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THREE PEOPLE AND TWO SEATSМИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ РЕСПУБЛИКИ БЕЛАРУСЬ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ «БАРАНОВИЧСКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ»
ЧИТАЕМ И АНАЛИЗИРУЕМ SHORT STORIES TO READ Учебно-методическое пособие Рекомендовано к печати Барановичи РИО БарГУ УДК ББК Ч
Составители:
Ю. В. Маслов, кандидат педагогических наук, доцент кафедры М. Е. Маслова, старший преподаватель кафедры Т. А. Селезнёва, преподаватель-стажер кафедры
Рецензенты:
И. М. Андреасян, кандидат педагогических наук, В. К. Коновалик, магистр педагогических наук,
УДК ББК
INTRODUCTION
This collection contains a number of stories belonging to different writers and styles. As far as we see it, the stories are united by three thematic bases “School and University Life”, ”Sports and Athletes”, “The English Speaking World”. Each text is provided with a range of exercises which will help to understand the stories better. You will find a biographical brief about the authors accompanying each story as well as three types of assignments. Pre-Reading assignments can help, at the preliminary stage, to get prepared to anticipate and discuss the main problems depicted in the story. Reading assignments help the reader to learn the details, decipher the author’s message, and understand the general design of the story. Post-Reading assignments push students — gently! — to the furthest limits of their creativity. We hope this book will motivate learners to continue their travel through the world of English and American literature with great enjoyment and pleasure.
ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ Сборник объединяет рассказы разных авторов и различных стилей. В общих чертах, рассказы можно разделить на три группы — «Школьная и университетская жизнь», «Спорт и спортсмены» и «Мир английского языка». Каждый из рассказов сопровождается заданиями, которые помогают понять его содержание наилучшим образом. Краткая биография автора предшествует серии заданий из трех частей. Предтекстовые задания выполняются на начальном этапе работы и подготавливают читателя к восприятию основной проблематики рассказа. Задания, выполняемые в процессе чтения, позволяют прояснить детали, раскрыть замысел автора и глубже понять внутреннюю структуру повествования. Послетекстовые задания служат цели подтолкнуть — не слишком явно! — студентов к тому, чтобы по-настоящему проявить творческие способности. Мы надеемся, что работа с этой книгой будет мотивировать студентов к продолжению увлекательного путешествия в мир английской и американской литературы.
THINKING AHEAD School life is by all means a test. First and for most it is a test of knowledge and learning abilities. But it is quite often a test of one’s personalities and character. Which test does the story focus on? And who is on test?
A WORD ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Roberta Wiegand is a modern American author who specializes in writing fiction for children and young adults. She regularly contributes to several notable publications for teenagers including the well-known Cricket magazine. Her stories are noted for their warm humor. PRE-READING ACTIVITIES 1. In small groups, discuss this great annual event — the start of the academic year and the feelings connected with it — expectation, anticipation, joy, fear… 2. Decide whether a teacher’s appearance plays any role in teacher-student relationship. Can an attractive and smartly-dressed teacher motivate students to study (or vice versa)? 3. Discuss the problem of student pranks and teachers’ attitude to them. Prove/disprove the idea that a teacher’s relation to a student joke can make or break friendship between them. READING ACTIVITIES 4. Read the opening paragraphs and comment on the mood the author creates. Do you think this mood will prevail throughout the whole story?
