JANETA LUPU

ENGLISH PRACTICAL COURSE

WORKBOOK
ADVANCED LEVEL

Third Edition

Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Naionale a Romniei

LUPU, JANETA
English practical course workbook /Janeta Lupu. 3-nd ed. Bucureti: Editura Fundaiei Romnia de Mine, 2006
144 p.; 20,5 cm
Bibliogr.
ISBN 973-725-528-3
811.111(075.8)

Editura Fundaiei Romnia de Mine, 2006

Tehnoredactori:
Coperta:

Marcela OLARU, Janeta LUPU

Marilena Gurlui

Bun de tipar: 20.02.2006; Coli tipar: 9

Format: 16/6186
Editura i Tipografia Fundaiei Romnia de Mine
Splaiul Independenei, Nr. 313, Bucureti, S. 6, O. P. 83
Tel./Fax.: 316 97 90; www.spiruharet.ro
e-mail: contact@edituraromaniademaine.ro

UNIVERSITATEA SPIRU HARET

FACULTATEA DE LIMBI I LITERATURI STRINE

JANETA LUPU

ENGLISH PRACTICAL COURSE

WORKBOOK
ADVANCED LEVEL
Third Edition

EDITURA FUNDAIEI ROMNIA DE MINE

Bucureti, 2006

To my children,
Alexandru and Mayada
J.L.

CONTENTS

Foreword ..

GLOBAL ISSUES
Lesson 1. Globalization
The Present Tense ..
Lesson 2. International Crime ..
The Present Perfect Tense ..
Lesson 3. Demands of Human Solidarity .
The Past Tenses ..
Lesson 4. Communications ..
The Modal Verbs

9
14
19
23
27
29
33
37

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS
Lesson 1. Education ..
The Subjunctive .
Lesson 2. Career ...
Direct and Indirect Speech .
Lesson 3. Family Life ...
The Passive Voice ..
Lesson 4. Feminism ..
The Sequence of Tenses .

43
46
49
56
59
63
67
71

LEISURE & ENTERTAINMENT

Lesson 1. Book review .
The Infinitive ..

73
77
5

Lesson 2. Sculpture ..
The Participle .
Lesson 3. Music..
The Gerund .
Lesson 4. Beauty Pageants ...

81
85
89
93
97

Consolidation Exercises
Specimen Lesson Plan ...
Punctuation ...
Teaching English through Games
Translation Corpus ...

103
107
108
113
119

Bibliography .

144

FOREWORD

The present workbook for the practical course is devoted to

advanced students of English. It deals with some of the most ardent
issues of contemporary world and it aims at consolidating the
students knowledge of the most specific English grammar issues,
providing a variety of interesting and complex exercises.
The main chapters are devoted to topics like: global issues,
interpersonal relations, leisure and entertainment. The texts have been
selected from a wide range of publications, to make the students
familiar with the different styles (academic, scientific, journalese,
colloquial) of English. The language used is the language of our
contemporaries.
The last part is a translation corpus containing fragments from
the literary works of the writers the students study according to the
syllabus for modern English literature. I have chosen quite extensive
fragments to stimulate the students curiosity to read the entire work
of the respective writers.
There is also a chapter including punctuation rules, lesson plan
specimen and a few games to be used in class by the future teachers of
English.
The author

GLOBAL ISSUES
Lesson 1
GLOBALIZATION
We live now for the first time in human
history - in a new era when our planet is enveloped by
a single civilization
Vclav Havel

Here is a list of definitions given to this complex phenomenon, so

much debated in our times; read and comment upon them with your
colleagues.
Globalization is:
a primarily economic phenomenon, involving the increasing
interaction, or integration, of national economic systems through
the growth in international trade, investment and capital flows;
a rapid increase in cross-border social, cultural and
technological exchange, under the conditions of capitalism;
a decoupling of space and time, that, with instantaneous
communications, knowledge and culture, can be shared around
the world simultaneously;
a process in which geographic distance becomes a factor of
diminishing importance in the establishment and maintenance of
cross-border economic, political and socio-cultural relations;
a worldwide drive toward a globalized economic system
dominated by supranational corporate trade and banking
institutions that are not accountable to democratic processes or
national governments.

Challenges and Opportunities

Preamble
The history of humanity is the history of its progressive liberation
from material deprivation, i.e., of economic development, and it is the
history as well of the growth of freedom in the realm of the spirit.We
now have a name for the dynamics at work in the present stage in the
development of civilization: globalization. Like it or not,
globalization is fact (a fact-in-the-making); it is irrelevant whether one
approves or disapproves of it. Like all profound transmutations in
history (such as the earlier, and still on-going, phenomenon of
modernization), globalization is something that is not a matter of
human choosing. We cannot choose the historical situations with
which we must contend, but we can do our best to make the best of the
opportunities they present us with. Why indeed can we not hope that
the emerging global civilization will turn out to be one imbued, in the
words of Vclav Havel, with a new spirituality, a new ethos, and a
new ethics, values that should be adopted today by all cultures, all
nations, as a condition of their very survival ? (Havel 1998, p.24)
Economic aspects
a) What globalization above all signals is a fundamental
transformation in the primary arena of human economic activity, i.e.,
the marketplace
b) Capital is no longer restricted to financing projects in domestic
markets with poor returns but can be shifted instantaneously to any
country that offers more productive investment opportunities.
c) Financial and currency markets have also become global, with
over a trillion dollars moving about the world every day with the
speed of electricity.
d) The manufactured goods that are traded in the global market
place often no longer originate in any one country in particular but
are the composite products of an elaborate international web of
suppliers and assemblers.
10

Social aspects
a) The demands of the global economy are bringing about
profound changes in the work habits and lifestyles of people in their
own native countries.
b) To meet the challenge of global competition, national
economies are obliged, if they are not to fall behind, to retool
themselves.
c) Competition often entails widespread social transformation
and dislocation, something which is naturally disruptive of established
social practices, and it is thus negatively viewed by both citizens and
governments (people do have a deep-seated craving for stability, a
human susceptibility that socialists know well how to play to).
Political aspects
a) Globalization poses a serious challenge to the old idea of
national sovereignty.
b) The new global economic order both requires and calls forth
the ever increasing liberalization of trade and investment, and
multilateral trade agreements necessarily restrict the ability of national
governments to act unilaterally in their own parochial interests.
Globalization and Culture
It does not make sense to talk of a world of 6 billion people
becoming a monoculture.
The spread of globalization will undoubtedly bring changes to the
countries it reaches, but change is an essential part of life. It does not
mean the abolition of traditional values. Indeed, new global media,
such as the internet, have proven a powerful means of projecting
traditional culture.
Capitalism is essentially diverse, as the traveller from Tokyo to
Hong Kong, Zurich, Buenos Aires and New York will discover. The
fact that American cultural products are successful in world markets
reflects no more than their popularity. American culture should no
more be vilified than should non-American culture be placed on a
11

pedestal beyond criticism, for example, cultural practices as female

genital mutilation.
To the extent that globalization does imply some integration of
culture, this may be no bad thing. Tribalism and fundamentalism have
been divisive sources of violent conflict throughout history. Can
anyone seriously maintain, for instance, that primitive cultural
practices, often defended by religious fundamentalists, that amount to
blatant violations of human rights are aspects of cultural difference
that ought to be cherished and preserved?
Globalization may have as its effect a certain levelling of cultural
differences and may make for increasing similarity in lifestyles around
the world, but it is difficult to see how this consequence may not
actually have decidedly beneficial effects.
If there is anything that threatens to turn the emerging new world
order into a world disorder and to turn the world itself into the arena
for a global clash of civilizations, a veritable war of all against all, it
is the culturalist obsession with difference on the part of both
national lites and the spiritually down-trodden, materially-deprived
masses in their countries. When people are bereft of economic
freedom, i.e., the opportunity to better their condition, it is natural
that they should focus their attention on petty way of aggrandizing
their self-esteem. It is natural that they should fall prey to the
narcissism of minor differences (Michael Ignatieff, 1998).
The logical consequence of ethnocentric nationalism is ethnic
rivalry, internecine warfare, and, ultimately, genocide.
Globalization tends to promote an altogether more desirable state
of affairs. The real challenge of globalization is that of exploiting the
undeniable opportunities it offers for increasing the general level of
civility throughout the world. Civility as defended by such
outstanding individuals as Vclav Havel is the necessary condition
for spiritual civilization (as the Chinese call it) as well as being,
along with democracy, necessarily a condition for genuine world
peace.

12

Globalization and Democracy

Curiously enough, there are those who view the stability brought
about by globalization as a threat to democracy. You might think that
anything that promotes world peace and prosperity could hardly be a
threat to democracy. And yet the objectors do have a point, in a way.
What the loss of national sovereignty entailed by globalization means,
they say, is that in many instances individual nation-states will no
longer have the independence to act in accordance with the
democratically expressed wishes of their citizens; the will of the
people will inevitably be curtailed, frustrated, by a nations
international commitments and obligations to the world community.
That is undeniably true. Multilateral and transnational ties designed
to promote international cooperation and stability reduce the scope
for unilateral action and national self-determination (in a global
world, no nation go it alone). That notwithstanding, this particular
objection to globalization misses the mark.
The only acceptable form of democracy is one based on an
entrenched, constitutional respect for human rights, i.e., the rights
and liberties of individuals. This is what is called liberal democracy.
Perhaps the single most important element in liberal democracy is the
rule of law. It is the presence or absence of the rule of law that
determines whether a society can be said to be free or not.
(adapted from Globalization by G.B.
Madison, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy;
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario)
Bibliography:
Albrow, Martin.1997. The Global Age: State and Society beyond
Modernity. Stanford: Calif.: Stanford University Press.
Fukuyama, Francis.1992. The End of History and the Last Man.
New York: The Free Press.
Havel, Vclav.1998. The Charms of NATO. New York Review
of Books 45, nr.1 (January 15)
Huntington, Samuel P.1997. The Clash of Civilizations and the
Remaking of the World Order. New York: Simon and Schuster.
13

Comprehension
Answer the following questions:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

What is globalization and when did it start?

Who are the players?
Why is there global inequality, and why is it getting worse?
What are the costs and benefits of free trade?
What is the role of the internet and communications
technology in globalization?
f) How does globalization affect culture?
g) What is your personal position/attitude toward globalization?

Divide the text into units and make your own commentaries on
each of the aspects of globalization mentioned in the text.
The text is adapted from a longer essay. What characteristics of
the academic style can you infer from the text?
Find the meanings of the words in italics and use them in
sentences of your own.
Make sure you understand the meanings of the following
phrasal verbs and then make up sentences: to break into, to break off,
to break up, to blow off, to knock down, to point out, to hold up, to tell
off, to put off, to let down.
Grammar
Present Simple for Daily Habits
Read the sentences of a diary and mind the use of the present
simple for daily habits with the following verbs: give, touch, start,
end, do, try, get up, have, collect, sort out, manage, collapse, update,
print off, drive, leave, grab, go.
I at 7.45 am and a bath. I home at 9am and to work.
At 9.30 am I the voicemails from the previous evening, as we deal
14

with different time zones. Then I the e-mails and either action or
file them.
At 10.15 am I the post for my boss as I try to have everything
ready before I speak to him.
At 10.30 am I my boss a call. He dictation with me over the
phone for letters and e-mails.
At 1 pm I to get a break and a sandwich, although I try to
take two proper lunch breaks a week. Otherwise my day and in
one breath.
At 2 pm I to sort out my calls in between doing the typing,
which I try to finish before 4 pm. I usually e-mail, fax or read things
over the phone for my boss to proof.
At 5 pm I base with my boss and him on what he has asked
me to do, then I fax him a list of messages.
At 6 pm I home and , although I do go to the gym when I
have got the energy.
(from The Times, 2000)
Write a short paragraph describing a typical day's activities.
Extend upon the following, using the present simple:
a) Describe the day-to-day activities at your school or your place
of work.
b) Describe how you spend your leisure time in the evenings or
on weekends.
c) Describe what happens on Christmas/Easter day, or on some
other important day in the calendar.
Present Simple with frequency Adverbs
Answer the following questions using the present simple of the
verbs together with the adverbs given below: often, generally, never,
hardly ever, sometimes, usually, nearly always, occasionally,
frequently, always.
1. When do you get up?
2. What do you do on weekends?
3. Where do you spend your summer holidays?
15

4. What sort of TV programmes do you not watch?

5. Where do you meet your friends?
6. What sort of films do you enjoy?
7. What sort of books do you rarely read?
8. How do you travel to school?
9. What do your parents ask you to do for them?
10.What do you take if you have a stomach pain?

Other Uses of Present Simple

a) in demonstrations
Here is a fine and easy-to-cook recipe:
Pesto-glazed chicken with red onions and sunblush tomatoes
Serves 4
4 medium red onions, peeled and thickly sliced
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil
4 chicken fillets, with or without skin
2 tbsp basil pesto
5oz/150g sunblush tomatoes roughly chopped
2tbsp pine nuts
3 tbsp basil leaves, roughly shredded
275ml/1/2 pint chicken stock
salt and pepper
Pre-heat the oven to 190C. Place the red onions in a roasting tin
with the balsamic vinegar, 3 tablespoons of olive oil and seasoning.
Mix well and roast in the oven for an hour. Seal the chicken breasts on
both sides in the remaining olive oil over a medium heat before
brushing each one with pesto.
Add the tomatoes, pine nuts and shredded basil to the roasted
onions. Pour in the chicken stock and place the pesto-glazed chicken
breasts on top of the onion mixture. Return to the oven and roast for
16

25 minutes or until chicken breasts are tender. Serve with mash or

roast potatoes.
Now describe the whole process of cooking in front of your
colleagues.
Give a spoken or written description of how to make one of
your favourite dishes.
b) in commentaries on radio or television:
Hagi hits the ball off the back front, and it goes straight to the
boundary.
Imagine you are asked to report a match between two university
teams on our TVRM station.
Note: The speaker may also use the present progressive in his/her
commentary; the chioce will depend either on the duration of the
action, or on the speaker's point of view.
c) in announcements:
The library opens at 9 am and closes at 6 pm.
Make a list of different announcements.
d) in headlines:
The USA puts forward anti-terrorist attack plan.
Choose interesting headlines from a couple of English or
American newspapers on sale in Romania.
e) as the historic or dramatic present, which is used to give
immediacy to past events (real or fictitious):
17

I run to the bus stop and find I've just missed the bus! (real event,
colloquial usage).
When Hamlet meets his father's ghost, he learns the truth about
his uncle Claudius. (fictitious event)
Find more such examples.
f) in stage directions:
Kent: Go to: have you wisdom? so. (Pushes Oswald out)
Lear: Now, my friendly knave, I thank thee: there's earnest of thy
service. (Gives Kent money)
Look for more stage directions in three different English plays.

