New intermediate English grammar

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John Millington Ward

The New Intermediate ENGLISH COURSE Book Two

CONTENTS

CONTENTS

READING PASSAGES

1

The Interview by Alan Hackney

2

3

Passing Through the Customs

1. Question Forms and Constructions (Part Two) 2. Reported (Indirect) Speech (Part ne) 3. Reported Speech (part two)

by G. K. Chesterton A Night Out in the Dolomites by Bertha Smith Mr. Phanourakis Anonymous

4

GRAMMAR POINTS

The Voice by V. S. Pritchett

PAGE

6 9

25

1. Subordinate (or Dependent) Clauses 2. The Omission of "Whom", "Which", and "That" in Adjective Clauses 3. More About Infinitives 1. The Past Continuous Tense (part two) 2. The Use of Capital i

33

36 38 46 47

CONTENTS READING PASSAGES

5

Letters to the Secretary of State for Air Concerning Helicopters

GRAMMAR POINTS

Letters 3. More About the Definite Article 1. Another Use of the Indefinite Article

from Punch

6

The Real Heat Begins in June by H. E. Bates

PAGE

48

56 2. The Special Verbs "Need" and "Dare" And Letter-writing 1. The "Unfinished" Use of the Perfect Tenses (Part Two)

56 58

68

7

2. More about the Present Simple and Present Continuous Tenses The Cat Under The 1. The "Unfinished" Use Bed of the Perfect Tenses (Part Three) by John Millington Ward 2. A Special Use of the Verb "To Be" in the Continuous Tenses 3. More Special Uses of ii

69

77

77 79


GRAMMAR POINTS

"Will" and "Would" 4. Another Use of "Used" 8

PAGE

80

Back-Stage Tensions from The Times An Englishman's Chair from The Times

1. The Present and Past Continuous Tenses with "Always" 87 2. More about the Definite Article 87

9

On Living Again by "Alpha of The Plough"

10

The Cage

3. The Passive Voice (Part Two) 4. The "-Ing" Form of a Verb (Part Three) 1. More about "Shall" and "Should"

88 91

99 2. The Use of Tenses in Wishes 1. Periods of Time

by Dal Stivens 2. Question Forms and Constructions (Part iii

100 107 113


11

GRAMMAR POINTS

Three) 3. More about the Negatives of Expressions of Necessity, Duty, Obligation and Advisability Mrs. Miniver 1. More about the Comes Back From Definite Article Abroad by Jan Struther

12

Rien Ne Va Plus by Alexander Woollcott

13

PAGE

114

121 2. More about "Will" and "Would" 3. The Apostrophe and "S" 1. The "-Ing" Form of a Verb (Part Four)

122 124

130

2. Some Remarks on Punctuation The Private Life of 1. More about "Will" and "Would" Mr. Bidwell by James Thurber 2. More about the Definite Article

iv

133

144 146


GRAMMAR POINTS

and The Uses of "Make''' and " D o " and "Invitations" 14

15

In Defence of Wasps by "'Alpha of the Plough "

Holes in the Road by Helen Vlachos The Stolen Car from The Times

16 17

18

The Story-Teller by "Saki" I Was a Private Eye from The Times

1. More about the Definite Article 2. More about " W i l l " 3. Another Note about Reported Speech 4. More about "Should" and "Would"

PAGE

146 147 157 158 158 159

1. The "-ing" Form of a Verb (Part Five) 166 2. The Past Continuous Tense (Part Three) 169 . 3. Infinitives and Clauses of Purpose 171 1. Conditions and their Results 181 1. More about the Verb " T o be" 2. More about "If" Clauses

197 199

1. Statements/of Cause and Effect

209

Appendices: 1. Some Subjects for Composition 2. Some More Subjects for Letter-Writing 3. Table of Infinitive Forms 4. Index of Grammar Points in both books of The New Intermediate English Course

211 212 213

The Canary by Katherine Mansfield

V

214

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We are grateful to the following for permission to include copyright material: Arthur Barker Ltd. for an abridged extract from While Rome Burns by Alexander Woollcott; the author for an abridged extract from The Purple Plain by H. E. Bates; The Bodley Head Ltd. and The Viking Press Inc. for an abridged version of 'The Story-Teller' from The Short Stories of Saki; Miss D. E. Collins and Methuen & Co. Ltd. for 'Passing Through the Customs' from The Glass Walking-Stick by G. K. Chesterton; J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. for abridged versions of In Defence of Wasps and On Living Again by A. G. Gardiner; Punch for 'Re Helicopters: To the Secretary of State for Air' by H. F. Ellis and an extract from 'I'm All Right, Jack' by Alan Hackney, reprinted by permission; the author for an abridged version of The Voice by V. S. Pritchett; The Society of Authors as the literary representative of the late Miss Katherine Mansfield for an abridged version of The Canary; Arthur Stanley for an abridged version of A Night Out in the Dolomites by Bertha Smith, published in The Bedside Book by Victor Goliancz Ltd.; the author for an abridged version of The Cage by Dal Stivens; the author and Harcourt, Brace & World Inc. for an abridged extract from Mrs. Miniver by Jan Struther; The Times for abridged versions of 'A Biped's Quandary', 'An Englishman's Chair', 'Backstage Tensions', 'Englishmen Abroad' and I Was a Private Eye'; the author and Hamish Hamilton Ltd. for an abridged version of 'The Private Life of Mr. Bidwell' by James Thurber from The Middle-aged Man on the Flying Trapeze; and Miss Helen Vlachos for her permission to translate from the Greek, Holes in the Road.

vii

LESSON ONE

THE I N T E R V I E W (from "I'm All Right, Jack") BY ALAN HACKNEY

Stanley Windrush is a young man who hopes to get a job in the Senior Branch of the Diplomatic Service. He arrives late for his interview with the Appointments Board at the Ministry of Foreign 5 Affairs. " G o in now, sir," said the messenger, and then followed him in to call loudly: "Mr. Windrush." Stanley sank exhausted into the candidate's chair. "Mr. Windrush?" 10 This must be the First Commissioner,1 across the room at the farthest point from Stanley of a great horseshoe table. There were eight, or perhaps nine, including two women. "Yes, sir, good morning," said Stanley, shifting on his chair. There was a little table in front of him, and a notice 15 propped up on it. It said, tersely,2 "SPEAK UP." 3 "I beg your pardon?" said the First Commissioner. "Good morning, sir," said Stanley, a little too loudly, so that it echoed. 1. i.e. a senior official of the Foreign Ministry (who was the Chairman of this Appointments Board). 2. briefly; shortly. 3. I.e. "Speak loudly."

1

THE NEW I N T E R M E D I A T E E N G L I S H

COURSE

" M'm, good morning," said the Chairman, in an indiffer20 ent tone, 1 looking through his papers. None of the Board looked at all, enthusiastic at having been kept waiting. "Now," began the Chairman, and at the word all the interviewers bent forward to their duplicated files, for all 25 the world as if2 starting a game of housey-housey.3 "Full name Stanley Clive Oliver Windrush British by birth," read the Chairman rapidly. " Father Charles Windrush occupation independent means 4 and your mother is deceased."6 30 "Yes, sir." All the Board looked up briefly as if to check that Stanley was still with them. Stanley wondered if "sir " would really do 6 to include the women, and flashed the two of them a nervous smile. One of them nodded a little severely and the 35 other did not react at all. " You were at Spaniels School, I see," the Chairman went on, "and then at Apocalypse College, Oxford." Stanley changed his position, trying to slither7 unobtrusively8 more upright. 40 " Then you went into the army and you did a Japanese course. Then you went back to Oxford and in due course finished your time there, and you got a Third in English." 9 Put like that it sounded much like aimless wandering. Stanley wondered if he could think of some remark to make 45 it all sound more impressive. He couldn't. "Er-yes," he said. The Board all looked at him. 1. i.e. a tone which showed a lack of interest. 2. i.e. very much as if . . . 3. i.e. a game with numbers. 4. occupation independent means: i.e. "Your father does not work because he possesses independent means {i.e. private money)." 5. dead (legal language). 6. i.e. be suitable. 7. slide. 8. i.e. without being seen. 9 i.e. a third-class pass in the examination for a Degree in English.

2

THE I N T E R V I E W

"Can you tell us, Mr. Windrush, something of what you have been doing since then?" 50 "Yes," said Stanley, with a show of confidence, "I can. It hasn't been very long, of course, but I haven't been idle. I've been—at home, with my father, reading a good deal on the world situation." "You've been reading up 1 on the world situation, Mr. 55 Windrush," repeated the Chairman with faint distaste for the phrase. "The American Presidential Election looks interesting, doesn't it?" "Oh, I do agree, it does," said Stanley. "What strike you2 as being some of its more interesting 60 features, Mr. Windrush?" "Well." Stanley paused as if to give this question weighty thought, but found it difficult to keep the pose. 3 "Our situation here in relation to their situation there," he improvised." That's very vital.4 We all know what a short65 age of dollars means, don't we? If it results in a shortage of dollars it will be very serious for us." "Mr. Windrush," said the Chairman, "perhaps if you were to explain5 how the Presidential Election might result in a dollar shortage . . .?" 70 " That's one of the difficult things to see in this situation," said Stanley. "The two don't seem at first sight to be connected, but . . ." But what? "Let me put it this way," he plunged on,6 "if this country is short of. dollars we can't buy from America, and we must buy from somewhere else." 75 "And why couldn't we?" " If we had to," said Stanley, " if we were faced with that, well . . . we could." "Perhaps someone else would like to ask a question," 1. i.e. studying. 2. i.e. " What have come to your particular notice or attention . . .?" 3. Literally: a position taken especially for a photograph or painting; here: a false attitude to give the suggestion of "weighty thought". 4. important. 5. i.e. "Would you be good enough to explain . . .?" 6. i.e. continued (desperately trying to say the right thing).

3

THE NEW I N T E R M E D I A T E E N G L I S H COURSE

said the Chairman restlessly, looking round. "Would you 80 like to start, Mr. H'm—m'm?" A man somewhere to Stanley's left began to ask in a low tone: " Mr. Windrush, do you consider family ties1 are more important than one's work, or do you think that one's work is more important in all circumstances?" 85 " Oh, yes," said Stanley. " Yes, I think one's work is jolly 2 important, especially if it's—important work. Much more important than one's family." " D o you think, Mr. Windrush," put in 3 one of the women, "that the decays4 in family life today is not important?" 90 "Oh, good gracious5 n o ! " cried Stanley. "I think family life is terribly important. I think everybody ought to have a family,6 for instance." "Oh," said the woman, now a little huffy.7 "You know of course that women in the Foreign Office must be un95 married?" There was a short silence, and then a man on the other side cleared his throat and said: "How would you assess your Japanese?8 Fluent?" 9 " Oh—er—tolerably."10 100 "Oto san wa ikaga de gozaimasu?"11 "O kage san de tassha de gozaimasu."12 "Speak up," said the Chairman, curious to hear the peculiar fluting13 tones of this reply again. "Sorry," said Stanley, and with musical emphasis re105 peated: " O kage san de tassha de gozaimasu." 1. obligations. 2. very (slang). 3. said (unexpectedly). 4. gradual weakening. 5. i.e. "good heavens!", etc. 6. i.e. (here): ought to have children. 7. offended, annoyed. 8. i.e. "How good is your Japanese?" 9. i.e. "Can you speak it well, correctly, and without any hesitation?" 10. fairly well. 11. i.e. "How is your father?" 12. i.e. " H e is very well, thank you." 13. i.e. of a flute (a musical instrument).

4

THE

INTERVIEW

" T h a n k you, Mr. Windrush," said the Chairman. " T h a t will be all." As soon as he had left there was a deep silence. The Chairm a n shook his head, expelling his breath. 110 "I must point out we're terribly short of Japanese specialists," said the man who h a d asked the last question. The Chairman gave a very deep sigh. "We-e-ell . . ." he said at last, in profound 1 distaste. 2 EXERCISES 1. Make sentences freely with these words from the story: interview echo react vital fluent candidate enthusiastic impressive family profound shift independent pose decay distaste 2. Explain the meaning of the following: a. at the farthest point from Stanley (line 10). b. I beg your pardon (line 16). c. in an indifferent tone (line 19). d. aimless wandering (line 43). e. with a show of confidence (line 50). f. at first sight (line 71). g. Let me put it in this way (line 72). h. if we were faced with that (line 76). . i. cleared his throat (line 97). j. expelling his breath (line 109). 3. Can you find the "Type A" and "Type B" adverb-particles in the story? (As you will remember from Book One3, "Type A" adverbparticles are those which change the meanings, completely or only slightly, of the verbs with which they are used. "Type B" particles are those which give a more "complete" or more emphatic sense to their sentences—but which could be omitted without changing the meanings of the sentences.) In this story there are 10 adverb-particles of "Type A", and 1 of "Type B " . 4. Make sentences with the opposites of these words from the story: follow including forward aimless vital 1. deep.

2. disgust; dislike.

5

3. Page 29.


loudly farthest

independent indifferent

deceased nervous

impressive idle

shortage peculiar

5. Dictation. 6. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. What sort of job do you think Stanley Windrush was hoping to get in the Senior Branch of the Foreign Service? b. Why did the messenger follow him into the interview room? c. Why do you think Stanley was exhausted as he sank into the candidate's chair? d. Why do you think there was a notice in front of him, saying "SPEAK U P " ? e. Why did the First Commissioner say, "I beg your pardon?'.'? f. None of the Board looked at all enthusiastic when Stanley went into the room. Why? g. The Chairman read Stanley's details very rapidly (lines 26 to 29). Why do you think he read them so rapidly? h. Why was Stanley doubtful about his use of the word " s i r " ? i. Why did Stanley find it difficult to keep the pose of weighty thought when the Chairman asked him about the American Presidential Election? j. Why do you think the next speaker asked Stanley about the relative importance of family ties and work? k. Why, a moment or so later, was one of the women a little huffy? 1. Why did another man begin to speak to Stanley in Japanese? m. Why did the Chairman shake his head and expel his breath when Stanley left the room? n. The man who had spoken to Stanley in Japanese pointed out that they were terribly short of Japanese specialists. Why did he do this? o. The Chairman then gave a very deep sigh. Why?

TWO P O I N T S O F G R A M M A R 1. QUESTION FORMS AND CONSTRUCTIONS (PART TWO) As we saw in Book One, there are four basic forms that ask for the answer " Y e s " or " N o " (or, of course, "I don't know"): i e. "Is his name Windrush?" {the "General" Question) "His name is Windrush, isn't it?" {the " Yes-Expectation" Question)

6

THE INTERVIEW

"His name isn't Windrush, is it?" {the "No-Expectation" Question) "Isn't his name Windrush?" (the "Surprise" Question) In conversation, a "General" Question is often made without the subject and verb; e.g. "Hungry?" (instead of the full form: "Are you hungry?") and in line 8 of the story: "Mr. Windrush?" (instead of "Are you Mr. Windrush?") A "Yes-Expectation" Question is often made in the form of an affirmative statement with a question-intonation in the voice: e.g. "You know of course that women in the Foreign Office must be unmarried?" (line 93) And, similarly, a "No-Expectation" Question is* often made in the form of a negative statement with a question-intonation in the voice; e.g. "Lunch isn't ready yet? Oh dear! I'm awfully hungry." "That noise surely won't go on all through the night?" Let us now look at a completely different form: QUESTIONS THAT ASK FOR INFORMATION

Unlike the questions that ask for " Y e s " or " N o " answers, these must always begin with an interrogative word or interrogative phrase: e.g. " Who is that man over there?" " Which of these hats suits me best?" " When did you last go there?" "How are you?" "How many times a day do you have to take that medicine?'' "At what time of the year is it best to plant roses?" Five important things must be remembered about this type of question: (a) Who, Whom, Whose, etc. always ask for information about a person's name or identity; e.g. " Who are you?" ("I am Stanley Windrush.") " Whose car is that?' ("It's Toby Blake's, I " Whose is that car?' think.") " Whom did you go with?" (" With Mary and her brother.") (b) When What is used for a person, it always asks about his or her work; 7

THE NEW INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH COURSE

e.g. " What is Toby Blake?" ("He's an architect.") "What is Stanley Windrush?" (" Nothing yet, but he's hoping to get a job in the Foreign Office.") (c) Which always asks for a person or thing to be pointed out; e.g. " Which of these people is Toby Blake'?' ("The tall man standing by the window.") "Which of these hats suits me best?" ("The white one, I think.") (d) In conversation, a preposition with Whom or Which or Where is better at the end of the question than at the beginning; e.g. " Whom did you go there with!" (i.e. " With whom did you go there?" is correct but not nearly so usual in conversation.) " Which cinema shall we go to" " Where did you get that from?" (e) If the interrogative word is not the subject of the question, the Inversion Construction must always be used in questions that ask for information; e.g. "Whom did you talk to most at the party?" "When did you arrive home?" "How would you assess your Japanese?" "What time did the train arrive this morning?" "Why have you put your shoes on this chair?" "Where are they going for their holidays?" (i.e. the Inversion Construction is necessary in every one of these questions because none of the interrogative words is the subject of the question.) However, when the interrogative word is the subject of the question, the Inversion Construction is not used; e.g. "Who holds the world's record for the high j u m p ? " " What caused the accident?" " Which party has won the election?" " What strike you as being some of its more interesting features, Mr. Windrush?" (line 59) PRACTICE EXERCISE 1

Make Information Questions to which the following sentences could be the answers. The words in italics show the information that is required. e.g. Answer: " William went there last Thursday." Question: " Who went there last Thursday?" 8


Answer: "William went there last Thursday." Question: " When did William go there?" 1. This is my brother. 11. She laughed because it was 2. He is a doctor. so funny. 3. He lives in London. 12. She laughed. 4. The bus arrived at five 13. I go there twice a week. o'clock. 14.I go there twice a week. 5. The bus arrived at five (Careful!) o'clock. 15. It's done like this. 6. She is going to meet Peter. 16. He had been reading up on 7. This is Jim Pearson's house. the world situation. 8. I'll wear these black shoes. 17. She's rather ill. 9. He graduated in 1960'. 18.I gave it to William. 10. A cigarette-end caused the 19. Butter comes from milk. fire. 20. This wine came from France. 2. REPORTED (INDIRECT) SPEECH (PART ONE) Basically, this is not at all difficult. You all know by now that when we put a sentence of Direct Speech into Reported (or Indirect) Speech, a present tense usually becomes a past tense, a past tense becomes a past perfect, a word such as here becomes there, today becomes that day, and so on; e.g. Richard said: "It's a bit cold today. I'm going to wear a pullover." becomes: Richard said (that) it was a bit cold that day. He was going to wear a pullover. and: Mary said: "I once spent a summer here in this village." becomes: Mary said (that) she had once spent a summer there in that village. However, this is not always so. These "usual" changes are not always made. Suppose, for example, that we want to report Richard's statement on the same day as he made it... We shall not change either the tenses or the word today. We shall say: Richard said (or says) that it's a bit cold today. He's going to wear a pullover. And if we are in the village where Mary once spent a summer, we shall say: Mary said (or says) that she once spent a summer here in this village. The same principle of logic applies to all the cases in which changes must usually be made. Let us have another example: 9


becomes: A man asked Stanley how he would assess his Japanese. There are several other things to note, too: (a) The verb to ask and its subject should again be put at the beginning. (b) The conjunction that is never used. If the question is one that asks for information, the interrogative word is kept in the Reported Speech; e.g. A man said: "How would you assess your Japanese?" becomes, as we have seen: A man asked how he would assess his Japanese, and: " Why are you so late?" the Chairman said to Stanley, becomes: The Chairman asked Stanley why he was so late. If, however, the question is one which asks for a " Y e s " or " N o " answer, the conjunction whether (or if) is used; e.g. " D o you think," put in one of the women, "that the decay in family life today is not important?" becomes: One of the women asked whether {if) he thought that the decay in family life today is not important. (Note that the put in of the direct sentence has had to be changed to asked, just as if it had been said.) (c) The Inversion Construction of the direct question must be taken away in the Reported Speech; e.g. A man said: "How would you assess your Japanese?" becomes: A man asked how he would assess his Japanese, and: "Do you think" put in one of the women . . . becomes: One of the women asked whether he thought. . .

3. Commands, Requests, etc. If the verb to say is used with the Direct Speech, it must be changed in any case into some such verb as to ask, to tell, to order, according to logic. (That is to say, it would be very illogical to use the verb to ask if we are reporting, say, an officer's order to a soldier; and it would be quite wrong to use the verb to order if someone asks us very politely to close the window.) Secondly, we must always have an object after the verb which we choose to use; e.g. "Would you close the window, please?" my wife said to me. becomes: My wife asked me to close the window".

12

THE NEW I N T E R M E D I A T E ENGLISH COURSE

Peter said: "I shall go to Paris before the end of this month." If we report his statement before the end of the month, neither the tense nor this month will be changed. We shall say: Peter said that he will go to Paris before the end of this month. If, on the other hand, we report his statement during the following month, the future tense will change to the conditional, and this month will change to last month: Peter said that he would go to Paris before the end of last month. And if we report it several months later, this month will change to that month: Peter said that he would go to Paris before the end of that month. Logic, therefore, is more important than rules in making the "usual" changes.

There are a number of other rules, however, which are important. Speech falls into four categories: 1. Statements:

e.g. "That's one of the difficult things to see in this situation," said Stanley. (line 70) 2. Questions: e.g. "A man said: How would you assess your Japanese? Fluent?" (line 97) 3. Commands, e.g. It said, tersely: "SPEAK UP." (line 15) Requests, etc.: " G o in now, sir," said the messenger. (line 6) 4. Exclamations: e.g. "Oh, good gracious, n o ! " cried Stanley. (line 90) "We-e-ell. . . " he said at last, in profound distaste. (line 113) Do you notice that the verb said is used with five of these six examples? It could also have been used, just as correctly, with the other one; i.e. " Oh, good gracious, no!" said Stanley. The verb to say is the commonest of all the verbs that are used with Direct Speech—never mind whether the speech is a statement or a question or a command or an exclamation. But it cannot always be used with Reported Speech. Let us now examine each category separately. 10


1. Statements If the verb to say is without a prepositional object, we can use it with Reported Speech; e.g. "That's one of the difficult things to see in this situation," said Stanley. becomes: Stanley said that that was one of the difficult things to see in that situation. But if it is with a prepositional object of any kind, we cannot use it with Reported Speech. We must change it into some such verb as to tell: e.g. "That's one of the difficult things to see in this situation," Stanley said to the Chairman. becomes: Stanley told {informed, etc.) the Chairman that that was one of the difficult things to see in that situation. There are several other things to note when reporting statements : (a) The conjunction that may be used or omitted, as we prefer; e.g. Richard said that it was a bit cold that day. or: Richard said it was a bit cold that day. (b) The words " Y e s " and " N o " in Direct Speech usually disappear in Reported Speech; e.g. "Yes," said Stanley, "I can." becomes: Stanley said (that) he could. and: "Oh, yes," said Stanley. "Yes, I think one's work is jolly important." becomes: Stanley said (that) he thought one's work is jolly important. (c) With Direct Speech, the verb to say and its subject may be at the beginning of a sentence, or in the middle, or at the end. With Reported Speech, it should be put at the beginning; e.g. "That's one of the difficult things etc.," said Stanley. becomes: Stanley said (that) that was one of the difficult things etc. 2. Questions If the verb to say is used with the Direct Speech, it must in all cases be changed into some such verb as to ask—whether it is with or without a prepositional object; e.g. A man said: "How would you assess your Japanese?" becomes: A man asked how he would assess his Japanese. and: A man said to Stanley: "How would you assess your Japanese?" 11


If there is not an object in the sentence of the Direct Speech, we must find one from our imagination: e.g. " G o in now, sir," said the messenger. becomes: The messenger asked {told) Stanley to go in then, and: It said, tersely: "SPEAK UP." becomes: It tersely told whoever was sitting in front of it (the candidate, etc.) to speak up. Thirdly, no conjunction is used when a command or a request is reported. The verb of the command or the request simply changes into its infinitive with " t o " ; e.g. " G o in now, sir," said the messenger. becomes: The messenger told (asked) Stanley to go in then. (Notice the disappearance of the sir.) 4. Exclamations These are a little more difficult. They are discussed in the next lesson. Now, finally, before you begin to practise your own ability, here are six general points to study and remember: (a) We very often find a name in the Direct Speech; e.g. "It's getting very late, Robert," said Patricia. When we report this, we generally make this name the object of the verb to tell (etc.); e.g. Patricia told Robert that it was getting late. (b) We very often find expressions in Direct Speech such as Oh, you know, you see, er (line 99), well (line 77). These are usually omitted altogether from the Reported Speech. (c) We very often find "Let's . . . " in Direct Speech; e.g. "Let's go to the cinema tonight," John said to his wife. The best way to report this is with the verb to suggest; - e.g. John suggested to his wife that they should (might) go to the cinema that night. (d) Requests, in Direct Speech, are very often made in such forms as: " Would you mind lending me your bicycle?" said " Would you be so kind as to lend me your Dick to bicycle?" " Would you like to lend me your bicycle?" Tom. etc. 1 1. The various forms of requests are discussed in detail in Lesson Thirteen.

13

THE N E W I N T E R M E D I A T E E N G L I S H C O U R S E

These can be reported in two ways: (i) as a request, in the ordinary way: e.g. Dick asked Tom to lend him his bicycle. (ii) as a question: e.g. Tom asked Dick whether —he would mind lending him his bicycle. —he would be so kind as to lend him his bicycle. —he would like to lend him his bicycle. (e) When there is more than one sentence in the Direct Speech, we sometimes have difficulty in deciding whether to use the verbs to say, to tell, to ask, etc. more than once. There is no hard and fast rule about this, but a good principle to follow is to use such verbs as little as possible. The first example in this grammar section was: Richard said: "It's a bit cold today. I'm going to wear a pullover." The Reported Speech had only one said: Richard said that it was a bit cold that day. He was going to wear a pullover. That is to say, it is quite unnecessary to put another said in front of the second sentence. However, when the second sentence is a question or a request, a second verb is usually needed; e.g. Mary said: "It's raining hard. Have you seen my umbrella, Bob?" becomes: Mary said (that) it was raining hard. She asked Bob whether he had seen her umbrella. and: Mary said: "It's raining hard. Do fetch my umbrella, please, Bob." becomes: Mary said (that) it was raining hard. She asked Bob to fetch her umbrella. On the other hand, when the question or the request comes first, and the statement follows, we do not usually need a second verb; e.g. Mary said: "Have you seen my umbrella Bob? It's raining hard." becomes: Mary asked Bob whether he had seen her umbrella. It fas raining hard. and: Mary said: " D o fetch my umbrella, Bob. It's raining

hard." becomes: Mary asked Bob to fetch her umbrella. It was raining hard. 14


(f) And, finally, here is a list of some of the " u s u a l " changes of tenses, forms and words: Direct Speech He goes . . . He is going . . . He has gone . . . He has been going . . . He w e n t . . . He was going . . .

becomes „ „ „ „ „

Reported Speech He went . . . He was going . .. He had gone . . . He had been going . . . He had gone . . . He had been going . . .

He will go . . . He will be going . . . He will have gone . . , He will have been going . . .

„ „ „

He would go . . . He would be going . . . He would have gone . . .

„

He would have been going . . .

He may go . . . He may be going . . . He can go . . . He can have gone . . . He must go . . . He ought to go . . .

„ „ „ „ ,, „

He might go . . . He might be going . . . He could go . . . He could have gone . . . He had to go . .. He had to go . ..

(The following do not change: He had gone . . . remains He had gone . . . He had been going . . . „ He had been going . . . He would go . . . He would be going . . . He would have gone He would have been going . . . He used to go . . .

,, „

He would go . . . He would be going . . . He would have gone . . .

,, ,,

He would have been g o i n g . . . He used to go . . . )

now here this today tomorrow

becomes „ „ „ „

yesterday

„

next week last week

„ „

then there that that day the next day, the following day the day before, the previous day the following week the previous week etc.

15

THE NEW I N T E R M E D I A T E E N G L I S H COURSE PRACTICE EXERCISE 2

Turn the following sentences into Reported Speech. 1. "There are no mistakes at all in your exercise," Mr. Brown said to James. 2. "It's going to be a lovely day," she said. 3. "I'm going to bed," said William. "I'm very tired." 4. " D o you know where Michael has gone?" said Mrs. Blyth to her husband. J 5. "How often do you have your hair cut?' my employer asked me. 6. A tall man stopped me outside the station and said: "Are you the man I've been told to meet here?" 7. "Serve lunch as soon as you can," Mrs. Blakeway said to the maid. 8. He said to me: "Please be as quiet as you can." 9. When he arrived home, he looked very ill. " G o straight to bed," his wife said.

10. " D o you know where Michael has gone?" said Mrs. Blyth to her husband. "I'm getting worried about him." 11. " I ' m getting worried about Michael," said Mrs. Blyth to her husband. " D o you know where he has gone?" 12. "Will you please buy a load of bread on your way home?" Madeleine said as her husband left to go to the office. 13. "Let's have the outside of the house repainted," said Andrew. 14. "We're quite ready," Mrs. Blakeway said to the maid. "Serve lunch as soon as you can." 15. "Serve lunch as soon as you can," Mrs. Blakeway said to the maid. "We're quite ready." 16. " Y o u know," said Patricia, "I definitely need some new dresses." {Careful!) 17. " I ' m sorry to have to say," said the manager to his secretary, "that you have behaved—er—extremely foolishly." 18. "What is the time, please?" said Andrew. 19. " I t is time for you to go to bed," said his mother. 2 0 . " Michael may have gone to the cinema," said Mr. Blyth. 21. "They weren't there," said Susan. "They had already left for the station." 22. " A t last," said my friend, "I can agree with what you are saying." (Careful!)

16

THE INTERVIEW

23. "I should have done that," said Jonathan, "if it had been possible." 24. "If I had won that lottery," said Robert, "I should have bought a little house by the sea." 25. "We must get up early tomorrow," said Patricia to her husband.

17

LESSON T W O

PASSING THROUGH THE CUSTOMS BY G. K. CHESTERTON

I passed lately1 through the Customs Houses 2 of three countries—England, France and Germany. They were as different as a lecture, a massacre3, and a morning call ;4 they might have been done in three different planets or by three 5 different races of animals. But they were all equally efficient, they were all a nuisance and they all took exactly the same time to a tick of the clock. The French douane5 impressed an English lady who was unfamiliar with travel with the idea that she had got into some particularly squalid6 and 10 bloody corner of the French Revolution. Bullet-headed men pushing and banging into everybody, shouting at the top of their voices and throwing luggage about like pieces of wood —this vision struck her simple mind as having in it some element of confusion. She asked how we should ever get to 15 the end of such anarchy.7 Almost as she said the words the thing was over; everyone had the right luggage, passed with the proper form of examination; everyone was free again and happy. "These people," I said to her, " d o not bang and 1. (This article was written in the 1920's.) 2. the place where luggage is inspected, when one passes from one country to another. 3. the cruel killing of a large number of people. 4. a social visit. 5. i.e. Custom House. 6. dirty; mean; sordid. 7. Literally: absence of government or control; Here: total disorder.

18

P A S S I N G T H R O U G H THE CUSTOMS

shout because they are confused or lawless, nor because they 20 are inefficient, nor yet because they are efficient. They bang and shout because they are French; they like it, it seems to soothe them." The French Custom House had been a small, dusty, wooden room like a shed. The German Custom House was 25 a Vast twilight temple, inlaid with gold and mosaic, like the roof of St. Paul's Cathedral. 1 Vast spaces of its echoing floors were not used or even inhabited. Numbers of its officials, standing about in uniforms of an aesthetic2 peacock green, seemed to have nothing to do at all. One was handed 30 about from one official to another and permitted, with silent pomp, 3 to pass from one large waiting-room to another exactly like it. But it was not really oppressive, any more than the French confusion was really brutal; the whole thing was a national sport. And the luggage was inspected 35 and passed, the travellers collected and set free, in exactly the same space of time as they had been at Boulogne. The atmosphere of the English port and Custom House is yet a third thing; less describable, but, I think, even more national than the others. Its spirit is expressed in the English 40 porter; and the nearest definition of the spirit is that it is confidential4 and comic. Everybody is received off an English boat as if he were rather a scapegrace5 son returning to the family and being met by the old coachman. 6 Even the Custom House officers have a sort of grin.7 The 45 smell of my country smacked me in the face as I stepped on the Dover Pier. I asked a short, rather beery-looking8 porter if the train was coming in. He gave an extraordinary sort of roll of the shoulder and jerk of the thumb and said roguishly, "Yers, Sir. She's comin' in 'ere . . . ar, she's 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

i.e. in London. Literally: concerning beauty in nature, art, music, literature, etc. Literally: splendid display (especially at a public event). Literally: concerning something that must be kept secret. a good-for-nothing fellow; a rogue; a rascal. i.e. the servant who drove the family coach. a broad, confidential smile. i.e. looking as though he drank a lot of beer.

19


50 a-comin' in." 1 And he went off grinning, as if it were the greatest joke in the world that the ordinary train should come in at the ordinary place. German officials stare at you. French officials scowl 2 at you. English officials wink 3 at you. But they all pass the luggage.

EXERCISES 1. Make sentences freely with these words from the article: efficient confusion vast grin vision revolution twilight brutal wink lately 2. Explain the meaning of the following. a. who was unfamiliar with travel (line 8). b. it seems to soothe them (line 21). c. with silent pomp (line 30). d. . . . as if he were rather a scapegrace son returning to the family (line 42). e. The smell of my country smacked me in the face (line 45). 3. There is one adverb-particle in this article. Can you find it? 4. Give a synonym of each of these words, in the meaning in which they are used in the article: lately (line 1) pieces (lines 12) vast (line 25) nuisance (line 6) right (line 16) pass (line 31) exactly (line 6) proper (line 17) brutal (line 33) particularly (line 9) examination (line 17) collected (line 35) luggage (line 12) shed (line 24) sort (line 48) 5. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. Why were the Customs Houses a nuisance? b. Precisely what was so different about them? c. What was the same about them? d. Why did the English lady remember the French Revolution? e. Why did the French officials push, bang, shout and throw luggage about like pieces of wood? f. Why, a few minutes later, was everyone happy again? g. Why did the French Custom House look like a shed? 1. i.e. "Yes, Sir. She's coming in here . . . yes, she's coming in." (Uneducated dialect) 2. look bad-temperedly. 3. shut and open one eye quickly, as a private signal of amusement.

20

E N G L I S H M E N ABROAD PRACTICE EXERCISE 3

(», In the following sentences, take away the expression It is possible, and use may or might with a Perfect Infinitive instead. 1. It's possible that Michael has arrived home by now. 2. It's possible Philip wanted to tell you something. 3. The ground is very damp. It's possible that it rained during the night. 4. It's possible that they have not left yet. 5. It's possible that I left my cigarette case at your office. (6) In these sentences, take away the expression It is as though or It was as though, and use might with either a Simple or Perfect Infinitive instead. 6. It is so warm today that it's as though it is the beginning of summer.' 7. You looked at me so angrily! It was as though you wanted to kill me. 8. Look at your room! It's as though there has been a revolution in it. 9. Oh, Peter, do be less clumsy! It's as though you are an elephant, the way you move about. 10. You know, they haven't very much money, but from the way they live, it's as though they are millionaires or as though they've won a big lottery or something. (c) Compose five sentences of your own with might as a sort of protest. (d) Compose five other sentences with might as a friendly type of order or instruction. 3. REPORTED SPEECH (PART TWO) (a) The Reporting of Uneducated Dialect Line 49. He . . . said roguishly, "Yers, Sir. She's comin' in 'ere . . . ar, she's a-comin' in." How shall we put this into Reported Speech? First of all, we must "translate" it into correct English. This, as we have seen, is: "Yes, Sir. She's coming in here .. . yes, she's coming in." Next, we must change the she (which refers, of course, to the train) into the neuter it. Finally, we must take away the last four words, which are a repetition—and arrive at something like this: B 25


He said roguishly that it was corning in there. or: He roguishly told G. K. Chesterton that the train was in fact coming in there. From this you will see that there is no hard and fast way to report such expressions. Logic is the principal thing that is needed. (b) The Reporting of Exclamations A good deal of logic is needed here, too. Let us take a simple example to begin with: "My goodness!" said Helen. "What a beautiful sunset!'' Quite clearly, we cannot report this a s : Helen said her goodness —what a beautiful sunset. The best thing to do is to use the verb to exclaim instead of to say, omit the My goodness!, and have something like: Helen exclaimed that the sunset was beautiful. or: Helen exclaimed that the sunset was a beautiful one. or: Helen exclaimed at the beauty of the sunset. There are no examples of exclamations in either of these articles, so let us take one from the story in Lesson One: "Oh, good gracious, n o ! " cried Stanley, (line 90) Before reporting this, we shall have to be sure what Stanley was exclaiming about. One of the women had asked him whether he thought that the decay in family life today is not i m p o r t a n t . . . We can now report his exclamation in some such way as this: Stanley exclaimed that he did n6t at all think that the decay in family life today is not important. (Note: the addition of at all gives the emphasis that is contained in the direct exclamation.) PRACTICE EXERCISE 4

Put the following exclamations into Reported Speech. 1. " O u c h ! " said Oliver, as he hit his thumb with the hammer. 2. " O h dear!" said Billy, as his plate was put in front of him. " N o t boiled beef again!" 3. "My word, you're strong!" said Anne, as Roger lifted the heavy box. 4. "Nonsense!" Roderick said to me. "Complete rubbish! Bosh!" 5. "A goddess!" murmured David, as Madeleine entered the ballroom. 26

LESSON THREE

A N I G H T OUT IN THE DOLOMITES 1 BY BERTHA SMITH

About six o'clock on a September evening we found ourselves in the wild and beautiful valley of Angoraz at the foot of the pass 2 which leads up to the great Plata Plateau. 3 We had seen no reason why two girls should not walk in one 5 day from the valley of San Lucarno to San Martino in the valley of Castrozza; but through a series of unlucky happenings we had lost about three hours of precious daylight. The most difficult part of our journey was yet to come, and the sinking sun warned us that it would be impossible for 10 us to reach San Martino. We decided to spend the night at the Club Hut 4 on the Rosetta Pass. After a hard climb up very steep and slippery rocks we reached the top of the pass about seven o'clock, and another quarter of an hour brought us to the signpost on the edge 15 of the wide stone-covered plateau. From this point our way was supposed to be sufficiently marked with painted stakes and heaps of stones (locally called "Stone Men"). We found these of little use, for the evening clouds were now down to the level of the plateau, covering, too, the 1. A range of mountains that is a part of the Alps. 2. road or path that leads over high land between mountains. 3. plateau: an expanse of level land high above sea-level. 4. i.e. a small wooden house provided by a mountaineering club for the shelter of climbers.

