Памела Треверс - Английский язык с Мэри Поппинс

What I should have said was what I knew in my heart, which was (что мне следовало сказать было то, что я знаю в своем сердце, а именно), “Yes, I have met someone very like Mary Poppins (да, я встречал кое-кого, очень похожую на Мэри Поппинс) — and she is you (и она — это вы)…”

severe [sI'vIq] brusque [brAsk] summoned ['sAmqnt]

I received a similar reaction — the severe look and the sniff! — when I once wondered aloud whether Mary Poppins was based on a real person. After all, the character is very real to a great many people. Pamela herself had once told me how a harassed mother of three had written to ask for Mary Poppins’s address, adding: “Because if she has really left the Banks family, couldn’t she come to me?” In reply to my question, however, all Pamela would say was, “Well? Have you ever met anyone like Mary Poppins?” Taken aback by her brusque tone, I was silent for a moment, then summoned up my courage and said that I hadn’t but that I rather wished I had.

What I should have said was what I knew in my heart, which was, “Yes, I have met someone very like Mary Poppins — and she is you…”

BRIAN SIBLEY (Брайан Сибли)