Пособие по домашнему чтению

по книге

Jerome K.Jerome
“Three Men in a Boat to Say Nothing of
the Dog”

Москва
2007
Автор:
к.ф.н., доц.Вострикова О.В.

Рецензент:
к.ф.н., проф. Михеева И.В.
к.ф.н., доц. Ходос Е.Е.

2
 От автора

Настоящее пособие по домашнему чтению предназначается для студентов 2-3 курса

(4-5 семестры) дневной формы обучения и 3 курса (5-6 семестры) вечерней формы
обучения факультета иностранных языков, английского отделения.

Основой разработки послужила юмористическая повесть Джерома К. Джерома

«Трое в лодке, не считая собаки». Повесть до сих пор считается читателями, литераторами
и носителями языка не потерявшей очарования и актуальности, благодаря живости и
свежести шуток и относительной сохранности мест и обстановки, в которых происходило
развёртывание событий.

Данное произведение читалось на факультете английской филологии в течение

многих лет и методический материал, включённый в разработку и претерпевший
некоторые незначительные изменения «обкатан» поколениями студентов.

Главными целями работы над данным художественным материалом являются:

1. развитие навыков устной речи учащихся и расширение их активного и
пассивного словаря;
2. расширение и закрепление тематического словаря студентов, изучаемого по
дисциплине «Практика устной и письменной речи английского языка» на 1-3 курсах
(темы: «Здоровье», «Еда», «Отдых», «Путешествия» «Привычки», «Хобби» и т.д.);
3. развитие страноведческого кругозора вследствие изучения Британских
национальных, исторических и географических реалий и аллюзий, вокруг которых
происходит развитие событий повести и которым посвящены многочисленные
отступления.

Помимо этого, данный материал способствует развитию следующих навыков.

1. Развитие навыков семантического анализа лексики, работы c толковыми
словарями, в связи с тем, что текст характеризуется многочисленностью единиц
различных синонимических и семантических групп, сконцентрированных в пределах
небольших отрезков текста, что является практической поддержкой
соответствующих разделов одновременно читаемого курса Английской
лексикологии.

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 2. Отработка навыка передачи краткого содержания прочитанного, что, как
правило, вызывает трудности у учащихся. Программа курса Практики устной и
письменной речи английского языка на 3-ем году обучения включает в себя
составление так называемых “Summaries”. Предлагаемое пособие отрабатывает
составление précis, краткой формы summary, которое можно рассматривать в
качестве подготовительного этапа, либо проверочного критерия, при написании
summary. (В пособии этому посвящено одно из приложений).
3. Отработка элементов стилистического анализа текста. Введение элементов
стилистического анализа текста начинается со 2-го года обучения в виде
специальных упражнений к текстам на занятиях по Практике устной и письменной
речи английского языка. Однако опыт показывает, что почва под вдумчивое
отношение не только к тому, что сказано, но и к тому, как это сказано, должна
готовиться постоянно, в том числе и на уроках Домашнего чтения. На решение этой
задачи направлен ряд заданий данного пособия. В первую очередь, таковым является
анализ ситуативного и словесного юмора, используемого автором. (В пособии этому
посвящено одно из приложений).
4. Студентам здесь также предлагаются задания по самоконтролю усвоения
лексики и содержания. Во-первых, это промежуточная проверочная работа,
рассчитанная на выполнение, как в классе, так и дома, с последующим обсуждением
в классе. Во-вторых, как вариант заданий на заключительный урок, помимо
традиционной подготовки обобщающих сообщений по книге, предлагается
самостоятельное составление упражнений на проверку активного словаря. Причём,
нам кажется немаловажным для качества их выполнения именно предварительная
постановка этих задач, имеющая место где-либо в середине прочтения книги. Само
собой разумеется, что по усмотрению преподавателя содержание и форма итоговых
заданий могут быть изменены.

Пособием к тому же решена проблема «завтрашнего первого неподготовленного

урока», с которой преподаватели сталкиваются непосредственно с началом нового
семестра. Здесь приведены предварительные упражнения, включающие в себя
ознакомления с биографией писателя и подробностями создания самого произведения.

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 Pre-Reading Tasks

1. Before you read the book, read the author’s biography:

Jerome Klapka Jerome was born on 2 May 1859 Walsall, then in

Staffordshire, in the heart of England.
His father Jerome Clapp Jerome (known to his congregation as 'Parson
Clapp'), was a well-respected nonconformist lay preacher, who dabbled in
architecture. Jerome's mother was Marguerite Jones, daughter of a solicitor. They
had two daughters and two sons and JKJ (as he was later called by his domestic to
avoid confusion between the two Jeromes) was the youngest of the four. Like their
father, all of them bore exotic names. His unusual middle name ‘Klapka’ the
youngest Jerome got in honour of a family friend, Georg Klapka. He was at the
time a courageous young general of the 1849 Hungarian War of Independence and
an exile. Later he became a member of the Hungarian Chamber of Deputies and a
national hero.
Although financially comfortable at first, his family couldn’t provide Jerome
with a carefree childhood. Jerome Senior had undertaken several unsuccessful
attempts at a number of speculations and investments. Things went wrong and as a
result JKJ was brought up in utter poverty in London.
Early on he had wanted to go to politics or become a man of letters. He
attended the Philological School, later known as the Marylebone Grammar School.
But with the death of his parents in 1872, when he was fourteen, he found himself
on his own and left his studies. He started work at the London and North Western
Railway, first initially collecting coal that fell along the railway, later as a clerk,
and remained there for four years.
Inspired by his theater-loving sister, Jerome went on stage. He made his
professional debut at the age of eighteen under the name of Harold Crichton in a
third-rate repertory theatre. He toured the country and ‘played every part in Hamlet

5
except Ophelia'. The troupe produced plays often at the cost of the meager
resources of the actors to purchase costumes and props.
Three years of hard labour on the road left him disillusioned. By the age of
21 years he was at the bottom of the social pile, penniless and living in dosshouses.
Jerome sought other occupations. He tried school-mastering, then worked as a
buyer and packer for some commission agents, and ended up as a solicitor's clerk.
All his spare time he tried his hand at journalism, writing essays, satires and short
stories, but most of these were rejected.
In On the Stage - and Off, The Brief Career of a Would-Be Actor JKJ wrote
about his experiences as an actor. After several publications had rejected it, a new
magazine The Play, edited by a retired actor, published it. In 1885 the work was
published in book form. It remains one of the most detailed, absorbing (and under-
rated), funny portraits of late-Victorian theatre life. The book opened the door for
more plays and essays.
In 1886 a collection of humorous essays followed, The Idle Thoughts of an
Idle Fellow, which Jerome dedicated to his pipe.
The publications brought along comparative stability. In June 1888 Jerome
married divorcee Georgina Elizabeth Henrietta (‘Ettie’) Stanley Marris, just nine
days after her divorce. She had a five-year-old daughter from her previous
marriage (also christened Georgina and pet-named ‘Elsie’), whom Jerome dearly
loved. Jerome and Georgina's daughter Rowena was born in 1898.
Their honeymoon trip up the Thames inspired Three Men in a Boat. This
book was an instant success. It confirmed his reputation as a humourist and the
financial security, the sales of the book provided, let Jerome dedicate all of his
time to writing.
In 1892 he founded and co-edited The Idler with his friend and fellow
humourist Robert Barr. It was a satirical gentlemen’s illustrated monthly for men
who appreciated idleness. It made fun of Victorian values with essays, cartoons
and anecdotal tales, and also contained sports reports and short stories. It was a
huge success. Among its witty contributors and his intimate friends were William
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Wymark Jacobs, Mark Twain, Rider Haggard, Herbert G. Wells, Conan Doyle,
Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In 1893 Jerome
founded the co-weekly To-day. But in 1897 he had to sell his interest in both
publications. His satirical journalistic style led to a libel suit, costing £9000, which
he lost.
Though a relaxed, urbane man, Jerome was a relentless explorer of new
ideas and experiences. He travelled widely throughout Europe. He visited Norway,
Russia and Germany several times. He was a pioneer of skiing in the Alps. His
success would take him on a lecture tour of the United States.
His visit to Germany in 1898 inspired Three Men on the Bummel (1900).
This sequel to Three Men in a Boat was about their cycling tour of the Black
Forest in which George, Harris and J made their second and final appearance
together.
In 1902 he published his autobiographical Paul Kelver. widely-praised at the
time and, indeed, considered by some critics worthy to be put alongside Dickens.
But as Jerome himself said: 'It is as the author of 'Three Men in a Boat' that the
public persists in remembering me’. His other achievements, as a dramatist, editor
and columnist remain quite overwhelmed by it.
Jerome had always taken to using humour as panacea though privately he
was often melancholy.
His play The Passing of the Third Floor Back (1908) with an
uncharacteristic moral tone was only a success after people got used to his new
style of delivery.
The World War 1 took away a large part of his spirit and good humour. The
British army wouldn't accept his service, considering his age (56), but in 1916
Jerome was an ambulance driver for the French army. He returned to England after
the war, like many, a stranger and a broken man. Another black event that he had
to survive was the death of his beloved stepdaughter Elsie in 1921.

