Rupert Netherington-Fiddell did not ob-

ject
to being called an aristocrat. He
couldn't help
I
thinking of his (ima-
ginary)
ancestors.
On signing into a hotel one day he was
addressed by a very military-looking
gentleman.
He went on talklng
career in the army in
farming career after
vice during the war.
678
and invented a
lndia and then a
a remarkable ser-
Rupert often enjoyed
imaginary old times
club, People thought
worth knowing.
'
talking about his
at the exclusive
he was a man
Uocabulary
arlstocrat aristocratico
['aristakratl
anceEtor antenato
['ansistar]
to slgn
(ln)
Isain]
to address
[e'dres]
registrarsi
apostrofare
,
vERBs + rNc FoRM
',
Rupert was about to deny being related to those high-born people
Vz
Rupert often enJoyed trlking of his imaginary old times
,n
',
ExPREssroNS + tNc FoRM
,4
'4,
Rupert sometimes could not help smlllng to himself
7,
People thought he was a man worth knowlng
4 PossEssrvE + rNc FoRM
,4
'2,
Excuse my asking, but I couldn't help noticing your name
%
Forglve my asking, but what business is it of
yours?
'4
PREPosrtoNs + rNG F.RM
'Z
He was risking nothing for telling such a lie
'4
He talked about taking
psrt in big battles
KP SUIILING, RUPRT
Rupert Netherington-Fiddell did not object to being called an aristocrat. He
couldn't help thinking of his
(imaginary)
ancestors. In fact, his past life had been
a trail of disasters and frustrations about which he did not enjoy talking and was
somewhat reticent. Lately, however, he had discovered a resource so far unused in
his rather distinguished name: Netherington-Fiddell.
On signing into a hotel one day he was addressed by a yery militaryJooking
gentleman who said:
"Excuse
my asking, but I couldn't help noticing your name
in the register. Are you
any relation to the Netherington-Fiddetls of Norfolk?"
Rupert was about to deny being related to those high-born
people
3
when, for
some reason he could never explain later, he decided to lie.
1. He couldn't help
=
Non poteva fare a meno (di),2. a mrn worth knowlng
=
un uomo che valeva la
pena di conoscere. 3. hlgh.born people
=
gente nobile dl nascita.
679
"Yes,
I am", he replied.
"Forgive
my asking, but what business is it of
yours?"
1
Rupert was surprised at his own audacity. The military man was unperturbed.
"Old
Harry used to be in India with me
just
before the war. You're not his son,
are
you?"
"Nephew
actually", Rupert replied beginning to enjoy himself. The chance of be-
ing found out was very little and anyway he was risking nothing for telling such a
lie. He went on talking and invented a career in the army in India and then a far-
ming career
2
after a remarkable service during the war.
He talked about taking
part in big battles and of the art of farming on a large
scale. Later Rupert was much relieved to hear that his supposed uncle had died
long before
The consequence of the conversation was an invitation to dinner and introductions
to the influential friends of the military
gentleman.
By meeting them he discovered
in himself a talent for telling tales. People wanted to hear them. Soon he got used
to having invitations to dinner every night. Rupert often enjoyed talking about his
imaginary old times at the exclusive club to which he was elected. People thought
he was a man worth knowing.
Rupert sometimes could not help smiling to himself. He had discovered that one
had,to talk to the right people in the right
places
and one could
go
anywhere. He
was at last a man of success.
Ouestions
l. What did not Rupert Netherington-Fiddell object to?
2. Who couldn't he help thinking of?
3. What had his past life been?
4. What had he discovered, lately?
5. Who was he addressed by on signing into a hotel?
6. What did the military-looking gentleman
ask him?
7. What was Rupert about to do?
8. Why did he decide to lie?
9. What did Rupert go on doing?
10. What did he talk about?
11. What was he much relieved to hear later?
12. What was the consequence of the conversation?
13. What did Rupert discover in himself?
14. What did he soon get used to?
15. Where did he often enjoy talking about his imaginary old times?
16. What had Rupert discovered?
Vocabulary
trail
[treil]
scia, sequela
resource
[ri'sc:s]
risorsa
scale
lskeil]
scala
introduction presentazione
[intra'dlkfan]
unused intatto
['nn'ju:zdl
distinguished distinto, illustre
[dis'tir3guiJt]
relieved
[ri'li:vd]
sollevato
1. but what buglness is lt of yours?
