2. Speak on the following.

1. On what key is the extract written: lyrical, dramatic, pathetic or ironical?

2. What brought Dick to the oculist? With what feelings did he enter the oculist's
waiting-room?

3. Note the incongruity between the tragic verdict pronounced on Dick by the
oculist and the trifling character of his worries about Maisie's displeasure at his
wearing spectacles. Does it stress the finality, the tragedy of his position?

4. Study Dick's remark: "I can see as well as I ever could." What effect does the
author achieve by making Dick affirm the very opposite of what he feared might
be the truth?

5. How did his collision with another patient contribute to the growing tension?

6. How could you account for the reiteration of the word "fear" throughout the
extract? Pick out all the sentences in which it occurs. Could we call it the key-word
of the text under study?
7. Speak about Dick. How did he behave at the crucial moment of his life when all
his moral powers were put to test? Did he give way to his feelings or did he retain
his self-control and dignity despite the terrible shock?

8. What ways of moulding a portrait does Kipling use? Does he resort to direct
characterization? How do Dick's conduct and speech characterize his nature?

9. What is the role of the little dog Binkie in the scene discussed? Why did Dick
use the pronoun "we" while speaking to the dog? Did it help him fight the coming
loneliness of the blind?

10. What fills the scene discussed with vitality and dramatic tension

1. Paraphrase the following sentences.

1. As he entered the dark hall that led to the consulting-room α man cannoned
against him.

2. He looks very sick.

3. Even as he thought, a great fear came upon Dick, a fear that made him hold his
breath...

4. He opened it (the book) mechanically, and there leaped to his eyes a verse
printed in red ink...

5. "Verdict? ... What do you make of it?"

6. They headed for a certain tree that Dick knew well...

1.

2. He's very ill.

3. As soon as he thought, a great fear attacked Dick, a fear that made
him hold his breath ...

4. He opened it (the book) mechanically, and a verse flashed before his

eyes, granules with red cells ...

5. "Sentence?... What do you think about it?"

6. They visited a huge village in which Dick knew well ..

2. Paraphrase the following sentences using expressions from the

text instead of those given in italics.

1. From what the doctor said, Dick understood what awaited him.

2. He walked towards a bench he often sat on.

3. A great fear seized Dick.

4. This fear left him winded.

5. Dick's attention was attracted by a reproduction of one of his own

sketches.

6. Dick wanted to know how the doctor diagnosed his case.

7. He explained to the doctor when and where he had been wounded

and how he had got the scar of the sword-cut.

8. He asked the oculist to tell him how much time might pass before he
went blind.

9. The dog was delighted to see his master.

10. The doctor’s words had no meaning for him at first.

3. Give Russian equivalents and use the expressions in the situations

of your own.
to hold one’s breath; to catch one’s eye; to head for a place; to pronounce a
sentence; to come by something; to wrap oneself in a mist of words; to look sick;
to cannon against (with) someone; to leap to one's eyes; to waste time

задерживать дыхание; привлечь внимание; отправиться на место;

произносить приговор; прийти за чем-то; окутаться туманом слов; выглядеть
больным; пушка против (с) кого-то; бросаться в глаза; Тратить время
5. Give English equivalents for the following.

напрасно тратить время; быть уверенным; затаить дыхание; страх

овладел им; привлечь внимание; говорить правду; выносить
приговор; направляться к какому-либо месту; встречать
восторженно

wasting time; sure; hold your breath; fear took possession of him; attract
attention; to tell the truth; pass judgment; go to some place; welcome

6. Маке up situations using the following expressions.

to feel fear at the pit of one’s stomach;

to hold one’s breath;

to catch one’s eye;

to head for;

to pronounce a sentence

9. Translate into English

1. Дик направился к тому месту парка, которое он больше всего любил. 2. Его
охватил страх, когда он почувствовал, что остался один. 3. Яркий свет
заставил его вздрогнуть. 4. Он затаил дыхание, входя в кабинет врача. 5. Его
внимание привлекла висевшая на стене репродукция. 6. Он не обращал
внимания на свое здоровье. 7. Эти строчки бросились ему в глаза, как только
он открыл книгу. 8. В дверях он столкнулся с человеком, который, по-
видимому, очень торопился. 9. Наконец, подошла его очередь.

1. Dick went to the place in the park that he liked best.

2. He was seized with fear when he felt that he was left alone.
3. A bright light made him flinch.
4. He held his breath as he entered the doctor's office.
5. A reproduction hanging on the wall caught his attention.
6. He did not pay attention to his health.
7. These lines caught his eye as soon as he opened the book.
8. At the door he ran into a man who, apparently, was in a great hurry.
9. Finally, it was his turn.