It was my friend who told me everything about it.

Note: When the meaning is customary, repeated or habitual activity in the past, used to or would are interchangeable, e. g. Our teacher used to give her students a written test every Thursday. She would read them a story every week too.

For greater emphasis on the idea of past custom used to is preferable; e. g. He used to watch a children's program at that hour.

To express volition, or persistence referring to the past would is usually used; e. g. Several times he tried to get away, but they would not let him go.

1. How often would you write a composition when you were in the ninth form? 2. Would your teachers always correct your compositions? 3. Who used to help you with your homework? 4. What would you do during the summer? 5. Where did you use to go for your vacation? 6. When you were a child what did you use to do on Saturday afternoon? 7. What would you usually do on Sunday? 8. When your brother was younger, he used to play tennis, use(d)n't he?

V. Make up short situations (no more than two or three sentences) or dialogues to illustrate Patterns 1-4.

VI. Search the books you read for sentences with these patterns (1-4) to add up to your student's workbook; practise the best examples in class.

TEXT. A FRESHMAN'S EXPERIENCE From "Daddy Long-Legs" by Jean Webster

The book "Daddy Long-Legs" by an American writer Jean Webster (1876— 1916) is a novel written in the form of letters. The author of these letters, a young girt, Judy by name, writes them to her guardian, a rich man whom she has never seen.

Judy was brought up in an orphan asylum where her life was hard. The children were wholly dependent on charity. They were badly fed and had to wear other people's cast-off clothes. Judy was a very bright girl and when she finished school, her guardian sent her to college.

Judy feels very happy about it. She hopes to become a writer and pay back the money spent on her education by her guardian. About the latter the girl knows almost nothing: she knows that he is a very tall man. That is why she jokingly calls him Daddy Long-Legs.

This text is one of her letters giving us a glimpse of her early college impressions.

October, 25th

Dear Daddy Long-Legs,

College' gets nicer and nicer, I like the girls and the teachers and the classes and the campus² and the things to eat. We have ice-cream twice a week and we never have corn-meal mush. The trouble with college is that you are expected to know such a lot of things you've never learned. It's very em­barrassing at times. I made an awful mistake the first day. Somebody mentioned Maurice Maeterlinck,³ and I asked if she was a freshman.⁴ The joke has gone all over college.

Did you ever hear of Michaelangelo? He was a famous artist who lived in Italy in the Middle Ages. Everybody in English Literature seemed to know about him, and the whole class laughed because I thought he was an archangel. He sounds like an archangel, doesn't he?

But now, when the girls talk about the things that I never heard of, I just keep still and look them up in the encyclo­pedia. And anyway, I'm just as bright in class as any of the others, and brighter than some of them!

And you know, Daddy, I have a new unbreakable rule: never to study at night, no matter how many written reviews are coming in the morning. Instead, I read just plain books — I have to, you know, because there are eighteen blank years behind me. You wouldn't believe what an abyss of ignorance my mind is; I am just realizing the depths myself. I never read "David Copperfield", or "Cinderella", or "lvanhoe", or "Alice in Wonderland", or "Robinson Crusoe", or "Jane Eyre". I didn't know that Henry the Eighth was mar­ried more than once or that Shelley was a ppet. I didn't know that people used to be monkeys, or that George Eliot was a lady. I had never seen a picture of the "Mona Lisa" and (it's true but you won't believe it) I had never heard of Sherlock Holmes.

Now I know all of these things and a lot of others be­sides, but you can see how much I need to catch up.

November, 15th

Your five gold pieces were a surprise! I'm not used to receiving Christmas presents. Do you want to know what I bought with the money?

1. A silver watch to wear on my wrist and get me to reci­tations in time.

2. Matthew Arnold's³ poems.

3. A hot-water bottle.

4. A dictionary of synonyms(to enlarge my vocabulary).

5. (I don't much like to confess this last item, but I will.) A pair of silk stockings.

And now, Daddy, never say I don't tell all!

