by H. E. Bates
It was no use, no use any longer. She must begin to eat less, much less; starve herself, cut out 1 everything. It could not go on like this: public dinner after public dinner, company luncheons' 2 lavish food, eating till she could not breathe, eating for the sake of eating. She must be firm, put a stop to it, now, at once, before the summer got too hot, before Victor got to be the director of any more companies. Two hundred and thirteen pounds.8 She saw the hands of the bathroom weight-clock revolve 4 again in imagination, and rest at that awful figure. She felt like weeping.6 It was something terrible. No woman could bear it. And so she made up her mind. She was going to starve herself, and see what that would do.
She bounced and dumped 6 along the edge of the lake, in the park, like a distended silk balloon, her feet still quite neat,7 her ankles bony, so that it appeared as if she wore false legs.
On the edge of the lake, small children were crumbling bread 8 and buns for the ducks. Mrs. Victor was revolted. Food, always food, eating, didn't the world do anything else? Gulls planed over and clawed the air, to swoop down and up and snatch the thrown bread before it reached the water. She bumped and panted past, out of range of gulte and children * and the revolting sight of bread thrown and snatched.
She sat down on one of the green public seats. There was another thing. Now it had got so that she couldn't sit on one of the two penny chairs. 10 They were made only, it seemed, for normal people, the slim and elegant. She remembered the days when she had been slim and elegant. Like the young woman on the seat. Just like her. Scarcely enough flesh, if anything. "Mrs. Victor looked at the young woman who, in turn, was staring across the water: blonde, young, with shadow- pointed cheeks and a small scarlet buttonhole mouth closed tight up. Mrs. Victor, looking to see if she had any stockings on at all, saw the points of stitched ladders 12 where the legs crossed. Stockings meant she had some sort of belt on. Well, that was just for decency. She didn't need support. It was a figure that had stepped straight out of advertisements.
Mrs. Victor looked down at her own thighs, like two vast sausages, and felt like weeping. She could not bear it, and looked back at the girl.
Ask her if she diets. Somehow she looks as if she diets. That sort of thinness can't be natural. There's thinness and thinness. 13 Somehow she looks as if she must diet.
Mrs. Victor hesitated to speak. Than she looked again at the girl. You could have blown her away with a breath. She had the ethereal lightness you saw spoken of in advertisements.
More children had appeared on the lake-edge, with more bread. Mrs. Victor said:
"Excuse me. I've been looking at your figure, and wondering —"
"Eh?" The girl, startled, turned her extraordinarily thin face. "I'm sorry, I can't hear for the birds." 14
For a moment the birds quietened. Mrs. Victor said:
"I hope you'll excuse my speaking to you. I've been looking at your figure. Wondering if you did anything special for it. If you dieted. You see how I am."
"No," the girl said. "I don't do anything special."
"Oh!"
Mrs. Victor, not knowing how to go on, smiled. The girl's profile looked as though it had been pared down, 15 by a knife.
"I've got so desperate now," she said, "that I'm thinking of seriously starving." It did not sound right. "Starving seriously," she said.
If she thinks I'm going to sit here, the girl thought, and listen, she's crazy. Not me. I'm going. I'll go straight away. She sat quite still. If I get up, she thought, I think I shall fall down.
"Really starving," Mrs. Victor went into an explanation of the word, moving slightly along the seat. "You know. Days without food."
"I know."
"I'm sick of food. Sick of it." Mrs. Victor began to explain who she was, how, being who she was, she had to attend dinners, functions,1' eating, always eating, eating until now, at last, she was utterly sick of eating. "Take last night. The dinner began at eight and we were still eating at half-past nine. Still eating!" The girl sat trying to think of something to say. She could think of nothing but her suspender belt. It felt loose on her body. It will fall off, she thought, if I move. I've altered the hooks 17 once already. I shall have to alter them again.
"First there was some special sort of cheese, Norwegian or something, on rye-biscuit. As if we needed that. Then soup, consommé 18 or crème,19 just the usual thing. Then fish. And that's how it went on. Duck, pheasant, chicken — and I was so sick of them I tried venison. Have you ever eaten venison? My husband was having it and he said I should try it. I couldn't eat it. I can't explain what it tastes like — but queer, somehow. You've never tried it?"
"No," the girl said, "I can't say I have."
"Don't."
I could eat an elephant, the girl thought. I could eat bacon-rind. She sat thinking of bacon-rind. People didn't eat it. They cut It off, but if you did fry it, it jumped in the frying-pan like snakes.
"If you multiply that by hundreds you'll see what I have to go through in a year," Mrs. Victor said.
Multiply it by hundreds. Like snakes. Snakes lay eggs, hundreds of eggs. The girl remembered going, long ago, to the Zoo, and then giving whole bananas to monkeys. It's not so bad, she thought. I had a banana yesterday. I made it last forty-three minutes. With luck I could make it last an hour.
."I've tried special baths. I've tried slimming creams, 20 massage. I've tried everything." Mrs. Victor said, "It costs me a fortune. It's terrible. I used to be as thin as you."
It's no good, the girl thought, I've got to go 21 down to the post office. If Harry sends the money I shall know it's all right. If he doesn't send it I know I'm done. 22 Whatever happens, I've got to go down to the post office and see. I've got to be logical. I haven't a job. I've got to be logical. During the war we used to eat locust beans. 13 You never see them now. They said they had food value. We used to make them last a long time. That's what I want, something to last a long time.
"So I think there's nothing for it," Mrs. Victor said, "but to try simple starvation. I shall just starve and starve." She laughed a little. "After all it must be the oldest form of losing weight in the world."
The children had come very near, the gulls shrieking above the flurry of ducks, white bread and yellow bun-scraps flashing up in arcs against the bright sunshine.
"You see, it wears me out. Just sitting here now, I'm so hot I don't know what to do with myself. I'm all perspiration. I shall have to change everything when I get home."
A small child holding a round sugar-shining bun threw it into the water in one piece. "
"It's so humiliating. You see, don't you? Your friends, people staring at you. When you've been thin, when you've had a nice figure. You see, don't you?"
