Stanley Barstow A Kind of Loving Adapted by Sue Gee Tloco6ne ana o6y4eHva YTeHHMIO Ha AHMMHCKOM A3bIKe. Kues 1995Stan(ley) Barstow (1928-) ‘ Stan Barstow: was born in Yorkshire. He was the son of a miner. Stan was edu- cated at Ossett grammar school. He grew up in a working-class environment and worked in the engineering industry until 1962. Barstow was among a group of young British writers (including Alan Sillitoc, John Braine, and others) who achieved immediate success in the 1950s and °60s with their unsentimental depiction of working-class life. Barstow has produced many novels about Yorkshire life, but remains best known for his first book, “A Kind of Loving” (1960), which was filmed in 1962 and staged in 1970. Barstow’s novel follows the fortunes of office-worker Vic Brown, who is forced to marry his pregnant girlfriend. It’s the first- person, present-tense narration of Vic. Barstow’s later novels include “The Watchers on the Shore” (1966), “A Rag- ing Calm” (1968), “A Season with Eros” (1971), “The Right True End” (1976), “A Brother’s Tale” (1980), and “Just you Wait and See” (1986). He also wrote short stories and adapted several stories and novels for radio and television.1. A Christmas wedding My name is Victor Brown. My friends call me Vic. | am twenty years old, and I live in a town in Yorkshire called Cressley. My story really begins one Boxing Day'. My sister Chris and her boyfriend David are getting married today. And this is the day ] de- cide to do something about a girl called Ingrid Rothwell. All I have done until now is look at her, and want her. I have been doing this for about a month before Christmas. J don’t know what starts it. Does anyone know what starts these things? Why is it that a girl can be one among dozens one day — and someone special the next day? Well, it is that way with me. Now | know I must do something about it. For the last six months the family has talked about nothing but the wedding. It is the first wedding in the family, and ] must admit it is quite something. To begin with, there are about 500 people staying the night before. The Old Man says he will have to sleep in a tent on the lawn. In the morning, it is just like getting ready for a play. I think I’ve never seen so many strange faces. And the funny thing is that they are mostly relatives of mine. Thave spent the night on the sofa. Now I’m hanging around, waiting to get into the bathroom. At last I get in there, but I forget to shut the door. [t flies open, and Dorothy and Angela, my cousins, catch me with no trousers on. That gives them a laugh. Perhaps if I fall downstairs and break a leg, that will give them a real laugh. Even the Old Man is in a panic. I’m going downstairs when he calls me from the bedroom. He is worried about his new blue suit. He wants to wear his brown shoes with it. | tell him it will look awful. I leave him standing in front of the mirror, looking worried. ‘Come on, Victor, come on,’ the Old Lady says to me. She’s standing at the bottom of the stairs. She looks like a battle- 1. Boxing Day -’ eH nogapKos’ (sropoit aeHb poxknectBa) ~neHb nogapyHKis’ (apyrHit neHb pi3aBa ) 2. It is that way with me - co MHOii HMeHHO Tak HK NPOHCXOAUT -came Tak 3i MHOW i TpamiaerBcaship, big and solid. “You know we have no time to spare'’, she says. Of course _I know — I’ve planned the times for the taxis to pick us all up. [look at myselfin the mirror. "You'll do,’ the Old Lady says. ‘It’s not you that's getting married.’ I wonder if she wants to marry me off next. ‘Well, I'm ready,’ I say. ‘Where’s our Jim?’ Jim is my young brother. He’s fifteen years old, and very clever. “He’s in the front room. He’s been ready for a good half-hour’, the Old Lady says. I go into the front room. What a mess" The radio is on at full blast, and everybody’s trying to get a look in at the mirror. Over in one comer there is young Jim. He’s curled up with his nose in a book. Just as usual. I touch his knee. ‘Come on, lad.’ ‘We go outside. And there is this big Rolls, with white ribbons and white seat covers. ‘Just like a wedding, isn’t it?” says Jim. I have to laugh. We get inside and I tell the driver where to go. We have to pick up Auntie Miriam first. The taxi turns round in the street and moves off. The wedding is under way. 2. Going to the church It has snowed twice in the two weeks before Christmas, and the snow is still on the ground, like dirty mountains by the road. There’s a sky like a thick grey blanket, with the sun trying to get through. The brass band is playing carols outside the pub. The taxi goes through the town. Young Jim sits reading in the comer, and I begin to think about things. I think about the wedding and all that. I know the Old Lady used to worry that Chris would be left on the shelf’. She is twenty-seven now, but I knew all along that she would get married. 1. We have no time to spare - y Hac HeT CBOOODHOrO BPEMCHH = y Hac HeMae BiNBHOFO Yacy 2. What a mess! -4U70 3a Gecnopagox! -AKuii posrapaiaus! 