=
ma a Lei cosa interessa? 2. a farmlng canoer
=
una carriera
come agricoltore.
680
Charles Dodgson's
portrait photograph.
COI\NMR,SATION
Lizzie Do you mind shutting the window, Simon? There's such a draught in this room
and I don't want to risk getting pneumonia.
Simon You
just
can't help interrupting my reading with
your
requests, can you,
Lizzie?
If you are afuaid of catching something, you
ought to take more care
I
of
your
health. Didn't
you go
cycling in th^e rain this morning?
Lzze Of course I did. I hate staying in
z
on a Saturday morning, and I went to see
Smon ffitr* came back soaking wet,3 if I'm not mistaken. Wasn't that silly?
Lzze Oh, stop being a bore, Simon! It was lovely to cycle in the rain, it was worth it,
believe me!
Simon
Lizzie
Simon
Lizzie
Simon
Lizzie
Simon
Lizze
Simon
It's no use talking to someone with no common sense
a
at all. There you
are!
The window is closed now.
Thank you,
Simon. What are
you
reading, by the way?
Alice in Wonderland.
lt's always great fun to read'something by Lewis Carroll.
Quite
true. I suppose
you know that Lewis Carroll was a pseudonym,
the
writer's real name was-Charles Dodgson, mathematician and logician. A master
in writing nonsensical'
prose and poems.
Didn't he write mathematics books, too?
Yes, quite a few, but he was more successful in writing absurd things. He is still
famous for writing nonsensical stuff, not for his serious books.
I'm sure he
preferred nonsense to mathematics, as I do.
Maybe, This book is a little
jewel,
a real masterpiece in humour. And now let me
go
on reading, this chapter is terribly funny...
draught
ldra:ftJ
pneumonla
lnju'maunjal
pseudonym
['sju:denim]
mathematlclan
[mre0ime'tiJan]
corrente d'aria
polmonite
pseudonimo
matematico
loglclan
fieu'SiJanJ
masterpieco
['ma:stopi:sJ
chapter
['crepte*J
to go
cycllng
logico
capolavoro
capitolo
andare in
bicicletta
2, to stay ln
=
rimanere in casa. 3. soaklng wet
=
[uet]
=
bagnato. 4. common sensg
=
buon senso.
non senso,'assurdif, incongruenza.
Uocabulary
1. to take caro
(of)
=
aver cura, prendersi cura (di),
bagnato fradicio. To soak
lsaukJ
=
inzuppare, Wet
5. Nonsen sical aggef tivo derivato da nonsenso
=
682
BACK TO NATURE
Lawrence
Angus
Lawrence
Angus
Lawrence
Angus
Lawrence
Angus
Lawrence
Angus
Lawrence
Angus
Lawrence
Angus
Lawrence
I can't get used to being away from civilization.
If you
don't fancy camping, we can always go back to the hotel.
No, it isn't that. I like being out in the open, I enjoy getting back to nature.
In that case you won't mind my skinning this rabbit for supper, will you?
Ugh! At the risk of sounding too sensitive, may I ask if we have anything in a
tin?
Don't you
want to do things the old-fashioned way?
1
Yes, but I don't fancy watching you
skin and cut up that animal. Anyway, if
you'll forgive my saying this, since
you bought the rabbit at the butcher's in
the town, this is not a great return to nature. I would have been more im-
pressed by your
cooking a rabbit which you had caught
yourself.
The technique of trapping rabbits' is not something that I have managed to
master while going about my daily business
3
in the office.
Let's have something tinned.
So be it.
o
Oh, I told you before that we would need some wood for the fire.
Did you
collect any?
I started to collect some about half an hour ago, but in doing so I got my
shoes wet and scratched my legs in the bushes. Why not use the
portable gas
stove?
s
Oh, very natural!
I don't mind our being natural up to a point,
6
but I am all for
7
being com-
fortable, if possible.
But this is supposed to be a holiday in the wilds.
8
I enjoy being in the wilds but there are limits. Now if you stop arguing, we
can have supper and then watch the television in the caravan.
1 . the old-fashioned way
=
all'antic a. 2. to trap rabbits
=
prendere
{onigli
one's daily business
=
occuparsi delle proprie faccende giornaliere. 4.