"I see," the girl said.
"I envy you," Mrs. Victor said.
Again the girl thought, if I get up I shall fall down. She stirred slightly, feeling the emptiness of her stomach send out fainting waves of weakness. Her mind slipped into silliness. If A has two shillings between her and the workhouse1* and there's no letter at the post office how many bananas must A eat before A is dead?
On the edge of the lake a nurse stood on tip-toe and tried to regain the lost bun with the ferrule of a sunshade, regained it, and gave it back to the child. "Of course it's all right. Of course they'll eat it. They'll eat anything."
"I know my husband won't like it," Mrs. Victor said. "But I can't help it. He'll say think of my position and so on. But it's no use. I've got my own pride — I can't look at myself in the glass."
Now the small child had himself begun to eat the water- soaked bun, liking it. The nurse swooped down on him like a gull herself, snatching it away, startling him to tears.
"Why does she make that child cry? I can't stand children crying," Mrs. Victor said. "It gets on my nerves. People think because you're fat and easy going you've got no nerves. My nerves are all on edge." -8
The crying of the small child against the crying of the gulls made shrill discords. Nerves, the girl thought. Nerves. Somebody had said that to her.
"That child," Mrs. Victor said. "I can't stand it. Why does she make it cry like that?"
The child, holding his breath, had gone from crimson to faint purple in the face, in the fury of his frustration. "
The waves of torturing sound beat against the great cushion of Mrs. Victor's body and shook her nerves. She got up.
"It's no use, I shall have to go."
At that moment the nurse snatched up the child, put him irfto a large white perambulator, snatched the bun from his hands and threw it into the lake again. In a moment, as the perambulator moved off, the screams of the child began to die away.
"Well, that's better," Mrs. Victor said. "Even so, I think I must go."
I must go too, the girl thought. But if I get up I shall faint.
"Good-bye," Mrs. Victor held out her hand. "Think of me starving." She held in her large moist hand the girl's thin one. "Perhaps we shall meet again."
'"Good-bye," the girl said.
Mrs. Victor walked away along the edge of the lake. The girl sat staring at the water. Ducks and birds and light and bread revolved like a lucky wheel against the sun.
NOTES
1. to cut out (colloq.) — to stop doing or using something; e.g. He must cut out wine and rich food.
2. luncheon — a formal word for lunch (a meal taken between breakfast and dinner)
3. two hundred and thirteen pounds — about ninety seven kilogrammes (pound — a measure of weight = 12 ounces or 453,6 grams)
4. saw the hands of the bathroom weight-clock revolve — видела, как вращаются стрелки часов в ванной комнате
5. she felt like weeping — she had a wish to weep (See p. 67 Note 13)
6. " bounced and dumped — moved up and down as she walked (Russ. шла подпрыгивающей походкой)
7. neat — nice in shape; e.g. She has a neat figure and shapely legs.
8. to crumble bread (buns) — to rub bread (buns) into crumbs (Russ. крошить)
9. She bumped and panted past, out of range of guils and children —She moved past, bumping and panting, so that she should not see the gulls and the children. (Russ. Она прошла мимо..., колыхаясь и тяжело дыша)
10. twopenny chair ['tapni| — a chair you paid twopenny for (public seats were free, you didn't have to pay for them)
11. if anything — пожалуй
12. stitched ladders — поднятые и закрепленные петли (a ladder in the stocking — спущенная петля на чулке; to stitch — to fasten with stitches, to sew. Memorize the proverb: A stitch in time saves nine.)
13. There's thinness and thinness.— A person may be thin in different ways; e.g. He is fond of music. But there's music and music.
14. I can't hear for the birds.— I can't hear because of the birds.
15. pare down — cut so as to make a thing smaller. The word is used here to emphasize the thinness of the girl's face, the sharpness of its features. (Note: to pare nails, apples, pears, etc.; but to peel potatoes, oranges)
16. function — a public ceremony, a formal social meeting, often a public function, a social function such as a banquet, a formal reception, etc. (Russ. прием, торжественный вечер)
17. I've altered the hooks — я переставила крючки (ушила пояс); to alter means "to change slightly"; e.g. Your skirt is too large for you, it must be altered. But V m going to change my clothes (i.e. put on something else).
18. consommé (Fr.) — a clear soup made usually from a combination of veal or chicken and other meat (Russ. бульон)
19. . crème (Fr.) — суп-пюре
20. slimming creams — cosmetics that is supposed to make a person grow thinner
21. I've got to go — I have to (I must) go
22. " I'm done (colloq.) — I'm lost, ruined (Russ. мне конец, крышка)
23. locust beans — плоды рожкового дерева, растущего в Северной Америке
24. in one piece — unbroken (Russ. целиком)
25. If A has two shillings between her and the workhouse — If A has two shillings to keep him from the workhouse (i.e. when the money is spent A will have to starve or else go to the workhouse)
26. I can't help It.— I can do nothing about It. (Russ. ничего не могу поделать). Here help means "avoid, prevent"; e.g. 1) She couldn't help thinking about it all the time. 2) He is extremely fond of her and forgives her everything, he can't help it.
27. easy-going — said about a person who doesn't trouble much about things, who takes them easy
28. my nerves are on edge — I am easily irritated and excited (Russ. меня всё раздражает, у меня нервы не в порядке)
29. frustration — failure, defeat, disappointment; to frustrate — to prevent smb. from doing smth.; e.g. He was frustrated in his plans.