27


20 mountain peaks which should have been our landmarks. 1 The whole region was a mass of rocks and loose stones. To the south-west a momentary break in the clouds showed us the foot of a small glacier2 on our left front. I felt sure that our way lay across the foot of that glacier. My companion 25 thought differently; and, as she had been there before and I had not, I gave in. We set off in the opposite direction, climbing and descending what seemed a never-ending series of small hills. The stakes and Stone Men seemed to lead us in all directions, and were more of a hindrance 3 than a help. 30 After a while the clouds broke, and we saw a mountain straight ahead which we knew was not in our direction. We turned back. Daylight was now going, but the plateau began to slope downwards, which was a good sign. We found more waymarks, but soon lost them in the gathering dark35 ness. Our frequent shouts received no reply. We were now nearly dead-beat,4 and agreed that we could not possibly go on. We climbed into a hollow, where a small snow-drift5 promised a supply of water—a welcome discovery, since we had long before thrown out our water 40 to lighten our packs. Thankful to get rid of my pack and sit down, I lost no time in getting out the spirit-lamp,6 lighting it, boiling water and making tea. It was now about nine o'clock. We decided to spend the night in the hollow, although it seemed very stony and unattractive. We tried 45 to clear a space to lie on, but whenever we moved a sharp stone we found a sharper one underneath. Lying close together for warmth and covered with our raincoats, we spent a restless night, neither of us sleeping for more than a few minutes at a time. These moments of sleep were, in my case, 50 filled with vivid pictures of the day—our unsuccessful search for breakfast at 5.30 a.m., the late arrival of the carriage, 1. visible objects that show a person where he is. 2. a "river" of ice. 3. the opposite of a help. 4. totally exhausted (colloquial). 5. a heap of gathered snow. 6. a small cooking-lamp which burns with methylated spirits (i.e. blue alcohol).

28

A N I G H T OUT IN THE DOLOMITES 1

the detour to Agordo to obtain breakfast and food supplies, the broken' bridge at Taibon, the long heavy walk in terrible heat up the San Lucarno valley, the welcome shelter of the 55 pine woods, the wooden bowls full of creamy milk at the alpine dairy, the little meadow2 bright with flowers, the steep rocks of the pass, the clouds and the stones. Even if our beds had been more comfortable, we should have been awakened by the cold. We were wet as well as 60 cold, for our clothing had been made very wet by the damp mist. Before midnight a bitter wind came whistling through the hollow. Winds were busy in the upper air also, making bright moments in the sky. At one moment we watched the Great Bear3 being chased by swift clouds, at another we 65 admired the lovely jewels of the Milky Way4 hanging above our heads. At frequent intervals we boiled our precious kettle. We did not hesitate to mix our drinks, but used everything we had—tea, chocolate, milk, brandy—and just as day was beginning to dawn, we had a final drink made of 70 all that was left of my nice strong English peppermints. In this way we used the last of our snow-water and the last of our methylated spirit. In the faint light we gathered our scattered belongings together. Stiff and tired, though warmed and refreshed by our peppermint soup, we started off once 75 more. My companion, climbing first out of the hollow, cried " Rosetta Mountain!", and joining her I saw straight ahead a Dolomite peak rising above the mist. In front of us lay the path to the hut, not a stone's throw away.5 EXERCISES 1. Make sentences freely with these words wild glacier vivid precious hindrance detour landmark restless shelter

from the article: dairy jewel meadow pool mist refresh

1. a roundabout journey. 2. a field of grass. 3. a group of stars in the northern sky. 4. a long band of millions of stars stretching across the sky. 5. i.e. only a very small distance away.

29

THE N E W I N T E R M E D I A T E E N G L I S H COURSE

2. Explain the meaning of the following: a. We found these of little use (line 17). b. on our left front (line 23). c. My companion thought differently (line 24). d. I gave in (line 26). e. what seemed a never-ending series of small hills (line 27). f. Daylight was now going (line 32). g. I lost no time in getting out the spirit lamp (line 41). h. our unsuccessful search for breakfast (line 50). i. Winds were busy in the upper air (line 62). j. We did not hesitate to mix our drinks (line 67). 3. Can you find the adverb-particles in the article? There are 7. 4. In each of the following sentences there is one grammatical mistake. Can you find it, and say why it is a mistake? (The grammar in each case was discussed in Book One.) a. I have been to the cinema yesterday. b. Tommy was spanking by Miss Carson. c. In life, a humour is as necessary as health. d. One must not leave his car in this street for more than an hour. e. What a pity! This glass, that we shan't be able to replace, is cracked. f. Now that you have your new glasses, are you seeing better? g. I, wanting some fresh air and exercise, went out for a walk, h. He has a good vocabulary because he uses to read at least one English book every week. i. There is very pleasant to have a hot bath after a game of football. j. Thank you very much. You are the most kind. 5. In line 65, we have ". . . the lovely jewels of the Milky Way." A jewel is, of course, a precious stone (such as a diamond) set in an ornament (such as a ring). Can you think of the names of {a) 5 other precious or semiprecious stones? (6) 5 other ornaments in which they are set? 6. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. Why were the two girls in the valley of Angoraz that September evening? b. Why were they there rather later than they had planned? c. Why did they decide to spend the night at the Club Hut on the Rosetta Pass? d. Why were the "Stone Men" of little use to them? e. Which way did the writer think they should go, after she had seen the small glacier? 30

MR. P H A N O U R A K I S

f. Why did she give in to her companion's different opinion? g. The Stone Men soon became more of a hindrance than a help. Why"? h. Why did they at last turn back? i. Why were they feeling nearly dead-beat? j. Why had they no water with them? k. How did they manage to obtain water? I. Why was the hollow in which they decided to sleep so uncomfortable? m. What did they do with their raincoats? n. Why do you think their search for breakfast at the beginning of the day had been unsuccessful? o. What did they do with the writer's peppermints?

MR. P H A N O U R A K I S ANONYMOUS

Mr. Phanourakis was 80 years old when he left his Greek 80 mountain village and took a foreign ship for America. His sons had done well in the restaurant business there and wanted him to spend his remaining years with them. Mr. Phanourakis knew no language save1 his own but, with the dignified self-confidence of a mountain villager, he 85 made his way easily about the ship. When the bell announced the serving of lunch on his first day on board he found the number of his table from the list outside the dining-room and went straight to his table while many of the other passengers crowded helplessly round the chief steward2 waiting 90 to be told where their tables were. It was a small table for two. Mr. Phanourakis sat down. After a few moments his table-companion arrived. "Bon appétit, m'sieur," he murmured politely, as he took the other chair. 95 Mr. Phanourakis looked at him quickly and then smiled. 1. except.

2. i.e. the head waiter on a ship.

31


"Phanourakis," he said, carefully spacing out the Greek syllables. During the afternoon, one of the ship's officers, who spoke a little Greek, asked Mr. Phanourakis whether he had found 100 any acquaintances1 on board. The old man shook his head. " The only person I've met is my table-companion," he said. "I think he's French. His name is Bonappetit." "That is not a name," said the officer gently. "It is a 105 French expression that means 'good appetite'." "Oh," said Mr. Phanourakis quietly. "I have been very foolish." At dinner-time he found the Frenchman already seated at the table. He smiled shyly as he sat down and said, "Bon 110 appétit, m'sieur." The Frenchman returned his smile. "Phanourakis, m'sieur," he said. EXERCISES 1. Can you find the adverb-particles in this anecdote? There are 3. 2. a. From your memory, put, in the blank spaces below, the prepositions (or adverb-particles) that were actually used by the writer of the anecdote; and b. Say what other prepositions (or adverb particles) could be used. Mr. Phanourakis knew no other language — his own but, — the dignified self-confidence — a mountain villager, he made his way easily — the ship. When the bell announced the serving — lunch — his first day — board he found the number — his table — the list — the dining-room and went straight — his table while many — the other passengers crowded helplessly — the chief steward waiting to be told where their tables were. It was a small table — two. Mr. Phanourakis sat —. — a few moments his table-companion arrived. "Bon appetit, m'sieur," he murmured, as he took the other chair. Mr. Phanourakis looked — him quickly and then smiled. 1. i.e. people whom he knew.

32

MX. P H A N O U R A K I S

"Phanourakis," he said, carefully spacing — the Greek syllables. - the afternoon, one — the ship's officers, who spoke a little Greek, asked Mr. Phanourakis whether he had found any acquaintances — board. 3. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. Why do you think his sons, who had done well in America, wanted Mr. Phanourakis to spend his remaining years with them? b. Mr. Phanourakis was able to make his way easily about the ship—although he knew no language but Greek, and the ship was not a Greek one. Why do you think he was able to do this? c. Why do you think he found his table-number from the list outside the dining-room and did not wait, as all the others did, to be shown where it was by the chief steward? d. Why did he say "Phanourakis" when his table-companion said "Bon appétit"? e. At dinner that night he smiled shyly at his table-companion as he sat down. Why did he smile shyly! f. Why did his table-companion now say the word "Phanourakis"?

THREE POINTS OF GRAMMAR 1. SUBORDINATE (or DEPENDENT) CLAUSES A Subordinate (or Dependent) Clause is a group of words which (a) has its own subject and verb, (b) has not a complete meaning, and (c) is dependent on (i.e. subordinate, to) the principal part of the sentence; e.g. "He put on his overcoat when he began to feel cold." i.e. the group of words when he began to feel cold is a subordinate clause: it has its own subject (he), and its own verb {began); it has not a complete meaning; it is dependent on the principal part of the sentence He put on his overcoat. (Note: Even though the subject of the clause is the same person (or thing) as the subject of the principal part of the sentence, it must be repeated if the clause is subordinate. e.g. "He put on his overcoat when he began to feel cold." 33


not: " H e put on his overcoat when began to feel cold.") There are three types of subordinate clauses: 1. Adjective (Adjectival) Clauses—which do the work of adjectives. 2. Adverb (Adverbial) Clauses—which do the work of adverbs. 3. Noun Clauses—which do the work of nouns. 1. Adjective Clauses In many languages it is possible to put a compound adjective1 in front of a noun; e.g. "That is a difficult to climb mountain." In English, a compound adjective must never be put in front of a noun 2 —it must be put after the noun, usually in an adjective clause; e.g. "That is a mountain which is difficult to climb.''' Thus, although it would be possible in many languages to say the equivalent of . . . the leading up to the great Plata Plateau pass, in English it must be as it is in line 3: . . . the pass which leads up to the great Plata Plateau.3 Here is another example from the article: . . . and we saw a mountain ahead which . . . was not in our direction. 2. Adverb Clauses In the sentence "I went there quickly yesterday.", the adverbs there, quickly, and yesterday tell us where, how and when. Adverb clauses do the same thing. They also tell us why something happened, and they tell us about the "ifs", "althoughs", etc., of a matter. There are a good many examples in this article. Here are a few of them: Why . . . Line 17. We found these of little use, for the evening clouds were now down . . . Line 25. . . . and, as she had been there before and I had not, I gave in. Line 39. . . . a welcome discovery, since we had long before thrown out our water . . . 1. i.e. an adjective whose meaning is expressed in more than one word. 2. unless it is an idiomatic or stereotyped expression. 3. or, of course, with a present participle: . . . the pass, leading up etc. (See page 163 of Book One again, if necessary.)

34

MR. PHANOURAKIS

Line 59. We were wet as well as cold, for our clothing had been made very wet by the mist. When . .. Line 45. We tried to clear a space to lie on but whenever we moved a sharp stone we found a sharper one underneath. Line 68. . . . and just as day was beginning to dawn, we had a final drink . .. Although . . . Line 43. We decided to spend the night in the hollow, although it seemed very stony and unattractive. If... Line 58. Even if our beds had been more comfortable, we should have been awakened by the cold. 3. Noun Clauses In the sentence, "William told James the time.", the word time, one of the objects of the sentence, is of course a noun. In the sentence, "William told James that it was five o'clock.", the words that it was five o'clock are a clause—and, because they are doing the same work as the noun time, they are a noun clause. In line 9 we have, . . . the sinking sun warned us that it would be impossible for us to reach San Martino. The words that it would be impossible for us to reach San Martino are a noun clause. Similarly, in I felt sure that our way lay across the foot of that glacier (line 23), the words that our way lay across the foot of that glacier are another noun clause. Note that a noun clause does not always begin with that, as the three examples above have done. There is one in line 27 which begins with what:... climbing and descending what seemed a never-ending series of small hills. Other characteristics of these three types of clauses will be discussed in later lessons of this book. PRACTICE EXERCISE 5

Find the clauses in the following sentences and say whether they are adjective clauses, adverb clauses, or noun clauses. 1. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins, whom we met yesterday, have asked us for dinner. 2. I went to bed early last night because I was very tired. 3. Peter said that he would give it to me tomorrow. 4. Will you come and help me, when you have finished your own work?

35


5. Richard has bought a motor car which has a very powerful engine. 6. I should like to know what you did last night. 7. If it rains, we shan't go there tomorrow. 8. Where there's smoke, there's also fire. (An old proverb.) 9. His laugh, which is purely nervous, annoys me very much sometimes. 10. Although it was quite hot, he didn't want to take off his jacket. 11. My uncle has asked me what I want for Christmas. 12. Helen had to pay for the cinema because I had forgotten to take any money with me. 13. I said that I was very sorry about my absent-mindedness. 14. Do you remember that funny man whom we met here last year? 15.I missed my train because I woke up late. 2. THE OMISSION OF "WHOM", "WHICH", AND "THAT" IN ADJECTIVE CLAUSES When an Adjective Clause is a Defining Relative Clause, 1 it is possible, if we wish, to omit the relative pronouns whom, which, or that in two special cases: (a) when the relative pronoun is the object of the verb of the clause; e.g. "You'll be pleased to know I've given a job to that little man you like so much." i.e. instead of: "whom (that) you like so much."; the relative pronoun can be omitted here, if we want to omit it, because it is the object of the verb of its clause (i.e. like). "Have you seen the new house they've bought by the sea?" i.e. instead of: "which (that) they've bought by the sea." The relative pronoun is again the object of the verb of its clause. (b) when the relative pronoun is the object of a preposition which is put at the end of the clause, or after the verb of the clause; e.g. "Is this the book you were speaking about!" i.e. instead of: " which (that) you were speaking about?"; the relative pronoun here is the object 1. See page 137, of Book One again, if necessary.

36

MR. PHANOURAKIS

of the preposition about, and this preposition is at the end of the clause. " I ' d like to meet those people you were talking to this morning." i.e. instead of: "whom (that) you were talking to this morning."; the relative pronoun here is the object of the preposition to, and this preposition is put after the verb of the clause. On the other hand, the relative pronoun must never be omitted when it is: (i) the object of a preposition which is put in front of it; e.g. "Is this the book about which you were speaking?" " I ' d like to meet those people to whom you were talking this morning." (Note, however, that it is always better in conversation to put the preposition after the verb or at the end of the clause—whether the relative pronoun is omitted or not.) (ii) the subject of the verb of its clause; e.g. ". . . at the foot of the pass which leads up to the great Plata Plateau" (iii) in the possessive case (whose); e.g. "I don't like people whose chief subject of conversation is gossip." PRACTICE EXERCISE 6

From these sentences, take away the relative pronoun if it is possible to do so. 1. Richard has bought a motor car which has a very powerful engine. 2. Do you remember that funny man whom we met here last year? 3. A cough which is purely nervous can be very annoying sometimes. 4. This is the friend whom I spoke about. 5. This is the friend about whom I spoke. 6. That is the chair which he was sitting on. 7. We usually choose our friends from among people whose interests are in some way similar to our own. 8. The law to which I refer was first discussed by Aristotle. 9. These cigarettes which you smoke are much lighter than the one which I smoke. 37


10. The new maid whom we found last week is a very good cook. 11. I'm afraid that the vase which I've broken cannot be replaced. 12. Father, this is the man whom I want to marry, if you will give your consent.1 13. Father, this is the man who wants to marry me, if you will give your consent. 14. That car accident which you were in last week is going to cause quite a lot of trouble. 15. That is the sort of house which I'd like to have. 3. MORE ABOUT INFINITIVES Line 80. His sons . . . wanted him to spend his remaining years with them. In languages which are inflected (i.e. where verbs, among other things, have different endings according to whether they are used with the 1st, or 2nd, or 3rd person) the word for him in the line above might not be necessary. English, however, is an uninfected language (except for the " s " of the 3rd Person Singular of the Present Simple), and in such a construction the him is absolutely necessary. Look at the difference between: "I" want to leave at once." and: "I want you to leave at once." him to leave at once." or: "I want her them The pronouns you, him, her and them are the objects of the verb want, but are the subjects of the verb to leave. In the first example, "I want to leave at once.", the subject of to leave is, of course, " I " . 1. permission.

38

LESSON

FOUR

THE VOICE BY V. S. P R I T C H E T T

A message came from the rescue party, who straightened up and leaned on their spades in the rubble. 1 The policeman said to the crowd: "Everyone keep quiet for five minutes. No talking, please. They're trying to hear where he is." 5 The silent crowd raised their faces and looked across the ropes to the church, which, now it was destroyed, broke the line of the street like a decayed tooth. The bomb had brought down the front wall, and the roof and the balcony had fallen. Curiously untouched, the hymnboard 2 still an10 nounced the previous Sunday's hymns. A small wind blew a smell of burning cloth across people's noses from another street where there was another scene like this. A bus roared by and heads turned in passive anger until the sound of the engine had gone. People blinked3 as 15 a pigeon flew from a roof and crossed the building like an omen4 of release. There was dead quietness again. Presently a murmuring sound was heard by the rescue party. The man buried under the debris1 was singing again. At first difficult to hear, soon a tune became definite. Two 20 of the rescuers took up their spades and shouted down to 1. broken bricks and stones (here, the result of a war-time air-raid). 2. the board in a church that announces the numbers of the hymns (i.e. religious songs) which are to be sung during a church service. 3. Literally: to shut and open both eyes quickly—as a result of surprise or nervousness. 4. a sign of something good or evil.

39


encourage the buried man, and the voice became stronger and louder. Words became clear. The leader of the rescue party held back the others, and those who were near strained to hear. Then the words were unmistakable: 25 " O Thou Whose Voice the waters heard, And hushed their raging at Thy Word." The buried man was singing a hymn. A clergyman1 was standing with the warden 2 in the middle of the ruined church. 30 "That's Mr. Morgan all right," the warden said. "He could sing. He got silver medals for it." The Rev. 3 Frank Lewis frowned. " Gold, I shouldn't wonder," 4 said Mr. Lewis dryly. Now he knew Morgan was alive he said: " What the devil5 is he 35 doing in there? How did he get in? I locked up at eight o'clock last night myself." Lewis was a wiry,6 middle-aged man, but the white dust on his hair and his eye-lashes, and the way he kept licking the dust off his dry lips, moving his jaws all the time, 40 gave him the monkeyish, testy7 and suspicious air of an old man. He had been up all night on rescue work in the air-raid and he was tired out. The last straw8 was to find the church had gone9 and that Morgan, the so-called10 Rev. Morgan, was buried under it. 45 The rescue workers were digging again. There was a wide hole now and a man was down in it filling a basket with his hands. The dust rose like smoke from the hole as he worked. The voice had not stopped singing. It went on, rich, 1. a minister of religion. 2. i.e. the air-raid warden; a Civil Defence worker. 3. i.e. The Reverend—the title used by clergymen. 4. i.e. " I shouldn't be surprised to hear that the medals were gold." 5. Note: the word devil has no meaning here. This is simply an emphatic way of saying: " What is he doing in there? " 6. thin but strong. 7. easily annoyed. 8. i.e. the final tragic happening. 9. i.e. had been destroyed. 10. i.e. called this (The Rev.) wrongly, without justification.

40

THE VOICE 1

virile, masculine, from verse to verse of the hymn. Shooting 50 up like a stem2 through the rubbish the voice seemed to rise and branch out powerfully, luxuriantly and even theatrically, like a tree, until everyone was in its shade. It was a shade that came towards one like dark arms. "All the Welsh can sing," the warden said. Then he 55 remembered that Lewis was Welsh also. " N o t that I've got anything against the Welsh," the warden said. The scandal of it, Lewis was thinking. Must he sing so loudly, must he advertise himself? I locked up myself last night. How the devil3 did he get in? And he really meant: 60 How did the devil4 get in? To Lewis, Morgan was the nearest human thing to the devil. He could never pass that purple-gowned figure, sauntering5 like a cardinal6 in his skull cap on the sunny side of the street, without a shudder of distaste and derision. 65 An unfrocked priest,7 his predecessor8 in the church, Morgan ought in strict justice to have been in prison, and would have been but for the kindness of the bishop. But this did not prevent the old man with the saintly white head and the eyes half-closed by the worldly juices of food and wine 70 from walking about dressed in his priest's clothes, like an actor walking in the sun of his own vanity. It was terrible but it was just 9 that the bomb had buried him; only the malice of the Evil One10 would have thought of bringing the punishment of the sinner upon the church as well. And now, 75 from the ruins, the voice of the wicked man rose up in all the elaborate pride of art and evil. 1. strong; powerful; manly. 2. the part of a plant coming up from the root. 3. See footnote 5, page 40. 4. Note: here the word devil has its ordinary meaning. (Notice its different position in the sentence.) 5. walking in a slow, leisurely way. 6. one of the members of the Sacred College of the Roman Catholic Church which elects the Popes. 7. a priest dismissed from the priesthood for bad conduct. 8. i.e. the priest who had been in charge of his church before him. 9. correct and proper. 10. i.e. the Devil.

41


Suddenly there was a noise from the sloping wood; bricks began to slide down. "Get out. It's going," 1 shouted the warden. 80 The man who was digging struggled out of the hole as it was covered by the landslide. There was a dull crumble, the crashing and splintering of wood. Thick dust clouded over and choked them all. Everyone rushed back and looked at the wreckage as if it were alive. It remained still. They all 85 stood there, frightened and suspicious. Presently one of the men with the spades said, "The bloke's 2 shut up." Everyone stared stupidly. It was true. The man had stopped singing. The clergyman was the first to move. Cautiously he went to what was left of the hole and got 90 down on his knees. "Morgan!" he said, in a low voice. Then he called more loudly: "Morgan!" Getting no reply, Lewis began to pull away the rubble 95 with his hands. "Morgan!" he shouted. "Can you hear?" He snatched3 a spade from one of the men and began digging. He had stopped chewing and muttering. His expression had entirely changed. "Morgan!" he called. He dug for two feet and no 100 one stopped him. They looked with great surprise at the sudden frenzy of the small man, spitting out the dust, tearing his nails. They saw the spade at last shoot through the old hole. He was down in the hole widening it at once, letting himself down as he worked. He disappeared under 105 a ledge made by the fallen wood. The party above could do nothing. " Morgan!" they heard him call. "It's Lewis. We're coming. Can you hear?" He shouted for an axe and presently they heard him smashing with it. He was scratching like a dog or a rabbit. 110 A voice like that to have stopped, to have gone!—Lewis was thinking. How unbearable this silence was! A beautiful 1. i.e. "It's falling." 2. the man; the fellow. (Colloquial) 3. took quickly; seized.

42

THE VOICE

proud voice, the voice of a man, a voice like a tree, the soul of a man spreading in the air like the Cedars of Lebanon. 1 " Only one man have I heard with a bass 2 like that. Owen of 115 the Bank, at Newtown before the war. Morgan!" he shouted. "Sing! God will forgive you everything, only sing 3 !" One of the rescue party following behind the clergyman in the tunnel shouted back to his mates :4 " I can't do anything. This bloke's blocking the gangway."5 120 Half an hour Lewis worked in the tunnel. Then an extraordinary thing happened to him. The tunnel grew damp and its floor went as soft as clay to the touch. Suddenly his knees went through. There was a gap with a yard of cloth, a curtain, or the carpet at the communion rail, hanging 125 through it. Lewis found himself looking down into the blackness of the crypt.6 He lay down and put his head and shoulders through the hole and felt about him until he found something solid again. The beams7 of the floor were sloping down into the crypt. 130 "Morgan. Are you there, man?" he called. He listened to the echo of his voice. He was reminded of the time he had talked into a tank when he was a boy. Then his heart jumped. A voice answered him from out of the darkness from under the fallen floor. It was like the voice of 135 a man lying comfortably and waking up from a snooze,8 a voice thick and sleepy. "Who's that?" asked the voice. "Morgan, man. It's Lewis. Are you hurt?" Tears pricked the dust in Lewis's eyes and his throat ached with anxiety as 140 he spoke. Forgiveness and love were flowing out of him. From below the deep thick voice of Morgan came back. 1. i.e. a group of nearly 400 trees, in the Lebanon, said to be between 4000 and 5000 years old. (A Cedar is a pine-like, evergreen tree, with sweet-smelling wood.) 2. a low, deep-sounding voice. 3. i.e. ". ... if only you sing." 4. fellow-workers. (Colloquial) 5. i.e. "This man is in the way." (Slang) 6. an underground room below a church, usually used for burials. 7. long, heavy bars of wood, used in making ceilings and floors. 8. a short sleep.

43


" Y o u ' v e been a hell of a long time," it said. " I ' v e damn near finished my whisky." EXERCISES 1. Make sentences freely with these words from the story: rescue release justice sinner snatch destroy frown vanity elaborate chew blink so-called malice wreckage prick 2. Explain the meaning of the following: a. the church . . . broke the line of the street like a decayed tooth (line 6). b. in passive anger (line 13). c. soon a tune became definite (line 19). d. "That's Mr. Morgan all right." (line 30). e. " N o t that I've got anything against the Welsh." (line 55). f. The scandal of it, Lewis was thinking. (line 57). g. eyes half-closed by . . . food and wine (line 69). h. like an actor walking in the sun of his own vanity (line 70). i. Forgiveness and love were flowing out of him (line 140). j. "You've been a hell of a long time." (line 142). 3. Can you find the adverb-particles in the story? There are 25. 4. Make questions to which these sentences could be answers; the information that is required is shown by the words in italics: a. The man buried under the debris was singing again. b. Words became clear. c. The buried man was singing a hymn. d. He got silver medals for it. e. He got silver medals for it. {Careful!) f. I locked up at eight o'clock last night. g. To Lewis, Morgan was the nearest human thing to the devil. h. To Lewis, Morgan was the nearest human thing to the devil. i. He ought in strict justice to have been in prison. j. The bricks began to slide down. k. The bricks began to slide down. 1. Cautiously he went to what was left of the hole. m. He had stopped chewing and muttering. n. Owen was the manager of the Bank. o. Half an hour Lewis worked in the tunnel. 5. Punctuate the following passage, arrange it in paragraphs, and put capital letters where necessary. (Do NOT look back at the story until you have finished!) 44

THE V O I C E

the party above could do nothing morgan they heard him call, its lewis were coming can you hear he shouted for an axe a n d presently they heard him smashing with it. he was scratching like a dog or a rabbit a voice like that to have stopped to have gone, lewis was thinking how unbearable this silence was a beautiful proud voice the voice of a man a voice like a tree the soul of a man spreading in the air like the cedars of lebanon only one man have i heard with a bass like that owen of the bank at newtown before the war morgan he shouted sing god will forgive you everything only sing one of the rescue party following behind the clergyman in the tunnel shouted back to his mates i cant do anything this blokes blocking the gangway. (Lines 106-119) 6. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. Why did the policeman tell the crowd to keep quiet for five minutes? b. Why did the destroyed church break the line of the street like a decayed tooth? c. Why did heads turn in passive anger when the bus roared by? d. Why do you think the leader of the rescue party held back the people who strained forward to hear the singing of the buried man? e. How did the warden recognise that the buried man was Mr. Morgan? f. Why do you think the Rev. Frank Lewis made the remark: "Gold, I shouldn't wonder."? g. Why did he look like an old man? h. Why did it seem that everyone was in "the shade" of the voice? i. Why did the warden say that he had nothing against the Welsh, when he remembered that Lewis himself was Welsh? j. To Lewis, Morgan was the nearest human thing to the devil. Why was he? k. Why was Morgan not in prison, as he ought to have been? 1. Why do you think that Lewis suddenly began, in a frenzy, to try to rescue Morgan? m. Why couldn't the party above do anything to help him? n. Why was he reminded, half an hour later, of having talked into a tank when he was a boy? o. Before Morgan spoke to him, he was feeling forgiveness and love. What do you think he felt after Morgan spoke to him? Why? 45


THREE POINTS OF GRAMMAR 1. THE PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE (PART TWO) In Book One we saw that the basic use of the Past Continuous tense is to show that an action began to happen before some moment of time in the past, or before another (shorter) action happened; e.g. " H e was having breakfast when I telephoned him this morning." 1 Another use of this tense is to show that two (or more) continuous actions were happening at more or less the same time in the past: e.g. Line 27. The buried man was singing a hymn. i.e. all these Line 28. A clergyman was standing with actions were the warden etc. happening at Line 45. The rescue workers were digmore or less ging again. the same time Line 57. The scandal of it, Lewis was thinking.

With the basic use of the tense (i.e. to show that an action had begun before some moment of time in the past, etc.) there is no freedom of choice: we must use the Continuous because the Noncontinuous (i.e. the Past Simple) gives an entirely different meaning. 2 With this use, however, we have freedom of choice. That is to say, we can use the non-continuous Past Simple, if we wish, for one or more of the actions; e.g. "Toby was writing a letter while Mary was getting lunch ready." or: "Toby wrote a letter while Mary was getting lunch ready." or: "Toby was writing a letter while Mary got lunch ready." or: "Toby wrote a letter while Mary got lunch ready." In line 75, we have: . . . the voice of the wicked man rose up in all the elaborate pride of art and evil. We could equally well have was rising up, because this continuous action was happening at the same time as, for instance, the action in line 57: The scandal of it, Lewis was thinking. And similarly, because we have freedom of choice, this action in line 57 could equally well have been put into the Past Simple: The scandal of it, Lewis thought. 1. See page 148 of Book One again, if necessary. 2. i.e. that the action began at or after the moment of time in the past.

46

THE

VOICE

P R A C T I C E EXERCISE 7

Change the infinitives which are in parentheses in these sentences into either the Past Continuous or the Past Simple, according to your choice. (You will be able to give more than one version for each sentence.) 1. They (to sing) as they (to drive) back from their picnic in the country. 2. Billy (not to make) the slightest sound while Miss Carson (to spank) him. 3. The rain (to fall) in bucketfuls and the wind (to whistle) through the old house. 4. The old man (to sleep) peacefully in spite of the fact that the children (to make) a lot of noise. 5. Billy (to bang) his drum, Margaret and Susan (to have) an angry quarrel and (to pull) each other's hair, and little Hugh (to sing). 2. THE USE OF CAPITAL LETTERS You all know, by now, the basic uses of capital letters. Here are some others: l.The name of God and all other words that refer to Him must begin with a capital letter; e.g. "O Thou Whose Voice the waters heard, And hushed their raging at Thy Word." (lines 25, 26) 2. In English, unlike many other languages, not only proper nouns but also proper adjectives must begin with a capital letter; e.g. Then he remembered that Lewis was Welsh also. (line 55) "There's no question," said Andrew, "that French cooking is far superior to ours." 3. The principal words in titles and designations have a capital; e.g. The Rev. Frank Lewis frowned. (line 32) The so-called Rev. Morgan . . . (line 43) The Commander-in-Chief of the Army. The President of the Academy. 4. The first word of every line of poetry- (though not always modern "new-style" poetry) begins with a capital; e.g. "O Thou Whose Voice the waters heard, And hushed their raging at Thy Word." 47


5. Words and expressions which are used terminologically generally (but not always) begin with a capital; e.g. "In such a use we can put either the Past Simple or the Past Continuous, as we wish." "She's studying Modern Literature this term." 3. MORE ABOUT THE DEFINITE ARTICLE Line 66. Morgan ought in strict justice to have been in prison. This sentence means, of course, that Morgan ought to have been in prison as a punishment for something. And in this meaning the Definite Article is never used. If, however, one goes to prison for some reason other than punishment (as, for example, a doctor, a dentist, a visitor, a tradesman, and so on) the Definite Article (or the Indefinite) is used; e.g. " My doctor seems to spend more time in the prison than he does in his private surgery." The two other words which mean prison—i.e. jail and gaol1— are used in the same way; e.g. "Morgan ought to have been in gaol (jail).''' "My doctor seems to spend more time in the gaol {jail) etc." A number of other things and places have a similar peculiarity; that is to say, if they are used for the purpose for which they were primarily and basically intended, they do not take the Definite Article: These other things and places are: bed court hospital school church college (but not university) e.g. "I'm very tired. I'm going to bed." (i.e. not: "I'm going to the bed." Since the primary, basic purpose of a bed is as a thing to sleep in, and since the speaker obviously means that he wants to go to bed in order to sleep, the Definite Article is not used.) but: "Billy, stop jumping up and down on the bed! You'll break the springs." (i.e. the primary, basic purpose of a bed is not as a thing 1. which is pronounced in exactly the same way as jail.

48

THE V O I C E

to jump up and down on; consequently, the Definite Article is used here.) And here are some examples with, the other words: 1. "Richard is very ill, I'm afraid. He was taken to hospital last night." (or: "He is in hospital") but: "A medical student always has to spend some time in a hospital before he becomes a doctor." 2. "Do you go to church every Sunday?" (i.e. for the religious service.) but: "On a hot day, a church is often the coolest place in the town." 3. "If you don't pay me the money you owe me, I shall take you to court." (i.e. and ask the judge to order you to pay me.) but: "Many people tried to get into the court to listen to the trial of Dr. Crippen." 4. " My son will leave school (college) soon and will go to the university—if he passes his entrance exams." but: "William always drives past the school on his way home for lunch, so his children wait for him to pick them up." The words cinema (pictures),1 theatre and opera use the Definite Article the other way round; that is to say, when the places are used for entertainment (i.e. their primary and basic purpose) they generally take "the"; the cinema e.g. "Let's go to the theatre tomorrow night, shall we?" the opera but: "The Committee has decided that our next political meeting shall be held in a cinema or a theatre, instead of in the open air. It poured with rain during our last meeting in Hyde Park." Line 35. "I locked up at eight o'clock last night myself." Last night, last week, last month, last year, last summer, etc.— without the Definite Article—all mean the one nearest to the week, month, etc. in which we are speaking. When we refer, however, to a week, month, etc. that is not the nearest to the one in which we are speaking, we use the Definite 1. or movies, in American English.

49


Article. And now the word last can refer to the future as well as the past; e.g. "I shall go to Spain for the last week of my holiday." "I went to Spain for the last week of my holiday." "The last days of Alexander the Great were spent in Babylon." "The wealth of our family finally disappeared in the last years of the nineteenth century." Exactly the same thing applies to the word next; i.e. when we have next week, next month, next year, next spring, etc.—without the Definite Article we mean the one nearest to the one in which we are speaking. If, however, we have the Definite Article, we mean some other week, month, etc. And in this case, the word can refer to the past as well as the future; e.g. "We were in Salzburg for the Festival in 1960, and the next month (i.e. the following month) we were in Vienna." " He will pass out of the Naval Academy in three years' time and the next year he will be a junior officer." PRACTICE EXERCISE 8

In the blank spaces in these sentences, put either the Definite Article, the Indefinite Article, or no article at all. 1. Of course he's having difficulty in finding a good job! He's been in — prison three times for theft.1 2. I hope to go to Austria for some ski-ing — next Christmas. 3. Peter said: "I think that Roman Catholics go to — church more often than the average Protestants." 4. Streiffer wrote his best works during — last four years of his life. 5. Pamela was away from — school for most of — last month, because she was rather ill. She was in — hospital for ten days in fact. 6. Look at that awful spider on — bed! Do get rid of it quickly. 7. I met the Governor of — prison at the Bells' party — last Thursday. He told me that he had been in the army until — last December. 8. No, Mr. Forbes is not up yet. He always lies late in — bed on Sundays. 9. You seem to have enjoyed your holiday on the Riviera. Will you go there again — next summer? 10. Have you forgotten to put the stopper back on that medicine bottle? The house smells like — hospital. 1. stealing.

50

LESSON FIVE

LETTERS TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR AIR 1 CONCERNING HELICOPTERS 2 August 1st, 1958. Sir, I write to protest about the unreasonable number of times that I am rescued by your helicopters. On the first occasion 5 on which I was snatched from the sea while enjoying a quiet float a hundred yards or so away from the shore, I was not angry. This is a normal holiday risk, which in my opinion it is the duty of the public to accept in the right spirit.3 But enough is as good as a feast.4 I have now three times been 10 lifted into the air and carried to St. Mawgan aerodrome, where everybody, I admit, has been most kind and attentive —too kind, if anything. Constant wrapping in warm blankets has given my skin an irritating rash ;5 nor am I a man who is very fond of large quantities of hot, sweet tea. 15 The pilot considers that my habit of floating very low in the water makes people on the shore think that I may be drowning. That is as it may be. I cannot alter my centre of gravity, at will,6 to suit your convenience. Surely there is 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

i.e. The Minister for Air. a kind of aeroplane able to rise straight up. I.e. they should not be angry about it. i.e. too much of anything is not a good thing, (Proverb) a number of small spots on the skin. i.e. whenever I want to do so.

