A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks

A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks
Syllabus
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Introductory Lesson
Part 1 (60 w)
p. 1-14 p. 14-25 p. 25-45
Quiz, summary
Part 2 (60 w)
p. 46-62 p. 62-69
p. 70-86 p. 86-98
Quiz, summary
Part 3 (60 w)
p. 99-105 p. 105-119
p. 119-131 p.131-142 p. 143-155
Quiz, summary
Part 4 (30 w)
p. 156-169 p. 170-186
p. 186-208 (30 w)
p. 208-219
Quiz, summary
Part 5 (60 w)
p. 220-240
p. 240-245 p. 245-275
Quiz, summary
Part 6 (30 w)
p. 276-288
p. 288-295 p. 295-313 (30 w)
p. 313-330
Quiz, summary
Part 7 (30 w)
p.331-353
p. 353-372 p.373 -378 (30 w)
p.378-387 p.388-390
Quiz, summary
Topic, debts
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Sebastian Faulks
Biography
Sebastian Faulks was born in Donnington, a village
near Newbury in Berkshire on April 20, 1953. He
was the younger son of Peter Faulks (1917-1998)
and Pamela, née Lawless (1923-2003). Peter Faulks
was a partner in the local law firm Pitman and
Bazett. He fought in Holland, France, North Africa,
Italy, Palestine and Syria. He was awarded the
Military Cross in Tunisia. He lived an active life,
later sitting as a judge in London and Reading.
Pamela Faulks was the only daughter of Philip
Lawless, MC. He had served in the Artists Rifles in
the First World War and captained Richmond
Rugby Club. He was a sports reporter for The
Morning Post and the Daily Telegraph
‘I had a very happy childhood,’ said Faulks. ‘My
parents were kind, humorous and affectionate. My
brother Edward was a great companion. We only
ever met one of our four grandparents. Two of them
were dead and my mother was estranged from her own mother. There was a sense that everything
was beginning again – a fresh start after the War. Edward and I were both obsessed by ball games,
and in the summer we played cricket for about eight hours a days. I was shy, a loner, but quite
content. I think the 1950s were a bit austere if you were grown up, but for a child it was a good
time, with Hornby trains and Meccano (which I could never master). Then came the Beatles.’
Faulks’s mother introduced her sons to books at a young age. She also took them to the theatre and
to galleries in London. ‘She had the full classical canon on vinyl and we absorbed all that, though
we were much keener on pop music,’ said Faulks. Later on, Edward had a rock band at school. My
father was into books only, I think, not music so much – he liked Trollope, Waugh, Graham Greene.
My mother knew all of Dickens backwards. Those characters were real people to her.’
Both brothers were educated at Elstree School near Reading. ‘It was a demanding and old-fashioned
school, and we both had to rise to the challenge,’ said Faulks. ‘I liked it very much; it was a
formidable education.’ Faulks went as top scholar to Wellington College in 1966 and in 1970 won
an open exhibition to read English at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He graduated in 1974, and
was elected an Honorary Fellow in 2007.
In the year between school and university he had studied in Paris and learned to speak French. After
university, he spent a year in Bristol, writing a novel. ‘From the age of about fourteen, I had made
up my mind. I was inspired by Dickens and D.H.Lawrence among others. I set my heart on being a
novelist at that young age.’ At the end of the year, he migrated to London where he found work
teaching in a private school in Camden Town.
After two years, he got a job running a small book club called the New Fiction Society which had
been set up by the Arts Council to stimulate sales of literary fiction. He took over from the novelist
David Hughes, who became a lifelong friend. In 1979 Faulks joined the staff of Daily Telegraph as
the junior reporter on the diary column. ‘I was still writing books in the evening and at weekends,’
said Faulks, ‘but they weren’t much good.’ He had also been given work as freelance book
reviewer, first at the Sunday Times, then at the Spectator and Books and Bookmen.
He and Edward had been sharing a house, but went their different ways. ‘I bought a small flat in
Notting Hill,’ said Faulks. ‘I had no television and I was meant to just write at night. Eventually, at
about the fourth attempt I wrote something publishable. I rang up a publisher called James Michie. I
didn’t really know how distinguished James was; he was just someone I’d met at a party. But I later
found out he’d published Graham Greene and discovered Sylvia Plath. After some humming he
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accepted the book, which I called A Trick of the Light. I was twenty-nine. I got the news in a phone
booth on Holborn Viaduct. It was a good moment; it felt like the beginning of something at last,
after a long and occasionally dispiriting apprenticeship.’
Faulks worked as a feature writer for the Sunday Telegraph from 1983 to 1986, when he went to
join the Independent as Literary Editor
In 1989, he married Veronica Youlten, formerly his assistant on the Independent books pages, later
an editor at the Independent magazine. They have three children: William (born 1990), Holly (born
1992) and Arthur (born 1996).
Sebastian Faulks was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1993 and appointed
CBE for services to literature in 2002. The Tavistock Clinic in association with the University of
East London awarded him an honorary doctorate for his contribution to the understanding of
psychiatry in Human Traces.
Task 1. Study the following words and expressions and give their definitions:
be estranged from smb, to rise to the challenge, an Honorary Member, a lifelong friend
MC, Artist Rifles, the Morning Post, the Daily Telegraph, Hornby trains, Meccano
Task 2. Read Sebastian Faulk’s biography and answer the following questions:
(1) What can you say about Faulks' parents, their background?
(2) What interests did the brothers have in their childhood?
(3) How does Sebastian Faulks describe his childhood?
(4) What education did the brothers have?
(5) How did the literary career of Faulks start? What posts did he have?
(6) Who became Faulks’ best friend?
(7) What do you get to know about the present life of Sebastian Faulks?
(8) What honours does he have?
About the Book
A Week in December, Sebastian Faulks’s tenth novel, came out in September 2009 to considerable
press attention. Much of it focused on his attempt to write a ‘state of the nation’ book at a time of
economic meltdown and admired the ambition and the execution of the idea.
Faulks began with the intention of writing what he called a ‘modern Dickensian novel’, one in
which characters from different walks of life were linked by initially unseen connections and in
which London itself played an important part.
(1) Read some information about the main characters and try to give a short profile about
them.
The main characters are:
 John Veals, a hedge fund manager, and his son, Finbar;
The character of John Veals demonstrates how gigantic profits can be made legally from inside
information if the financier has no ethical sense. In the course of the week in question Veals builds
a position based on the likelihood of a run on a traditional bank. The run will happen when Veals
makes known the existence of a particular document he has surreptitiously obtained from a cleaner
(in fact, a woman in his pay) in the bank’s head office.
‘Veals was difficult to get right because he is essentially one-dimensional,’ said Faulks. ‘That’s
the whole point of bankers and financiers like him. They are, as his wife says, “functionally
autistic”, with no interest in any aspect of life beyond hypothetical profit. For nuance of character,
you have to look elsewhere. But of course it’s the sheer monomania that makes a man like Veals
quite fascinating.’

Hassan al-Rashid, a student, and his father, known as Knocker;
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Hassan al-Rashid, meanwhile, is a Scottish student at a dingy university on London’s south bank,
who is exploited by Muslim extremists, to the extent that he is prepared to take part in a terrorist
bomb plot. Faulks gives a sympathetic account of the attractions of an all-embracing belief system
to a young man confused by conflicting cultural demands. ‘I was trying to understand how someone
as ironic and as British as Hassan could be so badly led astray. After all, he’s a Kilmarnock
supporter. The Yorkshire bombers of 7/7 were obviously in my mind.’
