"You have had some great trouble. Can I do anything to help you?"
The Gadfly shook his head in silence.
"Are you a pilgrim?"
"I am a miserable sinner."
The accidental similarity of Montanelli's question to the password came like a chance straw, that the Gadfly, in his desperation, caught at, answering automatically. He had begun to tremble under the soft pressure of the hand that seemed to burn upon his shoulder. (E. L. Voynich, The Gadfly)
Тask 6. Choose the best variant from those given below to complete the proverb.
1) A ............. stone gathers no moss.
a) rolling
b) nice
c) big
2) As you make you bed, so you ............. lie on it.
a) can
b) try
c) must
3) A stitch in time ............. nine.
a) saves
b) brings
c) makes
Тask 7. Complete the beginning or the end of the following proverbs.
1) A bird in hand .............
2) A rolling stone .............
3) Actions speak louder .............
4) All's well .............
5) A stitch in time .............
6) ............. and you'll be told no lies
7) ............. dreads the fire
8) ............. will catch at a straw
9) ............. a friend indeed
10) ............. so you must lie on it
Тask 8. Illustrate the proverbs using your body language/ gestures.
The appetite comes with eating. (Аппетит приходит во время еды.)
As you make your bed, so must you lie in it. (Как постелешь, так и поспишь.)
Тask 9. Make up a joke using one or more of the given proverbs in the end.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
A burnt child dreads the fire.
A drowning man will catch at a straw.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
As you make your bed, so you must lie on it.
A stitch in time saves nine.
Ask no questions and you'll be told no lies.
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
All's well that ends well.
Тask 1. Read and translate the meaning of the proverbs using the vocabulary.
Explanatory notes:
1. A watched pot never boils (or: a watched pot is long in boiling): time hangs heavy on one's hands during the period of waiting or expectation.
Example: I said to myself, "A watched pot never boils"; if I don't look for her she will come. (J. Galsworthy)
2. Better late than never: it is better to arrive late than never to arrive at all, or be late in the performance of something necessary or advisable rather than never do it. Compare: Лучше поздно, чем никогда.
3. Don't cross the bridges before you come to them (or: don't cross the bridge till you get to it): do not trouble yourself about future problems and difficulties, but wait till they have to be faced.
Example: "You know I get desperately frightened, sometimes," said Aileen. "Father might be watching us, you know. I've often wondered what I'd do if he caught us. I couldn't lie out of this, could I?"
"You certainly couldn't," said Cowper wood, "but you might as well not cross that bridge until you come to it," he continued. (Th. Dreiser)
4. Every cloud has a silver lining: nothing is wholly dark or full of unmixed sorrow or gloom; there is some good in every evil; a misfortune may turn into a benefit.
Example: "O, society!" said Kate, "society, in the sense you mean, and I have only a bowing acquaintance. Every cloud has a silver lining; and that is one advantage of being insignificant, ─ that you're not in much terror of Mrs. Qrundy." (R. Broughton)
5. Half a loaf is better than no bread: if it is impossible to have (receive, gain) exactly what one wants, it is better to have a substitute, however poor it may be, than nothing at all.