51


some method of protecting me against the unwelcome 20 efficiency of your Air Rescue organisation? Yours faithfully, H. F. ELLIS.

August 5th, 1958. Sir, 25 It is not a good answer to say that anyone can refuse to be rescued if he is not in danger. Quite apart from the question of good manners, if one attempts to ignore1 the helicopter or to push the lifting ropes aside, the pilot thinks that one is either unconscious or hysterical, and sends a man 30 down by rope-ladder to see about it. Only yesterday, while sunbathing on a small deserted beach, I attempted to move out of the shadow of one of your devilish machines and I was suddenly seized from behind and forcibly placed in a kind of harness 2 made of rough canvas. It is ridiculous to 35 suggest that there was any danger that the beach would be covered by the tide;3 but the pilot (not the one who generally rescues me, by the way: this one was a much more commanding type) refused to listen to my explanation. He simply said that he had his orders and he proposed to obey them— 40 with the result that I was late for lunch for the third day running, and did not dare to take my usual afternoon swim in case I missed a tennis engagement after tea. I shall be obliged if you will take immediate steps to see that your rescue organisation turns its attention to some 45 other person on holiday, preferably one who is in need of it. Yours faithfully, H. F. ELLIS.

August 7th, 1958. Sir, 50 After a very short interval without trouble (due partly, I think, to my habit of laying out notices with strips of 1. take no notice of. 2. straps and belts usually put on horses, donkeys, etc. 3. the rise and fall of the level of the sea.

52

LETTERS C O N C E R N I N G H E L I C O P T E R S

sheeting saying "KEEP AWAY", whenever I try to find privacy on the rocks and cliffs in this region) the situation has again become bad. I am now constantly followed by a 55 large yellow helicopter, hired, I believe, by a London newspaper to take photographs of any other attempts that may be made to rescue me by air. The noise is indescribable, and whenever I try to escape it by going into a cave or holding my breath under water some busybody 1 is sure to ring up St. 60 Mawgan aerodrome and bring a second helicopter to the place. I have noticed, too, that they now keep me hanging in the air, before pulling me up into the rescue machine, for a longer period than was the case at the beginning of my holiday. This I believe (though I cannot prove it) is done at 65 the request of the photographers. I shall hold you entirely responsible if any harm comes to me through the almost perpetual draughts 2 to which I am now exposed. I reopen this letter to add that my wife has just returned in a Royal Air Force truck and in a highly nervous condition 70 from St. Austell, of all places. It appears, so far as I can put the pieces of her story together, that she was violently lifted out of the water while actually sitting on an inflated3 rubber horse—an inexcusably careless mistake—and taken, horse and all,4 to a temporary aerodrome without any proper 75 facilities for caring for people suffering from unnecessary rescue. When I rang up St. Mawgan aerodrome to protest, they told me that their regular rescue helicopter was already out dealing with somebody else (as if I needed to be told that! 5 ) when this second call came in. They had accordingly 80 been compelled to ask Plymouth 6 for assistance and it might be that the pilot from there was less experienced in rescue 1. an interfering person who is too much interested in other people's affairs. 2. currents of air. 3. blown up with air. 4. i.e. with the horse, too! (Colloquial) 5. i.e. I did not need to be told that! 6. a nearby town.

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work than their own men and "had picked up the wrong bather by mistake"! Yours faithfully, 85

H. F. ELLIS.

August 8th, 1958. Sir, You will see, from the enclosed cutting from a local paper headed "HORSE RESCUED FROM SEA", something of 90 the annoyance which we as a family suffer almost every day as a result of the attentions of your rescue service. The very bad photograph of my wife does not help matters. However, that is not the main purpose of this letter. I write to inform you that, in a final attempt to obtain a little 95 peace and privacy before returning to London on the 10th, I am tomorrow taking my wife, sister-in-law, two cousins, a Mrs. Winsworth, and most of our children to Lundy Island in a hired motor-boat. We hope to be there by about 2.30 p.m. and have not, of course, thought it necessary to 100 make any arrangements about the return journey. We should like to reach St. Mawgan aerodrome not later than 7.00 p.m., if that is convenient to you. Yours faithfully, H. F. ELLIS.

EXERCISES . Make sentences freely with these words from the letters: helicopter float unconscious ridiculous busybody rash ignore hysterical tide rubber pilot manners harness obey draught . Explain the meaning of the following: a. That is as it may be (line 17). b. to suit your convenience (line 18). c. Quite apart from the question of good manners (line 26). * d. to see about it (line 30). e. by the way (line 37). f. a much more commanding type (line 37). 54


g. h. i. j.

for the third day running (line 40). St. Austell, of all places (line 70). put the pieces of her story together (line 71). The very bad photograph of my wife does not help matters (line 91). 3. Can you find the adverb-particles in these letters? There are 10. 4. The Secretary of State for Air, is of course, one of the Ministers of a Government. In England, some of the Ministers have unusual names; the Minister of Finance, for example, is called the Chancellor of the Exchequer. How many other names of Ministers (unusual or not) can you think of? 5. Dictation. 6. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. Why, in line 9, does Mr. Ellis use the proverb " Enough is as good as a feast"? b. In what way was everybody at St. Mawgan aerodrome too kind to him? c. Why did people on the shore think that he might be drowning? d. What do you think that the Secretary of State said in his reply to Mr. Ellis's first letter? e. Why didn't Mr. Ellis ignore the helicopter? f. What had happened the previous day, while he was sunbathing on a small deserted beach? g. Why didn't he dare to take his usual afternoon swim that day? h. Why did a large yellow helicopter begin to follow him? i. Why did the rescue helicopter keep him hanging in the air for a longer period now? j. Why did he think this might be dangerous for his health?, k. Why did he have to "put the pieces of her story together" when his wife returned from St. Austell aerodrome? Why didn't he simply listen to the story in the normal way? 1. In lines 80-83, Mr. Ellis writes . . . it might be that the pilot from there was less experienced in rescue work than their own men and " h a d picked up the wrong bather by mistake"! Why does he put the last eight words within quotation marks, and why does he finish the sentence with an exclamation mark? m. What was particularly annoying to him about the cutting that was headed "HORSE RESCUED FROM SEA"? n. Why was he annoyed about the photograph of his wife? o. Why hadn't he made any arrangements for the return journey from Lundy Island? 55


TWO P O I N T S O F G R A M M A R 1. ANOTHER USE OF THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE Line 97. . . . a Mrs. Winsworth. The Indefinite Article which is used here with the name of a person gives the sense, roughly, of: somebody or other, whom you yourself cannot be expected to know, whose name is Mrs. Winsworth. It is a fairly common use. Here are a few other examples: "A Mr. Richardson telephoned you just after you'd gone out. He wouldn't say what he wanted. He'll ring again in an hour." {i.e. Somebody or other called Richardson. I personally have no idea who he is. You may or may not know him.) The accident was witnessed1 by a Miss Smith from Balham. (A typical report in a newspaper.) "A Mrs. Worthington lives in the house opposite, I'm told. I don't know anything about her though, and I've never met her." If the Definite Article, on the other hand, is used with the name of a person, a very different sense is created. We now understand that the person is the famous one of that name; e.g. " D o you see Maria Callas over there?" "Where? You don't mean the Maria Callas, do you?" (i.e. the famous opera singer) "I met Albert Einstein when I was a boy." "The Einstein? How interesting that must have been." Note: In this sense, the word must always be pronounced with the long " e " (as in she) whether it is followed by a vowel or a consonant. 2. THE SPECIAL VERBS "NEED" AND "DARE" Line 78. (as if I needed to be told that!) Line 41. . . . and did not dare to take my usual afternoon swim . . ." These two special verbs can be followed by an infinitive with " t o " and by an infinitive without " t o " ; e.g. " H e needn't go there after all." " H e doesn't need to go there after all." 1. i.e. seen.

56

LETTERS CONCERNING HELICOPTERS

"She daren't do that." "She doesn't dare to do that." When they are followed by an infinitive without "to", there are five important things to remember: 1. Their negative and interrogatives are formed without do and does; e.g. "He needn't go there after all." " Need you work so late?" "She daren't tell him that." "Dare you tell him that?" 2. They do not take an "s" in the 3rd person singular; e.g. " Need he go there? No, he needn't." "I wonder whether anyone dare do that." 3. Need cannot be used in the affirmative without " t o " ; i.e., we must not say: " Robert needs study a good deal more if he wants to pass that examination." we must say instead: "Robert must "Robert has (got) to " Robert ought to study a good deal more etc." "Robert should " Robert had better etc. (or we can use needs with "to" (see No. 2 at the top of the next page); "Robert needs to study a good deal more etc.") 4. Dare, on the other hand, can be used in the affirmative without " t o " ; e.g. "You wonder whether anyone dare do that? Just watch me! I dare." 5. This is the only form that the two special verbs have when they are without "to". And they have no infinitives, no participles, no gerunds. Matters are very different when the two verbs are used with "to". They are used in exactly the same way as any ordinary finite verb is used. That is to say: 1. They have all tenses, all forms, all infinitives, and so on; e.g. ". . . (as if I needed to be told that!) (Line 78) C 57


"You might need to use this again." "Needing to breathe some fresh air, he went into the garden." "Mary dared to say that! Good heavens!" 2. Need can be used in the affirmative; e.g. " Robert needs to study a good deal more if he wants to pass that examination." 3. Both verbs take an " s " in the 3rd person singular of their Present Simple tense; e.g. "Robert needs to study a good deal more etc." "Philip dares to do many more things than he should " 4. Their negatives and interrogatives in the Present and Past Simple tenses are formed with do, does and did; e.g. ". . . and did not dare to take my usual afternoon swim . . ." (Line 41) "They don't need to go there after all." " H e doesn't need to (Note: In Lesson Eleven of Book One, we saw that "I needn't do it." is one of the negatives of "I must do it.", "I have (got) to do it.", "I ought to do it.", etc. (For quick reference, look again at the tables of Negative Expressions on pages 127 and 128 of Book One.) We can now add this other form with to, which needs do and does; e.g. "I don't need to do it.") PRACTICE EXERCISE 9

Make two sentences of your own with: (a) the special verb need with " t o " ; (b) without " t o " ; (c) the special verb dare with " t o " ; and (d) without " t o " . LETTER-WRITING Like most languages, English has certain special "formalities" about letter-writing. Opinions differ about some of them (and American customs are not always the same as the English), but if you follow these points of guidance you will always be correct (in both countries). 1. If you are writing a letter from your home (and not, that is to say, from your office or business), you must always write the

58


whole of your address in the top right-hand corner of the writing-paper. 1 But you must never write your name above this address: the only place for your name is in the signature. . Put the number of your house first, then the name of the street (road, square, avenue, boulevard, etc.), and then finally the word Street itself (or Road, Square, etc.)—with a capital letter. e.g. 17, Kilmarnock Street. NOT: Kilmarnock 17. . Write the date below the address. e.g. March 25th, 1960. or 25th March, 1960. . Take care not to mix the opening-and-closing combinations. Do not use, for example, a formal opening with an informal closing, etc. Here are some examples of the combinations: Opening: Sir, Madam, Dear Sir, Dear Sirs, Dear Madam, etc. Formal Closing: Yours faithfully, or Yours truly, Yours very truly, Opening: Dear Mr. Kemp, Dear Mr. Andrews, Dear Mrs. Drew, Dear Miss Pirn, Dear Lord Wintram, Dear Sir James, Informal Dear Dr. Johnson, etc. (The word My may be put in front of all these, it you wish.) Closing: Yours sincerely, Yours very sincerely. If you are writing to a relation or to a close friend, your opening and closing need not, of course, follow these formalities. You will write whatever you wish; e.g. Dear Tom, .... Yours ever, Dearest Mother, . . . . With all love and kisses, etc. 5. If your letter is about a business or professional subject, you must write the name and address of the person to whom you are writing on your writing-paper as well as on the envelope. There are two possible positions for this: (i) immediately above your opening, on the left-hand side of the paper, but below the level of the date; (ii) below the level of your signature, again on the left-hand side of the paper. (It is better to use the position (i) for business subjects and the position (ii) for professional subjects, but many people pay no attention to this.) 6. If your letter is about a business subject, avoid (as you would 1. In the Letters to the Secretary of State for Air Concerning Helicopters, the address of Mr. Ellis has not been written in the top right-hand corner of his "paper". This is because these Letters were written as a magazine story, and space had to be saved.

59


avoid a terrible disease) the old-fashioned "special business language". 1 Use simple, direct, ordinary English. Now study these three examples, and read through the six points of guidance again as you do so. (a) A Personal Letter (i.e. one that is neither business nor professional in its subject). 29, Johnston Road, Hampstead, London, N.W.3. December 20th, 1960. Dear Mrs. Carstairs, Thank you so much for your letter with news about your son. How happy you must be that he will be with you for Christmas this year. It is extremely kind of you to invite my husband and me for tea on Christmas Eve. We shall be delighted to come, and we are looking forward to meeting your son again. We shall give you all our Christmas greetings when we see you. Yours very sincerely, Helen Marjoram (b) A Business Letter. 126, Kingsbury Street, Upper Potting, London, N.W.10. 4th September, 1960. A. J. Blenkinsop & Co. Ltd., 410, Savile Row, London, W.l. Dear Sirs, Would you please send me a few cuttings of whatever Harris Tweed material you have in stock, together with prices. Yours faithfully, Patrick Danielson 1. i.e. the language that uses such expressions as: "We beg to acknowledge the favour of your esteemed letter of the 20th instant. . .", "Assuring you of our best attention at all times, my dear sir, we beg to remain, yours faithfully, etc.", "Yours obediently, etc.", "Yours respectfully, etc."

60

LETTERS CONCERNING HELICOPTERS

(c) A Professional Letter. 16, Rosewood Gardens, West Bridgeford, Nottingham. August 10th, 1960.

Dear Dr. Bodger, May I please cancel my appointment with you next Tuesday evening? My brother is coming home from Australia on that day and the family has prepared a big welcome for him. I really must be there. I do hope, though, that this will not cause you any inconvenience. Yours sincerely, Mary Sandys Dr. William Bodger, 26, Long Row, Nottingham. Esquire (always written "Esq.") Up to about the beginning of this century, when we wrote to a man who did not have a title {Duke, Lord, etc.) but who was the owner of any considerable amount of land or property, we put the word Esq. after his name instead of Mr. in front of it. Today, whether a man owns land or not, it is almost always better to put Esq. after his name than Mr. in front of it;1 e.g. Harold Hill, Esq. — instead of Mr Harold Hill. Note, however: 1. Since Esq. is used instead of Mr., it cannot be used for a woman. 2. It cannot be used for anyone who has a title of any sort. 3. It cannot be used in speech. 4. It cannot be used in the "opening" of a letter (i.e. after Dear); it is used only in the name-and-address on the envelope and, if the letter is about a business or professional subject, in the positions (i) or (ii) on the writing-paper. PRACTICE EXERCISE 10

Write three short letters according to the points of guidance above. Write one letter that is on a personal subject, one that is on a professional subject, and one that is on a business subject. 1. In England, that is to say; Esq. is rarely used in America.

61


Here are some suggestions for subjects: (a) Personal 1. Write to a close friend explaining that you have recently bought a new house and asking him to come and spend a week-end with you. 2. You have made a "pen-friend" in England. Write telling him (or her) something about yourself and your interests. 3. You have accepted an invitation to a dinner party, but now you find that you cannot go after all. Write a letter of apology to your hostess, giving the reason why you cannot go. 4. An uncle has sent you some money to buy a birthday present for yourself. Write to thank him, and tell him what you are going to buy. (b) Professional 5. Write to an insurance company to arrange for the insurance of your house against fire. 6. Write to a lawyer to ask for an appointment in order to discuss some important legal matter with him. Briefly tell him something of the matter. 7. Write to the local Police Superintendent complaining that your next-door neighbour throws his kitchen rubbish into your garden, and ask him to take some steps to stop it for you. 8. You are the Honorary1 Secretary of a club. Write to the Committee saying that you are compelled to resign because you have not enough time for your duties. (c) Business 9. You have decided that you want to buy a light-weight mackintosh from England. Write to a London shop explaining the type of mackintosh you want, and ask the shop to send you details of price and colour. 10. Write to a hotel to reserve accommodation for a week. Say what sort of accommodation you want. 11. Write to a firm of painters to arrange to have your house repainted while you are away on holiday. 12. Write to an English company, offering yourself as its agent in your own country. Explain why you think you would make a good agent for this company. 1. i.e. unpaid.

62

LESSON SIX

THE REAL HEAT BEGINS IN JUNE (from "The Purple Plain") BY H. E. BATES

Shy flocks of small banana-green parrots had begun to come back to the pipal trees about the bombed pagoda. 1 But across the rice fields, scorched and barren now from the long dry season, only a few white egrets2 stepped daintily 5 like ghostly cranes3 about the yellow dust in the heat haze. Nothing else moved across the great plain where for three years no rice had grown. Somewhere down the line of tents beyond the pagoda a sergeant kept a tame monkey, and Forrester, sweating and 10 naked on the bed in his own tent, could hear it crying in the heat of the afternoon. It cried piteously as he lay watching the low mountains that rimmed the plain in the haze of heat and dust like long crests of thundercloud. Now and then these mountains seemed to dissolve in gigantic explosions of 15 sulphur dust against the heat-discoloured sky and the whole plain melted away under the glitter of dust and sun. And then when it cleared and came to life and the white light burned glassily down again it was always to create for Forrester the same illusion. It gave him the impression that 1. a far-eastern sacred tower. 2. a large bird with long and very thin legs. 3. i.e. another bird of similar appearance.

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20 besides the white egrets there moved across it, in the pitiless heat haze, a spark of purple flame. This flame seemed to burn itself forward on the burning dust, quivering1 and dying and brightening in the dazzling2 air until it became at last a group of people : a solitary line of Burmese peasants,3 tiny 25 and brilliant in waistcloths of vermilion4 and violet, travelling south to the villages of the river. When Forrester turned over and lay on his back and stretched his long legs and felt the sun strike down through the brown canvas tent flap like an acetylene lamp6 through a 30 piece of gauze,6 the splintered glare clashed into white stars on his eyeballs and jerked out of his body a new rush of sweat. And when he moved as if to wipe it off with his hand it was only to find that his hands, too, were streaming7 with that small exertion. He lay for another moment or two 35 gasping for breath. Then he turned and lay right over on his side, his face to the tent wall, away from the downward glare of light, feeling immediately the slight relief brought about by shadow. And as he did so he caught sight of Blore. Blore was sitting with cool immobility8 in the far corner 40 of the tent at a small table of teakwood, writing with spectacled eyes held at a careful distance from the page. He was still wearing his bush hat, the strap buckled under the chin, and his face had something of the look of a pudding tied with string. The table had been crudely9 made by Burmese 45 carpenters at the bazaar and it was now neatly filled with the steady precautions of the older campaigner :10 the bottle of yellow mepacrine tablets,11 the glass of salt water, the thermos 1. trembling; shaking. 2. i.e. so bright as to be almost blinding. 3. countrymen who work on the land. 4. a bright red colour. 5. i.e. a lamp that produces a hard white light. 6. thin, transparent, net-like material of cotton or silk, 7. i.e. covered with a stream of sweat. 8. i.e. not moving at all. 9. roughly. 10. soldier. 11. a medicine to prevent malaria.

64

THE REAL H E A T BEGINS IN J U N E

flask wrapped round with a wet towel. There was a singular absence of heroism in Blore. To Forrester he looked less like 50 an officer than a sort of cart-horse. But it was too hot to say so. He only turned over again and shut his eyes slowly against the sweat that was now pouring down into them like bitter water. "Don't tell me you find it hot," Blore said. 55 Sweat was running down over the closed lids of Forrester's eyes and joining in a single stream the sweat of his face. "This is really the springtime," Blore said. "March— this is the pleasant weather. The real heat begins in June. 60 With the rain." " I bet you love it," Forrester said. "I do not love it." "I bet you really get warmed up 1 then and get your letters written home." It seemed sometimes to Forrester that Blore 65 wrote a hundred letters a day. "The trouble with you is that you don't understand anything outside your own business," Blore said. "You flying people. You're young. You don't care. That's the trouble with you." 70 "That's the trouble with us." "Well, have you?" Blore said. "I mean—" " I don't know what you mean." " Well, for instance, what I told you," Blore said. "I don't know what you told me." 75 "A wife in England," Blore said. "That's what I mean. Wait till you've been out here three years and then you'll know what I mean." Forrester turned away and stared at the blank brown wall of the tent. Momentarily the intensity of his anger blinded 80 him so that the canvas seemed to rock backwards. He shut his eyes. His feeling against Blore, in which was wrapped up his feeling against the heat, the dust, the crying of the monkey, and the glare of the plain outside, had gone beyond 1. i.e. become really active. (Slang)

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the edges of irritation; it had become boundlessly and per85 sonally hostile.1 He frantically desired to hit Blore with the thermos flask. "Oh, for the love of God!" he said. He clenched his hands and thrust his face down into the pillow that was already like a warm moist sponge. The 90 short movement of his head brought about a fresh break of sweat over his entire body. Even as his face touched the pillow it streamed down and wetted still further the linen where he lay. He tried not to think of Blore . . .

EXERCISES 1. Make sentences freely with these words from the extract: scorch dissolve impression quiver precaution dainty create spark dazzle heroism ghostly illusion flame relief hostile 2. Explain the meaning of the following: a. a sergeant kept a tame monkey (line 9). b. the whole plain melted away under the glitter of dust and sun (line 15). c. it was always to create for Forrester (line 18). d. jerked out of his body a new rush of sweat (line 31). e. it was only to find (line 33). f. sitting with cool immobility (line 39). g. eyes held at a careful distance from the page (line 41). h. There was a singular absence of heroism in Blore (line 48). i. (His feeling against Blore,) in which was wrapped up his feeling against the heat, the dust, etc. (line 81). j. it had become boundlessly and personally hostile (line 84). 3. Can you find the adverb-particles in the extract? There are 15. 4. Here is a list of nouns and adjectives from the extract. Form verbs from them and then make sentences with the verbs: flock tame white breath hot long explosion sweat relief intensity dust impression exertion absence anger 1. i.e. the feeling of an enemy. 66

THE REAL HEAT BEGINS IN JUNE

5. Put suitable prepositions (or adverb-particles) into the blank spaces below: Blore was sitting — cool immobility — the far corner — the tent — a small table — teakwood, writing — spectacled eyes held — a careful distance — the page. He was still wearing his bush hat, the strap buckled — the chin, and his face had something — the look — a pudding tied — string. The table had been crudely made — Burmese carpenters — the bazaar and it was now neatly filled — the steady precautions — the older campaigner: the bottle — yellow mepacrine tablets, the glass — salt water, the thermos flask wrapped — — a wet towel. There was a singular absence — heroism — Blore. — Forrester he looked less — an officer than a sort, — carthorse. But it was too hot to say so. He only turned — again and shut his eyes slowly — the sweat that was now pouring them — bitter water.

6. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. b. c. d. e.

Why were the rice fields scorched and barren? Why did the white egrets look like ghostly cranes? Why was there a haze over the plain? Why do you think the sergeant's monkey was crying? Why did the line of Burmese peasants, travelling south across the plain, give Forrester the illusion that he saw a purple flame moving across the plain? f. Why was a new rush of sweat "jerked out of his body" when he turned over and lay on his back? g. Why did he turn again and lie right over on his side? h. Why do you think Blore was able to sit with "cool" immobility? i. Why did Blore's face have the look of a pudding tied with string? j. Why do you think the water beside him was salt water? k. Why was his thermos flask wrapped round with a wet towel? 1. Why did Blore's letter-writing irritate Forrester? m. When Forrester turned away from Blore and stared at the wall of the tent, the canvas seemed to rock backwards for a moment. Why? n. What effect did the crying of the monkey have on his nerves? o. Why did he try not to think of Blore? 67


THREE POINTS OF GRAMMAR 1. THE "UNFINISHED" USE OF THE PERFECT TENSES (PART TWO) In Book One, we saw that a period of time is a highly important matter when we use the Perfect Tenses in English. With a period, the tense is usually in its "Unfinished" Use; without a period, it is usually in its "Finished" Use; e.g. "Elizabeth has been very ill for a long time." (the period, showing the "Unfinished" Use, tells us that Elizabeth is still very ill.) "Elizabeth has been very ill." (the absence of a period, showing the "Finished" Use, tells us that Elizabeth is not ill any longer.) This applies to all the Perfect Tenses.' In line 6 of the extract, we have: . . . the great plain where for three years no rice had grown. The period for three years shows us that the Past Perfect Tense is in its "Unfinished" Use, and therefore we know that rice was still not growing.

We have seen that there are important differences between the Present Simple and the Present Continuous, and between the Past Simple and the Past Continuous. Are there any important differences between the Non-Continuous and the Continuous forms of the Perfect Tenses? There are no differences from the point of view of rules. Logic is all that we need when we choose between the non-continuous and the continuous forms. Let us suppose, as an example, that you have had (or have been having) a quarrel with someone, but it is now finished. You will therefore use the "Finished" Use of the tense (i.e. without a period). If the quarrel was quite a short, quick one, the logical form will be the non-continuous, when you tell someone else about it; e.g. "I've had a quarrel with Peter." If, on the other hand, the quarrel was a long one, the logical form will be the continuous; e.g. "I've been having a quarrel with Peter."

68

THE REAL HEAT BEGINS IN JUNE The "Unfinished" Use generally needs the continuous, but there are some cases in which both forms are equally logical; e.g. "They've lived in that hotel for five years now." and: "They've been living in that hotel for five years now." (This is because, in this case, the verb to live itself shows continuity, whether the form of the tense is continuous or not.) Similarly, the form of the tense in line 7 could equally logically have been continuous: e.g. . . . the great plain where for three years no rice had been growing. PRACTICE EXERCISE 1 1

Compose sentences of your own which will be logical examples of: 1. The Present Perfect Non-Continuous in the "Finished" Use. 2 in the "Unfinished" Use. 3. The Present Perfect Continuous in the "Finished Use. 4 in the "Unfinished" Use. 5. The Past Perfect Non-Continuous in the "Finished" Use. 6 in the "Unfinished" Use. 7. The Past Perfect Continuous in the "Finished" Use. 8 in the "Unfinished" Use.

2. MORE ABOUT THE PRESENT SIMPLE AND PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSES As you saw in Book One, 1 the Present Tenses are often used when we want to express the future in a definite way; e.g. "I am leaving tomorrow on the 8.30 train." "I leave tomorrow on the 8.30 train." (Note: the continuous tense is the more usual.) When we use a period with either of these tenses, the meaning is again a future one; e.g. "We are staying here for about a month." (i.e. we shall stay for about a month.) (Note: the continuous tense is again the more usual.) 1. Page 203.

69

THE NEW I N T E R M E D I A T E ENGLISH

COURSE

In many languages, the meaning of the English Present Perfect in its " Unfinished" Use is expressed by the equivalent of the Present Continuous tense with a period; that is to say, the meaning of the English "We have stayed (or: have been staying) here for about a month." is expressed, in many languages, with the equivalent of "We are staying here for about a month." The meaning that is needed is, of course, that we have been staying here for the past month (and we are still here). However, if the foreign equivalent of many languages is translated literally into English, the meaning will be completely different from what is needed. It will be, as we saw 12 lines above, that we shall stay here for the next, the coming, month. Look at lines 76 and 77 of the extract, and consider what a great difference of meaning there would be if Blore had said: "Wait till you are out here for three years and then you'll know what 1 mean." PRACTICE EXERCISE 12

Compose five sentences of your own with the Present Continuous or the Present Simple and a period of time—to show futurity.

70

LESSON SEVEN

THE CAT UNDER THE BED A true story in which the names but not the places have been changed. BY JOHN M I L L I N G T O N W A R D

The kitten crouched1 outside the gates of the American Embassy in Belgrade. It was lonely and frightened. It uttered a sharp cry every three seconds and hissed2 slightly whenever anyone passed. 5 Lilian, cutting roses in the garden, went to the gates as soon as she heard the cries. " You poor little thing," she said, and picked the animal up. She had a weakness for stray cats. 3 This caused continual friction4 with her parents, for they, though fond of cats in a normal way, did not share her 10 enthusiasm for collecting them. With the kitten spitting and struggling in her arms, Lilian walked across the lawn5 into the house. She put out a hand to close the front door behind her. The kitten seized its chance, wrenched itself free, leapt to the ground, bolted6 1. i.e. lay with its limbs against its body and its stomach almost against the ground. 2. i.e. made the sound of sss to show anger. 3. i.e. cats without owners'. ; 4. i.e. (here): disagreements or mild quarrels. 5. cultivated grass in a garden.. 6. ran away at full speed.

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15 across the hall and up the wide staircase. It vanished into a room on the first landing.1 The Ambassador came out of the room in his shirt sleeves and looked down over the banisters.2 "H'm," he said heavily. 20 "Hello, Daddy," said Lilian. "Did you see a kitten?" "It's just run under my bed." "Oh dear. I'll come and get it." At dinner, the Ambassador said: " I hope you removed that cat from under my bed." 25 " Well, no," said Lilian. " Not yet." The Ambassador frowned. "It's being a bit obstinate," said Lilian. "It just won't come out. It's rather frightened. I'll get it out tomorrow morning. It will have calmed down by then." 30 "I'm not too keen on having strange cats sleeping with me." "It won't be sleeping with you, Daddy. And it'll be quite quiet. I've put some milk down for it. I'll get it out tomorrow morning, for sure." 35 "Please do, Lilian." After breakfast the next morning Lilian tried to persuade the kitten to come out from under the great four-post bed. 3 It crouched with its stomach against the floor and stared impassively4 at her. The wooden sides of the bed, reaching 40 down to within eight inches of the floor, prevented her from sliding within arm's length of it. After ten minutes of pleading she went downstairs and found a long-handled brush. The kitten spat at the brush, moved its position carefully, and crouched down again. 45 "Oh dear," she said. "You're still very frightened, aren't you?" She went downstairs again, opened a tin of salmon and tipped it into a bowl. She found a large flat box and filled 1. 2. 3. 4.

a hall-like platform at the top of a staircase, on to which doors open the handrail and supports at the side of a staircase and landing. i.e. an old-style bed with a "roof" supported by four high columns. showing no sign of feeling.

72

THE CAT U N D E R T H E B E D

it with sand. She went b a d to the bedroom. "You stay 50 there as long as you like, you poor thing," she said, pushing the bowl and the box under the bed. "Don't you. worry about Daddy. I'll fix him." Three years later, the Ambassador looked up from a letter in his hand. "I'm being transferred to Athens. You'll have 55 to do something about that cat under my bed." "All right, Daddy." Lilian waited until the day of departure. The box in which the cat was to travel, comfortably lined and well-ventilated,1 was taken up to the bedroom and placed, with its lid open, 60 beside the bed. Three well-rehearsed2 embassy servants went scientifically to work under Lilian's direction. The fourpost bed was partially dismantled3 and the cat was at length captured in a large net. "You poor thing," said Lilian, as the lid of its box was 65 fastened. "You're frightened to death, all over again. I hope you won't be airsick too." The box was opened in the hall of the embassy in Athens. The cat jumped out in a condition of considerable shock and bolted up the stairs. It disappeared into a bedroom on 70 the first landing. "Why does it have to be my bed again?" said the Ambassador later. "It's used to you, Daddy." "I'm sure it is. But it must be psychic. I haven't slept in 75 that room yet." Two years later, Lilian got engaged.4 At about the same time the Ambassador was transferred again. "You'll have to do something about that cat," he said to her. "Yes," said Lilian. "But I'm a bit worried." 80 "What about?" 1. 2. 3. 4.

i.e. with plenty of holes to give air. well-practised. i.e. partly taken to pieces. i.e. to be married.

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"Roderick 1 doesn't like cats. You wouldn't take it to Washington with you?" " N o , " said the Ambassador firmly. "Enough is enough. By the end of this month that cat will have been under my 85 bed for precisely five years. It's time somebody else had it." "Well—" " Roderick has nothing to worry about. He won't even see it. It's never put a foot out from under my bed in all our years together. It's not likely to budge2 out from under his, 90 particularly if he doesn't like cats. They know when they're not liked." Lilian went to the telephone. "Would you mind very much," she asked Roderick, "if Daddy's cat comes to live with us. He doesn't want to take it with him." 95 Roderick had been expecting something like this. " Not at all," he said gallantly. "Thank you darling. It won't be any trouble. It'll just live under the bed. You'll never have to see it." The Ambassador had to leave before the wedding. Lilian 100 went to stay with friends until she could move into Roderick's house. The embassy was vacated3 for the new Ambassador. Three embassy servants, under Lilian's direction, succeeded in netting the cat. The box was taken to Roderick's house and put down in his bedroom. The cat jumped out 105 and disappeared under the bed. Lilian telephoned Roderick early the next morning. "I hope you didn't have any trouble with the cat, darling." "None at all." "I'll come round in a little while and feed it and change 110 its box." "I've already done it." "Darling, how sweet of you! But that's my job." "It needn't be. It's rather a nice cat." Lilian felt greatly relieved. "All the same, I want you to 115 be able to forget that it's under the bed." 1. i.e. her fiance; the man she was going to marry. 2. move (colloquial). 3. made empty.

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THE C A T UNDER THE BED

" I t isn't at the moment." " G o o d h e a v e n s , where i s i t ? " " O n my lap." 1 " O h , no!" 120 "And. it slept on my stomach last right." Lilian chuckled.2 "Now I know you're teasing me." " I ' m not," said Roderick. "And you mustn't sound so surprised. There's a simple enough reason for the whole thing." 125 "What is it?" said Lilian suspiciously. "The poor beast just couldn't stand embassies," said Roderick. EXERCISES 1. Make sentences freely with these words from the story: hiss struggle transfer partially budge stray wrench departure fasten lap continual vanish line (verb) shock chuckle 2. Explain the meaning of the following: a. a weakness for stray cats (line 7). b. seized its chance (line 13). c. in his shirt sleeves (line 17). d. for sure (line 34). e. within arm's length of it (line 41). f. I'll fix him (line 52). g. I hope you won't be airsick (line 65). h. Enough is enough (line 83). i. Lilian felt greatly relieved (line 114). j. couldn't stand embassies (line 126). 3. Can you find the adverb-particles in the story? There are 17. 4. Look at the meanings in which these words are used in the story, give the opposites of these meanings, and then make sentences with the opposites: normal (line 9) quiet (line 33) wide (line 15) well-ventilated (line 58) heavily (line 19) partially (line 62) 1. the front part of the legs between the knees and the body when a person is sitting. 2. gave a low, quiet laugh.

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captured (line 63) fasten (line 65)

COURSE

vacated (line 101) relieved (line 114)

5. Put these sentences into Reported Speech: a.""Did you see a kitten, Daddy?" said Lilian. b. "It has just run under ray bed," said the Ambassador. c. The Ambassador said: " I hope you removed that cat from under my bed." d. "It's being a bit obstinate," Lilian said. e. " I t won't be sleeping with you, Daddy," said Lilian. IT " D o n ' t you worry about Daddy," Lilian said to the cat. "I'll fix him." g. "Why does it have to be my bed again?" said the Ambassador. h. "It's used to you, Daddy," said Lilian. i. "Would you mind very much," she asked Roderick, "if Daddy's cat comes to live with us?" j. "I hope you didn't have any trouble with the cat," said Lilian. 6. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. Why was the kitten lonely and frightened, as it crouched outside the embassy in Belgrade? b. Why did Lilian pick it up at once? c. Why did it spit and struggle as she carried it into the house? d. Why do you think the Ambassador was in his shirt sleeves as he came out of his bedroom? (If you can't think why, look at the first two words of line 23.) e. Why do you think he said " H ' m " in a heavy way when he saw Lilian? f. Why did Lilian put down a saucer of milk for the kitten that night? g. Why did she fetch a long-handled brush the next morning? h. Why did she change her mind and leave the kitten under the bed? i. Why, three years later, did the Ambassador tell her she would have to do something about the cat under his bed? j. Why did the four-post bed have to be partially dismantled? k. Why had the embassy servants been well-rehearsed? 1. Why did the Ambassador say, in Athens, that the cat must be psychic? m. Why do you think Roderick had been expecting Lilian to suggest that the cat should come and live with them? n. Why did Lilian feel greatly relieved when Roderick said it was rather a nice cat? 76

THE CAT UNDER THE BED

o. Why did she think that he was teasing her when he said the cat had slept the right on his stomach?

FOUR POINTS OF GRAMMAR 1. THE "UNFINISHED" USE OF THE PERFECT TENSES (PART THREE) Lines 84and 85. "By the end of this month that cat will have been under my bed for precisely five years.'' Here we have the "Unfinished" Use of the Future Perfect. The meaning, of course, is that the cat will still be under the Ambassador's bed at the end of the month. Here are a few more examples of the Future Perfect in both "Finished" and "Unfinished" Uses: "Richard hopes to get a rise 1 in July. By then he will have been working {will have worked) for his firm for five years." (i.e. the "Unfinished" Use—because there is the period.) "After my next journey I shall have visited every country in Europe and the Near East." (i.e. the "Finished" Use—because there is no period.) "You won't be home till about three, h'rn? Well, be very quiet as you come in. I shall have been asleep for over three hours by then, and I don't want to be woken up." (i.e. the "Unfinished" Use again.) PRACTICE EXERCISE 13

Compose three sentences of your own with the Future Perfect in the "Finished" Use, and three sentences with the Future Perfect in the "Unfinished" Use. 2. A SPECIAL USE OF THE VERB "TO BE" IN THE CONTINUOUS TENSES Line 27. "It's being a bit obstinate." We saw in Book One 2 that the verb to be has no continuous tenses when it expresses a state, but that it is used in all continuous tenses when it forms the continuous passive of other verbs. 1. i.e. an increase in his salary (the money he earns). 2. Page 158.