 Jenni Fortune, a Tube train driver; Gabriel Northwood, a barrister;
Gabriel Northwood, the barrister, is involved in a civil action about an attempted suicide on the
London Underground, a case that also involves the driver Jenni Fortune. Both have an addiction to a
virtual world — he to a lost lover and she to an internet game called Parallax – that they must lose
before they are free to understand what hope for the future the other may hold out. John Veals’s
son, Finbar, meanwhile, is addicted to genetically modified skunk and to a reality show on
television called ‘It’s Madness’. A nervous breakdown lands Finbar in the same psychiatric hospital
as Gabriel’s brother Adam – a hospital that is the intended target of Hassan’s terrorist attack.
 R. Tranter, a hack journalist
Some gossip articles continued to treat it as a roman à clef, with the character of R.Tranter inviting
particular speculation from fellow-journalists. The most frequently mentioned ‘model’, however,
was discovered to be married with children, living in the countryside, while Tranter lives alone with
a cat in the invented suburb of Ferrers End.
(2) Translate the following extract:
‘For some time,’ said Faulks, ‘I had been aware of people I occasionally met making five or ten
million pounds a year for what appeared to be no more than making bets with other people’s money
or “OPM” as they dismissively called it. The profits were theirs to keep with minimal tax, while any
losses, because their operations were underwritten by high street banks, were for the taxpayer to
shoulder. This seemed to me the greatest con trick ever perpetrated on the British public. It was
embarrassing that it had been so enthusiastically embraced by a Labour government. When Gordon
Brown opened Lehman Brothers office in Canary Wharf, he said, “What you have done for the City
of London, I intend to do for the British economy.” And he did.’
(Make bets – заключать пари, делать ставки; ‘OPM’ – Other People's Money – заемные
средства; Dismissively – пренебрежительно; Underwritten- нижеизложенный; Be to shoulderбыть в тесном сотрудничестве, единении; Con trick- мошенничество, обман; Perpetrate –
совершать, творить; Embrace – воспользоваться; Lehman Brothers office- "Леман Бразерс"
(крупная финансовая корпорация, осуществляющая широкий спектр операций и известная
своими инновациями в сфере финансового менеджмента); Canary Wharf - башня КанэриУорф (административное высотное здание в Лондонском портовом районе [London
Docklands ]; построено в 1991; высота 244 м))
(3) What happened to the primary plot of the novel? What was the reason for this?
The book was begun at the height of the boom and was not intended to be a novel of the crash.
However, as the banking collapse approached, Faulks decided to shorten the time scale of the book,
to squeeze it down into a week and locate it at the last minute that it was still possible to believe the
good times would never end: December 2007. This involved considerable rewriting, Faulks
admitted. ‘The new tight time scale, seven days, seven chapters, gave me urgency and structure, but
it played havoc with developing relationships, which just don’t grow that fast. I had to sort all that
out so the reader didn’t need to worry about it. It was technically very fiddly, but I hope that doesn’t
show.’ The book ends with a series of reverses and resolutions, some unforeseen, some reassuring
and some chilling.
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The book was well received by reviewers, who praised its seriousness, its topicality and its scathing
satirical humour. While most of the press attention was extremely positive, some journalists
attempted to find real-life models for the characters in the book – a quest Faulks described at the
time as ‘puerile and doomed.’
(4) Study the following reviews and translate them into Russian:
 it ‘could hardly be more timely’, said The Times;
 it is ‘unequivocally successful,’ said the Guardian
 ‘perfectly constructed’, according to the Telegraph
 The Independent wrote: ‘Often edgily satirical, sometimes deeply affecting, A Week in
December grasps its headline motifs with the strong and supple hands of a master.’
At a literary festival in October 2010, Faulks said, ‘It isn’t really the novel I intended to write. It
developed this angry and comic satirical impulse under its own steam. The book I wanted to write, a
sort of Dickens meets John Updike, still remains to be written. I enjoyed being in the present day
for a change and of course it’s much easier to do, with far less checking of facts. I hope to return to
the present for another book, but in more loving, less satirical mode.’
LISTENING COMPREHENSION
A Seven-day Tour to Modern London
Listen to the interview of Sebastian Faulks to BBC and answer the following questions:
1. What are the main issues raised in the book?
2. In what way is the nature of Dickensian characters revealed in the book?
3. How does the lives of the main characters are connected? Does the author embed any
background characters in the plot?
4. Some characters in the book have the so-called speaking names. Give the examples.
5. How does a hedge fund work?
6. The setting takes place only in a real world, doesn’t it?
7. One of the characters, Hassan al-Rashid, is treated as both an appalling and appealing hero.
Why?
8. Does the author imply any metaphorical meaning to the subway line (particularly to the
London Central Line)?
9. What is, on Sebastian Faulks` mind, the purpose of reading?
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TASKS
Part 1
Chapter 1(1-14)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below






the East End
The Circle and the Metropolitan Line
Parallax
Russian pogrom
“builders` tea”
Financial Services Authority
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these
words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. mixture of sentimentality and grievance p.1
2. a barrister p.2
3. to get criminals off p.2
4. a claimant p.2
5. a solicitor p.2
6. to land in one’s lap p.2
7. to be sued p.2
8. to claim negligence p.4
9. a second hearing p.4
10. superannuated p.6
11. demeanor p.7
12. a lame duck p.7
13. to be a tough ask p.7
14. to break the spell p.9
15. a ruse p.9
16. to play blackjack p.10
17. to be voluble p.12
18. a mortgage market p.13
19. to cause tremor p.13
20. to ditch the trade p.13
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. Summarize Chapter 1. Which main characters does Faulks introduce in Chapter 1?
2. Which impression does the first description of London produce on you? What is the
prevailing mood of this passage? Give examples.
3. Who is Gabriel Northwood? What is his occupation? What are the main reasons we find him
in Chelsea reading the Koran?
4. How is the character of Jenni Fortune drawn? Why does she always avoid her reflection?
Interpret the stylistic means, which the author used to depict her everyday routine in the
Tube (soothing darkness, points, a slither of crossing rails and so on (p.3)). Was her life as
somber as the milieu in the Underground? Find and interpret the use of zeugma on p.2.
Expand on the phrase “Don’t look at their faces was the drivers` wisdom (p.4). Can we
detect any stroke of good fortune in Jinni’s life?
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How is the atmosphere of upcoming Christmas seen through Jinni’s eyes?
Jenni Fortune is disposed to reading a lot. What was peculiar about her reading habits?
Why is she involved into a judicial proceedings? Who is her lawyer?
What do we learn about Lance and Sophie Tranter? what is peculiar about Lance’s working
style? Do you find any sarcasm in Lance’s phrase “builders` tea?
9. Why does the narrator attach much significance to presenting all the persons in the guestlist?
Who are the most important of them?
10. Though Sophie’s perception of the weather we find that Christmas this year was not “hot
and wet” as she used to. “…the sudden Arctic winds were hard to deal with (p.8). Do you
feel any premonition in this phrase?
11. What portrait of John Veals does the narrator paint in words? Give a direct and indirect
descriptions of this man. Interpret his character paying heed to the description of his office
and the staff he works with. What do his peers think of him?
12. What do we learn about Veals’s past? How has he built his business? What do you think of
the sentences “The only way to make money was to have an edge” and “He was the house”.
What are the ways to get an edge?
13. Why did Veals talk to his clients in sporting metaphors (“I think we’ll put the other side in
to bat first” (p.12))
14. What predominates in Veals’s life? What is your attitude to a man “whose heart beat only to
market movements” (p.14)?
5.
6.
7.
8.
Part 1
Chapter 2 (14-25)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below.
