V. Think of short situations in which you can use these patterns

TEXT. SEEING PEOPLE OFF By Max Beerbohm[69]

On a cold grey morning of last week I duly turned up at Euston[70] to see off an old friend who was starting for America.

Overnight we had given a farewell dinner, in which sad­ness was well mingled with festivity.

And now, here we were, stiff and self-conscious on the platform; and framed in the window of the railway-carriage, was the face of our friend; but it was as the face of a strang­er — a stranger anxious to please, an appealing stranger, an awkward stranger.

"Have you got everything?" asked one of us, breaking the silence.

"Yes, everything," said our friend, with a pleasant nod.

There was a long pause.

One of us, with a nod and a forced smile at the traveller, said:

"Well"

The nod, the smile, and the unmeaning monosyllable were returned conscientiously.

Another pause was broken by oneof us with a fit of coughing. It was an obviously assumed fit, but it served to pass the time. There was no sign of the train's departure.

A middle-aged man was talking earnestly to a young lady at the next window but one to ours. His fine profile was vaguely familiar to me. The young lady was evidently Amer­ican, and he was evidently English; otherwise I should have guessed from his impressive air that he was her father.

In a flash I remembered. The man was Hubert Le Ros. But how he changed since last I saw him! That was seven or eight years ago, in the Strand. He was then (as usual) out of engagement, and borrowed half-a-crown. It seemed a privilege to lend anything to him. He was always magnetic. And why his magnetism had never made him successful on the London stage was always a mystery to me. He was an excel­lent actor.

It was strange to see him, after all these years here on the platform of Euston, looking so prosperous and solid. It was not only the flesh he had put on, but also the clothes, that made him hard to recognize. He looked like a banker. Any­one would have been proud to be seen off by him.

"Stand back, please!"

The train was about to start and I waved farewell to my friend. Le Ros did not stand back. He stood clasping in both hands the hands of the young American.

"Stand back, sir. please!"

He obeyed, but quickly darted forward again to whisper some final word. I think there were tears in her eyes. There certainly were tears in his when, at length, having watched the train out of sight, he turned round.

He seemed, nevertheless, delighted to see me. He asked me where I had been hiding all these years: and simulta­neously repaid me the half-crown as though it had been bor­rowed yesterday. He linked his arm in mine, and walked me slowly along the platform, saying with what pleasure he read my dramatic criticism every Saturday. I told him, in return, how much he was missed on the stage.

"Ah, yes," he said, "I never act on the stage nowadays."

He laid some emphasis on the word "stage," and I asked him where, then, he did act.

"On the platform," he answered.

"You mean," said I, "that you recite at concerts?"

He smiled.

"This," he whispered, striking his stick on the ground, "is the platform I mean."

"I suppose," he said presently, giving me a light for the cigar which he had offered me, "you have been seeing a friend off?"

He asked me what I supposed he had been doing. I said that I had watched him doing the same thing.

"No," he said gravely. "That lady was not a friend of mine. I met her for the first time this morning, less than half an hour ago, here," and again he struck the platform with his stick.

I confessed that I was bewildered. He smiled.

"You may," he said, "have heard of the Anglo-American Social Bureau."

I had not. He explained to me that of the thousands of Americans who pass through England there are many hun­dreds who have no English friends. In the old days they used to bring letters of introduction. But the English are so inhospitable that these letters are hardly worth the paper they are written on.

"Americans are a sociable people, and most of them have plenty of money to spend. The AA.S.B. supplies them with English friends. Fifty per cent of the fees is paid over to the friend. The other fifty is retained by the AA.S.B. I am not, alas, a director. If I were, I should be a very rich man indeed. I am only an employee. But even so I do very well. I am one of the seers-off."

I asked for enlightenment.

"Many Americans," he said, "cannot afford to keep friends in England. But they can all afford to be seen off. The fee isonly five pounds (twenty-five dollars) for a single traveller; and eight pounds (forty dollars) for a party of two or more. They send that in to the Bureau, giving the date of their departure, and a description by which the seer-off can identify them on the platform. And then — well, then they are seen off."

"But is it worth it?" I exclaimed,

"Of course it is worth it," said Le Ros. "It prevents them from feeling out of it. It earns themthe respect of the guard. It saves them from being despised bуtheir fellow-passengers — the people who are going to be on the boat. Besides, it is a great pleasure in itself. You saw me seeing that young lady off. Didn't you think I did itbeautifully?"

