Вопрос № 348536 - Английский язык

Joseph Turner, a famous English painter, lived in the 19-th century. His paintings were a great success. One day his favorite dog broke a leg. The artist was very sorry for the dog and wanted it to be well again. He was rich enough to send for the best surgeon in London instead of taking a veterinary.

When the surgeon arrived the artist begged him to help his dog because it was very important for him. Having got to know what the matter was the surgeon felt annoyed, but he treated the dog carefully and soon it was quite well.

The next week the surgeon asked Turner to come to his place. The artist believed that the surgeon wanted to see him in connection with his dog.

Joseph Turner arrived at the appointed time and was shown into the sitting-room. The surgeon met him very warmly and said: “Mr. Turner, I am so glad you’ve come. My door needs painting. I know you are too great a painter for this work, but I beg you to do it. It is so important for me.

Erich Segal is an American author, screenwriter and educator, whose books have popularity with the reading public. Erich Wolf Segal was born in 1937 in Brook Lyn, New York. He attended Harvard University. After graduating from it in 1958 he obtained his master’s degree and a doctorate.

He was a professor of Greek and Latin literature at Harvard University. Now he is teaching at Wolfson College, Oxford. In 1967, from the story by Lee Minoff, he wrote the screenplay for The Beatles 1968 motion picture, Yellow Submarine.

His book “Love Story” became the top selling work of fiction for all of 1970 in the United States. His novels “The Class” (1985), “Doctors” were also bestsellers.

What constitutes the main value of Erich Segal’s books in that the writer helps people become sensitive to everyday problems. He brings up a lot of questions for discussion.

Every day in one of the streets of Vienna you could see a blind man playing the violin. His dog sat near him with a cap in its mouth. People, who were passing them, dropped coins into the cap.

One day, when the weather was very cold, the man was playing for a long time, but nobody wanted to give him anything. The poor man thought that he would have to go to bed without supper. He was so tired and so weak that he stopped playing.

At the moment a young man came up to him and said: “Give me your violin. I shall help you”. And with these words he began to play. He played so well that people began to gather and soon there was a big crowd. Everybody was eager to listen to the fine music and to thank the young man for the pleasure.

Soon the cap was full of money. “I don’t know how to thank you”, said the blind man”. “Who are you?” “I am Paganini”, was the answer.

It was in 1620, in the time of King James the First. English people did not like their king and they called him “The foolish King of England”. Many of them even left England and went to live in other countries.

In November, 1620 a small ship, the Mayflower, left England. There were about one hundred people aboard the ship. For seven long weeks the Mayflower was in the waves and storms of the Atlantic Ocean, and at last the people saw the land. It was America.

It was already autumn. It was raining and a cold wind was blowing. Sixteen men left the Mayflower and went ashore. In the evening they came back to the ship. Sometimes they did not come back for many days; they were looking for a good place to live. There was a good harbour for ships there, some fields and forests near it and even a small river. The people began to build a village there.

On January, 1621 there were already two streets in this village, and they called it “New Plymouth”.

Once there was a man whose wife was dumb, and this made him very sad because he loved her very much. After some time he went to see a doctor and said. “Can you make my wife speak?” “Perhaps I can”, said the doctor, “the operation is difficult, but if I try, I’ll do my best”. “Of course, you may try”, said the husband, “I’ll bring her tomorrow”.

The next day the doctor made the operation and the dumb wife began to speak. She spoke so much and so loudly that in a few hours her husband ran back to the doctor and said,

“Can you make my wife dumb again?” “No”, said the doctor, “there are many ways to make a dumb woman speak, but no ways to make a woman stop talking”.

“What must I do?” said the man, “I shall soon die if I have to listen to her all day long”. “Well”, said the doctor, “I can’t make her dumb, but I can make you deaf and you will not have to listen to her”. “Very well”, said the man, “you may do so. It will be better than the other way”.

Jonathan Swift, the famous English writer and the author of “Gulliver’s Travels”, was not very generous. He seldom gave anything to the servants or those who sent him presents. But once he received a lesson from a boy who very often carried him hares, partridges, and other game.

One day the boy arrived with a heavy basket containing fish, fruit, and game. He knocked at the door and Swift by chance opened it himself. “Here”, said the boy gruffly, “my master has sent you a basket full of things”.

Swift, feeling displeased at the boy’s rude manner, said to him: “Come here, my boy, and I will teach you how to deliver a message a little more politely; come, imagine yourself Jonathan Swift, and I will be the boy”. Then taking off his hat very politely, and addressing himself to the boy, he said. “Sir, my master sends you a little present, and begs you will do him the honour to accept it”.

“Oh, very well, my boy”, replied the boy, “tell your master I am much obliged to him, and there is half a crown for yourself”. Swift laughed heartily, and gave the boy a crown for his wit.