Tottenham, Edmonton, Harringay, Kurds, Mafeking Street, “Moby-Dick”
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these
words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. a convex window p. 14
2. earplugs p.14
3. to blaspheme p.15
4. deluded p.15
5. to be perplexing p.15
6. to pay little heed to smb`s salvation p.15
7. a respite p.15
8. to feign an acute pain p.16
9. a knack with literature p.17
10. gridlock p.17
11. slothful p.19
12. a staple work p.19
13. fraudulent p.20
14. facetious p.21
15. savvy readers p.22
16. the rudiments of spelling p.23
17. to be up to p.24
18. a conciliatory letter p.24
19. to have an asset
20. to cut out of the loop
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QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. Summarize Chapter 2.
2. What do we learn about Hassan al-Rashid? What is the purpose of his trip in the London
Underground?
3. What does the word “kafir” stand for?
4. What is Hassan`s attitude to Christians? Which arguments made him believe in “their final
loss of faith”, that “they`d given up God”? (p.15). When did it happen?
5. Why did a young man viewed everyone he knew as “deluded”(p.15)? What` your view on
this character? Do you sympathize with the young man?
6. What was the predicament Rashid al-Hassan found himself in?
7. How did he come to know Shahla Hajiani? What puzzled this girl in Hassan?
8. Sum up the information about Ralph Tranter (RT). What can you say about his past? Is he a
successful reviewer now? Why is he confused with his name?
9. Describe his place of living. Is anything special about it?
10. Why did R.Tranter invent Bruno Banks? Did he have any other nicknames?
11. The narrator points out that Tranter was “interested only in bas reviews. Crash was what he
wanted: crash and burn – failure, slump, embarrassment” (p.21). Analyse other words
indicating his attitude to the reviewed books. Point out the stylistic devices used by the
author. Do they have any emotive colouring? How does his specialty mirror his human
nature?
12. Give the examples of allusions in the Chapter 2. Why are they so numerous?
13. What is meant by the phrase “Money was tight chez Tranter”?(p.22). Are there any other
foreign words in the text? What effect do they produce?
14. How is the problem of literacy in schools viewed in the text? Did Tranter succeed in
teaching?
15. Find the examples of antonomasia in the chapter.
16. Is there any hint in a phrase “with a view to advising him on a “literary project” (p.25).
Part 1
Chapter 3 (25-45)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below.
Ealing, India of Southall, Harlesden, Allied Royal, Canary Wharf, Spring Break, Bonus Day, to
take GCSEs
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these
words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. a final circuit p.25
2. a sponger p.26
3. a payslip p.26
4. to take up with p.27
5. to break the ice p.27
6. feasible (plausible) p.28
7. to feel a twinge of exhilaration p.30
8. with a snooty manner p.31
9. an investment house of legendary rectitude p.34
10. to catch a glimmer of movement p.35
11. to be loath to do sth p.36
12. to be on the verge of going broke p.36
13. a demise of a bank p.36
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14. an iris recognition p.37
15. to disdain City ostentation p.38
16. with grim restraint p.39
17. an asylum p.43
18. a split personality p.44
19. to scrutinize p.44
20. a Barking Bungalow p.44
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. Summarize Chapter 3.
2. In the introduction to Chapter 3 the author uses repetition stating that Jenni Fortune
“enjoyed her
3. privileged view of the city without her own reflection in the way”. Moreover, “she never
looked in the mirror”. What are the reasons of her behavior? Is it usual for a woman? By the
way, what is privileged about her view?
4. Does Jenni find any special mission in her occupation? Prove it by the text.
5. Describe the relationship between Jenni and her half-brother Tony. Did Tony approve of his
sister’s job? Why? Who was to blame, according to Tony?
6. In what way did Liston influence on Jenni? What happened after their parting?
7. Comment on the phrase “burying herself beneath the ground”. Which stylistic device is it?
8. Why is Parallax Videogame depicted in so much detail?
9. What proves Veals to be a rather arrogant and haughty person?
10. Why did Allied Royal Bank pique Veals’s interest? Buying a large Spanish bank was
surprising to Veals. What did he do to learn the tricks of the trade and a debt covenant?
What was his plan to interfere with Allied Royal?
11. Look at the writer’s choice of words (their degree of formality, bookishness, length) while
describing finance.
12. Why do London visitors have a false picture of this city, in Veals’s opinion?
13. Speak about Veals’s children. What does his daughter Bella enjoy? What’s his son Finbar’s
passion?
14. Did Veals succeed as a parent?
Part 2
Chapter 1(46-62)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below
Jihadist site (46), YourPlace (47), kafirs (47), the Tube (48), Walthamstow (48), Pudding Mill Lane
(51), Royal Mail (52), 10 Downing Street (57), Officer of the Order of the British Empire (57),
Oxford Street Mosque (58), OBE, (59) Winifred Holtby (59), Emily Bronte (59), dyslexia (59), MP
(61).
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these
words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. spooks (46)
2. jihadist site (46)
3. to jab smb’s photograph (47)
4. to wage jihad (47)
5. to smile vaguely (48)
6. remains of acne (48)
7. be engaged on jihad (49)
8. be the brains (50)
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9. to rebuke smb into laughter (50)
10. steganography (51)
11. fallback (52)
12. a geek (52)
13. play smb’s part in ushering in the new caliphate (53)
14. iris (54)
15. make a virtue of necessity (54)
16. lead a pure life (55)
17. be solicitous (56)
18. to decamp
19. be an apple of smb’s life (58)
20. be squeamish about smth
21. backer (61)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. What were the precautions of the head of Muslim Youth Coalition in contacting its
members? Do you consider them excessive?
2. How did Hassan react to the given instructions?
3. What was the kind of organization Hassan had joined to? What comforted him regarding the
activity of the organization?
4. How did the members of the organization choose their kafir names? Give examples.
5. Did Hassan feel all the seriousness of the meeting? Find examples in the book.
6. Why, do you think, the organization chose the site for adults as a way of contacting its
members? How did Salim explain the choice for the members of MYC?
7. What were Hassan’s relations with girls? How did he treat them? What decision did he
make after a night spent with Dawn?
8. Did he succeed in rejecting girls? What made it possible \ impossible?
9. What was the kind of letter Farooq al-Rashid once received?
10. What business did Farooq al-Rashid run? Was he enthusiastic about it?
11. How did Farooq al-Rashid find himself in different culture?
12. What worried him most before his appointment with the Queen? What solution came to his
mind?
13. How can you characterize Farooq al-Rashid’ character and Hassan’s family in general?
14. Summarise Chapter 1.
Part 2
Chapter 2 (62-69)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below
PetJet (62), High Level’ trades (63), ARB (63), Iliad (64), G7 (66)
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these
words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
rental share (62)
insipid food (62)
to short-sell the stock(64)
shares (64)
cash flows (65)
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6.
7.
8.
9.
to gag for a bit of action (65)
get hammered (66)
shaky dollar (66)
be on the deathbed (67)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. What is the advantage of the rental share?
2. Comment on the following statement: ‘Sometimes you had to spend to earn’.
3. What do we get to know about Duffy’s background – his occupation, private life, traits of
character?
4. What was the reason of Veals and Duffy’s meeting in Switzerland?
5. How does the following statements on p.63 describe Veals and Duffy:
‘Making certain our interests are aligned’ – Veals
‘Not throwing a hospital pass’ – Duffy
6. Find as much banking terms as possible on p.p. 64-65. Translate them into Russian. What
significance do they bear in the context of the book?
7. What did you understand from the description of the African debt? How was Veals
engaged into that scheme?