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 Jerome's autobiography My Life and Times was published in 1926. On 17
February 1927 Jerome was given the honour of Freeman of the Borough of Walsall
in the Town Hall. He was deeply touched.
On 14 June 1927 Jerome died in Northampton General Hospital after
suffering a series of strokes.
His wife outlived him by eleven years. His daughter Rowena, who never
married, died in 1966, the last surviving member of that branch of the Jerome
family.

2. Answer the questions:

1) What facts of Jerome’s biography caught your fancy first of all? (I was
generally struck by the contrast of his life. But probably the fact that he… )
2) What events, to your mind, had the most considerable impact on the
author’s style of writing? (Being in the theatre, surrounding by creative actors, I believe
had the impact on his style of writing. But not only that. Numerous various jobs, interaction with
ordinary people made him emulate the other's people style of communication, their jokes and
their type of living.)
3) What conclusions about Jerome’s personality could you draw from the
biographical account?
4) Have you read any of his other works? Tell about your impressions.

3. Here are some facts connected with the book Three Men in a Boat. Get
acquainted with them and make up a related narration.

J.K.Jerome is best known for his comic masterpiece with the full name of
Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog), published in 1889.

In its first twenty years alone, the book sold over a million copies
worldwide. The popularity of the book was such that the number of registered
8
Thames boats went up fifty percent in the year following its publication, and it
contributed significantly to the Thames becoming a tourist attraction.

In the novel, Ettie was replaced by his longtime friends George Wingrave
(George), who went on to become a senior manager in Barclays Bank, and Carl
Hentschel (Harris).

It is a humorous account of a boating holiday on the Thames between

Kingston and Oxford. Though the book was intended initially to be a serious travel
guide, with accounts of local history of places along the route, but the humorous
elements eventually took over.

Jerome sat down to write Three Men in a Boat as soon as the couple
returned from their honeymoon.

One of the best things about Three Men in a Boat is how undated it appears
to modern readers. The jokes seem fresh and witty even today. Its endurance can
probably be also attributed to the style and choice of a relatively unchanged
location, which prevents the work from appearing dated.

The book has remained in print until the present. It had been adapted to
movies, TV and radio shows, stage plays, and even a musical. In some foreign
countries it is well-known, being included in the programme reading lists in public
schools. Its writing style influenced many humorists and satirists in England and
elsewhere.

The dog, Montmorency, was not entirely fictional. Jerome had had a fox
terrier, called Jim, who might have been a prototype of the character. Nevertheless
Jerome remarked that it "had much of me in it."

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 The name Montmorency belongs to the oldest and one of the noblest French
families. It originates from the Medieval Latin Mons Maurentiacus (attested in
993, literally "Mount Maurentiacus"). The name was given to the promontory over
which a castle was built in the Early Middle Ages.

Jerome was still a struggling unknown journalist when he confided to his

friend George Wingrave that he had four ambitions in life:
To become a Member of Parliament.
To edit a successful journal.
To write a successful book.
To write a successful play.

(For these tasks the following on-line resources

were used:
www.online-literature.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_K._Jerome
http://www.jeromekjerome.com/)

10
 Jerome K. Jerome

THREE MEN IN A BOAT

to say nothing of the dog

Task 1

1. Read Ch.ch.1-4 and write a précis of each of them. (Consult Appendix 1).

2. Read artistically and translate the given passages. (Mind that this task
although seemingly usual requires a certain preparation due to the style of the
narrative and the language the author uses).

a) The Preface.
b) "And we sit there, by its margin … where mankind was born so many
thousands of years ago." (Ch.2)
c) "There is a sort of Oh-what-a-wicked-world-this-is-and-how-I-wish-I-could-do-
something-to-make-it-better-and-nobler expression about Monmorency that
has been known to bring the tears into the eyes of pious old ladies and
gentlemen." (Ch.2)
d) "George laughed – one of those irritating, senseless, chuckle-headed, crack-
jawed laughs of his. They do make me so wild." (Ch.4)

3. Words and phrases to find the English equivalents for in the text and to
activate (not only at this Home Reading lesson). Use them in situations of your
own.

Ch.1

11
 ему кажется, что он болен - to fancy to be ill
(George fancies he is ill)
 смена обстановки – a change of scene
 выступить против – to object/ to set against smth
 штормить – to heave and pitches
Ch. 2
 спать на свежем воздухе – camp out
 валять дурака – to play the fool
 слоняться, "болтаться" – follow???
Ch.3
 "завести", поднять на ноги весь дом – to start the whole house. (commotion up
and down a house)
 отказаться от, отбрасывать – give up, to discard
 хлам - Lumber
Ch.4
 опрокинуть(ся), перевернуть(ся) – go upset??
 (издавать) запах - to ooze ???
 обременять кого-л. -
 руководить кем-л., чем-л. - boss the job
 бросить жребий – to toss

4. Paraphrase the following phrases and sentences or explain what is meant by

them. Recollect the situations they were used in.

some fearful, devastating scourge (Ch.1) (страшная губительная болезнь – the illness
that cause a lot of harm and pain to a person and can lead to death. The author was describing his
visit to the British Museum where he was going to read up the treatment for some slight ailment
but reading the symptoms of other diseases he started to suppose that he had every other serious
and devastating scourge from the book)

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to sift sth to the bottom (Ch.1) (to analyze carefully from cover to cover. Being in the
British Museum the main character made up his mind to sift the book with the descriptions of
symptoms of all the maladies printed there to the bottom)
to walk the hospitals (Ch.1) (проходить мед практику? To practice in the formulation of
diagnoses and do the other doctor’s stuff. ??? The main character made so many diagnoses and
found symptoms of so many diseases that he said that medical students did not have to go to
hospitals and examined various patients they could just examine him and took their diplomas.)
a family-physicianary way of putting things (Ch.1) (семейная манера выражаться
врачебно, In the description of George was mentioned his brother who was usually described in
the charge-sheet as a medical student, so that he naturally had a somewhat family-physicianary
way of putting things.)
to close on the two-pounds-five job (Ch.1) (the friends were discussing their friends’
experience of voyages and one of such friend chose to pay for the food for the five meals per day
beforehand but in fact was eating only two of them and just lost his money. So that was negative
experience)
to be queer (Ch.1) (болеть морской болезнью? To feel sick) (So I set my face against the
sea trip. Not, as I explained, upon my own account. I was never queer. But I was afraid for
George. George said he should be all right, and would rather like it, but he would advise Harris
and me not to think of it, as he felt sure we should both be ill.)
exclaim in the same breath (Ch.2) (восклицать в один голос used when someone has said
two things at once???) (There was the story about two friends who were trying to pitch a tent
while it was pouring down. And when they failed to do it the only thing they could do was to
follow each other around and swear at each other and when these two friends met each other they
exclaimed in the same breathe)
'He would have another go.' (Ch.3) – (another try, one more attempt of author’s Uncle to
hang a picture).
to grovel for sth (Ch.3) – (looking for on one’s knees, While uncle Podger was trying to hang
the picture on the wall he lost either his coat or a nail so everybody should have been groveling
for it)
to swim for one's life (Ch.3) – сражаться за жизнь (fight to survive =))), George was
talking about his early morning swim experience when one huge wave caught his up and
chucked him as hard as ever it could, down on to a rock. George thought that he was drowning
but it turned out to be only two feet of water.)

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to see sth in sb's light (Ch.3) – (to see smth from someone’s point of view. Harris said that
swimming in the river gave him a great appetite so George said that it would be easier not give
Harris an opportunity to have bath at all. But author believed that it would be better to have
Harris clean and fresh even if they did have to take a few more hundredweight of provisions; and
George got to see it in author’s light and agreed.)
'…as the shilling shockers say, we anticipate…" (Ch.3) -
to make too much of oneself (Ch.4) – ( переоценивать, in this particular context it was
about spreading around and in general it means to emphasize the importance of or devote much
attention to someone or something. It was used when the friends made a list of things needed for
the trip and agreed not to take any cheese on the boat.)
a ramshackle affair (Ch.4) – (poorly badly constructed cab where the main
character was driving with a cheese that had been given to him by his friend )
to fall into the suggestion (Ch.4) – ( to agree, Harris and George fell into the suggestion
and let the main character to pack all their stuff for the trip).
to split the difference (Ch.4) – идти на компромисс ( to accept only part of what you
originally wanted when making an agreement with someone. The reason for the dispute was the
time when friends should Wake up. The main character said at 6 but his friend offered 7 and they
split the difference and decided to wake up at 6:30.)