EXERCISES
Exercise I. Practise the pronunciation of the following words and word-combinations:
a)lavish, breathe, bathroom, balloon, false, extraordinarily, wonder, profile, suspender, loose, ethereal, heroine, awful, irony, cushion, venison, twopenny, elegant, thigh(s), sausage(s), breath, rye-biscuit, pheasant, elephant, massage, stomach, ferrule, perambulator
Exercise II. Drills, a) Read and repeat; b) Use the structures in sentences of your own:
1. If I get up I shall fall down.
2. If she gets up she will faint.
3. If I diet I shall lose weight.
4. If she stops attending functions she will grow slimmer.
5. If Henry sends the money I shall know it's all right.
1. I wonder if you diet.
2. I wonder if you do anything special for your figure.
3. I wonder if she has any stockings on.
4. I wonder what will happen if I get up.
5. I wonder if I can do it.
6. I wonder if he will send me the money.
1. I've got to go down to the post-office.
2. I've got to be logical.
3. She's got to diet.
4. I've got to attend a social function.
5. She's gut to starve if she wants to be slim.
1. I used to be as thin as you.
2. We used to eat locust beans during the war.
3. We used to make them last a long time.
4. She used to have a neat figure.
5. I used to try massage and special baths.
1. Excuse my speaking to you.
2. Excuse my interrupting you.
3. Excuse my coming so late.
4. Excuse my leaving so soon.
Exercise 111. Answer these questions as In the examples:
a. Do you like venison? I cant say I do.
b. Have you ever been to the seaside? I can't say / have.
1. Did you speak to him about your plans? I can't say.... 2. Have you read this article? I can't say.... 3. Do you diet? I can't say.... 4. Does she know you?.... 5. Have you tried massage?... 6. Does he like this special sort of cheese?....7.Are you free to-night?.... 8. Is she good-looking?.... 9. Are you fond of her?....
Exercise IV. Add tail-questions (isn't it?, don't you?, didn't he?, etc.) to these sentences.
Note: A sentence beginning with / am usually has the tail aren't I; the one with used to — did.
1. The girl was unnaturally thin,...? 2. Mrs. Victor is sick of food,...? 3. I'm going to sit here and listen,...? 4. During the war we used to eat locust beans,...? 5. I'll have to change everything when I get home,...? 6. I'm awfully hot,...? 7. She looks as if she were starving,...? 8. He likes fish,...? 9. I am very late,...?
Exercise V. Replace the Italicized parts of the sentences -by words dnd word-groups from the text:
1. She must stop eating altogether. 2. She must put an end to it at once, before Victor became the director of any more companies. 3. Mrs. Victor was disgusted at the sight of the bread and buns. 4. Mrs. Victor saw that the stockings were mended (darned). Stockings meant she wore some sort of belt. 5. She had a wish to cry. 6. Hers was a figure you could see in advertisements. 7. Mrs. Victor, not knowing how to continue the conversation, smiled. 8. Mrs. Victor was obliged to the present at dinners, functions, etc. 9. The only thing the girl could think of was her suspender belt. 10. "I've tried massage, I've tried everything. It costs me a lot of money." 11. In spite of all that people say starvation must be the oldest form of getting thinner in the world. 12. "I know my husband won't like it, but / can do nothing about it."
Exercise VI. Find in the text equivalents for the following and use (hem in sentences of your own:
а) голодать; голод (голодание); худеть (терять в весе); худой; худоба; тонкий (стройный); толстый; костлявые лодыжки; придерживаться диеты; присутствовать на обедах (приемах); ее тошнило от пищи
б) крошить хлеб; булочка; бульон; бананы; шкурка от бекона; цыпленок; утка; быть годным для еды; продлить удовольствие от еды (банана и т. д.) на час; желудок
в) перестать есть что бы то ни было; положить конеп (чему-либо); схватить (выхватить); вздрогнуть (испугаться); это стоит мне массу денег; ничего не могу поделать; не выношу (не переношу); это действует мне на нервы; покладистая; нервы взвинчены; приходить в отчаяние; это меня изнуряет; я вся покрыта потом; переодеться с головы до ног
Exercise VII. Ask each other questions about the text.
Exercise VIII. Construct 6 tail-questions that are not true to fact and ask the students to correct them, using words and phrases from the text, e.g.
a) "Mrs. Victor thought she must eat as much as she could, didn't she?" —"Oh, no she didn't. She thought she must starve herself, cut out everything."
b) "Mrs. Victor did not feel like weeping when she looked at her own thighs, did she?" — "Oh, yes, she did. They looked like two vast sausages, she couldn't bear it."
Exercise IX. Pick out sentences from the text that will answer the following questions:
1. Where did Mrs. Victor weigh herself? 2. What was her weight? 3. Why did she sit on one of the public seats? 4. What did she notice when she looked to see if the young woman had any stockings on? 5. What did the girl think of her suspender belt? Why had she had to alter the hooks?
Exercise X. Use words and expressions from the text In answering the following questions:
1. Why did Mrs. Victor feel like weeping? 2. What was her husband's social standing and what sort of life was she obliged to live? 3. What did the young woman in the story look like? What made Mrs. Victor think she dieted? 4. What was the girl thinking about? 5. What did she remember doing long ago? 6. What did Mrs. Victor say she had done to lose weight? 7. Why did the girl want to go to the post office? 8. Why was Mrs. Victor ignorant of the state the girl was in?
Exercise XI. Imagine that you are a) Mrs. Victor, b) the girl. Go to the front of the class and answer the questions the students will ask you.
Exercise XII. I) Retell the episode with the bun using the following words and phrases:
small child; sugar-shining bun; in one piece; on the edge of the lake; to stand on tip-toe; to regain; water-soaked bun; to swoop down (on); to snatch away; to startle to tears; can't stand children crying; to get on one's nerves; my nerves are on edge; to hold one's breath; to go crimson (purple); to snatch up (from); perambulator; to move off; screams; to die away
2) Retell the story using the following words and phrases:
to cut out everything; to go on like this; to put a stop to; the hands of the weight-clock; to feel like weeping; bony ankles; neat feet; on the edge of the lake; to crumble bread; to snatch the thrown bread; out of range; slim and elegant; to stare across the water; to have stockings on; stitched ladders; just for decency; could not bear it; I've been wondering if; startled; excuse my speaking to you; anything special; to get desperate; she's crazy; to go into an explanation; to be sick of; to attend dinners; nothing but; suspender belt; it felt loose; that's how it went on; it tastes queer; bacon-rind; frying-pan; to multiply by; to have to go through; to make it last; it costs me a fortune; I've got to; I'm done; to lose weight; it wears me out; to change everything; can't help it; it's no use; to make the child cry; easy-going; my nerves are on edge; can't stand it; moist hand; to walk away; to revolve against the sun
Exercise XIII. Make up sentences using as if, as though.