3. would be left on the shelf - He puifiaer samyx He Buiine 3aMDKI mean, even though she is my own sister, she’s one of the grandest girls a bloke could hope to meet. And David, whom she is going to marry, isa good bloke. He is the senior English master at the school where Chris teaches. The Old Lady didn’t really like him at first. She thinks that the duller and plainer a bloke is, the better he is. And David is good- looking, and he’s clever. But when the Old Lady found out that he’d been a prisoner in Africa, and that his parents had died in the war, she couldn’t do enough for him. That’s the Old Lady all over. She is hard as nails on top, and soft as a brush undemeath'. Anyway, we pick up Auntie Miriam and Uncle Horace and drop them off at the church. I drop Jim off with them. I look at his book in the taxi. It’s a long history book. There are times when I wonder about Jim. He’s got so many brains. How do | have a brother like him, or a sister like Chris? Looking at it that way, | am the odd man out’, We make all the trips and pick everyone up and take them to the church. It is time for the last trip, to pick up Chris and the Old Man. Something has to go wrong. It does. The taxi swings round the cor- ner, and there’s a broken milk bottle lying in the road. There’s a crack like a gun going off, and one of the front tyres bursts. The driver is so slow at changing the wheel that I have to do it for him. We get home at last, and the Old Man is looking pretty worried. But out comes Chris, and she looks a real picture. ‘You’ll knock them sideways”, J tell her. ‘You'll knock them for six.’ Well, once they begin, it doesn’t seem to matter that Chris is late. The organ booms out the wedding march. All the guests stand up and Chris and the Old Man walk down the church. The organ stops and there's dead quiet for a minute. Then the vicar begins the service. I’m happy for them, I really am. David’s a good bloke, and he’s 1. hard as nails on top, and soft as a brush underneath - -cypopaa sHelINe M Markan Bayle -cysopa 3opHi i M’axa B ayuli 2. odd man out -rpeTwit amumauit ~rperifi saitanit 3. You'll knock them sideways (=for six) -erex2 Tht ourenomMuts HX -caeHe TH Npuronomuinur ix. 145-291 7getting a real gem in Chris. I know I'll be lucky if I find a girl as nice as Chris to marry. ay ; I’m always kind of half-looking for this girl I m going to marry. She’ll be everything you could want in a girl: talking, laughing, shar- ing, making love and everything. My mates all think I’m after girls for just one thing. If] told them all my thoughts they would say I was soft in the head’. _ And now I begin thinking about Ingrid. I’m always thinking about her these days. I wonder what she thinks of me. I wonder if P'll see her tonight, and what I’ll say to her if I do. Because I’m going to say something, even if it kills me. 1-2 I. Find the answers in the text. 1. How old is Vic? . Where does he live? When does his story really begin? . What does he decide this day? - What has the family talked about for the last six months? Why is the Old Man in a panic? - Who is Jim? How old is he? - What does Vic think of Chris and David? . What happens on their way home? 10. What girl does Vic want to marry? PRON AWAWN Il. Find evidence in the text that: 1. The Old Lady used to worry about Chris. 2. David is a good bloke. 3. The Old Lady is hard as nails on top, and soft as a brash underneath. 4. Vic is the odd man out. 5. Something goes wrong. 6. Vic is happy for Chris and David. 7. Vic is looking for the girl he’s going to marry.IM. Choose the correct beginning to complete these sentences 1. To begin with - a) [am the odd man out. 2. And the funny 4 b) it doesn’t seem the matter thing is that Chris is late. 3. At last ; ©) there are about 500 people | staying the night before. 4. For the last six months . :d) that they are mostly relatives of mine. 5. I wonder e) I get in there, but I forget to shut the door. 6. Looking at it that way f) the family has talked about nothing but the wedding. 7. It is time g) if I'll see her tonight 8. Well, once they begin h) for the last trip, to pick up Chris and the Old Man. IV. Complete these sentences inserting: about, at, down, for, in, off, on, out, round, through, under, up. 1. I wonder if she wants to marry me ~ next, 2. He's curled with his nose ......... a book. 3. The radio is sso Full blast, and everybody’s trying to get a look ...'the mirror. 4. The taxi turns in the street and moves.......... - 5. The wedding is way. 6. The taxi goes ... the town. 7. We pick ......... Auntie-Miriam and Uncle ‘Horace and drop them ......... at the church. 8. There times when I wonder 9. There’s a crack like a gun going front tyres bursts. . Jim. » and one of the 10. The organ booms ........, the wedding march. 11, All the guests stand ......... and Chris and the Old Man walk ......... the church. 12. I'm always kind of half-looking ... I'm going to marry. . this girl V. Sum up 1. Tell about Vic’s family. 2. Characterize Vic, his parents, his sister Chris and brother Jim, his brother-in-law David. 