Early in October school began as usual in Ponder's Mill. Sarah and Lilly walked up the hill together, wearing their new school clothes. Yellow leaves from the elms along Main Street fell on the girls' heads and whirled in gentle circles around their feet. Sarah and Lilly were beginning the fifth grade. The brick schoolhouse had four grades on each of its three floors. The higher the grade went, the higher up in the schoolhouse the classroom was. So now, for the first time, the girls would be in a room on the second storey. “Do you think the new teacher will be nice?” Lilly asked. Sarah started every year by liking the teacher she was used to better than the new one. This year there was a special mystery because the regular fifth-grade teacher had moved away. No one knew anything about her replacement. “I hope so,” said Sarah. “But it will be worth having a new teacher to be in one of the rooms with a fire escape.” “You bet,” Lilly agreed. “That'll be fun.” The fire escapes were two big metal tubes. They started in one room on each of the upper floors. They sloped from the school building to the ground outside. Whenever there was a fire drill, Mr Bostrum, the principal, rang the bell in the tower. Then all the children on the second and third floors hurried into a room with a fire escape in it. One by one they sat down at the top opening of the metal chute and pushed off. They whizzed down the giant slides and quickly emptied the top floors of the school. On the second floor, the fire escape began in the fifth-grade room. All the upstairs pupils in the school learned how to use the tubes and thought they were fun. But Mr Bostrum only clanged the bell two or three times a year. Everyone agreed that it would be a shame to waste such great slides by using them just during fire drills. So sometimes, when the teacher wasn't looking, one of the children disappeared down a chute. Now Sarah would have her turn in a fire escape room. Sarah and Lilly hang their jackets on hooks in the dark, wood-lined hall. The first thing they noticed was the new sign mounted on their classroom door. M. EMERSON, FIFTH GRADE was printed on it. “She sounds old, don't you think?” Sarah guessed. “And maybe mean, too.” Lilly gave a little shudder. They exchanged worried looks. Then they crossed their fingers for luck and went timidly inside. But the teacher wasn't there yet. It was still ten minutes early. The other pupils were gathered around the top of the metal tube at the back of the room. They were talking in whispers. They motioned to the girls to join them. Pete Robbins, who was the biggest boy in their class, said, “We've got this plan, see. Whenever the new teacher goes to the blackboard and turns her back, some of us will go down the chute. As many as can before she figures it out. Maybe she doesn't even know about the slide yet.” Sarah thought it was risky, but she had to admit, it was a great temptation. At least they'd find right way what the new teacher was like. 5. Read on. Pay attention to the adjectives the author uses to depict the new teacher.
Now there was the sound of footsteps in the hall. The pupils scurried to their seats. They were looking straight ahead when the knob turned. The door opened. And the new teacher stepped into the room. He had broad shoulders and narrow hips. He was dressed in a tan suit with a plaid waistcoat. A heavy gold chain hung across his chest. He walked briskly to the front of the room. “I am Mr Maxfield Emerson. I will be your teacher for the next year.” His voice was pleasant and golden, like his watch chain and his hair. His mustache was the same color. It curled up on the ends. Even his eyes glinted gold. He smiled in a dignified way at the children in front of him and brushed his hand over the curl on the top of his head. The curl bounced back, as if it were determined for Mr Emerson to be as handsome as possible. The class sat perfectly still while he called the roll. There had never been a man teacher in Ponder's Mill School except in the very highest grades! Sarah swallowed. Mr Emerson was the handsomest man she had ever seen. She couldn't believe he was going to be her teacher. Mr Emerson walked to the blackboard at the front of the room. “These are the subjects we are going to study together during the year,” he announced. He picked up the chalk and turned his back to the class. At the top of the board he wrote HISTORY. He had only written THE UNITED STATES underneath it when Pete Robbins disappeared down the slide. Three of his friends quickly followed him. A few other pupils slipped into the seats that were now empty closest to the back corner of the room. Mr Emerson finished his list under HISTORY and turned his face to the class. He took the shiny watch out of his vest pocket and glanced at it. Then he turned his broad shoulders back to the board. He hadn't noticed a thing! “Another subject will be English.” He started a new column on the blackboard. Five or six more children seemed to be sucked down the chute while others shifted to the places they left vacant. Their parents would never have believed they could move so quietly. The sound of chalk stopped. Then Mr Emerson began another column headed ARITHMETIC. Sarah tiptoed quickly to the tunnel and swooshed down it. The others were waiting in a circle around the end of the tube. “Did he see you?” they asked. “No, he doesn't suspect at all.” Someone said, “Boy, he must be sort of dumb.” They'd never believed they could be so successful. Finally Piggy Hayden, the last of the missing, popped out of the tunnel. Poor Mr Emerson. His whole class disappeared on his very first day. Sarah almost felt sorry for him.
6. Now finish reading the story. Does the ending make you smile? Why? Just then there was another sound. It was a soft swishing noise as if Aladdin's hand was rubbing his magic lamp. Obediently the genie appeared. Mr Emerson stood up at the bottom of the fire escape. Carefully he smoothed the curl on top of his head. He adjusted the chain across his vest. The class didn't know what to do — so it did nothing. Mr Emerson looked around the circle of staring faces. “Congratulations. You're a very alert class. I confess I didn't even hear the fire drill bell myself.” The smooth golden voice went on. “But soon after this young man left, I started timing you.” His hand dropped casually on top of Pete Robbins's bristly head. Pete groaned. “From then until the last one was out” — Mr Emerson looked at Piggy now — “it only took you four-and-a-half minutes. That's excellent. You were so quiet and orderly, too. Mr Bostrum will be pleased. Now, if you'll all march back upstairs, we'll see if you’re as smart at your studies.” Without a single word, the fifth grade marched.