$o
be
[stauv] =
fornello a gas. 6. up to a point
=
fino ad un certo punto. 7.
decisamente favorevole (a). f. in the wilds
[uaildz] =
allo stato naturale\,
civilization civilt
Isivilai'zeirl"en]
nature
['neice*]
natura
technique tecnica
[tek'ni:k]
to skin
[skin]
scuoiare
to master padroneggiare
['ma:ste*]
to scratch graffiare
[skrrec]
in trappola. 3. tc go about
it
=
Cos sia. 5. gas stove
to be all (for)
=
essere
Vocabalary
FROM THE CONVERSATION TO THE PASSAGE
Lawrence and Angus are camping, away from civilization. Angus would like to do things
the old-fashioned way and suggests skinning a rabbit for supper. Lawrence objects that it
is not a great return to nature since they bought the rabbit at a butcher's. Angus argues
that he is not familiar with the technique of trapping rabbits. In the end they decide on
something tinned. But Lawrence did not collect any wood. Why not use the portable gas
stove, have supper and then watch the television in the caravan? This is Lawrence's sensi-
ble suggestion.
683
ORRL DRILLS
Make a summary of the following passage. As concise as pos
sible.
A CHAT ABOUT THE COMMONWEALTH
"Do you mind my asking you
a
question?"
Stefano asked Simon one day. "What exactly does
the term Commonwealth mean?"
"lt is short for
I
Commonwealth of Nations", replied Simon, "that is to say a group of
who are associated with Britain".
"Their being associated is not clear to me", said Stefano, who had found he answer
nations
a little
vague.
"lt is not very easy to explain, but I'll try, Stefano. First we have the dependencies
2
or colonies
which are still under the control of Great Britain; then we have Australia, New Zealand, Canada
and of course Britain, who are all independent but accept the Queen as Head of State
3
and
then we have the new independent nations like lndia and Ghana, who are members of the Com-
monwealth, but republicd. Of course all these nations chose to be associated quite
voluntarily".
"So the Queen is Queen of Australia, for example, but not Queen of lndia", said Stefano who
was very surprised to hear that.
"That's right. For lndia and Ghana the Queen is not Head of State, but only Head of the Com-
monwealth. The number of these independent republics in the Commonwealth is increasing year
by year.
a
Since 1945 lndia, Ceylon, Malaya, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanganyka, Ke'nya and many trers
have all become independent. Most of them chose to
join
the Commonwealth".
"Excuse
my being such a bore, Simon", said Stefano at this point, "but here is another thing I
would like to know. You always use the word British, but in ltaly we are used to calling you
English. What is the differenc?"
"Britain is the United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern lreland", explained
Simon. "The rest of lreland is a republic and is not even in the Commonwealth. Only the people
of England are English. The Scots, Welsh and Northern lrish are British, and they object to being
called English, don't forget. Some of them
get furious if you call them English".
Stefano could not help smiling. "Let me see if I understand now", he said, "There
are three
kinds of countries in the Commonwealth: the dependencies, the countries who accept the Queen
as Head of State, and those who accept her only as Head of the Commonwealth".
"Well done,
5
Stefano! And the Queen is a symboi of unity between all these countries. The
Commonwealth contains many different nations, religions and languages, but, as the Queen
herself said, it is 'built
on the highest qualities
of the spirit of man: friendship, loyalty and the
desire for freedom and peace'.
"Well, that's worth_knowing", said Stefano, "Thank you for explaining all this to me, Simon".
"You're welcome,

Stefano".
1. shoft for
=
abbreviato per. 2. Dependency un territorio sotto il controllo straniero. 3. Head of State
=
Capo di Stato. 4. year by year
=
di anno in anno. 5. Well done!
=
Ben fattol (Ben dettol). 6. You're
welcome corrisponde alla forma italiana prego usata quando si riceve un ringraziamento. Altre forme inglesi
corrispondenti a prego in tale senso sono: Ihaf's all right! e Don't mention it!
684
I
I
;i
ili
rti
flr
it
i
GRRft,Ift'IRR
POSSESSIVO + FORMA IN ,AIG
Do you mind my opening the window?
Yi spioce che io apra la
finestra?