8. Why do you think Veals refused to go to the place Duffy had offered to him?
9. What policy did Veals follow while running his business? Do you find it appropriate?
Justify your answer.
10. What impression do you have of Veals as a manager after reading the chapter?
11. Translate the following pasage into Russian.
‘The simple, but perhaps….Veals knew about the debt covenant’ (p/64)
12. Summarise Chapter 2.
Part 2
Chapter 3 (70-86)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below.
J.Conrad (70), Human Resources (71), CCTV cameras (71), an Oyster card (72), the Disability
Discrimination Act (72), QC (72), raspberry ripple (71), Soho (73), hen nights (73), Tfl
headquarters (73), QC (74), The Human Right Act (76), The European Convention on Human
Rights (76), the Allies (76), the Court of Appeal (76), The Attorney General (76), the Bar Council
(76), the Law Reports (77), National Savings (80), the Last (secular) Trump (81), DNA tests (85).
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these
words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
to have it all off pat (71)
to be a big gun (71)
a control room (71)
a throwback (72)
to flinch a little at one’s surliness (74)
a shift rota (74)
to be on trial (75)
a plaintiff (75)
to have three bites of cherry (76)
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10. to be off the hook (78)
11. an adultery (79)
12. to manage a double life (80)
13. to forfeit control (80)
14. a dissenting judgement (82)
15. to be in trepidation (83)
16. to live up to a billing (84)
17. gruffness (85)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. Does the narrator suggest that Jenni Fortune was a solitary person? Why does the narrator
attach great significance to Jenni’s passion for book? Expand on the phrase “She had made
her own path into literature”(70).
2. Who was Dave? What effect does the repetition “too much of Dave – too much person, too
bulky, too real” produce on you?
3. What did Jenni feel about the trial?
4. Describe Gabriel Northwood’s office. What was peculiar about it? Why was his room
depicted through Jenni`s eyes? What did Jenni dream about? How convincing do you find
the argument “He was human”(73)?
5. G.Northwood seemed to be a bit of mystery to Jenni. What impressed her in the barrister’s
personality?
6. How familiar was London for Jenni? Why?
7. What happened in the Tube in 1987?
8. Who was sued in a trial: Jenni herself or her employer? Who would profit from the trial
case, in Hutton’s opinion? How many hearings were supposed to be conducted?
9. Read the passage about G.Northwood. Pay attention to all syntactic and stylistic means
exposing the internal and external features, peculiarities, demands of the character. How can
you explain “the Inner Temple way of thinking”(77)?
10. Pick out pieces of information about Catalina and interpret the way they are introduced.
11. How did she manage her double life?
12. Gabriel was obsessed with Catalina, wasn’t he? Describe his desperate passion for this
woman, giving heed to stylistic devices used to bring about the desired effect. What are the
key words and phrases that are being repeated in the passage?
13. How did Gabriel endure the loss of Catalina? Did he have any lover since Catalina?
14. Why, do you think, the story about Catalina is embedded into the book after Gabriel had met
Jenni? Do you feel any connection?
15. What did Gabriel think about Jenni? Did she seem cheerless and gruff to the barrister?
Part 2
Chapter 4 (86-98)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below.
Ferrers End (86), Updike (88), the Trade Descriptions Act (89), Collingwood (92), Beardsley (92),
Arkell (92), NHS (92), X-RAY (92), Long-Stay Unit (92), Secure Wing (92), Rainbow Room (92),
Electroconvulsive Therapy (92), The Shepherd`s Bush (97).
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these
words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
13
1. a familiar anguish (86)
2. a book launch party (86)
3. an obsequious letter (86)
4. on spec (87)
5. a compliments slip (89)
6. a publicity department
7. to get the end of a knife into (89)
8. a palpable untruth (89)
9. a cortex (90)
10. a garish temptation (92)
11. a benefactor (92)
12. to go out of the fug (94)
13. to feel a clutch of panic in one’s abdomen (97)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. How did R.Tranter use to make his reviews?
2. Why was he so tormented by Alexander Sedley? What portrait of Sedley does the narrator
paint? Find the stylistic devices highlighting his traits of character. Was he a respected and
promising reviewer? Prove it.
3. What was Tranter’s first impression of Sedley’s book?
4. Did Tranter find any flaw in the book after reading it intently?
5. Translate the passage “Tranter felt tears of mirth… if that was the term he wanted.” How
can you render the book’s title “Winter Crossing” into Russian?
6. How does the choice of words (e.g. shivered with pleasure, tears of mirth, shiver of
compassion) characterize Tranter? Look for more stylistic devices which help identify
Tranter’s poignant sarcasm.
7. Fish out the examples revealing London’s reverse side seen through G. Northwood’s eyes.
8. What was Gabriel’s brother Adam treated for? Was the illness diagnosed in proper time?
9. Describe the hospital where Gabriel had been visiting Adam for five years. What do the names of
Collingwood, Beardsley, Arkell signify? What atmosphere does the choice of colours create?
10. Comment on Gabriel’s inner monologue in the ward (94).
11. How did Gabriel feel about his existence in comparison with Adam’s?
12. Adam’s following phrase is worth noticing: “It’s better to shed blood than not to believe. You have
chances to believe”. What was he talking about? Is there any sense in his statement? Complete his
phrase: “And if you choose not to…”(96)
13. Describe Finnbar’s both physical and mental state. What does “throwing a whitey’ (97) stand for?
14. Why was he envious of the inhabitants of the houses he was going by?
15. Find the symbols in the description of a rose garden. Which incongruity can you trace in Finnbar`s
mind?
16. Summarize Part 2.
Part 3
Chapters 1-2 (99-119)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below.
North Park, traiteur (99), GCSE (100), the Dark Ages (102), the New Testament (106), the Left
Student group (109), the Mormons (113), road to Mecca (116)
14
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these
words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. be eased out of smb’s job (99)
2. in the phrase of time(99)
3. prattle on (100)
4. eff (100)
5. glider pilot’s license (100)
6. bolt up (102)
7. be reinvigorated in the faith (103)
8. tunnel vision (102)
9. dirty one’s hands in the world (104)
10. betraying shame (105)
11. turn a blind eye (105)
12. to pay lip service (106)
13. pith of sth (106)
14. congregation (106)
15. gaudy coach (107)
16. gawp at smb (107)
17. to yearn for smth (108)
18. subliminal staccato (108)
19. to be given a conditional discharge (109)
20. to squeeze into the university (109)
21. to sponsor a debate (110)
22. enlightened regimes (113)
23. jab smb in the ribs (114)
24. to spat the word out (115)
25. crude intervention (115)
26. to gear economic systems (116)
27. far-flung aunties (116)
28. to have a ‘jab’ (116)
29. run a discussion group (118)
30. to give public declarations (119)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. Vanessa Veals. How is Vanessa Veals depicted in this chapter? Does she approve of her
husband’s attitude towards children?
2. Mrs Veals says: ‘But lately he seems to have lost interest’ (100). What is the meaning of her
statement? Find more examples in the text to justify your answer.
3. What does Mrs Veals crave for? Why?
4. Why is Vanessa so nostalgic about her youth? Describe the language the author uses in that
episode.
5. Why do you think John Veals ‘seemed so exactly suited to the world’?
6. What do you know about Veals’ background?
7. How does the language of the narration change when Vanessa Veals starts reasoning about
business world?
8. What intrigued Vanessa about John Veals? Why did she find all her psychological classes to
be useless?
9. Find some facts on the Internet about the following quotation: “What you have done for the
City of London, we now intend to do for the entire British economy”. Who was the author
of these words?
