of the carriage. Evi­dently her reputation as a story-teller did not rank high in their opinion.

In a low, confidential voice, interrupted at frequent intervals by loud, per­sistent questions from her listeners, she began a story about a little girl who was good, and made friends with every one thanks to her goodness, and was finally saved from a mad bull by a number of rescuers who admired her courage.

Parti

" Wouldn't they have saved her if she hadn't been good? " demanded the bigger of the small girls. It was exactly the question that the bachelor had wanted to ask.

" Well, yes, " admitted the aunt, " but I don't think they would have run quite so fast to her help if they had not liked her so much."

" It's the stupidest story I've ever heard, " said the bigger of the small girls, with immense conviction. " I didn't listen after the first bit, it was so stupid, " said Cyril.

The smaller girl made no actual comment on the story, but she had long ago recommenced a murmured repetition of her favourite line.

" You don't seem to be a success as a story-teller, " said the bachelor sud­denly from his corner.

The aunt bristled in instant defence at this unexpected attack.

" It's a very difficult thing to tell stories that children can both understand and ap­preciate, " she said stiffly.

" I don't agree with you, " said the bachelor. " Perhaps you would like to tell them a story, " was the aunt's retort.

" Tell us a story, " demanded the bigger of the small girls.

" Well, now it's a challenge, isn't it? " the bachelor said to himself, " and I'll accept it '

(to be continued)

New Words

pseudonym ['sjuidsnim] n псевдоним correspondingly ^kDnsyjondmli] adj соответственно

correspond to [, kDris'pDnd] v соответствовать

correspond with переписываться stuffy ['sUfi] adj душный, спертый (о воздухе) belong [bi'ton] v принадлежать (зд. употреблено иронически) bachelor ['baetfalg] п зд. холостяк; бакалавр party n зд. группа, общество emphatically [im'faetikali] adv решительно, категорически

emphasise f'emfasaiz] v подчеркнуть, выделить monotonous [ms'nDtsnas] adj монотонный out loud вслух

smack ухлопать, шлепать (по) reluctantly [n'kktantli] adv неохотно

reluctant adj неохотный

sheep n овца, овцы (формы ед. и мн. числа совпадают) but (= except for) зд. кроме inevitable fi'nevitsbl] adj неизбежный

Unit two

calf (pi. calves) [ka: f] ([ka: vz]) n теленок, телята

persist (in) [ps'sist] v упорствовать, настойчиво продолжать что-л. делать

а most unpleasant man неприятнейший (очень неприятный) человек

the most unpleasant man самый неприятный человек (превосходная

степень прилагательного) utterly [4t9li] adv совершенно

syn. absolutely

diversion [dai'v3: j3n] n разнообразие, развлечение, отклонение recite [n'sait] v декламировать dreamy adj мечтательный resolute ['rezalu: t] adj решительный bet л пари, спор

to have a bet / to make a bet поспорить, заключить пари goodness ['gudnis] n доброта bull n бык

a mad bull бешеный бык rescuer ['reskju: a] n спасатель

rescue ['reskju: ] v спасать admire [ad'maig] (/восхищаться

admiration [.aedma'reijan] л восхищение courage ['клпбз] п храбрость, мужество immense [1'mens] adj огромный conviction [kan'vikjan] n убеждение comment (on) f'kDment] n замечание, комментарий recommence [_rri: k9'mens] v возобновить bristle [bnsl] (/ощетиниться

appreciate [s'prbjieit] i/понять, оценить по достоинству demand [di'ma: nd] стребовать, предъявлять требования challenge ['tfaelmdj] n вызов, дело чести, возможность показать, чего ты

стоишь

challenging adj заманчивый, необычайно интересный

challenger n бросающий вызов, вызывающий на состязание, претен­дент accept (the challenge) принять (вызов)

Questions for discussion.

1. Who were the occupants of the compartment?

2. How old were the children in your opinion?

3. Why do you think the aunt's story wasn't interesting for the children?

4. What kind of story do you think the bachelor will tell the children?

5. Think of a story that can arouse children's interest.

Parti