a) What kind of letter did Virginia receive?
b) Why did she consider it offensive?
c) Why did Sunday evenings have a special effect on the woman?
d) What are Virginia’s thoughts mainly preoccupied with?
e) Do you think Virginia really repelled people ‘after a certain point’? What possible explanation did she find for herself?
f) Do you think the woman often felt ‘inclined to cry’? Why?
g) How old is the heroine of the story? Is she happy?
h) Did she loose hope for better life? Give your reasons.
3. Match the following definitions in the left column with the words in the right column. Find sentences with these words in the story.
| 1. not attractive or fashionable | fancy |
| 2. to take care of smb; to guard and protect smb | to take to smth |
| 3. smth that you say or do in an indirect way in order to shoe smb what you are thinking | a snub to smb |
| 4. to be useful | arrogant |
| 5. something that you imagine, fantasy | dowdy |
| 6. to continue an activity without stopping | a hint |
| 7. to make yourself free of smth/smb that is annoying you or that you do not want | to watch over smb |
| 8. to depend on smb for help and support | to be of use to smb |
| 9. behaving in a proud unpleasant way, showing little thought for other people | to lean on smb |
| 10. an action or a comment that is deliberately rude in order to show that you do not like or respect them | to get rid of smth |
| 11. to begin to do smth as a habit | to go on doing smth |