10. Summarize Chapter 1.
15
11. What were the qualities of Allah that Farooq Knocker-al-Rashid was interested in?
12. What was the prevailing atmosphere of Hassan’s childhood? What truth did he learn after an
accident at school? (107)
13. How do you understand the statement ‘Hassan tried on different disguises’ (107). Find
examples in the text.
14. What kind of life did Nasim have before her meeting with Farooq?
15. Did Hassan succeed in school?
16. Make a summary about what Hassan heard at a meeting of the Left Student’s group?
17. Comment on the statement: ‘Power expressed through money. But really just power’. (111)
18. What do you get to know about the American and British occupation of Iraq from the text?
(113) How was this problem viewed in European press?
19. Who is Jason? What is peculiar about the way he speaks? Find examples in the text.
20. What was the main reason of Hassan to begin a blog on the site YourPlace?
21. Once Hassan’s homepage had a ‘jab’. Who was Grey_Rider? How did he look like? Give
examples. What was peculiar about his behaviour? What, do you think, was Salim’s real
intention?
22. Summarize Chapter 2.
Part 3
Chapter 3 (119-131)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below.
the Royal Courts of Justice (120), the Embankment (121), Michael Caine (122), S.Bellow (122),
Philip Roth (122), J.Updike (122), BBB (126), Klondike (127)
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which
these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. to brief smb (120)
2. to scintillate on matters of jurisprudence (121)
3. a human outcome of persecution and upheaval (122)
4. the panoply of law (123)
5. to clam up (123)
6. a pin-up (124)
7. to suspend credit lines (125)
8. a mortgage holder (125)
9. iffy mortgage (126)
10. a ravenous demand (127)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. Find the description of London and the Thames in Chapter 3. Read the paragraphs and interpret
the language means used by the narrator. Pay attention to the choice of words. What mood do
they reflect? Comment on the gradation “the warm drizzle (119) – swollen with December
rain (121)”.
2. Can you trace any similarities between Gabriel Northwood and Jenny Fortune’s reading
habit? Prove it. Why does he always remember her in his thoughts? What does he think
about her confidence?
3. Pierre Janet and Sigmund Freud’s quotations are full of suggestions (p.119-120). How can
you apply their meaning to the storyline of the book?
4. What is the main reason of Gabriel’s lack of work?
5. What was especially attractive in visiting The Toppings?
16
6.
7.
8.
9.
Is there any apprehension in the phrase “lethally quiet morning”? What stylistic device is it?
Why has a photo of Olya taken John Veals’s eye?
What are the grounds of chasing ARB debts?
What is the essence of the synthetic bonds plan offered to Veals?
Part 3
Chapter 4 (131-142)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below.
Paul Éluard (132)
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which
these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. confinement (132)
2. watery gruel (133)
3. to push on to verisimilitude (134)
4. to harness (134)
5. a coup (134)
6. a prude (136)
7. a by-blow (137)
8. in defiance of law (138)
9. to have an off-lesson (138)
10. to cede control (138)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. Why was Shahla Hajiani’s “mind wholly occupied elsewhere”? Reproduce her feeling and
somatic signs. Does a book of love “The Capital of Pain” have any reference to her present
inner state?
2. Why was Jenni Fortune so fond of celebrity magazines and specialist monthlies? Which
“longing” did they awake in her?
3. Find the similarities and differences between Jenni and Miranda. Did it remind us of a
children’s computer game? How do the two worlds clash?
4. Who was Jason Dogg in reality? Discuss his background and occupation. Specify the drags
of his work. Did he put up with the system?
5. Describe Radley’s style of teaching. What steps did he make to become competent in lesson
and pupil management?
6. Expand on the current situation in a British comprehensive school and the teacher’s rights.
Is it similar to a Russian one?
Part 3
Chapter 5 (143-155)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below.
the Chattanooga Express (146), Red Caps (146), the SEC (146), Rothschild (152), a
therapeutic challenge (153)
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which
these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
17
1. to develop a facility (143)
2. précis (143)
3. a purple passage (143)
4. an embarrassing hiatus (145)
5. a softball question (145)
6. a bespoke product (147)
7. an august name (148)
8. so far so good (151)
9. a staple of work (151)
10. bonhomie (155)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
What was a special secret of Ralph Tranter’s reviews?
How did he try to obstruct Sedley’s stroke of luck and slag off him in print?
What was Sedley’s attitude to Tranter when he attended the Book Launch Party?
How did Tranter behave during the party? Fish out the words describing his gestures. Which
feelings do they mirror?
What experience did John Veals gain while working in the bank?
Comment on the statement :” He was trading Polish credulity; he was trading Czech naivety;
he was trading stupidity” (148). How is Veals’s astuteness revealed?
What did Kieran Duffy intend to achieve managing “gilt-edged” bonds?
Indicate two problems Veals came across in analysing the bond market situation.
What were the aftereffects of Finbar’s overdose?
Part 4
Chapters 1-2 (156-186)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below.
Dover to Calais ferry (156)
Victoria (156)
Sayyid Qutb ‘Mikestones’(156)
Special Branch (159)
‘The Toad’ (160)
Rodin ‘The Burghers of Calais’ (161)
Mirpur Valley (161)
Surah (165)
The International Marxist Group (166)
The Socialist Workers Party (166)
Red International (166)
Chelsea (175)
Auschwitz (180)
The Holocaust (180)
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these
words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. throngs (156)
2. gunmental sky (156)
3. hugh pewter sea (156)
4. a tubby old-timer (156)
5. to divide (about the train) (157)
18
6. be coltish on smb (159)
7. feel bombarded by cynicism (160)
8. exhilarating (160)
9. busload of vomiting fans (161)
10. to feign a call (161)
11. bent to say a brief prayer (162)
12. screw tops (163)
13. let out a screech (164)
14. provide a landscape of smb’s life (165)
15. pay the alms levy (166)
16. have a slur of assumed racial superiority about smth (167)
17. old banger (167)
18. adamantine belief (169)
19. bib (170)
20. take a blow (173)
21. iron hoof (175)
22. to be relegated (176)
23. larcenously priced delis (177)
24. predictive text (178)
25. to keep one’s balance topped up by a trickle-down from smb’s accounts (178)
26. horticulture (182)
27. to reveal one’s ignorance (182)
28. johnson (29)
29. gaffer (184)
30. event management (185)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. Why did Hassan feel embarrassed to give his real name on registration? What was the
reason of his ferry-trip?
2. How did Hassan prepare for the trip? How did he explain to Shahla his wish to practice his
French conversation? Did she believe him at once?
3. At Shahla’s he examines her with keen interest. Does his behaviour run counter with his
belief?
4. Translate the following statement and comment on it (p.159): ‘The minor deception of a
friend would be forgiven in the long perspective of establishing justice on earth and gaining
paradise afterwards’.
5. Hassan says that the he could not tell Shahla abot his real intention of the trip to France ‘was
that he felt she would laugh’. Can a true believer be afraid of smb’s mockery? How can you
explain Hassan’s reaction?
6. What adjectives does Hassan use regarding London? (p.160) Does it have any proof in
reality?
7. What bothered Hassan most of all about ordinary people on the ferry? What version of Islam
does he stick to?
8. Summarize Hassan’s trip to France in details. How did he overcome the language barrier?
9. What was special about the box of alcohol? What was the purpose of it purchasing?
10. On p.165 again we come across Hassan’s thoughts about Islam. What are the real claims of
Islam? What is the problem with both of them? What is the main task of Islam as it is said in
the text?
11. How does the conversation on p.165 between Hassan and his father characterizes Knocker?
12. What is symbolic about the last passage of chapter 1 on p.169? How would you translate the
warning?