Written Assignment
Extend upon the following:
1. Those who make difficult choices in life often make lots of
mistakes. But those who avoid difficult choices make the biggest
mistake of all.
2. National characteristics.
3. The world as it will be a hundred years from now.

18

Lesson 2
INTERNATIONAL CRIME
To appreciate the growing phenomenon of globalized crime,
consider the following:
The drug Ecstasy, manufactured primarily in Netherlands, is
trafficked to the United States by, among others, Israeli organized
crime groups.
A computer virus designed and sent from the Philippines caused
computers at many U.S. government agencies to be shut down, some
for as long as a week.
A major U.S. bank discovered that it was being used by Russian
organized crime to launder money.
Columbian crime groups reportedly check via computer the
bank accounts of drivers stopped at roadblocks to select rich
kidnapping victims.
The September 11th terrorist attack on WTC, the Twin Towers,
and the Pentagon building, has resulted in the loss of thousands of
human lives.
These examples represent the new face of crime. The extent of
such illegal activity has increased enormously in the wake of
globalization. And those involved in it have no respect for, or loyalty
to nations, boundaries, or sovereignty.
Certain types of international crime terrorism, human
trafficking, drug trafficking, and contraband smuggling involve
serious violence and physical harm. Other forms fraud, extortion,
corruption, money laundering, intellectual property theft, and
counterfeiting dont require guns to cause major damage. Moreover,
the spread of information technology has created new categories of
cybercrime.
19

Terrorism
Terrorism is a unique form of crime. Terrorist acts often contain
elements of warfare, politics and propaganda. For security reasons and
due to lack of popular support, terrorist organizations are usually
small, making detection and infiltration difficult. Although the goals
of terrorists are sometimes shared by wider constituencies, their
methods are generally abhorred.
While the issues behind terrorism are usually national or regional,
the impact of terrorist campaigns is international. Their form of
psychological warfare is propaganda by deed. It is thus not possible
to look at international terrorism in complete isolation from
domestic terrorism, which is considered an internal matter of
sovereign states. Domestic terrorism often has spill-over effects into
other countries and linkages with foreign terrorist groups are not
uncommon.
Innovations in global communications have given some local
groups international standing, while internationally operating groups
use todays rapid international transportation to hit, run and hide.
Perpetrators of terrorism in one country frequently use other states as
safe havens or for fund-raising. They sometimes receive training
abroad and use foreign countries for staging terrorist acts or as
launching bases for their operations elsewhere. Victims of
domestically oriented acts of terrorism are often foreign business
people, diplomats or tourists.
Terrorists sometimes hide among emigrant diasporas and refugee
communities. Some terrorist organizations are partly engaged in illicit
smuggling of drugs and weapons. Most do not operate in a vacuum,
but rather side-by-side with non-violent militant groups pursuing the
same objectives but by peaceful means.
Pino Arlacchi, Executive Director of ODCCP says: Success in
combating terrorism requires both strategic insights from research and
international cooperation based on best practices and lessons
learned.
20

Money Laundering
In recent years, crime has become increasingly international in
scope and the financial aspects of crime are complex due to the
rapidly changing advances in technology. International organized
crime is an enormous and multifaceted problem. It is not only a law
enforcement problem but a national and international security threat as
well.
With few exceptions, criminals are motivated by one thing
profit. Greed drives the criminal, and the end result is that illegallygained money must be introduced into a nations legitimate financial
system. Money laundering involves disguising assets so they can be
used without detection of the illegal activity that produced them.
The success of organized crime is based upon its ability to
launder money. Through money laundering, the criminal transforms
the monetary proceeds derived from criminal activity into funds with
a seemingly legal source.
This process has devastating social consequences. For one thing,
money laundering provides the fuel for drug dealers, terrorists, arms
dealers, and other criminals to operate and expand their operations.
Criminals manipulate financial systems in the United States and
abroad to further a wide range of illicit activities. Left unchecked,
money laundering can erode the integrity of our nations and the
worlds financial institutions.
Consider the fact that money laundering extends far beyond
hiding narcotics profits to include monies tied to crimes ranging from
tax fraud to terrorism and arms smuggling adding many additional
billions of dollars to the criminals profits. Criminal activities, without
restraint, fundamentally destabilize political and economic reform. As
history demonstrates again and again, political stability, democracy
and free markets depend on solvent, stable, and honest financial,
commercial, and trade systems.
There is now worldwide recognition that we must deal firmly and
effectively with increasingly elusive, well financed, and
technologically adept criminal organizations. These organizations are
determined to use every means available to subvert the financial
systems that are the cornerstone of legitimate international commerce.
21

As organized crime develops economic power, it corrupts democratic

institutions and undermines free enterprise. Money laundering is now
being viewed as the central dilemma in dealing with all forms of
international organized crime because financial gain means power.
Organized crime is assuming an increasingly significant role that
threatens the safety and security of peoples, states and democratic
institutions.
Comprehension
Answer the following questions:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)

What do we mean by international crime?

What types of international crime do you know?
What may the causes of such crimes be?
What is domestic terrorism?
Why is it dangerous?
How do the terrorist organizations operate?
Who are the victims of the terrorist attacks?
What is money laundering?
What is the main motivation for money laundering?
How does money laundering affect the states?
How do the international institutions try to prevent international
crime?

These texts were adapted from an official report presented by

Ms. Paula Dobriansky, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Global
Affairs, and published in Global Issues, August 2001, a month before
the tragic events in New York, September 11th.
How would you characterize the style of this official report?
Explain the meaning of the words in italics and then use them
in sentences of your own.
Find synonyms to the following phrasal verbs and then make
up sentences with the respective phrasal verbs: account for, draw up,
look into, pick up, pull out, pull down, turn down, turn out, wash out,
provide for.
22

Grammar

Present Perfect
Match each description of the use of the present perfect with
one of the example sentences below:
to talk about an action which started in the past and is still
continuing;
to talk about a very recent past action, for which no definite
time reference is given;
to talk about an action which is part of a persons experience,
and for which no definite time reference is given;
to talk about a past action which has had a result which can be
seen in the present;
to show that one action must be completed before another can
happen.
a) Weve just arrived.
b) As she has waited for three months, she can wait another ten
minutes.
c) Ill give you the book after youve paid for it.
d) How beautiful youve become!
e) Have you ever been to Britain?
You often use the present perfect with some of the following
time adverbials. Which ones?
all my life, ever, just, last month, already, next week, lately, now,
for three days, never, so far, since 1989, yesterday, yet, recently.
23

 Fill in the blanks using the present perfect of the following

verbs: hit, be awash, call in, display, donate.
A drought the country. Yes I know the news with bursting
riverbanks, flooded homes and forecasts of more to come. As with all
national disasters, the sixth emergency service celebrities .
Elizabeth Hurley, Geri Halliwell and Joanna Lumley all the
appropriate Blitz spirit. What is the disaster, you might well ask. It is
nothing less than an image famine.
As we all know, having the right image is important in these
troubled times of superficial judgements. Thus the aforementioned
ladies all designer clothes to unemployed women across the
country to help them to impress during job interviews.
Use the verbs in brackets in the present perfect:
a) One thing (to change) over the years and that is his
attitude to studying.
b) Judges (to become) their latest unwitting victims.
c) The company (to pick up) market share from rivals.
d) The IMF and the World Bank (to have) always their
critics, usually left-leaning academics.
e) The Net (to open) the way for new coalitions of dissidents
unionists, environmentalists, feminists, human-rights
campainers.
f) The anti-globalizers (to reach) the point where they are an
organized association, with their sections, their commissions,
and their treasury. They are the rebels of our age.
g) The actors union (to campaign) for casting on the gounds
of talent alone.
h) Her family (to spend) the last few years travelling from
country to country.
i) His remarks (to turn) the spotlight on the most emotive
issue within the teaching profession.

24

Present Perfect in Future Time Clauses

Rewrite the following sentences, using the imperative or a
future form in one clause, and the present perfect in the other.
a) Please (not smoke) until after the plane (take off).
b) I (let) you know as soon as I (get) a letter from her.
c) Her daughter (make) a very good translator when she (have)
some more experience.
d) (Not start) on Lesson 2 until you (complete) all the questions
in Lesson 1.
e) We are going to Thailand next summer. It (be) the first time
we (spend) a holiday in an exotic place.
f) (Not make up) your mind until you (have) the opportunity to
talk to him.
g) He (be) ready for dinner by the time he (finish) writing the
essay.
h) As soon as she (thrash out) this problem she (be able) to
make an appropriate decision.
i) You (get) used to our methods when you (understand) the
details of our business.
j) The students (start) the second term as soon as the exams (be
over).

Written Assignment
1. There is a lot of violence around us today. Extend upon the
causes and possible cures.
2. How do you see a politically united Europe? Write three
paragraphs on this topic.

25

Translate into Romanian:

All fighting is, of course, a kind of terrorism. There is a fine
distinct dividing-line between out-and-out war not only sanctioned
by governments but, at least in theory, justified and the secretive,
underhanded, somehow much nastier acts of terrorists. The
difference is an emotional one. Thousands may die in the bombing of
a city, but at least we know, have been assured at any rate, that those
who are dying and suffering are the enemy, a visible, definable and
justifiably hated entity. If our own people are killed, we know who
to blame because we have been told again and again who and what
they are. One basic point being, they are not like us: the second, they
are anonymous, a seething mass of dehumanised nationality, faceless
and voiceless, which is somehow wrong.

26

Lesson 3

DEMANDS OF HUMAN SOLIDARITY

Human solidarity demands all the issues of a changing world be
dealt with and, where necessary, transformed for the common good of
all, beginning at the local level.
Human fellowship demands a provision of the urgent needs of all
human beings before the luxuries of a few. This entails a more
equitable distribution of resources such as land, physical resources,
capital, skills, knowledge and technology. Humanity must work out
means for ensuring a genuine and effective concern for the needs of
all, irrespective of prevailing distribution of power, wealth and
incomes which is grossly unjust and unsustainable.
Human solidarity in the context of present day globalization
necessitates a radical transformation of the world order and
relationships among peoples in the direction of sharing of resources
and caring for all. In addition to changes at the national and regional
levels, there has to be transformations at the world level too.
Role and Responsibility of the Religions
Religions are considered the principal agents of promoting
spirituality and that is why it is important that they pay attention to the
global dimension of spirituality. Spirituality is a human quest for selfrealization of the noblest aspirations, for holiness and perfection in
union with the Transcendent, the Divine, to the extent possible in our
earthly existence. It engages a person and a community in the effort to
overcome selfishness, to care for others, to share with others what
each one has so that the human happiness and fulfillment of all may be
increasingly realized. The worlds religions and the best humanistic
thinking indicate that human happiness depends on the striving for
love, sharing and understanding among persons and in society.
27

The teachings of the religions have often been adjusted to suit the
dominant social order as of male domination, slavery, the class and
caste system and not contested their evils over long periods of time.
Though their messages are universal and open to all persons and
times, they have not generally been concerned with their application to
global realities, especially in relation to the worldwide organization of
socio-economic life. While religious funadamentalisms lead to
unfortunate social conflicts, religious values can be the underpinning
base for coalitions for world justice and peace.
World religions, as international agencies with a message of
justice and good-will to all, have the opportunity and obligation to
face this crisis of humanity. Religions, led by persons of good-will
and generosity can be bases for global networking of the people of
good-will. They must endeavour to work together for the realization of
their core values and thus give meaning to the present search for
human solidarity and the safeguarding of nature for future generations.

Comprehension
Answer the following questions:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)

28

What does human solidarity demand?

What should humanity work out?
What does human solidarity need?
How would you define spirituality?
What does human happiness depend on?
What should we put against selfishness?
What are religions considered?
What are the messages of most religions in the world?
What are the values of religions?
What should the aim of religious leaders be?

 Read the text attentively and consider its style; can you realize
what is the profession of its author?
Congratulations! The text is indeed written by a specialist in
religions. He is Fr. Tissa Balasurija from Sri Lanka, a leading
spokesperson of Third World Theologies. How would you
characterize his style and attitude toward the global issues?
What is your personal opinion on the role of religions in our
changing world?
Look up the meanings of the following phrasal verbs and then
make up sentences: to pay back, to pay down, to pay for, to pay off, to
pay out, to pay up.

Grammar
The Past Tenses
Past Simple (narrative) for past events
Complete the following newspaper report using the past simple
of the verbs in brackets:
For the past three years, Lindita Rexhepi, an ethnic Albanian high
school student from the mining city of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo,
has not been able to go home. She (be) 14 when Serb troops
(expel) her and her family from their cement-block home and
(force) them across the border into Montenegro. When the war
(end) in 1999, they (return) to find the narrow road into their
hillside neighbourhood blocked by Serbs. The last time Lindita
(try) to visit (be) nearly a year ago. Riding in a police car under the
protection of French troops from the NATO-led peace-keeping force
KFOR, she and her family (attack - passive) by a gang of men who
(lob) a tear-gas canister through the front window. I (freeze),
Lindita says of the incident. I (can) not even move my legs. Now,
we dont even try anymore.
(TIME, February, 2002)
29

Past events (Situations)

Ask your colleagues to answer each of the following questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Where did you spend your winter holiday last year?

Who did you go with?
How did you travel?
What other people did you meet there?
How did you enjoy your stay?
What sort of weather did you have?
What sort of food did you eat?
What did you bring home as souvenirs?
How much did the holiday cost altogether?

Past Progressive
Read the sentences and explain the use of the past progressive
in each situation:
a) I asked my children not to make a noise. I was trying to
understand what the newsreport was saying.
b) They called in without notice. We were all having dinner.
c) At 4 pm my husband was reading the newspaper.
d) When it started to snow I was looking for my woollen gloves.
e) Thomas, my best friend, was working all day last Sunday.
f) We were watching television all evening.
g) When my daughter arrived home I was baking an apple pie.
h) My friend was giving her course of lectures between 11 am
and 3 pm.
i) I thought she looked fatter. Apparently, she was putting on
weight.
j) They had moved the TV set into their bedroom they were
watching television there during the cold weather.