It was a very low motive, if you must know it, that prompted the silk stockings. Julia Pendleton, a sophomore, comes into my room to do geometry, and she sits cross-legged on the couch and wears silk stockings every night. But just wait — as soon as she gets back from vacation, I shall go in and sit on her couch in my silk stockings. You see the miserable creature that I am — but at least I'm hon­est; and you knew already, from my asylum record, that I wasn't perfect, didn't you?

But, Daddy, if you'd been dressed in checked ginghams all your life, you'd understand how I feel. And when I start­ed to the high school, I entered upon another period even worse than the checked ginghams. The poor box.⁶

You can't know how I feared appearing in school in those miserable poor-box dresses. I was perfectly sure to be put down in class next to the girl who first owned my dress, and she would whisper and giggle and point it out to the others.

To recapitulate (that's the way the English instructor be­gins every other sentence), I am very much obliged for my presents.

I really believe I've finished. Daddy. I've been writing this letter off and on for two days, and I fear by now you are bored.

But I've been so excited about those new adventures that I must talk to somebody, and you are the only one I know. If my letters bore you, you can always toss them into the waste-basket.

Good-bye, Daddy, I hope that you are feeling as happy as I am.

Yours ever, Judy.

¹ college: a place of higher education both in the USA and in Great Britain. The oldest universities in Great Britain are Oxford and Cambridge dating from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, respectively; the largest is the University of London. Admission to the universities is by examination and selection. Women are admitted on equal terms with men, but the general proportion of men to women students is three to one, at Oxford it is nearly five to one, and at Cambridge eight to one.

A college is sometimes a part of a university. For instance the Universi­ties of Oxford, Cambridge and London are composed of groups of largely autonomous colleges. On the other hand a college may be quite indepen­dent. There is a great number of such colleges in Great Britain (technical and commercial colleges, colleges of art, etc.).

² campus: the grounds of a school, college or university

³ Maeterlinck, Maurice (1862—1949): a Belgian poet and dramatist

⁴ freshman: (for both sexes) the same as the English fresher. First-year students are called freshers only for about a month until they are used to college (university) life.

⁵ Arnold Matthew (1822-1888): an English critic and poet.

⁶ poor box: a box (usually in a church) in which money may be placed to be given to the poor. Here: things given as charity (food, clothes, etc.).

VOCABULARY NOTES

1. bright adj 1.яркий, светлый, е. g. The leaves of the trees are bright green in spring. Polished steel is bright.

2. умный, способный, смышленый, е. g. There are sev­eral bright pupils in her class. The boy had a bright face.

3. остроумный, e. g. Everybody was bright and gay at the party.

bright(ly) adv ярко, ясно, живо, остроумно, е. g. She stood in the doorway smiling brightly after him. The fire shines bright.

brighten vi/t проясняться; придавать блеск, делать свет­лее: улучшать, е. g. The sky is brightening. This wallpaper will brighten our room. What can you do to brighten the life

of the sick man?

brightness л яркость, блеск, живость ума

2. plain adj 1. ясный, очевидный, понятный, е. g. The meaning of the word is guite plain, isn't it? I like her plain speech. She spoke plain English.

Syn. Clear

2. простой, обыкновенный; гладкий, без рисунка (о тка­нях), е. д. They like what they call plain food. She looked very pretty in her plain white dress.. She bought a plain blue material.

Syn. simple

Note: The difference in the meanings of the synonyms plain — clear and plain — simple is so slight that we may often use one instead of the other, e. gr. plain (clear) meaning, plain (simple) food, plain (simple) man. Yet, there are some cases when only one of the two synonyms may be used, e. g. to speak plain English; to make a clear statement; to live a simple life; to get a simple task.

3. некрасивый, e. g. He liked her plain, but honest face. Cf: ugly некрасивый (безобразный)

3. blank adj пустой, незаполненный, as a blank sheet of paper; a blank page (form, etc.). Also fig., e. g. There was a blank look on her face.

blankly adv, e. g. She looked at me blankly. He sat on the edge of the bed staring blankly before him.

blank n1. пустое место, пропуск, е. g. Leave a blank after each word. Fill in this blank.; 2. бланк, e. g. She bought two telegraph blanks.