5. Answer the questions using the words and phrases from the active vocabulary
list (Ex3).

1) What might make the book precious in the eye of the earnest reader? Do you
think the author is serious about it? (thrilling, exciting plot, witty jokes,
language of the work)

2) Why do you think each of the young men treated the maladies of the other
two as not worth worrying about? (It was some kind of competition who
had the worst disease for them).
3) How do medical literature and documents affect non-medical people,
according to the book? What is your idea of reading similar literature by
non-professionals? (If you are not a doctor then you do not need to read the
symptoms of various diseases otherwise you will be able to diagnose every
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 other disease from the list. So I believe that everyone has to do his or her job
and if you do not have a medical education, it is better to seek professional
help rather than try to figure out everything yourself.)
4) What diseases were mentioned in the chapter? Give their symptoms.
- housemaid’s knee (Housemaid's knee causes pain and swelling of the affected
knee. You may notice redness of the skin over the knee. You may also have
difficulty bending your knee and difficulty kneeling and walking.)
- typhoid fever (Headache. Weakness and fatigue. Muscle aches. Sweating.Dry
cough. Loss of appetite and weight loss.)
- Bright’s disease (Edema. Hypertension. Convulsions.Blindness.)
-cholera
- diphtheria
5) What was the only malady Jerome had not got? How is it referred to in the
Russian translation? Comment on the translator's choice. (Housemaid's knee
– колено домохозяйки или бурсит коленного сустава, So called because it
used to be prevalent among housemaids, who spent time kneeling on floors to
clean them.)
6) How can we understand that Jerome was a lazy fellow? (Since childhood, he
considered himself ill and therefore did nothing. Although all the relatives
were sure that he was just lazy)
7) Why did Jerome strongly object to a sea-trip? Why do you think nobody is
ever sea-sick on land? (A sea trip does you good when you are going to have
a couple of months of it, but, for a week, it is wicked. That is his point was
that before he had time to get used to the ship and the sea the week would be
over and he would have to go out)
8) Who was the only one who didn't care for a river-trip? (Ch.1) (The only one
who was not struck with the suggestion was Montmorency. He never did
care for the river, did Montmorency. “It’s all very well for you fellows,” he
says; “you like it, but I don’t. There’s nothing for me to do. Scenery is not
in my line, and I don’t smoke.)

15
9) What shows that there was no poetry about Harris? (Harris had practical view of
the matters so he wasn’t sensible at all.  Harris never “weeps, he knows not why.” 
If Harris’s eyes fill with tears, you can bet it is because Harris has been eating raw
onions)
10) What disadvantages does camping out in rainy weather display? (You are wet
through, and there is a good two inches of water in the boat, and all the things are
damp.)
11) What dreams do people have on a rainy night? What may influence a dream?

12) What kind of dog did Monmorency seem to be at first sight? What
was he really like? (Ch.2)
(According to the author btw The first impression of Montmorency was that
this dog would never live. He would be snatched up to the bright skies in a
chariot, that was what will happen to him. But when the author had paid for
about a dozen chickens that he had killed and a lot more dirty tricks that he
did he began to think that maybe they’d let him remain on earth for a bit
longer, after all.
13) What was common between Harris and Uncle Podger? How did the
latter keep everybody busy? (Both were just a little distracted everything
went wrong when they started to do something. When uncle Podger was
about to hang up the picture there were several unpleasant incidents in which
he saw everyone around him guilty but not himself namely he lost his coat,
dropped a nail, while looking for a nail he lost the hammer and some more
unpleasant situations. )
14) On what principles were the first and the second lists of the most
necessary things composed? Is there any point in having heavy luggage
when you go on a trip? (There is no point in ….. as according to the author It
makes the boat so heavy to pull, you nearly faint at the oars. It makes it so
cumbersome and dangerous to manage, you never know a moment’s

16
 freedom from anxiety and care, never gain a moment’s rest for dreamy
laziness…)
15) Why did Jerome recognize George as a sensible man?
16) What does the episode of swimming in any kind of weather reveal? (Ch.3)
17) What does cheese have in common with oil? (It oozed. It smells really bad and
all your stuff starting smells like cheese or oil and it’s difficult to escape from
this smell)
18) Did the friends take any alcoholic drinks? (and a bottle of whisky, in case, as
George said, we got upset.)
19) What was Jerome's idea of packing? Is it an easy job? (What he had meant, of
course, was, that he should boss the job, and that Harris and George should
potter about under his directions but it hasn’t coincide with the reality and for
Jerome it was a really difficult task as he always )
20) What did Jerome do to irritate his friends? (he forget whether he had put the
tooth brush in his bag or not and he had to unpack and pack the things for
several times).
21)How did Monmorency behave throughout packing? (Montmorency was
in it all, of course. Montmorency's ambition in life, is to get in the way and be
sworn at. If he can squirm in anywhere where he particularly is not wanted, and be
a perfect nuisance, and make people mad, and have things thrown at his head, then
he feels his day has not been wasted.
21)
22) Why did Jerome and Harris place a bath near Georges's bed? (Ch.4)

6. Pick out words and phrases expressing a) the state of being ill; b) smell. (Spot
the differences in their meanings and give translation into Russian.

7. a) Pick out any two humorous episodes from the text. Define whether the fun
in each of them is due to humour of words or humour of the situation. Comment
on the way the humorous effect is achieved. (Refer to Appendix 2.)

1)Uncle podger's incident : (SITUATION)

17
Uncle Podger was always ready to take on a responsibility.
Once a picture had come from the french- maker's, Uncle Podger asked Aunt Podger to leave the job of
hanging the picture to him.
He took off his coat and he asked children to fetch him hammer , nails etc.
Everyone was busy obeying his instructions.
And when the picture was about to be hanged , he dropped the picture and cut himself with a broken
glass.
He moved around the room , looking for his handkerchief and later found it in his coat pocket and his
coat was underneath himself.
He moved a mess of things .
It was only after a minor incidents and injuries Uncle Podger managed to get that picture on the wall ,
crooker and insecure , around midnight.
He took a long time to hang it and created a mayhem in the house.
Finally , he declared that some people would have had man to do a little thing like that.

2) Cheese incident : (SITUATION )

Tom gave the cheese to Jerome and he took it in a cab.
The horse was old , weak and sleepy.
It could hardly move.But the smell of the cheese made the horse to move swiflty like a steam roller.
At the crowded railway station , people fell back respectfully making way for him as if he were a prince.
The carriage in which he got into , there were already other seven people.Jerome put the cheese on rack ,
and sat down
But the passengers hated the smell of the cheese.
An old man and his companion began sniffing , and went out of the carriage at the next station.
A married woman believed it was a conspiracy to make her leave the carriage.She protested and left .
The smell of the cheese reminded one of the co passengers of a dead baby,
The other passengers tried to get in such a way that hurt themselves.
The last co passenger was depressed.
Now Jerome had the carriage all by himself .
Many passengers got into it but turned back as soon as they stepped into it.

3)Packing incident : (WORDS)

The three friends bought all the things they needed during their trip and they were piled in a heap in the
middle of the room waiting to be packed.
The narrator was proud of his skill in packing
He wanted to impress George and Harris and told them to leave the entire matter to him.
To his utter surprise they readily agreed to the suggestion and George put a pipe and sprawled himself in
the easy chair.

18
Harris cocked his leg the table .
This irritated the narrator becausehe wanted George and Harris to do the packing , while he wanted to
supervise them and instruct them how to pack.
But George and Harris took him at his words literally .
b) Why are descriptions of nature included into the narrative? What is the
purpose of the one given by the author in Ch.2? Why do you think readers often
skip descriptions of nature?
(J. has a tendency to fantasize about nature, turning his thoughts into rich
and slightly overblown poetic prose. He sets up an impossible vision for
their trip that can only be met with failure and disappointment, frequently
personifying nature and ascribing to it a kind of benevolent intention. He
almost seems to think that nature is going to actively take care of them.
Harris interrupts with a sensible question, bursting J.’s poetic bubble, much
to the latter’s annoyance)
c) Express your ideas on the extract "How many people on that voyage…
strings around us…" (Ch.3).

Task 2

1. Read Ch.ch.5-7 and write a précis of each of them. (Consult Appendix 1).

2. Read artistically and translate the given passages (not to be done

spontaneously in class).

a) "It was too bright and sunny … and went." (Ch.5)

b) "Many of the old houses … to go down them quietly." (Ch.6)

3. Words and phrases to find the English equivalents for in the text and to
activate (not only at this Home Reading lesson). Use them in situations of your
own.