Forgive my intruding
Perdonate se mi intrometto
I can't excuse your being late
Non posso scusare che tu sia in ritardo
We couldn't deny John's being here
Non potemmo negare che John
fosse
qui
Fancy his doing such a thing!
Strano che abbia
fatto
uno cosa del
genere!
We couldn't
prevent her getting into
trouble
Non potemmo impedire che si mettesse
nei guai
You don't mind John's staying here, do
you?
Non ti spiace che John stia qui, vero?
1.
Quando
un verbo (od
espressione) che regge il gerundio,
anzich essere seguito da in-
linito
(Ti
spiace aprire la finestra?) seguito da una
frase finita
(Ti
spiace che io apra la
fnestra? Ti spiace che John aprala finestra?), tale verbo (od espressione) viene seguito da
un possessivo (aggettivo possessivo
o
genitivo
sassone) + forma in ing.
Do you mind my opening the window? Le spiace che io apra la finestra?
Do you mind John's opening the window? Le spiace che John apra la finestra?
2. Il possessivo
+ gerundio pu essere inoltre soggetto di tn'intera proposizione. Esso
traduce per lo pi la forma italiana il
fatto
cfte (seguito da
frase ftnita).
IIis smoking so much is very bad Il fatto che fumi tanto molto male
Bob's smoking so much is very bad Il fatto che Bob fumi tanto molto male
Her saying that annoyed everybody Il fatto che dicesse ci secc tutti
Jlne's saying that annoyed everybody Il fatto che Jane dicesse ci secc tutti
OSSERVAZIONE
Taluni verbi
possono reggere tanto il gerundio chel'infinito. La costruzions del possesslvo
+ forma in ing
possibile
con tali verbi.
I pi comuni di essi sono:
to like
to love
to choose
to need
to want
to prefer
to hate
to dread
piacere
amare
scegliere
abbisognare
abbisognare
preferire
odiare
paventare
to intend
to omit
to begin
to start
to forget
to regret
to continue continuare
to remember ricordare
intendere
omettere
cominciare
cominciare
dimenticare
rammaricarsi, dolersi
I'd like to go out tonight Mi piacerebbe uscire stasera
She loves to have
(having)
a lot of people Essa ama avere molta gente attorno
around
685
I like reading
1
This suit needs
(wants) cleaning
She hafes gefing to the theatre late
She omitted to do
(doing) that
The baby began to cry
It started raining
Don't forget to post the letter
I must remember to go there
I can't remember having gone there
I regret being unable to help her
I regret having deceived him
I didn't like her saying that
Mi piace leggere
Questo
vestito ha bisogno di essere pulito
Essa odia arrivare a teatro tardi
Omise di fare ci
n bimbo cominci a piangere
Cominci a piovere
Non dimenticare di impostare la lettera
Devo ricordarmi di andarci
Non ricordo di esserci andato
Mi duole non
poterla
aiutare
Mi duole di averlo ingannato
Non mi piacque che dicesse cio
PREPOSIZIONI + FORMA IN ING
Of * gerundio For * gerundio
He knows the art of making money He was scolded for telling a lie
Conosce l'arte di
fare
danaro Fu rmproverato per
aver detto una
He ran the risk of dying
bugia
Corse il rischio di morire
He was executed for murdering a man
Fu giustiziato per aver assassinato un
uomo
On + gerundo In + gerundo
He found a message on arriving home In checking the bill he found a mistake
Trov un messaggio arrivando a casa Controllando il conto trov un errore
On seeing her he turned pale In reading the proofs he found two
Vedendola divenne pallido misprints
Leggendo le bozze trov due refusi
1.
Quando
un sostantivo preceduta da articolo determinativo e seguito da di + infinito,
esso viene abitualmente fatto seguire da of + forma in ing.
He was on the point of bursting into tears
He knows everything about the English
way of living
2.
Quando
I'infinito retto da per non ha
di), si impiega for + forma in ing.
She couldn't speak for laughing
He got a prize for doing the best essay
Era sul punto di scoppiare in lacrime
Conosce tutto sul modo di vivere degli
Inglesi
vslore
finale
(allo scopo di), ma csusale (a causa
Non riusc a parlare per il ridere
Ottenne un premio per aver fatto il
miglior tema
1. La scelta ra gerundio ed infinito talvolta suggerita da orecchio o da lievi sfumature di signficato o di
situazione. Ad esempio, to like, to love, to hate e to
prefer
vogliono il gerundio preferibilmente quando I'rn-
finito italiano che li segue denota un'azione indeterminata nel tempo.