Examples:
a) She looked as if she were actually starving.
b) It appeared as if she wore false legs.
c) He looked as though he had been too long without sleep.
Exercise XIV. Choose the correct words from those in brackets:
(change — alter)
1. She has... her address and I don't know how to find her. 2. The suit doesn't fit him well. It must be.... I've got to rush home to... my clothes for dinner. Let's... seats. I can see very little because of the tall man in front of me. 5. He intended to spend the summer in town, but then he... his mind. 6. She slightly... the original plan and handed it in.
(pare — peel)
1. Shall I... an apple for you? 2. She hated to — potatoes, therefore she usually boiled them in their jackets.
(lucky — happy)
1. By some... chance she caught sight of him in the crowd. 2. That kind of life doesn't make me.... 3. Her husband has returned safe and she is as... as... can be.
Exercise XV. Answer the following questions (using the Complex Object Construction):
1. What did Mrs. Victor see the hands of the bathroom weight-clock do? 2. What could she see the gulls snatch? 3. What did the girl remember doing long ago? 4. How long did the girl make a banana last? 5. Who made the child cry? 6. How did the girl see herself moving along the street?
Exercise XVI. Use the following phrases in sentences of your own:
a) to feel like doing something
In the text: She felt like weeping.
Example: He didn't feel like eating.
b) for the sake of doing something or for his (her, somebody's) sake
In the text: She couldn't go on eating for the sake of eating (= just because she liked it).
Examples: 1) He sacrificed everything for the sake of his motherland (=for the good of). 2) Let me try for your sake.
Exercise XVII. Make these sentences emphatic as in b).
Examples:
a) If you fried bacon-rind, it jumped in the frying-pan like snakes.
b) If you did fry bacon-rind (instead of cutting it off), it jumped in the frying-pan like snakes.
a) He went to the lake.
b) He did go to the lake.
1. Mrs. Victor ate a lot at dinner parties and social functions. 2. Don't think she did nothing to lose weight. She tried slimming creams and massage. 3. He sent her the money at last. 4. She felt like sitting there for ever, but she rose to go. 5. She had promised to come and she came.
Exercise XVIII. Translate into English:
1. He морите себя голодом. Вы очень похудели. 2. Я не выношу, когда плачут дети. 3. Интересно, соблюдает ли она диету. 4. Вы должны перестать есть хлеб и булки, если вы хотите похудеть. 5. Интересно, съедобны ли ягоды (годятся ли для еды). 6. Интересно, присутствовал ли он на приеме вчера. 7. Ее платья стоят ей массу денег. 8. Ее тошнит от еды. Она ничего не может поделать с этим. 9. Если ты хочешь похудеть, надо сесть на диету. 10. Этот шум действует ей на нервы. 11. Она такая худая, как будто совсем ничего не ест.
Exercise XIX. Topics for discussion:
1. Speak on the setting of the story (the lake, the gulls, the children, etc.) What do you think is their role in the story?
2. Describe Mrs. Victor.
3. Describe Mrs. Victor's husband (as you imagine him).
4. Outline the character of the girl (describe her appearance, clothes, her thoughts, etc.).
5. Tell the story of the girl's life (as you imagine it). What do you think has reduced her to the state she was in?
6. Think of a possible end of the story. What do you think happened after the girl went down to the post office?
7. Compare the two women and speak on one of life's, ironies as illustrated in this story.
8. Why does the author Introduce the episode with the bun?
9. Describe a public dinner or a company luncheon.
10. Describe a person who diets.
11. Tell the class a story you have read in which the heroine finds herself in a hopeless position.
12. Speak on unemployment in capitalist countries. Give examples from literature.
Exercise XX. Render in English:
а) В семье итальянского бедняка Сальваторе Арена случилось несчастье: врачи сказали, что его старшей дочери Розетте (а всего в семье одиннадцать детей) придется ампутировать ногу (have her leg amputated). Ее уже оперировали (had been operated on) дважды, но рана не заживала (the wound wouldn't heal). Заболела Розетта еще несколько лет тому назад у себя на родине, в одной из нищих деревушек Южной Италии, где многочисленное семейство Арена едва перебивалось с хлеба на воду (live from hand to mouth) и не могло даже помышлять о дорогих лекарствах для больной девочки (couldn't dream of).
Отчаявшиеся родители решили бросить свой дом и отправиться искать счастья (seek their fortune) в прославленной (vaunted) столице индустриальной Италии — Милане. Но оказалось, что и здесь никому не нужны рабочие руки. Просто в Милане стало одним безработным больше, а во- семнадцатилетняя Розетта, поняв, что помощи ждать неоткуда, решилась на крайний шаг. Она поместила объявление о том, что согласна продать одну почку (kidney) за сумму, которая необходима для лечения ноги.
Через некоторое время девушка получила уведомление из полиции, смысл которого сводился к тому (a notice to the effect that), что сейчас семидесятые годы 20-го века, а не средневековье, и что законом запрещено (be against the law) продавать свое тело целиком и по частям (as а whole or in part). По-видимому, такой закон в Италии действительно существует. Нет только закона, обеспечивающего (guarantee) людям право на труд и на медицинскую помощь (medical aid).
b) Помни о весе!
Всем известно, что если вы будете есть много булочек, пирогов и пирожных и при этом вести малоподвижный образ жизни (do hardly any exercise), то вы начнете полнеть (put on weight). Для того чтобы похудеть (lose weight) и иметь стройную (slim) фигуру, надо соблюдать диету.
Но как трудно порой бывает отказаться от жареных уточек (roast ducks), отбивных (chops) и пирожных! И как грустно, встав на весы, обнаружить, что вы опять прибавили в весе.
Для слабовольных (weak-willed) людей, не способных соблюдать диету и воздерживаться от обильной еды (refrain from rich food), во Франции изобретена специальная электровилка. Если вы прикоснетесь к «запретному плоду» (forbidden fruit), вы почувствуете, как она начнет покалывать вас электрическими разрядами (feel "pin-pricking" caused by the electric current). Новый прибор (gadget) называется «Помни о весе!» (mind your weight).