Ch. 5
 предсказывать - prophesy (about the weather forecast), to foretell

19
 за пределами (моего) понимания - be beyond me (about the weather and the
story about a picnic)
 пророк, предсказатель – a prophet
 продержаться, пережить - to see this thing out.
 самозванец – impostor
Ch. 6
 делать честь кому-л. - to be a credit to smb
 раритет, редкая вещичка - art treasure? Curiosity
 обманчивый, ведущий к заблуждению – foolish, misleading (Harris said he
thought that map must have been got up as a practical joke, because it wasn't a bit
like the real thing, and only misleading.)
Ch.7
 наброситься на кого-либо - ?????
 расстраивать, нервировать, лишать присутствия духа и силы – To unnerve
(about rowing a boat with two beautiful girls. The girls didn’t complain that the
drops of water were falling on their dresses but Jerome was unnerved by their
behavior)
 злобно смотреть – look daggers at (the girls and the friend of Jerome)
 расшифровать – to decipher (The old man tried to get Jerome to go and look
at the graves and said there was a tomb that had some words, carved upon it, that
nobody had ever been able to decipher.)
 перевёрнутый вверх тормашками – topsy-turvy ( about Harris trying to get
some lemonade)

4. Paraphrase the following phrases and sentences or explain what is meant by

them. Recollect the situations they were used in.

"The city would have to lump it." (Ch.5) – (to accept a situation even though you
do not like it or agree with it. The City had to accept the fact that George he didn't
shave in this morning)
20
not to agree with sb (about meals) (Ch.6) – (it’s the way to say that the food
made you feel sick)
How poor weak-minded King Edwy must have hated Kyningestun! The coronation
feast had been too much for him. Maybe boar's head stuffed with sugar-plums did
not agree with him (it wouldn't with me, I know), and he had had enough of sack
and mead; so he slipped from the noisy revel to steal a quiet moonlight hour with
his beloved Elgiva.
to grunt away at sculls (Ch.6) – to make a short low sounds in one’s throat while
working hard (about Harris in a red and orange blazer who were grunting away at
sculls while Jerome was enjoying the beauty of nature)
to gush over sth (Ch.6) - to express admiration, praise, or pleasure (the pink
shepherds and the yellow shepherdesses that we hand round now for all our friends to gush over
once were just stuff some centuries ago)
on second thoughts (Ch.6) - used when you want to change something that you
have just said (Harris got tired and threw away the sculls and Jerome asked what
happened. Harris was so angry that he must have used obscene language and
Jerome after a moment's thought decided not to voice these phrase).
to throw pell-mell (Ch.7) – to spread around in a quick and uncontrolled
way (; when looking down into the lock from the quay, you might fancy it was a
huge box into which flowers of every hue and shade had been thrown pell-mell,
and lay piled up in a rainbow heap, that covered every corner)
to come out very natty (Ch.7) – in this particular context it means “to dress up
neatly” (The river affords a good opportunity for dress. For once in a way, we men are able to
show our taste in colours, and I think we come out very natty, if you ask me. I always like a little
red in my things - red and black.)
to pump oneself out (Ch.7) – in general means to make liquid or gas escape from a
place (but her it means to calm down about Harris being angry with of a lot things
(bank system, the lack of fresh water…)
"The blazer is loud." (Ch.7) (A jacket that has really bright colour. George has bought
some new things for this trip and the blazer was really loud in an Oriental design.)

21
5. Answer the questions using the words and phrases from the active
vocabulary list (Ex3).

1) Why did the sight of George peacefully asleep madden the other two
friends? What's the best way to waken a fast sleeper? (Cause firstly it was a
friend who had promised to wake everybody up at 6:30 but it was a 9
o’clock. Secondly they thought sleep was a waste of time and his friend
could’ve cooked the beacon and eggs for them or just have fun with a dog.
So they flew across and slung the clothes off him, and Harris landed him one
with a slipper, and Jerome shouted in his ear, and he awoke.)
2) Why did the bag need unpacking? (The friends remembered that they had
already packed the tooth-brushes and the brush and comb and they had to go
downstairs, and fish them out of the bag)
3) What did Jerome think of weather forecasts, barometres and prophets? (The
"weather-forecast" fraud is about the most aggravating silly and irritating
tomfoolishness. It "forecasts" precisely what happened yesterday or a the
day before, and precisely the opposite of what is going to happen today. In
general practically the same with barometres and prophets)
4) Did the friends' luggage correlate with the one they had indeed to take?
(There are a lot of unnecessary things, such as a couple of pounds of grapes,
a melon.)
5) What comments did the boys and other people make? ( Some people said, that it
was a wedding, and pointed out Harris as the bridegroom, others thought that it
was a funeral, and that Jerome was probably the corpse’s brother.)
6) How did the three friends manage to get to Kingston? (Ch.5)
When they got to the railway station, they asked the porter, the traffic
superintendent, the authorities where their train was, but nobody knew for sure,
so they gave some money to the engine-driver and asked him to get them to
Kingston. Later the train they had come by turned out to be the Exeter mail,
and that some railway workers had spent hours at Waterloo, looking for it,
and nobody knew what had become of it.

22
7) Ask 5 questions about the contents of Ch.6. (Try to select the points that
might be not chosen by your groupmates.)

8) How did people dress themselves on the river?

(The river affords a good opportunity for dress. For once in a way, men are able
to show their taste in colours. Girls, also, don’t look half bad in a boat, if
prettily dressed. Nothing is more fetching, to the author thinking, than a tasteful
boating costume.)
9) What did George, Jerome and Harris wear? (“I always like a little red in my things
—red and black. You know my hair is a sort of golden brown, rather a pretty
shade I’ve been told, and a dark red matches it beautifully; and then I always
think a light-blue necktie goes so well with it, and a pair of those Russian-
leather shoes and a red silk handkerchief round the waiist—a handkerchief
looks so much better than a belt.“
“Harris always keeps to shades or mixtures of orange or yellow, but I don’t think he is
at all wise in this. His complexion is too dark for yellows. Yellows don’t suit him:
there can be no question about it. I want him to take to blue as a background, with
white or cream for relief; but, there! the less taste a person has in dress, the more
obstinate he always seems to be. It is a great pity, because he will never be a success
as it is, while there are one or two colours in which he might not really look so bad,
with his hat on.”
“George has bought some new things for this trip, and I’m rather vexed about them.
The blazer is loud. I should not like George to know that I thought so, but there really
is no other word for it. ”)
10) Why did the two girls unnerve Jerome? (
11) Was Bow as dense-headed as he seemed to be?
12) Why did Harris want to go to see Mrs.Thomas's tomb? (He didn’t know who
Mrs. Thomas was, but he knew that she was a lady that’s got a funny tomb, and he
just wanted to see it.)
13) Did people interested in tombs wake understanding in Jerome? How would you
explain such an odd interest? (Ch.7)

6. a) Choose any two humorous episodes from the text. Define whether the fun
in each of them is due to humour of words or humour of the situation and
comment on the way the humorous effect is achieved. (Refer to Appendix 2.)
Hampton court maze
Harris had been to a Hampton court maze with a cousin.

23
 He studied the map carefully and believed that he would get out of it in 10
minutes.
He met some people who had been in the maze for three quarters of an
hour ,and were lost. They didn't know how to get out of it.
Harris told them that they could follow him and he would get them out of it , in
no time.
They happily followed him , and on the way more lost people joined him.
Harris believed that if one kept turning to right , he could get out of it without
difficulty.
He tried turning to the right again and again but came back to the same place.
Harris's followers lost their patience and looked menacingly at him.
Harris also thought they he also got lost in the maze.
They called a keeper who came and lead them out of the maze.

The girls who wore pretty dresses to the picnic and Jerome's friend who first
doused them with water and then made the girls wash the dishes

b) What digressions did you come across in the text? What is their purpose?

c) What do you think of Jerome's statement: "Each person has what he

doesn't want and other people have what he does want" (Ch.6).

c) What is your attitude towards historical places and antique things?

7)?Ask 5 questions about the contents of Ch.6. (Try to select the points that
might be not chosen by your groupmates.)

7. Render the suggested tales in English.

***
Однажды светская дама спросила известного метеоролога Эдуарда Брака:
- Можно ли быть уверенным в точности Вашего прогноза?
- Наши прогнозы всегда сбываются, мэм! Единственное возможное
отклонение – это то, что предсказанное не всегда совпадает с указанной
датой.
***
В американском городке Хантсвилле было устроено состязание между
местным метеорологическим бюро и коровой по кличке Браймер, хозяин
24
которой утверждал, что по её поведению может давать прогноз на сутки, а то
и более. В счет шли удачные прогнозы. Браймер победила 19 : 8.
***
Марк Твен умел облекать самые печальные мысли в юмористическую форму.
Это он сказал:
- Мы должны жить так, чтобы даже после нашей смерти даже могильщику
было грустно.
***
Достопримечательностью кладбища в Сиднене считается надгробная
надпись: "Памяти моей незабвенной жены Лиз возведен этот памятник,
который одновременно является образцом моей работы, цена – 350 $, срок
изготовления – 20 дней.”
***
После смерти римского папы Льва Х, который прославился
покровительством ученым, писателям и художникам и был очень популярен
среди жителей Рима, его место занял невежественный Адриан IX, во всем
бывший противоположностью своему предшественнику. Римляне его
терпеть не могли. Когда же через два года Адриан отдал Богу душу, весь
Вечный город ликовал несколько дней. Дом лечащего врача папы был
завален венками и цветами, а на фасаде благодарные граждане написали
золотыми буквами: "Римский Сенат и народ спасителю отечества".