686
OSSERVAZIONE
L'utlizz,azione
(o lo scopo\ di un oggetto espressa da for * forma in ing. Si tenga
presente che
for
deve essere preceduto da un sostantivo.
This is an apparatus for detecting drugs
Questo
un dispositivo
per scoprire droghe
Have you got tapes for learning Russian? Avete nastri per imparare il Russo?
I've bought a device for opening gates Ho comprato un congegno per aprire
from a distance cancelli a distanza
3.
Quando
il gerundio
italiano usato con
yalore
temporale
(arrivando
-
all'arrivare,
leggendo
=
nel leggere), la
forma
in ing preceduto da on o da in. On caratterizza azioni
di rapido svolgimento, mentre in caratterizza
quelle che implicano un certo periodo di
tempo per svolgersi.
On entering the shop she met an old Entrando nel negozio incontr un vecchio
friend amico
In discussing the matter we found many Discutendo la faccenda trovammo molti
points in common punti in comune
OSSERVAZIONE
I seguenti verbi od espressioni seguiti da preposizione reggono la
forma
in ing in inglese:
I
to depend on contare su to refer to riferirsi a
to rely on contare su to object to disapprovare, oppor-
to insist on insistere per
si, essere contrario a
to go on continuare a to see to prowedere a
to keep on continuare a to allude to alludere a
to be keen on tenerci to take to darsi a
to think of pensare
di to look forward to non vedere I'ora di
to approve of approvare to wonder at meravigliarsi di
to be surc
(of)
essere sicuro
(di) to be surprised at essere sorpreso di
to be fond of essere appassionato a to be sstonished st essere sbalordito per
to be afraid of aver paura di, to be
pleased with essere soddisfatto di
temere di to put off rimandare
to
prevent from impedire a to leave off cessare di, smettere di
to keep from trattenere (-rsi) da to give up rinunciare a, smet-
tere di
You can depend on his coming Puoi contare sul fatto che egli venga
May I rely on
your
being here? Posso contare sul fatto che tu sia
qui?
He insisted on my going with them Insistette perch
andassi con loro
He went on talking for hours. Continu a
parlare per
ore
Don't keep on asking silly questions Non continuare a fare domande sceme
He is very keen on trwelling molto appassionato al viaggiare
I was referring to
your
being late Mi riferivo al tuo essere in ritardo
I object to being treated like a child Mi oppongo ad essere trattato come un
bambino
1. Per altri verbi e locuzioni +
gerundlo cfr. Unit 18.
687
ORRL RND URITIN DRILS
Read aloud:
Ir
1. He admitted taking the money.
2. You must avoid making so many
mistakes.
3. He delayed sending that letter.
4. He always defers making decisions.
5. He denied knowing anything about their
plans.
6. We enjoyed spending a few hours with
them.
7. How could
you
escape being seen?
8. I don't fancy going to that
party.
9. Have you finished eating?
10. Why does she keep laughing?
a
1. Why don't you
stop making faces?
2. I don't want to risk getting caught in the
storm.
3. He suggested
going
to the theatre.
4. ls that film worth seeing?
5. lt is no use
pretending you did not know
the rules.
6. lt is no use trying to convince him.
7. There was no getting him to come with
us.
8. Have
you done reading that newspaper?
9. He can't help drinking.
10. She can't stand being teased.
E
1.
2.
3.
4.
Do ybu mind my smoking
couldn't help his getting
can't excuse her always
can't stand his driving in
10. Simon's laughing on that occasion was
out of
place.
g
1. He was on the
point of leaving for the
United States.
2. I don't like his way of talking.
3. She ran the risk of getting lost.
4. She was praised for being very diligent.
5. He was sent to prison for stealing a car.
6. The child was punished for telling a lie.
7. He found a telegram on arriving home.
8. He blushed on seeing her.
9. He paid on receiving the goods.
10. ln reading the translation I found a lot of
mistakes.
tr
1. May I rely on
your coming?
2. She insisted on coming.
3. She insisted on John's coming.
4. I hope it won't go on raining all day.
5. Why does the dog keep on barking?
6. She is very keen on travelling.
7. Her parents object to her going out
alone.