THE HUNGRY WINTER
by Elizabeth H. Middleton
When the launch 1 which was to take him out of the hinterland 2 of northern Canada failed to show up,3 Spencer Scott found himself in a difficult situation. There was apparently nothing for him to do but to wait. Bob Hilton, a hunter, living in the small village, offered him hospitality which he gladly accepted.
Time passed quickly. Hilton was an entertaining old man, always ready with a story.
One evening the two men were sitting in front of the fire when an Indian brought in an armful of wood.
"Thank you, Uncle."
"Why do you call him that?" Spencer asked as soon as the Indian had left the room. It seemed an odd way for the old man to address a man so much younger than himself.
"Oh, everyone does. Julius is a great favorite around here." He filled his pipe with fresh tobacco.
Uncle reappeared, this time carrying a pot of tea. He set it down on a table, together with two glasses, then silently disappeared.
"Well, Bob, how about another Indian tale? They're such strange people, so hard to understand."
"They're not so different as you think. At times seemingly childlike, perhaps, yet sometimes far superior to us." He drew on his pipe,4 and kept silent for a while.
"You have never been here in the winter," Bob Hilton went on. "Ah! Then the North is truly magnificent. That's when she really lays her hold on you.6 The Indians know it well. In spite of discomfort and even privation, they prefer it to any season of the year. They hitch up the dogs, and visit one another, often for weeks at a time. Feasts last not hours, but days. One that I attended continued three days.
"But not all winters are good ones.' There are the lean years.' I can recall winters when it seemed there were no animals alive in the entire North. Even rabbits, which are taken for granted,8 sometimes die of some unknown disease by the thousand.0 But the worst of all are the winters without caribou.10 It is about one of these that I am going to tell you.
"The men of this village, about twenty of them, went out as usual in the fall 11 to hunt the caribou which migrate each year from the Barren Lands.12 But this particular year the hunters could not find them. The caribou, you know, travel in a large herd, an immense solid mass of creatures which has been estimated at over a million. If the hunters miss this herd, they can seldom kill enough meat to last out the win ter.
"How well I remember the day the men returned! They were gaunt, exhausted, their eye sockets red from loss of sleep. They were men without hope; they knew death was not far from them and their families.
"Julius detached himself from the group and came to me.
'"I know where there is a cache.'18
"At once I knew he had made it. On one of his hunting trips he must have laid by food, drying it and caching it so it would be safe.
"'Is it a big one?' I asked him.
'"Pretty big,'14 he said.
"'I think we should wait a while yet,' I told him. "We still have some food. We will make it last as long as possible, and in the meantime something may turn up.' 16
"But nothing did. By mid-January everything edible 16 was gone, even the dogs to pull the sledges. I imagine it is difficult for you to realize our predicament.17 You are probably thinking, why didn't they go to some other village? Why didn't they send out for help before it was too late? But we were extremely isolated. Besides, it was almost certain that the famine was general. If the migration of caribou was so erratic 18 our hunters could not find it, it was improbable others had succeeded where we had failed. Thus, no one would have more food than we, nor, if they had, could they spare it.1' Even if we had saved the dogs, by the time a trip could have been made to the outside and the few provisions the teams could haul had been brought back, all our people would be dead.
"When all the food was gone, I went to Julius.
"'Now we will go to your cache.'
"I shall never forget that trip. The entire village set out on 8nowshoes. The distance was not great, but when your stomach is drawn together, and your legs are like boiled macaroni, when your eyes are blurred and watery, even a mile seems endless. To make matters worse,20 the weather turned very cold. We were, you must remember, close to the Barrens 21 where temperatures of seventy below are not at all uncommon. And in addition a blizzard overtook us, lashing our faces with icy particles. It is impossible to describe our sufferings.
"I am not sure how long we travelled, but at last we came to the shore of a small lake and there, exactly as Julius had promised, was the cache. It was made of rawhide bundles fastened to a platform, raised on poles off the ground so that animals could not reach it. A shout of joy went up from all of us.
"Eagerly the men brought down the bundles and tore them open. Alas! They had already been opened; they were empty. Someone else had visited the cache. A different cry arose, one of rage 22 and anguish. Even the children, infected with their elders' grief and despair, sobbed bitterly.
"We lay down in the snow, and even 1, who should have known better,23 wept as bitterly as the rest. But Julius did not weep. When I became calmer, I noticed that he stared fixedly ai the frozen lake, and instantly I guessed his thought: under the ice there must be fish.
"Now the cache, for all it was devoid of food,24 did contain some fishhooks." We baited some of these with pieces of rawhide, having nothing else for bait, and dropped them into the water through holes chopped in the ice. We waited and waited, but nothing happened. The fish refused to bite. That night, at my suggestion, the men lighted torches to attract the fish to the holes, lying in wait with knives fastened to poles. Still no fish appeared. Our efforts came to nothing.
"Morning dawned at last. All around us as we sat on that desolate shore were the dark, enclosing trees covered with snow. The wind, rising slowly, moaned across the ice. Above us the sky was ominous and heavy; a new storm was brewing.26 Soon we must inevitably die, every one of us. Now, 1 had often watched individuals await death, but never an entire community. It defies description.27
"Suddenly Julius rose and ran to one of the open holes.
"He sat down on the ice and removed a moccasin " and legging.20 Then, before we guessed what he was about, he had pulled out his knife and had cut a strip of flesh from his own leg. Aghast, we saw him bait a hook with this still living tissue,30 and fling it into the open hole."
Bob Hilton ceased speaking. In spite of the crackling flames in the fireplace, Spencer knew he dwelt on31 that frozen shore. He himself shivered sympathetically. To break the spell he asked a question.
"Obviously you survived the winter. Was it because Julius caught a fish?"
With obvious effort, the hunter returned to the fireside. "Yes, the lake was full of them. After the first, we always had bait. There was never any more trouble. We spent the rest of the winter there, and fortunately spring came early that year. Nature showered us with food.32 There were quantities of small game and swarms of ptarmigan.33 It was like a miracle."