19
13. Summarize chapter 1.
14. Who are the two main characters of this chapter?
15. What do we get to know about Spike Borowski? Find as more examples in the text as it is
possible. What is he? Find the phrases and words he uses to prove his occupation. How
would you translate all these expressions? Does the atmosphere of the new football center
Spike is going to work in differ from that in his country?
16. Sebastian Faulks often quotes different web sites. What is the purpose of it?
17. What is the relationship between the football teammates? Does Spike feel unease? Why do
you think Sebastian Faulks gives so much description of the play?
18. What linguistic misunderstandings can you find on p.175?
19. On pp. 175-177 we first meet Finn Veals. What is his behaviour like? How does he speak to
Spike? Is Spike surprised? What does Finn want from him? What is Dream Team? What is
the purpose of it?
20. One morning Finn goes to the Pet’s Rest. Comment on the conversation between Tindle and
Finn. What impression do they produce?
21. What was the phrase Finn say that radically change their talk and revealed the true purpose
of Finn’s visit? What was it? How does Tindle describe his garden of marijuana? Why, do
you think, Finn bought the grass?
22. On p.183 we again come across Spike and his environment. Make a description of Kundak –
his behaviour, background, appearance, manners of speech – anything you find in the text.
23. What do we get to know about Spike’s private life. Does he love his girlfriend? Explain.
Describe Olya – her appearance and background.
Part 4
Chapter 3 (186-208)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below.
Greeview Alternative Investment Services (186), the Imperial War Museum (186), PA (187), First
New York (187), Sod`s Law (187), the Deputy prime Minister (188), HSBC (190), FSA (192), FT
(192), Rober Fleming (192), the Chase Manhattan/J.P.Morgan (192), the Exodus (193), Jahweh
(193), the Angel Gabriel (193), the Prophet (193), Deuteronomy and Leviticus (195), david Niven
(201), a Savile Row suit (201), Dick Francis (204), Ch.Dickens, W.M.Thackeray, A.Trollope,
G.Eliot (205), Alfred P. Edgerton (206), FX screen (207)
.
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these
words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. a sizzling waffle iron (186)
2. an A4 buff envelope (186)
3. to enter the most gut-wrenched hours of one’s trade (187)
4. to scoop up the remains of sth (188)
5. an executive recruitment agency (188)
6. to have toxic assets (189)
7. underlying strengths and liabilities (189)
8. to fiddle with sth (190)
9. to shoot the breeze (190)
10. to dabble online between clients (191)
11. to bite one’s hand off (192)
12. avuncular (103)
13. to pass off (192)
14. an implacable and unsympathetic portrayal of a divinity (193)
20
15. an apparition (194)
16. the fierce iterations of the book (195)
17. the live rail (198)
18. a penultimate visit (200)
19. to look crestfallen (206)
20. to put two per cent collateral (207)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. In what mood does Chapter 3 begin?
2. Comment on the scene in the Oasis Coffee Bar. What was the purpose of Veals and Wing’s
business talk?
3. What bothered Veals in the present time? What idea does the author try to render to the
reader telling about some “rumour” Veals was about to start? How can Veals be entrapped
in case of some miscalculations of his blueprint?
4. Analyze the scene in a tennis club in Chelsea. Why did John Veals look so “stressed”? Give
the indications of Veals’s mood comparing two scenes. Pay attention to the choice of words
revealing his state of mind.
5. Speak on the special assignment that Veals had entrusted to Martin Ryman.
6. Compare the so-called missions that three men (Alan Wing, Steward Thackeray and Martin
Ryman) were charged with. How did John Veals treat them? How did they talk to him?
Why? Give the examples.
7. There several references to Christmas coming in Chapter 3: “silly season” (192), “something
good in your Christmas stocking” (193). What do these phrases mean?
8. How do you account on the Ryman’s sarcastic phrase: “I think people could mistake you for
Father Christmas”.
9. Comment on Gabriel Northwood’s view of the Koran and the Koranic prophecy.
10. Peruse the conversation between Jenni and Gabriel in the train cab. What truth about books
did Gabriel disclose to Jenni?
11. What lexical means are used to conjure up Jenni’s portrayal through Gabriel’s eyes? Why is
he so attentive to her?
12. Gabriel’s inner monologue in the cab (199) is worthy of analysis. Comment on the
abounding questions in his inner monologue. What did he want to offer this girl? Did he
have any opportunity to change her mindset?
13. Describe Tranter’s first visit to Knocker al-Rashid’s home. Is there any discrepancy between
Knocker’s expectations to see a man of words and Tranter’s real behavior? What was
Tranter’s verdict on all the books of overrated British writers?
14. What is implied by the last phrase of Chapter 3:”Rheumatism definitely easing. Expect full
movement tmw” (208)?
Part 4
Chapter 4 (208-219)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below
Monet, Old Master, Cubists, Moderns, Rembrandt, Turner, Caravaggio, Vermeer
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which
these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1.
2.
3.
4.
a smudged pot of Impressionist flowers (208)
find smb giddy with pleasurable excitement (208)
to decline the morsels of food (209)
a rapid tour d’horizon (209)
21
5. to bang smb a grand (210)
6. concentration camp (211)
7. headhunters (213)
8. Anatolian shepherd (214)
9. to get too wrapped up in religion (217)
10. veneer of disdain (218)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. Sophie Topping ‘was not listening; she was taking in what clothes the others were
wearing’. What preoccupies her most of all. Does it mean that she doesn’t follow the
statement that beauty is not but skin deep?
2. Describe the guests at the art show. What is ironic about it. Find the examples in the text.
What is the prevailing atmosphere of the whole ‘venture’?
3. How does the fact that Sophie together with her friends recognized Nasim can show
their family’s social status?
4. Describe the exhibition. What were the most impressive displays? What is the artistic
style of the exhibition?
5. What was the spice of the exhibition? What is so special about it? Did Nasim understand
the artistic value it?
6. Find the examples of onomatopoeia in the text.
7. Why does John Veals describe his meeting with the son as an awkward moment? Does
Finn feel the same?
8. How did the deal with ARB bank go? Why did he feel so pity about the recent trade?
9. What was Finn doing in his room? Why was not he afraid of being exposed by parents?
How does the language of the narration change when the author starts to describe Finn?
What is the prevailing choice of words?
10. When Nasim comes into her son’s room she is afraid to disturb him. Why? What was the
purpose of her talk to Hassan? What kind of a boy was Hassan in his childhood? What
worried Nasim about Hassan being so deeply involved in politics? Did she succeed in
her ‘mission’?
Part 5
Chapter 1 (220-240)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below
Covent Garden (220)
Natural History Museum (222)
Dombey and Son (230)
Rabelesian figures (232)
World Bank (239)
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which
these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. a bold thing to do (220)
2. to do a preliminary sift of all the entries (220)
3. have reasonable hopes (221)
4. to be agog for the arrival (223)
5. prerequisites (223)
6. reviews published ‘on spec’ (225)
7. lack the confidence to be outgoing (226)
22
8. a safe donkey jacket (226)
9. have smb’s place in the light (226)
10. a rumbustious boy (230)
11. copy-edited bollocks (228)
12. vulpine features (230)
13. to take a wicket (230)
14. wet-fish salesman (231)
15. to make a fast buck (232)
16. interest-rate fluctuations (232)
17. system of open outcry (233)
18. to play with two decks of cards (233)
19. mercantile exchange (234)
20. zingy fusion food (234)
21. make a rare sortie (235)
22. circulating rumours (235)
23. be the teaser for a stallion (236)
24. plonker (236)
25. raise a hand in affirmation (237)
26. a marginally sick edge (238)
27. put on the bulk of one’s own trade (238)
28. to put on the commodity leg of the trade (238)
29. twat (238)
30. public recriminations (239)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. What was the prize famous for? How were the judges chosen?