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There is, also, a special idiomatic use of the verb to be in the continuous. This is with the meanings of to behave, to act, to speak. If we want to say: " Listen to all those people laughing! Danny is probably speaking {or behaving or acting) very funnily.", we can, if we wish, use the verb to be in its continuous form instead; e.g. "Listen to all those people laughing! Danny is probably being very funny." The meaning of "It's being a bit obstinate" is, therefore, "It's behaving a bit obstinately." Another example: "Billy was being naughty, so Miss Carson spanked him."; i.e. "Billy was behaving naughtily, etc." There are two important things to note about this idiomatic use: 1. The verb to be cannot create this special meaning unless it is in a continuous tense or form. 2. The adverbs that are used with the verbs behave, act, speak must be changed into adjectives when the verb to be is used; e.g. "It's behaving a bit obstinately." must become: "It's being a bit obstinate." and: "Danny is probably speaking very funnily.'' must become: "Danny is probably being very funny." and: "Billy was behaving naughtily, etc." must become: "Billy was being naughty, etc." PRACTICE EXERCISE 14

Use a continuous tense or form of the verb to be in these sentences instead of the verbs to behave, to act, to speak. 1. Why are you acting so coldly to me? 2. He is not speaking honestly about that. 3.1 think the President is speaking a bit ironically, don't you? 4. I don't like that woman. Did you see her behaving so arrogantly just then? 5. You are behaving very tenderly to me today! I wonder why? 6. The lecturer was speaking so boringly that I had to leave. 7. Don't think that I'm speaking cynically. I mean what I say. 8. The manager must be in a bad mood. Everybody is behaving very carefully with him. 9. You're not a child, you know. Why on earth are you acting so stupidly?

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THE

CAT U N D E R

THE

BED

10. Oh dear, it's raining again. The weather is behaving unkindly to us. 3. MORE SPECIAL USES OF "WILL" AND "WOULD" Used in all persons, a n d with emphasis in the voice, will can express persistence in the present; e.g. " H e has a bad liver, and he will eat fatty food although he knows it is so bad for him. He's such a fool!" (i.e. he persists in eating fatty food, etc.) Persistence in the past is expressed by would in all persons, and again with emphasis in the voice; e.g. " T h e poor silly fool died last year, you know. He had a bad liver, and he would eat a lot of fatty food." (i.e. he persisted in eating, etc.) When will and would are put into the negative, with emphasis in the voice, the meanings are persistent refusal, in the present and the past; e.g. "It just will not come out." (i.e. the cat is persistent in its refusal to come out from under the bed.) "The poor silly fool would not take any notice of what his doctor told him about fatty food." If we wish, we may put the emphasis on the word not, instead of on will or would; e.g. "Mary simply will not make the beds in the way I tell her to." "The poor silly fool would not take any notice etc." And if we wish, we may put the emphasis on the contractions won't and wouldn't; e.g. " I t just won't come out." (line 27) "The poor silly fool wouldn't take any notice etc." PRACTICE EXERCISE 15 Use will or would in these sentences instead of the expressions of persistence, and will not (will not, won't) or would not (would not, wouldn't) instead of the expressions of refusal. 1.1 refuse to have that man in my house. 2. The people above us are very thoughtless. They persist in making a noise late at night. 3. Billy refused to go to bed last night, so he was spanked. 4. He is often spanked because he persists in being naughty 79


COURSE

5. If you persist in smoking those awful cigarettes you mustn't be surprised that you have a nasty cough. 6. I'm sorry to disappoint you but I refuse to do that. 7. It took me a long time to mount this horse, It refused to let me. 8. He made himself disliked because he persisted in borrowing money from everybody. 9. We always do our best to change the subject but she persists in talking about her illnesses. 10. Waitress, would you please bring me something different. I refuse to eat food that has someone's hairs in it. 4. ANOTHER USE OF "USED" Line 73. "It's used to you, Daddy." The meaning of used here is accustomed; i.e. "It's accustomed to you, Daddy." It is, of course, an adjective. You must be careful not to confuse this use and meaning of used with its use and meaning as a Special Verb (which we studied in detail in Lesson 15 of Book One); e.g. "She used to have no secrets from me." " She used, perhaps, to be too fond of cosmetics." "William used to live in Vienna." " Mary used to drink a glass of milk every morning." "Philip used to smoke a pipe." (i.e. these things were true of the past—but not now.) In order to separate these two uses of used in your mind, look for a moment at the "machinery" of the sentences with used as a Special Verb. Notice two important things: 1. Because used is itself a Special Verb, there is no other verb in front of it; 2. It is followed by an infinitive (with to as the "handle" of the infinitive, and not as a preposition.) Now look at the "machinery" of the sentence above, with used as an adjective meaning accustomed: " I t is used to you, Daddy." Notice two things: 1. There is now a verb in front of used: " I t is used to you, Daddy." (This is easy to understand. Since used is an adjective here, it must have a verb in front of it. We could not say: "She happy." We must put a verb in front of the adjective happy: "She is (was, has been, will be, etc.) happy." 80

THE CAT UNDER THE BED

2. The adjective used is not followed by an infinitive: it is followed (here) by a pronoun: "It is used to you, Daddy." (And the to is therefore not a" handle"; it is an ordinary preposition.) We can therefore form two simple rules about the use of " used'' as an adjective: A. It must always be preceded by a verb. The verb, however, need not be the verb to be; it may equally well be the verbs to become, to grow, to get, etc.; e.g. "At first Mary didn't like drinking a glass of milk every morning, but she got (became, grew) used to it after a few weeks." B. It must always be followed by either a pronoun, or a noun (or noun-clause), or the noun "-ing" form (i.e. a gerund). e.g. "It is used to you, Daddy." "It is used to my father." " It is used to sleeping under my father's bed." What, now, is the difference in meaning between: (a) " It is used to sleeping under my father's bed." (b) " It used to sleep under my father's bed.'? In (a) the meaning is that the cat is accustomed now to sleeping under my father's bed. In (b) the meaning is that the cat habitually slept under my father's bed once upon a time, but does not do so now. Some other examples of the use of "used" as an adjective: "Philip grew used to a pipe, in preference to cigarettes, when he was at the University." "I don't drive a car very often in the city because I am not yet used to driving in heavy traffic." "With his new job, he'll have to get up at five o'clock every morning. It's not very pleasant, but he'll soon get used to it, I suppose." "I am so used to reading for half an hour before I go to sleep that I can't get to sleep easily unless I do read."

81

LESSON EIGHT

BACK-STAGE TENSIONS from The Times It takes, one was brought up to believe, a good deal to turn a chorus-girl1 sour. Gay, warm-hearted, impulsive,2 highly generous, she has—in fiction, at any rate—a sort of happy-go-lucky3 enthusiasm which makes light of4 the 5 numerous troubles of her profession. But there are limits to what even the sunniest nature can put up with, and these limits have been reached in Melbourne, where the entire chorus of a musical comedy is said to have approached the point of mutiny.6 The trouble has arisen over another 10 member of the cast.8 This sort of thing is constantly happening in fiction, where the trouble normally comes from the leading lady, who in almost all stories about chorus girls is shown to be as near as makes no difference a devil in human form. But 15 in Melbourne it is an unimportant player, without even a line to speak, who has annoyed the girls; they have been offended by a horse. This creature has been engaged to pull a coach across the stage. The girls are not jealous of his part, which none of them could perform herself; what they are 1. a dancer in the chorus of a musical comedy, etc. 2. having the tendency to do things suddenly, without thinking about whether they are wise or not. 3. carefree; taking what fortune offers. 4. i.e. treats lightly. 5. a rising against authority (especially of soldiers, sailors, etc.) 6. the whole group of actors and actresses in a play, musical comedy, etc.

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BACK-STAGE TENSIONS

20 offended about is the fact that the horse earns a pound a week more than they do, and does so, moreover, without having to make five changes of costume. There is clearly some injustice here, but it is a case which, the more one considers it the more hopelessly confused one's 25 values become. It must be very annoying for a beautiful young lady to receive a lower salary than an almost certainly elderly horse. But legs are a chorus girl's chief asset,1 and the horse has twice as many as she. She is paid to rush about the stage and kick her legs high in the air; the horse's value 30 lies in tie fact that he can be trusted not to do this. Her part is more tiring, demands greater skill; but whereas there are thousands, perhaps millions, of chorus girls in the world, there are very few horses with stage experience, and this particular one is more indispensable to the play than any 35 single member of the chorus. An economist might well be able to prove, though not necessarily to the ladies' satisfaction, that the difference in salary ought really to be much greater than it is. Meanwhile there seems little the chorus girls can do to put the matter right. Such warm-hearted 40 creatures would hesitate to send a colleague2 to Coventry.3 They will presumably just have to grin and bear it; 4 in the first of these accomplishments we know, and in the second we think, that they are well practised. EXERCISES 1. Make sentences freely with these words from the article: gay happy-go-lucky fiction asset impulsive mutiny offend accomplishment 2. Explain the meaning of the following: a. It takes . . . a good deal to turn a chorus-girl sour (line 1). b. one was brought up to believe (line 1). 1. valuable or useful thing, or quality, or skill. 2. one of two or more persons working together- and (usually) having similar rank and duties. 3. "To send someone to Coventry":—an idiom meaning to refuse to talk to someone, and to be silently unpleasant and unfriendly to him. 4. i.e. to accept the trouble as cheerfully as they can.

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THE N E W INTERMEDIATE E N G L I S H COURSE

c. the sunniest nature (lien 6). d. This sort of thing is constantly happening in fiction (line 11). e. as near as makes no difference (line 14). f. the more hopelessly confused one's values become (line 24). 3. Can you find the adverb-particles in this piece? There are 2. 4. Ignoring the special meaning of "various types of",1 say which of the following nouns are countable, which are uncountable, and which are countable in one meaning but uncountable in another: enthusiasm trouble difference costume part profession cast player injustice experience comedy fiction creature salary economist 5. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. Why does it take a good deal to turn a chorus-girl sour? b. Why do you think that in almost all stories about chorus girls the leading lady is shown to be like a devil in human form? c. Why could none of the girls perform the job that the horse had been engaged to do? d. Why must it be very annoying for a beautiful young lady to receive a lower salary than an elderly horse? e. Why does part of the horse's value lie in the fact that he can be trusted not to do with his legs what a chorus girl does with hers? f. Why do you think there are so few horses with stage experience when there are thousands of chorus girls in the world? g. Why was this horse more indispensable than any of the girls? h. How do we know that the girls are well-practised in "the first of these accomplishments"? (line 42)

AN E N G L I S H M A N ' S C H A I R from The Times In officers' and sergeants' messes,2 in clubs, and in residential hotels, it is generally understood that certain 1. See page 88 of Book One again, if necessary. 2. military dining- and sitting-rooms. 84

AN E N G L I S H M A N ' S C H A I R

50

55

60

65

70

75

favourably-placed armchairs are, by right, reserved for senior officers, sergeant-majors, members of the committee, and long-staying residents. In country-house hotels, however, where guests come and go with some frequency, a rather different state of affairs exists. Dinner over,1 there is a rush from the dining-room—not as blatant 2 as those freefor-alls3 across air-port tarmacs, 4 but just as purposeful— and the four armchairs that ring the fireplace are swiftly occupied by the quickest movers or the fastest eaters. But then, as it has been observed, a rather odd thing happens. The people occupying the chairs, faced by the late arrival of the old, the lame, and those who came in late to dinner, spring to their feet and politely offer their seats. The offers are equally politely refused. And the evening proceeds with the fireside chairs left empty and with the whole company sitting round the sides of the room in comparative discomfort. Every self-respecting householder,5 too, has his own particular chair, the most comfortable in the room, next to the fire, within reach of a table loaded with the necessities of life, well lit by a carefully-placed lamp, and as far removed as possible from the telephone. This arrangement, scrupulously8 if resentfully7 respected by his family, works admirably until someone comes to stay. "I am sure," a polite guest will say on his first evening, " that you have your own special chair?" An emphatic but hollow denial results in the visitor selecting, with instinctive good sense, the only resting-place to which he is by no means welcome; and his host, relegated8 to the sofa and in the intervals of struggling to his feet to fetch his pipe, an ashtray, his spectacles, a 1. i.e. when dinner is over. 2. i.e. (here) attracting attention by an open display of bad manners. 3. selfish attempts to gain something for oneself without regard to good manners. 4. the hard surfaces on which aeroplanes land. 5. i.e. (here): head of a family. 6. very carefully. 7. a little angrily. 8. i.e. pushed out of his own position.

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paper, and his tobacco, glares at the intruder 1 like a cross old dog. If he were indeed a dog and not a spoilt old man he would have no such foolish restraints. Advancing growling across the carpet, he would jump into the chair and, if 80 he failed to push or edge the intruder out of it, he would settle himself comfortably down beside his friend for the rest of the evening. In some respects dogs have more sense than their masters. EXERCISES 1. Make sentences freely with these words from the second article: free-for-all householder instinctive master self-respecting denial intruder 2. Explain the meaning of the following: a. where guests come and go with some frequency (line 49). b. the necessities of life (line 65). c. An emphatic but hollow denial (line 71). d. a spoilt old man (line 77). 3. Can you find the adverb-particles in this piece? There are 3. 4. Make sentences with nouns that can be made from these verbs in the piece: understand move come refuse select reserve observe spring proceed glare occupy happen offer stay settle 5. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. Why do guests come and go "with some frequency" in country-house hotels? b. Why is the rush from the dining-room not so blatant as the free-for-all across the air-port tarmac? c. What is the reason for the free-for-all across the tarmac? d. Why is the rush from the dining-room just as purposeful? e. Why does the evening proceed, a little while later, with the fireside chairs left empty and with everybody sitting round the sides of the room in comparative discomfort? 1. Literally: a person who has entered a place without an invitation. Here: the person who is sitting in the chair which he should not be sitting in.

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AN E N G L I S H M A N ' S C H A I R

f. Why is the householder's chair usually placed as far away as possible from the telephone? g. Why does he sometimes glare at his guest like a cross old dog?

FOUR POINTS OF GRAMMAR 1. THE PRESENT AND PAST CONTINUOUS TENSES WITH "ALWAYS" Normally, neither the Present Continuous nor the Past Continuous can be used to show that an action is, or was, a repeated one; that is to say, we must not say: "He is (was) coming here every morning at eleven o'clock." We must use the Simple Tenses: "He comes (came) here every morning at eleven o'clock." There is one exception to this. We may use the Continuous Tenses for a repeated action if it is at all unusual, and if, with it, we have the word always (or a synonym of it—such as constantly); e.g. "This sort of thing is constantly happening in fiction . . . (line 11). A few more examples: " D o you remember Bob Johnson who was here last year? The little man who was always telling lies." "You are always getting into trouble, aren't you, Billy?" " I ' m so glad they've left the neighbourhood. They were constantly quarrelling with everybody." (Note: The Continuous Tenses are not obligatory here. We may equally correctly use the Simple Tenses, if we wish: e.g. "This sort of thing constantly (always) happens in fiction . . .") PRACTICE EXERCISE 16

Compose three sentences of your own with "always" and the Present Continuous, and three sentences with "always" and the Past Continuous. (Make sure that the actions are in some way unusual.) 2. MORE ABOUT THE DEFINITE ARTICLE Line 24. The more one considers it the more hopelessly confused one's values become. The can be used with comparatives to show that two things 87


increase, or decrease, in the same proportion. Here are some more examples: "Billy, sit still and eat your lunch! All of it, please. The sooner you finish it the sooner you can go out and play." "The more I see of Joshua Cummings the less I like him." "You will be paid according to the number of shoes you repair. The more you repair the more you will earn. The fewer you repair the less you will earn." (Note here that we have fewer because we mean shoes, in the plural—but we have less because we mean less money, an uncountable singular.) In this use, we do not put a comma between the first and second halves of the sentence. PRACTICE EXERCISE 17

Compose three sentences of your own which could be examples of this use of the Definite Article. 3. THE PASSIVE VOICE (PART TWO) When the object of an active sentence is a noun-clause, and we want to change the sentence into the passive, we must use a method that is different from the one we have already studied. 1 Let us take three active sentences with noun-clause objects, as examples: 1. The radio says that the Prime Minister has gone on holiday. (i.e. that the Prime Minister has gone on holiday is the noun-clause object.) 2. Most people think that Henry Bradford is a genius. 3. People expect that the King will open the new university. (Note: In every case, the subject of the noun-clause is different from the subject of the whole sentence: 1. The radio and the Prime Minister; 2. Most people and Henry Bradford; 3. People and the King. This is very important. If the subjects were not different, the sentences could not be put into the Passive Voice at all.) There are six "steps" that must be taken if you want to put these sentences into the Passive. 1. Book One, page 183.

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1st Step. e.g. 2nd Step. e.g. 3rd Step. e.g.

4th Step. 5th Step.

e.g.

6th Step. e.g.

Find the subject of the noun-clause and make it the subject of the new passive sentence; 1. The Prime Minister . . . 2. Henry Bradford . . . 3. The King . .. Change the active main verb into the passive (in exactly the same way as you do with the other method); 1. The Prime Minister is said . . . 2. Henry Bradford is thought. . . 3. The King is expected . . . Decide whether or not to put the subject of the whole active sentence after by (in exactly the same way as with the other method); 1. The Prime Minister is said (by the radio) . . . (Here it could be put in or left out, equally correctly.) 2. Henry Bradford is thought by most people . . . (Here it is rather necessary.) 3. The King is expected . . . (Here, it should not be used.) Omit the conjunction that. Change the verb of the noun-clause into an infinitive form: 1 (i) a Perfect Infinitive if the time of this verb is "earlier" than the time of the main verb of the sentence; (ii) a Simple Infinitive if its time is the same as the time of the main verb; (iii) a Simple Infinitive again if its time is "later" than the time of the main verb; (i) 1. The Prime Minister is said (by the radio) to have gone . . . (ii) 2. Henry Bradford is thought by most people to be . . . (iii) 3. The King is expected to open . . . Fill in all the other words that were in the active sentence; l. The Prime Minister is said (by the radio) to have gone on holiday. 2. Henry Bradford is thought by most people to be a genius. 1. See page 213 for table of infinitive forms.

D

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3. The King is expected to open the new university. In the first article, "Back-Stage Tensions"; there are two examples of this type of passive construction: Lines 7-9. . . . the entire chorus of a musical comedy is said to have approached the point of mutiny. Lines 12-14. . . . the leading lady . . . is shown to be as near as makes no difference a devil in human form. Let us see how these two sentences would be in the active voice: 1. Someone (or the radio, etc.) says that the entire chorus of a musical comedy has approached the point of mutiny. 2. Writers show that the leading lady is as near as makes no difference a devil in human form. Let us now ourselves put them back into the passive voice: 1st Step. 1. The entire chorus of a musical comedy . . . 2. The leading lady . . . 2nd Step. 1. The entire chorus of a musical comedy is said . . . 2. The leading lady is shown . .. 3rd Step. 1. 2. (Omit the main subject altogether.) 4th Step. 1. 2. (Omit the conjunction that.) 5th Step. 1. The entire chorus of a musical comedy is said to have approached. . . 2. The leading lady is shown to be . . . 6th Step. 1. The entire chorus of a musical comedy is said to have approached the point of mutiny. 2. The leading lady is shown to be as near as makes no difference a devil in human form. NOTE: If the verb of the noun-clause object is in a continuous tense, we must use a continuous infinitive; e.g. The radio reports that the Prime Minister is spending a week in Scotland. becomes: The Prime Minister is reported (by the radio) to be spending a week in Scotland. If the verb of the noun-clause is itself passive, we must use a passive infinitive; e.g. People expect that the new university will be opened by the King.

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becomes: The new university is expected to be opened by the King. and so on . . . PRACTICE EXERCISE 18

Change these sentences with noun-clause objects into the Passive Voice. 1. People say that the President was there last night. 2. The newspapers said that a storm had caused damage to the power station. 3. The newspapers say that a storm has caused damage to the power station. 4. The chorus say that the director of the musical comedy is in the wrong. 5. Most of us believe that Tom was telling the truth. 6. They say that oil has been found in Sussex. 7. People expect that the weather will get warmer very soon. 8. The radio reports that a poor road-mender won the big prize in the sweepstake last week. 9. Everybody knows that this is the best. 10. The papers say that a meeting has been arranged between the Minister and the leader of the Trades Union. 11. Rumours say that Helen and Patrick have left each other. 12. My family believes that this picture, which has no signature, was painted by El Greco. 13. Everybody said that it had been a wonderful party. 14. The radio says that Albert Miles has been arrested for murder. 15. The students have said that Patricia Peterson is the bestlooking girl in the university this year. 4. THE "-ING" FORM OF A VERB (PART THREE) Passive Present Participles Here are all the four Present Participles in one table: PASSIVE

ACTIVE Simple

Perfect

Simple

Perfect

Doing

Having done

Being done

Having been done

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In Book One,1 we saw that the form which is generally known simply as the Present Participle (but which, in full, is the Active Simple Present Participle) is often used for an action which happened (or happens) at the same time, or nearly the same time, as another one; e.g. "Putting on his hat and coat, he left the house." "Good luck with the rabbits," I said, shaking him by the hand. And the Perfect Participle is used when the action had happened (or has happened) before the other one; e.g. "Having glided past a cold poem of mountains, I arrived in Salzburg." "Having got his university degree, he now has a very good job." The Passive Participles are used in the same way. If we have a passive action which happened at the same time, or nearly the same time, as another one, we simply use the Passive Present Participle; e.g. " Being faced by a sudden need for more money, William took on some extra work at night." And if the passive action had happened some time before the other one, we put the Passive Participle into its Perfect form; e.g. "Having been exhausted by the journey, I found my Salzburg hotel as quickly as possible and went to bed." As with the active participles, the position of the subject is important. If it is a noun, two positions are possible: e.g. "Being faced by a sudden need for more money, William took on etc." and, " William, being faced by a sudden need for more money, took on etc." But if it is a pronoun, only one position is permitted: e.g. "Having been exhausted by the journey, I found etc." not: "I, having been exhausted by the journey, found etc." The Passive Participles have one extra characteristic: they may be shortened to the Past Participle: i.e. instead of "Being faced by a sudden need for more money, William etc." we may, if we wish, use only the Past Participle: e.g. " Faced by a sudden need for more money, William etc." 1. Page 163.

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AN ENGLISHMAN'S CHAIR

and instead of "Having been exhausted by the journey, I found my Salzburg hotel etc." we may, if we wish, have only: "Exhausted by the journey, I found my Salzburg hotel etc." Note carefully that this shortening is possible only with the Passive Participles, not with the Active. There are three examples of it in the second article: Line 56. The people occupying the chairs, faced by the late arrival etc. Line 67. This arrangement, scrupulously if resentfully respected by his family etc. Line 73. . . . and his host, relegated to the sofa etc. PRACTICE EXERCISE 19

A. Change the verbs that are in italics in these sentences into one or other of their Passive Participles. Use both positions of the subjects wherever it is possible to have two. Make whatever other changes are necessary in the sentences. 1. The piano had been broken by the children, so it could not be played at our party. 2. Barbara was suspected of being the thief, so she was arrested by the police. 3. They had been delighted by the whole Festival. They decided to go again the following year. 4. The car was completely destroyed in the accident. It was left at the side of the road for several days as a warning to other drivers. 5. Billy was severely spanked. He behaved quite well for the next few hours. 6. The rabbits were frightened, so they ran away as fast as they could. 7. Mary's diamond ring was stolen on Monday. It was found by the police the next day. Very quick work, don't you think? 8. He is always moved on by the police when he tries to sell his fruit and vegetables in the street, so he doesn't feel very friendly towards them. 9. The streets have been decorated with flags. They look very gay. 10. The small child was found alone in the park. He was taken to the police station and given some hot food while a search was made for his parents. B. Now use only the Past Participle in place of the verbs in italics. Use two positions again wherever possible. 93

LESSON NINE

ON LIVING AGAIN BY " A L P H A OF THE P L O U G H "

A little group of men, all of whom had achieved conspicuous success in life, were recently talking after dinner round the fire in the smoking-room of a London Club. They included an eminent1 lawyer, a politician whose name 5 is a household word,2 a well-known clergyman, and a journalist. The talk was about many themes, and arrived at that very familiar question: If it were in your power to choose, would you live this life again? With one exception the answer was a unanimous " N o " . The exception, I may remark, was 10 not the clergyman, He, like the majority, had found one visit to the play enough. He did not want to see it again. The question, I suppose, is as old as humanity. And the answer is old, too, and has always, I fancy, resembled that of our little group round the smoking-room fire. It is a 15 question that does not present itself until we are middleaged, for the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts, and life then stretches out in such an interminable vista3 as to raise no question of its recurrence.4 It is when you have reached the top of the pass and are on the downward slope, 20 with the evening shadows falling over the valley and the 1. 2. 3. 4.

distinguished; of a high degree or rank. i.e. well known to everybody. Literally: long narrow view. Here: series of future events. happening again.

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ON L I V I N G A G A I N

church tower, and with the end of the journey in view, that the question rises unexpected to the lips. The answer does not mean that the journey has not been worth while. It only means that the way has been long and rough, that we are 25 footsore and tired, and that the thought of rest is sweet. It is Nature's way of reconciling us to 1 our common destiny. She has shown her child all the pageant 2 of life, and now prepares him for his 'patrimony of a little mould'. 3 Yes, it is enough. We accept the verdict of mortality4 uncomplain30 ingly—indeed, we would not wish it to be reversed, even if that were possible. Now, this question must not be confused with that other, rather foolish, question, "Is Life worth living?" The group round the smoking-room fire would have answered that 35 question—if they had troubled to answer it at all—with an instant and scornful "Yes". They had all found life a great and splendid adventure; they had made good and wholesome5 use of it; they would not surrender a moment of its term or a fragment6 of its many-coloured experience. And 40 that is the case with all healthy-minded people. We may, like Job, 7 in moments of depression curse the day when we were born; but the curse dies on our lips. Swift,8 it is true, kept his birthday as a day of mourning; 9 but no man who hates humanity can hope to find life endurable, for the 45 measure of our sympathies is the measure of our joy in living. Even those who take the most hopeless view of life are careful to keep out of danger. A friend of mine told me recently of a day he had spent with a writer famous for the gloomy10 philosophy of his books. In the morning the writer declared 1. i.e. overcoming our objection to; making us accept. 2. Lit.: a public and splendid celebration (e.g. a coronation). 3. i.e. his inheritance of a little earth in which he will be buried when he dies. 4. i.e. that we must sooner or later die. 5. healthy. 6. an incomplete part. 7. a man of the Old Testament who suffered repeated and terrible misfortunes. 8. Irish author, 1687-1745 (who wrote Gulliver's Travels). 9. great sorrow (usually after a person's death). 10. sad and hopeless.

95


50 that no day passed in which he did not wish he had never been born; in the afternoon he had a most excellent opportunity of being drowned through some trouble with a sailing boat, but he rejected1 the chance with almost pathetic eagerness. Yet I daresay he went on believing that he wished 55 he had not been born. It is not only children who live in the world of 'Let us make believe'. 2 No, we are all glad to have come this way once. It is the thought of a second journey over the same ground that chills3 us and makes us pause to think. Sometimes you will 60 hear men answer, "Yes, if I could have had the experience I have had in this life." By which they mean, "Yes, if I could come back with the certainty of making all the short cuts to happiness that I now see I have missed." But that is to vulgarise4 the question. It is to ask that life shall not be 65 a splendid mystery, every day of which is an arch wherethrough Gleams the untravelled world ;5 but that it shall be a thoroughly safe three-per-cent. investment into which I can put all my money with the certainty 70 of having a good time—all sunshine and no shadows. But life on those terms would be the dreariest6 funeral march of the marionettes. Take away the uncertainty of life, and you take away all its magic. It is because every dawn breaks as full of wonder as the first day of creation that life pre75 serves the enchantment of a tale that is never told. Moreover, how would experience help us? It is character which is destiny. If you came back with that weak chin and flickering eye,7 not all the experience of all the ages would save you from futility.8 1. refused to accept. 2. i.e. 'Let us pretend'. 3. makes us feel cold and fearful. 4. Lit.: to make vulgar. Here: to cheapen; to lessen the seriousness. 5. i.e. an arch through which we can see, shining, the world we have not yet entered. (From Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.) 6. dullest; most gloomy. 7. i.e. an unsteady, hesitating way of looking at people. 8. i.e. being of no worth or use.

96

ON L I V I N G AGAIN

80

No, if life is to be lived here again it must be lived on the same unknown terms in order to be worth living. We must come, as we came before, like wanderers out of eternity1 for the brief adventure of time. And in spite of all the fascinations of that adventure, the balance of our feeling is against 85 repeating it. For we know that everything that makes life dear to us would have vanished with all the old familiar faces and happy associations of our former visit, and there is something disloyal in the mere thought of coming again to form new friendships and travel new ways. Holmes2 once 90 wrote a poem about being ' Homesick3 in Heaven'; but it would be still harder to be homesick on earth—to be wandering about among the ghosts of old memories, and trying to recapture the familiar atmosphere of things. We should make new friends; but they would not be the same. They 95 might be better; but we should not ask for better friends: we should yearn4 for the old ones. EXERCISES 1. Make sentences freely with these words from the essay: conspicuous downward fragment mourning short cut unanimous reverse depression philosophy dreary resemble surrender curse chill yearn 2. Explain the meaning of the following: a. had achieved conspicuous success in life (line 1). b. that very familiar question (line 7). c. He had found one visit to the play enough (line 10). d. the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts (line 16). e. the curse dies on our lips (line 42). f. almost pathetic eagerness (line 53). g. a thoroughly safe three-per-cent investment (line 68). h. It is character which is destiny (line 76). i. the brief adventure of time (line 83). j. the ghosts of old memories (line 92). 3. Can you find the adverb-particles in this essay? There are 5. 1. 2. 3. 4.

time without end. American essayist, 1809-1894. sad because one is away from home. have an extremely strong desire.

97


4. Make questions to which these sentences could be the answers. The information that is required is shown in italics. a. They had achieved conspicuous success in life. b. They had achieved conspicuous success in life. c. They were talking after dinner. d. They were talking after dinner. e. He was an eminent lawyer. f. The clergyman, like the majority, had found one visit enough. g. The question is as old as humanity. h. The group would have answered that question with a scornful " Y e s " . i. The group would have answered that question with a scornful" Yes". j. In the afternoon the writer had an opportunity of being drowned. k. The writer had an opportunity of being drowned. 1. We are all glad to have come this way once. m. Life preserves its enchantment because every day breaks full of wonder. n. It is character which is destiny. o. We should not ask for better friends. 5. Dictation. 6. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. Why do you think the politician's name was "a household word"? b. Why do you think the writer makes a point of saying that the exception was not the clergyman? (line 9) c. Why does the writer think that the answer to the familiar question has always resembled that of his little group round the fire in his club? d. Why are the thoughts of youth such "long, long thoughts"? e. What is the writer really referring to when he speaks of the evening shadows falling over the valley? (line 20) f. What is he really referring to when he says, " the way has been long and rough, etc."? (line 24) g. How does Nature reconcile us to our common destiny? h. What is our common destiny? i. Why is the second question "rather foolish"? (line 33) j. We may, the writer says, sometimes curse the day we were born—but the curse dies on our lips. Why does it die on our lips? k. Swift kept his birthday as a day of mourning. What sort of a man do you imagine he was? 98

ON LIVING AGAIN

1.

Why did the gloomy writer reject the opportunity of being drowned? m. Why would life be like a dreary funeral march if it were "a thoroughly safe three-per-cent investment"? n. If it were possible to live life again, why ought we to come back "like wanderers out of eternity"? o. Why is there something disloyal in the thought of coming back to form new friendships?

TWO POINTS OF GRAMMAR 1. MORE ABOUT "SHALL" AND "SHOULD" Look carefully at these two lines in the essay: It is to ask that life shall not be a splendid mystery . . . (line 64). . . . but that it shall be a thoroughly safe three-per-cent investment . . . (line 68). The first thing you will notice is that shall is used in the 3rd person singular in both cases. You will also notice that the meaning of the two lines is a sort of request that has been put into something like Reported Speech —but in a way that is not at all the usual one. As we saw in Lesson One, when we put a request into Reported Speech we usually use an infinitive; e.g. Peter asked me to stay a little longer, or: Peter asked me not to go so soon. If the two lines above were the usual type of reported requests, they would be: It is to ask life not to be a splendid mystery . . . . . . but to be a thoroughly safe three-per-cent investment... If we look again at the lines as they are in the essay, however, we shall see that they are different from the usual requests in this way: there is nothing personal or direct about them, as there is about Peter's request: i.e. Peter asked me {personally and directly) not to go so soon; but we are not asking Life—personally and directly—to be a thoroughly safe three-per-cent investment. The "requests" in the essay are therefore "reported" in a different way: the verb ask is followed by the conjunction that and a noun clause which has shall in all persons. 99


If we put the same two lines into the past, the shall will change to should; e.g. It was to ask that life should not be a splendid m y s t e r y . . . . . . but that it should be a thoroughly safe etc.

The same construction with a noun clause using shall and should in all persons is used if we have the verb to intend instead of the verb to ask; e.g. It is to intend that life shall not be a splendid mystery, etc. 2. THE USE OF TENSES IN WISHES Line 54. . . . he wished he had not been born. This is another way of saying . . . he was sorry that he had been born or . . . he thought it was a pity that he had been born. Let us look at some other examples: 1. "I'm sorry that you smoke so much." have the same "I wish you didn't meaning as: smoke so much." or: "It's a pity that you smoke so much." 2. "We're sorry that Peter and Mary are not here with us." or: "It's a pity that Peter and Mary are not here with us."

have the same meaning as:

" We wish Peter and Mary were here with us."

3. "Philip is sorry that he missed the concert." or: "Philip thinks that it's a pity that he missed the concert."


"Philip wishes he hadn't missed the concert."

4. "James was sorry that he wasn't able to agree with us." or: "James thought it a pity he wasn't able to agree with us."


"James wished he had been able to agree with us."

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Although the meanings are the same, the constructions are different in two important ways: (a) when the " s o r r y " sentence or the "pity" sentence is affirmative the "wish" sentence is negative, and when the "sorry" sentence or the " p i t y " sentence is negative the "wish." sentence is affirmative; e.g. in Nos. 1 and 3, the " s o r r y " and " p i t y " sentences are affirmative, and the "wish sentences are negative; and in Nos. 2 and 4, the "sorry" and " pity" sentences are negative, and the " w i s h " sentences are affirmative. (b) the tenses in the noun clauses of the " s o r r y " and " p i t y " sentences are not the same as the tenses in the noun clauses of the " w i s h " sentences; e.g. in the "sorry" and "pity" sentences of Nos. 1 and 2, we have the Present Tense: i.e. smoke and are; but in the "wish" sentences we have the Past Tense: i.e. did not smoke and were. and in the "sorry" and " p i t y " sentences of Nos. 3 and 4, we have the Past Tense: missed and was not able: but in the "wish" sentences we have the Past Perfect Tense: i.e. had not missed and had been able. We have, in fact, exactly the same change of tenses as we have with Reported Speech. Therefore, when we want to change a "sorry" sentence or a "pity" sentence into a "wish" sentence, we must remember: (a) to make the "wish" sentence negative if the real meaning is affirmative, and to make the "wish" sentence affirmative if the real meaning is negative; (b) to change the tense in the noun clause of the "wish" sentence in the same way as we do with Reported Speech. And we must remember one more thing that has not yet appeared in these examples: (c) we must not use the word " w a s " in the noun clause of the "wish" sentence; we must change it into its Subjunctive form "were"; e.g. " I ' m sorry that Richard is so ill." "It's a pity that Richard is so ill." will become: "I wish Richard were not so ill." not: "I wish Richard was not so ill." 101


Change these "sorry" and "pity" sentences into "wish" sentences. 1. I'm sorry that you've forgotten to bring enough money with you. 2. It's a pity that I've only five shillings on me. 3. She was sorry that she'd been rude. 4. We're sorry that you haven't any time to spare. {Careful!) 5. I'm sorry that they're so late. 6. It's a pity that my watch has broken. 7. It's a pity that I can't repair it myself. 8. I'm sorry that I can't speak your language. 9. They're sorry that I didn't remember to give them the message. 10. It's a pity that that car is so expensive. 11. I'm sorry that I don't know where she is. 12. Everybody is sorry that Timothy thinks so much of himself. 13. We were sorry that they hadn't kept our seats for us. 14. It's a pity that he won't come. 15. Billy thinks it's a pity he's so often spanked.

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LESSON TEN

THE CAGE BY DAL STIVENS

I kept asking her to marry me but all she'd say was, "My father's a tiger." 1 "What if he is?" I'd tell her. "I'm not scared of any man." She'd laugh at this and change the subject and I'd get no 5 further. Then one day after I'd asked her again to marry me, she said: "All right, Paul. I'll take you to him." She did, and it was just as she'd said. Her father was a tiger. "Felis tigris.2 Indian male, 3 years," said the sign on 10 the cage at the circus.3 " Father, this is Paul," she said, going right up to the bars. " He wants to marry me." The tiger growled. At least, that's how it sounded to me, but Hatty pinched my arm. "He's going to be friendly, 15 Paul," she said. The tiger got up, shook his huge orange head and rubbed his whiskered nose against the bars. I looked a foot4 deep into his large yellow eyes. "I give my consent," said the tiger," but on one condition. I've got to give her away." 5 1. Lit.: a large fierce animal of Asia, yellow-skinned with black stripes. Fig.: a fierce, frightening person. 2. i.e. tiger (zoological name). 3. a place of entertainment with performing animals, etc. 4. Lit: twelve inches. Here: very deeply. 5. i.e. I must be at the wedding to give my formal consent in public.

