Владимир Аракин - Практический курс английского языка 3 курс [calibre 2.43.0]

"From Wales."

"Ah. I thought you were a Celt, so it's not your farm?"

"My aunt's, sir."

"And your uncle's?"

"He is dead."

"Who farms it, then?"

"My aunt, and my three cousins."

"But your uncle was a Devonshire man?"

"Yes, sir."

"Have you lived here long?"

"Seven years."

"And how d'you like it after Wales?"

"I don't know, sir."

"I suppose you don't remember?"

"Oh, yes! But it is different."

"I believe you!"

Ashurst broke in suddenly:

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen, sir."

"And what's your name?"

"Megan David."

"This is Robert Garton, and I am Frank Ashurst. We wanted to get on to Chagford."

"It is a pity your leg is hurting you."

Ashurst smiled, and when he smiled his face was rather beautiful.

Descending past the narrow wood, they came on the farm suddenly — a long, low stone-built dwelling with casement windows, in

a farmyard where pigs and fowls and an old mare were straying. A short steep-up grass hill behind was crowned with a few Scotch firs,

7 and in front, an old orchard of apple trees, just breaking into flower, stretched down to a stream and a long wild meadow. A little boy

with oblique dark eyes was shepherding a pig, and by the house door stood a woman, who came towards them. The girl said:

"It is Mrs. Narracombe, my aunt."

"Mrs. Narracombe, my aunt" had a quick, dark eye, like a mother wild-duck's, and something of the same snaky turn about her

neck.

"We met your niece on the road," said Ashurst, "she thought you might perhaps put us up for the night."

Mrs. Narracombe, taking them in from head to heel, answered:

"Well, I can, if you don't mind one room. Megan, get the spare room ready, and a bowl of cream. You'll be wanting tea, I suppose."

Passing through a sort of porch made by two yew trees and some flowering-currant bushes, the girl disappeared into the house,

her peacock tam-o'-shanter bright athwart that rosy-pink and the dark green of the yews.

"Will you come into the parlour and rest your leg? You'll be from college, perhaps?"

"We were, but we've gone down 8 now."

The parlour, brick-floored, with bare table and shiny chairs and sofa stuffed with horsehair, seemed never to have been used, it

was so terribly clean. Ashurst sat down at once on the sofa, holding his lame knee between his hands, and Mrs. Narracombe gazed at

him...

"Is there a stream where we could bathe?"

"There's the strame 9 at the bottom of the orchard, but sittin' down you'll not be covered!"

"How deep?"

"Well, it is about a foot and a half maybe."

"Oh! That'll do fine. Which way?"

"Down the lane, through the second gate, on the right, an' the pool's by the big apple tree that stands by itself. There's trout there, if

you can tickle them!"

"They're more likely to tickle u s ! "

Mrs. Narracombe smiled. "There'll be the tea ready when you come back."

The pool formed by the damming of a rock, had a sandy bottom; and the big apple tree, lowest in the orchard, grew so close that its

boughs almost overhung the water; it was in leaf and all but in flower — its crimson buds just bursting. There was no room for more

than one at a time in that narrow bath, and Ashurst waited his turn, rubbing his knee and gazing at the wild meadow, all rocks and

thorn trees and field flowers, with a grove of beeches beyond, raised up on a flat mound. Every bough was swinging in the wind, every

spring bird calling, and a slanting sunlight dappled the grass. He thought of Theocritus,10 and the river Cherwell," of the moon, and the

maiden 12 with dewy eyes,13 of so many things that he seemed to think of nothing; and he felt absurdly happy.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

1. to make Chagford: to reach Chagford — a town in Devonshire.

2.Ashurst's football knee: the knee that Ashurst hurt in playing football.

3.thin as rails: It is a stable set-expression, somewhat hackneyed and trite. The list of such similes in English is fairly long. They

do not create fresh and vivid images, but are frequently used by the writers as they are easily understood and grasped by the

reader.

4.round-the-corner: absent-minded.

5.was talking through his hat: was talking nonsense.

6.took up the catechism: continued questioning smb. closely.

7.Scotch fir: common North European pine.

8.we've gone down (at Oxford and Cambridge): we've left the University.

9.strame, sittin', an': dialectical forms in Devonshire and Wales.

10. Theocritus [9i:'t)knt3s]: 270 B. C. Greek pastoral poet.

11. the river Cherwell ['tjawal]: a river in Oxfordshire.

12. maiden (chiefly liter.): a girl, a young unmarried woman.

13. He thought of Theocritus, and the river Cherwell, of the moon, and the maiden with dewy eyes: This is an enumeration, the members of

which belong to different spheres. This stylistic device is used by the writer to reveal the character's feelings and meditations.

ESSENTIAL VOCABULARY

Vocabulary Notes

1. trackn 1) a mark left by someone or smth. that has passed, as the tracks of an animal (a car); to leave tracks, to follow the

tracks of; tracks in the snow (in the sand); to be on the track of smb.to be in pursuit of smb., e. g. The police were on the track of the

thief, to cover up one's tracksto conceal one's movements, e. g. The man was sure he had covered up his tracks. 2) a path, a narrow

rough road, as a track through a forest (a field); a narrow, hardly visible track; the beaten trackthe usual way of doing things, e. g.

Andrew was not a person to follow the beaten track, to keep (lose) track ofto keep in (lose) touch with, e. g. You should keep track of

current events. 3) a set of rails on which trains or trams run, as a single (double) track.

2. outline n 1) lines showing shapes or boundary, as an outline map (of Africa, Europe, etc.); the outline (outlines) of a building

(trees, mountains), e. g. Lanny could hardly make out the outlines of the big house in the dark. 2) a general statement of the chief

points of smth., as an outline of a composition (a lecture, a book); in outlinedone roughly, told briefly, e. g. Bosinney showed Soames

the design of the house in outline. I can tell you the article in outline.

outline vt to give the main points of, as to outline a certain historical period (events, etc.); to be outlined against smth.to stand out against smth., e. g. She was outlined against the sky.

3. rough adj 1) (of surfaces) uneven, irregular, coarse, as rough paper, a rough road, rough hair; 2) moving or acting violently, not

calm, mild, or gentle, as a rough sea, a rough crossing, a rough day, a rough child, rough luck; 3) unskilled; incomplete, not perfect,

as a rough sketch, a rough translation; a rough diamondan uncut diamond; fig. a good-hearted but uncultured fellow; 4) (of conduct or

speech) rude; uncivil, as rough reply, rough words; a rough tonguerude angry speech; 5) (of sounds) harsh, discordant, as a rough