"Beautifully," 1 admitted. "I envied you. There was I —"

"Yes, I can imagine. There were you, shuffling from foot to foot, staring blankly at your friend, trying to make con­versation, I know. That's how I used to be myself, before I studied, and went into the thing professionally, I don't say I am perfect yet. A railway-station is the most difficult of all places to act in, as you discovered for yourself."

"But," I said, "I wasn't trying to act. I really felt."

"So did I, my boy," said Le Ros. "You can't act without feeling. Didn't you see those tears in my eyes when the train started? I hadn't forced them. I tell you I was moved. So were you, I dare say. But you couldn't have pumped up a tear to prove it. You can't express your feeling. In other words, you can't act. At any rate," he added kindly, "not in a railway-station."

"Teach me!" I cried.

He looked thoughtfully at me,

"Weil," he said at length, "the seeing-off season is practi­cally over. Yes, I'll give you a course, I have a good many pupils on hand already; but yes," he said, consulting an or­nate note-book, "I could give you an hour on Tuesdays and Fridays,"

His terms, I confess, are rather high. But 1 do not grudge the investment.

VOCABULARY NOTES

1. serveυt/i 1.служить, е.g. No man can serve two mas­ters. He serves as gardener (no article!). He served three years in the army (navy). These shoes have served me two years. A wooden box served as a table,

2. подавать на стол, е.g. The waiter served the soup, Dinner is served,

3. обслуживать, е.g. There was no one in the shop to serve me.

to serve smb. right,е.g. It serves you right for having disobeyed me.

servicen 1.служба, е.g. Не was in active service during the war. He has been in the Diplomatic Service for three years.

2. обслуживание, е.g. The meals at this restaurant are good but the service is poor. The train service is good here.

3. услуга, одолжение, е.g. She nolonger needs the ser­vices of a doctor. My room is at your service.

servantn слуга, прислуга

2. familiaradj 1. знакомый, привычный, as a familiar voice (face, name, scene, handwriting, song, melody, tune, scent, smell, etc.)

to be familiar to smb., to be familiar with smth.,е.g. You should be familiar with the facts before you start investiga­tion. He is familiar with many languages. Her face seems fa­miliar to me.

2. близкий, интимный, е.g. Are you on familiar terms with him? Don't be too familiar with him, he's rather a dis­honest man.

3. фамильярный, е.g. Don't you think he is a bit too fa­miliar with her?

familiarity n близкое знакомство, фамильярность

3. impress υt запечатлевать в уме, производить впечат­ление; to impress smb.,е.g. This book did not impress me at all. I was greatly (deeply) impressed by his acting. What impressed you most in the play?

impressionn впечатление; to make (produce) an impres­sionon smb., to leave an impression on smb.,e, g. His speech made a strong impression on the audience. Punish­ment seemed to make little impression on the child. Tell us about your impressions of England. The group left a good (poor, favourable) impression on the examiner.

impressiveadj производящий (глубокое) впечатление, as an impressive ceremony (sight, scene, person, gesture, etc.), е.g. The scene was quite impressive.

4. obeyυt/i повиноваться, подчиняться, слушаться, е.g. Sol­diers must obey orders. Children must obey grown-ups. But слушаться совета — to follow one's advice

Ant. to disobey

obedience n послушание, повиновение, покорность, е.g. Parents demand obedience from their children.

Ant. disobedience

obedient adj послушный, покорный, е.g. Не is an obedi­ent boy. The children have been obedient today.

Ant. disobedient, naughty [of a child)

5. light n свет, освещение, as sunlight, daylight, moon­light, gas light, electric light, е.g. The sun gives light to the earth. I got up before light. The light began to fail. Lights were burning in every room. Bring a light quickly! We saw the lights of the city. Look at the matter in the right light.

Ant darkness

by the light of smth.при свете чего-л.

to stand in smb.'s lightзагораживать кому-л. свет; (fig) мешать кому-л., стоять у кого-л. на дороге

to throw (shed) light on smth.проливать свет на что-л. е.g. These facts shed (a) new light on the matter.

to put (switch, turn) on (off) the lightзажигать (гасить) свет

to give smb. a lightдать прикурить, e. д. Give me a light, please.

to come to lightобнаруживаться, выявляться, е.g. New evidence has recently come to light.