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20

25

30

35

40

45

50

It didn't seem too much to promise so I said it'd be as he wished. He stretched and the muscles streaked1 like mice down his barred 2 sides and the massive3 legs. I noticed his voice now for the first time as he addressed me again. Human, but throaty. "I hope you don't fool around with 4 Black Magic," 5 he said. I shook my head. "I did," he said. And then he turned round, walked to the back of the cage, slid into a coil, yawned and closed his eyes. I called after him but Hatty pulled me away. "He won't say any more," she said. We walked out of the circus. "Did you notice, Paul, he was purring6 when we left?" Hatty asked. We fixed the date for the day after tomorrow. I went back to the circus and hired the tiger for the following day. They said I was to give him plenty of water and about twelve pounds of meat. The night before the wedding we got the cage up the stairs to my apartment. It took six men a couple of hours but after all he was Hatty's father. On the day of the wedding he was wide awake before I was. I heard him pacing up and down the cage, his tail swishing against the bars for an hour or so while I dozed. I got up and he said: "You know, of course, you have to let me out for the ceremony?" I hadn't known and said so. "Invariable 7 custom," he said. "It'll be all right, I assure you." I fed him the twelve pounds of horseflesh, hastened away and came back with another thirty pounds. 1. moved very quickly. (Cf. "a streak of lightning".) 2. striped. 3. heavy and solid, large and powerful. 4. i.e. play foolishly with; experiment with. 5. magic associated with the worship of the Devil; witchcraft; sorcery. 6. making a low, murmuring sound as a sign of pleasure or contentment. (The sound is usually associated with cats.) 7. without exception.

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55

60

65

70

"You're being cautious, I observe," said the tiger. "But there's no occasion for anxiety." I fed it to him all the same and he ate it all. Then he slept, muzzy1 in the sunlight. We let him out after the clergyman and witnesses had arrived. He didn't put a foot wrong.2 He had his part perfectly.3 As he'd said there was no occasion for anxiety. When it was over and the others had gone, I waited for him to make the first move. It seemed hardly the thing4 to ask your father-in-law to get back in his cage—even if he was a tiger. "Well, that's that," I said. "Isn't it?" 5 said the tiger. He opened his mouth with its gleaming white teeth. I found myself starting to sink in the golden wells of his eyes. But I struggled just in time. I grabbed Hatty and pushed her into the cage, climbed in behind her and shut the door. We're still there. My father-in-law who was the tiger still comes to visit us in the circus but the last month his visits have become more widely spaced. Where formerly he spoke optimistically of pursuing6 his Black Magic and turning us back into our human shape he now quotes 7 what he claims is an Indian proverb: " He who marries embraces8 a tigress." We're beginning to find him rather tedious.9 EXERCISES 1. Make sentences freely with these words friendly massive ceremony condition hire invariably stretch swish custom 2. Explain the meaning of the following: a. I'd get no further (line 4). 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

from the story: assure occasion observe quote cautious tedious

not clear-headed. i.e. He didn't do anything wrong. i.e. He knew very well what he had to do and how he had to behave. i.e. It did not seem correct or proper. i.e. "Yes, I agree." Lit.: following. Here: continuing with. repeats words used by someone else. Lit.: lovingly puts one's arms round someone. Lit.: dull; monotonous; Here: irritating; not at all amusing.

105


b. I looked a foot deep into his large yellow eyes (line 17). c. Human, but throaty (line 24). d. I was to give him (line 36). e. he was wide awake (line 41). f. no occasion for anxiety (line 53). g. I waited for him to make the first move (line 59). h. Well, that's that (line 62). i. His visits have become more widely spaced (line 69). j. "He who marries embraces a tigress." (line 73). 3. Can you find the adverb-particles in this story? There are 8. 4. Change these sentences into Reported Speech: a. She said: "My father's a tiger." b. "I'll take you to him," she said to me. c. "I give my consent," said the tiger, "but on one condition. I've got to give her away." d. "I hope you don't fool around with Black Magic," he said. e. He said to me: "I did." f. "He won't say any more," she said. g. "Did you notice that he was purring?" she said to me. h. "You know, of course, you have to let me out for the ceremony?" he said to me. (Careful!) i. "There's no occasion for anxiety," said the tiger. j. "Well, that's that," I said. 5. "He who marries embraces a tigress" is an Indian proverb. Here are 10 common English proverbs. What do you think they mean? a. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. b. Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. c. Rome was not built in a day. d. When in Rome, do as the Romans (do). e. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. f. A bad workman finds fault with his tools. g. A friend in need is a friend indeed. h. Many hands make light work. i. Necessity is the mother of invention. j. It takes two to make a quarrel. 6. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. Why did Hatty always change the subject when Paul said he was not afraid of any man? b. Her father had been turned into a tiger. Why had this happened? 106

THE CAGE

c. Why do you think the tiger was purring as Hatty and Paul left him? d. Why did Paul have to hire the tiger for the following day? e. Why did it take six men a couple of hours to get the tiger up to Paul's apartment? f. Why did Paul hurry away the next morning to buy another thirty pounds of horsemeat? g. The tiger said there was no occasion for anxiety, but Paul gave him the extra thirty pounds all the same. Why? h. Why was the tiger muzzy when he went to sleep in the sunlight? i. Why was the tiger later let out of the cage? j. Why did Paul think it was "hardly the thing" to ask the tiger, when the wedding was over, to get back into his cage? k. Why did he suddenly push Hatty into the cage? 1. In line 63, Paul says, "My father-in-law who was the tiger, etc." Why does he use was? What do you think happened to the tiger after Hatty and Paul had locked themselves in the cage? m. And what do you think happened to Hatty and Paul when they were inside the cage? n. Why do you think the father-in-law's visits have recently become more widely spaced? o. Why do you think Hatty and Paul are beginning to find him rather tedious?

THREE POINTS OF GRAMMAR 1. PERIODS OF TIME Part A Line 69. . . . but the last month his visits have become more widely spaced. We saw in Lesson Four that when we have last month, last week, last year, etc., without the Definite Article, we mean the month, week, year, etc. nearest to the one in which we are speaking. And when we have the Definite Article we mean some other month, week, year, etc. e.g. the last month of the war; the last week of our holidays; the last year of the century, etc. If, now, we use the Definite Article but take away such expressions as of the war, of our holiday, of the century, etc., we shall have simply; the last month, the last week, the last year, etc. 107


—and these expressions have a special meaning. They mean the month, week, year, etc. that come up from the past and include today; for example, if today is, say, May 15th, 1962, and we use the expression the last year, we mean the period of 365 days from May 16th, 1961 up to today. If we use the expression the last month, we mean the period from the middle of April up to today. And if we use the expression the last week, we mean the period of seven days from May 9th up to today, May 15th. And so on. Let us continue to pretend, for a few more moments, that today is May 15th—and a Tuesday. And let us see on a diagram what is the difference between last week and the last week:

Exactly the same principle applies if we have the last month, the last year, etc. NOTE: When we have the Definite Article in these expressions, the word past may be used, if we wish, instead of the word last; e.g. the past week, the past month, etc. (It cannot, of course, be used when we have not the Definite Article.) It is not only in their difference of meaning that these expressions, with and without the, are important: they also need different tenses. Without the, they need the Past Simple (or Past Continuous); e.g. . . . but last month his visits became more widely spaced. With the, they need the Present Perfect; 108

THE CAGE

e.g.

. . . but the last month his visits have become more widely spaced, (line 69) and: " Patricia was here with us last week." but: "Patricia has been here with us the last (past) week." The reason for this difference of tense is explained below. Part B When we studied the use of the perfect tenses, we saw that a period of time is a very important matter because: (a) a perfect tense without a period is in its "Finished" Use; (b) a perfect tense with a period is in its "Unfinished" Use. This does not mean, however, that periods are used only with perfect tenses. They are used also with simple tenses, of course. We have already seen an example of the future meaning that is made when we put a period with the Present Simple or Present Continuous: "We are staying here for about a month." (Lesson Six, page 69) Here are some more examples of periods used with tenses that are not perfect: " I t took three years to build that hotel." "The train was over an hour late today." "He'll go to Paris next month and stay there for a year." "Do you know that you kept me awake for several hours last night, with all that noise you were making?" "A Harris tweed jacket generally lasts for a long time." And now for the periods that are used with perfect tenses. These have certain special characteristics—and deserve special names: (i) if they are used with Present Perfect tenses, let us call them Present-Perfect Periods; (ii) if they are used with Past Perfect tenses, let us call them Past-Perfect Periods; (iii) if they are used with Future Perfect tenses, let us call them Future-Perfect Periods. What are their special characteristics? (i) Present-Perfect Periods. These are periods which started in the past and which have not finished yet.

109


We have already seen three examples: the last week, the last month, the last year. Let us have a look at some more: "For the last {past) six weeks "For four months up to today Tom has been in hospital, (i.e. and he is still in "From then till now hospital now.) "Since the beginning of April (Note here: since means "from then till now".) (ii) Past-Perfect Periods. These are periods which started before a date or time in the past and which had not finished on that date or at that time in the past; for a month." for two months." e.g By last Christmas Day Tom had been in hospital" Let us look at this in a diagram:

Do you remember the example in Lesson Six (line 6): ". . . the great plain where for three years no rice had grown"? That is to say, for three years up to that moment. 110

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(iii) Future-Perfect Periods. In exactly the same way, these are periods which will have started before some date or time in the future and which will not have finished on that date or at that time in the future; for five days." for a fortnight.'''' e.g. "By next Christmas Day Tom will have been in hospital for a month." for nearly six weeks." Let us look at this, too, in a diagram:

Do you remember the example in Lesson Seven (line 84): "By the end of this month that cat will have been under my bed for precisely five years."? When you have a period in your mind you must make sure whether it is one of the Perfect Periods, or not. If it is, remember: (i) a Present-Perfect Period must have a Present Perfect Tense; (ii) a Past-Perfect Period must have a Past Perfect Tense; (iii) a Future-Perfect Period must have a Future Perfect Tense; —and whether the perfect tenses are continuous or noncontinuous will depend only on logic. 111

THE NEW INTERMEDIATE E N G L I S H COURSE

If the period in your mind is not a Perfect Period, it must have one of the tenses that are not perfect. PRACTICE EXERCISE 21

A.

Here are five sentences with Perfect Periods. Decide whether the periods are Present-Perfect Periods, Past-Perfect Periods or Future-Perfect Periods, and then change the infinitives which are in parentheses into the suitable tenses. 1. By the time their first child was born, they (to be) married for three years. 2. I (to wait) for you for over half an hour now. 3. By the end of this year, Paul (to study) English for four years. 4. Mary (to write) letters for the last three and a half hours. 5. When Andrew was made a director, he (to work) for the company for only three years. B. Here are five sentences with periods that are not perfect. Change the infinitives which are in parentheses into suitable tenses that are not perfect. 6. Many years ago, Ian (to spend) a month in Sinkiang. 7. I (to stay) in Florence next month for ten days. 8. She had a bad night last night. She (to lie) awake for several hours. 9. It (to rain) last week for three days without stopping. 10. The doctor has a patient with him at the moment. You (to wait) for a little while? C. And here are ten sentences with a mixture of Perfect Periods and periods that are not perfect. Change the infinitives which are in parentheses into suitable tenses. 11. By last Easter, we (to live) in this flat for just one year. 12. Years ago, we (to have) a similar flat in Vienna for several years. 13. Hatty and I (to be) in this cage since our wedding. 14. Hatty and I (to be) in this cage for over six months now. 15. Up to the time I met Hatty, my father-in-law (to be) a tiger for four years. 16. I wonder how long we (to stay) in this cage before he changes us back into human form. 17. Up to the time he was changed into a tiger, my father-in-law (to play) with Black Magic for only six weeks. 18. During the last war, Philip (to be) in the Navy for three years. 19. Martin is the Governor of a prison. By the end of next month, he (to have) that position for ten years. 112

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20. I hope the doctor will be free soon. I'm in an awful hurry, but I (to wait) for another ten minutes or so. 2. QUESTION FORMS AND CONSTRUCTIONS (PART THREE) Confirmative "Question" Expressions Line 63. "Isn't it?" said the tiger. As we have seen, this "question" expression means (here): "Yes, I agree." It is not therefore a real question—and it certainly does not require any answer. In other cases, a "question" expression like this has the meaning of "Really?", "Indeed?", "Is that so?", etc.; e.g. "The Brintons are not going to Italy, after all."—"Aren't they?" "Mary doesn't want to come with us."—"Doesn't she?" (i.e. in both of these cases, the second speaker's expression means something like "Is that so?") and without the negative: "Peter was here last night."—" Was he?" "Peter came here last night."—"Did he?" "Mummy, I want to be a film star."—"Do you, dear?" People sometimes say things which don't interest us very much; we have no particular wish to add anything . . . If we make no answer at all, however, they will either think (quite rightly) that we are rude, or they will think that we have not heard them— and they will repeat what they have said. One of these expressions will act as a sort of "polite full-stop"; in other words, it will show, politely, that we have heard what they said but that we have nothing to add to it. Imagine that you are deep in the reading of an interesting book and a child says to you: "When I grow up I'm going to be a pirate (or a king, or a cowboy, etc.)." You can, of course, put down your book and discuss the matter. You can, on the other hand, ignore the remark completely. The best thing to do, however, is to murmur "Are you?" The child is satisfied because he has been answered, and you are still deep in your reading . .. The construction of such expressions is very easy. You use the special verb that was in the other person's sentence (or do, does, did, if there was not one), and then put a pronoun that refers to the subject of his sentence; 113


e.g. "Philip has bought another radio."—"Has he?" "Philip bought another radio yesterday."—" Did he?" "I don't really want to go out tonight."—"Don't you?" "There weren't many people at the meeting."—" Weren't there?" PRACTICE EXERCISE 22

Make Confirmative "Question" Expressions for these statements: 1. " R i c h a r d h a s lost his w a t c h . " 2. " I haven't done that j o b very well." 3. " Y o u haven't done that j o b very well." 4. " T h e i r parties are usually very gay." 5. " I t isn't very pleasant t o d o t h a t . " 6. " I t ' s very pleasant to do t h a t . " 7. " Y o u ought t o have your hair cut, d e a r . " 8. " T h e r e are t o o m a n y chairs in this r o o m . " 9. " T h e r e a r e n ' t enough chairs in this r o o m . " 10. " I might start learning the p i a n o s o o n . " 11. " T h e Blakeways used to live t h e r e . " 12. " Y o u needn't write that letter n o w . " 13. " I ' v e written it myself." 14. " I ' m going to the m o o n one of these d a y s . " 15. " I h o p e t o g o t o the m o o n when I grow u p . "

"__ ___?" "__ ___?" "__ ___?" "__ ___?" "__ ___?"' "__ ___?" "__ ___?" "__ ___?" "__ ___?" "__ ___?" "__ ___?" "__ ___?" "__ ___?" "__ ___?" "__ ___?"

3. MORE ABOUT THE NEGATIVES OF EXPRESSIONS OF NECESSITY, DUTY, OBLIGATION AND ADVISABILITY Line 52. "But there's no occasion for anxiety." What is the meaning of this sentence? How could it be expressed in other words? One way, of course, could be: "It is not necessary for you (or anyone) to be anxious." There are, however, other ways (as you saw in Lesson Eleven of Book One, and in Lesson Five of this book): 1. "You needn't be anxious." 2. "You don't have to be anxious." 3. "You don't need to be anxious." These all refer to the present or the future. In Line 58, however, we have the past form and meaning of the sentence in Line 52. "As he'd said, there was no occasion for anxiety." 114

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How could this past form and meaning be expressed in other words? One way, of course, could be: "It was not necessary for us to be anxious." But there are two other ways—the past forms of Nos. 2 and 3 above: " We didn't have to be anxious." " We didn't need to be anxious." A past form of No. 1 does not exist at all. (See page 56 of this book again, if necessary.)

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LESSON ELEVEN

MRS. MINIVER COMES BACK FROM ABROAD BY JAN STRUTHER

"Partir, c'est mourir un peu . . ." 1 How shrewdly the French language can drive home a nail,2 thought Mrs. Miniver, seeing again in her mind's eye the row of smiling faces to which she had waved a regretful goodbye, the 5 evening before, from the window of the little Alpine train. At her sister-in-law's request she had travelled out with her niece Alison, who was going to spend six months living with a Swiss family; and she had stayed on for a week at a pension3 in the same village, just to see that Alison was 10 happily established. The whole family had come to see her off at the station. The solitary porter, standing beside his yellow toy barrow, had had a grass stalk between his teeth, and the moon, just topping the Mittelhorn, had looked for the space of a breath or two like a vast snowball which was 15 about to roll down the glacier. But why, she wondered, as the serene but unjoyful landscape of northern France slid past the dining-car windows— the white horses, the dun4 cattle, the red farms, the grey shutters, the beaded cemeteries, the hedgeless fields like 1. 2. 3. 4.

"To go away is to die a little . . ." {French) i.e. express something clearly and pointedly. small hotel. (French) a dull, greyish-brown colour.

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20 foreheads without eyebrows—why has nobody ever made the parallel observation: "Revenir, c'est savoir ce que c'est que d'etre un revenant "?1 That would be no less shrewd; for when you first come home from a strange place you are always something of a ghost. They were sorry when you 25 went away, and they welcome you back with affection; but in the meanwhile they have adjusted their lives a little to your absence. For the first meal or two, there is not quite enough room for your chair. They ask, " Where did you go? What was it like?", but for the life of you you cannot tell 30 them. You can say, "It was like a large, neat Scotland"; or, "They trim2 all their buildings with wooden lace"; or, " There was a nice little German boy staying at the pension"; or, "I made friends with a charming farmer at the village fete 3 ". But however eagerly they listen they do not really 35 take in what you are saying. For you cannot make them understand the essential point, which is that when you went away you took the centre of the universe with you, so that the whole thing went on revolving, just as usual, round your own head. How could they, indeed, be expected to believe 40 this, when they know quite well that all the time the centre of everything stayed at home with them? It is a day or two, as a rule, before your universe and theirs (like the two images in a photographic range-finder) merge4 and become concentric; 5 and when that happens, you know you are really 45 home. But that moment, for Mrs. Miniver, was still far ahead. She had not even quite detached herself yet from the place she had just left. Like the earthbound spirit of one who has recently died, she still thought in terms of the life she had 50 been leading. Glancing up at the clock of the dining-car, she reflected: " Hansi's mother will just be tying the napkin round his neck; and he will be saying, 'Bitte Mama, keinen 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

"To return is to know what it is to be a ghost." {French) Here; decorate the edges of. an outdoor festival. come together; become one. have the same centre.

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Blumenkohl'!"1 The first time she had heard him say this she had caught his mother's eye and smiled : for the tone 55 and the sentiment were so exactly Toby's. 2 She had smiled, too, when she overheard at breakfast the so familiar question : "Aber du, Hansi, hast du dir die Zähne gut geputzt?"3 But she had done more than smile when Hansi, after a day or two's distant politeness, had taken her by the hand and 60 led her to a row of curiously-shaped pebbles4 in a secret hiding-place between the woodstacks. "Meine Sammlung,"5 he said briefly. "My c'lection," echoed Toby's voice in her memory. Her heart turned over : how could there be this ridiculous talk of war, when little 65 boys in all countries collected stones, dodged6 cleaning their teeth, and hated cauliflower? Indeed, what always struck her when she went abroad was how much stronger the links7 are between people of the same calling8 than between people of the same race: 70 especially if it is a calling which has more truck with 9 the laws of nature than with the laws of man. The children of the world are one nation ; the very old, another ; the blind, a third: for childhood, age and blindness are all callings, and hard ones at that. A man who works with wood, a man 75 who works with iron, a man who works with test-tubes, is more akin to a joiner, 10 a smith,11 a research chemist12 from the other end of the earth than to a clerk or a shopkeeper in his own town. A fisherman from Ushant 13 and a fisherman from Stornoway14 are both citizens of the same sort of 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

"Please, Mummy, no cauliflower!" (German) i.e. Mrs. Miniver's son. "Have you cleaned your teeth well, Hansi?" (German) small smooth stones. " My collection." (German) avoided : tried to escape. things which join two or more other things together. work; profession. i.e. more connection with ; more to do with. i.e. a man who works with wood. i.e. a man who works with iron. i.e. a man who works with test-tubes. a small island off the coast of Brittany, France. a fishing village of the Hebrides, islands off the coast of Scotland.

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80 country ; and Nicollier, the farmer with whom she had made friends at the village fête, had expressed in a different tongue precisely the same feelings and opinions as Tom Iggulsden.1 If only, she thought, sipping her black coffee, one could somehow get them together—not the statesmen and the 85 diplomats, but Toby and Hansi, Iggulsden and Nicollier. If only all governments would spend the price of a few bombers on exchanging for the holidays, free of charge, a certain number of families from each district. . . The attendant brought her bill. She paid it, burying her 90 last thought as a dog buries a bone, to be returned to later. They had passed Boulogne now and were on the last lap of the journey to Calais. As one does when there are only a few minutes to go and it is not worth while embarking2 on anything new, she let her gaze wander round the carriage, 95 idly seeking the titillation3 of the printed word. On the window-sill she read :— Ne pas se pencher en dehors.4 Nicht hinauslehnen.5 E pericoloso sporgersi.6 100 Exactly, she thought. "What I say three times is true." 7 But the trouble was, it still had to be said in three different languages. . . .

EXERCISES 1. Make sentences freely with these words from the story : shrewd request adjust overhear precise drive solitary essential dodge embark regret parallel spirit link wander 1. i.e. a farmer whom she knew in her own country. 2. Lit.: going on board a ship. Fig. (as here): beginning to do something. 3. a pleasant stimulation of the mind (or the appetite). 4. French) 5. Do not lean out of the window. German) 6. Italian) 7. A child s saying.

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2. Explain the meaning of the following: a. in her mind's eye (line 3). b. to see that Alison was happily established (line 9). c. to see her off (line 10). d. for the space of a breath or two (line 14). e. hedgeless fields like foreheads without eyebrows (line 19). f. they have adjusted their lives a little to your absence (line 26). g. for the life of you you cannot tell them (line 29). h. they do not really take in what you are saying (line 34). i. they know quite well (line 40). j. like the earthbound spirit of one who has recently died (line 48). k. a day or two's distant politeness (line 58). 1. Her heart turned over (line 63). m. hard ones at that (line 74). n. a few minutes to go (line 93). o. the titillation of the printed word (line 95). 3. Can you find the adverb-particles in the story? There are 7. 4. In line 50, we have: "Glancing up at the clock . . ." Although the verb to glance belongs to the "family" of the verb to look, it is not a synonym because it means to look quickly, to take a quick look. Here are some other verbs which belong to the '"family" of to look but are not synonyms. Explain their precise meanings, and then make sentences with them to illustrate these meanings: stare gaze

watch regard

peep peer

glimpse glare

5. Make a summary in about 70 words of the meaning of the 5th paragraph of the story (i.e. from line 67 to line 82). It will be accessary, of course, for you to use many of the words of the paragraph, but do not use whole phrases and clauses; use your own words and expressions, as far as possible. 6. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. Why had Mrs. Miniver travelled out to Switzerland with her niece? b. What could be one reason why Mrs. Miniver stayed at a pension in the village and not at the house of the Swiss family to which the niece had gone? c. Why do you think the solitary porter had a grass stalk between his teeth?

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Why did the moon look like a vast snow-ball which was about to roll down the glacier? Why are you always "something of a ghost" when you return home from a strange place? Why does it take a day or two for you to feel that you are really home? Why did Mrs. Miniver smile when she heard Hansi's mother asking him if he had cleaned his teeth? Why are the links stronger between people of the same calling than between people of the same race? Mrs. Miniver wished that one could get the Iggulsdens and the Nicolliers together—but not the statesmen and the diplomats. Why not the statesmen and the diplomats? Why should one not put one's head out of a railwaycarriage window?

THREE POINTS OF GRAMMAR 1. MORE ABOUT THE DEFINITE ARTICLE Line 56. . . . she overheard at breakfast the so familiar question . . . The names of meals—breakfast, lunch{eori), tea, dinner, supper —do not take any article at all if they are the ordinary meals of a day; e.g. "Helen, are you free tomorrow night? Let's go and have dinner at that new restaurant by the side of the lake." " I ' m afraid Mr. Jenkins isn't here at the moment. He's out at lunch." If, however, they are special meals, they can take either the Definite or the Indefinite Article; e.g. "We've been invited to the Christmas Eve Dinner of the Royal Society of Arts." "The Board of Directors has decided to hold a Luncheon in honour of the retiring Chairman." E

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Line 70. . . . which has more truck with the laws of nature than with the laws of man. Man, in the singular only, and without any article at all, is used in the meaning of mankind, humanity, etc.—and women, of course, are included within this meaning; e.g. "A good deal of the world's unhappiness is owed to man's small-mindedness and greed." "Man is mortal . . ." When woman is used, in the singular only, and without any article, the meaning is womankind (and men, of course, are not included); " Woman . . . What should we ever do without her?" 2. MORE ABOUT "WILL" AND "WOULD" Line 51. . . . "Hansi's mother will just be tying the napkin round his neck; and he will be saying . . . " In Book One,1 we saw that must is often used for present supposition; e.g. "They must be very poor here." "You must be gods." Will is also used to express present supposition: i.e. "They will be very poor here."—"You will be gods." The meaning of the line above is, therefore: "I suppose, because of the time, that Hansi's mother is just tying the napkin round his neck; and he is saying . . . " Some more examples: " After all that digging in the garden you will be very tired. Come and sit down." "I don't think we should telephone them as late as this. They will be asleep." Supposition about the past is expressed by will with a Perfect Infinitive—not by would; e.g. "I'm not surprised he didn't come to our party last night. After all that digging he did in his garden in the afternoon he will have been too tired to go anywhere." (or, of course: ". . . he must have been too tired etc.") 1. Page 86.

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MRS. MINIVER COMES BACK FROM ABROAD PRACTICE EXERCISE 23

Use will, with Simple or Perfect Infinitives, instead of the expressions with the verb to suppose in these sentences. 1. I'd like to buy that painting, but I suppose that it is fearfully expensive. 2. I suppose that Mummy is getting lunch ready now. 3. I suppose that this crossword puzzle is rather too difficult for me. 4. I suppose that my husband is at his club. 5. I suppose that your children are quite grown-up now. 6. Listen to that awful noise outside the house. I suppose they have begun to repair the road. 7. He looks very tired this morning. I suppose he was very late getting to bed. 8.I suppose the Smiths were the first to leave. 9. I suppose that Hugh passed his examinations very easily, as usual. 10. I suppose that young Billy has been a bad boy again. 11. I suppose that the flowers in the garden are enjoying this rain. 12. I suppose they took a taxi. They left here so late. 13. I suppose that Mary is upstairs, doing her homework. 14. I suppose that Father is resting now. 15. It's curious that the Pattersons haven't come. I suppose they forgot the invitation. Line 85. If only all governments would spend the price of a few bombers . . . Will and would are often used, with a Simple Infinitive, to express present (and sometimes future) willingness. The meaning of the line above, for example, is: "If only all governments were willing to spend the price of a few bombers . . ." (It is important to realise that to be willing to do something does not usually mean to want to do it. Suppose that someone asks you to lend him some money . . . Do you want to lend it? You probably don't. But because he is a close friend you are willing to do so. In other words, you don't refuse to do so.) In this meaning, both will and would are used in all persons. Here are some more examples: "Yes, all right. I will lend you the money, but please pay me back as soon as you can."

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"Peter, I'd be awfully grateful if you would help me with this work." " T h a t suitcase looks terribly heavy for you. I will carry it, if you like." It is well known that the word if cannot be followed by will and would when these special verbs have a future meaning; e.g. we cannot say: "If it will rain tomorrow, I shan't go there." or: "If it would rain tomorrow, I shouldn't go there." we must say, instead: "If it rains tomorrow, I shan't go there." and: "If it rained tomorrow, I shouldn't go there." 1 When will and would have a present meaning, however, they can follow if; e.g. "If you will lend me the money I want, I can get out of my troubles." "If only all governments would spend the price of a few bombers . . . " (Will used for persistence, which we discussed in Lesson Seven, also refers to the present: " He has a bad liver, and he will eat fatty food although he knows it is so bad for him. He's such a fool!" This meaning of will can therefore also follow if; e.g. "If he will eat so much fatty food, he mustn't be surprised that he doesn't feel very well.")

3. THE APOSTROPHE AND "S" Line 4. at her sister-in-law's request. Line 45. after a day or two's distant politeness. When we have composite phrases, and we want to make them possessive, we put the 's at the end of the phrase. We do not say, for example, her sister's-in-law request or a day's or two distant politeness.

1. The difference in meaning between these two conditions is discussed, with other types of conditions, in Lesson 16.

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The same rule applies with expressions such as somebody else, nobody else, other people, and so on; e.g. "Other people's houses may be more expensively furnished than ours is, but nobody else's is so comfortable." (i.e. not Other's people and nobody's else.) Two more examples: "The Duke of Axminster's collection of old silver is very famous." "All of Joan and Charles's children are away at school now." It is well-known that the apostrophe and " s " should not be used for anything that has not animate life.1 In other words, we can speak of a girl's legs, or a dog's legs, or a spider's legs but we should not speak of a table's legs or a chair's legs; we should speak of the legs of a table or the legs of a chair. There are, however, many exceptions . . . A day or two's distant politeness in line 58 is one; in her mind's eye in line 3 is another. Don't worry about these exceptions. You will learn them one by one, without realising that you are learning them, as you go on reading.

1. i.e. although trees, flowers and so on may be said to be "alive", they have not animate life, as people and animals have.

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LESSON TWELVE

RIEN NE VA PLUS 1 BY ALEXANDER W O O L L C O T T

We were sitting under the midsummer stars at Monte Carlo, eating and drinking and talking about suicide,2 when a passing newspaper-reporter stopped at our table with the news that that young American with the fair hair had just 5 been found lying on the beach, a bullet-hole in his heart. Earlier in the evening—it was a little before we came out of the Casino in search of dinner—we had all seen him lose all his money after a final disastrous3 turn of the wheel. And now he lay dead on the shore. 10 Until his final bet there had been nothing particularly noticeable about him except that he was the only man at the table wearing evening dress. We heard later that at first he had lost heavily and had had to make several trips to the caisse4 to buy more plaques.5 By the time I came along he 15 had settled down to a more careful play but finally, as if from boredom, he took all his plaques and counters5 and put them on the red. To this pile he added, just as the wheel began to turn, the contents of his wallet—emptying out a small 1. i.e. " No more bets " ; the announcement that is made at a roulette table after the wheel has begun to turn. {French) 2. self-murder. 3. i.e. (here) : very unlucky. 4. cash-desk. (French) 5. flat pieces of metal or hard plastic material which are used instead of money when playing roulette, etc.

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RIEN NE VA P L U S 1

cascade of thousand-franc notes, with a single hundred-franc 20 note among them. But this one he took back at the last moment as if to be sure to have enough money for the bus to take him home. There was that breathless spinning moment, and then the fateful "Rien ne va plus". Then the decision. "Noir."2 Around that table you could hear the word 25 for black being breathed in many different languages. The young man gave a little laugh as the croupier3 said the word. He sat quite still as all his money was taken. With all eyes on him, he pushed his chair back from the table, reached for his wallet, took out the hundred-franc note and 30 pushed it, with white fingers, towards the centre of the roulette table. "Pour le personnel,"4 he said, with a kind of twisted grandeur5 which silenced the usual automatic reply of thanks from the croupiers. "And that," he added, "is that." So saying, he got to his feet, yawned a little, and 35 walked slowly out of the room. I remember thinking, at the time, that he was behaving like any desperate young man in a play. But it was a good performance. And now, it seemed, he lay dead by the water's edge. The news came, as I say, just as we were having dinner 40 and talking of suicide. This was no coincidence.8 One hears many stories of suicide at Monte Carlo. It is part of the legend of the principality—as strong in its force of suggestion, I suppose, as the legend of Lourdes is strong in its suggestion that the time has come to throw away the 45 crutches.7 The newspaper-reporter told us that the sound of the shot had brought a watchman running. The young man lay on his back, one outstretched hand limply holding the revolver, a dark stain on the whiteness of his shirt. Before the reporter could telegraph his report to Paris, he would 1. Lit.: a waterfall. 2. Black. (French) 3. one of the officials who operate a roulette table. (French) 4. for the personnel ; i.e. the croupiers. (French) 5. grandness ; magnificence. 6. two or more events which happen at the same time as the result of chance. 7. metal or wooden supports which help a lame person to walk.

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50 have to await certain—well—formalities. In a whisper he explained that there had been so many suicides recently that a new rule had been put into effect. Whenever any client of the Casino was found, after killing himself, with empty pockets, it was customary for the Casino to rush some money 55 to the place before notifying the police, so that the dead man should seem to have had other reasons for ending his life. Even now, the reporter said, this trick must be in progress, and in the meantime he ought to be finding out some details about the dead young American. 60 We were still sitting over our coffee when he came hurrying back to us, all excited with the end of the story. Notified in due course, the gendarmerie1 had gone to the beach in search of the body. But there was none. Not at the reported place, nor anywhere else on the shore. After further 65 search, the official from the Casino, who had himself put ten thousand francs into the pocket of the now missing suicide, returned at last to the Casino and found it alive with new excitement. It seemed that the young American with the fair hair—the one somebody or other had inaccurately re70 ported as killed—had reappeared apparently restored in spirits,2 and certainly restored in funds.3 He had bet tremendously on only three turns of the wheel, and left with a hundred thousand francs. The attendants assumed that he had simply been out to dinner. At least the careless fellow 75 had spilled some tomato sauce on his shirt-front. EXERCISES 1. Make sentences freely with these words from the story : disastrous breathless automatic limply notify boredom fateful behave formality trick pile grandeur coincidence rush restore 2. Explain the meaning of the following: a. a final disastrous turn of the wheel (line 8). b. With all eyes on him (line 27). c. reached for his wallet (line 29). 1. police (French),

2. i.e. gaiety.

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3. i.e. money.

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d. e. f. g. h. i. j.

behaving like any desperate young man in a play (line 36). with empty pockets (line 53). this trick must be in progress (line 57). Notified in due course (line 61). alive with new excitement (line 67). somebody or other (line 69). apparently restored in spirits, and certainly restored in funds (line 70). 3. Can you find the adverb-particles in the story? There are 4. 4. Make sentences with the opposites of these words from the story : fair (hair) noticeable enough limply hurry lose boredom push dark (stain) due final add (his) back whisper missing 5. (a) In the story, the following paragraph has only the Past Simple and Past Perfect tenses. First, change the infinitives into one or other of these two tenses : Notified in due course, the gendarmerie (to go) to the beach in search of the body. But there (to be) none. After further search, the official from the Casino, who himself (to put) ten thousand francs into the pocket of the now missing suicide, (to return) at last to the Casino and (to find) it alive with new excitement. It (to seem) that the young American with the fair hair—the one somebody or other inaccurately (to report) as killed—(to reappear) apparently restored in spirits, and certainly restored in funds. He (to bet) tremendously on only three turns of the wheel, and (to leave) with a hundred thousand francs. The attendants (to assume) that he simply (to go) out to dinner. At least the careless fellow (to spill) some tomato sauce on his shirt-front. (b) Now imagine that this is part of a play or a film that is going to be produced. You are the producer, and you are telling one of the actors about it before it happens. All the tenses will now change into the Future Simple and Future Perfect; e.g. Notified in due course, the gendarmerie will have gone to the beach in search of the body. But there will be none . . . Change the rest of the tenses yourself. 6. Answer these questions as fully as you can : a. Why do you think that the writer and his friends were talking about suicide as they sat at dinner? b. What could be one reason why the young American was wearing evening dress?

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c. Why do you think he had settled down to a more careful play by the time the writer arrived at the Casino? d. Why do you think he suddenly stopped playing carefully? e. When he took back the hundred-franc note, the writer thought it might be that he wanted to make sure of having enough money for the bus to take him home. What was the real reason he took it back? f. Why is there a breathless moment when the wheel begins to turn? g. Why do you think the young man gave a little laugh when he lost all his money? h. Why didn't the croupiers make their usual automatic reply of thanks when the young man gave them his last hundredfranc note? i. Why do you think the young man yawned a little as he got up from the table? Was he tired, or was there some other reason? j. Why is the legend of Lourdes strong in its suggestion that the time has come to throw away the crutches? k. The watchman thought the young man had shot himself. What had he actually done? 1. Why did the Casino want it to appear that a suicide had other reasons for ending his life? m. Why did the reporter want to find out some details about the "dead" young American? n. What do you think the gendarmerie and the Casino official thought when they could not find the body on the beach? o. Why was the Casino "alive with excitement" when the official returned?

TWO P O I N T S O F G R A M M A R 1. THE "-ING" FORM OF A VERB (PART FOUR) The "Absolute" Participle Line 46. The young man lay on his back, one outstretched hand limply holding the revolver . . . An "Absolute" Participle is simply a present participle which has a subject that is different from the subject of the principal verb. Let us take a simpler example than the one above: "The day being wet, Mary did not wear her new shoes." What is the subject of the principal verb did not wear? It is Mary. 130

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What is the subject of the participle being? It is The day. Thus, because it has a separate, different subject, being is an "Absolute" Participle here. Another example: "The children were very happy, the holidays having begun. The children and the holidays. Different subjects. Having begun is therefore an "Absolute" Participle. Now look again at the example about the young man and the hand that held the revolver. The subjects are different: holding is therefore an "Absolute" Participle. There are two points of importance about the "Absolute" Participle: 1. The subject of the Participle must be put in front of the Participle; e.g. "The day being wet . . ." NOT: "Being wet the day . . . " (This is different from the ordinary use when we have a noun as the subject of both the principal verb and the participle—and therefore two positions of the subject are possible; 1 e.g. "Being faced by a sudden need for more money, William took on some extra work at night." and: " William, being faced by a sudden need for more money, took on some extra work at night.") 2. It is never separated from its subject by a comma; e.g. ". . . the holidays having begun." (And this is different from the ordinary use, too; e.g. "William, being faced etc."). The "Misrelated" Participle A "Misrelated" Participle is a participle that is related to the wrong subject. It is also a mistake that is frequently made by many students. Let us imagine that someone is writing a composition about the way he spent a wintry Sunday. He begins: 1. See again, if necessary, page 165 of Book One, and page 92 of this book.