3. Describe the atmosphere in the house that day. 4. Comment on Vic's feelings and thoughts.3. After the wedding When the wedding service is over, we all go to the biggest hotel in Cressley. The Old Man’s speech is a knock-out. He gets up and coughs and mumbles a bit, and then he gets going. He tells all the family how daft we are to fall out about nothing. He says that now is the time to start thinking about family life again. One or two of the women are in tears, and Chris gives him a hug until he’s red in the face. Then Chris and David get their train and we all go home. ; At home, Uncle George gets us all going with silly games. Later in the evening, most people leave, and there’s just us. Auntie Edna and Uncle William are staying the night. I get up. ‘Are you going to Bed, Victor?’ the Old Lady asks. ‘No, I’m going to a dance,’ I say. I go upstairs and the first thing I do is look in the mirrors. ’m always looking in mirrors these days. It’s not that I’m vain. I never used to look in mirrors all the time. But now it’s different. Because now I think about girls. I think about them a lot. I’m not bad-looking. I’d like to be a couple of inches taller. But I’ve got thick dark hair, and I do dress well, no doubt about it. So there Tam — Victor Brown, one of the lads. And not very sure of myself under the cocky talk and dirty jokes. L. soft in the head - c npuaypsio -npraypKysaTHitTake me or leave me. What does it matter what I look like, anyway? Lots of girls go out with awful-looking blokes.So what the hell"! I look as good as the next bloke. Why shouldn’t Ingrid think the same way? I get a tie from young Jim. He asks me if I’m going out with Brigitte Bardot. For a second I wonder if he has found out. Then I think he can’t have — nobody knows but me. Even Ingrid doesn’t know yet. But she soon will. It’s cold outside, real clean winter weather. On the bus I look at a book of pin-ups. My mate Willy lent it to me. Your guts melt when you look at some of those girls in there. But the funny thing is, I don’t think about Ingrid in this way at all. She’s really pretty. Only the way I think about her is sort of clean and pure and soft. I think just to touch her cheek would be better than anything. I miss the bus stop because I’m thinking about her so much. I get off and walk back towards the dance hall. On the way I stop in the pub. My mate Will; is in there, and a lad called Harry. We have a drink and talk about girls. But 1 can’t wait to get to the dance and see Ingrid. When I get inside the dance hall the smell of sweat almost knocks me out. The place is really full. But there’s no sign of Ingrid. I think if I move about a bit I might spot her. So I have a dance with another girl. She looks okay, but close up she really smells. And I can’t stand’ a giri who smells. So I hang around, while the lights go down. The band plays a slow dance. | wish Ingrid was there. But she isn’t. And she’s not likely to come? now. | feel really let down. Willy and Harry come in, but I don’t want to talk to them. I leave the dance hall. I have to walk home, because by now the buses have stopped. ~ 1. what the hell! -4epr posbmu! -saKoro Gica! 2. I can’tstand -9 He BBIHOWY -9 He Tepnmo 3. she’s not likely to come - ona, BeposTHo, He npugeT -HaBpag 4H BONA npHiine.4. Back to work When the holidays are over, I go back to the old routine. Back to the same bus stop, and the same old crowd on top of the bus. They are all saying that Christmas isn’t the same as it was. But I’m all right this moming. | can shut myself off, by thinking about Ingrid. I’m going to get talking to her today. 1 don’t know just how, but I am. I have no idea of my chances, that’s the trouble. I don’t know if ’m someone special to her, or just another bloke in the firm where we both work. I’m waiting for the next bus, when I see her in the queue. For a second all the other people in the queue seem to vanish. I’m out there on my own!, thinking about her. Ah, but Ingrid is a pretty bird! Always so neat and clean. She looks as if she has a bath every morning. Her hair is always soft and clean and shining in the light. She has a trim little figure; and I reckon her legs are the best thing about her. They are a lovely shape and she wears high heels that set them off a treat. Suddenly she turns her head and looks straight at me. I lift my paper up quick. Then the bus comes. We all get on, and I’m sitting just behind her, The conductor starts giving the tickets, and I feel for some cash?. There’s nothing there. Not a penny. I’ve left my money at home. Can I borrow the fare from Ingrid? I can of ask her for money. I hardly know her. But isn’t this the best chance of getting to know her? Before I know what I’m doing, I lean forward. I touch her shoulder and catch the scent of her hair. She turns her head and looks straight into my face. My knees are weak and | can’t think what to say. Then I say, ‘Look, I’m ina bit of a spot. I’ve left my money at home.’ She looks at me and her neck goes a bit pink. “You get both fares,’ I say. 1 lean back and watch her going pinker and pinker. 