30

Past Simple and Past Perfect

Explain the time distinctions expressed by the past tense and
past perfect of the verbs in italics:
a) Bob left as soon as the concert ended/had ended.
b) They stopped talking as soon as mother entered/had entered
the room.
c) When Miriam arrived at her office, her boss had gone home.
d) After he had given the receptionist his passport, he was led to
his room.
e) I knew I had acted stupidly when I told him the truth.
f) He realized he had discovered the best solution.
g) My friend apologized for any trouble he had caused.
h) We all knew he had been drinking heavily since his wife
died.
i) They hardly recognized each other, because they hadnt met
since they were in high school.
j) The divers came across the Titanic wreck that had lain on the
sea bed for over 90 years.
k) When I got there, the concert had already begun.
l) He particularly wanted to visit Scotland because he had never
been there before.
Fill in the blanks in the following newspaper article paying
attention to the use of tenses:
Ex-FBI agent and confessed Russian spy Robert Hanssen
(admit) his guilt last July under a plea bargain that (enable) him to
escape the death penalty if he (tell) the whole truth about his spying
activities. The FBI (finish) six months of questioning of Hanssen
under a polygraph, but some counterintelligence hands (be) not
happy with the results: they (think) Hanssen (be) still not
(come) clean. Sources tell TIME the poligraph (indicate) possible
deception when Hanssen (deny) stripper Priscilla Galeys claim
that he (try) to recruit her as a spy. He (say) the attraction
31

(be) purely physical and (explain) the needles jitters as the

nervousness of a conservative Catholic when asked about his
extramarital affair.
(TIME, February, 2002)

Written Assignment
1. Use the sentence below as the last sentence of an explanatory
paragraph, taking care to ensure that your use of tenses is correct:
He began to wish he had never come to the party.
2. Extend upon the following:
My greatest disappointment in life.
3. Translate into English:
Impresia pe care am avut-o adesea c unei valoroase buci
literare un comentariu bine conceput i sporete parc i mai mult
valoarea, e cu att mai puternic atunci cnd aud sau citesc un
asemenea comentariu privitor la o bucat muzical sau la un tablou,
domenii n care sunt ct se poate de profan. Ceea ce-mi spusese Vlad
despre imaginea care reprezenta cteva mobile din secolul al 18-lea
m-a fcut s m uit i mai atent la acel fotoliu pe care sttea o femeie
i la masa n jurul creia mncau civa aristocrai. in minte c m-a
ntrebat ce mai observ eu acolo i i-am rspuns foarte cinstit c eu, cu
slabele mele mijloace, n-a mai avea ceva de adugat
S-ar prea c ai mai vzut imaginea asta!
Ei, cnd am vzut-o prima oar nu tiu, dar pot s-i spun
cnd am vzut-o aievea, cci cu ochii minii am mai mngiat-o de
multe ori de atunci, de cnd am vzut-o ultima oar.

32

Lesson 4

COMMUNICATIONS
IT an indispensable tool in communications
Human beings have various ways of communicating to each
other, such as music, art, dance, and facial expressions, but some of
these are more amendable than others to being expressed as strings of
symbols. Written language is the easiest of all, because, of course, it
consists of strings of symbols to begin with. If the symbols happen to
belong to a phonetic alphabet (as opposed to, say, ideograms),
converting them into bits is a trivial procedure, and one that was
nailed, technologically, in the early nineteenth century, with the
introduction of Morse code and other forms of telegraphy.
Computers do arithmetic on bits of information. Humans construe
the bits as meaningful symbols. But this distinction is now being
blurred, or at least complicated, by the advent of modern operating
systems that use, and frequently abuse, the power of metaphor to make
computers accessible to a larger audience. Along the way possibly
because of those metaphors, which make an operating system a sort
of work of art people start to get emotional, and grow attached to
pieces of software.
About twenty years ago Jobs and Wozniak, the founders of
Apple, came up with the very strange idea of selling information
processing machines for use in the home. The business took off, and
its founders made a lot of money and received the credit they deserved
for being daring visionaries. But around the same time, Bill Gates and
Paul Allen came up with an idea even stranger and more fantastical:
selling computer operating systems. This was much weirder than the
idea of Jobs and Wozniak. A computer at least had some sort of
physical reality to it. It came in a box, you could open it up and plug it
in and watch lights blink. An operating system had no tangible
33

incarnation at all. It arrived on a disk, of course, but the disk was, in

effect, nothing more than the box that the OS came in. The product
itself was a very long string of ones and zeroes that, when properly
installed and coddled, gave you the ability to manipulate other very
long strings of ones and zeroes. Even those few who actually
understood what a computer operating system was were apt to think of
it as a fantastically arcane engineering prodigy, like a breeder reactor
or a U-2 spy plane, and not something that could ever be (in the
parlance of high-tech) productized.
Yet now the company that Gates and Allen founded is selling
operating systems like Gillette sells razor blades. New releases of
operating systems are launched as if they were Hollywood
blockbusters, with celebrity endorsements, talk show appearances, and
world tours. The market for them is vast enough that people worry
about whether it has been monopolized by one company. Even the
least technically-minded people in our society now have at least a hazy
idea of what operating systems do; what is more, they have strong
opinions about their relative merits. It is commonly understood, even
by technically unsophisticated computer users, that if you have a piece
of software that works on your Macintosh, and you move it over onto
a Windows machine, it will not run. That this would, in fact, be a
laughable and idiotic mistake, like nailing horseshoes to the tires of a
Buick.
A person who went into a coma before Microsoft was founded,
and woke up now, could pick up this essay and understand everything
in it almost:
Item: the richest man in the world made his fortune from-what?
Railways? Shipping? Oil? No, operating systems. Item: the
Department of Justice is tackling Microsoft s supposed OS monopoly
with legal tools that were invented to restrain the power of NineteenthCentury robber barons. Item: a woman friend of mine recently told
me that shed broken off a (hitherto) stimulating exchange of e-mail
with a young man. At first he had seemed like such an intelligent and
interesting guy, she said, but then he started going all PC-versus-Mac
on me.
34

The text above is a scientific essay written by Neal Stephenson

and published in New York Times, 2001. Scientific texts use what we
call ESP (English for Specific Purposes). ESP has certain
characteristics. Look at the next text and then try to infer the
chracteristics of scientific texts:
The Principle of Relativity
Newtons Second Law, expressed by the equation F = d (mv) dt,
was stated with the tacit assumption that m is a constant but we now
know that this is not true, and that the mass of a body increases with
velocity. In Einsteins corrected formula m has the value
mo
m =
1- v2/c2
where the rest mass mo represents the mass of a body that is not
moving and c is the speed of light, which is about 3 105 km . sec-1, or
about 186,000m. sec-1.
Suppose that Moe is moving in the x-direction with a uniform
velocity u, and he measures the position of a certain point, shown in
Fig. 15 -1. He designates the x-distance of the point in his
coordinate system as x. Joe is at rest and measures the position of the
same point, designating its x-coordinate in his system as x'. The
relationship of the coordinates in the two systems is clear from the
diagrams.
How can you describe the text in point of its structure and
vocabulary?

35

Comprehension
After reading the first text, look up the meaning of the words in
italics using them in contexts of your own.
Answer the following questions:
a) Do you have any computing abilities?
b) How do human beings communicate?
c) What do software and hardware mean?
d) What was Bill Gates fantastical idea?
e) Does the operating system business have a future?
f) Enumerate the advantages of using computers.
Here is a list of phrasal verbs. Match the verbs with the
explanations on the right:
to call back
to call for
to call forth
to call in
to call off
to call on (upon)
to call out
to call up

to cause to come into existence

to summon, invoke, order
to need, to require
to summon for advice or help; to demand
payment of; to make a short visit
to make active, to evoke, a quality,etc.
to put oneself into communication with a
person on the telephone
to cancel a plan, engagement,etc.
to cause one to remember, to remind one of

Now use them in sentences of your own.

Talk with your colleagues about your e-mails and on-line chats.
Use as many special terms as possible. Here is a specialized word list
which might be of help to you: access, feed in, data banks, modem,
screen, keyboard, terminal, to edit, to insert, to delete, to justify, to lay
out, on-line, off-line.
36

Grammar
Functions of Modals
Ability/Inability
I can see smoke in the distance.
She cant speak German.
When I was at school, I could play a lot. (repeated action)
He was able to escape through a window. (single action)
She wasnt able to/couldnt eat the sandwich. (Both types can
be used in the negative for either a repeated or a single action)
Possibility/Impossibility
You can have a piece of cake if you want one.
You could ask someone for help.
You may be lucky this time.
She might come with us. (But I dont think so)
You cant rely on British weather.
Is she likely to come?
Is it likely that shell come?
Permission/Concession
Can I ask you a question?
Could you give me some advice?
May I make a suggestion?
Might I borrow your newspaper? (formal)
You can sit here if youd like to.
You may take the last sweet.

37

Obligation/Duty
She must pay the rent by Friday. (strong obligation or duty)
I have to speak to the boss. (obligation/necessity)
He had to have an X-ray.
Necessity
I need to improve my English.
The house needs cleaning.
He has to make up his mind soon.
Must I go with you?
Do I have to finish this now?
Need he sign the form?

Prohibition
You mustnt smoke in this room.
You are not to smoke in this room. (= its against the rules)
You cant join the Rotary Club. (= you arent allowed to join)
Absence of Obligation or Necessity
You neednt worry everythings under control.
I dont have to leave until 3 pm.
You neednt have waited for me. (But you waited)
They didnt need to make any more food. (And they didnt)
Logical Assumption (affirmative)
He must be nervous about the test.
You must be feeling very sad.
She must have left by now.
He must have been lying all along.
38

Logical Assumption (negative)

It cant be yours Im sure it isnt.
She cant be enjoying herself; she looks so bored.
He cant have broken the window.
You cant have been listening properly.
Advice
You should take a holiday.
You ought to try harder.
You ought not to complain.
Criticism
We should have made sure that the tickets were valid. (but we
didnt)
He ought to have cooked dinner. (but he didnt)
Requests, Offers, Suggestions
Can you hurry up, please?
Would you pass me the salt?
Ill give you a lift.
Shall I make the tea?
She should go to the dentists.
I might as well watch TV.
Choose the correct modal to complete these sentences.
Remember that should in technical writing expresses instructions to
operators, etc., (e.g. These machines should be handled with great
care.) and specifications, (e.g. The temperatures in the core should
not exceed the safe limit of about 6000C.)
39

1. Dont drive so fast! We have an accident.

2. The news be true, of course.
3. I saw the Opera House yesterday and the place was full of
painters, so it be closed tomorrow.
4. Each student take only one book home.
5. In London buses you smoke on the upper deck, but you
smoke downstairs.
6. you give me the number of the Art Museum?
7. The fast reactor ( be) in operation by 2003.
8. The results of the experiments ( write) up carefully.
9. The road surface ( be) capable of withstanding very heavy
traffic loads.
10. Workers ( wear) overall all the time.
Put the verbs in brackets in the correct form and then translate
the text into Romanian:
It used (be) a science-fiction fantasy that one day computers
would (rule) the world. Some people thought it was impossible
(prevent) these man-made devices from (become) more powerful than
their creators, so they wanted (stop) more advanced computers (be)
developed. Scientists were warned not (hand) over our destiny to
machines. But computers can only (do) what we ask them (do). We
can (get) them (complete) increasingly complicated operations, but,
contrary to the science-fiction nightmare, computers can never (make)
us (do) anything.
Today we expect computers (help) us (live) at the faster pace
modern living demands. It is worth (mention) a few examples.
Computers allow business people (keep) in touch with developments
all over the world. They enable doctors (diagnose) illnesses more
accurately. They let thousands of aircraft (fly) safely through our
crowded skies without (bump) into other planes. In fact it is difficult
(imagine) any area of life where computers do not play an important
role.
40

Written Assignment
1. It is generally agreed that society benefits from the work of its
members. How is the contribution of scientists valued in our society?
2. Extend upon the following:
Science is an ocean. It is open to the cockboat as the frigate.
One man carries across it a freightage of ingots, another may fish there
for herrings
(Bulwer, The Caxtons)
Knowledge is not an inert and passive principle, which comes to
us whether we will or not; but it must be sought before it can be won;
it is the product of great labour and therefore of great sacrifice.
The powers of man, so far as experience and analogy can guide
us, are unlimited; nor are we possessed of any evidence which
authorizes us to assign even an imaginary boundary, at which the
human intellect will, of necessity, be brought to a stand.
(Buckle, History of Civilization)

41

42

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS
Lesson 1
EDUCATION
Gap years: a growing trend
It was heartening to see a rise in the number of school-leavers
applying to take a gap year before embarking on university study. One
student in six chooses to stay at home rather than face the financial
burden of starting a new life away at college. Clearly, these are also
likely to be the least able to afford a traditional gap year. And yet
employers and university dons agree that students who have taken a
year off to travel or work overseas often make the best students and
the most employable graduates.
The experience confers extra maturity and determination while
studying, as well as those key skills of communication and teamworking that the Government wants youngsters to be able to
demonstrate.
A host of gap-year companies and charities has sprung up to meet
demand and some can offer financial help to a few youngsters.
However, it still helps in making the decision to travel if you can pack
a credit card or phone home for cash when the going gets tough.
As the most adventurous school-leavers are the ones that
universities and employers most want, there should be a more formal
nationwide system for helping to organise gap years. In no way should
the experience be made compulsory, as it is clearly not for everyone.

43

Learning is their goal

Ten and 11-year-olds are swarming over the pitch at Nottingham
Forest Football Club. Some are counting the number of seats in the
stadium. Others are trying to calculate its height. A third group is
measuring the length of the pitch with a trundle wheel.
Later the group will be taken on a tour of the ground, including
the directorsbox and the away teams dressing-room, and asked to
write up their impressions on a computer, using different designs and
fonts to create a report that is also an attractive document.
Set them the same work in the classroom and many would switch
off, convinced that it was too hard. Here, it is not seen as Maths or
English, but as fun.
Another popular task is to redesign the clubs kit. Each centre has
a computer suite, usually paid for by business sponsors, with at least
15 workstations, as well as scanners, photocopiers, faxes and an
Internet link.
This is part of the Governments Playing for Success initiative,
under which all 44 football clubs in the FA Carling Premiership and
the Nationwide League first division have been invited to set up afterschool study centres for local children.
The right to choose a life full of meaning
Bobby has high support needs but he has always wanted to be
like other people, someone who goes to work with a flask of tea,
sandwiches and a paper. His dream was realized when he found a job
in a motorbike showroom an unusual and significant jump into
mainstream employment. The European Committee of Inclusion
International (ECII), a league of societies for people with learning
disabilities, was set up to help people such as Bobby.
The Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities has been
running a three-year study to examine the way in which those with
severe multiple problems, and particularly people with little or no
speech, can be helped to make informal choices in all aspects of life
including education, training and employment. About 2 per cent of the
44

UK population have a learning disability, known previously as a

mental handicap.
The Foundation welcomes recent moves to strengthen the rights
of people with learning disabilities. These include the extension of the
Disability Discrimination Act, the appointment of Eve RankPetruzzietto, a woman with learning disabilities, to the Disability
Rights Commission, and the Governments cross-departmental
development of a national strategy, involving people with learning
disabilities, carers and professionals. Paul Hocker says: This
initiative has given us the chance to give other people a flavour of the
community they live in, feel part of that community, and let the
community see that they exist.
The three fragments selected from The Times, 2000, describe the
major preoccupations of the British government to improve the
education system.
Comprehension
Answer the following questions:
a) What are the advantages brought about by gap years?
b) How does society and the policy of Britain encourage such
options?
c) What means of making learning attractive can you imagine?
d) Are there similar preoccupations in our country?
e) If you were Prime Minister, what strategies would you
promote to improve the system of education in Romania?
f) As a future university graduate would you like to specialize
and participate in a programme concerned with disabled
people?
g) Are all the concerns and efforts mentioned above only a
matter of finance or, equally, a matter of mentality?
Look up the meanings of the words in italics and use them in
similar contexts.
Match the phrasal verbs in the list on the left with the
explanations on the right:
45

to come about
to come across
to come by
to come down
to come in
to come of
to come on
to come out

to arrive at the place where a person is

to become less in price
to happen to; to result from
to happen
accidentally to meet, encounter, or run into
to enter into, concern, be relevant to
to get known, become public; be published
to begin; to become; develop, improve; hurry

Now practise using the phrasal verbs.