2. Why was Trevor ‘violently dissented’? What was the purport of writing the letter to
Alexander Sedley? Why was Tranter so much meticulous about it? Why was he blowing
hot and cold? How long did it take to write a letter for him?
3. Dwell upon Tranter’s background. What can you say about Tranter’s literary talent?
What was his manner of working? Did he believe in his literary career?
4. We get to know that Tranter is working on some novel. What characters are involved in
his creative work? Did he have a problem ‘inventing’ them? How does he explain this
fact?
5. What traits of character or manner of behaviour helped Tranter in reaching his goal and
acquiring influential social status?
6. Tranter aligns himself with such poets as Auden, Yeats, Eliot when reasoning about his
pseudonym. How does it characterize him?
7. Why do you think Tranter felt glad that he had the last encounter with Farooq al-Rashid?
What authors did they discuss? Are they popular? Could the Queen be interested in this
choice of British literature?
8. How was the lesson with Farooq al-Rashid planned? What was practicing at it? How did
the two men feel during the sessions?
9. Why was Tranter so much impressed by Farooq’s recitation? What images emerged in
his mind? What conclusions did he make for himself?
10. Comment on the passage at p.230, ‘He coughed and looked away. It was only a little
light verse; but in his long bitterness he had almost forgotten what words – the stuff
from which he had made his life – could really do.’ What did he mean by the words?
11. Dwell upon the developmental milestones of Veals’ career. What emotions did he
experience at the first stages of professional development?
12. Find some examples of metonymy at page 231 and suggest possible translations.
23
13. At page 233 we get to know that not only Veals was straddling. Do we change our
attitude to him? How does this fact reveal his inner world?
14. Retell in details the history of Vanessa and John’s meeting (pp 234-235). How was he
courting? What was the purpose of his interaction with women? Why did he single out
Vanessa among the rest?
15. What does HOPE stand for? How would you translate it? What is the purpose of the
organization?
16. What’s the essence of the following conversation:
‘That’s the spirit, John.’
‘No, that’s the cash’
Comment on it.
17. When Veals is asked to swear on his children’s life he doesn’t hesitate and agrees just to
obtain some minor information about his deal. Do you think that any means to an end?
If you were him, would you do the same?
18. Summarise the episode with Duffy and Victoria. What adjectives would you choose to
describe all hedge-fund managers?
19. Summarise the chapter
Part 5
Chapter 2 (240-245)
1.
Find the meaning of the culture words below.
the Special Vanguard Force (240)
Kilmarnock (241)
Jahiliyya (243)
sharia law (243)
Zionists (243)
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in
which these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
without a qualm (240)
to accept one’s refusal with equanimity (240)
a rabble-rouser (240)
to detain (241)
frothing bigots and paramilitaries (241)
to speak in the cadence of a university lecturer (241)
the immutable law of gravity (242)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. Why did Hassan refused to go on a study trip in 2006? What was his reaction to Salim’s
offer?
2. Did Hassan respond to Salim’s another request? What allured him this time?
3. How can you render the phrase “the territorial challenge” (p.240)?
4. Which contradiction has Hassan suffered from recently?
5. Peruse Ali’s speech. What is peculiar about his manner of speaking? Did it sound
persuasive? Why? Analyse the passage “Do you ever imagine... and only God!” What is
special about Islam, according to Ali? Why is this religion more beneficial in comparison
with
6. others?
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7. Comment on the statement: “The truth had to be brought by war to those who did not
spontaneously welcome it” (p.244).
8. Find the key words Ali uses to convince the audience of the truth of his words.
9. Analyse the stylistic devices and their purpose in the passage.
Part 5
Chapter 3 (245-275)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below.
Mendelian speculations (247), doing smth like working in a soul in Tangier (248), The Voyage of
the Beagle (255), The Great Gatsby (255), Sharia law (258), globalisation (260), the Amish (263).
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which
these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. remit (245)
2. a feeling of wistfulness (246)
3. a notch (246)
4. a cheap partition (251)
5. to take off (about career) (252)
6. tort law (252)
7. local authority liability (252)
8. to give a peck on smb’s cheek (257)
9. to con (257)
10. other-worldly (258)
11. on a whim (261)
12. to have other fish to fry (262)
13. a mainstream religious denomination
14. to be taken aback by smb’s vehemence (264)
15. to be devout in private (264)
16. a vicious circle (265)
17. to broach (265)
18. to invent a polity (265)
19. to reach the brim (266)
20. usurer (268)
21. to fidget (272)
22. perversity (272)
23. to command respect (272)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Why did Caroline Wilby’s visit fidget John Veals? What was the purpose of their
converstation?
Were Gabriel’s recollections of Catalina painful for him? Why? Which characteristics of
Catalina’s behaviour remained so vivid for him?
Give a short background of Catalina’s career. Was she satisfied with her job?
What lexical means prove Gabriel’s excitement on his way to Jenni’s?
What is special about Gabriel and Jenni’s dialogue in the café? Give examples.
Who, in your opinion, spied on Jenni?
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7. Why did Milestones stir up Knocker’s rage? Find Knocker’s arguments against Hassan’s
philosophy? Who is right – the father or the son? Who has more conscientious attitude to the
Muslim world and the glory of the Islamic empire?
8. What did Hassan think of “globalisation’? Do you agree with him?
9. Speculate on the problem of “modernization” and “consumer choice” raised in Hassan and
Shahla’s conversation. Is there really “nothing grand about the modern world’ (265)?
10. Anazyse Vanessa Veals’s inner monologue (pp.266-268). What made her so disenchanted?
11. Did John Veal’s fervour to acquire as much money as possible affect his family and his own
character?
12. What was the culmination of Finnbar’s favourite reality show?
Part 6
Chapter 1 (276-288)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below.
Visiting Professor of Critical and Creative Writing (277), Your Royal Highness (285)
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which these
words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. murky sun (276)
2. to pop into smb’s mind (276)
3. a bookie (276)
4. snippy (277)
5. banks statements and circulars (277)
6. to trade on rumours (279)
7. chubby calves (279)
8. court shoes (279)
9. acute (280)
10. to be conversant with smth (281)
11. onerous (281)
12. a parking permit (282)
13. an investiture (283)
14. to make desultory chat with smb (283)
15. to be on a dais (284)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. How was R.Tranter preparing for the upcoming event at Pizza Palace? Find the syntactic
means which reveal his train of thoughts.
2. Which unexpected message did R.Tranter received in that morning? Was it a tempting
offer? Why?
3. Analyse the conversation between John Veals and Caroline Wilby. Did she intend to expose
Veals’s deception about ARB? Was Veals sincere in his answers?
4. Which question made Caroline feel awkward? What can you infer from the dialogue?
5. How did Farooq Al-Rashid visualize his investiture? What foiled his plans?
6. Describe the ceremony in the Palace. Fish out means and ways which are significant in
revealing the changes in Farooq’s psychological state. Find a case of repetition. What is its
stylistic value?
7. What lexical means help to conjure up Finn’s aggravated mental illness?
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Part 6
Chapter 2 (288-295)
1. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which
these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. fussy pride (288)
2. elation (288)
3. to feel lucid (289)
4. a trial run (290)
5. give half an hour leeway (290)
6. a lecturer’s flip chart (290)
7. to kill hesitation at birth (291)
8. a tourniquet (294)
9. a sedative (294)
10. a detox (295)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
What was written about Islamist groups in the press? It is obviously contradicted Hassan’s
beliefs. How did he treat all these articles and documentaries?