1, 'm out there on my own -Sl tam oanH -A Tam oanH 2. I feel for some cash -A Muy HeHbrv B KapMaHe - A wyxkaso rpowi B KHWweHi 3. in a bit of a spot - 8 3aTpyAHHTeAbHOM NOAOKEHKH - B CKpyTHOMY cTaHOBHULi 10IT love her madder than ever. I go all weak inside with it. ‘We get off at our stop. ‘Thanks for saving my life,’ I say. “Oh, that’s all right,’ she says. We start off up the lane to the office building. *You can pay my fare some time,” she says. ‘T'll be glad to,” I say. Just give me the chance! And that’s just the beginning. She can have every penny [ have. She need only say the word. We’re both quiet now. | think: This is it, this is what I’ve been waiting for. What can J say? | want to say, ‘Dear Ingrid, I’m mad about you'. How do you feel about me? Will you come to the pictures tonight?’ ‘Not a bad morning, is it?’ I say. And we talk about the weather, and about Chris’s wedding. Her eyes light up at that. We reach the office, and Ingrid says she must go. ‘I’d love to see the wedding photos,’ she says. Well, that will give me another chance to talk to her. We go inside, and off she goes. Jimmy, my mate at the office, comes up. “Back to it, then? he says. ‘Aye, back to it,’ I say. We go up the steps together. [3-4] I. Find the answers in the text, 5 1. What do they all do, when the wedding service is over? 2. Where is Vic going in the evening? 3. What does he think of himself? 4, What does he think about Ingrid? 5. Why does he feel let down? 6. What does Vic do, when the holidays are over? 7. What is he going to do today? 8. Whom does he see in the queue? 9. What happens in the bus? 10. How does Vic feel about Ingrid? Il. Find evidence in the text that: 1. The Old Man’s speech is a knock-out. 2. Vic thinks about girls a lot. 3. Ingrid is a pretty bird. 4. Vic has a chance to get talking to Ingrid.III. Put the events in correct order. 1. When the holidays are over Vic goes back to the old routine. 2. Uncle George gets them going with silly games. 3. Ingrid is not likely to come. 4. Chris and David get their train. 5. Vie is going to a dance. 6. The wedding service is over. 7. Vic thanks Ingrid for saving his life. 8. Vic borrows the fare from Ingrid. TV. Complete these sentences inserting: around, back, down, for, forward, off, on, out, up. 1. He tells all the family how daft we are to fall ......... about nothing. 2. Lots of girls go ......... with awful-looking blokes. 3. For a second I wonder if he has found : 4. 1 get ....... and walk ......... towards the 5. When I get inside the dance hall the smell of sweat almost knocks me ......... : 6. So I hang while the lights go ......... : 7.1 feel really le = 8. I can shut mysel! , by thinking about Ingrid. 9. ’'m waiting . next bus, when I see her in the queue. 10. We all get .. , and I’m sitting just behind her. 11. The conductor starts giving the tickets, and I feel ......... some cash. 12. I can’t ask her ......... money. 13. I Jean ......... 4 14. Her eyes light ... . at that. V. Sum up 1. Describe the end of the wedding. 2. Dwell on Vic’s feelings and thoughts.5. Making a date The firm where we work is called Whittaker’s. It is the biggest engineering works in Cressley. I work with about thirty others in the drawing office. I’m a draughstman. I draw designs for machinery. The building is old and solid. The room where we work is like a greenhouse in summer and a fridge in winter. The big boss is called Mr Althorpe, and he sends us all the work. But my boss, the head of our section, is called Hassop. He’s a funny man with a bad tem- per. None of us likes him much. Jimmy is my real mate at work. There’s a bloke called Rawly, whom I can’t stand. He’s a real snob, and a show-off. He’s always 1. I’m mad about you -a or Te6a 6e3 yma -2 B 3axonneHHi Bin Tebe attrying to seem clever, going to see French films and that. A real pain!, Then there’s Conroy, and his mate Lewis. Conroy is a loud- mouthed, tough guy. Lewis hangs round him. I’m not sorry to be back. | quite like the office, and I quite like the work. I don’t like the place as much as when we started. That was when I left school. But it’s all right. And anyway, I’ve got something else to think about at work now.I’ve got Ingrid. I don’t see her again until lunch. We’re in the canteen, and there are three tables between us. She’s sitting facing me, but not looking at me. I can’t keep my eyes off her”. She throws back her head when she laughs. She has rather a loud laugh. There is a scar on her neck. I want to run my hand over? her neck. I want to put my fingers on the scar. I can’t bear to think of the knife cutting into her. When she gets up to go, she passes really close to me. But she doesn’t look at me. I feel awful. And there’s another thing. It’s getting hard to think about what I’m doing in my work. I’m _ sure that Hassop has got his eye on me. I know I’m being careless with the drawings. And that worries me. Sure enough, Hassop comes up to me just before the end of the day. He tells me I’ve got to stay late. I’ve got to finish a drawing, because it is needed for the moming. So I stay on late. Everyone goes home, and most of the lights go out. At five to six I finish the drawing. | take it up to Hassop, and then walk through the building. It is pretty dark. I can hear