AFTER-READING ACTIVITIES
7. Answer the following questions.
· What added a new shade to the girls` excitement that October day? · Why was it a sort of advantage to have a fire escape in the classroom? · What predictions did the students make about their new teacher? · What was the idea behind the “Great plan”? · Would the students have been as much impressed if Mr. Emerson`s appearance had been ordinary? · Does the author give any clues indicating Mr. Emerson`s awareness of the events in progress? · Why did the prank seem to be a success? · Did Mr. Emerson chose the right line of conduct? · Who do you think played the best trick? 8.Find all the words with the help of which the author describes Mr. Emerson, the newcomer to the school. Every little detail matters, doesn’t it? What do you make of him? 9.Let us describe the characters of the story with the help of their remarks. Find out whom this remark belongs to and make a brief description of their character. · “But it will be worth having a new teacher to be one of the rooms with the fire escape.” · “And maybe mean, too” · “You are a very alert class. I didn’t even hear the fire drill bell myself”. · “As many as can before she figures out. May be she doesn’t even know about the slide yet”. 10.Study the way the author describes the test the students put their teacher to. Notice the actions and the moods and comment on the ways they are depicted. · “She sounds old, don’t you think?” · “Boy, she must be sort of dumb”. · “Now if you’ll all march back upstairs, we’ll see if you are as smart at your studies”. 11.Let us focus on style. Read the definition of a stylistic device and find its examples in the story. An allusion is a brief reference to a person (a famous historical, literary or movie figure), event, place or a work of art. A literary allusion is a reference to another literary text that is famous enough to be understood by competent readers. Writers use allusion to enrich their works. 12.Describe your first day at University. Did it live up to your expectations? Can you recall your feelings and impressions? Be ready to put them on paper. DESCRIPTIVE WRITING 13.Free writing. You have five minutes to write down any images, ideas or details that come to you concerning the topic “homework”. Don’t pay any attention to possible grammar or spelling mistakes, focus on the content.
14.Clustering. Transfer this boxed subject onto your notebook page. Write related ideas, box them and connect them with lines to your subject and to each other. Swap your cluster diagram with your desk partner and point out the most interesting issues.
15.Write a 120-word essay describing the most memorable class you have ever had. It is important to organize your thoughts and present your arguments clearly in paragraphs, and to work out the structure of your essay before you start to write. Suggested essay plan Paragraph 1: introduce the topic Paragraph 2: give points of view and information in support of the argument, with reasons Paragraph 3: give contrasting views Paragraph 4: conclude (give your own opinion or interpretation of the facts) THREE PEOPLE AND TWO SEATS THINKING AHEAD School life is about studies and communication. Both these processes are two-way ones and call for partnership. Partnership between students and teachers is key to success. But sometimes this key is broken… The story you are going to read deals with such a situation.
A WORD ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kevin Major is a prominent Canadian author who has recently got his recognition in the USA. His first career choice was medicine, but then he turned to teaching. It was while teaching science and English that he developed an interest to writing — especially his homeland. Now Kevin Major is the author of several novels, short story and poem collections. PRE-READING ACTIVITIES 1. In small groups, make up a list of components that are an absolute must for a teacher-student partnership. 2. Decide why some students see the teacher as “the enemy”, never thinking about how the teacher feels. 3. Discuss the problems young teachers face in their classrooms. Is it just the small age gap that is to blame or more than that? READING ACTIVITIES 4. Read the beginning of the story and find the hints at the main character’s profession and working experience.
