Commentary

1. to take prep:to be in charge дежурный of preparation of lessons in a reg­ular period at school.

2. to rag(coll): to play practical jokes on; treat roughly.

3. You have a hundred lines:Copying text is a common penalty наказание for misbehaviour in English and American schools.

4. Ordealсуровое испытание:in early times, a method of deciding a person's guilt or in­ nocence by his capacity to pass some test such as passing through fire, taking poison, putting his hand in boiling water, or fighting his accus­er. It was thought that god would protect the innocent person (to sub­mit to the ordeal by battle; ordeal by fire, etc.). Now it means any severetest of character or endurance, as to passthrough a terribleordeal.Eg. It was his turn to speak now, so he braced himself up for the ordeal суровое испытание.

5. Prefectsстаросты класса:in some English schools senior boys to whom a cer­tain amount of authority is given.

6. House:(here) a boarding-house attached to and forming a por­tion of a public school. Also, the company of boys lodged in such a house. E.g. I'm as proud of the house as any one. I believe it's the best house in the school, out-and-out.