Note: The Russian word пустой has several equivalents in English: 1. пустой (незаполненный) blank sheet (page); 2. пустой (ничего не содержащий) empty room (box, bottle); 3. пустой (поверхностный) shallow person (ideas, interests); 4. пустой (незанятый) vacant room (house, flat).

4. ignorance nневежество; незнание, неведение, е. g. Judy's ignorance made the girls laugh. He did it from (through) ignorance.

ignorantadj невежественный, не знающий, е. g. The boy has never been to school and is guite ignorant. I am ignorant of his plans.

5. prompt vt. 1. побуждать, внушать, е. g. What prompted you to look for him in our town?

2. подсказывать; суфлировать, е. g. She'll prompt you if you forget new words. No prompting, please.

prompt n, e. g. Aren't you ashamed to wait for a prompt? prompter n суфлер; подсказчик

6. re'cord vt 1. записывать, регистрировать, е. g. Не re­corded all the events of the day.

2. записывать на пластинку, на пленку, е. g. On the very day of his arrival they recorded his speech.

'record n1. запись, протокол, отчет; характеристика, све­дения, е. g. A careful record was made of all those absent. The boy's school record leaves much to be desired.

2. граммофонная пластинка, е. g. Have you got any records of Bach?

cassette(tape)-recording л звукозапись, е. g. I'd rather make use of cassette-recording to review the material.

cassette (tape)-recordern магнитофон, е. g. Something has gone wrong with the cassette-recorder, it doesn't work.

7. point vt 1. показывать пальцем, указывать (to), е. g. Не pointed to the monument. The needle of the compass points to the North.

2. направлять, нацелить (at), e. g. The boy pointed a stick at the dog.

to point out smth.,e. g. The teacher pointed out our mis­takes.

to point out that, e. g. He pointed out that all the college rules should be obeyed.

8. bore vt надоедать, докучать, е. g. Your friend bores me.

to bore to death by smth. до смерти наскучить, е. g. I was bored to death.

bore n скучный, нудный человек, скучное занятие, е. g. I don't want to see him again, he is such a bore.

boring adj скучный, e. g. This is a very boring book.

boredom n скука

9. excite vt 1. возбуждать, волновать, волновать, е. g. The patient is very ill and must not be excited.

to be excited by, e. g. Everybody was excited by the news.

to get excited about (over), e. g. It's nothing to get excit­ed about. Don't get excited over such trifles.

Cf. There's nothing to worry about. She always worries about little things.

2. вызывать интерес (восхищение и т.д.), е. g. The newcomer excited everybody's interest.

exciting adj возбуждающий, волнующий, захватываю­щий, е. g. What exciting news you've brought! I could hard­ly get over that exciting moment. She told such an exciting story.

excited pp взволнованный

excitementn возбуждение, волнение, usu. to cause ex­citement, e. g. The decision to keep Mother's Day caused great excitement in the family.

excitedly adv, взволнованно

ESSENTIAL VOCABULARY (I)

blank adj, n

bore v, n

boring adj

boredom n

bright adj

bright(ly) adv

brighten v

brightness n

confess v

excite v

excitement n

exciting adj

excited pp

excitedly adv

experience n

freshman n

ignorance n

ignorant adj

item n

plain adj

point v

prompt v

'record n

re'cord v

recorder n

sophomore n

Word Combinations

the trouble with ... is that ...

at times to keep still

you wouldn't believe what (how) ...

to be a surprise to smb.

to enlarge one's vocabulary

next to

to point out smth. (that)

every other (sentence, day, etc.)

to be much obliged to smb.,

for smth. to be bored (to death)

to cause excitement

EXERCISES

I. Read the text and do the following (A. Grammar, B. Word usage):

1. Explain the difference between the following words used in the text: dictionary — vocabulary, giggle — laugh, toss — throw, pair — couple. 2. Search the text for the verb get, translate the sentences. 3. What is the most favourite word in Judy's vocabulary? Would you recommend your pu­pils to use it?