Outside the garage the air was chilled and the evening dark except for the light from the gas pumps. It revealed scattered specks of falling snow that would otherwise have been invisible. They touched the ground lightly, hesitated, then disappeared. Beyond the garage and out to the highway the darkness expanded wider and blacker, completely unbroken. “That bloody thing will never get here”, he turned and said to the guy who had sold him the ticket. “It's a half-hour late already.” The fellow, held in the spell of the comic he was reading, didn't bother to look up. He nodded slightly and mumbled in agreement. “Damn bus. Never on time.” He turned and stared out the window again. The car's horn demanding gas finally disturbed the attendant's concentration. He brought the chair he was sitting on back to its legs and himself slowly to his feet. Spider-Man was carefully left aside. “You'll just have to wait I guess,” the fellow said on his way through the door. “Wait?” ... How much longer? Come Tuesday morning he would have to be back to start work again. This long weekend break would allow him momentary recovery from the strain of the previous two months. It had been a hard decline from the eagerness and confidence that he had arrived with at this same bus stop in September. The bus showed up eventually. He grabbed his overnight bag and climbed the three steps. The driver took his ticket. “You'll have to stand. All the seats are taken,” the driver told him as he punched two precise holes. He made no reply but walked with his case toward the rear of the bus. He leaned back against the washroom cubicle. And then he cursed under his breath. Standing. Grand Falls was over fifty miles away. At least an hour before there would be a chance of a vacant seat. “You might be able to squeeze in here.” The voice was friendly though weak and unsure. He didn't reply right away, but turned and saw two boys. It was only then he was certain he was being spoken to. “There's not much room. We can move over.” “Thanks.” They were the farthest back of the seats on the bus, just behind where he had been standing and left of the washroom door. It definitely beat standing up. He sat down as the third person in a space normally occupied by two people. Because the others were small, the fit was a tight one but not uncomfortable. “Where you headed for?” “Gander.” His reply left an unexpected silence. He could feel they were waiting for more than one word. “What about you fellows?” “Bishops Falls. That's where Kenny's aunt is. We don't live here, just goin' for a visit.” The kid brushed the hair away from his eyes and scratched the back of his neck in one motion. “We've been there lots of times before.” The fellow who had been speaking was the shorter of the two boys, despite the fact that he looked older, probably fourteen. He had a dark complexion and black hair, which kept falling forward into his eyes. A quick smile revealed his potential for mischief. His buddy, next to the window, was blond with hair that curled above the edge of his baseball cap. He seemed to be the quieter but equal partner. “My name's Brian. And that's Kenny.” They were words that hung loose. Again they waited for him to answer. He knew there was no good reason not to. “Mine is Dave.” The boys were eased. “You want a smoke, Dave?” “No, thanks.” “You sure? We bought a pack between us this mornin'. We could save you a draw.” Each of the boys put one in his mouth. Brian pulled out some matches from his pants pocket. As they lit up, Dave could see they were seasoned smokers. It wasn't boyish misbehaviour with them any longer. They blew smoke rings into the light above the next seat and watched them float away, out of shape. “Geez,” Brian whispered to his friend after they'd been sitting quietly for only a minute, “we could have that guy up there smoked out in no time. He'd have to throw away his book and come up for air.” “Go for it.” “Sure.” “Go on.” “You.” Kenny took a deep draw on his cigarette, then burst out with fake sputtering coughs. “Cut it out, jerk!” Brian warned him in a heavy, lowered voice. “You're gettin' ashes all over me.” A fist banged against Kenny's leg. “Oow!” The sound rose sharply. There was a brief silence, then a revenge hit from Kenny. It did not produce a great deal of noise overall. It didn't seem to be bothering anyone, and it wasn't bothering him. He had grown up through that kind of behaviour too... though he had not been so boisterous.
5. Now go on reading. What do you think will happen if Dave tells the boys he is a schoolteacher? Will the conversation remain as easy?
