Герберт Уэллс - Кентервильское привидение. Человек-невидимка / The Canterville Ghost. The Invisible Man

For a moment the Canterville ghost stood quite motionless in natural indignation; then, dashing the bottle violently upon the floor, [27]he went down the corridor, uttering hollow groans, and emitting a green light. Just, however, as he reached the top of the staircase, a door was flung open, two little white-robed figures appeared, and a large pillow whizzed past his head! There was evidently no time to be lost, so, adopting the Fourth dimension of Space as a means of escape, [28]he vanished through the wainscoting, and the house became quite quiet.

On reaching a small secret chamber in the left wing, he leaned up against a moonbeam to recover his breath, and began to try and realize his position. Never, in a brilliant and uninterrupted career of three hundred years, had he been so grossly insulted. He thought of the Dowager Duchess, whom he had frightened into a fit as she stood before the glass in her lace and diamonds; of the four housemaids, who had gone into hysterics when he merely smiled at them through the curtains on one of the spare bedrooms; of the rector of the parish, whose candle he had blown out as he was coming late one night from the library; and of old Madame de Tremouillac, who, having wakened up one morning early and seen a skeleton seated in an armchair by the fire reading her diary, had been confined to her bed [29]for six weeks with an attack of brain fever, and, on her recovery, had become reconciled to the Church, and broken off her connection with that notorious sceptic, Monsieur de Voltaire. He remembered the terrible night when Lord Canterville was found choking in his dressing-room, with the knave of diamonds half-way down his throat, [30]and confessed, just before he died, that he had cheated Charles James Fox out of 50,000 pounds at Crockford’s by means of that very card, and swore that the ghost had made him swallow it. All his great achievements came back to him again, from the butler who had shot himself in the pantry because he had seen a green hand tapping at the window-pane, to the beautiful Lady Stutfield, who was always obliged to wear a black velvet band round her throat to hide the mark of five fingers burnt upon her white skin, and who drowned herself at last in the pond. And after all this some wretched modern Americans were to come and offer him the Rising Sun Lubricator, and throw pillows at his head! It was quite unbearable. Besides, no ghost in history had ever been treated in this manner. Accordingly, he determined to have vengeance, and remained till daylight in an attitude of deep thought. [31]

1. Answer the questions:

1. What did the Otis family find when they came down to breakfast?

2. What subjects did the Otis family discuss?

3. When did the family retire?

4. Why was Mr. Otis awakened?

5. What noise did Mr. Otis hear?

6. What did the ghost look like?

7. What did Mr. Otis give to the ghost?

8. How did the ghost manage to escape?

9. Why did the ghost feel insulted?

10. What did the ghost decide to do?

2. True or false?

1. When the Otis family came down to breakfast they didn’t find anything suspicious.

2. The family returned home at nine o’clock.

3. In the evening the family discussed such subjects as the sweetness of the New York accent as compared to the London drawl and the advantages of the baggage-check system in railway travelling.

4. Some time after Mr. Otis was awakened by a curious noise coming from upstairs.

5. When Mr. Otis opened the door he saw a young man of pleasant appearance in front of him.

6. Mr. Otis brought to the ghost a small bottle of perfume.

7. The ghost was very happy to get the present from Mr. Otis.

8. After the ghost vanished through wainscoting the house became quite quiet.

9. The ghost felt extremely insulted.

10. The ghost determined to have vengeance.

3. Find in the text the English equivalents to the following words and expressions:

ничего особенного, подозревать, обычная беседа, превосходство, протяжное произношение, сверхъестественное, странный шум, звон (цепей), отчетливо, старинного покроя, обеспечить чем-либо, мраморный, негодование, кружево, пресловутый, бубновый валет, бархатный, невыносимо.

4. Write questions to the following answers.

1. When they came down to breakfast they found the terrible stain of blood once again.

2. Mr. Otis began to suspect that he had been too dogmatic in his denial of the existence of ghosts.

3. The family retired at eleven o’clock.

4. Mr. Otis woke up because he heard a curious noise.

5. Right in front of him he saw an old man of terrible aspect.

6. Mr.Otis asked the ghost to oil his chains.

7. Mr. Otis gave the ghost a small bottle of the Tammany Rising Sun lubricator.

8. The twins threw pillows at the ghost’s head.

9. The ghost vanished through a wainscoting.

10. The ghost felt insulted because no other ghost in history had ever been treated in this manner.

5. Fill in the gaps with the words from the box.

1. The storm raged _____________ all that night.

2. He ___________ the stain a second time, but the second morning it appeared again.

3. Mrs. Otis expressed her ________________ of joining the Psychical Society.

4. It sounded like the ________________ of metal, and seemed to be coming nearer every moment.

5. He put on his slippers, took a small ________________ out of his dressing-case, and opened the door.

6. For a moment the Canterville ghost stood quite motionless in natural _____ _____________.

7. On reaching a small secret chamber in the left wing, he leaned up against a _____________ to recover his breath.

8. A large pillow ____________ past his head.

9. Lady Stutfield was always ____________ _____ to wear a black velvet band round her throat to hide the mark of five fingers burnt upon her white skin.

10. He determined to have ________________, and remained till daylight in an attitude of deep thought.

The next morning, when the Otis family met at breakfast, they discussed the ghost at some length. [32]The United States Minister was naturally a little annoyed to find that his present had not been accepted. “I have no wish,” he said, “ to do the ghost any personal injury, [33]and I must say that, considering the length of time he has been in the house, I don’t think it is at all polite to throw pillows at him,”– a very just remark, at which, I am sorry to say, the twins burst into shouts of laughter. [34]“Upon the other hand,” he continued, “if he really declines to use the Rising Sun Lubricator, we shall have to take his chains from him. It would be quite impossible to sleep, with such a noise going on outside the bedrooms.”

For the rest of the week, however, they were undisturbed, the only thing that excited any attention being the continual renewal [35]of the blood-stain on the library floor. This certainly was very strange, as the door was always locked at night by Mr. Otis, and the windows kept closely barred. The chameleon-like colour [36]of the stain excited a good deal of comment. Some mornings it was a dull red, then it would be vermilion, then a rich purple, and once when they came down for family prayers, they found it a bright emerald-green. These kaleidoscopic changes naturally amused the party [37]very much, and bets on the subject were freely made every evening. The only person who did not like it was little Virginia, who, for some unexplained reason, was always a good deal distressed at the sight [38]of the blood-stain, and nearly cried the morning it was emerald-green.