Task 3

1. Read Ch.ch.8-10 and write a précis of each of them. (Consult Appendix 1).

2. Read artistically and translate the given passages (to be prepared at home).

25
a) "I pulled splendidly … I let other people pull up backwards against strong
streams now." (Ch.8)
b) "Then Herr Slossen Boschen got up … in all his life." (Ch.8)
c) "They awe us, these strange stars … to see some awful reason hovering there."
(Ch.10)

3. Words and phrases to find the English equivalents for in the text and to
activate (not only at this Home Reading lesson).

Ch. 8 Ch. 9
 мстительность  склонен к (жалости)
 оказать услугу (человечеству)  тянуть на буксире
 от чего-то поползли мурашки  (рас)путать(ся)
 по одному  в поле зрения
 быть писком сезона

Ch. 10
 тяжкий труд
 присесть на корточки
 набожный
 пойти спать

3. Paraphrase the following phrases and sentences or explain what is meant by

them.

to trespass (Ch.8)
a chummy disposition (Ch.8)
weak-minded noodles (Ch.8)
to push on with the prelude (Ch.8)
‘He…feels his mind giving way’ (Ch.8)

26
given way to violent language (Ch.9)
to notice things in general (Ch.9)
‘Matters seemed to get more and more involved.’ (Ch.10)

4. Answer the questions.

1) Why did the caretaker disappear instead of chucking the friends into the river as
he had intended? (Of course, we never saw him any more, and, of course, all he
really wanted was a shilling. There are a certain number of riverside roughs who
make quite an income, during the summer, by slouching about the banks and
blackmailing weak-minded noodles in this way.)
2) To what extend did the proprietors irritate Jerome and Harris?
3) What requirements to a comic song does Jerome set?
4) What do you think of the joke the two students play on Jerome and his friends?
5) In what cases do people have to tow? What makes towing a difficult job?
6) On what grounds did George refuse to tow? How was he forced to?
7) What is strange and unaccountable about tow-lines? Whose fault is it to your
mind?
8) Why did Jerome and his cousin once lose their way on the river?
9) Who shouldn’t tow judging by the stories the friends told?
10) Ask 5 questions about the contents of Ch.10. (Try to select the points
that might be not chosen by your groupmates.)

5. Work with an English-English dictionary and find the connotational

differences among the words anecdote - joke – story - tale.

6. a) Pick out any two humorous episodes from the text. Define whether the fun
in each of them is due to humour of words or humour of the situation and
comment on the way the humorous effect is achieved. (Refer to Appendix 2.)

b) What form of narration does the author choose for the episode of
Harris's singing comic songs (Ch.8)? What effect is produced by it? In what way
is it different from the screened Russian version? Which do you find funnier?
27
 c) At the end of Ch.8 a number of stories and facts are given in a very
concise manner. What do you think this laconic way of putting things is due to?

d) What is the meaning of the tale about the knight (Ch.10) and what
is the aim of its including into the book?
Task 4

1. Do the Mid-Quiz (Appendix 4) and check the results in class.

2. Read Ch.ch.11-12 and write a précis of each of them.

3. Read artistically and translate the given passages.

a) "I steered … I was steering." (Ch.12)

b) "… and as they worked they cursed us … good substantial curses." (Ch.12)

4. Words and phrases to find the English equivalents for in the text and to
activate (not only at this Home Reading lesson). Use them in situations of your
own.

Chapter 11
 упрямство – stubbornness (when George woke up too early he had nothing to do
so he made up his mind to go for a walk, during this walk he met the policemen
who regarded him with undisguised suspicion, and stubbornness turned their
lanterns on him and followed him about, and this had such an effect upon him at
last that he began to feel as if he really had done something)
 страж порядка - the guardian of public order
 увидеть забавную сторону чего-л. – to see the fun of the thing (J was trying to
make George see the fun of the thing after dropping his T-shirt into the water)

28
 у нас слюнки потекли – to make mouth water (Harris was the best at making
scrambled eggs so the fact that he was going to cook them made the friends’ mouth
water)

Chapter 12
 лексика, обозначающая любовные ухаживания
 в обличье
 чванливый, спесивый
 забинтовать раны to dress a wound (While opening the tin Harris and George
were injured so they needed to have their wounds dressed)
 загородить, закрыть обзор - shut out the view (As the sail shut the view, the
friends at first did not even notice that they threw the fishermen off their chairs.)

5. Paraphrase the following phrases and sentences or explain what is meant by

them.

‘Don’t let's have any more of it.’ (Ch. 11) – ‘and let's not talk about it anymore’ (?) –
George went to a guardian of public order and asked him what time it was. The policeman pointed at the
neighboring clock which stroke three times. After they found out a couple more things he said to George
“go there quietly, and take that watch of yours with you; and don't let's have any more of it."
‘There was no rush for precedence.’ (Ch.11) – ‘no willing to be the first’ The friend planned
swimming in every morning of their trip but when they found out that it is cold and windy in mornings no
one wanted to be the first plunging into the river
to rise to the occasion (Ch.12) – ‘to show that you can deal with a difficult situation successfully’
it was said about Harris who was an old traveler so when the landlord said that there were no vacant beds
in the inn Harris suggested sleeping on the pool table ?
to give sb a shake-down (Ch.12) – ‘ to provide someone with an improvised bed (such as one
made up on the floor)’ when the landlord said that there were no vacant beds in the inn Harris suggested
sleeping on the pool table.

29
6. Answer the questions.

1) How did Jerome account for their inability to go back to sleep the next
morning? Is that familiar to you? (As there was no earthly necessity for them getting up
under another two hours at the very least, and their getting up at that time was an utter absurdity, it
was only in keeping with the natural cussedness of things in general that they should both feel that
lying down for five minutes more would be death to us.)
2) Why couldn't George find out that it was early? How did he while the time
waiting for the morning proper? (He had forgotten to wind up his watch so it showed the
same time. It was a quarter-past eight to be exact. Moreover, It was in the winter when this happened,
very near the shortest day, and a week of fog into the bargain, so the fact that it was still very dark
when George woke in the morning was no guide to him as to the time. )
3) How did Jerome find himself in the water? (He was crawling his way along the branch of
a tree that dipped down into the water and the moment Jerome changed his mind the branch gave
way, and J and the towel went in together with a tremendous splash)
4) How did he manage to stop George laughing? Can you see the fun when the
joke is at your expense? (Jerome decided to get dressed after swimming and dropped his shirt
in the water several times which made George laugh very much. But when George found out it was
his shirt his expression changed and he started yelling at J.)
5) What made the friends' mouths water? (Harris was the best at making scrambled eggs so
the fact that he was going to cook them made the friends’ mouth water)
6) What difficulties did Harris come across while cooking? (Ch.11) (He had some
trouble in breaking the eggs - or rather not so much trouble in breaking them exactly as in getting
them into the frying-pan when broken, and keeping them off his trousers, and preventing them from
running up his sleeve; but he fixed some half-a-dozen into the pan at last, and then squatted down by
the side of the stove and chivied them about with a fork.)
7) Do you agree with the author that it is trying to be in the house with the couple
courting?
8) Were George's earthly desires as hollow as Jerome and Harris considered them?
(They were practicable actually. There was no an inn that would be suitable for J and Harris in the
city so George spoke up. He said Harris and I could get an hotel built for us, if we liked, and have
some people made to put in. For his part, he was going back to the Stag. )
9) Why did Jerome call the boy "an angel in the disguise of a small boy"? What
kind of boy was he in fact? – ??? He called him as an angel just because this angel gave them