Grammar
The Subjunctive
Three categories of subjunctive may be distinguished (according
to Randolph Quirk):
a) The mandative subjunctive, used with any verb in subordinate
that-clauses when the main clause contains verbs like: demand,
require, move, insist, suggest, ask, etc. that .The use of this
subjunctive occurs chiefly in formal style (and especially in Am E)
where in less formal contexts one would rather make use of toinfinitive or should+infinitive:
It is/was necessary that every member inform himself of these
rules.
It is/was necessary that every member should inform himself of
these rules.
It is/was necessary for every member to inform himself of these
rules.
Other examples:
a) It is important that children associate education with men as
well as women.
b) It is important that we have parental support.
46

c) Fairness required that each bidder should have the

opportunity to allay the commissions concerns.
d) Its time that the Government acted to protect teachers from
this sort of intolerable pressure.
e) It was of paramount importance that members of the service
should have complete confidence in all their dealings.
b) The formulaic subjunctive is only used in set phrases which
have to be learned as wholes:
Come what may, we will go ahead.
Suffice it to say that
Heaven forbid that
Far be it from me to (spoil the fun)
A slightly less archaic a rare use of may as a quasi-subjunctive
auxiliary for expressing a wish is may + subject + predication:
May the best man win!
May you be happy!
May he never set foot in this house again!
Note: In very familiar style we find the question formula How
come (you missed the bus)? Also familiar is the greeting formula How
goes it?, without do-periphrasis.
c) The subjunctive were is hypothetical in meaning and is used in
conditional and concessive clauses and in subordinate clauses after
optative verbns like wish:
were
If she {
} to do something like that,
was
were
He spoke to me as if I {
}deaf.
were
was
I wish I{
} with him.
was
The subjunctive or should is sometimes used in formal real
conditions:
be found
47

If he {

}guilty, his wife will suffer terribly.

should be found
The subjunctive or should is used in finite clauses as direct
object:
admit all applicants.
I proposed that he {
should admit all applicants.
Translate the following quotations about education:
Lucrurile frumoase le realizeaz educaia; pe cnd cele urte pot
fi dobndite fr trud, ca nite fructe care cresc de la sine. Cci
adesea ele silesc pe om, chiar mpotriva voinei sale, s fie ru, dac
are din natur o mare slbiciune de caracter.
(Democrit)
Exist, fr ndoial, tineri cu judecat i btrni fr minte; cci
nu timpul ne nva s gndim, ci o educaie timpurie i predispoziia.
(Democrit)
Dup cum un ogor orict de fertil, nu poate da road, dac nu e
cultivat, tot astfel i sufletul fr nvtur.
(Cicero)
Buna cretere a tineretului este garania cea mai sigur a fericirii
unui stat.
(Oxenstierna)

Written Assignment
Comment upon the following ideas:
1. The mind of a child is a virgin page, on which we can write
almost what we like; but when we have once written, the ink is almost
indelible.
2. We should teach our children something of everything, and
then, as far as possible, everything of something.
3. Without popular education, moreover, no government which
rests upon popular action can long endure.
48

Lesson 2

CAREER
Make your holiday pay
August is quite a good time to be job searching in Britain because
students who have been working in July are now setting off on
holiday. Many permanent employees are doing the same and these
positions need to be filled. In Autumn, the Blue Arrow Agency is to
introduce mobile recruitment centres which will visit universities to
allow students to register for Christmas holiday jobs.
Then there are the Internet sites. Revolver.com has a wide range
of job opportunities, including those that appear in The Times.
Hotrecruit.co.uk caters specifically for students and young people. It
offers some of the zaniest jobs around both in the UK and abroad. It
does have normal office and bar tempting work, but its openings for
summer jobs also include wing walking for a stunt team, tank driving,
dungeon keeping (at the London Dungeon) and a scuba diving
assistant in Greece. A look at the sites demonstrates that temporary
work does not need to be boring.
A Web future in journalism
Bigbluespot has been set up to give away free computers to
students. The site has an online student magazine and I am proud of
my work on that. I know the idea of free computers sounds too good
to be true but it isnt.
They are second-hand computers, previously used by large
organisations. We wipe the hard drives and load Windows 95 which is
fine for writing dissertations. To be eligible, students need to sign up
for an account, which gives them an e-mail address, and fill in a
lifestyle questionnaire. There is an 85 returnable deposit and 14 is
49

charged for delivery. We think we can make money out of companies

which want to advertise on our student e-mail system.
I enjoy working in an academic/student environment and think
the Web is the future, especially online journalism.
So you want to be a Television researcher
Am I the right type? Are your Sherlock Holmes deerstalker and
magnifying glasses ready?
So, what should I do? Find information on people and places
and check facts and figures for writers and producers. You might
locate archive film and material and write briefs for presenters,
interviewers or chat show hosts. On a current affair programme, you
might suggest suitable topics and also brief guests. For a discussion
programme, you would select participants and write background
notes.
How would I dress for work? Casually. You could dress more
formally when meeting high-profile interviewees.
Accessories? Phone, contacts book, clear speaking voice.
Skills? Ability to communicate at all levels and to put people at
ease, methodical approach, detective ability, perseverance, awareness
of research sources, specialist knowledge (according to programmes
worked on), ability to meet dead-lines. You would also need to be
self-motivated as researchers work alone for much of the time.
How do I begin? Tricky one this. Its a classic chicken and egg
situation when your work is known and respected, people will give
you more. Researchers have various backgrounds, including
journalism (useful for establishing contacts), publishing and other
work in broadcasting.
Who would give me a job? The BBC, independent television
companies, satellite and cable TV companies, independent production
companies. But most researchers are freelances who are hired for a
particular programme or for the duration of a series. The BBC has a
very small number of full-time researchers. The norm is fixed-term
contracts often short in length.
50

How much could I earn? Around 20,000. Difficult to gauge

because you might be paid on a weekly or daily rate. Daily rates can
be between 100 and 400.
How could I progress? You will either become more highly paid
because your skills are in demand or move into another function, such
as producing or presenting.
Tips? Expect to work long hours and to travel in order to locate
information. Dont do this if you are worried by lack of job security.
There are hundreds of independent television producers who sell
programmes to TV companies and put together different teams for
each project. Try to get some work experience. See media guides in
your reference library.
(The Times, August, 2000)
The texts above present different choices the young graduates in
the United Kingdom have to get a job.
1. Describe the situation of the graduates in our country.
2. What possibilities are there for the young philologists to get a
job?
3. Is there a job market in Romania?
4. What are the organisations which help young graduates in
getting a job?
5. What does an applicant for a job need to do?
6. What is a cover letter?
7. What is a CV (curriculum vitae)?
8. What questions do you expect to be asked when you go for
an interview?
Listed below you will find samples of a cover letter and a CV so
that you could learn how to prepare yourself to get a job. The samples
were taken from the Internet, updated February, 2002.

51

The Cover Letter

Basics
The cover letter or letter of application is a personal statement of
interest in a particular position or company. A resume that is being
submitted by mail should always be accompanied by such a letter. It is
not necessary for on-campus interviews. It should be typed on the
same quality paper as the resume and limited to one page. Optimally,
it should be addressed to a specific person since this receives more
attention than one merely addressed to Personnel Director.In
preparing your letters, pay careful attention to the organization of
ideas, grammar and spelling. Edit it meticulously and get a second
opinion. Always use a standard business-letter format and maintain a
formal tone, even if you are well-aquainted with your contact within
the organization.
Format
A cover letter serves three basic purposes and is divided into
sections accordingly:
Statement of Purpose:
Begin with a statement of purpose. Name the position to
which you are applying and how/where you learned of the
position or organization.
Explanation of Qualifications:
Explain why you are interested in working for this employer
and specify your reasons for desiring this type of work.
Emphasize any qualifications you particularly want the
employer to notice and refer him/her to the enclosed resume.

Closing:
State your availability for an interview. Better yet, give a
time when you will recontact the company to further discuss
employment opportunities.

52

Sample Cover Letter

Maria Ionescu
28, Victoria Str.
Sector 1
Bucureti
maria@rol.ro
Prof./Dr.
Principal/Rector of
35, Str./Blv.
Sector/Code
August 1, 2002
Dear Mr./Mrs.
Please consider my enclosed application for a high-level
teaching position in your school. In June I will complete the teacher
education programme at the University Spiru Haret in Bucharest and
I will be eligible for the Masters Degree with the Cross Cultural
Language Academic Development emphasis.
Your information packet indicates that your school is especially
interested in teachers who are highly competent in foreign
languages. As you will see on my enclosed resume, my academic
preparation is quite strong in foreign languages and literatures,
qualifying me for a supplemental authorization to teach those subjects
in grades nine to twelve. Given my strong training in language
instruction, and my sincere desire to help every child to succeed in
school, I am confident that I can make a significant contribution to
your school.
Please let me know if any additional information is needed. I look
forward to meeting you in person to discuss my application.
Sincerely,
Maria Popescu
53

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Who should use a curriculum vitae?
The curriculum vitae (or CV) is an essential document in
applications for academic employment. Persons applying for teaching,
research, and some administrative positions are expected to submit a
CV along with a rather detailed letter of application and other
supporting materials. The CV is also used by professional educators
who are seeking positions in school administration and other
education-related careers.
Generally, academic institutions are the only employers who
want to see a CV. Most other employers in private business and
government strongly prefer a short, one-page resume; sending these
employers a CV can, in fact, be counterproductive.
What is a curriculum vitae, and what is it used for?
A curriculum vitae is much like a resume, only much longer and
more detailed. The CV ranges from two to dozens of pages in length,
depending upon such factors as the extent of ones research record or
the stage of ones career. Entry level CVs in higher education tend to
be only a few pages in length.
In applying for positions in higher education, the CV generally
takes place of the printed application form. Typically, a position
announcement for an assistant professorship will ask for a letter of
application, a CV, a writing sample and other supporting materials.
Beside mailing the CV with application materials, you should
carry a few copies to any interviews or site visits. You should
generously give a copy to everyone with whom you interact during
your visits.
What information should I include on my CV?
The curriculum vitae is your opportunity to present yourself and
your qualifications in the format of your choice. It is important to keep
in mind that the CV is your document, and as such you want it to
present you in the best possible light with regard to the position for
which you are applying. The format and categories used on CVs can
vary among the academic disciplines; the suggestions offered here are
to be used as a generic model only.
54

In general, DO include any and all information that is pertinent to

your qualifications for the job. The following is a list of possible
categories of information to include:
Name, Address(es), Phone Number(s), E-mail Address
Objective: What exactly are you applying for?
Academic Preparation: College degrees with details
Relevant Work Experience
Specific Skills: Computing abilities, Lab techniques, etc.
Publications/Exhibitions/Performances
Papers etc. submitted for publication
Current research interests
Paper/Posters presented at conferences
Grants received
Travel
Languages
Professional organization memberships
Professional services
Honours and awards
References
This list is suggestive and not exhaustive, and I strongly urge
your consultation with an advisor in your academic field in choosing
the appropriate categories.
On the other hand, DO NOT include in your curriculum vitae
the kinds of personal information that have nothing to do with your
qualifications for the position. Here are some items that range from
tasteless to illegal if included. Do not list your height, weight, or other
physical characteristic. Do not give your age, marital status, sexual
preferences, racial or ethnic identity, political or religious affiliations,
place of birth, or other information of this kind. Do not attach a
photograph.
Your finished CV should be on good quality, standard 8.5 X 11
inch paper that is white (or something very close to white). It should,
of course, be typed or printed on one side of the page only, and copies
should be neat and letter-quality dark. It is acceptable to staple the
pages in the upper left corner. Make the layout look highly organized
55

and easy to peruse. Use capitals, underlines, bold print and bullets
appropriately to lead the readers eyes where you want them to go.
Use ample blank space between sections, and leave generous margins
on all four edges. This is not a time to save paper. Make the most
important information stand out on the left side of the page. Create a
document that welcomes the readers attention.
Before starting to prepare your cover letter and CV, make sure
you understand all the words underlined as well as the ideas.
Use the following phrasal verbs in contexts of your own: break
away, break down, break in, break off, break off, break out, break
through, break up, break with.

Grammar
Direct and Indirect Speech
Report the following, paying attention to the sequence of
tenses:
1. The Chancellor said: My first concern is to lift pensioners
out of poverty.
2. He added: We cant go back to the earnings link. What we
must do is help the poorest pensioners and people on modest
incomes.
3. A union official insisted: Of course there was dissent,
otherwise why would they have to redraft the document?
4. The chief executive said: We are back in the race, which is
all that we ever wanted.
5. Mr. Richards said: The commission has decided on a
procedure that results in such unfairness as to render the
decision unlawful.
6. Cdr. Fry said: They will be uppermost in our minds.
56

7. We owe it to our ancestors, Mr. Lambert shouted.

8. I dont know if anybody really did suggest it but if they did,
they probably said it as a joke, the actress said.
9. What she is saying is that she wants the right people with
the right credentials to front all programmes, she added.
10. Their support in me has never wavered and their prayers and
good wishes have seen me through, the teacher declared.
11. I like to enhance beautiful faces Ive never been one for
slapping lots of make-up on, says Hamilton-Smith, make-up
artist.
12. Children who were previously quiet have a lot more to talk
about, the headmaster said.
13. All our children are at risk of dropping out of school at any
stage, he added.
14. It is working far better than ever I expected, Glens mother
said.
15. She says: I was worried that his opportunities would become
increasingly limited.
16. Almost 500 years ago, he started his confession, the rules
of Thomas Mores Utopia held this view of legislation.
17. In this country tax law has exploded, he pointed out.
18. What governments seem to want is to change our
behaviour, he continued.
19. In my experience tax incentives rarely achieve their
intended effect, he concluded.
20. The shrink told his patient: I may be a therapist but Im a
human being, too.

