Номер 16, страница 15 - гдз по английскому языку 11 класс учебник Афанасьева, Михеева

Unit One. Sounds of Music. Reading - номер 16, страница 15.

Условие.

16. Read the text and answer the questions after it.

Singing a "Comic" Song

(after Jerome K. Jerome)

Speaking of comic songs and parties, it reminds me of a rather curious incident at which I once assisted. We were at a fashion- able and highly cultured party. We had on our best clothes, and we talked and were very happy — all except two young fellows, students, just returned from Germany. The truth was, we were too clever for them. Our brilliant but polished conversation, and our high-class tastes, were beyond them. They were out of place, among us. They never ought to have been there at all. Everybody agreed upon that, later on.

We discussed philosophy and ethics. We flirted with graceful dignity. Somebody recited a French poem after supper, and we said it was beautiful; and then a lady sang a sentimental ballad in Spanish, and it made one or two of us weep — it was so pathetic.

And then those two young men got up, and asked us if we had ever heard Herr Slosenn Boschen (who had just arrived, [slōsən 'bŏsən]) sing his great German Comic Song. None of us had heard it, that we could remember.

The young men said it was the funniest song that had ever been written, and that, if we liked, they would get Herr Slosenn Boschen, whom they knew very well, to sing it. They said nobody could sing it like Herr Slosenn Boschen; he was so intensely seri- ous all through it that you might fancy he was reciting a tragedy, and that, of course, made it all the funnier. It was his air of seri- ousness that made it so irresistibly amusing.

We said we yearned to hear it, that we wanted a good laugh; and they went downstairs, and fetched Herr Slosenn Boschen.

He appeared to be quite pleased to sing it, for he came up at once, and sat down to the piano without another word.

Herr Slosenn Boschen accompanied himself. The prelude did not suggest a comic song exactly. It quite made one’s flesh creep, but we murmured to one another that it was the German method and prepared to enjoy it.

I don’t understand German myself. I learned it at school, but forgot every word of it two years after I had left, and have felt so much better ever since. Still I did not want the people there to guess my ignorance; so I hit upon what I thought to be rather a good idea. I kept my eye on the two young students who had taken a position behind the Professor’s back. When they tittered, I tittered; when they roared, I roared; and I also threw in a little snigger all by myself now and then, as if I had seen a bit of humour that had escaped the others.

I noticed, as the song progressed, that a good many other people seemed to have their eyes fixed on the two young men, as well as myself.

And yet that German Professor did not seem happy. At first, when we began to laugh the expression of his face was one of intense surprise, as if laughter were the very last thing he had expected to be greeted with. We thought this very funny: we said his earnest manner was half the humour. The slightest hint on his part that he knew how funny he was would have completely ruined it all. As we continued to laugh, his surprise gave way to an air of annoyance and indignation, and he scowled fiercely round upon us all (except upon the two young men who, being behind him, he could not see). That sent us into fresh convulsions. We told each other that it would be the death of us, this thing. The words alone, we said, were enough to send us into fits, but added to his mock seriousness — oh, it was too much! He finished amid a perfect shriek of laughter. We said it was the funniest thing we had ever heard in our lives. And we asked the Professor why he didn’t translate the song into English, so that the common people could understand it, and hear what a real comic song was like.

Then Herr Slosenn Boschen got up, and went on awful.¹ He shook his fists, and called us all the English he knew. He said he had never been so insulted in all his life.

It appeared that the song was not a comic song at all. It was about a young girl who lived in the mountains, and who had given up her life to save her lover’s so- ul — I’m not quite sure of the details, but it was something very sad.

It was a trying situation for us — very trying. We looked around for the two young men who had done this thing, but they had left the house in an unostentatious manner immediately after the end of the song.

1. Why do you think the two students played their joke on the guests?

2. How did they prepare the guests for the joke?

3. Why did many guests look at the two students while the professor was singing?

4. What made the professor furious?

5. Why had the two students left the party before it was over?

6. What does Jerome make fun of in the episode you’ve read?

Решение.

Решение 2.

1. Как вы думаете, почему двое студентов разыграли гостей?

2. Как они подготовили гостей к шутке?

3. Почему многие гости смотрели на двух студентов, пока профессор пел?

4. Что взбесило профессора?

5. Почему двое студентов ушли с вечеринки до ее окончания?

6. Над чем смеется Джером в прочитанном вами эпизоде?

Ответ:

1. I think the students played the joke on the guests because they felt out of place at the "high-class" party. The text says the other guests were "too clever for them," so the students probably wanted to make the pretentious guests look foolish.

Я думаю, студенты разыграли гостей, потому что чувствовали себя не в своей тарелке на «высококлассной» вечеринке. В тексте говорится, что другие гости были «слишком умны для них», поэтому студенты, вероятно, хотели выставить претенциозных гостей дураками.

2. They prepared the guests by telling them that Herr Slossenn Boschen was going to sing "the funniest song that had ever been written." They also said that the professor's very serious manner made the song even funnier, setting the expectation for comedy.

Они подготовили гостей, сказав им, что герр Слоссенн Бошен собирается спеть «самую смешную песню, которая когда-либо была написана». Они также сказали, что очень серьезная манера профессора делает песню еще смешнее, создав ожидание комедии.

3. Many guests looked at the two students because they didn't understand German and needed a cue for when to laugh. They followed the students' lead to pretend they understood the "humour" of the song.

Многие гости смотрели на двух студентов, потому что не понимали по-немецки и им нужна была подсказка, когда смеяться. Они следовали примеру студентов, чтобы сделать вид, будто понимают «юмор» песни.

4. The professor became furious because the guests were laughing loudly at a very serious and tragic song about a young girl who sacrificed her life. He felt deeply insulted by their laughter.

Профессор пришел в ярость, потому что гости громко смеялись над очень серьезной и трагической песней о молодой девушке, пожертвовавшей своей жизнью. Он был глубоко оскорблен их смехом.

5. The two students had left the party before it was over to avoid the consequences of their prank. They knew that once the song's true meaning was revealed, the professor and the guests would be very angry with them.

Двое студентов ушли с вечеринки до ее окончания, чтобы избежать последствий своей шалости. Они знали, что как только истинный смысл песни раскроется, профессор и гости будут на них очень злы.

6. I think Jerome is making fun of people who pretend to be very smart and "cultured". The guests wanted to seem sophisticated, so they laughed at something they didn't understand just to fit in. He's making fun of their snobbery.

Я думаю, Джером смеется над людьми, которые притворяются очень умными и «культурными». Гости хотели казаться утонченными, поэтому они смеялись над тем, чего не понимали, просто чтобы не выделяться. Он высмеивает их снобизм.