the cleaners at work. And then I hear these high heels tapping behind me. I know at once who it is. I turn round, and Ingrid smiles at me. She looks glad to see me. ‘I’m going your way‘, she says. I hold the door open for her. She smells great. We walk off down the lane. Ingrid starts moaning about her boss. And tonight | don’t have to think about what to say to her. She talks all the time. She tells me 1. Areal pain -Hactoauiee Haka3aHve -CnpasxkHa kapa 2.1 can’t keep my eyes off her. -5 He Mory orsectu oT Hee s3rnag -A ne Moxy BigsecTH Bil Hei nornaD 3. to run my hand over - nposectu pyKoi no 4emy-2K60 - MponecTH pyKo1o no yoMycE 4. I'm going your way -Mue c samu no nyrn -Meni 3 Bam no poposi 12all the gossip about Whittaker’s. She’s as full of scandat as the Sun- day papers. We get to the bus stop. When the bus comes I get both fares into town. ‘That makes us even', she says, and she smiles. On the bus she goes on talking like mad. I think: Now is my chance. There’s a silence for a minute. Then we both start talking together. And stop. - Then she says, ‘Have you seen that new musical at the Palace? Is it any good?’ I haven’t a clue? what it’s like. But I say, ‘I think it’s quite good.’ And then I think: Now, now, now — what am I waiting for? At last I say, ‘Would you like to ... shall we see it together?’ She says, ‘Oh!’ as if she has never thought of it. What will I do if she turns me down? Then she says, ‘Well, when?’ I can hardly sit still in the seat. I want to jump up and shout. “What about tomorrow? Or any night?’ I say. ‘Tomorrow is New Year's Eve,” she says. ‘I’m going to a party. Can you make it on Wednesday?’ ‘All right,’ I say. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sun- day. I can make it any night, or all of them. I just want it to be soon. By the time the bus gets to our stop, it’s all fixed up. We fix what time we will meet, and where, and everything. Only this morning [ thought I didn’t have a chance. But that’s how things work out sometimes. Wednesday... I just don’t know how [’ll live until then. 6. Will she turn up? But of course | do live. Here I am, waiting on the corner. It’s twenty-five to eight. She’s late, but only five minutes. I got here ten Minutes early, so it seems longer. 1. That makes us even -2d. Tenepp mb B pacueTe -mym Tenep MM po3paxypannca 2.1 haven't a clue - He ume npencrasnenua -A He Mato ynsneHHa 13The cars go by and I wish I had one. Girls really go for blokes with cars. I suppose I could buy one if I saved up for fifteen years and stopped smoking. A car drives past real close. And the next thing | know, there’s water all over my shoes and trousers. Still, J think I look all right. [ shaved at the last minute, - and put on some after-shave, so I'l) smell good. I reckon I couldn’t do more for Diana Dots. Quarter to eight. She isn’t coming. That’s the trouble with girls. You never know where you are with them. And I like to know where I stand, like Chris and David do. Ten to eight. You feel a bit daft standing on a comer, with everyone passing by. They must know you’re waiting for a bird who’s Jate. I reckon I'll give her until eight. Then I’ll just have to forget it all. Oh, it’s sickening the way you get all built up, and knocked down again. ‘Hello.’ I jump and turn round, and catch the fresh clean smell of her. Her eyes are sparkling in the street lamps. There’s rain in her hair. She’s breathing a bit fast, and her lips are parted. ‘I’m sorry I’m so late,’ she says. ‘] ran all the way...1 thought you would give up, and go.’ ‘No,’ I say. It’s all I can say, I’m so busy looking at her. Oh, but she’s smashing, and she has run all the way to meet me. She just said so. ‘I knew you would come,’ | say at last. And when I say it, it’s just as if I really did know all the time. ‘You’re not the sort of girl to stand a bloke up.’ ‘Why should I do that?’ she says. ‘If 1 didn’t want to come, I would have said no in the first place.’ Inod, eating her up with my eyes again. I can’t believe it. I really can’t. How can something this good happen to me? We go into the cinema. There are couples snogging away among the empty seats. Ingrid goes up past a lot of empty seats and leads the way to the very back row. I’m surprised. We sit down in a double seat with no arm rest between us. I think this is a bit of all right. 1 feel for my cigs. ‘Smoke?’ I ask her. ‘Here,’ she says, ‘let’s eat this first.’ And she pulls a bar of choco- late out of her handbag. We munch away and watch the film. It’s a 14load of old rubbish. Not that I care. What I’m interested in is right here beside me, not on the screen. Ingrid is so close, I’m dizzy with it. Shall | put my arm round her? Is it too soon? It depends what you are after, I always think. There’s no doubt what the bloke in the next row is after. And from the way his girl is holding him down, it looks like he’ll get it. But that’s not the way I feel about Ingrid. I only want her to like me, and let me be good to her. I want to be kind and gentle to her so bad it makes me weak inside. And now, with her here, so close, in the dark... When the lights go up in the interval I put my hand on the back of the seat. The lights go down, and I put my arm round her. She comes real close and her hair is in my face, and she smells Jovely. The next thing we know, we're kissing for the very first time. And it’s marvellous. When we come out of the pictures there’s quite a cold wind. I walk her home, but we don’t touch each other at all. We don’t say much. I ask her if she’d like to come out at the weekend. She says she would. That’s okay, then. I walk her to her front door. The house is a smart little semi, and it. must be worth quite a lot. It’s much more posh than our house. I wonder what job her dad does. My Old Man works down the pit. wonder about kissing her again. I wonder if she wants me to. It just isn’t the same, though, out here in the cold. She opens the front gate. “Well, I'd better go in,’ she says. ‘Thanks for asking me out.’ Now — now is the time to kiss her. Her face is turned up to mine. She's waiting, wondering why I don’t do it. ‘See you tomorrow,’ she says, and she goes through the gate «ind shuts it. Too late now. I watch her up to the front door. She tums and waves, and I wave back. ‘Happy New Year,’ I call to her. She laughs. ‘Thanks. Same to you," I walk off. What will we be doing ina year’s time, I wonder? Will we still be seeing each other?I. Find the answers in the text. 1, Where does Vic work? 2. What is he? 3. Where does he sce Ingrid again? 4. Why is Vic careless with the drawings? 5. Why does he stay on late at work? 6. Whom does Vic meet when he walks through the building? 7. What does Ingrid talk about? 8. Do they make a date? 9. Does Ingrid come in time? 10. Where do they go? 11. What kind of film is it? 12. Where do they go after it? II. Find evidence in the text that: 1. Vic is not sorry to be back to work. 2. Ingrid is as full of scandal as the Sunday papers. 3. It’s all fixed up. 4. Vic feels a bit daft waiting for Ingrid. 5. Ingrid is sorry to be late. 6. Vic is not interested in the film. 7. He is not sure of himself. TIL. Complete these sentences choosing the word from the brackets according to the text: 1. It is the biggest engineering .... 2. The building is .. (plant, office, works). and solid (new, big, old). 3. My boss is a funny man, witha ......... temper (nice, bad, hot) 4, .. us likes him much (all of, none of). 5. Ingrid starts . bout her boss (talking, moaning,thinking). 6. You feel a bit . Standing on a corner, with everyone passing by (daft, happy, miserable). 7. Oh, but she’s ........., and she has mun all the way to meet me (plain, smashing, horrible). 8. The house is a ......... little semi (smart, nice, gloomy). 9. Conroy is a loud-mouthed, guy (kind, funny, tough).TY. Complete these sentences inserting: away, back, down, for, in, on, off, out, round, up. 1, Lewis hangs .......... him. 2. I can’t keep my eyes .......... her. 3. She throws .. her head when she laughs. 4. So I stay late. Everyone goes home, and most of the lights go 5. On the bus she goes .. . talking like mad. 6. What will I do if she tums ME ssescass ? 7. By the time the bus gets to our stop, it’s all fixed .. 8. That’s how things work ......... sometimes. 9. Girls really go ......... blokes | with cars. 10. I could buy one if I saved .. . for fifteen years and stopped smoking. 11. Oh, it’s sickening the way you get all built 00. | and knocked .......... again. 12. I thought you would give .......... , and go. 13. You’re not the girl to stand a bloke ......... . 14. We munch an watch the film. 15. What I’m interested ........ is right here beside me, not on the screen. V. Sum up 1. Speak about Vic’s work, his boss and mates. 2. Comment on Vic’s worries and uncertainty.7. My Saturday job It’s Saturday morning, and I’m down snug as a bug! under the bedclothes. It seems as if I’m dreaming that someone is calling my name. I come out of sleep with a jerk, and hear the Old Lady at the bottom of the stairs. She’s bawling loud enough to wake the street. ‘Victor! Victor! How many more times?’ I open my eyes. ‘Righto, I’m up,’ I call. I look at the wallpaper two feet from my nose. It’s the Old Lady’s choice, a pattern of roses as big as cabbages. There are flowers on the window as well, frost flowers. When I put my hand out I can feel how cold it is in the room, Just for a few seconds, as I lie there, it feels like any other Satur- day morning. As usual, I’m going to help Mr. Van in his record shop. And then I remember what makes today special. I’m going to see Ingrid tonight. The happy feeling opens up inside me like a big yellow flower, all bright and sunny and warm. lreach out for my watch. It’s two minutes past eight, and I’m going to have to get a move on’. It’s really cold as I get out of bed. I cut myself shaving five times. I meet young Jim on the landing. ‘You'll have to get your knife and fork sharpened,’ he says when he sces my face. ‘Get lost?’, I tell him, as I go downstairs. I’m in a bad mood now. I don’t want to meet Ingrid with blobs of dried blood on my face. I eat my bacon and eggs while the Old Lady nags at me. It does her good. Then I’m off. By the time