57

Written Assignment
1. Prepare your cover letter(s) and CVs for a position in a
school, university or a company.
2. Comment upon the following:
The real price of labour is knowledge and virtue, whereof wealth
and credit are signs. These signs, like paper money, may be
counterfeited or stolen, but that which they represent, namely,
knowledge and virtue, cannot be counterfeited or stolen.
(Emerson)
Real intelligence is a creative use of knowledge, not merely an
accumulation of facts. The slow thinker who can finally come up with
an idea of his own is more important to the world than a walking
encyclopedia, who hasnt learned how to use the information
productively.
(D. Kenneth Winebrenner Argonaut)

58

Lesson 3

FAMILY LIFE
The Spectrum of family relations across cultures and time
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.
6.

Cultural factors shaping family structures and processes

Matters of age
Matters of sex
Violent societies,
Violent families
Relationship preferences
Stages of coupling
Courtship and pairing
Cohabitation
Before commitments made
Marriage rituals
Relations between husband and wife through time
When first wed and its consequencies
The bearing of relative age
The bearing of relative education
Parenting
Thinking about socialization
The father role
The mother role
Children having children
Single parenting
Adoption and foster parenting
The son/daughter role
Singlehood and alternative family forms
Other family players beyond the nuclear cast
Implications of 3+generations alive simultaneously
Grandparents & the greats
Godparents & surrogate kin
59

7.

8.

9.

Marital Disunions
Divorce
Death
Institutions affecting & affected by family systems
religion
work
science
political orders
law
mass media
Remembering our roots: genealogy
(Journal of Marriage and Family, February, 2002)

Comment upon each of the topics mentioned above.

Understanding Anger in the Parent Child Relationship
From time to time we all get angry. Parents and children both
have a right to be angry at times. Its all perfectly normal. To
understand the role anger plays in the parent child relationship, you
need to understand why your child is behaving in a particular way.
And you need to understand your reactions to that misbehaviour.
Through this understanding, you can learn to respond to a child in a
positive and constructive way.
The first step is to look at your own anger. Remember that
children learn from observing and will imitate your behaviour. How
we express anger is influenced by our culture, family background, and
the norms set by the people around us. While we can learn to choose
how we express anger, these influences are powerful. Psychologists
have grouped people into three general categories based on how they
express anger.
First, there are people who use a passive style and rarely express
anger directly. Instead, this type of person stuffs their anger inside,
which often leads to psychological or physical problems. Unresolved
issues build up until the person explodes, often at another person who
has little to do with the underlying cause of the anger.
60

In the second group are people who use an aggessive style and
react angrily to many different things. Their aggession is a way to
dominate others and control the situation. It also can be a barrier to
building relationships.
In the third group are people who use an assertive style to express
anger and communicate their feelings without blaming the other
person. The focus is on the behaviours involved, not on the persons
character.
Easing the Parent/Teen Crisis
What are some ways parents can begin to break the circle of
disagreement with their teens? First, recognize that teenagers must
become independent, to learn to become adult, just as they had to
learn to walk and talk to grow from infancy to childhood. The first
toddling steps away from the mother and the first No, I wont are
the beginnings of growth toward independence, the task of every
healthy child.
If becoming independent is the task of children, then the task of
parents must be to help their children reach independence by allowing
them to walk (and fall), talk (and make mistakes) and slowly take
control of their lives.
The changing parent/child relationship is bound to cause some
problems and stress in all families. Parents can no longer control every
part of their teens life, but they can keep communication lines open
and be a positive example for their teen to follow. The warmth with
which mature parents speak of their relationship with their teens is
evidence that the struggle to help and let the children go is wellrewarded, for only then will they want to come back.
(Donna Rae Jacobson, family science
specialist, 1995)

61

The following are among the questions that the nations courts
have had to wrestle with as the nature of American life has, in the
course of a generation, been revolutionized:

Does a father have the right to give his children his last name
even if his wife objects?
Can an expectant mother obtain an abortion without her
husbands permission?
Should a teenager, unhappy with her parents restrictions on
her smoking, dating, and choice of friends, be allowed to
have herself placed in a foster home?
Should a childless couple be permitted to hire a surrogate
mother who will be artificially inseminated and carry a child
to delivery?

The modern family in todays America faces such problems as

those mentioned above. What are the family problems in Romania?
What are the causes ? Can you anticipate remedies for these
family and social problems?
Comprehension
Answer the following questions:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

Would you like to have a family?

What do you think of single parenting?
What are the traditions of the Romanian family?
How have things evolved in modern society?
What may the causes for such changes be?
How did you feel the relationship between you and your
parents?

Make sure you understand the words in italics and make up

sentences using them.

62

 Have another look at the Spectrum of family relations at the

beginning of the unit and state how many of them match the
status of the Romanian family.
Here is a list of English idioms with their explanations. Use
them in contexts of your own:
to carry all before one to be entirely successful in ones career
to carry ones point to convince ones opponent in argument
to cast in ones lot with to associate oneself with
to clip a persons wings to reduce his powers or authority
to dash ones hopes to destroy ones hopes
dark days times of trouble, distress, misfortune
to descend to particulars to stop talking generalities
to keep ones distance deliberately to avoid close relations
to do ones bit to do ones share in a common task or cause
to do the handsome to act generously, especially in hospitality
Grammar
The Passive Voice
Put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense in the passive:
1. The local postal service (overwhelm) during the Christmas
holidays.
2. Everyone who receives the letter (ask) to send copies to 10
other people.
3. A copy (send) to The Daily Telegraph by an Old Bailey
judge.
4. Labour (leave) without a policy on state pensions.
5. The commission (refuse) permission to appeal.
6. The requirement of fairness could not (displace) by the
commissions view that Mr. Brown would not come up with
anything useful.
7. Parts of a rocket-propelled grenade launcher (find) by police
last night in a park.
63

8. The Real IRA (consider) most likely to be behind the attack,

though no one had admitted responsibility.
9. The attack (describe) by the head of Scotland Yards antiterrorist branch as reckless and audacious.
10. More than 23,000 British homes (build) near high-voltage
lines, a practice banned in Sweden and America.
11. KLM (understand) to have been unconvinced about the need
for the combined company to cut costs in order to boost
profitability.
12. A shortage of teachers for the autumn term (predict) by a
report published this week.
13. I (help) and (support) throughout this ordeal by my family,
friends and colleagues.
14. A 4,000-year old pagan circle removed from the Norfolk
foreshore a year ago, may have (rebury) in its original site.
15. They (expect) to hold hands and sing Auld Lang Syne into
the new century.
Change the following into passives in which the subjects are
formed from the words and/or clauses in italics:
1. I hadnt been with the firm for more than four months when
they taught me the elements of marketing and made me a
sales representative.
2. They recently increased my salary by thirty per cent.
3. The trouble is that at the same time they reduced my expense
allowance by nearly half.
4. Now my firm has offered me a job in Hong Kong but I wont
take it because someone else has promised me a much better
job in Japan.
5. They should do away with income tax altogether.
6. If necessary they could put up value added tax by way of
compensation.

64

7. Unfortunately, you can always rely on this Government not to

do the right thing.
8. From the way people are speaking about this Government
one might think that they will not vote it back into power at
the next election.
9. However, the proverb Better the devil you know than the
devil you dont will probably decide the result in the
Governments favour.
10. They humiliated the UN forces when the Revolutionary
United Front rebels broke the terms of peace accords with the
government and took hundreds of UN soldiers hostage.
Translate the following fragment paying attention to the
passives:
The ozone layer is what protects all life on earth from the harmful
effects of the suns ultra violet rays. The most frightening part is that
the damage is irreparable. Efforts were made in that direction when
the first hole over Antarctica was given official confirmation in 1985.
The world was thrown into panic, or so it seemed. Individuals,
galvanised into action, threw away their aerosols and stocked their
cupboards with the so-called ozone-friendly, pump-action
alternatives. However, as the shock wave of publicity subsided, people
gradually began to revert back to their old habits, probably imagining
that it was all alarmist propaganda designed to make money for
someone. Fortunately, drastic action was taken by the world
governments and a programme of chemical reduction was devised and
implemented which, it was hoped, would see the total phase-out of
CFCs (chlorofluoro carbons) by the year 2000. Yet, it was not drastic
enough. New holes are threatening.

65

Written Assignment

Extend upon the following:

1. Every generation of people is different in important ways.

How is your generation different from your parents generation?
2. Is it better for children to grow up in the countryside than in a
big city? Do you agree or disagree? Use specific reasons and details to
develop your essay.
3. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
Parents are the best teachers. Use specific reasons and examples to
support your answer.

66

Lesson 4

FEMINISM
Pre-reading discussion
Here are a few quotations from the French writer Simone de
Beauvoir. How would you comment upon them?
Legislators, priests, philosophers, writers, and scientists have
striven to show that the subordinate position of woman is willed in
heaven and advantageous on earth. The religions invented by men
reflect this wish for domination. In the legends of Eve and Pandora
men have taken up arms against women. They have made use of
philosophy and theology, as the quotations from Aristotle and St.
Thomas have shown.
The parallel drawn by Bebel between women and the proletariat
is valid in that neither ever formed a minority or a separate collective
unit of mankind. And instead of a single historical event it is in both
cases a historical development that explains their status as a class and
accounts for the membership of particular individuals in that class.
But proletarians have not always existed, whereas there have always
been women. They are women in virtue of their anatomy and
physiology. Throughout history they have always been subordinated
to men, and hence their dependency is not the result of a historical
event or a social change it was not something that occurred. The
reason why otherness in this case seems to be an absolute is in part
that it lacks the contingent or incidental nature of historical facts.
Womans brain is smaller; yes, but it is relatively larger. Christ
was made a man; yes, but perhaps for his greater humility. Each
argument at once suggests its opposite, and both are often fallacious.
If her functioning as a female is not enough to define woman, if
we decline also to explain her through the eternal feminine, and if
67

nevertheless we admit, provisionally, that women do exist, then we

must face the question what is a woman?
[] Profound changes have reshaped American family life in
recent years. In a decade, divorce rates doubled. The number of
divorces today is twice as high as in 1966 and three times higher than
in 1950. The rapid upsurge in the divorce rates contributed to a
dramatic increase in the number of single-parent households or what
used to be known as broken homes. The number of households
consisting of a single woman and her children has tripled since 1960.
A sharp increase in female-headed homes has been accompanied by a
startling increase in the number of couples cohabitating outside of
marriage. The number of unmarried couples living together has
quadrupled since 1970.
What accounts for these upheavals in family life? First, there has
been a sexual revolution. Contemporary Americans are much more
likely than their predecessors to postpone marriage, to live alone, and
to engage in sexual intercourse outside of marriage. Today, over 80
percent of all women say that they were not virgins when they
married, compared to less than a 20 percent a generation ago.
Extramarital sex also increased sharply. Back in the 1940s, just
eight percent of women under the age of 25 had committed adultery.
Today the estimated figure is 24 percent. Meanwhile the proportion of
children born to unmarried mothers has climbed from just five percent
in 1960 to over twenty percent today.
Feminism has been another major force that has transformed
American family life. The womens liberation movement attacked the
societal expectation that women defer to the needs of spouses and
children as part of their roles as wives and mothers. Militant feminist
activists like Ti-Grace Atkinson dennounced marriage as slavery
and legalized rape. The larger mainstream of the womens
movement articulated a powerful critique of the idea that child care
and housework were the apex of a womans accomplishments or her
sole means of fulfillment.
The feminist movement awakened American women to what
many viewed as one of the worst forms of social and political
oppression: sexism. The introduction of this awareness would go far
beyond the feminists themselves. Although only a small minority of
68

American women openly declared themselves to be feminists, the

arguments of the womens movement drastically altered womens
attitudes toward family roles, child care and and housework. As a
result of feminism a substantial majority of women now believe that
both husband and wife should have jobs, do housework, and take care
of children.
The changes that have taken place in family life have been
disruptive and troubling and have transformed the family into a major
political battleground. Without a doubt, the family will remain one of
the hottest political issues in the years to come.
(The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American
History, 2001; the site updated on February 1,
2002)
The fragment above is part of an official report, written by
researchers of a national institute, and is the result of deep sociological
studies. It deals with precise concepts, figures and dates.
Comprehension
Answer the following questions:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)

What happened to the American family life in recent years?

What are the divorce rates at present?
What about the unmarried couples rates?
What are the causes of such changes?
How do many modern Americans view sex?
How did the feminist movements contribute to this situation?
How do feminist activists view married life?
What is your opinion about such evolutions in modern
mentality?

Use the following idioms in sentences of your own:

to be down on constantly to find causes for complaint
to draw in to persuade, induce, lead on
to draw out by encouragement, to get (smb.) to talk freely
to drive at to imply, to hint
69

to drop a line to send a note, short letter, postcard

to drop on to find fault with (esp. a person in an inferior
position)
to eat into to reduce the amount or number of
to be on edge to be in a highly nervous state
to have ones eyes about one to be sharply observant
to fan the flames to increase anger, to aggravate the trouble
Explain the use of the following in your own words: singleparent household, female-headed homes, awareness, defer, disruptive,
upheaval, upsurge, apex, cohabitating, adultery.
Put each of the following words or phrases in its correct place
in the passage below:
male chauvinist
second-class citizens
male-dominated
feminist

the weaker sex

militant
unisex
sex-objects

exploitation
discrimination
battle of the sexes
sexist

A (1)is a person, usually a woman, who believes that women

should be regarded as equal to men. She, or he, deplores (2) against
women in the home, place of work, or anywhere, and her principal
enemy is the (3) who believes that men are naturally superior.
Tired of being referred to as (4) , women are becoming more and
more (5) and are winning the age-old (6) . They are sick to
death of (7) jokes which poke fun at women. They are no longer
content to be regarded as (8) in terms of economic, political and
social status. They criticize beauty-contests and the use of glamorous
female models in advertisements, which they describe as the (9) of
female beauty, since women in these situations are represented as
mere (10) . We no longer live in the (11) societies of the past.
Let us hope, however, that the revolution stops before we have a
boring world in which sex doesnt make much difference. We already
have (12) hairdressers and fashions. What next?