30
 a room for a night. So it was a man holding a can of beer in one hand, and in the other something at
the end of a string, which he let down on to every flat stone he came across, and then pulled up again,
this producing a peculiarly unattractive sound, suggestive of suffering.
10) Why do people never give the promised "worlds" for the things they need
badly? (Because as a rule, this is some kind of trash that we lack at the moment, but when we get it,
we again forget its value. One makes these extravagant offers in moments of excitement, but, of
course, when one comes to think of it, one sees how absurdly out of proportion they are with the
value of the required article.)
11) What injuries did the three get while opening the tin? How do you think the
straw hat saved Harris? (Harris broke the knife and cut himself badly, George tried a pair of
scissors, and the scissors flew up, and nearly put his eye out and J tried to make a hole in the thing
with the spiky end of the hitcher, and the hitcher slipped and jerked him out between the boat and the
bank)
12) Why didn't Jerome like Maidenhead? (Maidenhead itself is too snobby to be pleasant.
It is the haunt of the river swell and his overdressed female companion. It is the town of showy
hotels, patronised chiefly by dudes and ballet girls. It is the witch's kitchen from which go forth those
demons of the river - steam- launches. The LONDON JOURNAL duke always has his "little place" at
Maidenhead, and the heroine of the three-volume novel always dines there when she goes out on the
spree with somebody else's husband)
13) What is particular about the wind on the river (even if it blows the right
direction)? (As a rule on the river, the wind is always dead against you whatever way you go. But
when you forget to take the sail at all, then the wind is consistently in your favour both ways.)
14) What caused the elderly fishermen's cursing? (Ch.12) (“We had knocked those
three old gentlemen off their chairs into a general heap at the bottom of the boat, and they were now
slowly and painfully sorting themselves out from each other, and picking fish off themselves; and as
they worked, they cursed us - not with a common cursory curse, but with long, carefully-thought-out,
comprehensive curses, that embraced the whole of our career, and went away into the distant future,
and included all our relations, and covered everything connected with us - good, substantial curses.”)

7. a) Pick out any two humorous episodes from the text. Define whether the fun
in each of them is due to humour of words or humour of the situation and
comment on the way the humorous effect is achieved.

b) What is Magna Carta? Relate the order of the events of the signing this
historic document. What for do you think this episode is included into the book?
c) Give your ideas on the following statements:

31
 “The greatest minds never realize their ideas in any matter." (Ch.12)
 "This world is only a probation and man was born to trouble as the
sparks fly upward." (Ch.12) Aren't they out of place here?

Task 5.

1. Read Ch.ch.13-15 and write a précis of each of them.

2. Read artistically and translate the given passages.

a) "He looked at the bull-dog … through the quiet shades of the lobby." (Ch.13)
b) "He would begin magnificently … with a splutter and hiss." (Ch.14)
c) "We gave him all the regular ones … and to bet us ten to one that we didn't."
(Ch.15)

3. Words and phrases to find the English equivalents for in the text and to
activate (not only at this Home Reading lesson).

Chapter 13
 выставить себя идиотом - to make an awful ass (about Montmorency who
behaved like a fool when a cat appeared on the horizon).
 дрейфовать - to trot? (about a cat not hurrying up to run away from the dog
 рискнуть, попробовать что-л. To chance (about drinking some river water
as Harris said that it would be safe and all they need to do was just boil it)
 волосы у нас встали дыбом - hair stood up on end (When Harris disappeared
and George and J turned their eyes towards the spot where Harris and the pie had last been seen on earth;
and there, as their blood froze in our veins and our hair stood up on end, we saw Harris's head - and
nothing but his head - sticking bolt upright among the tall grass, the face very red, and bearing upon it an
expression of great indignation!)

Chapter 14
32
  вызов undertaking (about peeling potatoes)
 успокоить нервы to soothe the nerves (George got out his banjo and wanted
to play it, but Harris objected: he said he had got a headache, and did not feel
strong enough to stand it. George said music often soothed the nerves and took
away a headache).
 прицелиться в кого-л. чем-л. – to take aim (Montmorency didn't like George playing the
banjo and would start howling as soon as George started playing.
"What's he want to howl like that for when I'm playing?" George would exclaim indignantly, while taking
aim at him with a boot.)

 иметь музыкальный слух- to have a musical ear (about Montmorency He can't help
howling. He's got a musical ear, and your playing MAKES him howl.)

 с большим для себя убытком - at a great sacrifice (about George who

advertised his instrument for sale at a great sacrifice - "owner having no further use
for same")
 трогать кого-л. до слез – to affect to tears (about the mother of J's friend who was trying to
play violin but his more successful passages could generally be heard in the sitting-room, in spite of these
precautions, and would affect his mother almost to tears.)
 устроить скандал вокруг чего-л. - kick up a row about smth
It seemed they had moored close to a swan's nest, and, soon after George and J had gone, the female
swan came back, and kicked up a row about it.

Chapter 15
 убрать все на место – to put everything straight (At the very beginning, the
characters decided to clean up and put everything in place)
 равная доля чегo-л. – Fair share – It seemed to J that he was doing more than his fair share
of the work on this trip, and he was beginning to feel strongly on the subject.

 не знать границ - to know no bounds

The first time J went punting was in company with three other fellows. They could not all start together, so
J said he would practice a bit until they came. His attention became attracted to a man in a punt who
wore a jacket and cap exactly like J's. He was evidently a novice at punting, the people about the river
began to get quite absorbed in him. J's friends arrived and watched him too. They immediately jumped to
the conclusion that it was J, and their delight knew no bounds.

33
4. Paraphrase the following phrases and sentences or explain what is meant by
them.

to be rich in melodramatic properties (Ch.13) – “to be surrounded by historical stories

that are too emotional” e.g. The ghost of the Lady Holy, who beat her little boy to death, still
walks at these places at night, trying to wash its ghostly hands clean in a ghostly basin.
to have a great mind to do sth (Ch.13) – “To feel a strong urge or desire to do something.”
When there was a fight between the dogs the lady whose dog was injured said that the people at the
Stores had no right to allow great savage things like those other dogs to be put with respectable people's
dogs, and that she had a great mind to summon somebody.)
to revictual the boat (Ch.13) “to supply with a fresh stock of provisions” – The characters did
the marketing after breakfast, and revictualled the boat with vegetables and other stuff for three days as
George said that it was unhealthy not to eat vegetables and they were easy enough to cook.
to forage about for sth (Ch.13) – “to search widely for food or provisions.” The friends
wandered looking for all the necessary food
a blatant bumptiousness (Ch.13) -  “done openly and unashamedly some kind of with
arrogant” It was said about a steam launch and that this launch had the knack of rousing every
evil instinct in J’s nature.
to follow suit (Ch.13) – to conform to another's actions (In order not to drink the
tea made from river water George emptied his cup into the water and Harris did the
same.)
to chime in with an idea (Ch.15) – to disagree, do not support the idea (Harris
thought the best arrangement would be that George and I should scull, and he steer. I did not
chime in with this idea at all)
to feel strongly on a subject (Ch.15) – to feel nervous a little bit irritate? - It seemed
to J that he was doing more than his fair share of the work on this trip, and he was beginning to feel
strongly on the subject.
to throw out a wing (Ch.15) – to build a new room to keep the work in here
=), “You cannot give me too much work; to accumulate work has almost become a passion with me: my
study is so full of it now, that there is hardly an inch of room for any more. I shall have to throw out a
wing soon.”
‘It is the way of the world.’ (Ch.15) - how things happen or how people
behave – J said “that was their gratitude to me for having brought them and their wretched old boat

34
all the way up from Kingston, and for having superintended and managed everything for them, and taken
care of them, and slaved for them. It is the way of the world.”

5. Answer the questions:

1) Why are Marlow and Sonning the pleasantest river centers? ( It is a bustling, lively
little town; not very picturesque on the whole, it is true, but there are many quaint nooks and corners
to be found in it. There are a lot of historical places that are literally untouched by civilization and
that's why you feel like a character in these historical scenes. {For instance, Bisham Abbey is rich in
melodramatic properties. It contains a tapestry bed-chamber, and a secret room hid high up in the
thick walls. The ghost of the Lady Holy, who beat her little boy to death, still walks there at night,
trying to wash its ghostly hands clean in a ghostly basin.}).
2) In what way does Jerome's attitude to cats differ from that of Monmorency?
How is the dogs and cats' antagonistic relations explained (in fairy-tales,
biologically, etc.)? (J liked cats; Montmorency did not. When J met a cat, he said, "Poor Pussy!"
and stopped down and tickled the side of its head (all is gentleness and peace) but when
Montmorency met a cat, the whole street knew about it; and there was enough bad language wasted
in ten seconds to last an ordinarily respectable man all his life, with care.)
3) How is the encounter of Monmorency and the cat represented? What for is the
form of the narration changed? (Montmorency did not like cats and when he met one, he
chased him. But the cat was not confused and did not hurry to run away from the dog. On the
contrary, he sat down quietly on the edge of the road, and at that moment the narration changed to a

dialogue between Tom and Montmorency. it was important for the author to show the conversation
between the animals so that we could understand in detail why the dog behaved this way but it would
be strange to retell this conversation on behalf of J).
4) What dog breeds are mentioned in Ch.13? (a mastiff, collie, a St. Bernard, retrievers and
Newfoundlands, , a boar-hound, a French poodle, a bull-dog, a couple of Yorkshire tykes, fox-
terrier)
5) What happened during the two sallies to the victuals the three men undertook?
How does it characterize the friends? (??)
6) What feelings did they experience towards steam launches? What, to your mind,
caused them? (Ch.13) (They hated them just because they needed to get out of its way on the