There was a pause. For a while both men were silent.
"Well!" suddenly the hunter became his usual jovial self. "It's quite a good story, don't you think?"
"A very good story." But in Spencer's mind, a doubt lurked.34 In a way he believed the story, in a way he did not. He suspected that the events just related might have happened to someone else. Or the story might have no factual basis, but have arisen from a legend or myth. His face must have betrayed his skepticism.
"I don't think you believe my little tale," Bob Hilton smiled. "No matter. It is not important. But come, we haven't touched our tea. It must be stone cold. I'll have Uncle bring in 31 some fresh."
When the Indian entered the room, Hilton called to him.
"By the way, how is that bad ankle of yours? May I take a look at it?"
He leaned over, lifting the bottom of the Indian's trouser. Spencer saw, as he was sure he was meant to," a long depressed area, a puckered whitish scar, extending up the man's leg for more than four inches.
NOTES
1. launch— a boat used for carrying passengers on short journeys for pleasure or business (Russ. баркас, моторная лодка)
2. hinterland — the land lying behind a stretch of coast or the bank of a large river (Russ. Глубинный район)
3. failed to show up — did not arrive
4. he drew on his pipe — раскурил трубку (затянулся)'
5. she lays her hold on you (fig.) — the country gains power (influence) over you (the pronoun she is used when speaking of a country)
6. good ones=good winters; one is a pronoun used instead of the noun to avoid repetition (here in the plural ones)
7. lean years=not productive, during which not much is produced (e.g. lean harvest —
8. rabbits... are taken for granted — one is sure that there will be plenty of rabbits (to take something for granted — to accept something as a fact (Russ. Считать само собой разумеющимся).
9. by the thousand — a thousand at a time (also by the dozen, score, hundred, etc.)
10. caribou— канадский олень
11. fall (Am.) — autumn
12. " the Barren Lands — the treeless plains or tundras of Northern Canada inhabited by Indians and a few hunters
13. cache — a hiding-place for food
14. pretty big (colloq.) — rather big
15. " something may turn up — something may be found
16. edible— fit to eat (Russ. съедобный)
17. predicament — dangerous situation
18. erratic — (here) unusual
19. to spare — to find it possible to give to others; e.g. Can you spare me a box of matches? He has no money to spare.
20. to make matters worse — Russ. в довершение ко всему
21. the Barrens — see Note 12
22. one of rage — a cry of rage; see Note 6
23. to know better — to be wise enough not to do so; e.g You ought to know better than to spend all the money you have on trifles.
24. for all It was devoid of food — although it did not contain food (for all — although, in spite of; e.g. For all her beauty there was no charm in her.)
25. did contain some fishhooks — yet (the cache) contained some fishhooks (did is used for emphasis and must be pronounced with a stress; Russ. всё же)
26. "а... storm was brewing — a... storm was gathering force (to brew — надвигаться, назревать)
27. " It defies description.— It's impossible to describe it.
28. 28 moccasin I'mokasin] — a shoe made of soft deerskin (Russ. мокасин)
29. 28 leggings — leather outer coverings for the legs up to the knee (Russ. краги)
30. bait a hook with this still living tissue — attach the strip of flesh to a hook
31. he dwelt on (upon) — he thought of; to dwell 1) to live; 2) to dwell on (upon) — to think, speak or write about something for a long time; e.g. Now let me dwell on our trip to Canada (=speak about it).
32. showered us with food — gave us food in abundance
33. ptarmigan |'tamigan| — белая куропатка
34. a doubt lurked (in his mind) — there was some secret doubt (in his mind); to lurk — to lie in wait, to remain secret (Russ. Таиться, прятаться, скрываться)
35. I'll have Uncle bring In — I'll make Uncle bring in (to have somebody do smth.— to cause somebody to do smth.)
36. he was meant to — Hilton wanted him to see the Indian's ankle (meant to — meant to see, to is used instead of the infinitive to avoid repetition).
EXERCISES
Exercise I. Practise the pronunciation of the following a) words and b) word-combinations:
launch, hinterland, hospitality, entertaining, tobacco, experience, superior, magnificent, discomfort, privation, cawlboy, migrate, barren, particular, gaunt, exhausted, socket, predicament, famine, isolated, erratic, stomach, macaroni, blizzard, anguish, ominous, community, moccasin, aghast, bait, tissue, miracle, jovial, factual, basis, myth, area
Exercise II. Drills, a) Read and repeat; b) Use the structures in sentences of your own:
I. 1. The launch was to take him out of the hinterland. 158
1. The men were to hunt the caribou and make a supply of meat for the winter.
2. We were to meet on the shore of a lake.
3. At what time is he to come?
4. What are they to do?
II. 1. I'll have Uncle bring in some fresh tea.
2. He had the typist type all the letters and telegrams.
3. Please, have the porter carry my luggage to the platform.
4. I shall have her lay the table for dinner.
III. 1. The hunter must have missed the herd.
2. The boy must have laid by food for the winter.
3. The villagers must have realized the danger.
4. He must have been exhausted after the trip.
Exercise III. Replace the italicized parts of the sentences by word; and word-groups from the text:
1. They are such strange people, it's difficult to understand them. 2. In this country there are plenty of rabbits to be shot if you are short of food. 3. By the middle of the month we had eaten everything that was fit to eat including the dogs. 4. It is difficult for you to understand the dangerous situation we found ourselves in. 5. To make things worse, the temperature fell to seventy degrees below zero. 6. We were sure to die soon. 7. It's impossible to describe the scene. 8. We couldn't guess what he was going to do. 9. Filled with horror we saw him cut a strip of flesh from his own leg.
Exercise IV. Find in the text English equivalents for the following and use them in sentences of your own:
занимательный; охотно; странный (2); изможденный; предложить кому-либо гостеприимство; выше (лучше) кого-либо; умирать тысячами; отложить (запасти) пищу на зиму; все съедобное; невероятно; в довершение ко всему; горько рыдать; остальные; пристально глядеть; прорубь; рыба не клюет; крючок; приманка; насаживать наживку на крючок; в ужасе; это невозможно описать; выжить; давать в изобилии; холодный, как лед; взглянуть (на)
Exercise V. Fill in the blanks with prepositions or adverbs:
1. As the carriage did not show time he decided to walk.. the station. 2.... one... his hunting trips he had laid... enough food to last... the winter. 3. It was difficult... him to understand why they had not sent...