70

Grammar
The Sequence of Tenses
Use the correct tense form of the verbs in brackets:
1. They indicated that the minimum income guarantee (extend)
to include those drawing small private pensions.
2. English Heritage argued that Seahenge, with a massive oak
centrepiece, (risk) destruction unless its timbers (be) restored.
3. Mr. Lambert, the head of a haulage firm, has said he (pay) to
have the circle put back in the sea.
4. British officials said it was unlikely that the government
(increase) its deployment of troops.
5. Ministers suggested that senior citizens (spend) too much
time on cruises and not enough doing voluntary work for the
community.
6. He needed to understand that the manager (want) him for a
reason, and hes grabbed that his job (become) part of his
image and hes proud of it.
7. The student declared that she (learn) about restrictive relative
clauses a long time before.
8. She has just told me that she (not like) rap music.
9. I was thinking what a pleasure it (be) to see my friends in
England again.
10. I hope you (not forget) that there (be) a meeting tonight.
Supply the correct tense of the verbs in brackets; then turn the
passage into reported speech.
I apologise for not (type) all the letters, said the bosss
secretary, but I (have) too much work to do, she explained.
You always (make) this excuse, complained the boss; perhaps
you (not work) hard enough, he suggested.
No, that (not true), she denied. But I (arrive) rather late, she
admitted.
71

I (cut) your pay unless you (start, work) properly, the boss
threatened.
Afterwards the boss (wonder) if he (be) a bit too hard on her.
When Ann (join) our firm ten years ago, he said she already
(work) in the same business and (learn) a lot about it. For the first
five years with us, he added, she (work) in the Sales Department,
and (work) there when I (become) Managing Director, but since then
she (work) as my personal assistant. I sincerely hope, he pointed
out, that she (go on work) here until I (retire).
Translate the following paragraph into English:
Niciodat nu a fi crezut c soia mea era o femeie att de crud,
n stare s-mi fac fr folos atta ru. Pn a doua zi, care mi se prea
la captul unui interminabil trecut, simeam c voi nnebuni. tiam c
iubirile sunt trectoare, dar mi spuneam c sfriturile trebuie s fie
cinstite, c ntre oameni, care dup ce au fcut o cltorie plcut
mpreun, se despart elegant, se salut cu cordialitate i la nevoie cu
prere de ru c totul a durat att de puin. Sfritul acesta mi se prea
o nemeritat infamie. Mi-e cu neputin s notez toate ncercrile prin
care am trecut, haosul de gnduri pe care le-am confruntat aa cum n-o
mai fcusem pn atunci i nici de atunci ncoace.
Written Assignment
Comment upon the following using specific reasons and
examples to support your ideas.
1. Modern life is causing many traditions and beliefs to become
less important. Explain why certain traditions should be continued and
maintained.
2. Research revealed the ten most expressive words in the English
language: the most bitter word is Alone; the most reverent,
Mother; the most tragic, Death; the most beautiful, Love; the
most cruel, Revenge; the most peaceful, Tranquil; the saddest,
Forgotten; the warmest, Friendship; the coldest, No; the one
bringing the most comfort, Faith.
72

LEISURE AND ENTERTAINMENT

Lesson 1
BOOK REVIEW
The two texts written below represent two types of cultural
critiques: one is a book review, the other one is a theatre chronicle.
Both of them were published in specialized magazines and were
written by columnists.The styles of the two resemble but there are
also differences. Can you mention similarities and dissimilarities
between the two?

On Poetry & Craft

Theodore Roethke
Foreword by Carolyn Kizer
Copper Canyon Press
PO Box 271, Port Townsend, WA 98368
210 pages; paper, $15.00
Theodore Roethke is one of those rare poets whose enduring
reputation in American letters owes more to his stature as a teacher
than to his own body of work. His poetry is less known now than it
was at his death in 1963; he never enjoyed the rock-star status of
Robert Lowell, and his untimely death prevented him from reaching
the venerable age of Robert Frost or William Carlos Williams.
Arguably, he gained his greatest influence as a teacher in the years
following his death through the efforts of his former students, many of
whom enjoyed notable careers as poet-teachers themselves, including
Richard Hugo, Carolyn Kizer, James Wright, and David Wagoner.
Thus, many of Roethkes methods and gestures lived on, particularly
in the college writing programs that were rapidly proliferating in the
1960s. Indeed, Roethkes presence was formidable, though sometimes
73

subterranean, and his pedagogy and aesthetics certainly have

influenced the way poems are vivisected in workshops. Fittingly, On
Poetry & Craft, a new selection of Roethkes essays, lectures, and
articles, recasts previously published material in order to focus on
Roethkes pedagogy, and by extension, his aesthetics.
One point of access to Roethkes aesthetics is through his
unending fascination with the association, or dissociation, of feeling
and thought. Like Eliot, Roethke used this notion as an expression of
dissatisfaction with contemporary poetry, but whereas Eliot,
particularly in his early critical works, ventures to show that thought
and feeling coalesced in great poets to produce a comprehensive and
orderly expression of human emotion (irrespective of what that
emotion may be), Roethkes tastes and temperament led him in an
entirely different direction. In On Identity, included in On Poetry
& Craft, Roethke states:
We think by feeling. What is there to know?
This, in its essence, is a description of the metaphysical poet who
thinks with his body: an idea for him can be as the smell of a
flower or a blow on the head. And those so lucky as to bring their
whole sensory equipment to bear on the process of thought grow
faster, jump more frequently from one plateau to another more
often.
Superficially, one could say that Roethke is restating, in a
particularly American idiom, ideas popular during the 1920s
rediscovery of English metaphysical poetry, but that would be a
mistake, for there is less talk here of integration and more a
privileging of feeling over thought. From the rhetorical question at the
beginning of the quotation until it peters out into vagueness, Roethke
charts a process that is less about thinking and more about the body. It
is Eliot inverted, and perfectly complements Roethkes intensely
personal poetry. Whereas Eliot yearned for proportion and order,
Roethke sought out a more disordered poetic universe, or as he wrote
in his notebooks, Today Im going to lecture on confusion. Im all for
it.
Cultivating this unsoundness of mind in students was a task of
gigantic dimensions, and one at which Roethke excelled. Even in
todays university, where competition for students among disciplines
74

can become quite grotesque, many creative writing programs still

employ this form of branding, promoting their courses by lauding the
virtues of sideways thinking, non-linear reasoning and the like.
It would be irresponsible, not to mention inaccurate, to blame
Roethke for the excesses of the following generation. After all,
Roethke was not alone in championing such tastes in poetry. Much of
what Roethke wrote and taught was a grand gesture of swimming
against the stream, in which case the tide has decidedly turned
many of todays younger poets could do with a little more prosody
and a little less attitude.
J. S. Renau (American Book Review, Nov./Dec. 2001,
Volume 23, Number 1)
April 20, 1956
Becketts Waiting for Godot
by Brooks Atkinson
Dont expect this column to explain Samuel Becketts Waiting
for Godot, which was acted at the John Golden last evening. It is a
mystery wrapped in an enigma.
But you can expect witness to the strange power this drama has to
convey the impression of some melancholy truths about the hopeless
destiny of the human race. Mr. Beckett is an Irish writer who has lived
in Paris for years, and once served as secretary to James Joyce.
Since Waiting for Godot has no simple meaning, one seizes on
Mr. Becketts experience of two worlds to account for his style and
point of view. The point of view suggests Sartre bleak, dark,
disgusted. The style suggests Joyce pungent and fabulous. Put the
two together and you have some notion of Mr. Becketts acrid cartoon
of the story of mankind.
Literally, the play consists of four raffish characters, an innocent
boy who twice arrives with a message from Godot, a naked tree, a
mound or two of earth and a sky. Two of the characters are waiting for
Godot, who never arrives. Two of them consist of a flamboyant lord
of the earth and a broken slave whimpering and staggering at the end
of a rope.
75

Since Waiting for Godot is an allegory written in a heartless

modern tone, a theatre-goer naturally rummages through the
performance in search of a meaning. It seems fairly certain that Godot
stands for God. Those who are loitering by the withered tree are
waiting for salvation, which never comes.
The rest of the symbolism is more elusive. But it is not a pose.
For Mr. Becketts drama adumbrates rather than express an
attitude toward mans experience on earth; the pathos, cruelty,
comradeship, hope, corruption, filthiness and wonder of human
existence. Faith in God has almost vanished. But there is still an
illusion of faith flickering around the edges of the drama. It is as
though Mr. Beckett sees very little reason for clutching at faith, but is
unable to relinguish it entirely.
Although the drama is puzzling, the director and the actors play it
as though they understand every line of it. The performance Herbert
Berghof has staged against Louis Kennels spare setting is triumphant
in every respect. And Bert Lahr has never given a performance as
glorious as his tatterdemalin Gogo, who seems to stand for all the
stumbling, bewildered people of the earth who go on living without
knowing why.
Although Waiting for Godot is a puzzlement, as the King of
Siam would express it, Mr. Beckett is no charlatan. He has strong
feelings about the degradation of mankind, and he has given vent to
them copiously. Waiting for Godot is all feeling. Perhaps that is
why it is puzzling and convincing at the same time. Theatre-goers can
rail at it, but they cannot ignore it. For Mr. Beckett is a valid writer.
Comprehension
Answer the following questions:
a) Do you enjoy reading?
b) What are your favourite writers?
c) Which do you prefer: prose or poetry?
d) As a philologist, you definitely read more than other students;
what are your reading habits?
e) What do you look for when reading?
f) Do you prefer to use the Internet instead of reading?
g) What are the advantages and disadvantages of the Internet?
76

 Make sure you understand the words in italics in both texts, and
use them in contexts of your own.
Learn the following idioms by using them in sentences of your
own:
to give the go-by to to ignore (a person or thing);
to give a handle to to provide an enemy/opponent/critic, with
an occasion/argument/excuse/pretext, that can be made use of or taken
advantage of;
to give the palm to to admit as best/pre-eminent/winner;
to give a person beans/socks to punish or defeat severely;
to give tongue (or mouth) to to express in speech;
to go into a flat spin to become muddled, to panic;
to go to the country (of a government) to resign and have a
general election;
to go to pieces of a thing, to be ruined; of a person,
physically/mentally/morally, to deteriorate, to break up;
to go under for a person, to fall into a state in his
career/business/social position, where he no longer has the
importance/success/prestige, he formerly had;
to go up (or end) in smoke to lead to no effective result, to be a
failure.
Grammar
The Infinitive
Remember the forms of the infinitive!
Active:
Common aspect: Present: (to) give
(to) go
Perfect: (to) have given
(to) have gone
Contin. aspect: Present: (to) be giving
(to) be going
Perfect: (to) have been giving
(to) have been going

Passive:
(to) be given

(to) have been given

77

 Analyse the following examples (apud Leon Levichi) and state

the function of the infinitives:
1. Absolve yourself and you will have the suffrage of the world.
2. Though the hen should sit all day, she could lay only one egg,
and, besides, would not have picked up materials for another.
3. Did you find a rhyme to niche?
4. A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man
perfected without trials.
5. They began to count the absentees.
6. I want him to act less rashly.
7. This is for him to account for.
8. He was the last to come.
9. Byron went to Greece to fight for her independence.
10. To guard a title that was rich before,
To gild refined gold, to paint the lily,
To throw a perfume on the violet,
To smooth the ice, or add another hue
Unto the rainbow, or with taper-light
To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish,
Is wasteful and ridiculous excess.
(William Shakespeare, King John)
11. To know is to be powerful.
12. To be or not to be, that is the question.
(William Shakespeare, Hamlet)
13. He was known to be an expert in these matters.
State the tense, aspect and voice of the infinitive forms in the
following sentences:
1. I am glad to be flying in a Boeing 737 to Bangkok.
2. Anas was very glad to be invited to the party.
3. My yellow roses dont seem to have been damaged by the
storm.
4. I expect my daughter-in-law to come soon.
78

5. She seems to have been appointed as Sales Manager.

6. She was glad to have been driving her Honda for such a long
time.
7. The letter was to be answered by e-mail only.
8. The plane seems to have landed.
9. He is said to have been studying the problems caused by
radon for a couple of years now.
10. I like to spend my evenings listening to music.
Supply the missing forms of the following infinitives and name
them: to be visiting; to serve; to have talked; to be cleaned; to have
been walking; to be lying; to have arrived;
State the form and function of the infinitive in the sentences
below:
1) He repeated all the words so as not to make any spelling
mistakes.
2) It was too late to find them in the forest.
3) He wanted his voyage to be as interesting as mine.
4) It was a scene never to be forgotten.
5) I think the best way to get a general idea of a country is to see
it for yourself.
6) She was happy to have won the contest and to have been
given the prize money in cash.
7) I am sorry to be giving you so much trouble.
8) They stopped to buy an ice-cream.
9) It was kind of you to come.
10) Dont make me laugh.

79

Written Assignment
Comment upon the following:
A book is the product of mind and yearning, spread patiently
across long centuries. It is the sign and symbol of mans culture and
understanding. It prevents the loss of good thinking and it expands
mans highest moments of permanency. It is the carrier and distributor
of the germinations of the mind. It will not permit noble visions to
wither. It breathes vitality into the past and brightens the eyes that
search the future.
(Peabody Journal of Education)
A man will turn over half a library to make one book.
(Samuel Johnson)
If teachers can accumulate degrees and write books, well and
good, but the first requisite should be their ability to inspire youth.
(Eleanor Roosevelt)

80

Lesson 2

SCULPTURE
Pre-reading discussion
1) Do you like plastic arts? Which do you prefer, sculpture or
painting?
2) Do you know any famous Romanian sculptors/painters?
3) Which famous museums of the world would you like to visit?
4) Do you have any artistic talent?
5) What do you know about the art schools in Romania?
VCU Sculpture: A Prominent Profile
Richmond It is critique day at Virginia Commonwealth
Universitys graduate sculpture program, a demanding, nationally
ranked crucible of young artistic talent that one professor here refers
to as boot camp for the battle of Sotto. Twice each semester,
students are required to invite three faculty members into their studios
to see and discuss the works in progress.
Critiques, or crits , are used by many of Americas top art
schools. But at VCU students are given usually broad lattitude to
pursue their artistic visions, and they spend months working
independently. That policy puts tremendous weight on the critiques. It
has produced a steady stream of acclaimed young artists and made
VCU, a nondescript urban university located in this citadel of
Southern culture, arguably the hottest graduate sculpture program in
the country.
These meetings between students and professors are usually
collegial, serious and unflinchingly frank, a mixture of midterm, cabin
inspection, brainstorming session and encounter group. Occasionally
81

they turn rough. Crits can get ugly. But then after youve bitten
somebodys head off, everyone goes out for a beer, says Tara
Donovan, a sculptor who received her masters degree from VCU last
spring and was recently selected for the Whitney Biennial, one of
Americas premier contemporary art exhibitions. The teachers treat
you like a professional. The point is to give you feedback on your
work, to make you think about what youre doing and why youre
doing it.
On this particular day the grad students, most wearing the
standard-issue art school colors of black or gray, arrive at their studios
early. Their faces bear the tired-but-wired look born of late work, bad
sleep and stress.
A trio of professors files into Peter Tascarellas spacious studio in
VCUs new $14 million sculpture building. In the center of the room
is an exact plywood replica of a video arcade game console, complete
with glowing computer screen and pistol-grip joystick. The teachers
gaze at the contraption as if it were an alien spacecraft.
Those art schools tend to stress art about socio-political issues
such as gender and identity. The emphasis is clearly on process, on
conceiving and producing first-rate art. Grad students are given broad
lattitude to develop and pursue their own work. Everyone here likes
making stuff and making it as technically sophisticated as possible.
Many VCU grads had gallery shows outside Richmond while still
in school. Using water-soluble fabric, Renee Rendine sewed series of
concentric cylinders that were suspended from the gallery ceiling. At
the opening of the exhibit, she wore a bodysuit and slipped inside the
cylinders and carefully rubbed holes in the fabric, creating gossamer
honeycombs that had a womblike quality.
Donovan, who creates lyrical, tactile and beautiful installations
based on the innate physical properties of common materials such as
fiber optic cable or toothpicks, filled the Hemphill Gallery with
roofing felt, turning it into a topographical survey of some black
planet reeking of tar. In both instances, the artists were assisted by
their fellow students.
(Ferdinand Protzman, Special to the
Washington Post, Sunday, January 30, 2000)
82