35
 river and it caused them a lot of efforts, and the people in the launch would crowd round and instruct
them that would irritate the friends even more)
7) Why was a memorial to Mrs. Sarah Hill put up ? (In the church was a memorial to Mrs.
Sarah Hill, who bequeathed 1 pound annually, to be divided at Easter, between two boys and two
girls who "have never been undutiful to their parents; who have never been known to swear or to tell
untruths, to steal, or to break windows." Fancy giving up all that for five shillings a year! It is not
worth it.)
8) Why was a boy exhibited under a glass case? Why do you think the reward
money was handed over to the nearest wax show? (It is rumoured in the town that once,
many years ago, a boy appeared who really never had done these things - or at all events, which was
all that was required or could be expected, had never been known to do them - and thus won the
crown of glory. He was exhibited for three weeks afterwards in the Town Hall, under a glass case.
What has become of the money since no one knows. They say it is always handed over to the nearest

wax-works show. Since there were no such boys and girls who would fulfill all the conditions)

9) Why does Jerome call learning to play a musical instrument "disheartening

work'? What are the difficulties a person learning to play a musical instrument
has to face? (мне лень расписывать сорян )
10) What had happened to Harris during his friends' absence? What hints at it does
the author give us? (Ch.14) (Harris had a sad expression on him, so J and George noticed,
when they got into the boat. They asked him if anything had happened, and he said-"Swans!" the
characters had moored close to a swan's nest, and, soon after George and J had gone, the female swan
came back, and kicked up a row about it. Harris had chivied her off, and she had gone away, and
fetched up her old man. Harris said he had had quite a fight with these two swans; but courage and
skill had prevailed in the end, and he had defeated them. It must have been a fearful battle, so far as
we could understand Harris's account of it. The swans had tried to drag him and Montmorency out of
the boat and drown them; and he had defended himself like a hero for four hours, and had killed the
lot, and they had all paddled away to die. Then for the whole night Harris was looking for an
umbrella, a pair of socks his trousers and stuff like that.)
11) What shows that Jerome and his friends were lazy fellows? (The fact that they were
constantly trying to shift the job to someone else. All three men are prone to laziness, and each
seems to genuinely believe that they have done the most work. Of course, they can’t all be right,
and the likelihood is that they’ve all done as little work as possible. It’s not leisurely to tow the boat,
and they all want to sit back, relax and let someone else do it for them.)

12) What is characteristic of the old river hands?

36
13) What are rafting, sailing, rowing and punting? What difficulties might one
encounter while mastering any of those arts? (J. talks about the difficulties of all the
different types of rowing. Most difficult of all, George and J. agree, is punting. This involves standing
up in the boat and moving along the river by pushing a long pole into the mud.)

14) Why did Jerome like to watch an old boatman rowing, especially hired by the
hour?
15) On what condition is one apt to excuse others ridiculing him? How could you
explain such an incongruity?

6. a) Pick out any two humorous episodes from the text. Define whether
the fun in each of them is due to humour of words or humour of the
situation and comment on the way the humorous effect is achieved.
-When Harris disappeared the dialog between George and J and the
reasons of this disappearing.
Then we gazed at each other.
"Has he been snatched up to heaven?" I queried.
"They'd hardly have taken the pie too," said George.
There seemed weight in this objection, and we discarded the heavenly theory.
"I suppose the truth of the matter is," suggested George, descending to the
commonplace and practicable, "that there has been an earthquake."

George got out his banjo after supper, and wanted to play it, but Harris objected:
he said he had got a headache, and did not feel strong enough to stand it. George
thought the music might do him good - said music often soothed the nerves and
took away a headache; and he twanged two or three notes, just to show Harris what
it was like.
Harris said he would rather have the headache.

b) Jerome describes two modes of living of the two generations of monks

inhabiting one and the same abbey (Ch.13). What are they? What is "the truer
meaning of life" according to Jerome?

37
 c) Comment on the following: "What the eye doesn't see, the stomach
doesn't get upset over."

7. Look up Chapter 15 for the verbs with the meaning of насмехаться

высмеивать. Work with an English-English dictionary and find the
semantic differences among them.

Task 6

1. Read Ch.ch16 - 19 and write a précis of each of them.

2. Read artistically and translate the given passages.

a) "In later years, … and the Parliament." (Ch.16)

b) "The Angler's Guide to the Thames says … - not they!" (Ch.17)
c) "The river – with the sunlight … through the lain of vain regrets." (Ch.19)

8. Words and phrases to find the English equivalents for in the text and to
activate (not only at this Home Reading lesson).

Chapter 16 Chapter 17
 закрыть дверь перед кем-л.  запросить цену за что-л.
 едва поддерживать свое существование  кишеть чем-л.
 совестливый, честный

Chapter 18 Chapter 19
 обычное дело  увидеть что-л.
 отменить заказ во всех его проявлениях
 иметь мужество сделать
что-л.

3. Paraphrase the following phrases and sentences or explain what is meant by

them.
38
old vulgar tragedy (Ch.16)
to play the wag from school (Ch.17)
a stentorian voice (Ch.18)
to look paltry(Ch.18)
river-loving brethren of the brush (Ch.18)
to get the hang of sth (Ch.18)
an antediluvian chunk of wood (Ch.19)
to pooh-pooh sth (Ch.19)
to get some fitful slumber (Ch.19)
the cynosure of every eye (Ch.19)

4. Answer the questions.

1) Ask 3 questions about the contents of Ch.16. (Try to select the points that
might be not chosen by your group-mates).
2) Why did the young men fail to wash their clothes properly in the river?
3) What was the author's opinion of fishing in the Thames?
4) Why did the experienced anglers think that Jerome would never make a good
fisherman?
5) How should an accomplished angler tell his story to impress his listeners,
according to the book?
6) What was the system of exaggeration the young man used? (Ch.17)
7) Why was Jerome fond of locks?
8) Relate the funny incident at the lock on the part of the photographer.
9) What are Abington and Sandford lasher distinguished for?
10) For whom isn't Clifton Hampton suitable?
11) What kind of demoralizing affect does the river air have on one's temper?
(Ch.18)
12) What chief impression did Oxford produce on the three friends?
39
13) What is typical of a hired boat up the river?
14) What is the nature in rainy weather compared with?
15) How did the friends battle against the rain? Why did they fail?
16) How did they come to quit the trip? Was their journey a success? (Ch.19)
5. a) Pick out any two humorous episodes from the text. Define whether the fun
in each of them is due to humour of words or humour of the situation and
comment on the way the humorous effect is achieved.

b) Relate and comment on the central tale of Ch. 16. Isn't such a serious
piece of narration out of place here?

c) Comment on the form of the passage about the river in different weather
(your translation-extract c) Ch.19). What impression is it to make on the reader?
Task 7

1. Compose a small quiz on Ch.ch.11-19 for your groupmates. Let it consist of

two tasks.

The first task is a multiple choice of 5-7 questions with three possible
answers. Mind that the wrong ones are not too much evident. Try not to base
your questions on the names of the locations. Cover as many chapters as possible
in your Multiple Choice.
The second task is five sentences for translation from Russian into English.
Let each of them contain at least two active words.
Be sure you can do the quiz yourself without looking up the information.

2. Revise the contents of the whole book. Get ready to speak upon the following
topics:

1) ‘Three Men in a Boat’ as a travelogue.

2) Human follies and shortcomings displayed in the book.
3) A sketch of George.
4) A sketch of Harris.
5) A sketch of Jerome.

40
6) The role of Monmorency.
7) Humour as Jerome sees it.
8) The lyrical digressions in the book. What are they devoted to? Their functions.
9) Historical allusions in the book. Characters and events. The purpose of the
allusions.
10) Where is the cussedness of life concentrated according to the book?

Appendix 1

Short outlines open the chapters in the book. Nevertheless, if you read an outline
attentively you’ll find out that its points only indirectly suggest what is going to
happen in the enumerated episodes. The intent of this outline is to get you
interested and read the chapter.
In case you want to turn back to a particular episode, or remember what
this or that point of an outline is about, they’ll be of little help. Therefore what you
need is a précis (pronounced [‘preIsi:]).
A précis is a short piece of writing giving only the main points of a longer
piece of writing or of what has been said. A précis is a condensed summary - it is
from seven to ten times shorter than the original. Into Russian a précis can be
translated as «краткое содержание», «конспект», while a summary is «краткое
изложение».
The précis-writing strategies are the same as the ones you use when
working on a summary. The chief requirements for a précis are the same:
1. The most important events are to be highlighted, the details are to be
omitted.