I get to the shop it’s nearly nine, and the shop is already open. T’ve been working for Mr Van for about a year now. I like meet- ing all the people who come into the shop on Saturdays. Seeing all the different faces makes a change from the same old faces at Whittaker’s. 1 sometimes think that this is the kind of job I’m cut out fort. 1, snug as a bug -yrorno -saTHiHo 2. to get 4 move On -noropannMearEca -nocniwaTH 3. get lost -crMHb -3rHHe 4. cut out for -coajaHHbiit ia -cTBopeHHA ana 16Mr Van is Dutch. He has had a lot of bad luck in his life. His father shot himself after the War because his business went wrong. A few years later, Mr Van’s wife died of cancer. So now he’s on his own!. He’s a good bloke. He dresses like a real old gent. He wears a black jacket and striped trousers, and a white handkerchief in his top pocket. He always has a fag in his mouth. He treats you like a person, and it’s a real pleasure to do things for him. This morning he asks me to look through the new records, which have just come in. So I begin to go through them. They’re all in boxes behind the counter. There is all the latest pop stuff here for the fans. Tommy Steele and Elvis. The fans will all be in here this afternoon, buying loads of the stuff. They'll take it home and play it over and over until everyone is sick to death of it?. Then they come back next week for more. Mr Van must be doing very nicely, thank you. He likes Beethoven himself. As for me, I like all kinds of things, stuff with a tune to it. Let’s face it’, a hell of a lot of mbbish passes over the counter. I think I’m quite a help to Mr Van. A while ago I sorted all the records into boxes, a box for each singer and composer. That way people can see all we’ve got — like in a bookshop. Every night, for a week, I went into the shop and stayed late. I sorted out all the records and made labels. For the first two nights, Mr Van stayed with me. But after that, he left me to lock up and take the key to his house. It made me feel good to have him trust me like that. Anyway, now I finish sorting out today’s new records. I take a look round the shop. It’s filling up already, and I can see it’s going to be busy. Oh, I can’t wait for tonight. 1. he’s on his own -on xHBeT OHH -BiH KHBE CaM 2. until everyone is sick to death of it -noxa oHa He Hagoecr BCeM -NOkM BOHa He HaGpHaHe BCiM 3. let's face it -HykHO npH3HaTe -Tpeba BH3HATH 178. Two’s company... ‘Hello’, says Ingrid. ‘I’ve brought my friend along. 1] hope you don’t mind". ‘Oh, no ...no,’ I say, like an idiot. But what else can I say? My heart has dropped down into my boots with a thud, because I know straight away that this is the end. This is one way of giving you the push. A girl says she will come on a date. But she brings a girlfriend along to keep you at arm’s length. If you don’t ask her out again, well, that’s okay. That was the idea in the first place. I look at Ingrid and her friend standing under the lamp, arm-in- arm. Ingrid is all neat and clean and fresh-smelling as usual. Her friend is a real plain Jane. She has a bad skin, a big nose and a mouth like a crack in a pie. I often wonder what makes girls pair off like this — one lovely, and one horrible. You see it all the time. It must turn a lot of lads against each other. If you are hunting in pairs, someone has to have the horror. It looks now as if I’ve got both of them. And I’ve got neither of them. Tonight is Sunday. Ingrid and I went out together last night. It wasn’t like the first time though. We went to a posh cinema with arms between the seats, and we could only hold hands. Well, that wasn’t bad, but once we were outside again we seemed to go back to square one again. Just like we had on Wednesday. So it was my idea to go for a walk tonight. I wanted to see what it would be like if we were outside all evening. And now this. This really does look like a brush-off. ‘This is Dorothy’ says Ingrid. ‘And this is Vic.’ So there we are, standing under the lamp. Three of us, one too many’. And that one is me. Dorothy gives me a funny look. “Do you know a girl called Mary Smith?’ she asks me. The way she asks it makes me think she knows something nasty about me. ‘Yes, I know her,’ I say. 1. you don’t mind -tpl He Bospaxacuip -1H He 3anepeyye 2. one too many -OnvH AMWHMK -OnMH 3aBuit 18"You don’t know me, though, do you?’ she says. ‘But I know you, and I know Mary Smith.’ ‘Give her my love next time you see her,’ [ say. | wonder what the hell Dorothy is getting at. Dorothy says, ‘You used to give her love yourself, once. Didn’t you?” ‘Me and Mary Smith?’ I say. ‘I don’t know what you're talking about.’ And I don’t. Mary and I used to live in the same street. I can remember dancing with her once. I can remember walking home with her once. That’s all. But from the way Dorothy is talk- ing she makes it sound as if I’d put Mary in the family way!. ‘Thardly knew Mary Smith,’ I say. Will Ingrid believe me? She is looking at Dorothy and then at me. I feel like slapping’ Dorothy across the face. 1 know just what type she is now. And it’s a type I don’t like one bit. ‘Well,’ says Ingrid. ‘Which way shall we go?” Suddenly, the walk doesn’t seem like a good idea any more. It just makes me look too mean to take Ingrid to the cinema again. But we walk up the hill towards the park. Ingrid and Dorothy are still arm-in-arm. I have to walk in the gutter. I really feel wanted’. 