They were kids having fun. Perhaps, he thought, it should be annoying him. But a bus ride and a classroom are two different situations. Sitting there, he suddenly realized that. At the beginning of September he never would have accepted such an idea. He might even have considered it to be outmoded thinking. Kenny poked his friend. “As Rabbit would say, 'You have no manners.'” “No she don't. It's 'Brian, you have absolutely no manners!'” he mimicked, his voice highly pitched. Then lowered, “I could teach her a few things.” There followed lewd mumblings interspersed with whistles. “Absolutely no manners.” “Boys, you are a hard bunch,” he said to them, shaking his head with a hint of a smile. He couldn't sit and listen any longer without making some comment. “Nah.” “Your aunt doesn't know what she is in for. She expecting you?” “Probably,” Kenny said. “I go over every holiday we get. She won't be surprised. It's better than being in Corner Brook I'll tell ya. Hey, Brian, where's those sandwiches your mother gave you before you left?” “Perhaps lost by now.” “Get 'em. I'm starved. You hungry, Dave?” Brian stretched out and moved his hand across the luggage rack until it struck upon a brown paper bag. Opening it, he withdrew a can of Pepsi and a small stack of sandwiches wrapped in wax paper. They consisted of thin slices of bologna between pieces of buttered bread. “Do you want one?” he offered their guest. “There's nothing wrong with 'em, honest.” The food stared up uninvitingly. “Okay.” As he held it in his hand, it slid apart. “Your mother makes a slippery sandwich.” They laughed. “She was glad to see me go,” Brian said, as if it were part of the humour. How could he react to that? The kid regretted having said it and dug his buddy with an elbow. An empty can fell on the floor with a clamor. The too loud noise put a quick lid on their antics. They returned to the sandwiches. Had he been sitting in another seat, he would probably been asleep by now. But instead, he was consuming the last bit of a stale sandwich next to a pair of disquieting boys. They gave him a great deal to think about. He couldn't help but picture the boys' homes left behind in Corner Brook. Their exteriors were real enough; he had passed enough of them to know how they looked. What took place inside he had gathered from a mixture of his sociology readings, of movies and novels, and the rough kids at school. The picture stirred him. They would be forced to grow serious in time, he thought. Then the fun would be gone. The stop at Grand Falls gave him a chance to stretch his legs. He left the bus without a coat and the cold night air abruptly cleared his head of any sleepiness. He went inside the restaurant and waited in front of the lunch counter. Within a few minutes he reentered the bus, shivering, holding three small cardboard plates of French fries, each topped with a plastic fork and a packet of ketchup. “Perhaps you're still a bit hungry.” They looked awkward accepting it. He thought that perhaps it was because they were not very often in such a position. They repeated their thanks a number of times. It seemed out of proportion to what he had given them. “That's okay, I won't go broke because of it.” They ate quietly now, but with obvious pleasure. It reminded him of the time, about a year before, he had been hitchhiking home from the university. He hadn't bothered to stop anywhere all day to eat, but stayed on the road to make it home before dark. Then, late in the evening, with thirty miles still remaining, a bakery van picked him up. The driver gave him a free hand with the leftovers in the back. He stuffed himself on apple turnovers and chocolate-covered doughnuts. At that time, a thank-you seemed inadequate. “You fellows finished? Here, put the plates in this bag. Don't want the floor littered up.” Almost as if it were an automatic reaction, both boys got out their cigarettes. It was like a relaxing after-dinner smoke. “What do you do? I mean... do you work?” one of them asked. “Yeah.” He hesitated. “I'm a schoolteacher.” They looked at each other quickly and smiled, then looked back in anticipation of him laughing. “You are not a teacher.” He was sorry now that he had said it. He wished he had sidestepped the question. “Okay, I'm not.” “Then what do you do?” He removed his wallet from a coat pocket and produced a white card for them to read. “Here, read this. What does it say?” “Newfoundland Teachers —” “Association. And it has my name on it.” “You could have made it up yourself... All right, what grade do you teach?” “Eight, most of the time.” “Kenny, you think he's tellin' the truth?” They figured he might be trying to pull a fast one on them. “There are thousands of teachers, you know. Why is that so hard to believe?” “You don't look like one. Besides, I've never seen a teacher like you, eh, Kenny? Every one of the teachers at our school are crabs, except maybe for Mrs Lewis. But she don't even teach us.” Perhaps he should have felt flattered, but suddenly lurking back to deaden any contentment was the thought of the experiences of the past weeks. “Tell me now, what would you boys do if you had me for a teacher?” “Guess we could have a bit of fun.” It wasn't what he had hoped for. Neither was it a surprise. “Maybe you would learn something.” “Nah, not me.” “Me neither.” “Couldn't beat anything into my head.” Damn it! He should have known better than to ask. What was he expecting? “You wouldn't want to be a teacher very long in our school anyway. There was a guy there last year only lasted two weeks. We almost drove him crazy. He was an okay guy, I mean he would have been all right, but he never could keep order. He couldn't even get real mad with us!” “But he wasn't tough on you, you could have given him a chance! Sure, perhaps he was trying to help you guys. You think I wouldn't last two weeks? You think I'd crack up too?” What kind of fool was he anyway? Trying to be reasonable with kids. He turned from them. He must be some kind of damned idiot. 