41
 2. The third-person narration is to be presented.
3. The Present Simple tense is to be used.
4. Proper names are to be preferred instead of pronouns.
5. Personal commentary and judgment are to be left out.
For more advanced instructions refer to the Appendix ‘Tactics Suggestions
to Students on Writing Summaries and Essays” in the course book «Практический
курс английского языка. 3 курс» by V.D.Arakin.
The only difference between summaries and précis is that the former must
be short and the latter can be extremely short: 7-10 sentences containing 70-100
words.

Appendix 2

On Two Kinds of Humour

Author E.B.White stood up against explaining humour: ‘Humour can be dissected

as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to
any but the pure scientific mind.’
Since your mind is doomed to scientific purification, as demands the
specification of the studies you chose, you are to get at least a vague linguistic idea
of humour.
As explanatory dictionaries give it, humour is a quality that makes a
situation or words evoke a sense of funny and causes laughter.
The general mechanism of a large amount of emotions is ‘failed
expectations’. First something familiar is presented for the reader or the viewer.
From there, they may think they know the natural follow-through conclusion or
reaction or action. But instead they receive something different from the seemingly
natural result. In fact, nearly anything can be the object of this expectations shift.

42
 And this is how linguists describe one of the basic working principles of
stylistic functions, i.e. expressive potentials of linguistic units in a context: ‘You
are mentally prepared for a certain consequence. Any deviation from the norm and
predictability makes you stumble over it. It attracts your attention and causes an
emotional response on your part’. They use the term ‘defeated expectancy’.
You do feel the similarity between the comprehension between the
comprehension of reality and speech, don’t you?
In case the broken or defeated expectancy brings about surprise, humour
results.
It has been postulated that humour leads to laughter, the latter functions as
a biological protector against a stress, caused by a new view.
When we encounter a new experience of any kind, we immediately add it
to the personal store of possible outcomes of a situation. That partly accounts for
why jokes are not that amusing when we hear or read them for a second time.
Knowing the direction of thought in advance, authors, comedians, film-
makers, etc. effect their purpose of making you laugh.

Now, hopefully, it won’t be too difficult for you to understand how it is

done in the book.
While reading and finding an episode funny, stop at it, start reading it over
and think about the following points.
1. Think back to your expectations. What result did you anticipate?
2. If you feel like saying: ‘I would 2. If you say: ‘I thought N would do this
normally put it another way’ it is an or be like this’ or ‘I thought this would
example of humour of words.

43
3. Write down your ‘normal’ way of happen with N’, it is an example of
communicating the same idea. Analyze humour of the situation.
the difference between the original and 3. Point out what changed the regular
your personal variant. flow of events.
4. Remember that a humorous effect, as 4. Rowan Atkinson claims, that an
well as any other, can be created by any object or a person can become funny in
type of stylistic means and may come up three different ways.
on any level of the language.  by being in an unusual place
5. It can be due to the wrong spelling.  by behaving in an unusual way
Why is it put like this?  by being the wrong size.
6. It can be caused by an anew built
word with an unusual suffix. Comment Check if he is right.
on the way the morphemes form the
new meaning.
7. It can be a ‘wrong’ word. In what
way is it odd? What about its
meaning(s)?
8. The phrase or the sentence can be
constructed against the rules of English
grammar. What rules are violated?
If you’ve had a course in English
Stylistics use the proper terms and
practice your knowledge of stylistic
devices.

Cases combining both types of humour are of great probability.

(For this article the following resources were used:

В.Ф.Кухаренко «Интерпретация текста», 1989;
T.A.Znamenskaya. Stylistics of the English Language. Fundamentals of the Course. 2004;

44
 Wikipedia – the free encyclopaedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humour")

Appendix 3

1. Revise the contents of and the active vocabulary of the first 10 chapters
and get ready to do a short quiz.

2. Choose the proper answer:

1. A sexton is…
a) a servant empowered by his master to turn off the trespassers.
b) a sort of keeper of a sight, i.e. the Hampton Court maze.
c) a person with the job of taking care of a church building and digging graves.

2. Harris got rid of the stranger who blackmailed them…

a) allowing him to evidence his physical strength.
b) fighting him.
45
c) using violent expressions.

3. George impressed upon them to take a change of underthings because…

a) it would be a problem to wash things in the river in case they got dirty.
b) the boat might get upset.
c) the weather might be rainy.

4. In fact, Jerome and Harris criticized Georges’s blazer because…

a) a gentleman should know at least a name for the colour of his clothes.
b) it could have attracted attention to the boat.
c) it didn’t suit him.

5. Jerome's friend got rid of the Liverpool cheeses, at last, …

a) by taking them down to a sea-side town.
b) by leaving them with the charwoman, who could detect a faint odour of
melons after sniffing them.
c) by throwing them into the canal.

6. Jerome’s holiday was once ruined because…

a) he believed an amateur prophet who foretold the weather.
b) he believed a broken barometer.
c) he believed the weather forecast.

7. The best treatment for Jerome's liver in his childhood was…

a) a complete change.
b) clumps.
c) a prescription given by his medical man.

8. Monmorency gave to the suggestion of inns, and pubs his most emphatic
approbation…
46
 a) for until after having a good supper there his human friends were not
quarrelsome and snappy.
b) for he does not revel in romantic solitude.
c) for he has no wild yearning for the unattainable.

9. The author thinks that the chief asset of his book lies in its…
a) originality.
b) humour.
c) veracity.

10. The chief disadvantage of being towed by girls is that they…

a) do it very slowly as the boat is too heavy for them.
b) get too much absorbed in the conversation and do not notice anything.
c) waste too much time on other activities.

11. The friends failed to find the train to Kingston because…

a) nobody could give them any information about it.
b) they had come to a wrong station.
c) they were late.

12. To madden his friends while packing Jerome…

a) encouraged the dog to hinder them.
b) sat on the edge of the table watching them.
c) superintended them.

13. When you sleep out in rainy weather you dream that…
a) somebody else pushes you out of your bed.
b) the end of the world has come.
c) they torture you for your stealing money.

47
3. a) Give the English equivalents to the suggested words and transcribe
them:

1. вверх тормашками 7. редкая вещичка

2. вонь 8. самозванец
3. набожный 9. тянуть на буксире
4. обманчивый 10. хлам
5. отказаться от, отбрасывать 11. штормящий
6. пророк, предсказатель

b) Paraphrase the following with the help of the words and phrases
from your Active vocabulary list:

1. tiring physical work 6. to go to bed

2. to be very fashionable 7. to help sb very much
3. to behave in a silly way 8. to oppose strongly
4. to decide according to the side 9. to sleep outdoors
upon which a thrown in the air coin 10. to wait until the end of
falls 11. too hard to understand
5. to glare at sb

c) Fill in the proper words and phrases from your Active vocabulary
list:
at a time in sight to put upon
change of scene smell to squat down
decipher supervise unnerve
entangle to be to one’s credit unnerving
fancy to go for sth upset
foretell to hang about

48
1. "If it's furs that you're out for," said Eleanor, "you will have to __________ the
choice of them in person." 2. "I've __________ the numeric code," she said flatly.
3. "The _________ of the beasts may make your mare nervous and _________ the
whole caravan." 4. _________ speedily brought about the desired recovery of
health and mental balance. 5. All medicine men use it in their practice to
__________ the future, locate lost or stolen objects, to diagnose and treat illness, to
name the perpetrator of a crime. 6. All that can be said for you is that you don't
wear a moustache That _________, but it is a small thing to weigh in the balance
against all your other defects. 7. Aunt Dahlia had made it clear that the Cream
family must not be thwarted or _________ in any way, so I left as the visitor
suggested. 8. From breakfast on I felt like a bag-snatcher at a railway station. I had
to _________ waiting for the parcel to be put on the hall table, and it wasn't put. 9.
I _________ the milk jug with an imperious wave of the hand. 10. I don't quite
know when he came home, but I __________ it was late. 11. Langdon was leaping
three steps _________ now, gaining ground. 12. Now, like a house of cards, the
scheme was collapsing in on itself... and the end was nowhere _________. 13.
Perhaps it was that he smiled slightly too broadly and gave people the __________
impression that he was about to _________ their neck. 14. The cage part of the
string machine was split open like an egg, and the string had become completely
__________. 15. Uncertain, Ming ____________ at the edge of the pit.
(The task is based on the extracts from the texts
by D.Adams, D.Brown, C.S.Lewis, H.Munro, L.Snicket, P.G.Wodehouse)

4. Look through Task 9. Choose the topic for your report. Start collecting
material for it and for your Multiple choice.

49