John Van Alstine is widely known for works that combine stone,
steel, and found objects (sometimes industrial in origin and sometimes
natural or manmade forms cast in bronze). The work is abstract yet
allegorical, exhibiting an ongoing narrative that is carried forward by
the artists alchemical combination of forms and materials. He began
his career as a stone sculptor, emulating Brancusi, Arp and Moore, but
he soon became interested in Noguchis use of rough-hewn rocks and
in the Postminimalist strategies of Richard Serra and Jackie Ferrara,
among others. In the 1970s, he began assembling stones, taken
straight from the quarry, with added wood and steel elements.
His later works continue to juxtapose stone and steel, but in the
context of the inherent imagery of found objects that suggest human
industry and labor as well as the history and fate of the environment
and the landscape. Tether (Boys Toys) (1995) is a key work that
includes a huge airplane fuel tank that floats at the end of a chain
above a large round stone and an anchor. The assemblage suggests a
vessel or a missile and brings to mind both the constructive and the
destructive, the comic and the apocalyptic aspects of boys toys.
Van Alstines works establish places of contemplation about
humanitys many physical, cultural, and spiritual relationships with
the land and our planetary home.
(Glenn Harper, Washington Post, 2000)

The first text is a special report, for a famous American

newspaper, devoted to a similarly famous event in one of the best
Americas art schools.
Have a look at the words in italics, make sure you understand
their meanings, and make up sentences with them.

83

Comprehension
Answer the following questions:
a) Why is the day referred to in the first text called critique
day?
b) What is the policy of VCU?
c) Why is it important for the graduates of VCU art school to
meet with their professors and the critics?
d) How are the students dressed on that particular day?
e) What do most art schools in America tend to stress about?
f) What materials do graduate students use in their creations?
g) How would you characterize the works of John Van Alstine?
Match the phrasal verbs on the left with the corresponding
explanation on the right:
look after
look ahead
look for
look down on
look up to
look out
look onto
look up
look at
look to

think about the future

watch out; be careful
respect
have a view
rely on somebody
take care of
search for
read
search for (a word) in a reference
book
despise

Use the above phrasal verbs in sentences of your own.

84

Grammar
The Participle
Remember the forms of the participle!
Present:
Perfect:
Past Participle:

Active:
giving
going
having given
having gone
gone

Passive:
being given

having been given

given

Now analyse the following examples:

A poet is a man speaking to men. (W.Wordsworth)
Seeing me, he stopped.
Feeling tired, mother went to bed.
He entered the living-room singing his favourite song.
He spoke in a loud voice, as if being alone.
Having signed the article, he gave it to the editor-in-chief.
Having finished his training course, he went to the movie.
Having been warned of the low temperature in Himalaya,
she knitted some warm gloves.
Participial Constructions
The Accusative with the Participle
e.g. I heard him playing the piano.
They saw Bill crossing the street.
When she returned home she found her husband reading.
85

The Nominative with the Participle

e.g. They were seen watering the flowers.
The actors were heard rehearsing several times.
The Absolute Nominative with the Prticiple
e.g. There being no other person in the office, she lit her
cigarette.
All the candidates having been examined, the commission
left the classroom.
Practise the participial constructions mentioned above.
Supply the missing forms of the following participles and name
them: gone; missing; having taken; having been spent; being sold;
coming; having lived.
Define the forms of the participles in the following sentences:
1. Having translated the article he handed it to the teacher.
2. The rain having ruined my shoes, I had to buy a new pair.
3. Not having been written in time, the essay was not accepted
by the commission.
4. This done, they went home.
5. They resent not having been invited to the concert.
6. While reading the text, I noticed some misprints.
7. Translated very carelessly the article was difficult to
understand.
8. Arriving at the theatre we came across some friends.
9. The question being settled, the two boys shook hands.
10. We found her gone.
86

Written Assignment

Mind the following pieces of wisdom referring to success:

The man who is afraid of making a big mistake will never
make a big success; more opportunities are lost by overpreciseness than through carelessness.
The world is filled with people who have worked hard but
have little to show for it. Something more than hard work
is necessary; it is creative thinking and firm belief in your
ability to execute your ideas. The successful people in
history have succeeded through their thinking. Their
hands were merely helpers to their brains.
Do you know how to fail? If you do, then you will know
also the secret of succeeding, for the two are forever
locked together.
Success is getting what you want out of life without
violating the rights of others.
The father of success is work. The mother of success is
ambition. The eldest son is common sense. Some of the
other boys are perseverance, honesty, thoroughness,
foresight, enthusiasm and cooperation.
The eldest daughter is character. Some of the other sisters
are cheerfulness, loyalty, courtesy, care, economy,
sincerity and harmony.
The baby is opportunity.
Get acquainted with the old man and youll be able to
get along pretty well with the rest of the family.
87

 Women can never be as successful as men; they dont

have wives to help them.
A successful man is one who makes more money than his
wife can spend. A successful woman is one who can find
such a man.
(Teachers Treasury of Stories for Every Occasion)

88

Lesson 3

MUSIC
Pre-reading discussion
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)

Do you like music?

What genre of music do you like best?
Did you get any education in pre-classical or classical music?
How do you feel when there are people who enjoy such
music?
Have you tried at least to get accustomed to listen to such
music?
Have you ever been to a concert at the Athenaeum?
What famous Romanian or foreign conductors do you know?
Which are your favourite composers?
What famous soloists do you know?

Sergiu Celibidache (1912 - 1996)

Sergiu Celibidache was born in Roman, Romania, on July 11,
1912. His childhood was spent in the Moldavian town of Jassy,
becoming interested in musical composition at an early age. He studies
mathematics, philosophy and music in Iassy, and later in Bucharest
and Paris, and went to Berlin in 1936 to study composition at the
Berlin Academy of Music (Hochschule fr Muzik). Two years later he
enrolled to study conducting under Walter Gmeindl, and subsequently
graduated from the Friedrich Wilhelm University with a dissertation
on Josquin des Pres (a 15th century Flemish composer whose
poliphonic works had a great influence on 16th century music).
At the same time the young Celibidache became attracted to Zen
Buddhism, an ancient Chinese (and, later, Japanese) school of thought
for guidance in the way of life.
89

Celibidache was much sought after for both his style of

conducting and his teaching of conducting. In interpreting works, he
was known for his very original tempi, which he believed were
necessary to let the complexity of sounds from a passage develop and
be heard in a concert hall (a phenomenon called epiphenomena).
Hence, the richer the music, the slower the tempo required; and
especially in his later years, when his legendarily generous tempi
helped to broaden the vision of the works performed under him.
In the art of conducting, Celibidache aimed to incorporate the
philosophy of Zen Buddhism. He was also actively involved in giving
masterclasses to budding conductors. Enthusiastic students claim that
they learnt more from simply observing him for an hour than in weeks
of lessons. Inspired Celibidache wannabes came away from
masterclasses embroiled in Zen teachings, transformed from rigid
human metronomes to conductors who move, beat and breathe with
the innate natural rhythmic flow of the body.
The celebrated Maestro died in Paris on August 14, 1996, from
the effects of a fall that he had suffered in Florence in May. Among
the many honours and awards bestowed on Celibidache are the
appointment to an Honorary Professorship of the Federal Capital
Berlin and the Bavarian Order of Merit. He is also an honorary citizen
of his hometown Jassy and a doctor honoris causa of the Jassy
Academy of Art. On his eightieth birthday he was awarded the Great
Cross of Distinction of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of
Germany and honorary citizenship of the city of Munich.
(Soon Kian Hing)
[]
Josh Ronsen: Celibidache, why is he so significant for you?
Iancu Dumitrescu: Above all, Celibidache is, in my opinion, one
of the greatest intelligencies of this century. He is thus a thinker, a
philosopher of unordinary stature, even among people of profession,
the philosophers
JR: Could you be more specific?
90

ID: Celibidache is a master of thought, of the process of thought,

certainly in a particular direction; he is a thinker who follows the
process of living thought, a Guru who leads his meditations in an
extreme synthesis, and at the same time in a flexible way, fresh, alive.
JR: How would you characterize Celibidaches art?
ID: Celibidache is a musician, a conductor of genius who applies
his motivations of thought to a material as fragile as music. For a guru
excuse me for insisting there is no separation between life and art.
This is the source of the radiant force, the magnetism of Celibidache,
my spiritual father. He does not conduct. He finds himself in a
complicity with the music, personifying a principle, that of the indepth
lived thing. It is a spiritual excursion which he realizes, by means of
the music, of the scores, in a world always incipient, an eternal
present.
JR: How did he influence your musical creation?
ID: Celibidaches thinking gave me a system of composition in
which phenomenology is assumed to the maximum, from where, if
you want, the success of his music, beyond its declared difficulty.
Thus, music occupies a place privileged by its temporal dimension,
not by concrete sound. []
The first text is a short biographical note; the second one is an
interview. Imagine you are a reporter and you are asked by the editor
of our university magazine to interview a famous Romanian musician.
Dont forget to put a short biography at the beginning of your
interview.
The words in italics belong to the domain of music. Find more
such words in a specialized dictionary.

91

Comprehension
Answer the following questions:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)

When and where was Sergiu Celibidache born?

What did he study and where?
What University did he graduate from in Germany?
What was his doctoral thesis about?
Why was Celibidache so much sought after?
What did he incorporate in the art of conducting?
How did Celibidache form the young conductors?
When did he die?
What awards and honours did he receive?

Summarise Celibidaches merits as they are presented and

praised by Iancu Dumitrescu in his interview.
Match the following phrasal verbs on the left with the
explanations on the right:
hold back
hold in
hold off
hold on
hold out
hold out for
hold out on
hold over
hold up

control (oneself/feelings)
delay; prevent development
wait to get sth desired
postpone
keep at a distance; delay
endure; resist
wait
delay; rob
keep a secret from sb

Make sentences using a) hold back, b) hold off, c) hold up

meaning delay.

92

 Fill in the blanks with one of the idioms: on the quiet, out of the
question, be in the same boat, be in sbs shoes, through thick and thin,
on second thoughts, make ones day, in deep water, make waves,
frosty welcome.
1) Although he was collecting unemployment benefit, he was
working as a cosmetics distributor.
2) It is that you should drive the car without your licence.
3) As far as jobs go, were both . I havent worked for
months either.
4) If I , I would think twice about taking that job.
5) Dont ever leave me, pleaded Bussaba. Dont worry, well
be together ., answered Alex.
6) Write this essay for homework, the teacher said. No,
do it now, he added.
7) She when she accepted his proposal; it was the happiest
day of his life.
8) Unless you can explain where you got the money, Im afraid
youll find yourself .
9) My boss accused me of when I complained about our
working conditions.
10) We got such a when we arrived at the party that we almost
wished we hadnt gone.

Grammar
The Gerund
Remember the forms of the Gerund!
Tense
Voice
Active
Indefinite
requiring
going
Perfect
having required
having gone

Passive
being required

having been required

93

Formally the gerund has the same form as the participle and it
also has a verbal origin, only its function is both verbal and nominal.
e.g. He had an aptitude for mimicking people.
He had a bad habit of smoking before breakfast
The gerund may be associated with certain parts of speech: a)
verbs, b) verbs with prepositions, c) nouns with prepositions, d)
adjectives with prepositions.
e.g. a) (to) avoid, bear, begin, finish, hate, intend, keep, prefer, start,
stop, I cant help;
b) (to) accuse of, agree on, aim at, believe in, consist in, prevent
from, result in, succeed in;
c) art of, disappointment at, experience in, fear of, habit of
hope(s) of, idea of, importance of, objection to, process of,
reason for, right of, surprise at, way of;
d) capable of, conscious of, proud of, responsible for. Also:
worth.
Make up sentences of your own practising the gerund.

The Perfect Gerund

Read the following sentences and state the function of the
gerund:
1) He denies having spoken rudely with his girl friend.
2) Thank you for having contributed to this issue of our
students newspaper.
3) After having read the message, he went downtown to meet
her.
4) Owing to his having directed A Beautiful Mind, the film
was awarded an Oscar for the best film.
Find the gerunds in the following sentences and name them:
94

1. Knowing is easier than guessing. 2. I hate being visited by

uninvited people. 3. After having shaken hands they parted. 4. She felt
proud of having been seen in company with a famous actor. 5. She
spoke much of her writing the essay. 6. We rely on his doing his job
properly. 7. Hearing these words, she couldnt help crying. 8. My
friend told me of his having taken Arabic lessons. 9. I dislike his
interfering in the affair. 10. He was accused of having entered the
country illegally.
Here are sentences containing -ing forms. State the name and
function of each of them.
1) The fall in the number of men taking up teaching as a career
is particularly worrying.
2) When I talk to the people recruiting graduates to teacher
training, the thing that men say most often is that they are
worried about building up further debt.
3) Societys perception of teaching young children is that it is not
a manly thing to do young children are womens work.
4) The publisher agreed to pay him advances on signing the
contract.
5) The law recognised that the innocent party had a legitimate
interest in having the contract performed.
6) By submitting his manuscript for publication without first
obtaining clearance, the author committed a breach of that
undertaking.
7) An extraordinary glimpse of the web of contacts sustaining
the legal and political establishment has emerged from a
chain letter that has spread like a benign virus, nourished by
the goodwill of busy people.
8) Their kids are doing soccer camp, sailing camp, kayaking and
lots af mind-improving reading.
9) I have my standards, however, I dont mind a bit of wrestling.
10) A mother likes to be needed. Especially when she has
stopped providing food and bedtime stories.
95

Written Assignment
Write an essay starting from the famous idea that music is
the real universal language.
Translate into English:
Ceea ce este esenial n crezul artistic al lui Celibidache, nu st
sub semnul perfeciunii, cum ar putea s par natural, ci sub semnul
adevrului artistic.
Romnul Sergiu Celibidache maestru vrjitor n a obine cele
mai rafinate nuane El poate fi cnd charmeur , cnd demon,
cnd acrobat Cu gestul su impulsiv dar foarte precis, aci nbu o
voce, aci o realizeaz din desiul partiturii, aci rotunjete o cantilen,
aci subliniaz contururile incisive ale almurilor.
Felul n care marele artist i structureaz programele ndreapt
atenia asupra esenei muzicale, propunnd o singur vedet, muzica
nsi i, paradoxal, un singur solist: orchestra nsi.
(Iosif Sava Iubii muzica secolului 20)

96

Lesson 4

BEAUTY PAGEANTS
Pre-reading discussion
1)
2)
3)
4)

Have you ever been to a beauty pageant?