8. I'll see to getting the tickets.
9. I don't think he'll take to gardening.
10. I'm looking forward to leaving.
E
1. Have
you ever thought of leaving your
country?
2. I can't approve of Bob's acting like that.
3. She was afraid of waking her baby up.
4. She did not wonder at my asking her
that question.
We were surprised at seeing him there.
He was astonished at seeing her with
that man.
They prevented him from making a big
mistake.
I
What kept you from going there?
She couldn't keep from smiling.
Leave off shouting!
reckless way.
5. Forgive my intruding.
6. I couldn't help Jane's coming
7. lt's no use his coming here.
8. His recovering so soon was a
a cigar?
into trouble.
being late.
such a
with us.
su rprise
7.
5.
6.
8.
9.
10.
to everybody.
9. His saying such a thing annoyed
everybody.
1. Anche: They prevented his making a big mistake.
689
Translate the ltallan iragments ln brackets:
z
A BARGAIN
"(Ml scusl se la interrotupol", said the man in the brown suit, "but (le dispiacerebbe se io
aplss| the window?". The other man in the railway carriage,
I
who was readng a newspaper,
dldn't seem to be listening.
"(Scus/ se /a disfurbo), said the first man, a little louder, "but can I open the windoW'?"
"Oh, lam sorry!" the other replied, in a Scottish accent, "(Non serve parlarm1
softly
-
lam
nearly deaf".
Th9 Englishman repeated his question
and opened the window. "l find that trains get very stuf-
fy' during the summer, don't you?" he said. "(Sl pu
contare sul fatto che le carrozze sianol
hot in the summer and cold during the winter!" The Scotsman agreed,
(Non
cl tengo molto a viaggiare) by train;
(preferisco
andarel by car
-
but with the
price
of
petrol being so high I leave my car in the garage" he said.
"Aht" said the Englishman "At least (si pu
essere sicuri di arrivare) on time by using the train
-
the roads today are so crowded".
For sqme time the conversation stopped: the Scotsman read his newspaper from cover to
cover
3
.while
the Englishman
_looted 3i
tne passing
scenery. Finally, the'Siotsman said:
-"(Le
piacgr.gbp.g
leggere) the paper?" The Englishman reptied: "O!, how kind of you!
Thank you very
much". "Ten
pence, please"
said the Scotsman, holding out
4
the newspapr and his hnd. Th
Englishman took the newspaper: money changed hands and the
journey
continued.
"(Non posso
tare a meno di
pensare)"
said the Scotsman, after some minutes, "how beautiful
this scenery is. I would give
fifty pounds just
to be able to stop and look at lt". The Enslishman
looked up from his paper:
"That's easy" he said,
pulling
the communication cord.
5
"Hve it for
twenty-five
poundsl"
Translate lnto English:
tr
1. Ammise di essere andato al cinema.
2. Feci (di) tutto per
evitare di incontrarli.
3. Non puoi negare di avermi visto.
4. Non mi diverto a passare
la sera in
casa.
5. Cerca di evitare di esser vista.
6. Non ho voglia di andare a quella festa.
7. Hai finito di scrivere
quella
lettera?
8. Perch continui a sbadigliare?
9. Non
posso rischiare di
perdere il treno.
10. Smetti di dire stupidaggini!
tr
1. Chi ha suggerito di venire qui?
2. Non vale la pena
di uscire con (in)
questo tempo.
3. Vale la pena di vedere
quella
commedia?
4. inutile andare l.
5. Non serve cercare di fargli cambiare
idea.
6. Non ci fu modo di trovare la chiave.
7. Non c' verso di farlo parlare
in inglese.
8. Avete f inito di tradu rre?
9. Non posso fare a meno di fumare tanto.
10. Ti spiace chiudere la finestra?
Itr
1, Ti spiace che chiuda la f inestra?
2. Ti spiace che John venga con noi?
3. Non
potei
evitare che ella mi sentisse.
4. Non
posso scusare che ella sia sempre
in ritardo.
5. Egli ammise che ella
gli diede il danaro.
6. Perdoni se le faccio una domanda,
signore.
7. Non
potevamo rischiare che egli
peggiorasse.
8. Egli sugger che ci incontrassimo a
Londra.
9. Non
potemmo fare a meno che egli
venisse a casa nostra.