II. Choose two or three paragraphs from the text of Unit Five for transla­tion. Reason your choice and discuss possible variants of the translation.

III. Answer the following questions:

1. What did Judy mean by classes and campus? 2. Why did Judy mention ice-cream and corn-meal mush in her letter? 3. What did Judy think was the trouble with college? 4. What joke had gone all over college? 5. Why did Judy keep still when the girls spoke about things she didn't know? 6. Why didn't Judy study at night, no matter how many written re­views were coming in the morning? 7. In what way did Judy want to catch up with the group? 8. What did Judy mean by saying that she was at least honest? 9. What did Judy mean by saying writing this letter off and on for two days! 10. Where had Judy studied before college? 11. Why did Judy feel em­barrassed at times? 12. What did Judy mean by blank years and abyss of ignorance? 13. What shows that the text was writ­ten by an American writer?

V. Study Vocabulary Notes and translate the illustrative examples into Russian.

VI. Explain (in English) what is meant by and give Russian equivalents

of:

A. blank wall, blank look, blank verse, blank sheet, blank form, blank chegue, blank years, blank mind, blank face;

B. empty room, shallow interests, vacant house, shallow girl, bright dress, bright face, bright child, bright eyes, igno­rant person, incomparable bore.

VII. Paraphrase the following sentences:

1. He stared at her in utter astonishment. 2. He opened his eyes for a short while but then lost his consciousness again. 3. A faint smile enlivened her face for a moment. 4. There was a gap in my memory. 5. There are many interest­ing items in the newspaper today. 6. The silk stockings caused Judy's envy. 7. He used to be a capable pupil. 8. The letter aroused great interest. 9. At times she felt very unhap­py. 10. The trouble with him is that he is a light-minded per-

son. 11. This fruit is guite eatable, I'd say. 12. Your friend dif­fers much from what he was years ago.

VIII. Write 20questions about the second part of the text of Unit Five using the following words and phrases:

1. Christmas present; 2. to be a surprise; 3. wrist; 4. to get to (one's) recitations; 5. a hot-water bottle; 6. to enlarge one's vocabulary; 7. to confess; 8. a low motive; 9. to do geometry; 10. to sit cross-legged; 11. a miserable creature; 12. to know (from); 13. to be very much obliged for; 14. every other sen­tence; 15. to be bored; 16. to be excited about; 17. to toss into the waste-basket; 18. to talk to (smb.); 19. at least.

IX. Ask your fellow-students to give their responses.

X. Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Вы хорошо знаете свою роль или вам нужен суфлер? 2. Ко­нечно, у Джуди были недостатки, но она по крайней мере была честна. 3. Она очень волновалась, так как именно ее доклад был первым. 4. Девушкам не разрешалось выходить с территории кол­леджа после того, как колокол пробьет десять. 5. Оливер Твист воспитывался в работном доме (work-house). С раннего возраста детям приходилось много работать, одеваться в чужие обноски и есть одну овсянку. Большинство учителей, невежественные люди, очень жестоко обращались с детьми, 6. Не подсказывайте. Она знает урок и просто немного волнуется. 7. Вам нужно заполнить бланк и расписаться вот здесь. 8. Простое белое платье Джеммы очень шло ей. 9. Княжна Марья была некрасива, но улыбка, осве­щавшая ее лицо, была прелестна. 10. Ирэн всегда одевалась про­сто, но с большим вкусом. 11. Глаза мальчика блестели от возбуж­дения. 12. Джуди поняла свою ошибку только тогда, когда ее по­други начали смеяться. 13. Свежий воздух и простая пища — вот что ему нужно сейчас. 14. Временами ей казалось, что она не смо­жет вынести такого горя. Но у нее был сын, о котором надо было заботиться. 15. Я еще не привык работать с магнитофоном. 16. Беда в том, что я потеряла билеты и не могу их найти.