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"I got out of bed and looked out of the window to see what sort of a day it was. It was cold and miserable, and so I decided to go back to bed for another hour or so .. ." He looks at the second sentence and decides to use, for the sale of style, a participle instead of the was that follows the It. So he writes : ". . . It being cold and miserable, I decided to go back to bed for another hour or so . . ." He stops, because he is not after all very happy with the new construction. Something seems wrong with it. Ah. yes ! A personal pronoun should not be put in front of a participle ! So the It is wrong. He crosses out the It and has: ". . . Being cold and miserable, I decided to go back to bed, etc." Without realising it, he has changed the meaning of his sentence: he has now said that he—not the day—was cold and miserable, and so he went back to bed . . . How has this happened? A participle, like any verb of any sentence, must have a subject. In the sentence "Being cold and miserable, I decided to go back to bed . . .", the pronoun " I " is the only subject: it therefore automatically becomes the subject both of the principal verb "decided" and of the participle "being":

Supposing that he still wants to use the participle being, what must he do to make the sentence correct? (He was right in saying that he should not put It in front of being.) He must use an "Absolute" Participle—with an entirely different, separate subject. What was cold and miserable? The day was—or the weather was . . . And so his sentence will be :

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Here is another example of a "misrelated" participle : "Being new and expensive shoes, Mary did not want to wear them on such a wet day." The comic meaning of this is that Mary herself was a pair of new and expensive shoes! To make the sentence correct, we must use the "Absolute" Participle Construction again: "The shoes being new and expensive, Mary did not want to wear them on such a wet day." PRACTICE EXERCISE 24

Here we have ten "misrelated" participles. Make the sentences correct by using the "Absolute" Participle Construction. (In some cases, you will have to use your imagination to find the proper subject for the "Absolute" Participle.) 1. Patrick missed the first train, and was disappointed by the second. Being full, he had to stand all the way. 2. Weighing about twenty pounds, Robert was glad when someone offered to help him carry the box. 3. Having been cooked by his aunt, a wonderful cook, Billy ate everything on his plate. 4. Being such a smart mackintosh, Helen never minds if it is a rainy day. 5. Being a mower 1 driven by a motor, John finds it much easier to mow2 the lawn nowadays. 6. Being a very large lawn, it still takes him over an hour to mow it, even with the motor-mower. 7. Being wet, David took his umbrella. 8. Being midnight, we all went to bed. 9. Painted bright red, Philip can always find his bicycle quickly among all the others outside the workshop. 10. Being so expensive, I couldn't buy it. (Very careful!) 2. SOME REMARKS ON PUNCTUATION I. The Full-Stop In addition to being used at the end of sentences, a full-stop is used in English: (a) in decimal fractions; e.g. three-quarters is written 0.75 (and not 0,75, as it is in many other languages, with a comma) ; 1. a mechanical grass-cutter. 2. i.e. to cut the grass with the mower. 133


and: 3.142 is the way the value of the geometrical π is written in English {not 3,142). (b) after abbreviations; e.g. Esq., Mr., Mrs., Dr., e.g., i.e., etc. The Comma (a) In many languages, a comma is not considered correct in front of the word and. In English, this is not so; in fact, a comma in front of and is often necessary. Look at this sentence: 1 2 "She walked across the terrace and lawn, and left the garden by the little gate that opened on to the lane." The word and appears twice in this sentence. The first one joins terrace and lawn—two nouns. The second one joins walked and left—two verbs. Their "values" are therefore different— and a comma in front of the second one is therefore necessary. Apart from such cases of necessity, a comma is often put in front of and as a matter of style: e.g. There was that breathless spinning moment, and then the fateful "Rien ne va plus", (line 22) (b) In English, a comma is used to separate each group of three figures when large numbers are written: e.g. a million and a half is written 1,500,000 (and not, as in many languages, 1.500.000). (c) A comma may be used instead of a colon in front of a sen tence of Direct Speech; e.g. Paul said, "That's a very smart raincoat you have on, Helen." (but a colon is equally correct: Paul said: "That's a very smart raincoat, etc.") (d) There are three important cases where the comma must not be used: (i) in front of a Defining Relative Clause; e.g. " I t is unwise to eat fish which is not fresh." (ii) when the Definite Article is used twice with comparatives; e.g. "The more I see of him the less I like him." (iii) between an "Absolute" Participle and its subject; e.g. "The day being cold and miserable, I decided to go back to bed . . . " 134

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In some languages, a comma is used between a verb and its noun-clause object; e.g. The radio reports, that the Prime Minister is going away on holiday. Paul said, that Helen's raincoat was the smartest he had ever seen. In English, a comma is never used now in such a case; e.g. The radio reports that the Prime Minister etc. Paul said that Helen's raincoat etc. 3. The Hyphen This has two uses: (a) in '' hyphenated'' words; e.g. newspaper-reporter, bullet-hole, hundred-franc note, shirt-front, etc. (b) to separate words at the end of a line; e.g. Elizabeth said: "I think I'd better take a mackintosh with me." Great care, however, must be taken here. There are a number of important " D o n ' t s " : (i) Don't separate a word of only one syllable—never mind how long it may be {through, brought, etc.); (ii) Don't separate a word of fewer than six letters—never mind how many syllables it may have; (iii) Don't have fewer than three letters on each side of the separation; (iv) Don't separate a word in the middle of a syllable; (v) Don't separate a word in such a way that the first half gives the eye, at first glance, a meaning that is different from the one you want; e.g. "Billy thinks that Miss Carson is a fright-1 fully strict governess." (vi) Don't separate a word at all when you are going over the page or on to a new sheet of paper; don't, that is to say, have one part of a word on one page or sheet of paper, and the second part of the word on another. (vii) Don't separate a word at all, when you are writing by hand, if you can possibly avoid it! 1. i.e. to be a fright means, in slang, to be a very ugly person, or to be dressed in an ugly or ridiculous way . . .

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4. Double Dashes These are often used instead of curved brackets; e.g. Earlier in the evening—it was a little before we came out of the Casino in search of dinner—we had all seen him lose all his money . . . (line 6). instead of: Earlier in the evening (it was a little before we came out of the Casino in search of dinner) we had all seen him etc. and: It seemed that the young American with the fair hair— the one somebody or other had inaccurately reported as killed—had reappeared . . . (line 68). instead of: . . . (the one somebody or other had inaccurately reported as killed).. . 5. Single Dashes In some languages, a single dash cannot be used; in other words, if a dash is "opened" it must also be "closed". This is not so in English. A single dash is often used to add something extra to a thought, or to give additional information; e.g. It is part of the legend of the principality—as strong in its force of suggestion, I suppose, as the legend of Lourdes is strong in its suggestion that the time has come to throw away the crutches, (line 41) I passed lately through the Customs Houses of three countries—England, France and Germany. (Lesson Two, line 1) . . . everybody, I admit, has been most kind and attentive— too kind, if anything. (Lesson Five, line 11) 6. Inverted Commas (Quotation Marks) These, of course, are used basically for Direct Speech. They may be double (i.e. " . . .") or single (i.e. '. . .'). They are also used, from time to time, to give prominence to certain words (see the example 16 lines above with "opened" and "closed"), and to enclose certain names; e.g. The only opera I heard in Salzburg last year was Richard Strauss's "Der Rosenkavalier". (or, with single commas: 'Der Rosenkavalier'.) 136

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The position of a full-stop is important here. Should it be placed inside or outside the inverted commas? When we have Direct Speech, the full-stop is placed inside the final inverted comma(s) ; e.g. "Hello," said Peter, "I haven't seen you for ages." When we have anything else, the full-stop is placed outside the final inverted comma(s) ; e.g. The only opera he heard was "Der Rosenkavalier". What happens when we have both an enclosed name like "Der Rosenkavalier" and Direct Speech? For example: Anthony said: "The only opera I heard at Salzburg last year was Richard Strauss's 'Der Rosenkavalier'." We must have two sets of inverted commas (one single and one double), with the final one of each set separated by the full-stop: i.e. . . . Rosenkavalier'."

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LESSON THIRTEEN

THE PRIVATE LIFE OF MR. BIDWELL BY JAMES THURBER

From where she was sitting, Mrs. Bidwell could not see her husband, but she had a curious feeling of tension: she knew he was up to something.1 "What are you doing, George?" she demanded, her eyes 5 still on her book. "Mm?" "What's the matter with you?" "Pahhhhh-h-h," said Mr. Bidwell, letting out his breath slowly and with great pleasure. "I was holding my breath." 10 Mrs. Bidwell twisted in her chair and looked at him; he was sitting behind her in his favourite place under the lamp with the street scene of old New York on it. "I was just holding my breath," he said again. "Well, please don't do it," said Mrs. Bidwell, and went 15 back to her book. There was silence for five minutes. "George!" said Mrs. Bidwell. "Bwaaaaaa," said Mr. Bidwell. "What?" "Will you please stop that," she said. "It makes me nervous." 20 "I don't see how it bothers you," he said. "Can't I breathe?" 1. i.e. doing something that he shouldn't be doing.

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"You can breathe without holding your breath like a goop," 1 said Mrs. Bidwell. " G o o p " was a word that she was fond of using; she rather lazily applied it to everything. 25 It annoyed Mr. Bidwell. "Deep breathing," said Mr. Bidwell, in the impatient tone he used when explaining anything to his wife, "is good exercise. You ought to 2 take more exercise." "Well, please don't do it around me," said Mrs. Bidwell, 30 turning again to her book. At the Cowans' party, a week later, the room was full of chattering people when Mrs. Bidwell, who was talking to Lida Carroll, suddenly turned around as if somebody had called her name. In a chair in a far corner of the room, Mr. 35 Bidwell was holding his breath. His chest was expanded, his chin drawn in; there was a strange stare in his eyes, and his face was slightly purple. Mrs. Bidwell moved into the line of his vision and gave him a sharp penetrating look. He let out his breath slowly and looked away. 40 Later, in the car, after they had driven in silence a mile or more on the way home, Mrs. Bidwell said, "It seems to me you might at least have the kindness not to hold your breath in other people's houses." "I wasn't hurting anybody," said Mr. Bidwell. 45 "You looked silly!" said his wife. "You looked perfectly crazy!" She was driving and she began to speed up, as she always did when excited or angry. "What do you suppose people thought—you sitting there all swelled up, with your eyes popping out?" 50 "I wasn't all swelled up," he said angrily. "You looked like a goop," she said. The car slowed down, sighed, and came to a complete, despondent3 stop. "We're out of gas," 4 said Mrs. Bidwell. It was bitterly 1. 2. 3. 4.

i.e. (here): fool. i.e. One ought t o ; everybody ought to. hopeless. i.e. gasoline (American) = petrol (British).

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cold and nastily sleeting.1 Mr. Bidwell took a long, deep 55 breath. The breathing situation in the Bidwell family reached a critical point when Mr. Bidwell began to breathe in, in his sleep, slowly, and breathe out with a long, growing "woooooooo". Mrs. Bidwell, ordinarily a sound sleeper 60 (except on nights when she was sure burglars2 were getting in), would wake up and reach over and shake her husband. "George!" she would say. " Hawwwwww," Mr. Bidwell would say, thickly. " Wahs maa nah, hm?" 3 65 After he had turned over and gone back to sleep, Mrs. Bidwell would lie awake, thinking. One morning at breakfast she said, "George, I'm not going to put up with this another day. If you can't stop making those horrible breathing noises, I'm going to leave 70 you." There was a slight, quick life in Mr. Bidwell's heart, but he tried to look surprised and hurt. "All right," he said. "Let's not talk about it." Mrs. Bidwell buttered another piece of toast. She described to him the way he sounded in his sleep. He read the 75 paper. With considerable effort, Mr. Bidwell stopped holding his breath for about a week, but one night at the McNallys' he hit on the idea of seeing how many seconds he could hold it. He was rather bored by the McNallys' party, anyway. He 80 began timing himself with his wrist-watch in a far-away corner of the living-room. Mrs. Bidwell, who was in the kitchen talking about children and clothes with Bea McNally, left her abruptly and slipped back into the living-room. She stood quietly behind her husband's chair. He knew she was 85 there, and tried to let out his breath without her noticing it. "I see you," she said, in a low, cold tone. Mr. Bidwell jumped up. 1. sleet is falling snow mixed with rain. 2. thieves who break into houses. 3. i.e. "What's the matter now, hm?"

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90

95

100

105

"Why don't you let me alone?" he demanded. "Will you please lower your voice?" she said, smiling so that if anyone were looking he shouldn't think the Bidwells were quarrelling. " I'm getting extremely tired of this," said Bidwell in a low tone. "You've ruined my evening!" she whispered. "You've ruined mine, too!" he whispered back. They knifed each other from head to stomach, with their eyes. " Sitting here like a goop, holding your breath," said Mrs. Bidwell. "People will think you are an idiot." 1 She laughed, turning to greet a lady who was approaching them. Mr. Bidwell sat in his office the next afternoon, a black, moist afternoon, tapping a pencil on his desk and scowling. "All right, then, get out, get out!" he muttered. "What do I care?" He was picturing the scene when Mrs. Bidwell would walk out on him. After going through it several times, he returned to his work, feeling vaguely contented. He made up his mind to breathe in any way that he wanted to, no matter what she did. And, having come to this decision, he oddly,2 and quite without effort, lost interest in holding his breath.

Everything went rather smoothly at the Bidwells' for a 110 month or so. Mr. Bidwell didn't do anything to annoy his wife beyond leaving his razor on her dressing-table and forgetting to turn out the hall light when he went to bed. Then there came the night of the Bentons' party. Mr. Bidwell, bored as usual, was sitting in a far corner of 115 the room, breathing normally. His wife was talking to Beth Williamson about negligees. Suddenly her voice slowed and an uneasy look came into her eyes: George was up to something. She turned around and searched the room with her eyes. To anyone but Mrs. Bidwell he must have seemed like 120 any husband sitting in a chair. But his wife's lips set tightly. She walked casually3 over to him. 1. a very stupid person: a person without full mental powers. 2. curiously; strangely. 3. i.e. carelessly; as though without any special purpose.

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"What are you doing"?" she demanded. "H'm"?" he said, looking at her vacantly.1 "What are you doing?" she demanded again. He gave her a cold, poisonous look, which she returned. "I'm multiplying numbers in my head," he said, slowly and evenly,2 "if you must know." In the long, searching examination that they slowly, without moving any muscles save those of their eyes, gave each other, it became solidly, frozenly clear to both of them that the end of their endurance had arrived. The curious bond that held them together had broken—rather more easily than either had supposed was possible. That night, while undressing for bed, Mr. Bidwell calmly multiplied numbers in his head. Mrs. Bidwell stared coldly at him for a few minutes, holding a stocking in her hand; she didn't bother to say anything. He paid no attention to her. The thing was simply over. George Bidwell lives alone now (his wife remarried). He never goes to parties any more, and his old circle of friends rarely sees him. The last time that any of them did see him, he was walking along a country road with the uncertain gait3 of a blind man: he was trying to see how many steps he could take without opening his eyes. EXERCISES 1. Make sentences freely with these words from the story: tension chatter approach decision casual bother expand vague oddly vacant impatient idiot moist smooth poisonous 2. Explain the meaning of the following: a. moved into the line of his vision (line 37). b. The breathing situation in the Bidwell family (line 56). c. hit on the idea (line 78). d. slipped back into the living-room (line 83). e. They knifed each other from head to stomach, with their eyes (line 95). f. when Mrs. Bidwell would walk out on him (line 103). 1. i.e. with his eyes showing no signs of interest, thought or expression. 2. calmly; steadily. 3. manner of walking.

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g. After going through it several times (line 104). h. his wife's lips set tightly (line 120). i. it became solidly, frozenly clear (line 129). j. The thing was simply over (line 137). 3. Can you find the adverb-particles in the story"? There are 30. 4. Change these sentences into Reported Speech: a. "What are you doing, George?" she demanded. b. " I was holding my breath," said Mr. Bidwell. c. "Well, please don't do it," said Mrs. Bidwell. d. "Will you please stop that," she said. "It makes me nervous." e. "I don't see how it bothers you," he said. "Can't I breathe?" (Careful!) f. "Deep breathing," said Mr. Bidwell, "is good exercise. You ought to take more exercise." (Careful!) g. "I wasn't hurting anybody," said Mr. Bidwell. h. "I wasn't all swelled up," he said angrily. i. He said: "Let's not talk about it." (Careful!) j. "Will you please lower your voice?" she said, smiling. (Careful!) 5. Dictation. 6. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. At the beginning of the story, Mrs. Bidwell had a curious feeling of tension; she knew that her husband was up to something. Why do you think this feeling of tension came to her? b. Mr. Bidwell let out his breath "with great pleasure". Why did he have this great pleasure? c. Why do you think his holding his breath made his wife nervous? d. Why did he use an impatient tone when explaining anything to her? e. At the Cowans' party, Mrs. Bidwell suddenly turned round as if somebody had called her name. What was the real reason why she suddenly turned round? f. Why did she give her husband a sharp, penetrating look when she saw that he was holding his breath again? g. Why do you think neither of them spoke to each other in the car for the first mile or so on their way home? h. When Mr. Bidwell began to breathe strangely in his sleep, Mrs. Bidwell would shake him, and would then lie awake, thinking. What do you imagine she was thinking about? i. Why was there a slight, quick life in Mr. Bidwell's heart 143

-THE NEW INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH COURSE

when she said she would leave him if he didn't stop those horrible breathing noises? j. Why did he then try to look surprised and hurt? k. At the next party, he tried to let out his breath without her noticing it. Why did he do this? 1. Why did she ask him to lower his voice when he told her to let him alone? m. At the third party, he looked at her vacantly when she asked him what he was doing. Why did he look vacant? n. Later that night, while undressing for bed, Mr. Bid well calmly multiplied numbers in his head and paid no attention to his wife. Why didn't he pay any attention to her? o. Why doesn't he go to parties any more?

TWO P O I N T S O F G R A M M A R 1. MORE ABOUT "WILL" AND "WOULD" The Various Forms of Requests Line 18. " Will you please stop that," she said. Line 89. " Will you please lower your voice 1 ?" The first thing that must be said here is that the plain imperative (e.g. "Stop that!", "Lower your voice!") is not & request; it is an order, a command, and is much too abrupt for ordinary, polite use. The request form with "Will you .. ." is the one which is most commonly used among members of the family and close friends, and when speaking to subordinates; e.g. " Will you lend me your pencil, please, Daddy?" " Will you please type these letters as quickly as you can, Miss Smith?" The form "Would you . . ." is also often used in the family and so on; e.g. " Would you lend me your pencil, please, Daddy?" " Would you please type these letters as quickly as you can, Miss Smith?" When, on the other hand, we are speaking to people who are not members of the family, close friends, and so on, we should always prefer the form with "Would you . . .". It is "softer", more polite, than the form with " Will you . . ." (in the same way as "Could you lend me five pounds?" is "softer" than " Can you lend me five pounds?"). 1. A question mark in requests may be used, or omitted, at will.

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As an example, imagine that you are at the cinema, and two people behind you are talking rather noisily. You cannot follow the film, and at last you feel that you must ask them to lower their voices. If you feel sufficiently angry, you may use a plain imperative, but this will probably do nothing but cause a quarrel. . . The best way for you to make your request is with one of the forms with "Would you . . ." There are four: 1. " Would you lower 2. " Would you mind lowering your voices a 3. " Would you be kind (good) enough to lower little, please." 4. " Would you be so kind (good) as to lower There is one more form with "Would you .. ."—but it is only for the family and friends; e.g. " Would you like to lend me your pencil, please, Daddy?" PRACTICE EXERCISE 25

Change these plain imperatives into the two familiar forms of request (i.e. "Will you . . ." and "Would you like to . . .") and the four "softer" forms with "Would you . . .". 1. Close the door. 2. Give me that newspaper. 3. Walk as quietly as you can. 4. Let me sit down. 5. Turn on the light. The Various Forms of Offers " Would you like another cup of tea?" " Would you like a piece of this chocolate?" This is the politest form of offer, although the form "Will you have . . ." is also good; e.g. " Will you have another cup of tea?" " Will you have a piece of this chocolate?" Among members of the family and close friends only, we can also make an offer with "Do you want. . ."; e.g. "Do you want another cup of tea, Daddy?" "Do you want a piece of this chocolate, Mummy?" This form with "Do you want . . ." should not be used for strangers. Even among members of the family it is not, in fact, as good as the forms "Would you like . . ." and "Will you have . . .", 145


A "first-person" offer a n d a "third-person" offer are not made with either will or would. They are made with shall; e.g. " Y o u look a little cold. Shall I bring you a woolly 1 ?" " My daughter is going past the Post Office on her way to school. Shall she post your letters for you?" 2. MORE ABOUT THE DEFINITE ARTICLE The Bidwells. The Cowans. The McNallys. The Bentons. Instead of saying The Bidwell family or The Cowan family, etc., we can use the Definite Article with the plural name of the family, and omit the word family altogether. In making the family-name plural, however, we break many of the usual rules of the formation of plurals: we simply add an "s". Take the ordinary nouns rally, sally and tally, for example. Because they end in " l y " their plurals become rallies, sallies, tallies. But the family name McNally becomes, in the plural, McNallys. Another example: The Willoughby family becomes, in the plural: The Willoughbys, not: The Willoughbies. THE USES OF "MAKE" AND "DO" Line 4. "What are you doing, George?" she demanded. Line 18. " I t makes me nervous." Line 29. "Well, please don't do it around me." Line 105. He made up his mind. Line 110. Mr. Bidwell didn't do anything to annoy his wife . . . There is no hard and fast rule to tell us when to use make and when to use do. It is a problem similar to the problem of prepositions ; that is to say, a " guide " can be given—but there are many, many cases in which the guide will not work (and these simply have to be learned by heart). The guide is this: To do suggests an action; to make suggests the use of something else. e.g. "What are you doing, George?" Mr. Bidwell didn't do anything to annoy his wife . . . 1. i.e. a woollen jacket, jumper, pullover, etc. 146

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"I think I could make a small bookcase with these pieces of wood.'" " Mary is going to make a bed-jacket with this length of wool." It sometimes helps if we remember that (in non-exceptional uses) we cannot make without doing—but we can do without making; e.g. "What are you doing?" —"I'm making a bookcase." i.e. " I ' m doing —"I'm making a bed-jacket." something." —"I'm doing my homework." i.e. "Although I am —"I'm writing a letter." doing something, I —"I'm playing with the am not making anything." children." But there are many, many exceptional uses: e.g. "You have made a great mistake." "It makes me nervous." (line 18) "It makes me very happy to see you so well again." "Miss Carson tries to make Billy behave well." " H e made up his mind." (line 105) etc., etc. PRACTICE EXERCISE 2 6

Test your existing knowledge by putting either to do or to make (in their suitable tenses or forms) into the blank spaces below. 1. Twelve plus thirteen — twenty-five. 2. Have you — a lot of work today? 3. They seem to be — a lot of alterations to their house. 4. Don't — any noise when you come home tonight. 5. No, I didn't — anything at all last night. I was so tired that I went straight to bed. 6. You must take this medicine. I know it's nasty but it will — you good. 7. The medicine is nasty, I know, but it will — you well again. 8. Have you — the beds yet? 9. Miss Smith, this letter is typed very badly. Will you — it again, please? 10. I must have a new suit —. INVITATIONS As we have seen, Mr. and Mrs. Bidwell went to a good many parties. 147

THE NEW I N T E 1 M E D I A T E E N G L I S H COURSE

The invitations to these may have been given in person, or over the telephone. They may, on the other hand, have come by post—in which case there are three ways in which they could have been made: l. by letter; 2. by a formal invitation card; 3. by an informal "At Home" invitation card. Here are a few details which, though not of great importance, may be of interest. 1. The Letter Invitation. This is an ordinary personal letter. We reply, accepting or apologising for not being able to accept, in another ordinary personal letter. 2. The Formal Invitation. Our answer must be written in the third person—unless a telephone number is given on the card, in which case we are free to telephone our acceptance or apology. Here is an example of a formal invitation card:

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Note. (1) The hand-written "black tie" means that a man must wear "dinner-jacket" 1 evening dress. (If the words "full evening dress" are written on the card, a man must wear "tails". Unless, however, the dinner is followed. by a dance, or is a very formal reception of some sort, it is rare today to be asked to wear "tails" in England.) (2) The printed R.S.V.P. (short for the French "Répondez s'il vous plait.") asks us to reply to the invitation. (Mot all invitation cards have this; an invitation to a large reception that celebrates a country's National Day, for example, very often omits it. In such cases, we make no reply at all, whether we intend to accept or not.) (3) On an invitation to a cocktail party, the letters R.S.V.P. are often crossed out and the words Regrets only are written above them (usually with a telephone number). This means that we must telephone our apologies (i.e. our regrets) only if we cannot accept the invitation. (If there is no telephone number, we must write our apologies, in the third person; see the example below.) The Written Reply Here is an example of an acceptance, which is written in hand on ordinary writing-paper:

15, Bedford Terrace, London, S.W.I. April 27th, 1962. Mr. and Mrs. Richard Whittome thank Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Montgomery for their very kind invitation to dinner on May 5th, and are most delighted to accept. 1. which is called "smoking" in many countries — but never in England.

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And here is an example of an apology for being unable to accept:

15, Bedford Terrace, London, S.W.I. April 27th, 1962. Mr. and Mrs. Richard Whittome thank Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Montgomery for their very kind invitation to dinner on May 5th, but, owing to the fact that they will leave England at the end of April for a holiday abroad, very much regret that they are unable to accept.

Note. (1) This sort of reply must never have a signature. (2) When apologising for being unable to accept an invitation, custom demands that we must give some sort of reason or explanation.

3. The Informal "At Home" Invitation. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, this is sent by a woman; i.e. a married woman usually does not include her husband's name on the card. , Usually, there is no R.S.V.P. or Regrets only on the card, which means that no reply is necessary. If, however, R.S.V.P. or Regrets only does appear on the card, we reply in the same way as we should to a formal invitation. 150

THE P R I V A T E LIFE OF MR. B I D W E L L

Here is an example of an "At Home" Invitation card:

151

LESSON FOURTEEN

IN DEFENCE OF WASPS BY " A L P H A OF THE P L O U G H "

It is time, I think, that someone said a good word for the wasp. He is no saint, but he is being abused1 more than he deserves. He has been unusually prolific2 this summer, and agitated correspondents have been busy writing to the 5 newspapers to explain how you may fight him and how by holding your breath you may miraculously prevent him from stinging you. Now the point about the wasp is that he doesn't want to sting you. He is, in spite of his military uniform and his fearful weapon, not a bad fellow, and if you 10 leave him alone he will leave you alone. He is a nuisance, of course. He likes jam and honey; but then I am bound to confess that I like jam and honey, too, and I daresay those correspondents who abuse him so bitterly like jam and honey. We shouldn't like to be sent to the scaffold3 because 15 we like jam and honey. But let him have a reasonable helping4 from the pot or the plate, and he is as civil5 as anybody. He has his moral faults, no doubt. He is an habitual drunkard. He reels6 away in a ridiculously helpless condition from 1. i.e. angry complaints are being made against him; unkind things are being said about him. 2. i.e. producing large numbers of other wasps. 3. i.e. to be executed; to be put to death. 4. portion; amount. 5. polite; well-behaved. 6. walks very unsteadily, as a result (usually) of drunkenness or illness.

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a feast of honey and he shares man's weakness for beer. In 20 the language of America, he is a "wet". 1 He cannot resist beer, and having rather a weak head for liquor he gets most disgracefully tight2 and staggers6 about quite unable to fly, and doubtless declaring that he won't go home till morning. 25 This weakness for beer is one of the causes of his downfall. An empty beer bottle will attract him in large numbers, and once inside he never gets out. He is indeed the easiest creature to deal with that flies on wings. He is extremely stupid and unsuspicious. A fly will trust nobody and nothing, and has a 30 vision that takes in the whole circumference of things; but a wasp will walk into any trap, like the country bumpkin 3 that he is, and he will never have the sense to walk out the way he went in. And on your plate he simply waits for you to squeeze him to death. You may descend on him as slowly as 35 you like. He seems to have no sight for anything above him, and no sense of looking upward. His intelligence, in spite of the mathematical genius with which he makes his cells, is contemptible,4 and Fabre, 5 who kept a colony under glass, tells us that he cannot associate entrance and exit. If his 40 familiar exit is cut off, it does not occur to him that he can go out by the way he always comes in. A very stupid fellow. If you compare his morals with those of the honey bee, of course, he cuts a very poor figure.6 The bee never goes on the spree.7 It avoids beer like poison, and keeps outside the 45 house. It doesn't waste its time in gay living, but goes on ceaselessly working night and day during its six brief weeks of life, laying up 8 honey for the winter and for future generations to enjoy. But the fellow in the yellow stripes just lives for the hour. No thought of the morrow for him, 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

F

a drunkard; a person suffering from alcoholism. {Rough slang) drunk. (Slang) an awkward and (usually) unintelligent person. deserving contempt; i.e. deserving to be looked down on or despised. the distinguished entomologist. i.e. he gives a very bad impression. i.e. never goes out and gets drunk. storing.

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50 thank you. Let us eat, drink, and be merry, he says, for tomorrow .. . 1 He runs through his little fortune of life at top speed, has a wonderful time in August, and has vanished from the scene by October, leaving only the queen behind in some safe and comfortable place to raise a new family of 55 20,000 or so next summer. But I repeat that he is inoffensive2 if you let him alone. Of course, if you hit him he will hit back, and if you attack his nest he will defend it. But he will not go for you 3 unprovoked 4 as a bee sometimes will. Yet he could afford this 60 luxury of unprovoked warfare much better than the bee, for unlike the bee, he does not die when he stings. I feel that I can speak of the relative habits of wasps and bees, for I've been living in the midst of them. There are fifteen hives in the orchard, 5 with an estimated population of a quarter of a 65 million bees, and tens of thousands of wasps about the cottage. I find that I am never deliberately attacked by a wasp, but when a bee begins circling around me I flee6 for shelter. There's nothing else to do. For, unlike the wasp, the bee's hatred is personal. It dislikes you as a person for some un70 explainable reason, and is always ready to die for the satisfaction of its anger. And it dies in very large numbers. The expert, who has been taking honey-sections from the hives, showed me her hat just now. It had nineteen stings in it. It is not only in his liking for beer that the wasp resembles 75 man. Like him, too, he is an omnivorous7 eater. If you don't pick your pears in the nick of time8 he will eat them all. He loves butcher's meat, raw or cooked, and I like to see the workmanlike way in which he cuts off his little joint 9 , usually fat, and flies away with it for home. But his real 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

. . . we die. (An old English saying.) i.e. (here): unwilling to attack you. i.e. will not attack you. without reason; without provocation. a piece of ground (usually enclosed) with fruit trees. run away. able to eat all kinds of food. i.e. at exactly the right moment; not late. a piece of meat, usually for roasting.

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IN DEFENCE OF WASPS 1

80 virtue , and this is why I say a good word for him, is that he is a clean fellow, and is the enemy of that unclean creature the fly, especially of that supremely disgusting thing, the blowfly.2 His method of dealing with it is very cunning. 3 I saw him at work on the table at lunch the other day. He 85 got the blowfly down, but did not kill it. With his jaws he cut off one of the creature's wings to prevent the possibility of escape, and then with a huge effort lifted it bodily and flew heavily away. And I confess he carried my enthusiastic approval with him. There goes a whole generation of flies, 90 said I, nipped in the bud.4 And let this be said for him also: he has pity. He will help a fellow5 in trouble. Fabre says he once watched a number of wasps taking food to one that was unable to fly owing to an injury to its wings. This was continued for days, and the 95 rescuing wasps were frequently seen to stroke the injured wings gently. There is, of course, an account against him, especially in the minds of those who keep bees and have seen a large number of wasps attacking a weak hive. I am far from wish100 ing to represent the wasp as an entirely good thing. He is not that. And when I see a queen wasp sunning herself in the early spring days I consider it my duty to kill her. I am sure there will be enough without that one. But in preserving the balance of nature the wasp has his uses, and if we wish 105 ill to flies we ought to have a reasonable amount of tolerance for their enemy. EXERCISES 1. Make sentences freely with these words from the essay: saint confess moral disgraceful associate deserve daresay habitual trust occur miraculous civil resist genius cunning 1. i.e. (here): good point. 2. a large fly, of a metallic blue colour, which spoils meat by laying its eggs on it. 3. Lit.: clever at deceiving, tricking. 4. Lit.: to nip something in the bud = to stop its development at the very beginning. 5. i.e. (here): another wasp.

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2. Explain the meaning of the following: a. a good word for the wasp (line 1). b. a vision that takes in the whole circumference of things (line 30). c. it does not occur to him (line 40). d. The fellow . . . just lives for the hour (line 48). e. if you let him alone (line 56). f. just now (line 73). g. the other day (line 84). h. I am far from wishing (line 99). i. sunning herself (line 101). j. if we wish ill to flies (line 104). 3. Can you find the adverb-particles in the essay? There are 18. 4. Here are 25 nouns from the essay. What are their adjectives? wasp home glass queen virtue saint sense winter luxury trouble point death summer expert injury condition intelligence sting man nature beer colony scene meat tolerance 5. Here are 25 verbs and adjectives from the essay. What are their nouns? agitate civil mathematical merry prevent miraculous moral familiar comfortable fly like helpless compare defend enthusiastic dislike unable gay resemble continue confess stupid brief cunning preserve 6. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. Why does the writer say that the wasp is being abused more than he deserves? b. Why have agitated correspondents been busy writing to the newspapers this summer in particular? c. Why should we object to being sent to the scaffold because we like jam and honey? d. What is one result of the wasp's sharing man's weakness for beer? e. What do you think is in the writer's mind when he says that the wasp doubtless declares " that he won't go home till morning"? f. Once the wasp gets inside a beer bottle he never gets out. Why? g. Why does a fly trust nobody and nothing? h. Fabre kept a colony of wasps under glass. Why do you think he did this? 156

IN DEFENCE OF WASPS i. j. k. 1. m. n. o.

Why does the wasp cut a very poor figure if we compare him with the honey-bee? Why does he run through his little fortune of life at such speed? The writer says he has been living in the midst of wasps and bees. What could be one reason for this? Why does he call the blowfly "that extremely disgusting thing"? Fabre says that a number of wasps stroked the wings of one who had been injured. Why did they do this? Why is there " a n account against the wasp" in the minds of those who keep bees? In what way has the wasp his uses in preserving the balance of nature?

FOUR POINTS OF GRAMMAR 1. MORE ABOUT THE DEFINITE ARTICLE Line 1. It is time, I think, that someone said a good word for the wasp. Line 43. The bee never goes on the spree. Line 81. . . . the enemy of that unclean creature the fly . . . Line 82. . . . especially of that supremely disgusting thing, the blowfly. According to the basic rule for the use of the Definite Article,1 we should be able, in these sentences, to give some definite information in answers to the questions: "Which wasp?", "What bee?", etc. We cannot do so, because the writer is quite clearly speaking about all wasps, all bees, and so on—in general. This is one more special use of the Definite Article. If we want to speak of a thing in the sense that it is one of a separate class of things, different from all others, we can speak of it in the singular with the Definite Article. If, for example, we say: "The dog is usually the enemy of the cat.", we are speaking of dogs and cats as separate classes of animals. And if we say: " I ' m more afraid of the bee than I am of the wasp.", we are speaking of bees and wasps as separate classes of insects. We can also speak of things without life, in the same way: e.g. "The emerald is green, the ruby red." (i.e. emeralds and rubies as separate classes of jewels.) 1. See Book One, page 190, if necessary.

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THE N E W I N T E R M E D I A T E ENGLISH COURSE PRACTICE EXERCISE 27

Freely compose five sentences of your own with this special use of the Definite Article. 2. MORE ABOUT "WILL" In Book One, 1 we saw that would, in all persons, is often used to express something that was repeated or habitual in the past. e.g. " Until a year or so ago, Timothy would walk all the way to his office every day, instead of taking the bus." Something that is repeated or habitual in the present is usually expressed with the Present Simple tense; e.g. "Roger goes to his club to play bridge every Tuesday evening." —but it can also be expressed with will, in all persons; e.g. " Roger will go to his club to play bridge every Tuesday evening." (There is no danger of our misunderstanding this as a statement of futurity; the expression every Tuesday evening clearly shows that it is something repeated and habitual in the present.) There are quite a lot of examples in the essay; here are a few: Line 29. A fly will trust nobody and nothing, and has a vision... Line 31. . . . a wasp will walk into any trap . . . Line 32. . . . he will never have the sense to walk out the way he went in. Line 58. . . . h e will not go for you unprovoked as a bee sometimes will. Line 91. He will help a fellow in trouble. PRACTICE EXERCISE 28

Freely compose five sentences of your own with this special use of will. 3. ANOTHER NOTE ABOUT REPORTED SPEECH Line 89. There goes a whole generation of flies, said I, nipped in the bud. This seems to break all the rules we studied in Lesson One. It seems to be neither Direct Speech (there are no inverted commas), nor Reported Speech as we are accustomed to it. 1. Page 171.