Light at the end of the tunnelсвет в конце туннеля, е.g. As the exams approached, she felt that at last she could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

lightadj светлый, as a light room, a light day; light hair, a light complexion; light brown (blue, green, grey, etc.)

to get lightсветать, е.g. It gets light very early these summer mornings.

light (lit or lighted) υt/i 1. зажигать(ся), as to light a lamp (a candle, a fire), е.g. He lit a lamp. Please light the stove.

to light a cigaretteзакурить

Ant. turn off(the gas), blow out(a candle), put out(a fire)

2. освещать (up), е.g. The streets were brightly lit up. The room was lighted by six windows. Our houses are light­ed by electricity. The burning building lit up the whole dis­trict. The rising sun lit up the mountain tops.

sunlit, starlit (night, sky), moonlitadj

6. prevent υt предотвращать, предупреждать, мешать; to prevent smb. from (doing) smth., to prevent smth.,е.g. Rain prevented the game. I'll meet you at six if nothing prevents. Illness prevented him from doing the work. How-can you prevent it from happening? Something prevented him from coming (prevented his coming).

preventionn предотвращение; Proverb: Prevention is bet­ter than cure.

7. earn υt 1. зарабатывать, е.g. He earns a good wage because he works for a fair employer.

to earn one's livingзарабатывать себе на жизнь, е.g. She earned her living by sewing.

2. заслуживать, е.g. His first book earned him the fame of a novelist. The teacher told her pupils that they had earned a holiday. Her good work earned her the respect of her colleagues.

earnings n pl заработок, е.g. He has spent all his earn­ings.

8. do (did, done)υt/i 1. делать, выполнять, заниматься чём-n., as to do one's work, duty, shopping, morning exer­cises

е.g. You did well (wrong) to refuse. Having nothing bet­ter to do I went for a walk. There's nothing to be done now. No sooner said than done. Well begun is half done.

to do a sum решать арифметическую задачу

to do one's bestделать все возможное, е.g. I must do my best to help him,

2. причинять: to do good, to do harm, е.g. This medi­cine won't do you any good. His holiday has done him a world (a lot, a great deal) of good. It will do you more harm than good.

3. приводить в порядок, as to do one's hair (room, bed, etc.), е.g. I like the way she does her hair. Will you do the beds while I do the window?

4. осматривать достопримечательности, е.g. Did you do the British Museum when you were in London? We often see foreigners in Moscow doing the sights.

5. подходить, годиться: that will (won't) do, е.g. It won't do to play all day. The room will do us quite well. It won't do to sit up so late. This sort of work won't do for him. Will this sheet of paper do?

6. процветать, преуспевать, е.g. Le Ros did well in the Bureau. Everything in the garden is doing splendidly. She is doing very well at school.

to do away with smth.,е.g. Smoking should be done away with.

to have to do with smb. (smth.),е.g. He has to do with all sorts of people. We have to do with facts, not theories.

to have smth. (nothing, not much, little, etc.) to do with smb. (smth.),е.g. I advise you to have nothing to do with him. What have I to do with it?

NOTES ON STYLE

1. There are two main characters in this story: Le Ros and the narratоr, i. e. the person telling the story (also called "the I of the story"). The narrator is an assumed personality and should by no means be confused with the author of the story. It would be as naive to associate the narrator of this story with Max Beerbohm as to associate the boy on whose behalf "How We Kept Mother's Day" is told with Stephen Leacock. The character of the narrator is frequently intro­duced in fiction. It is a stylistic device, especially favoured by short-story authors (see "A Day's Wait" by Hemingway or "A Friend in Need" by W. S. Maugham), which helps the reader to look at the described events as if "from within".

2. Inversion (change of the usual order of words) may be used for stylistic purposes either to focus the read­er's attention on a certain part of the sentence or to achieve an emotional effect, е.g. ... and framed in the window of the railway-carriage, was the face of our friend...

3. Repetition is another stylistic device used for the purposes of emphasis. It may consist in repeating only one word, so that with each repetition the emotional tension increases, e.g. ... but it was as the face of a stranger — a stranger anxious to please, an appealing stranger, an awk­ward stranger.

The repetition of the same syntactical pattern twice or several times is called syntactical parallelism, е.g. It prevents them from feeling out of it. It earns them the respect of the guard. It saves them from being despised by their fellow-passengers.