... help... time. 4. Early... the morning he set snowshoes, hoping to get... the nearest village before dark.
A shout... joy went. him when... last he saw glimmering lights... the distance. 5.... the fisherman's suggestion we baited the fishhooks... pieces... dry meat, as we had nothing else... bait, and dropped them... the water. 6. They spent hours... end... the desolate shore lying... wait... knives fastened... poles. But their efforts came... nothing. 7. Little did they suspect... those dismal days that very soon nature would shower them... food.
Exercise VI. Pick out sentences from the text that contain answers to the following questions:
1. What did the hunter say about the Indians? 2. Why do the Indians prefer winter to any season of the year? 3. How did Bob Hilton describe the men who had returned after failing to find the caribou? 4. What happens if the hunters miss the herd? 5. Why did Bob Hilton advise Julius to wait with the cache? 6. What was the cache made of? 7. Why did they bait the fishhooks with rawhide? 8. What shows the fish did not like that kind of bait?
Exercise VII. Construct 5 disjunctive questions that are not true to fact and ask your comrades to correct them (see p. 147, Ex. VIII).
Exercise VIII. Use words and expressions from the text In answering the following questions:
1. Why did Spencer Scott find himself in a difficult situation? 2. Whose hospitality did Spencer Scott gladly accept? 3. What seemed odd to Spencer? 4. How did Bob Hilton describe the lean years? 5. What was the trouble in the year Hilton told his guest about? 6. Why did Hilton say he would never forget the trip to the cache Julius had made? 7. How did Julius show himself twice a man of action? 8. Why did a doubt lurk in Spencer's mind? 9. How did Hilton prove to Spencer the truth of his story?
Exercise IX. Imagine that you are Julius. Go to the front of the class and answer the questions the students ask.
Exercise X. Retell the story using the following words:
was to take him; failed to show up; there was nothing for him but; to offer hospitality; entertaining; armful; odd way; superior to; truly magnificent; lean years; to take for granted; die by the thousand; this particular year; to travel in a herd; to miss (the herd); to last out; gaunt; exhausted; he must have laid by food; safe; to make it last; everything edible; to send out for help; extremely isolated; improbable; nor could they spare it; all the food was gone; to set out on snowshoes; to seem endless; to make matters worse; raised on poles; to bring down the bundles; to tear open (the bundles); a cry arose; to sob bitterly; I should have known better; the rest; to stare fixedly; to bait a hook (with); holes chopped in the Ice; to refuse to bite; at my suggestion; to lie in wait; to come to nothing; it defies description; a strip of flesh; aghast; to break the spell; obviously; to survive the winter; fortunately; showered us with food; a doubt lurked; to arise from a legend; to betray; stone cold; I'll have him bring in; take a look at; a whitish scar
Exercise XI. Translate Into Russian:
1. He was a good story-teller and the boys listened to him spell-bound. 2. He is an entirely different man now. Hé seems to be under a spell. 3. The story goes that once a Wicked Witch cast a spell on a beautiful young princess. 4. The friends sat in silence watching the fire burning low, when the servant's sudden entrance broke the spell.
1. Nature showered us with food. 2. "Take a shower. It'll make you feel better." 3. "You can't very well expect Grandfather to shower gifts on you after you've done all you could to disgrace him!" 4. Letters and invitation cards were showered on the beautiful starlet by cinema fans. 5. When the Negro boy appeared in the school-yard he was met with a shower of stones.
Exercise XII. Translate these sentences Into English using handful, spoonful, armful:
1. Прими ложку этого лекарства, и тебе станет лучше. 2. Она дала мне горсть спелых ягод. 3. Вдали была видна кучка людей. 4. Старик взял охапку дров и отнес ее в дом.
Exercise XIII. Choose the correct word from those in brackets:
(else — still — more)
1. Who... will go on a hunting trip? 2. Morning dawned at last and they were... there, on the shore of a frozen lake. 3. There was nothing... for them but to await death. 4. Julius was going to have another try; he was sure there was... hope. 5. Bring the tea-pot, please, we want some... tea.
(rise — raise)
1. Suddenly he... and ran to the hole chopped in the ice. 2. Julius... a platform on poles and placed a cache on it to prevent marauding animals from reaching it. 3. The old man... his hand and made a sign for everybody to be silent.4. The wind... rapidly and soon a blizzard overtook them.
5. They baited the hooks with raw hide but the fish would not... to the bait.
(bring — take)
1. I'll be obliged to you if you... this book to the library. I've promised to return it today. 2. When are you going to... me the notes? I need them badly.
(offer — suggest)
1. May I... you a cup of tea? 2. My host... that we should go skiing after dinner. 3. One of us... going to the cinema and Mary... to go and buy tickets.
(lie — lay)
1. Every experienced hunter... by food for the winter. 2. There was nobody in the study but his note-book... open on the table. 3. Let sleeping dogs....4. Mother... the table and the family gathered in the dining-room.
(lurk — hide)
1. It was necessary to find a safe place to... the leaflets; the police were sure to search the house. 2. She felt restless and depressed; a strange fear... in her heart.
Exercise XIV. Use to take something for granted in sentences of your own.
In the text:
Even rabbits, which are taken for granted, sometimes die of some unknown disease.
Examples:
1 Don't take it for granted that you will always get everything you wish.
2 He took it for granted that he would find a job wherever be went.
3 The actress took it for granted that she would always play the leading parts in all the new performances.
4 Jack didn't like women when they took anything for granted.
Exercise XV. Use so in responding to the following statements as In the examples below (use the suggestions In brackets) (see also Ex. IX, p. 135).
Note: Remember that in negative responses / hope and I am afraid take not (not may also be used with think and believe for emphasis), e.g. Do you think she will win the gold medal? — /' m afraid not.; Will you have to work on Sunday? — / hope not. (I don't think so.)