6.Read the story to the end. Does the torn card indicate doubt, defeat or hard thinking? They were right — cracked in two weeks. Face it — two weeks, two months, it was all the same. As a teacher he was nothing! He liked kids, didn't he? And hadn't he tried to show that? Or did that matter? Did he have to pretend to hate them before they would behave in the classroom? Did he have to play Jekyll and Hyde? He recalled when he went into his first class — he was nervous but his intentions were good. He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted response to what he was teaching. He wanted their opinions. Not facts. Feelings. On an equal basis. He read somewhere later that any teacher who smiles very much before the end of six weeks is inviting trouble. Too bad. He wasn't going to take any advice from what must have been some sour spinster. He couldn't deny now that that he had been creamed. From then on, whenever he wanted seriousness, it was hell to get it. He had reasoned wrongly. Show them that you know real life is not all easy, show them that you understand — they will respond then; they will make an honest try. Like hell. They did not see it that way. For most of them it meant he was a soft teacher. Someone to take advantage of. Someone he didn't even send people to the principal. They just couldn't understand a teacher who didn't jump on them. That' s the way it's played — the guy up front yells; they sit and stay quiet. “Sorry, we didn't mean it that way.” Brian spoke shyly. They left the bus at Bishop Falls, the next stop. He couldn't come up with much to say then. He smiled at them from inside as they headed down the road. That was the only way he could put it. He was now one person with two seats. The one beside him remained vacant for the rest of the trip. It was a luxury, almost a bed if he wanted to sleep. He never gave a second thought to using it. He sat there, hardly stirring then for the next hour, until the bus stopped at Gander. He got off, leaving the two seats unoccupied, except for the four torn pieces of a white card.
AFTER-READING ACTIVITIES
7. Answer the following questions.
· Why was Dave so eager to get home? · What things aggravated the young man’s strain and irritation? · Were Brian and Kenny deliberately disturbing the passengers or just having fun? · Why was Dave trying not to pay attention to the boys` jokes? · What can the readers guess about the boys` probable background? · How can the boys` disbelief concerning Dave profession be explained? · What was the boys` attitude to their teachers and school? · What lay behind Dave’s anger and disillusionment? · What was the reason for his professional failure? · Why was it hard for Dave to say something to the boys when they were getting off the bus?
8.Find all the words with the help of which the author describes Dave’s state of mind. Pay special attention to the character’s inner speech and ponder over the role it plays. 9.Let us describe the characters of the story with the help of their remarks. · “Boys, you are a hard bunch”. · “Your mother makes a slippery sandwich”. · “I could teach her a few things”. · “Tell me now what would you boys do if you had me for a teacher?” · “Every one of the teachers at our school are crabs, except maybe for Mrs. Lewis”. · “But he wasn’t tough on you, you should have given him a chance”. · “Sorry, we didn’t mean it that way”. 10.Study Kenny and Brian’s behavior, speech and gestures. In what ways are they typical kids? 11.Let us focus on style. Read the definition of a stylistic device and find its examples in the story.
The epithet is a stylistic device based on the interplay of emotive and logical meaning in an attributive word, phrase or even sentence used to characterize an object. The epithet is markedly subjective and evaluative. The logical attribute is purely objective, non-evaluating. 12.Describe the feelings of a young teacher who has come to school with the best intentions but finds teaching and coping much harder than she/he has expected.
WRITING DIALOGUE
13.Dialogue is a means of communicating the author’s message through the remarks of the characters. At first glance, writing dialogue is easy. On second thought, it is not. There should always be something that the reader might understand that goes beyond the mere words, words, words. In this case, writing dialogue is an art and a hard task to tackle. We are going to try tackling it now.
Continue the conversation between two teachers in the staffroom after class. One is a frustrated greenhorn teacher (G) thinking that everything goes wrong. The other is an experienced veteran (V) knowing that there is always a way if there is a will.
V: Hi there. Looks like you were having a bad time, eh? G: Hello. Yeah, it was awful. V: Why so? Was it you or them? G: I don’t know. They seem to be so — so unresponsive. I am trying my best but – V.: _______________________________________________ G.: That’s where the trouble is. It seems that … V: Are you sure? G: My God, no! But _________________________________ V: _______________________________________________ G: I am beginning to think I am a loser. It’s ______________ V: Yet there is one more way of looking at it. _____________ G: Thanks. I appreciate that.