9. Three’s a crowd It’s a grand night, though. At the top of the hill we can see right across the valley, with all the lights. It’s a hard, dry night, just what I was wishing for. Just the night for walking and talking and getting to know someone better. But it’s all gone wrong, and I’m getting nowhere. 1. as if I put Mary in the family way. -Kax GyaTo Mepx oxnaaet peGenka oT Mena -HeHaye Mepi yexae auTuny ain MeHe 2. 1 feel like slapping -mne xouctca aaTp cit noWeNHHYy -MeHi XOYeTECA aTH iit nanaca 3. [ feel wanted - uysetsyio ce6a npectynHUKOM - -A_ mouysaio cebe 3N04HHLIEM 19Ingrid and Dorothy are giggling and whispering together. Then Dorothy says, ‘Look, that’s where John Wilson lives now.’ And before I know it, she has started off again. She talks about Ingrid and this bloke John, She says that Ingrid and John were once locked up together in the changing rooms at the tennis club. “I don’t know why you have to say all this,’ says Ingrid. ‘I’m sure Vic isn’t interested in old gossip like this.’ ‘Oh, I don’t know,” says Dorothy. “You’re everybody’s best friend, aren’t you?’ I say: ‘First you try to make out something about me, and now you start on Ingrid.’ “Who do you think you are?’ says Dorothy to me. ‘I know things about you. You won’t like it if I talk about them.’ We stop walking now, and I look her Straight in her horrible face. ‘You can’t scare me with that kind of talk,’ I tell her. ‘And if you try, there will be trouble.’ “Why, what will you do?’ she says, ever so clever. Well, I'm mad now, and no mistake. When I think of how she has spoilt the evening, I let her have it, and to hell with everything. ‘Tl take your pants down and slap your bloody arse,’ I tell her. ‘A pity nobody ever did it before. But any bloke who touches you deserves a medal. He would have to put a sack over his face first.’ For a second I think she’s going to fly at me. I step back. Then, all at once, she turns round and bursts out crying, like a kid. ‘You shouldn’t say that,’ Ingrid says to me. “Oh, what the hell?’ I say. ‘Why should she have it all her own way?’ Dorothy begins to walk away up the road, still crying. Ingrid watches her go. ‘Now look what you've done,” she says. “Why did you bring her?’ [ ask. ‘You had a date with me, didn’t you?” ‘She just came to our house for tea,’ says Ingrid. ‘I didn’t want to send her away. She’s my best friend.’ A likely story, 1 think. Why doesn’t Ingrid just give me the push? Why is she pretending? ‘T'll have to go after her’, she says. ‘You’ve hurt her. I'll see you at work on Monday.’ 20She turns and walks afler Dorothy. I watch until she turns the vorner and then | walk back down the hill. I’m so miserable, I just don't give a damn for anything!. L. I just don’t give a damn for anything -mue Ha Bce HameBaTb -MeHi HanmlopaTH Ha BCE I. Find the answers in the text. . What day is it? . What is Vic’s Saturday job? . What makes this Saturday special for him? |. What does Vic think about his job in the record shop? . What kind of man is Mr Van? . Why does Vic get upset? . Does he like Ingrid’s friend? . Why does Vic feel like slapping Dorothy across the face? wn SONIA II. Choose the correct ending of the sentences. 1. It’s Saturday morning, a) one too many. 2.1 sometimes think that b) and it’s a real pleasure this is the kind of job to do things for him. 3. They'll take it home and —c) I just give a damn for play it over and over until anything. 4. He treats you like a person 4d) of giving you a push. 5. Three of us, e) she’s going to fly at me. 6. This is one way f) everyone is sick to death of it. 7. But it’s all gone wrong g) I’m cut out for. 8. For a second I think h) and I’m down snug as a bug _ under the bedclothes. 9. Then, all at once , i) and I’m getting nowhere. she turns round 10. I’m so miserable j) and bursts out crying, like a kid.IV. Complete these sentences inserting: at, in, off, on, out, through, to. 1. I reach ......... for my watch. 2. I’m going to have to get a move ......... 3. I eat my bacon and eggs while the Old Lady Nags ......... me. 4. I sometimes think that this is the kind of job I’m cut ......... for. 5. So now he’s .. his own. 6. This morning he asks me to look ......... the new records, which have just come 7. So I begin to go .... " 8. I sorted ......... all the records and made labels. 9. He left me to lock ......... and take the key ......... his house. 10. It’s filling ......... already, and I can see it’s going to be busy. 11. A girl says she will come .......... a date. 12. | often wonder what makes girls pair . like this — one lovely, and one horrible. 13. I wonder what the hell Dorothy is getting ... 14. For a second I think she’s going to fly ......... V. Sum up 1. Speak about Vic’s work in the record shop. 2. Characterize Mr Van. 3. Two’s company, three’s a crowd. Prove it.