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IN DEFENCE OF WASPS

It is, however, perfectly correct—as a form of literary style. But you must be very careful with it when you want to use it yourself; it does not always " g o " as beautifully as it does here! 4. MORE ABOUT "SHOULD" AND "WOULD" Should/would like . . . In the last lesson, we dealt with the question form Would you like . . .? as an offer and a familiar form of request. Now let us look at the negative and affirmative forms: Line 14. We shouldn't like to be sent to the scaffold because we like jam and honey . . . This is a milder 1 way of saying: "We don't want to be sent to the scaffold etc." And if someone says: "I should like to be the Prime Minister for a month!", it is as though he says: "It might be rather nice to be the Prime Minister for a month!" We certainly do not understand that he is going to try to become the Prime Minister—as we might if he stated: "I want to be the Prime Minister before I die." The expression can also be followed by a noun (or nounphrase), not only by an infinitive; e.g. "Look at that beautiful Rolls-Royce over there! My goodness, I should like a car like that." (Although the expression is not followed by an infinitive here, the infinitive is nevertheless understood: " . . . I should like to have (to possess, to own, etc.) a car like that.") The should/would like expression is also a politer form of want. Imagine that you are at the house of a friend and he has just offered you a bottle of beer, a glass of wine, or a whisky-and-soda —whichever you prefer. It would be very impolite to say: "I want a bottle of beer, please." You should answer with the should/would like expression: "I'd like a bottle of beer, please." When the should/would like expression is followed by a Simple Infinitive, it always refers to the future or the present; e.g. "I should like to go to the seaside next summer. I'm a bit tired of the mountains, year after year." (i.e. future) "I should like to be at the seaside now, in this glorious weather." (i.e. present) 1. less forceful; less definite; weaker.

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There is an important difference in meaning here: With the future expression, the speaker may or may not go to the seaside next summer—but there is a possibility that he will. With the present expression, it is quite clear that he is not at the seaside now. (The expression, in fact, is a weak form of "I wish I were at the seaside now.", which, as we saw in Lesson Nine, is the same thing a s : "I am sorry that I am not at the seaside now.") Some more examples: " H e would like to go to Oxford when he finishes school." There is a possiFuture "We should like to go to bility that both will happen. Spain one of these days." i.e. but I am not "I should like to be as rich so rich . . . as that ship-owner." Present "She would like to be able i.e. but she cannot cook so to cook as well as you can." well. . . When the expression is followed by a Perfect Infinitive, it refers to the past—and shows that the wish was not fulfilled; e.g. " He would like to have gone to Oxford when he finished school." i.e. but he did not go to Oxford. "I should like to have been invited to their party." i.e. but I was not invited. Be careful not to confuse the meaning of I should like . . . with I like . . .; e.g. I like to see the workmanlike way . . . (line 77) i.e. it pleases me to see etc. PRACTICE EXERCISE 29

Freely compose 10 sentences of your own with the should/ would like expression: 4 referring to the future, 3 to the present, and 3 to the past.

160

LESSON FIFTEEN

HOLES IN THE ROAD BY HELEN VLACHOS

You can say what you like, but the fact remains that women loiter1 and idle2 with a great deal more taste than men. They waste their time, I agree. They go backwards and forwards between the dressmaker and the milliner.3 They 5 loiter spellbound4 before each shop-window. Their aimless spending of the morning or the afternoon often causes lunch or dinner to be late, and rows5 and scenes follow. "That's all very well, but what on earth were you doing all the morning? You can't possibly have spent all that time 10 buying half a yard of ribbon!" Now, let us look at the logical male animal. He hurries down the street without turning his head. With utter indifference he sweeps past the shops whose windows are filled with all the things he needs: ties, shirts, socks, jackets, 15 shoes; he has not the least interest in them. Unless he has set out with the definite intention of buying something that has become indispensable to him, he will not squander6 a second or waste a glance at a shop-window. He has work to do, you will tell me. He hurries along, so 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

go slowly and stop frequently on the way somewhere; stand about. waste time. a woman's hat-maker. with the attention held—as if by magic. quarrels. waste; foolishly spend.

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20 that his family's bread shall be earned. He has a hundred different problems in his mind. How can you expect him to loiter or get any pleasure out of gazing at shop-windows? How can I? Just let him meet a fire-engine1 on his way, putting out a fire that is hardly big enough to roast a chicken, 25 and he will be riveted2 to the pavement, motionless, dazzled, spellbound. Any sort of roadwork also holds an unexplainable attraction for him. A hole has only to be dug in the road, and male observers gather beside it in earnest concentration. What do they find to look at? A lorry arrives 30 to remove the earth . . . It is difficult to think of a more boring spectacle, or one more empty of beauty and variety. Nevertheless, it never lacks attentive spectators; spectators, moreover, who are prepared to shove,3 to peep through cracks, even to climb walls, in order to watch the fascinating 35 scene. All, without exception, are males of all classes and of every age from six upwards. You can see little boys leaning over the hole side by side with white-haired ancients. No little girl will ever be found looking at holes in the road. Instead, and with much greater common-sense, she 40 will come to a stop, with wide-open pleading eyes, in front of a shop-window in which there is a large, inaccessible,4 blue-eyed doll. EXERCISES 1. Make sentences freely with these words from the article: idle aimless indispensable gaze concentrate taste indifference earn attraction variety 2. Explain the meaning of the following: a. the fact remains (line 1). b. They go backwards and forwards (line 3). c. Their aimless spending of the morning (line 5). d. "That's all very well, but. . ." (line 8). e. the logical male animal (line 11). 1. a motor-truck with equipment for putting out fires in houses, etc. 2. Lit.: to rivet is to fasten one metal plate to another by means of immovable bolts. Here: he will be unable to move from the place. 3. push very roughly. 4. impossible to reach or obtain.

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f. he sweeps past the shops (line 13). g. so that his family's bread shall be earned (line 20). h. a fire that is hardly big enough to roast a chicken (line 24). i. white-haired ancients (line 37). j. wide-open, pleading eyes (line 40). 3. Can you find the adverb-particles in the article? There are 3. 4. The way that anything is put into Reported Speech depends, of course, on the words that introduce it. For example, if we have the question " What on earth were you doing all this morning?" together with the introduction Robert asked Mary, the Reported Speech version will be: Robert asked Mary what on earth she had been doing all that morning. If, on the other hand, the introduction is Mary asked Robert, the Reported Speech version will change slightly: Mary asked Robert what on earth he had been doing all that morning. Take the question "Will you be able to ring me up this afternoon?", and put it into Reported Speech according to the following introductions: a. Robert asked Mary . . . b. Mary asked Robert. . . c. He asked me . . . d. I asked him . . . e. Helen and Richard asked Peter . . . f. Helen and Richard asked Peter and Eileen . . . g. Paul has asked me . . . (Careful!) h. Paul has asked my wife and myself. . . i. I am going to ask Paul and his brother . . . j. Unless one knows him very well indeed, one does not usually ask a King . . . (Careful!) 5. Write a summary of the article in about 100 words. Use your own words as far as possible. Do not use whole phrases and expressions from the original. 6. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. What is one reason why women loiter and idle with a great deal more taste than men? b. Why do women loiter spellbound in front of shopwindows? c. What sort of answers do they give when their husbands ask what on earth they have been doing all morning? d. Why are the husbands sometimes angry about it? e. Why does the 'logical male animal' hurry down a street without turning his head? 163


f. What is the irony in the writer's calling him the 'logical male animal'? g. Why is he sometimes " riveted to the pavement, motionless, dazzled, spellbound"? h. Why does a lorry arrive to remove the earth? i. Why will no little girl ever be found watching such things? j. Since the "large blue-eyed doll" is inaccessible to her, why then does she waste her time looking at it? 7. It is sometimes said that a girl of, say, eighteen years of age is at least two years more advanced mentally than a young man of the same age. Discuss this. If you agree, give your reasons for agreeing. If you disagree, say why you disagree.

THE STOLEN CAR from The Times Although growing smaller every day, the number of citizens who have not yet had their car stolen must still be 45 fairly large. The experience that awaits them has few compensations. Gaping 1 at the spot from which his car has vanished its bereaved2 owner experiences a variety of emotions, none of them pleasant. Have, perhaps, the police towed3 it away? On this possibility, which in ordinary cir50 cumstances he would view with alarm and indignation, his dearest hopes are now pinned. It takes a certain amount of telephoning before they are finally dashed.4 Meanwhile the amount of rethinking he must do depends on the circumstances. 55 If the car has been stolen from outside his front door his sense of insult is very great, but the upsetting of his affairs is not necessarily complete; he has at least a base from which to reorganise them. If, on the other hand, he is on a journey 1. 2. 3. 4.

looking in open-mouthed astonishment. Lit.: made unhappy by the loss of a beloved person through death. pulled (with the aid of a truck or other car). destroyed.

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THE STOLEN CAR

and was relying on his car to get him back from London to 60 Loamshire after some social function,1 his immediate difficulty is acute,2 and especially so if the poor fellow has been attending an occasion, such as a regimental reunion, 3 for which evening dress and decorations4 were required. The hour is late. If he rings up friends and asks for shelter for the 65 night, or if he goes to an hotel, he will have to face the world tomorrow in a white tie.5 Not knowing what to do, he stands sadly on the pavement. Where does he go from here"? A fine but wetting rain is falling. This reminds him that, as well as his suitcase, the car contains—or contained—a 70 mackintosh, almost brand new. Whatever he does about his difficulty, he will for the next twenty-four hours or so be sorely troubled by the irregular workings of his memory, which, like a young dog bringing unwelcome trouvailles6 into the house, will continually recall to his mind other pos75 sessions which, seldom for any good reason, were also in the car. He remembers the torch in the glove-pocket, a borrowed book on the back seat. He realises that in his suitcase he has lost not only a new shirt but the ancestral cuff-links in its sleeves, not only a pair of shoes but a pair of trees7 80 which he has used all his life. Stoicism8 is, as so often, the only proper answer to misfortune; but here stoicism would be much easier to achieve if he had been able to realise, at the beginning, the total volume of his loss. EXERCISES 1. Make sentences freely with these words from the article: compensation emotion tow insult acute 2. Can you find the adverb-particles in the article? There are 2. 1. i.e. dinner, ceremony, etc. 2. Lit.: sharp. (Here) very great. 3. meeting of former fellow-officers or soldiers after long separation. 4. medals, etc. 5. i.e. which a man wears with full evening dress: 6. "discoveries". (French) 7. stretching-supports which are put inside shoes to help them keep their shape. 8. great self-control.

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3. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. Why, in ordinary circumstances, would he feel alarm and indignation at the possibility that the police have towed away his car? b. Why are his dearest hopes now pinned on this possibility? c. " It takes a certain amount of telephoning before they are finally dashed." Telephoning to whom? And how are they dashed? d. Why doesn't he want to face the world tomorrow in a white tie? e. Why does he stand sadly on the pavement? f. What do you think he will decide to do?

THREE POINTS OF GRAMMAR 1. THE "-ING" FORM OF A VERB (PART FIVE) More about Verbal Nouns (Gerunds) A Verbal Noun (that is to say, a Gerund) can be used in exactly the same way as an ordinary noun. As we saw in Book One, 1 it can be: 1. The subject (or part of the subject) of its sentence; e.g. "Their aimless spending of the morning or the afternoon often causes lunch or dinner to be l a t e . . . (line 5) 2. The object (or part of the object) of its sentence; e.g. "Husbands cannot understand their spending so much time in this aimless way." 3. The object (or part of the object) of a preposition; e.g. ". . . the definite intention of buying something . . ." (line 16) ". . . get any pleasure out of gazing at shopwindows?" (line 22) 4. The complement (or part of the complement) of the verb to be; e.g. "Look at all those foolish men standing beside that hole in the road! I wouldn't have believed it possible, but seeing is believing!" When a verbal noun is qualified by a personal adjective, the adjective should be in its possessive case, both in conversation and in written English; e.g. "Husbands cannot understand their spending so much time in this aimless way." 1. Page 21.

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not: "Husbands cannot understand them spending so much time in this aimless way." Some more examples: "Do you mind my smoking in here?" (Not: "Do you mind me smoking in here?") "I'm so sorry about our making so much noise last night." (Not: "I'm so sorry about us making so much noise last night.") The same rule should apply when the qualifying adjective is made from a noun; i.e. it should still be possessive; e.g. "Do you mind my wife's smoking in here?" "I'm rather angry about the children's making so much noise last night." In conversation, however, it is very often ignored today; that is to say, it is not considered wrong to say: "Do you mind my wife smoking in here?" "I'm rather angry about the children making so much noise last night." In written English, on the other hand, the possessive is necessary. Like the Present Participle, the Verbal Noun has four forms: ACTIVE

PASSIVE

Simple

Perfect

Simple

Perfect

Spending

Having spent

Being spent

Having been spent

Like the Perfect Participles, the Perfect Verbal Nouns are used to show that the actions to which they refer happened (or will have happened) before the time of the principal verbs; e.g. "Jenkins was sent to prison for having robbed a bank." (i.e. he robbed the bank before he was sent to prison.) "I'm so sorry about our having made so much noise last night." 167


It is not, however, necessary to use the perfect form of the verbal noun to show this (as it is necessary with the perfect participles); we may do so if we wish—or we may use the simple form, equally correctly; e.g. "Jenkins was sent to prison for robbing a bank." "I'm so sorry about our making so much noise last night." PRACTICE EXERCISE 30

Freely compose 10 sentences of your own with verbal nouns as subjects or objects of your sentences, or as objects of prepositions. We have now studied the "-ing" form of a verb in five parts. Let us summarise the six most important details: Part One (Page 20 of Book One) 1. The "-ing" form makes a verbal noun (i.e. a gerund) from all the verbs in the English language; e.g. "I like the idea of dreaming, of going to bed and lying still and then, by some curious magic, moving into another kind of life." 2. The "-ing" form also makes adjectives from verbs; e.g. "It is very irritating to find that a page of an interesting book is missing." Part Two (Page 163 of Book One) 3. The "-ing" form, in its Simple and Perfect forms, is used as a Present Participle; e.g. "Slipping on the banana-skin, Paul fell flat on his back." "Having glided past a cold poem of mountains, we arrived at Salzburg." Part Three (Page 91 of this book) 4. In their Passive forms, the Present Participles can be shortened to the Past Participle; e.g. instead of: "Being faced by a sudden need for more money, William took on some extra work at night.", we may have: "Faced by a sudden need etc." 168

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and instead of: "Having been exhausted by the journey, I found my Salzburg hotel as quickly as possible and went to bed.", we can have : "Exhausted by the journey, etc." Remember that in both their Active and Passive forms, the Participles must be followed—not preceded—by their subjects, when the subjects are personal pronouns; e.g. "Having glided past a cold poem of mountains, we arrived etc." not: "We, having glided past a cold poem of mountains, arrived etc." Part Four (Page 130 of this book) 5. The "-ing" form is often used as the "Absolute" Participle (i.e. a present participle which has a subject that is different from the subject of the principal verb); e.g. "The bus being full, Madeleine had to stand all the way." Be careful to avoid the "Misrelated Participle"; e.g. "Madeleine was disappointed when the bus arrived. Being full, she had to stand all the way." (This would mean that she had to stand all the way because she herself was full. It would give us the idea that she had eaten so much that she was unable to sit down!) Part Five 6. When a verbal noun is qualified by a personal adjective, that personal adjective must be in its possessive case; e.g. " D o you mind our smoking in here?" not: " D o you mind us smoking in here?" 2. THE PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE (PART THREE) Line 8. "What on earth were you doing all the morning?" If an action was continuous in the past between two points of time, and if we state those two points, we can use the Past Continuous, if we wish; between eight o'clock and one o'clock?" e.g. "What were you doing from breakfast time to lunch time?" 169


(The Past Simple, however, is equally correct in these cases; between eight o'clock and one e.g. "What did you da o'clock?" from breakfast time to lunch time?") Some other examples: "The Woodersons were staying with us from the 1st to the 31st of August last year." (or: "The Woodersons stayed etc.") "We were working on that report from Monday to Saturday." "Yesterday, between two o'clock and five o'clock, I was playing tennis with my brother." It is often possible, however, to understand the two points of time from words like all, the whole of, etc. (as in the example in line 8); e.g. "What on earth were you doing all the morning?" "The Woodersons were staying with us for the whole of August last year." "We were working on that report all last week." "I was playing tennis with my brother all yesterday afternoon." We have now seen the three principal uses of the Past Continuous Tense: l . T o show that an action had begun to happen before some moment of time in the past, or before another (shorter) action happened; e.g. " H e was having breakfast at a quarter past eight." " H e was having breakfast when 1 telephoned him." Note: with this use, there is no freedom of choice between the Past Continuous and the Past Simple. (See Book One, page 148, if necessary.) 2. To show that two or more continuous actions were happening at more or less the same time in the past; e.g. "They were singing as they were driving home from the picnic." Note: with this use, there is freedom of choice: the Past Simple may also be used, if we wish. (See page 46 of this book again, if necessary.) 170

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3. To show that an action was continuous between two stated or understood points of past time; e.g. "What were you doing all the morning?" Note: with this use, there is freedom of choice again: the Past Simple may also be used, if we wish. In addition, we have the special case of the Past Continuous with always and constantly for repeated, unusual actions; e.g. " I ' m so glad they've left the neighbourhood. They were always quarrelling with everybody." (See page 87 of this book again, if necessary.) 3. INFINITIVES AND CLAUSES OF PURPOSE Line 29. A lorry arrives to remove the earth. Line 32. . . . spectators, moreover, who are prepared to shove, to peep through cracks, even to climb walls, in order to watch the fascinating scene. Line 19. He hurries along, so that his family's bread shall be earned. Infinitives of Purpose are introduced by to, in order to, and so as to. Clauses of Purpose are introduced by in order that and so that. e.g. "Billy is saving his pocketmoney

to

in order to buy a bicycle." so as to (i.e. a sentence with an Infinitive of Purpose.) in order that "The lecturer spoke slowly everybody so that should be able to understand him." (i.e. a sentence with a Clause of Purpose.) Before we go into the details of these two constructions, let us look at something else in these examples: In the first, the subject of the infinitive is the same as the subject of the whole sentence: to i.e. "Billy is saving his pocket- in order to buy a bicycle. money so as to Who is going to buy the bicycle? Billy. Who is saving his pocket-money? Billy. i.e. the subjects are the same.

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In the second, the subject of the purpose-clause is not the same as the subject of the whole sentence: i.e. "The lecturer spoke slowly

in order that so that

everybody

should be able to understand him." Who should be able to understand him? Everybody. Who spoke slowly? The lecturer. i.e. the subjects are not the same. The Infinitive with to, in order to, or so as to This can be used only when the subject of the infinitive is the same as the subject of the whole sentence. In other words, it could not be used in the second example about the lecturer. Some more examples: "A lorry arrives to remove the earth." (What will remove the earth? The lorry.) (What arrives? The lorry.) ". . . spectators, who are prepared to shove . . . in order to watch the fascinating scene." "Philip went to bed early so as to feel fresh for his early morning committee meeting." There is only one more thing to be remembered about this construction with the infinitive: If the purpose is affirmative, we have a free choice among the three introductory expressions: to, in order to, and so as to. One is as good as the other (and there is no difference at all in meaning). If, however, the purpose is negative, we have a free choice only between in order not to and so as not to; we must not use the two words not to alone: in order not to e.g. "Philip went to bed early so as not to feel dull and tired at his early morning committee meeting." not: "Philip went to bed early not to feel dull and tired etc." The Clause with in order that or so that Strictly speaking, clauses of purpose should be used when the subjects are different (as in the example about the lecturer), and not when they are the same (as in the example about Billy and the bicycle). However, many English-speaking people today use clauses quite freely even when the subjects are the same; that is to say, the following would not be considered wrong: 172

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"Billy is saving his pocket-money in order that (so that) he can buy a bicycle." (Note, however, that, although a clause can be used instead of an infinitive, the " other-way-round" does not apply: an infinitive cannot be used instead of a clause, when the subjects are different.) Strictly speaking again, a clause of purpose should have one of only six special verbs in it: shall, may, can, should, might, could. Other special verbs, such as will and would, should be avoided. If the purpose is present or future, we choose from among shall, may and can—according to logic or personal preference; e.g. "The lecturer speaks slowly in order that (so that) shall everybody may understand him." can If the purpose is past, we choose from among should, might and could—again according to logic or personal preference; e.g. "The lecturer spoke slowly in order that (so that) should understand him." everybody might could When the purpose is negative, the special verb simply becomes negative too; e.g. "The lecturer spoke slowly in order that the slower students should not have difficulty in understanding him." PRACTICE EXERCISE 31

(a) Make one sentence of each of these pairs of sentences by omitting the verb to want and its subject, and by using an Infinitive of Purpose in its place. (e.g. Helen bought an expensive mackintosh. She wanted to be smart even in the rain. will become: Helen bought an expensive mackintosh in order to (so as to, to) be smart even in the rain.) 1. He is going to buy a smaller car. He wants to spend less on running costs. 2. He is going to buy a smaller car. He doesn't want to spend so much on running costs. 3. We booked our seats earlier than usual. We wanted to be sure of getting them. 173


4. I'm going to get a pair of strong shoes. I don't want to have wet feet every time I go out in the rain. 5. The men watched the road-workers carefully. They wanted to see what would happen. (b) Now make one sentence of each of these pairs by using a Clause of Purpose. (e.g. Mary watered her flowers well. She did not want them to die. will become: Mary watered her flowers well in order that (so that) they should (might) not die.) 6. I'm going to get a pair of strong shoes. I don't want my feet to be wet every time I walk in the rain. 7. I was going to get a pair of strong shoes. I didn't want my feet to be wet every time I walked in the rain. 8. They locked their house well when they went away for their holidays. They wanted it to be quite safe from burglars. 9. They locked their house well. They did not want burglars to get in. 10. Timothy drove slowly on the slippery road. He wanted his passengers to be quite free from nervousness. (c) Now make one sentence of the pairs by using either an Infinitive of Purpose or a Clause of Purpose, according to which is required. 11. Bob always keeps his money in a wallet. He doesn't want it to be lost. 12. I'm going to work a bit later tonight. I want to finish the job. 13. Pamela has joined the Public Library. She wants to be able to read a lot without spending all her pocket-money on buying books. 14. We found a quiet place on the beach. We wanted the children to play quite freely. 15. Patricia always likes to sit on the terrace at dusk. She wants to watch the lights of the town coming on, one by one, below her. 16. The house is very damp so we're going to light the central heating. We want it to dry out as quickly as possible. 17. The house is very damp so we're going to light the central heating. We want to dry it out as quickly as possible. 18. Put a hat on, Pauline, in this hot sun. You don't want to get sunstroke. 19. Shall I bring you a hat. Pauline? I don't want you to get sunstroke. 20. Will you express this letter, please? I want it to get to London as soon as possible. 174

LESSON SIXTEEN

THE STORY-TELLER BY " S A K l "

5

10

In a hot railway carriage there are two small girls and a small boy in the care of their aunt, and a bachelor1 who is sitting as far away from them as possible. The children are bored with the journey, and are consequently troublesome. Most of the aunt's remarks begin with "Don't", and nearly all of the children's remarks begin with "Why?". The aunt tries to interest them by telling a story. It is a very dull story about a little girl who was good, and made friends with everyone on account of her goodness, and was finally saved from a mad bull by a number of rescuers who admired her goodness.

"Wouldn't they have saved her if she hadn't been good?" asked the bigger of the small girls. It was exactly the 15 question that the bachelor had wanted to ask. "Well, yes," admitted the aunt weakly, "but I don't think they would have run 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 20 of the small girls. 1. a grown-up, but unmarried, man.

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"I didn't listen after the first bit, it was so stupid," said Cyril, the small boy. "You don't seem to be much of a success as a storyteller," said the bachelor suddenly from his corner. 25 The aunt was annoyed 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," said the 30 aunt. "Tell us a story," demanded the bigger of the small girls. "Once upon a time," began the bachelor, "there was a little girl called Bertha, who was extraordinarily good." The children lost most of their interest at once; all stories 35 seemed dreadfully alike, no matter who told them. "She did all that she was told, she was always truthful, she kept her clothes clean, ate milk puddings as though they were jam tarts, learned her lessons perfectly, and was polite in her manners." 40 "Was she pretty?" asked the bigger of the two girls. " N o t as pretty as either of you," said the bachelor, "but she was horribly good." The children's interest came back; the word horrible in connection with goodness was something new to them, and 45 they liked it. It held a suggestion of truth that was absent from the aunt's stories. "She was so good," continued the bachelor, "that she won several medals for goodness, which she always wore, pinned to her dress. There was a medal for obedience, 50 another medal for punctuality, and a third for good behaviour. They were large metal medals and they clinked1 against one another as she walked. No other child in the town where she lived had as many as three medals, so everybody knew she must be an extra good child." 55 "Horribly good," said Cyril. "Everybody talked about her goodness, and the Prince 1. i.e. made the sound of bits of metal knocking together.

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of the country heard about it, and he said that as she was so very good she might he allowed once a week to walk in his park, which was just outside the town. It was a beautiful 60 park, and no children were ever allowed in it, so it was a great honour for Bertha to be allowed to go there." "Were there any sheep in the park?" demanded Cyril. " N o , " said the bachelor, "there were no sheep." "Why weren't there any sheep?" came the inevitable 65 question. The aunt permitted herself a smile of satisfaction. "There were no sheep in the park," said the bachelor, "because the Prince's mother had once had a dream that her son would be killed either by a sheep or else by a clock 70 falling on him. For that reason the Prince never kept a sheep in his park or a clock in his palace." The aunt gasped with admiration. "Was the Prince killed by a sheep or by a clock?" asked Cyril. 75 "He is still alive, so we can't tell whether the dream will come true," said the bachelor calmly; "anyway, there were no sheep in the park, but there were lots of little pigs running all over the place." " What colour were they? " 80 "Black with white faces, white with black spots, black all over, grey with white patches, and some were white all over." The story-teller paused to let a full idea of the park's treasures sink into the children's imaginations; then he went on: 85 "Bertha was rather sorry to find that there were no flowers in the park. She had promised her aunts, with tears in her eyes, that she would not pick any of the kind Prince's flowers, and she had meant to keep her promise, so of course it made her feel silly to find that there were no flowers to 90 pick." "Why weren't there any flowers?" "Because the pigs had eaten them all," said the bachelor promptly. "The gardeners had told the Prince that you_ 177


couldn't have pigs and flowers, so he decided to have pigs 95 and no flowers." There was a murmur of approval at the excellence of the Prince's decision; so many people would have decided the other way. "There were lots of other delightful things in the park. 100 There were ponds 1 with gold and blue and green fish in them, and trees with beautiful parrots that said clever things, and humming birds that hummed all the popular tunes of the day. Bertha walked up and down and enjoyed herself very much, and thought to herself: "If I were not so extra105 ordinarily good, I should not have been allowed to come into this beautiful park and enjoy all that there is to be seen in it," and her three medals clinked against one another as she walked and helped to remind her how very good she really was. Just then an enormous wolf came prowling2 into the 110 park to see if it could catch a fat little pig for its supper." "What colour was it?" asked the children, amid an immediate quickening of interest. " Mud-colour all over, with a black tongue and pale grey eyes that gleamed3 with unspeakable ferocity.4 The first 115 thing that it saw in the park was Bertha; her pinafore5 was so spotlessly white and clean that it could be seen from a great distance. Bertha saw the wolf and saw that it was coming towards her, and she began to wish that she had never been allowed to come into the park. She ran as hard 120 as she could, and the wolf came after her quickly. She managed to reach some myrtle6 bushes and she hid herself in one of the thickest. The wolf came sniffing7 among the branches. Bertha was terribly frightened, and thought to herself: 'If I had not been so extraordinarily good, I should 1. pools of water. 2. Lit.: to prowl is to go from place to place trying to find things to steal or, in the case of animals, to eat. 3. shone. 4. i.e. from the adjective ferocious, which means fierce, wild, cruel. 5. type of apron worn over a child's dress to keep it clean. 6. an evergreen bush with sweet-smelling white flowers and black berries. 7. drawing breath through the nose in an attempt to smell something.

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125 be safe in the town at this moment.' However, the smell of the myrtle was so strong that the wolf could not sniff out where Bertha was hiding, and the bushes were so thick that he might have hunted about in them for a long time without catching sight of her, so he thought he might as well go off 130 and catch a little pig instead. Bertha was trembling very much at having the wolf prowling and sniffing so near her, and, as she trembled, the medal for obedience clinked against the medals for good conduct and punctuality. The wolf was just moving away when he heard the sound of the medals 135 clinking and stopped to listen; they clinked again in a bush quite near him. He ran into the bush, his pale grey eyes gleaming with ferocity and triumph, and dragged Bertha out and ate her. All that was left of her were her shoes, bits of clothing, and the three medals for goodness." 140 " Were any of the little pigs killed? " " N o , they all escaped." "The story began badly," said the smaller of the two girls, "but it had a beautiful ending." "It is the most beautiful story that I've ever heard," said 145 the bigger of the small girls. "It is the only beautiful story I have ever heard," said Cyril. The aunt did not agree. "A most improper story to tell to young children! You have destroyed the effect of years of 150 careful teaching." "At any rate," said the bachelor, collecting his belongings as the train began to slow down, "I kept them quiet for ten minutes, which was more than you were able to do." EXERCISES 1. Make sentences freely with these words from the story: care weak demand inevitable murmur bachelor appreciate dreadful admiration approval consequently stiff alike pause popular account stupid connection imagination hunt admit unexpectedly punctual promptly drag 2. Can you find the adverb-particles in the story? There are 7. 179


3. Change these sentences into Reported Speech: a. "Wouldn't they have saved her if she hadn't been good?" asked the bigger of the small girls. b. "Well, yes," admitted the aunt weakly, "but I don't think they would have run so fast to her help if they had not liked her so much." c. "Tell us a story," demanded the children. d. "Was she pretty?" asked the bigger of the small girls. (Careful!) e. " N o t as pretty as either of you," said the bachelor. f. "Were there any sheep in the park?" demanded Cyril. g. " N o , " said the bachelor, "there were no sheep." h. "Was the Prince killed by a sheep or by a clock?" asked Cyril. i. " H e is still alive, so we can't tell whether the dream will come true," said the bachelor calmly. j. "The story began badly," said the smaller of the two girls, "but it had a beautiful ending." 4. Give other words that have the same meanings as these have in the story. tries (line 8) alike (line 35) silly (line 89) finally (line 11) connection promptly (line 93) fast (line 17) (line 44) thickest (line 122) stupidest (line 19) behaviour (line 50) dragged (line 137) extraordinarily extra (line 54) destroyed (line 33) permitted (line 66) (line 149) 5. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. Why do you think the bachelor was sitting as far away as possible from the aunt and the three children? b. Why were the children bored with the journey? c. Why did most of the aunt's remarks begin with " D o n ' t " ? d. Why did most of the children's remarks begin with " W h y " ? e. Why were the aunt's stories always about children who were good? f. The bachelor evidently did not like the type of story the aunt told. Why do you think he did not? g. Why did the aunt challenge him to tell the children a story? h. Why did the bachelor tell the girls in the carriage that they were prettier than Bertha, the girl in his story? i. In his story, no children were ever allowed inside the Prince's park. Suppose one of the children in the carriage had asked "Why not?" What do you think the bachelor might have answered? 180

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j. k. 1. m. n. o.

Why did the aunt permit herself a smile of satisfaction when one of the children asked why there were no sheep in the park? Why did she gasp with admiration a moment later? Why had Bertha promised not to pick any of the Prince's flowers? Why did the children approve when they heard that the Prince had decided to have pigs rather than flowers? Why did their interest quicken when the enormous, ferocious wolf came into the story? In what way did the aunt think that the bachelor had destroyed the effect of years of careful teaching?

ONE VERY IMPORTANT POINT OF GRAMMAR CONDITIONS AND THEIR RESULTS PART ONE: "IF" CLAUSES

Line 13.

"Wouldn't they have saved her if she hadn't been good?" Line 16. "I don't think they would have run so fast to her help if they had not liked her so much." Line 104. "If I were not so extraordinarily good, I should not have been allowed to come into this beautiful park . . ." Line 124. "If I had not been so extraordinarily good, I should be safe in the town at this moment." In English, we have eight different commonly used ways in which we can express an "If" Clause. In each case the person to whom we are speaking understands something extra from "between the lines" of our "If" Clause—something extra, that is to say, to what he understands from our actual words. In seven out of the eight cases, this extra thing that he understands depends basically on whether our "If" Clause is a subjunctive one or an indicative one. 181


In this lesson we shall deal with the six simplest "If" Clauses: two referring to the past, two to the present, and two to the future. Let us see what they look like: 1. "If she had been good i.e. referring to the past. yesterday..." 2. "If she was good yesterday..." 3. "If she were1 good today . . ." i.e. referring to the present. 4. "If she is good today . . . " 5. "If she were good tomorrow..." i.e. referring to the future. 6. "If she is good tomorrow . . ." Of these, numbers 1, 3 and 5 are subjunctive "If" Clauses, and numbers 2, 4 and 6 are indicative "If" Clauses. Before we start to study the various meanings that are hidden "between the lines" of these subjunctive and indicative clauses, we must first learn how to distinguish a subjunctive clause from an indicative clause—how, in other words, to recognise that this clause is subjunctive and that one is indicative, etc. . . . Let us compose a diagram. It will have three "steps":

Now let us put some tenses on these steps. What tenses have we in the six "If" clauses? We have three: the Past Perfect in No. 1, the Past Simple in Nos. 2, 3 and 5, and the Present Simple in Nos. 4 and 6. The Past Perfect will go on the bottom step, the Past Simple on the middle, and the Present Simple on the top: 1. The difference between was and were after "If" is discussed later in this lesson.

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Finally, let us put on our steps the three times—past, present and future. Past time will go on the middle step; both present and future times will go on the top step. There will be no time at all on the bottom step.

183


It is now very easy to distinguish between subjunctive and indicative "If" Clauses: If the tense and the time of the "If" Clause are not on the same step, the clause is subjunctive. If the tense and the time are on the same step, the clause is indicative. Let us have another look at our six "If" Clauses: 1. "If she had been good yesterday . . ." The tense is Past Perfect—which is on the bottom step. The time is past—which is on the middle step. The tense and the time are not on the same step. Therefore this " If" Clause is subjunctive. 2. "If she was good yesterday . . ." The tense is Past Simple—which is on the middle step. The time is again past—on the middle step. The tense and the time here are on the same step. Therefore this clause is indicative. 3. "If she were good today . . ." The tense is again Past Simple—on the middle step. The time is present—which is on the top step. The tense and the time are not on the same step. Therefore this clause is subjunctive. 4. "If she is good today . . ." The tense and the time are on the same step. This clause is therefore indicative. 5. "If she were good tomorrow . . ." The tense and the time are not on the same step. This clause is therefore subjunctive. 6. "If she is good tomorrow . . ." The tense and the time are on the same step. This clause is therefore indicative. Now, what are the various meanings that are hidden "between the lines" of these subjunctive and indicative clauses? Subjunctive Clauses If the time is past or present, a subjunctive "If" Clause expresses "the opposite of reality"—i.e. the opposite of what was, or what is, the real fact. If the time is future, a subjunctive "If" Clause expresses "improbability of fulfilment"—i.e. the improbability that the condition will be fulfilled. 184

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Let us have Nos. 1, 3 and 5 of our "If" Clauses again: 1. "If she had been good yesterday . . ." (A subjunctive clause) The time is past. The clause therefore expresses the "opposite of reality"—i.e. it expresses the fact that the girl was not good yesterday. 3. "If she were good today . . ." (A subjunctive clause) The time is present. Therefore the clause again expresses the "opposite of reality"—i.e. it expresses the fact that the girl is not good today. 5. "If she were good tomorrow . . ." (A subjunctive clause) The time is future. The clause therefore expresses "improbability of fulfilment"—i.e. it expresses the fact that the speaker thinks that it is improbable that the girl will be good tomorrow. Indicative Clauses If the time is past or present, an indicative "If" Clause expresses the fact that the speaker does not yet know whether the condition was a fact or not—or whether it is a fact or not. If the time is future, an indicative "If" Clause expresses "probability of fufilment"—i.e. the probability that the condition will be fulfilled. Let us now have Nos. 2, 4 and 6 of our "If" Clauses again: 2. "If she was good yesterday . . ." (An indicative clause) The time is past. The clause therefore expresses the fact that the speaker does not yet know whether the girl was good yesterday or not. 4. "If she is good today . . ." (An indicative clause) The time is present. The clause therefore expresses the fact that the speaker does not yet know whether the girl is good today or not. 6. "If she is good tomorrow . . ." (An indicative clause) The time is future. The clause therefore expresses the fact that the speaker thinks that the girl probably will be good tomorrow. Before we go any further, it would be a good thing for you to see whether you can recognise subjunctive and indicative "If" Clauses, and whether you can say correctly what meaning is hidden in them. G 185


Here are 10 simple "If" Clauses. First say whether they are subjunctive or indicative, and then say what is the meaning hidden "between the lines" of each. 1. If Peter was at home last night. . . 2. If Mary buys a new car next month . . . 3. If Nigel had been with us in Salzburg last summer . . . 4. If they are at home now . . . 5. If it were a fine day tomorrow . . . 6. If Sheila had had enough money in her bag yesterday . . . 7. If I receive an increase in salary next month . . . 8. If Ronald were here now . . . 9. If Peter caught that train yesterday . . . 10. If we go to the Riviera again next year . . . Now for some other points: (a) When a Subjunctive "If" Clause refers either to the past or to the present, it expresses, as we have seen, the "opposite of reality". Our first examples were affirmative ("If she had been good yesterday . . .", and " If she were good today . . ."), and so the truth of the matter is that she was not good yesterday, and is not good today. If, on the other hand, the "If" clause is negative: e.g. "If she had not been good yesterday . . . " and " If she were not good today . . ."—we shall at once understand that the opposite was, and is, the reality: i.e. she was good yesterday and she is good today. Look again at the four "If" clauses in the story: Line 13. ". . . if she hadn't been good?" A past subjunctive clause. We understand therefore that she was good. Line 16. ". . . if they had not liked her so much." Another past subjunctive clause. We understand therefore that they did like her so much. Line 104. "If I were not so extraordinarily good . . ." A present subjunctive clause. We understand therefore that the girl knows that she is extraordinarily good. Line 124. "If I had not been so extraordinarily good . . ." A past subjunctive clause again. We understand therefore that the girl knows that she was extraordinarily good. 186

THE STORY-TELLER

(b) Was and were after "If". The verb to be is the only verb in the English language which has a subjunctive Past Simple tense that is different from the indicative Past Simple: Indicative Subjunctive I was I were Y o u were You were He, she, it was He, she, it were We were We were Y o u were You were They were They were If we have the First Person Singular or the Third Person Singular of the past tense of the verb to be in a subjunctive "If" clause, we must use were; if we have it in an indicative "If" clause, we must use was. e.g. 2. "If she was good yesterday . . ." (An indicative clause). 3. "If she were good today . . ." (A subjunctive clause). 5. "If she were good tomorrow . . . " (A subjunctive clause). (c) On our " s t e p s " we have put only three tenses. What about all the others that can appear in "If" Clauses? e.g. "If she had been behaving well . . ." i.e. the Past Perfect Continuous. "If I had been told that . . ." i.e. the Past Perfect Passive. "If he is coming here now . . ." i.e. the Present Continuous. "If she has been good . . ." i.e. the Present Perfect. etc. All the Past Perfect tenses—non-continuous and continuous, active and passive—go on the bottom step. All the past tenses which are not perfect,—i.e. the Past Simple, the Past Continuous, active and passive—go on the middle step. The Present Perfect (which is used instead of the Past Simple when we want to speak of a past action without any time-expression1) goes—together with its continuous, and passive, forms—on the middle step with the past tenses. 1. See Book One, page 101, if necessary.