XI. a) Retell the contents of Judy's letter in Indirect Speech.

b) Retell the contents of Judy's letter as her guardian might describe it to a friend of his.

c) Describe Judy's first steps in college as Julia Pendleton might be describing them to a friend of hers.

d) Give a summary of the text.

XII. Insert prepositions or adverbs where necessary:

1. The trouble .... the book is that it's boring me ... death. 2. It will take me ... least a month to catch ... ... the group. 3. What did you buy … the money you got ... your father? 4. I need an alarm clock to wake me up … time. 5. I've been writ­ing the letter ... and ... … two davs, now I've finished it … last. 6. I was perfectly sure to be put … … the desk next ... the girl

whom I didn't like to sit…. 7. His visit was a surprise ... me, I didn't know he was ... town. 8. When I come ... some English words which I don't know I always look them … ... the dictio­nary. 9. In his speech he pointed ... all the drawbacks ... our work. 10. The drills on the English sounds bore me ... times, but I know that they are very useful. 11. He helped me a lot ... my mathematics and I'm much obliged ... him ... it.

XIII. Revise Essential Vocabulary (I) and translate the following:

1. Вы должны догнать группу, как бы много ни пришлось вам работать. 2. Он до смерти надоел мне рассказами о своих приклю­чениях. 3. У него по крайней мере пять ошибок в каждой кон­трольной. 4. Вся беда в том, что у меня с собой только 50 копеек. Что я могу купить на эти деньги? 5. Как бы много новых слов ни было в тексте, я все их смотрю в словаре. 6. Вы делаете ошибки в каждом втором предложении. 7. Я не раз говорила Борису Петро­ву, студенту второго курса, что, если он хочет выдержать экзамен, ему надо больше заниматься. 8. Предполагается, что все студенты знают, когда начинаются экзамены. 9. Трудно признаваться в том, что ты не прав, но он был вынужден сделать это. 10. Я знаю, что поступила плохо, но по крайней мере я осознала, что мне не следо­вало так поступать. 11. Этот живой, сообразительный мальчик очень понравился Оливеру, и они стали друзьями. 12. Я вам при­знателен за помощь. 13. Вы должны читать больше, это позволит вам значительно расширить ваш запас слов. 14. Он смотрел на меня непонимающим взглядом, как будто не слышал, что я говорю. 15. С какой стати вам так волноваться из-за мелочей? 16. Учитель указал на наиболее грубые ошибки в диктанте, просто и ясно объ­яснил правила, которыми нужно пользоваться, чтобы избежать их. 17. Подробно опишите свои впечатления от этой поездки. 18. Мне нравились в нем ясный ум и простая речь. 19. Что привело класс в такое возбуждение? — Волнующая для них новость: у них будет новый учитель по геометрии. 20. Они были когда-то хорошими друзьями. Просто не могу себе представить, почему они поссорились. 21. Старик указал на картину, которая висела на противопо­ложной стене.

XIV. Translate the text into Russian:

Dear Daddy Long-Legs,

You never answer any questions, you never show the slightest interest in anything I do. I haven't a doubt that you throw my letters into the waste-basket without reading them. Hereafter I shall write only about work.

My re-examinations in Latin and Geometry came last week. I passed them both and am now a Sophomore.

I came up a fortnight ago, sorry to leave the farm, but glad to see the campus again. It is pleasant to come back to something familiar, I am beginning to feel at home in college.

I am beginning chemistry, a most unusual study. I've never seen anything like it before. I am also taking logic. Also history of the whole world. Also plays of William Shake­speare. Also French.

I should rather have elected Economics than French, but I didn't dare, because I was afraid that unless I re-elected French, the Professor would not let me pass — as it was. I just managed to squeeze through the June examinations. But I will say that my high-school preparation was not very good.

And here is news for you. I have begun to be an author. A poem entitled "From my Tower" appears in the February "Monthly" — on the first page, which is a very great honour for a Freshman. My English instructor stopped me on my way out of college last night, and said it was a charming piece of work except for the sixth line, which had too many feet.

But sometimes a dreadful fear comes over me that I'm not a genius.

Yours truly,

Judy