10. Non posso sopportare che egli imprechi
tanto.
1. rallway carrlage
['kari]
=
cover
=
da cima a fondo. 4.
690
carrozza ferroviaria, 2. to
to hold out
=
porgere. 5.
get stuffy
['st,rfi]
=
farsi afosi. 3. from cover to
communlcatlon cord
=
campanello d'allarme.
Vocabulary
limite di velocit
=
speed limit. 2. sfogliare
=
to turn
mordersi le unghie
=
to bite (bit bitten) one's nals.
IE
1. Non vedo I'ora di fare un bagno.
2. Sto
pensando di fare un viaggio
all'estero.
3. Come
posso approvare che tu fumi
tanto?
4. Avevo paura di offenderlo.
5. Non mi meraviglio che sia stato
bocciato.
Fummo sorpresi che essi ammettessero
di conoscersi.
Come potevo impedire che egli venisse
con noi?
Che cosa ti trattenne dal partire?
Non riuscii a trattenermi dal ridere.
Smetti di morderti le unghie !
a
Itr
1. Non vedo I'ora di ritornare in lnghilterra.
2. Non vedo I'ora che ella ritorni
dall'lnghilterra.
3. Dovreti impedirle di uscire con (in)
questo tempo.
4. Proweder io a mandarle delle rose.
5. Non riuscite a trattenervi dal ridere?
6. lnsistette per venire con noi.
7. lnsistette perch uscissimo con lui.
8. Stavamo
pensando di prendere uia
vacanza.
9. Essi sono contrari a partire.
10. Essi sono contrari
(a) che noi partiamo.
to tease
\t:zl
prendere in giro
reckless
['reklis]
avventato
deaf
ldefl
sordo
finally
['fainolil
da ultimo
IN
1. un maestro nell'arte di fare danaro.
2. Non voleva correre il rischio di morire.
3. Non trovai I'opportunit di
parlargli.
4. Eravamo sul punto di dirgli tutto.
5. Fu punito per non aver fatto il compito.
6. Fu lodata
per aver fatto la miglior
traduzione.
7. Fummo multati per aver guidato oltre il
limite di velocita.
1
8. Arrivando a casa trov un amico che lo
aspettava.
9. Ci imbattemmo in John entrando in un
ristorante,
10. Sfogliando
2
un vecchio libro trovai una
lettera interessante.
E
1.
'Non
puoi
contare sul fatto che egli
venga qui.
2. lnsistette per venire con noi.
3. lnsistette perch
noi andassimo con lui.
4. Continua a leggere, prego.
5. Continu a dire che lui era innocente.
3
6. Siamo appassionati al giar:dinaggio.
7. Ti stai riferendo al fatto che io non ero
r?
lo sono contraria che egli parta.
Hai provveduto a fargli avere il danaro?
Si diede al giuoco (d'azzardo).
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
8.
9.
10.
Rupert Netherington-Fiddell non era contrario ad essere chiamato un aristocratico e non poteva
fare a meno di
pensare
ai suoi antenati immaginari. Di fatto la sua vita era stata una sequela di
disastri e frustazioni. Recentemente, comunque, aveva scope40 una risorsa sino a questo punto
inutilizzata nel suo nome alquanto distinto.
Un
giorno, all'atto di registrarsi in un albergo, un signore dall'aspetto militaresco gli chiese se
non fosse parente
dei Netherington-Fiddell del Norfolk. Rupert stava
per negare
di essere im-
parentato con quella gente
nobile di nascita, quando
decise di mentire. Non rischiava nulla a
dire una bugia. lnvent cos una carriera nell'esercito e molte altre cose.
La conseguenza detla conversazione con il signore dall'aspetto militaresco fu un invito a cena e
presentazioni ad amici influenti. Nel fare la loro conoscenza Rupert scopr in s un talento per
raccontare storie, E la gente
lo voleva sentire quando si divertiva a parlare dei suoi immaginari
iempi- Talvolla Rupert non poteva fare a meno di sorridere fra s. Aveva scoperto ch
parlando
alla gente giusta nei posti giusti si poteva arrivare ovunque.
scenery
['si:nariJ
paesaggio
to intrude
[in'tru:dJ
to recover
[ri'knva*J
intromettersi
guarire
1.
4.
over the pages (of). 3. innocente
=
not guilty.
691