14.Compare your dialogues in small groups. Work out a joint version that best conveys the message of the author — there is always a way if you are willing. 15.Dramatize the final version in class. FUTURE TENSE THINKING AHEAD School life is diverse and fascinating. It contains many aspects of student activities: studies, relations between friends, love, rivalry and what not. All this you will find in the story under consideration. It is thrilling and captivating, and of course, you will never guess what will come at the end of the story. As the story’s title is Future Tense,we’ll pay special attention to the use of tense forms.
A WORD ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robert Michael Lipsytewas born in 1938, in New York, the son of a school principal and a teacher. Lipsyte’s novels for young adults gained considerable critical acclaim for the absence of sentimentality as well as for the excellence of his writing. Much of his nonfiction deals with sports. He is especially concerned that children are subjected to sports in negative ways. Sports should be fun and entertaining; winning needn’t be the only goal. Lipsyte’s honors and awards include several prestigious literary awards.
PRE-READING ACTIVITIES 1. In small groups, work out the profile of a modern student. Point out the qualities most necessary for success in today’s learning environment. 2. Decide whether creativity is most essential for success in learning. Name the factors that can push students to create (and vice versa). 3. Discuss the problem of student writing. Prove/disprove the idea that student writing should be an integral part of language training at any level. READING ACTIVITIES 4. Read the beginning paragraphs of the story and point out what makes the description of Gary the main character memorable and Mr. Smith’s — quite the opposite.
Gary couldn't wait for tenth grade to start so he could strut his sentences, parade his paragraphs, and renew his reputation as the top creative writer in school. At the opening assembly, he felt on edge, psyched, like a boxer before the first-round bell. He leaned forward as Dr. Proctor, the principal, introduced two new staff members. He wasn't particularly interested in the new vice-principal, Ms. Jones; Gary never had discipline problems, he'd never even had to stay after school. But his head cocked alertly as Dr. Proctor introduced the new Honors English teacher, Mr. Smith. Here was the person he'd have to impress. He studied Mr. Smith. The man was hard to describe. He looked as though he'd been manufactured to fit his name. Average height, brownish hair, pale white skin, medium build. Middle age. He was the sort of person you began to forget the minute you met him. Even his clothes had no particular style. They merely covered his body. Mr. Smith was . . . just there.
5. Read on. Pay attention to how the author describes Gary’s attempts to impress Mr. Smith with his writing. Analyze the words the author uses. Gary was studying Mr. Smith so intently that he didn't hear Dr. Proctor call him up to the stage to receive an award from last term. Jim Baggs jabbed an elbow into his ribs and said, “Let's get up there, Dude.” Dr. Proctor shook Gary's hand and gave him the County Medal for Best Composition. While Dr. Proctor was giving Jim Baggs the County Trophy for Best All-Bound Athlete, Gary glanced over his shoulder to see if Mr. Smith looked impressed. But he couldn't find the new teacher. Gary wondered if Mr. Smith was so ordinary he was invisible when no one was talking about him. On the way home, Dani Belzer, the prettiest poet in school, asked Gary, “What did you think of our new Mr. Wordsmith?” “If he was a color he'd be beige,” said Gary. “If he was a taste he'd be water. If he was a sound he'd be a low hum.” “Fancy, empty words,” sneered Mike Chung, ace reporter on the school paper. “All you've told me is you've got nothing to tell me.” Dani quickly stepped between them. “What did you think of the first assignment?” “Describe a Typical Day at School,” said Gary, trying unsuccessfully to mimic Mr. Smith's bland voice. “That's about as exciting as tofu.” “A real artist,” said Dani, “accepts the commonplace as a challenge.” That night, hunched over his humming electric typewriter, Gary wrote a description of a typical day at school from the viewpoint of a new teacher who was seeing everything for the very first time, who took nothing for granted. He described the shredded edges of the limp flag outside the dented front door, the worn flooring where generations of kids had nervously paced outside the principal's office, the nauseatingly sweet pipe-smoke seeping out of the teachers' lounge. And then, in the last line, he gave the composition that extra twist, the little kicker on which his reputation rested. He wrote:
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ISBN© БарГУ, 2010
