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“You are wrong. I am not the owner of the watch at all. But you are,” the guest said meaningfully. “And the hands don’t go just because that your time is up. Look behind.”
The old watchmaker turned his head towards the working desk. In horror he saw himself or, rather, his senseless body with the head resting on the desk right in front of the watch. His numb hands clutched the screwdriver and tweezers. The desk was in the far corner of the room, but the watchmaker felt, with every fiber of his soul, that the second hand of the watch gave a slight tremble. It started moving for a new heart of someone else to beat in the Universe.
I. Find English equivalents to the following Russian phrases.
– признаюсь, меня всегда интересовала категория времени.
– коллекционные часы в золотом обрамлении.
– работа тонкая и требовала деликатного обращения.
– в понятии времени определённо существует философия и таинство.
– время развивается по спирали.
– озадаченный часовщик.
– чудесный редкий экземпляр.
II. Translate the following words and word-combinations.
– the watchmaker
– be keen on
– his sophisticated work
– a vintage
– to perceive
– instance
– puzzled
– a wide-brimmed hat
– the interlocutor
– the weird visitor
– a rare miraculous specimen
– to get rid of
– repellent
– a decent amount of money
– the root cause
– the screwdriver
– the tweezers
III. Find adjectives in the text. Make up your own sentences with them.
IV. Unscramble the words in bold.
1. There was a watch hmnieamcs resting on the table in front of him.
2. The watch was a vgintae framed in gold.
3. The katamwrceh addressed a visitor.
4. There have been some tsnasecni.
5. The concept of time definitely contains hoolyhipps and mystery.
6. The time is flowing in the prsali
7. You are the owner of a rare miraculous peesminc.
8. I need time to determine the otro cause.
9. His numb hands clutched the cevsidrrewr
10. It started moving for a new life-being of someone else in the venuseir
V. Give definitions of the following verbs.
–to discern
–to admit
–to comprehend
–to prove
–to prohibit
–to groan
–to clutch
–to perceive
VI. Grammar.
1. Find and translate sentences in the Past Simple Tense.
2. Find and translate a sentence with homogeneous parts.
3. Find and translate one sentence in the Present Perfect Tense.
4. Find and translate one sentence in the Past Perfect Continuous Tense.
5. Find sentences with the direct speech. Change them into the indirect
speech.
VII. Answer the following questions.
1. Where did the strange visitor come to?
2. What had the watchmaker been repairing for nearly an hour?
3. What subject has the watchmaker always been keen on?
4. Whose watch did the guest bring to fix?
5. In your opinion, why did the guest refuse to take off his hat inside?
6. What facts did the stranger tell the watchmaker about the time?
7. Will you describe the reaction of the watchmaker to the words of his
interlocutor about time?
8. What is the main message of the story?
9. Who do you think the weird guest was?
10. Do you believe in the rebirth of souls?
VIII. Say whether the following sentences are true, false or not given in the text.
Say what is wrong with the false ones.
1. The watchmaker had been fixing his own vintage watch.
2. The watch was with the golden chain.
3. The visitor wasn’t wearing a tie.
4. According to the weird guest, the time is flowing in the celestial spiral.
5. There were many other tools on the desk.
6. The numb hands of the watchmaker clutched the flat screwdriver.
7. The second hand of the watch started moving for a new galaxy
in the Universe.
8. The stranger appeared to be a wizard.
IX. Speaking.
1. Describe the watchmaker and the stranger.
2. Act out the dialogue between the watchmaker and the stranger.
3. What another title of the story would you suggest? Why?
4. Speak about time as a philosophical concept.
5. Give the summary of the story.
X. Which of the sayings best summarises the main idea of the story?
1. There is a time and place for everything.
2. You can’t buy an inch of time with an inch of gold.
3. Every seed knows its time.
4. Men fear, but time fears the pyramids.
XI. Solve a crossword puzzle.
Across:
2/ Very strange or unusual and difficult to explain.
3/ A particular example or case of something.
4/ Having all the best or most typical qualities of something, especially
from the past
8/ What we measure in minutes, hours, days, etc.
10/ A strong feeling of shock or fear.
Down:
1/ A tool for turning screws.
5/ The whole of space and everything in it, including the Earth, the planets
and the stars.
6/ The ability to think in a logical way and understand things.
7/ Something strange or unknown that ca
9/ A person who makes and repairs watches and clocks as a job.
Mysterious Evanescence
Arthur R. Berg was a very wealthy man. He was a renowned businessman in his field. He achieved his goals by any possible means. Yet, this story is not about how he achieved dizzying success in financial affairs, and his brilliant business acumen, but about the fantastic misadventure caused by his mad passion for painting. This enthusiasm was expressed in collecting original paintings by famous artists. As a person who saw any deal from a commercial point of view, his love for art was automatically considered by others to be an effective investment. But, to Berg, art was more than money framed on a wall. An educated man, perceptive of culture, and a co
One day, in a large antique shop, he saw a picture of medium size, behind the counter, of a young, beautiful lady from what he gathered was a higher secular society in the early nineteenth century. She was in a luxury dress, in a chair. Her features were angel-like. A small table in front of her featured a chessboard. Her opponent was a gentleman in a tuxedo. But he was on the couch opposite, and thoughtfully held the white king in his left hand, pondering and not knowing where to retreat under the pressure of the young socialite. The game was in full swing, and by the position of the pieces on the board it could be judged that the priority in the struggle belonged to the young lady.