1. Shall I have to wait long for the lunch? (not think) 2. I suppose the boat won't be long in coming, (hope) 3. Will it keep fine for some time? (afraid) 4. I don't think the wound hurts him very much now. (hope) 5. Julius has actually saved your lives, hasn't he? (believe) 6. He doesn't feel pain any longer, does he? (hope) 7. 1 suppose you wouldn't like to stay here in winter, would you? (not think) 8. You had a very unpleasant time, didn't you? (afraid) 9. You wouldn't like to go through the whole thing again, would you? (afraid) 10. Julius is a fine man, isn't he? (believe) 11. All the people of this village would have died but for Julius, (think)
Exercise XVI. Tell a fishing story using the following words:
to set out on snowshoes; the shore of the lake; to chop holes in the ice; fishhooks; bait; to bait hooks with; to use... for bait; at first the fish did not bite; to rise to the bait; to give a cry of joy; to make a fire
Exercise XVII. Topics for discussion:
1. Give a character outline of Julius.
2. Speak on an act of self-sacrifice by means of which a man saved the lives of others.
3. Tell a story (by Jack London or some other writer) in which the heroes had a narrow escape.
4. Describe life in the North. Explain why some people are so much attracted by the North in spite of its hardships.
Exercise XVIII. Render In English:
Самые счастливые охотничьи дни нашей жизни бывают в юности. В этом я нисколько не сомневаюсь. Ничто — даже первая пойманная на удочку форель (trout) — не может доставить такое наслаждение, как первая подстреленная вами птица, сраженная на лету (to shoot a bird on the wing). Я охочусь вот уже более полувека, но мне никогда не забыть глухого звука (thud), с которым упал на землю мой первый гусь. Конечно, это отнюдь не был мой первый выстрел. Я взялся за ружье еще совсем маленьким мальчиком и застрелил кролика, когда он смирно сидел в двух шагах от меня — это было совсем не спортивно, но доставило мне великое удовольствие. Однако, когда я подстрелил моего первого гуся, это была моя первая охота с «настоящим» 12-калкберным охотничьим ружьем. И тот факт, что целился (aim at) я в головного гуся летящей стаи (leader of the flock), а попал в третьего, меня совсем не разочаровал. То, что я вообще попал в какую-то цель (to hit a target), чрезвычайно меня обрадовало и даже несколько удивило. Мне кажется, что все мои последующие трофеи не могут сравниться с этим первым диким гусем.
Прошлой осенью я взял одного знакомого, пожилого флегматичного человека, который проводит свои дни в большом офисе, на берег моря. Он только недавно научился стрелять. Ночь была бурная, и ему было не до радости. Но гуси летели. Мы услышали их дикие крики. И вот они уже неслись высоко над нами, черные тени на фоне облаков (against the clouds). Я слышал, как грохнул выстрел (the report of the gun). Когда, секунду спустя, я оглянулся, он, бросив ружье, выплясывал какой-то восторженный танец на песке, воздевая руки к небу. Он застрелил своего первого дикого гуся. Я вспомнил, как много лет назад, когда мне было семнадцать, было то же самое: я бросил ружье на землю и плясал от радости. Лучшие охотничьи дни бывают в юности. И юность может начаться в сорокалетнем возрасте, если у вас ружье, а над головой — птица в стремительном полете.
(Брайан Фитцджералд. Из «Записок журналиста»)
SEEING PEOPLE OFF
by Max Beerbohm
I am not good at it. To do it well seems to me one of the most difficult things in the world, and probably seems so to you, too.
To see a friend off from Waterloo to Vauxhall 1 is easy enough. But we are never called on to perform that small feat. It is only when a friend is going on a longish journey, and will be absent for a longish time, that we turn up at the railway station. The dearer the friend and the longer the journey, and the longer the likely absence, the easier do we turn up, and the more lamentably do we fail.
In a room, or even on a doorstep, we can make the farewell quite worthily. We can express in our faces the genuine sorrow we feel. Nor do words fail us.1 The leave-taking is an ideal one. Why not, then, leave the leave-taking at that? Always departing friends implore us not to bother to come to the railway station next morning. Always we are deaf to these entreaties, knowing them to be not quite sincere. The departing friends would think it very odd if we took them at their word.8 Besides they really do want to see us again. So we duly turn up. And then, oh then, what a gulf yawns! * We have nothing at all to say. We gaze at each other as dumb animals gaze at human beings. We "make conversation".1 We know that these are the friends from whom we parted overnight.' They know that we have not altered. Yet, on the surface everything is different; and the tension is such that we only long for the guard to blow the whistle and put an end to the farce.
On a cold autumn morning I turned up at Euston 7 to see off an old friend who was starting for America. The night before we had given him a farewell dinner. It was a perfect farewell. And now here we were, stiff and self-conscious, on the platform. And framed in the window of the railway carriage was the face of our friend; but it was as the face of a stranger, a stranger anxious to please, an appealing stranger, an awkward stranger.
"Have you got everything?" asked one of us, breaking the silence. "Yes, everything," said our friend, with a pleasant nod. "Everything," he repeated, with the emphasis of an empty brain.
There was a long pause. Somebody said "well", with a forced smile at the traveller. Another pause was broken by one of us with a fit of coughing. The fit served to pass the time.
***
At that moment my attention was drawn by a respectable- looking middle-aged man. He was talking earnestly • from the platform to a young lady at the next window but one to ours. His fine profile was vaguely familiar to me. The young lady was evidently American, and he was evidently English. Otherwise 1 should have taken him for her father. I wish I could hear what he was saying. I was sure he was giving the very best of advice; the strong tenderness of his gaze was really beautiful. He seemed magnetic. I could feel something of his magnetism even where I stood. And his magnetism, like his profile, was also familiar to me. Where had I experienced it?
In a flash 8 I remembered. The man was Hubert le Ros. But how changed since I last saw him. That was seven or eight years ago, in the Strand.10 He was out of an engagement,11 and borrowed half-a-crown from me.
It seemed