Which instructions was he given before bombing?
Why did terrorists choose a psychiatric unit as their target? Was it more “comfortable” than
the Tube? How did they justify Muslim presence at hospital?
Why did Vanessa Veals blame herself for Finn’s mental disorder? Was it really her fault?
Look at the writer’s choice of words depicting mother’s desperation.
Did Finn need specialist supervision?
Part 6
Chapter 3 (295-313)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below.
The Channel (298), Verdun (298), the chief exec (298), DPI( 302), M15 (302), Axia (304).
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which
these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. to be vigilant (295)
2. a rear-view morror (297)
3. to boot out smb (297)
4. a curlicue (298)
5. a cockpit (299)
6. the last leg of the trade (300)
7. a commercial silk (301)
8. It’s a bit of a tip (301)
9. to tick off (301)
10. emanation of power (303)
11. to handle knowledge (305)
12. in the debris of giveaway newspapers (309)
13. mothball (310)
14. a letter of recantation (312)
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15. stand-offish (313)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
1. Jenni Fortune admitted that she loved Gabriel. Analyse her inner monologue and compare
her previous life and today’s state of mind. Was she more confident now? Does she pin the
hopes of her future on this man? Comment on the statement: “It was not so much a future, it
was more like a second chance of living”. (p.297).
2. How did Jenni picture Gabriel’s apartment? Did the images coincide with his real “flat’?
3. Why was Jenni interested in Adam’s illness? was it a mere curiosity?
4. Depict the world Adam was living in. Fish out the key words relating to his “religion”. Does
it have anything in common with Muslim beliefs?
5. In the conversation Garbriel raised the problem of “net loss of knowledge”. What is meant
by it? Is really ignorance not a disadvantage nowadays? Do you share the opinion that “we
chose to know less”(p.306)?
6. Did John Veals managed to fulfill “the Rheumatism plan”? What did Veals and Duffy
discuss in Pfäffikon?
7. Despite his greatest financial coup, Veals still had a niggling fear of having overlooked
some vital detail.Do you feel that Veals can make a mistake in his calculations?
8. Describe R.Tranter state at Pizza Palace. Was the prize so important for him?
Part 6
Chapter 4 (313-330)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below.
Long-Stay Unit (313), Electroconvulsive Therapy (313).
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in which
these words are used. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. a daunting place (314)
2. a bit of kerfuffle (314)
3. vista (314)
4. a premise (315)
5. a modern monotheistic god (315)
6. to seem cogent (316)
7. eschatology (317)
8. to cast smb’s mind back (317)
9. an apostate (318)
10. to grow restive (320)
11. petulant rock star (320)
12. an incentive (321)
13. serge (232)
14. diligence (323)
15. an excoriating review (323)
16. cell duplication (326)
17. carnivorous land animals with strong incisors (326)
18. a scapegoat (327)
19. hereditary (327)
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20. to take flight (329)
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
6.
Point out the words and phrases which characterize a psychiatric hospital. Which thoughts
did the daunting milieu evoke in Gabriel? Could he truly forget Catalina for the sake of his
new love - Jenni? And was it really love?
7. Why did Gabriel try to draw a parallel between Adam’s religion and biblical episodes?
8. Was it easy enough for Hassan to sacrifice his life?
9. Give a short description of a HOPE meeting. What was it true purpose?
10. Has R.Tranter ever doubted his victory? Who was a winner of the book prize?
11. Was R.Tranter’s failure a retribution for his excoriating reviews?
12. What did Jenni feel after visiting Adam?
13. Analyze Jenni’s and Garbriel conversation after visiting the hospital. Do you fell that they
have become closer and more sincere to each other?
Part 7
Chapters 1-5 (331-390)
1. Find the meaning of the culture words below
Regent’s Park, Oxford Street, Tulse Hill, schizophrenia (336), French doors (346), Mr
Gorbachev (349), The Twin Towers (352), The Toad (353), Man U (357), hypoglycaemia
(379).
2. Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases. Find the sentences in
which these words are used. Translate the words into Russian.
1. matinee-goers (331)
2. to be reluctant to leave
3. snug 332
4. a mischievous desire
5. to plumb for smn 333
6. a sound start
7. to be like a breadstick 334
8. to feel light-headed apprehension
9. hereditary weakness 335
10. to be long-winded 338
11. to run a gauntlet of only two or three paces 339
12. to grin with glee 340
13. pivots 341
14. to trot over
15. to receive an equally meager service
16. to become more frantic 343
17. king-size bed 344
18. to teem with some sort of priceless vigour 344
19. to kick-start the affair in passionate terms 345
20. lurcher 346
21. zonker 347
22. to have an absolute basinful of smb 349
23. to bat an eyelid 350
24. to tame the market 352
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25. exuberant, paunchy fellow 354
26. demure woman 355
27. a formal monthly retainer for smb’s services 358
28. to reach a turning point 359
29. turbulent emotions 359
30. sneery people 360
31. to keep out of mischief 361
32. to swill down some champagne 363
33. corduroy suit 364
34. to give smb a good going-over 365
35. clamour of received ideas 368
36. to pursue smb’s questioning 368
37. befuddled world 368
38. memory ransacking 370
39. to do the occasional cut and blow-dry for pocket money 372
40. to abandon trust in smb 377
41. to reverberate in the ears of the people 380
42. detritus of dinner 382
43. jihadi 384
Questions and Discussion
The last chapter of the book crowns the story of the seven wintry days before Christmas, 2007.
Let’s make connections with the previous chapters and follow the storyline of the main heroes:
a hedge fund manager John Veals, a professional footballer Spike Borowski, a young lawyer
Gabriel Northwood, an Islam student Hassan Al-Rashid, a Tube driver Jenny Fortune and a
hack-book reviewer R.Tranter.
1. Sophie Toppings is having a dinner she had been preparing for in the previous chapters.
‘Sophie was motivated by a desire to win the competition with the other wives and mothers
of North Park’. What were the rules of the so-called ‘competition’? How would you behave
in case you had a chance to organize a social party? How does, according to the author,
social life influence people’s health? Describe the dinner party in details.
2. Vanessa Veals and John Veals. Vanessa was far from thinking about the competition. Was
she was preoccupied with her son’s health or possible rumours over it? What was the
doctor’s verdict on Finn’s health?
3. In the final chapter John Veals clearly shows that he puts his business above his family. Find
two obvious examples. What happens in the Veals’ family on that very evening? How do
they behave at the party? What impression do you have of the Veals. Do you sympathize
with them?
4. Spike Borowski is taking part in the match and then attends the dinner party together with
his new girlfriend Olya. What do you think of the couple and their relations? Olya was
constantly being watched during the dinner. What did she provoke such attention? Was there
any ground for it?
5. At pp.346-351 Roger and Amanda Malpasse are almost ready to go to the dinner party at
Topping’s. They are discussing the coming event and how people have changed over the
past years. What does the C-word stand for? Find the examples of people’s attitude towards
social events, politics and politicians.
30
6. Hassan al-Rashid on his way to the arranged place felt ashamed of the possible hope for a
last-minute cancellation. What was it – fear or the inner confrontation? Describe the day of
Hassan. What made him change the mind and splash the bomb into the dark, forgiving water
of the Thames? How does the episode with Shahla change Hassan and our attitude towards
him?
7. There is little information about Gabriel Northwood and R.Tranter as well as Jenny Fortune
in the 6th chapter. But they round up the book and finish the final puzzle of the narration.
Summarize their storylines.
31