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And all the present tenses which are not perfect—the Present Simple, the Present Continuous, active and passive —go on the top step. And so here is our diagram in its final form:

(d) An "If" clause is very often expressed without any stated time, and we are left to understand it. The Present Perfect, for example, must not have an expression of past time with it.1 We can always understand, however, that it refers to the past, and so we can say that an "If" Clause is always indicative if it has the Present Perfect tense in it—because the tense is on the middle step and the understood time is also on the middle step. The Past Perfect also often appears without an expression of time. We can always understand, however, that this too refers to the past (which is on the middle step)—so we can always say that its clause is subjunctive, because the Past Perfect is on the bottom step. 1. See Book One, page 101, if necessary.

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THE STORY-TELLER

Other tenses may also appear without time-expressions. There is always something in the rest of the "If" clause, however, that will enable us to understand what is the time of the clause. PRACTICE EXERCISE 33

Here are some more "If" Clauses. Say again whether they are subjunctive or indicative, and what is hidden " between the lines" of each. 1. If the train is leading in ten minutes . . . 2. If I won the next lottery . . . 3. If I had won the last lottery . . . 4. If Madeleine were as slim as her sister is . . . (Careful!) 5. If James succeeds in doing this . . . (Careful again!) 6. If he has passed the examination . . . 7. If it were not raining now . . . 8. If I had enough money to buy this car now . . . 9. If Helen had not lost her umbrella . . . 10. If these shoes are the right size for me . . . 11. If Billy had not been so rude to Miss Carson . . . 12. If they have arrived . . . 13. If Erika was at the cinema last night . . . 14. If I became Prime Minister in the next Election .. . 15. If the children are in bed . . . PART TWO: RESULT CLAUSES

Many grammar systems deal with Result Clauses by saying that a Past Perfect tense in the "If" Clause is followed by a Conditional Perfect tense in the Result Clause, that a Past Simple is followed by a Conditional Simple, that a Present Simple is followed by a Future Simple, and so on. This is true—but it is not the whole of the truth. It would be the same if somebody asked you what types of fruit are grown in Italy, and you answered: "Oranges, apples and grapes." That is certainly true, but a good many other types of fruit are also grown in Italy . . . The best way to deal with the construction of Result Clauses is to avoid thinking about tenses, and think instead about special verbs and infinitives. Let us take the special verbs first. Special Verbs in Result Clauses Whether we can use this or that special verb depends first on whether the "If"" Clause is subjunctive or indicative. If it is subjunctive, we must choose a special verb from a certain group; let 189


us call this the "Subjunctive Group" of Special Verbs. If it is indicative, we must choose a special verb from a different group; let us call this one the "Indicative Group" of Special Verbs. Here are the most important, and the most commonly used, special verbs in each group: The "Subjunctive Group" The "Indicative Group" should shall would will might may could can must Let us have another look at our original six "If" Clauses: 1. "If she had been good yesterday . . . 3. "If she were good today , . . 5. "If she were good tomorrow . . . (These are all subjunctive "If" Clauses, so the special verbs in the Result Clauses must come from the "Subjunctive Group") would (1) . . . she have been taken to the cinema might could would might (3) . . . she be taken to the cinema." could would might (5) . . . she be taken to the cinema." could 2. "If she was good yesterday . . . 4. "If she is good today . . . 6. "If she is good tomorrow . . . (These are all indicative "If" Clauses, so the special verbs in the Result Clauses must come from the "Indicative Group'".) will may have been taken to the cinema." (2) . . . she can must shall will may be taken to the cinema." (4) . . . she can must 190

THE S T O R Y - T E L L E R

shall will

be taken to the cinema." may can must (Note: the use of shall—with the 3rd Person—in the Result Clauses of Nos. 4 and 6 shows us that the speaker is promising that she shall be taken to the cinema.1) Provided we use the correct group, we have freedom to choose our special verb according to whichever we think expresses our meaning best. (6) . . . She

Infinitives in Result Clauses We choose an infinitive to follow our special verb according to whether our Result Clause refers to the Past, or to the Present, or to the Future—and not according to whether the "If" Clause is subjunctive or indicative. If the Result Clause refers to the Past, we shall use one of the Perfect Infinitives—non-continuous or continuous, active or passive. e.g. 1. "If she had been good yesterday . . . 2. " If she was good yesterday . . . (1) . . . she might (etc.) have been taken to the (2) . . . she may (etc.) cinema." If the Result Clause refers to the Present, we shall use one of the Simple Infinitives (usually a PRESENT continuous), active or passive.

PAST

e.g. 3. "If she were good today . . . 4. "If she is good today . . . be making everybody (3) . . . she would (etc.) happy." (4) . . . she must (etc.) If the Result Clause refers to the Future, we shall FUTURE use one of the Simple Infinitives again (usually a non-continuous), active or passive. e.g. 5. "If she were good tomorrow . . . 6. " If she is good tomorrow . . . (5) . . . she could (etc.) be allowed to go to the (6) . . . she will (etc.) Prince's park." 1. See Book One, page 205, if necessary.

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It is often thought that a past "If" Clause must have a past Result Clause, a present "If" Clause a present Result Clause, and a future "If" Clause a future Result Clause. This is not correct. Depending upon the circumstances, a past "If" Clause can have past, present and future Result Clauses. So can present and future "If" Clauses . . . Here is an example of a past "If" Clause with past, present and future Result Clauses: she must (etc.) have gone to bed very late." (Past) she may (etc.) be feeling tired today." " If Susan went to that ball last night,. (Present) she will (etc.) tell us all about it when we see her tomorrow." (Future) Now look again at two of the conditions in the story: Line 104. "If I were not so extraordinarily good . . . (i.e. a present "If" Clause.) . . . I should not have been allowed to come into this beautiful park . . ." (i.e. a past Result Clause.) Line 124. "If I had not been so extraordinarily good . . . (i.e. a past "If" Clause.) . . . I should be safe in the town at this moment." (i.e. a present Result Clause.) PRACTICE EXERCISE 34

Freely compose Result Clauses of your own that could logically follow the "If" Clauses in Practice Exercises 32 and 33. (Don't forget that some of the "If" Clauses may be able to have past, present and future results.)

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LESSON SEVENTEEN

I WAS A PRIVATE EYE1 BY A C O R R E S P O N D E N T OF The Times

Some years ago, in between jobs, I asked a friend if he could help me to find work. He had been a police officer and was now the operations manager of a security organisation, and he told me that he thought he could find me some 5 temporary work but that it would be perhaps a week or ten days before it could be arranged. Consequently I was a little surprised to receive a telephone message the next morning, a Sunday, asking me if I would be interested in doing" some work for a detective agency 10 during the coming week. I was only too willing, because, like so many of us, I was an enthusiastic reader of detective fiction, and actually working for a detective agency sounded most exciting. I was told to report to a firm of auctioneers2 the next 15 morning at 9.30, where I should meet the head of the agency and also one of the directors of the firm, who would explain what the work was to be. On arrival on Monday morning I was greeted by a large man wearing a blue suit. He was, even to my inexperienced eye, obviously an ex-policeman 20 and a very senior one at that. He took me to meet one of the directors, who explained 1. i.e. a private detective. (Slang) 2. a company which arranges the sale of goods to the person who, from among a public group, offers the highest price.

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the problem. Apparently there was some book-lover who was stealing books from collections on view, always those of the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries that contained aquatints. 1 25 This was the first day of a viewing of a magnificent library which I was told was expected to sell for over £100,000 when it came under the hammer2 the following week. A trap had been laid for the book thief and had been baited3 with the sort of books that he enjoyed most, all 30 arranged neatly on one of the shelves. It was explained to me that my job was to move among the crowd, catalogue in hand, and should I see anyone taking a book from this particular shelf I was to follow him. If he left the room I was to continue to follow him until he was outside the build35 ing, when I was to ask him to return with me to see the directors and explain why it was that he had in his possession property to which he was not entitled. These simple details being settled I was asked by my expolice colleague what time I would like luncheon as he 40 would send someone to relieve me. My relief duly arrived; once again he was a very obvious but this time even larger policeman. So, having handed over, I left. On my return I saw my colleague sitting at one of the tables gazing intently at the shelf where the trap had been 45 laid, and where a girl seemed to be taking more than average interest in the very books containing the aquatints. He caught my eye as I entered the room, got up from the table, and, just as one reads in detective stories, pretended not to recognise me but, as he passed, said quietly out of the corner 50 of his mouth, "I think we've got her." With that he disappeared. My first feeling was one of terror. Now, on the very first day of my employment, I was faced with the high probability of dealing with a female thief. What, I wondered, 55 should I do if she made a scene? However, something had to 1. engravings; i.e. a type of picture made by cutting on copper. 2. i.e. sold by the method of auctioneering. 3. Literally, bait is the food, or imitation of food, which is put into a trap to catch animals. (E.g. the bait of cheese in a mouse-trap.)

194

I WAS A P R I V A T E EYE

be done, and so I sat down at a table and in my turn began to watch my quarry, 1 wondering at the same time what on earth had made me take on this awful job. As far as I could see no book had as yet been removed, 60 but the young lady was still very busy taking out and putting back the bait volumes. Fortunately, after a few minutes, I was put out of my misery by one of the attendants who came up to me and said, "Excuse me, sir, I was unable to approach your colleague as I did not wish to identify him with the 65 staff, but I feel he has made a mistake. The young lady whom he has been looking at so intently for the last fifteen minutes or so is one of the managing director's staff who is cataloguing the collection." Unhappily we were not able to catch the thief, but I spent 70 a thoroughly enjoyable week re-reading some of my old favourites from the most beautiful first editions, an enjoyment made even keener when on Friday, before I left, my colleague who came to relieve me for my lunch hour handed me a cheque for what he called "my week's work". Although 75 unsuccessful, I had at least fulfilled the dream of so many readers of detective fiction, were they honest enough to confess it. I had been a private eye. EXERCISES 1. Make sentences freely with these words from the article: security report view (verb) settle terror temporary greet neat average misery agency problem entitle pretend fulfil 2. Explain the meaning of the following: a. in between jobs (line 1). b. a security organisation (line 3). c. detective fiction (line 11). d. to report to a firm (line 14). e. my inexperienced eye (line 19). f. collections on view (line 23). g. to relieve me (line 40) h. having handed over (line 42). i. the very books (line 46). 1. Literally: an animal or a bird which is hunted.

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j. He caught my eye (line 46). k. out of the corner of his mouth (line 49). 1. if she made a scene (line 55). m. I was put out of my misery (line 62) n. to identify him with the staff (line 64). o. fulfilled the dream (line 75). 3. Can you find the adverb-particles in the article? There are 6. 4. Consider the following pairs of sentences, and then say in what way they differ in meaning. a. Consequently I was a little surprised to receive a telephone message. Consequently I was little surprised to receive a telephone message. b. That is the most exciting work. That is most exciting work. c. The library was expected to sell for over £100,000. The library was expected to sell for £100,000 or so. d. Somebody was stealing aquatints which were of the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries. Somebody was stealing aquatints, which were of the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries. e. The thief stole the first aquatint which was valuable. The thief stole the first aquatint, which was valuable. f. My first feeling was one of terror. At first, I had a feeling of terror. g. I had to do something. I had something to do. h. Surely she is the managing director's secretary? Certainly she is the managing director's secretary. i. I should like to have caught the thief. I should like to catch the thief. j. I had at least fulfilled the dream of so many readers of detective fiction. I had at last fulfilled the dream of so many readers of detective fiction. 5. Dictation. 6. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. Why was the writer surprised to receive the telephone message from his friend the following morning? b. Why did it sound exciting to work for a detective agency? c. The writer was greeted by someone who was obviously an ex-policeman and "a very senior one at that". How do you think these two things were obvious? 196

I WAS A PRIVATE EYE

d. What sort of a trap had been laid for the book thief? e. Why do yon think the writer was told to wait until a suspected thief was outside the building before asking him to return to the directors? f. Why did the detective pretend not to recognise the writer after lunch that first day? g. Why did the writer have a feeling of terror when the detective said, "3 think we've got her," and disappeared? h. Why was he afraid that he might make a fool of himself? i. Why do you think the managing director's secretary was cataloguing the collection? j. Why does the writer put the words "my week's work" into inverted commas? 7. What type of work would you yourself find (a) the most exciting, or (b) the most interesting?

TWO POINTS OF GRAMMAR 1. MORE ABOUT THE VERB "TO BE" Line 32. . . . and should I see anyone taking a book from this particular shelf I was to follow him. Line 33. If he left the room I was to continue to follow him until he was outside the building... When the Present or Past Simple tenses of the verb to be are followed by 'to' and an infinitive, it generally shows us that an order or an instruction has (or had) been given for the action to happen. In the examples above, we can understand that the writer had received orders or instructions to follow, and to continue to follow, anyone who took a book from that particular shelf. Here are some more examples: 'TOT to stop smoking altogether." 'TOT not to smoke any more." (Here we can easily understand that the speaker has received strict orders from a doctor . . .) "That newspaper correspondent is to leave the country at once." (Here the order has probably come from either the police or the government of the country concerned.) 197

7HE NEW I N T E R M E D I A T E ENGLISH COURSE

" My secretary was to bring some papers here for me to sign." (The speaker has clearly given instructions to his secretary about the bringing of the papers.) Sometimes, however, the construction shows something different : it shows that an arrangement has (or had) been made about an action; e.g. "Good heavens, look at the time! I must fly. I'm to meet Peter in ten minutes outside the Rex Cinema." (The speaker has made an arrangement with Peter to meet him at a certain time outside the Rex Cinema.) "I was to see the Minister at ten o'clock—and I finally saw him at half-past eleven!" (The speaker had an appointment with the Minister .. .) PRACTICE EXERCISE 35

Freely compose five sentences of your own with this construction (in the present or the past) to show that an order has (or had) been given, and five other sentences to show that an arrangement has (or had) been made. When the Present Simple tense of the verb to be is followed by 'about to' and an infinitive, another special meaning is created; we understand that the action will happen in the relatively immediate future; e.g. "We're about to have lunch. Won't you join us?" (i.e. we shall have lunch within the next few minutes.) "All visitors ashore, please! The ship is about to sail." (The usual announcement over a ship's loudspeakers a few minutes before a ship leaves port.) "The Colmans are about to leave for America." (The immediacy of the future action is relative; that is to say, we do not understand here that the Colmans will leave for America within the next few minutes—but within the next few days.) When the Past Simple tense of the verb to be is used in this construction the time changes from future to future-in-the-past; e.g. "Yes, we saw Patricia at lunch-time yesterday. We were about to have lunch and we asked her to join us, but she couldn't." 198

I "WAS A PRIVATE EYE

"When I last saw the Colmans they were about to leave for America. They must be there now."

PRACTICE EXERCISE 36

Freely compose five sentences of your own with this construction in its future meaning, and five other sentences in its futurein-the-past meaning.

2. MORE ABOUT "IF" CLAUSES (a) "Were to" We have seen that one of the two "If" Clauses that refer to the future expresses the fact that the speaker thinks it is improbable that the condition will be fulfilled; e.g. "If she were good tomorrow . . . " The seventh commonly-used "If" Clause also refers to the future—and expresses the fact that the speaker thinks it is extremely improbable that the condition will be fulfilled. It is formed with the words were to (in all persons) followed by an infinitive; e.g. "If she were to be good tomorrow . . ." "If I were to become Prime Minister in the next Election..." "If Philip were to pass his examinations . . ." It is also used when we speak, in an "If" Clause, of something that is impossible; e.g. "If I were to grow wings and fly like a bird . . ." "If some Good Fairy were to change that poor ugly girl into a beautiful one . . . " Because the tense-form "were to" belongs to the middle of our "steps" and the time (the future) belongs to the top, this "If" Clause is another subjunctive one, and must therefore have a special verb from the "Subjunctive Group" in its Result Clause; e.g. "If I were to grow wings and fly like a bird . . . . . . I shouldn't have to spend so much time walking to my office every morning." 199

THE NEW INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH COURSE PRACTICE EXERCISE 37

These "If" Clauses all express future Improbability of Fulfilment. Change them with this were to construction so that they can express Extreme Improbability or Impossibility; e.g. "If I became ten pounds lighter before tomorrow night..." will be: "If I were to become ten pounds lighter etc...." 1. If they arrived in an hour's time . . . 2. If the King and Queen came to our party next week . .. 3. If those two political parties joined forces . . . 4. If we found another plate exactly like this broken one . . , 5. If we had fine weather next week for our holiday . . . " 6. If he were more helpful next time . . . (Careful!) 7. If our chickens laid more eggs tomorrow . . . 8. If my book were published by some publisher or other. . . (Careful again !) 9. If Patrick ever got up enough courage to ask Angela to marry him . . . 10. If this furniture became suddenly new again . . . (b) "Should" in "If" Clauses "If we should win the next lottery . . ." "If Tom should find the money he lost. . ." "If I should see anyone taking a book from that particular shelf. . ." Here is the last of our eight commonly-used "If" Clauses. It again refers to the future, and it expresses the fact that if the condition is fulfilled it will be as a result of chance. We have seen that of our three future "If" Clauses one expresses Probability of Fulfilment, another expresses Improbability and the third expresses Extreme Improbability or Impossibility. These are very useful when we have some idea in our minds of probability or improbability, but there are many occasions when we have neither; we want to express our "If" in a neutral sort of way. On these occasions we simply use the word should (in all persons) with an infinitive. Look again at the first example above. We have bought a ticket for the next lottery . . . If we are optimistic people, we may think it is probable that we shall win it. So we shall say: "If we win the next lottery . . ." 200

I WAS A PRIVATE EYE

If, on the other hand, we are pessimistic people, we shall think it is improbable, or extremely improbable, that we shall win it. So we shall say: " If we won the next lottery . . ." or "If we were to win the next lottery . . ." There is another case, however. We may be realistic people, neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the lottery; we realise that the winning of it depends purely and simply on chance. So we say : " If we should win the next lottery . . ." This "If" Clause is neither Subjunctive nor Indicative, and so, in the Result Clause, we are not restricted to one or other of the two groups. We have total freedom to choose our special 'verb from both the "Subjunctive" and the "Indicative Groups"; e.g. "If we should win the next lottery . . . should might could . . . we buy a beautiful new car." shall may can must

PRACTICE EXERCISE 38

Freely compose five "If" Clauses of your own in which should would be more logical (or more realistic) than the expressions of Improbability and Probability. (c) The Inversion of "were", "had", and "should" Line 76. . . . were they honest enough to confess it. Line 32. . . . should I see anyone taking a book from this particular shelf. . . The meaning of these two lines is: . . . if they were honest enough etc. . . . if I should see anyone etc. As we saw in Book One (page 111), whenever we have the special verbs were, had and should in an "If" Clause, we may, if we wish, omit the "If" and put the were, had or should in front of the subject of the clause. 201


There is no difference of meaning at all. The construction purely a matter of style and personal preference. Here are some more examples: "Had she been good "If she, had been good yesterday yesterday .. ." instead of " Were she good "If she were good today , . ." today . . ." "If she were good " Were she good tomorrow.. ," tomorrow. . ." "If Nigel had been with "Had Nigel been with us us in Salzburg , . ." in Salzburg . . ." "If I had had enough "Had I had enough money . . ." money.. ." "Should I meet Helen "If I should meet Helen there. . ." there . . ." "If we should win the "Should we win the next lottery . . ." next lottery . . ." " Were they to come "If they were to come tomorrow . . . " tomorrow . . ." PRACTICE EXERCISE 39

Omit the "If" in these clauses and invert the were, the had, or the should. 1. If it were a fine day tomorrow . . . 2. If it were to be a fine day tomorrow . . . 3. If Sheila had had enough money in her bag . . . 4. If I should see Paul on my way to the office . . . 5. If Ronald were here now . . . 6. If I had won the last lottery . . . 7. If Madeleine were as slim as her sister . . . 8. If it should be a fine day tomorrow . . . 9. If it were not raining now . . . 10. If Helen had not lost her umbrella . . . 11. If Helen should find her umbrella . . . 12. If Billy had not been so rude to Miss Carson . . . 13. If I were as clever as you . . . 14. If I were to find the necessary time . . . 15. If only I had had these shoes repaired last week... (Careful!)

202

LESSON EIGHTEEN

THE CANARY BY K A T H E R I N E M A N S F I E L D

5

10

15

20

. . . You see that big nail to the right of the front door? I can scarcely look at it even now and yet I could not bear to take it out. I should like to think it was there always even after my time. I sometimes hear the next people saying, "There must have been a cage hanging from there." And it comforts me; I feel he is not quite forgotten. . . . You cannot imagine how wonderfully he sang. It was not like the singing of other canaries. And that isn't just my fancy. Often, from the window, I used to see people stop at the gate to listen, or they would lean over the fence by the mock-orange 1 for quite a long time—carried away. I suppose it sounds absurd to you—it wouldn't if you had heard him—but it really seemed to me that he sang whole songs with a beginning and an end to them. For instance, when I'd finished the house in the afternoon, and changed my blouse and brought my sewing on to the veranda here, he used to hop, hop, hop from one perch to another, tap against the bars as if to attract my attention, sip a little water just as a professional singer might, and then break into a song so exquisite that I had to put my needle down to listen to him. I can't describe it; I wish I could. But it was always the same, every afternoon, and I felt that I understood every note of it. 1. a type of shrub, bush.

203


. . . I loved him. How I loved him! Perhaps it does not 25 matter so very much what it is one loves in this world. But love something one must. Of course there was always my little house and the garden, but for some reason they were never enough. Flowers respond wonderfully, but they don't sympathise. Then I loved the evening star. Does that sound 30 foolish? I used to go into the back-yard, after sunset, and wait for it until it shone above the dark gum tree. I used to whisper, "There you are, my darling." And just in that first moment it seemed to be shining for me alone. It seemed to understand this . . . something which is like longing,1 and yet 35 it is not longing. Or regret—it is more like regret. And yet regret for what? I have much to be thankful for. . . . But after he came into my life I forgot the evening star; I did not need it any more. But it was strange. When the Chinaman who came to the door with birds to sell held him 40 up in his tiny cage, and instead of fluttering, fluttering, like the poor little goldfinches,2 he gave a faint, small chirp, 3 I found myself saying, just as I had said to the star over the gum tree, "There you are, my darling." From that moment he was mine. 45 . . . It surprises me even now to remember how he and I shared each other's lives. The moment I came down in the morning and took the cloth off his cage he greeted me with a drowsy4 little note. I knew it meant "Missus! Missus!" Then I hung him on the nail outside while I got my three 50 young men5 their breakfasts, and I never brought him in until we had the house to ourselves again. Then, when the washing-up was done, it was quite a little entertainment. I spread a newspaper over the corner of the table, and when I put the cage on it he used to beat with his wings despair55 ingly, as if he didn't know what was coming. "You're a 1. yearning; wanting something very much. 2. gold-winged singing-birds. 3. a short, sharp sound made by certain birds. 4. sleepy. 5. i.e. the speaker keeps a boarding-house, and these young men are her lodgers.

204

THE CANARY 1

60

65

70

75

80

regular little actor, " I used to scold him. I scraped the tray, dusted it with fresh, sand, filled his seed and water tins, tucked2 a piece of chickweed3 and half a chilli4 between the bars. And I am perfectly certain he understood and appreciated every item of this little performance. You see by nature he was exquisitely neat. There was never a speck on his perch. And you'd only to see him enjoy his bath to realise he had a real small passion for cleanliness. His bath was put in last. And the moment it was in he positively leapt into it. First he fluttered one wing, then the other, then he ducked5 his head and dabbled8 his breast feathers. Drops of water were scattered all over the kitchen, but still he would not get out. I used to say to him, "Now that's quite enough. You're only showing off." And at last out he hopped and, standing on one leg, he began to peck7 himself dry. Finally he gave a shake, a flick,8 a twitter,9 and he lifted his throat—Oh, I can hardly bear to recall it. I was always cleaning the knives at the time. And it always seemed to me that the knives sang too, as I rubbed them bright on the board. . . . Company, you see—that was what he was. Perfect company. If you have lived alone you know how precious that is. Of course there were my three young men who came in to supper every evening, and sometimes they stayed in the dining-room afterwards reading the paper. But I could not expect them to be interested in the little things that made my day. Why should they be? I was nothing to them. In fact, I overheard them one evening talking about me on the stairs as 'the Scarecrow'.10 No matter. It doesn't matter. Not in the least. I quite understand. They are young. Why should 1. i.e. "You're a very good little actor!" (Colloquial dialect) 2. i.e. put; pushed. 3. a plant that canaries like to eat. 4. the dried pod of a hot-tasting plant. 5. i.e. (here): put his head under water. 6. i.e. (here): wetted. 7. strike, pluck, with his beak. 8. a quick shake. 9. a succession of soft, short sounds made by birds. 10. a scarecrow is, literally, a dummy person made of old clothes filled with straw, and is used to frighten birds away from plants, etc.

205


85 I mind? But I remember feeling so especially thankful that I was not quite alone that evening. I told him, after they had gone out. I said, " D o you know what they call Missus?" And he put his head on one side and looked at me with his bright little eye until I could not help laughing. It seemed to 90 amuse him. . . . Have you kept birds? If you haven't, all this must sound, perhaps, exaggerated. People have the idea that birds are heartless, cold little creatures, not like dogs or cats. My washerwoman1 used to say on Mondays, when she wondered 95 why I didn't keep 'a nice fox-terrier'2, "There's no comfort, Miss, in a canary." Untrue. Dreadfully untrue. I remember one night. I had had a very awful dream—dreams can be dreadfully cruel—even after I had woken up I could not get over it. So I put on my dressing-gown and went down to the 100 kitchen for a glass of water. It was a winter night and raining hard. I suppose I was still half asleep, but through the kitchen window, which hadn't a blind,3 it seemed to me that the dark was staring in, spying. And suddenly I felt it was unbearable that I had no one to whom I could say "I've 105 had such a dreadful dream," or—or "Hide me from the dark." I even covered my face for a minute. And then there came a little " Sweet! Sweet!" His cage was on the table, and the cloth had slipped so that a chink of light shone through. "Sweet, sweet!' said the darling little fellow again, softly, 110 as much as to say, "I'm here, Missus! I'm here!" That was so beautifully comforting that I nearly cried. . . . And now he's gone. I shall never have another bird, another pet of any kind. How could I? When I found him, lying on his back, with his eye dim and his claws wrung, 4 115 when I realised that never again should I hear my darling sing, something seemed to die in me. My heart felt hollow, as if it were his cage. I shall get over it. Of course. I must. One can get over anything in time. And people always say 1. 2. 3. 4.

a woman whose work is the washing of sheets, etc. a type of dog. a roll of cloth that can be pulled down to cover a window. twisted.

206

•

THE CANARY

I have a cheerful disposition. They are quite right. I thank 120 my God I have. . .•. All the same, without being morbid,1 and giving way to—to memories and so on, I must confess that there does seem to me something sad in life. It is hard to say what it is. I don't mean the sorrow that we all know, like illness and 125 poverty and death. No, it is something different. It is there, deep down, deep down, part of one, like one's breathing. However hard I work and tire myself I have only to stop to know it is there, waiting. I often wonder if everybody feels the same. One can never know. But isn't it extraordinary 130 that under his sweet, joyful little singing it was just this— sadness?—Ah, what is it?—that I heard?

EXERCISES 1. Make sentences freely with these words from the piece: scarcely long (verb) entertain scatter comfort absurd thankful scrape exaggerate realise exquisite drowsy tuck heartless joyful 2. Explain the meaning of the following: a. after my time (line 4). b. that isn't just my fancy (line 8). c. carried away (line 11). d. I had to put my needle down (line 20). e. Flowers respond wonderfully (line 28). f. we had the house to ourselves (line 51). g. the washing-up (line 52). h. "You're only showing off." (line 68). i. I can hardly bear to recall it (line 71). j. the little things that made my day (line 80). k. I could not help laughing (line 89). 1. as much as to say (line 110). m. I shall get over it (line 117). n. a cheerful disposition (line 119). o. giving way to (line 121). 3. Can you find the adverb-particles in the piece? There are 12. 1. having unnaturally gloomy ideas and feelings.

207


4. In line 69 we have out he hopped—and, of course, we understand out of the bath he hopped. Say what words or phrases are understood with the following 10 other cases: Line 46. came down . . . Line 77. came in . . . Line 49. hung him outside . . . Line 87. gone out. . . Line 50. brought him in . . , Line 99. went down . .. Line 63. was put in . . . Line 103. staring in . . . Line 67. get out. . . Line 108. shone through ... 5. Put the old lady's words into Reported Speech from I can't describe it (line 21) to I have muck to be thankful for (line 36). Start with the words When I last saw her, a year or so ago, the lonely old lady told me . . . 6. Answer these questions as fully as you can: a. Why did the old lady still find it difficult to look at the big nail to the right of the front door? b. She said she would like to think that it would still be there, after her time. Can you think of a reason why she wanted this? c. Why did people stop at the gate to listen to the bird? d. Why does a singer sometimes sip a little water before beginning to sing? e. Why, as the old lady says, must one love something in this world? f. Why did she forget the evening star when the canary came into her life? g. What do you think caused her to feel that the knives were singing too, as she was cleaning them? h. Why do you think she was sure we shall realise how precious company is, if we have lived alone? i. Why do you think the young men called her 'the Scarecrow'? j. Why was she glad that she was not quite alone that evening? k. Why must all these things sound exaggerated to us, if we have not kept birds? 1. Why did the washerwoman want her to keep a fox-terrier rather than a canary? m. Why did it seem to her, one night, that the darkness was staring in on her, spying? n. Why cannot she ever again have another bird or another pet of any kind? o. She is obviously an extremely lonely woman. Which part of the dialogue do you think shows this most clearly? 208

THE CANARY

ONE POINT OF GRAMMAR STATEMENTS OF CAUSE AND EFFECT Line 76. If you have lived alone you know how precious that is. This looks very much like a Condition, with its "If" and Result Clauses, but it is not one. Statements of Cause and Effect are, in fact, very similar to Conditions, but they have one important difference: in the Effect Clause we are not bound to use a special verb from one or other of the two groups, as we are in Result Clauses. Look again at the Effect Clause above: . . . you know how precious that is. There is no special verb; there is only the Present Simple Tense know. (We can, on the other hand, put a special verb, if we wish; will e.g. "If you have lived alone, you must know how precious may that is.") Here are some other examples: " If you put a lighted match to a cupful of petrol, you have a dangerous explosion." "If you have lived in London in winter you have probably learned what fog means!" "If you visit Greece for only a very short time you understand why the Greeks have such a reputation for hospitality." "If one sees the sky becoming as black as that, one had better close all the shutters quickly. It means a hailstorm is coming." PRACTICE EXERCISE 40

Freely compose ten Statements of Cause and Effect.

209

blank

APPENDIX 1 SOME SUBJECTS FOR COMPOSITION 1. A day in the life of a shilling. 2. In which country, apart from your own, would you most like to live? Why? 3. The influence of the Church upon the people of your country. 4. Wise and unwise methods of punishing children or adults. 5. The importance of little things in married life. 6. Modern methods of advertising. 7. A story introducing the following four words: storm, mackintosh, hut, apology. 8. Good and bad methods of education and upbringing. 9. Should one, or should one not, tell fairy tales to small children? 10. A world without friends. 11. A world without music. 12. The importance of international trade exhibitions. 13. The advantages of a university education. (Are there any disadvantages?) 14. The advantages and disadvantages of compulsory military service. 15. Your favourite historical character. 16. Do you like, or dislike, receiving unexpected visitors? 17. If you had to lose one of your five senses, which one would you choose to lose? Why? 18. What are the things in life that make it worth living? 19. The importance of banks in the industrial and commercial activities of any country. 20. The cinema, the theatre, or the opera: which do you prefer. and why? 21. "The burnt child dreads the fire." Discuss. 211


22. The troubles that can follow the loss of a passport. 23. The evils of jealousy. 24. If you had a free choice, where would you prefer to live: in the town or in the country? Why? 25. Explain why you like—or do not like—reading poetry. 26. Describe half an hour that is spent in a dentist's waitingroom. 27. The bad influences of superstition. (Are there any good influences?) 28. How you spent a day in your holidays when it was not possible to go out because of bad weather. 29. Write, as though for a newspaper, an account of an accident you have just seen. 30. From your reading and personal experience, how far can you distinguish national differences in character between Englishmen and Americans?

APPENDIX 2 SOME MORE SUBJECTS FOR LETTER-WRITING 1. Write to an English friend who has invited you to spend a holiday in England with him (or her) explaining that, owing to extra work, your holiday has had to be postponed, and you cannot therefore accept the invitation this year. 2. You have lost an unused cheque. Write informing your bank, giving details of the cheque and asking for the necessary action to be taken. 3. Write to a friend in England asking him (or her) to send you two English books to help you in your studies. Give details of the kind of books you need and the aspects of your studies for which you need them. 4. You were one hour late for a meeting with a friend, who was no longer at the meeting-place when you arrived. Write giving your apologies and the reason for your lateness. 5. You have been lucky enough to find a very nice house (or flat) but, because it is rather larger than you need for yourself, 212

APPENDIX THREE

you would like a friend to share it—and to share the expense with you. Write to a friend giving details of the arrangement you propose. 6. Write to a firm in England asking where and who are their agents or representatives in your country. You are particularly interested in being supplied speedily with the spare parts of the machines which they make. 7. You are a member of an organisation which collects toys, books, and so on, for poor children. Write to the manager of an air-line asking whether he has any advertising material (balloons, model aeroplanes, and so on) which he might be prepared to give to your organisation. 8. Write to a London store asking them to send a case of champagne to an English friend as a birthday present. Give the name and address of your friend, and the date you want the champagne to be delivered. Give, too, the details of the way you intend to pay for this order. 9. Write to the author of a book you have recently read, telling him why you liked (or disliked) his book so much. 10. You have been the guest of a friend in England for a fortnight. Write a "Thank you" letter, and ask him to come next year to spend a fortnight with you in your country.

APPENDIX 3 TABLE OF INFINITIVE FORMS ACTIVE

PASSIVE

NonContinuous

Continuous

NonContinuous

Continuous

SIMPLE (Ordinary)

To do

To be doing

To be done

To be being done

PERFECT

To have done

To have To have been doing been done

213

To have been being done (rare)

•

'

APPENDIX 4 INDEX OF GRAMMAR POINTS IN BOTH BOOKS OF THE NEW INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH COURSE PRINCIPAL POINTS

BOOK LESSON

Prepositions Adverb Particles

One One

2 3 (et seq.)

One One

1 1

Special Verbs The Emphatic Affirmative with do, does, did Had better The Various Uses of have; Possession Necessity Causation May, might

One One One One Two Must, for Supposition (Deduction) One Must, should, ought to for Necessity, Duty, Obligation, Advisability One Two Going to One Used, would One Shall, will One Shall, will, should, would Two Need, dare Two Be.. Two

The Use of Tenses Past Simple and Past Perfect ("Finished" Use) One Past Simple and Present Perfect ("Finished" Use) One The "Unfinished" Use of the Perfect Tenses One Two Past Continuous One Two 214

4 9 11 7 2 8 8,11 10 16 15 18 2, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14 5 7,17

1,6 9 10 6, 7 13 4, 8, 15

APPENDIX FOUR

Present Simple and Present Continuous '.. Future Simple and Future Continuous Periods of Time The Use of Tenses in Wishes (the Subjunctive) Other Verbal Connections The "-ing" Form Infinitives The Passive Voice

One Two

16 6,8

One Two

18 10

Two

9

One Two Two One Two

2,14 8,12,15 3, 15 16 8

Verbs without Continuous Tenses and Forms One Conditions and Their Results . . . Two Statements of Cause and Effect .. Two Subordinate (Dependent) Clauses Two Articles and Article-like Adjectives.. The Countability of Nouns The Indefinite Article The Definite Article

One One One Two One Two One One One One

Few, a few; little, a little One, some, any Each, every, all Much, many No (none, nothing, no one, nobody, nowhere) One Question Forms and Constructions .. .. Reported (Indirect) Speech

14 16,17 18 3, 15 6 5, 8 6 5 17 4,8,11,13,14 5 7 10 13 13

One Two Two

7 1, 10 1,2, 14

One One

4 5

MISCELLANEOUS POINTS

Too, with Infinitives A Sort of Double Negative . . .

215


The Uses of the Inversion Construction One, as an Indefinite Personal Pronoun Each other, one another It, There, as Anticipatory Subjects.. Still, yet The Absolute Superlative Gender Defining & Non-Defining Relative Clauses That instead of which or who The Omission of Relative Pronouns Used, as an adjective The Use of Capital Letters The Apostrophe and " s " Some Remarks on Punctuation "What is Grammar?"

216

One

10

One One One One One One

11 10 12 12 15 15

One One Two Two Two Two Two One

12 12 3 7 4 11 12 4

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