Have you participated in a beauty contest?
Why do you think such contests are organized?
What is your opinion of the women who participate in such
contests?
5) Do you think fashion models are more important than beauty
contestants?
Beauty pageants are basically a diligent grading procedure. They
are the female human being equivalent of those posh greengrocer
shops that display neat rows of strawberries, or apricots, which are all
identical in size and shape and colour. Similarly, all beauty pageant
contestants share common features. They have legs taller than tent
poles. They possess teeth so large and so white that they glow in the
dark. Their tresses have been whipped, like egg whites, to create an
inflated hairy meringue. And they have crotches hidden behind such
itsy-bitsy triangles of bikini that its hard to believe you could conceal
even an M&M behind there, let alone a fully functioning sexual
reproductive organ. Are they bright? Not always. But many are; and
they exploit their looks as a way to escape poverty, the same way that
Cassius Clay chose boxing as his way out of the ghetto.
Anyway, why should there be any more need for Miss World to
be brainy than for Einstein to be also handsome, or for J.D.Salinger to
be an exemplary parent as well as a fine novelist? Beauty contestants
hardly have a monopoly on inanity. There are many people who say
dumb things, and not all of them are pretty. Some of them are Robin
Cook.
97

Are beauty queens vain? Probably: many people who are

beautiful, or brainy, or rich, or successful, or famous are also vain.
Fashion models almost all are, to a greater or lesser degree, though
they arent as vilified as beauty queens. So, yes, beauty contestants can
be vain, too. Mpule Kwelagobe, Miss Universe 1999, says: One thing
you know is that you only have one year to be Miss Universe and its
a year that will never come again. You have to make the most of it
because millions of women are green with envy to be in my shoes
Beauty pageants are just too easy a target for ridicule, and the
more sophisticated you think yourself to be as a presenter, the more
tawdry it looks to take cheap shots at these women women who may
have the IQ of tree bark, but who may equally speak six languages and
be as bright as brain surgeons. Fat women rightly hate it when people
assume that they eat like hogs, dont care about their appearance, have
scant interest in sex and may be dim to boot. But these are some of the
women who brand all beauty contestants as not only traitors to
feminism, but also so mindless they can barely remember their own
shoe size.
Frankly, who can be bothered to get hot under the collar any
more about beauty competitions? These contests hardly dominate our
lives. Given that people like seeing other attractive people, just as
people like eating good food, you might well argue that damning
beauty contests is hypocritical if you dont also damn Michelin stars
for restaurants.
The irony is that the people who most like watching Miss
Universe are not men, but other women just as it is women who
pore over the slinky models in Vogue. I dont think beauty contestants
even match most mens template of a sexy woman. The contestants
seem to be competing within certain agreed guidelines of what
constitutes beauty for the purposes of competition, much the way prize
vegetable-growers have to follow strict rules when cultivating
competition marrows which may turn out to be huge, green and
speckled, but not necessarily tasty. Not that Ive ever been to a beauty
pageant. Maybe these women are hotter than napalm when seen in the
flesh.
(Joe Joseph, In the Eye of the
Beholder, The Times, August, 2000)
98

The text is a commentary upon what beauty pageants may mean

and it is written by a columnist of The Times. Read it attentively and
talk with your colleagues about its style.
Make sure you understand the words in italics. Use them in
new contexts.

Comprehension
True or false?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

All beauty pageant contestants share common features.

They have legs shorter than tent poles.
They are always bright.
They exploit their looks as a way to improve their English.
All beauty contestants are pretty.
Fashion models are as vilified as the beauty contestants.
Some may equally speak six languages.
Most people who like watching Miss Universe are men.
Beauty contestants match most mens template of a sexy
woman.
10. The author always goes to pageant beauty contests.
Invent a little story referring to beauty queens using the
following idioms: pull someones leg; wash your dirty linen in public;
sweep sth under the carpet; take someone under your wing; behind
your back; give someone a hand; a white lie; let the cat out of the bag;
below the belt; pull the wool over someones eyes.
Read the following passage, then answer the questions which
follow it.
The relevance of the British monarchy to modern life is a subject
of constant discussion. While academic debate over the hotly disputed
unnecessary expense and insignificance of what is sometimes
99

termed an archaic institution rages on, it is increasingly clear that

public interest will not be diminished by rational argument. It is surely
down to a question of human nature; we are singularly fascinated by
the lives and loves of famous people who move in an exotic, alien
world far more glamorous than our own. The Royals are the ultimate
in fame and glamour. The media falls over itself to quench our
insatiable desire and provide us with a continuous flow of tit-bits and
more substantial chunks.
We have recently been afforded a long-awaited and fascinating
glimpse into the Queens jewel box. No, it isnt on display at the local
supermarket but it has been publicly undressed in a new book. Jewels
have always symbolised royal prestige; it is the mystique of the
priceless gems which transform Queen Elizabeth in the eyes of the
public from grandmother to Head of State. Her private collection,
which has never been fully inventoried, dates back to the sixteenth
century. The jewels themselves are said to reinforce a sense of
stability, which is seen by many as the monarchys greatest strength.
Certainly, many of the necklaces and tiaras which have adorned the
Royals in portraits stretching back through the centuries reappear in
present day photographs of the family, and the history of the gems is
sometimes more colourful than the gems themselves.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

What is suggested by the phrase academic debate?

What does it refer to?
Give an alternative phrase for quench our insatiable desire.
Explain what tit-bits and more substantial chunks refer
to.
In what sense has the glimpse into the Queens jewel box
been long-awaited?
In what sense has the Queens jewel box been publicly
undressed?
What two functions are the jewels described as having?
Explain the use of the word colourful.

This last lesson of our practical course is meant to be as the

English say in lighter vein. As we amused ourselves with the
efforts of fake queens and the fancies of real queens, well have a
100

good laugh listening to politicians. If you manage to correct their

English, you wont become better politicians but youll be better
specialists in English. Good luck!
You dont need to be smart to be president.
I think anybody who doesnt think Im smart enough to handle
the job is underestimating.
Rarely is the question asked: is our children learning.
Its clearly a budget. Its got a lot of numbers in it.
Laura and I really dont realize how bright our children is
sometime until we get an objective analysis.
I understand small business growth. I was one.
Ive changed my style somewhat, as you know. Im less, I
pontificate less, although it may be hard to tell it from this show. And
Im more interacting with people.
The most important job is not to be governor, or first lady in my
case.
The important question is, How many hands have I shaked?
Keep good relations with the Grecians.
I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.
Will the highways in the Internet become more few?
They misunderestimated me.
We have struggle to not proceed but to proceed to the future of
a nations child.
The reason we start a war is to fight a war, win a war, thereby
causing no more war! (The first presidential debate)
Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take
dream.
Theres a huge trust. I see it all the time when people come up
to me and say, I dont want you to let me down again.
I think if you know what you believe, it makes it a lot easier to
answer questions. I cant answer your question.
You teach a child to read and he or her will be able to pass a
literacy test.
If youre sick and tired of the politics of cynicism and polls and
principles, come and join this campaign.
I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family.
101

There needs to be debates, like were going through. There needs

to be townhall meetings. There needs to be travel. This is a huge
country. (Larry King Live, Dec. 16, 1999)
Unless otherwise specified, the quotations were selected from
Home of the George W. Bush quote library, 2000-2001.

102

CONSOLIDATION EXERCISES
Use the words in brackets in the correct tense.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

The weather (get) colder since the end of October.

The children (look) forward to seeing snow for along time.
Yesterday it (start) to snow and they (get) very excited.
After it (snow) for an hour, they (go) outside to play.
How long (she, live) in this county?
(your family, live) here all their lives?
We (not have) a test yesterday.
We (not have) a test for a long time.
We (have) a seminar in English literature now.
The bell (ring) when the teacher entered the room.
Anas (learn) to play the piano when she was three.
She (like) to play the piano.
I (receive) her invitation last week; I (not see) her for weeks.
The professor has just told me he (be) very busy tomorrow.
He (be) very tired by the time he (get) back.

Use the appropriate modals.

1.
2.
3.
4.

After finishing the exam (go home permission)

After passing our exams (go on holiday ability)
Since its nearly midnight (stop/study advisability)
My friend is going to the doctor this afternoon so
(feel/well deduction)
5. The translation isnt finished yet but (be/soon
expectation)
6. I have nothing to do tonight so (call on him possibility)
7. Your sister is still sleeping so (make/noise prohibition)
8. They serve five courses in this restaurant but(eat
negative obligation)
9. I have plenty of change so (leave/tip willingness)
10. There is trout on the menu (order desire)
103

Put the verbs in brackets in the subjunctive.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Its not likely that they (change) addresses.

It was very odd that we (meet) in my friends house.
It is doubtful that her behaviour (change) before we return.
It seemed necessary that his friends (keep away) from
interfering with his work.
It is strange that she (say) such a thing; its not like her.
It was inevitable that the conversation with George (turn)
upon novel writing.
It was amazing that this coarse man (be) so worried about a
dog.
She listened in silence to Alexs explanation why it was
essential that he (remain) at the airport.
It is not fair that her daughter (send) to bed so early on a day
like this.
It was all wrong that someone so young (be) so ill.

Put the appropriate form of the infinitive.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
104

He was anxious (win) the first prize.

I did not expect (invite) to the party.
I am sorry (disappoint) you, but I meant nothing of the kind.
They are supposed (experiment) in this field for about a year
and are believed (achieve) good results.
He must (read) something funny, I can (hear) him laughing
in the next room.
They seemed (hear) the news; they look excited.
The box is (handle) with care.
Dont worry about her, she is sure (have) a good time at the
moment.
That man must (sit) here for about an hour. Who can he
(wait) for?
He is happy (award) the Nobel Prize. The ceremony took
place yesterday.

Use the verbs in brackets without changing the meaning of the

sentences below.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

They say that this book was written by two people. (said)
There is nothing we can do about it. (done)
I hate them to leave me behind. (left)
You shouldnt take delight in other peoples failures. (gloat)
Could someone answer my question? (there)
It is usual for children to ask a lot of questions. (apt)
I disapprove of people who lie, he said. (disapproval)
Dont talk during the lesson! the teacher said. (forbade)
He flew to New York with no stop-overs. (direct)
A speech was delivered and the film was shown. (first/later)
Why dont you give all these old clothes away? (rid)
He felt that his employers didnt appreciate him. (granted)
She said she was worried about the problem of pollution.
(concern)
14. Some friends put his name forward to be spokesman.
(nominated)
15. He suffers from delusions and hallucinations. (prone)
16. The end of the film was completely unexpected. (taken)
17. A rejection of their offer would have been foolish. (accepted)
18. It obviously wasnt her intention to offend you. (mean)
19. You should do what your tutor advises. (advice)
20. She said she disliked loud music. (expressed)
Make up new sentences as suggested between brackets.
1. She heard the news. She told all her friends.
(On)
2. When you finish your work, you can leave.
(The sooner)
3. The rain stopped. The sun came out.
(Hardly.)
4. Who does this house belong to?
(Who is .)
105

5. It is known that she took a drug overdose.

(She)
6. Should you hear from him, tell him to ring me.
(If)
7. We left the room and then we started laughing.
(Only)
8. He lost his job and his wife left him as well.
(Not)
9. It is impossible for me to do this again.
(There is..)
10. I had no idea that Sam was a musician.
(Little.)
Choose the most appropriate word to fill in the blanks.
1. The Prime Minister has .. the controversial statement he
made about nuclear arms. (retracted, extracted, pulled out,
renounced)
2. NATO has ordered its troops to .. of the area. (pull out,
extract, renounce, retract)
3. Following a drink-driving charge, his driving licence was ..
by the court. (refused, denied, revoked, rejected)
4. Alex begged Bussaba to help but she .. (denied, refused,
rejected, revoked)
5. I wasnt .. to see a queue outside the new cinema hall.
(taken aback, astounded, amazed, surprised)
6. She was a little .. by this strange behaviour. (astounded,
amazed, surprised, taken aback)
7. I dont think youre suitably .. for this party. (clothed, clad,
wearing, dressed)
8. The knight was .. shining armour. (clad in, clothed in,
dressed in, wearing)
9. As a single parent, its difficult for her to .. a family.
(support, afford, put up with, withstand)
10. The building finally fell down, unable to .. the terrible
earthquake. (put up with, withstand, support, afford)
106

SPECIMEN LESSON PLAN

A. Description of the class Level
Composition of the class
Time and place
B. Recent work

What students have been studying

Listening work
Writing notes based on listening

C. Objectives

To create interest in a certain topic:

to promote discussion
To raise expectations and create
involvement in a reading task
To read to confirm expectations
To study relevant words
To prepare a description of the topic

D. Contents

(In accordance with the objectives)

a) Context
b) Activity/class organisation
c) Aids
d) Language
e) Possible problems

E. Additional possibilities

1. Find the differences

2. Describe and draw
3. A co-operative writing exercise

107

PUNCTUATION

The Full Stop (.)

It is placed at the end of affirmative sentences.
e.g. We like pop music very much.
Thomas received a letter yesterday.
It is used in certain abbreviations, such as M.A., e.g., i.e., etc.
e.g. He had a Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics, so he could get a fine job.
The Colon (:)
It is used in writing and printing to introduce an explanation,
example, enumeration, quotation.
e.g. She told me she would buy the following vegetables:
cabbage, potatoes, cauliflower and parsley.
Thats what the proverb says: To a grateful man give money
when he asks.
The teacher told me: Read John Donnes poems and youll
relieve your fear of death.
The Semicolon (;)
It has the significance of a longer pause, and it is used to separate
independent parts of a sentence and different things in a list.
e.g. Ive told you once and Im telling you again; were in a
foreign country mind your behaviour!
108

The Comma (,)

It separates words or sentences having the same syntactic value.
e.g. Bob, Janet, Mary and Philip are all very hard-working.
It is used:
a) after affirmative or negative adverbs:
e.g. No, she said.
Yes, of course, they answered.
b) after adverbs like: indeed, however, too, of course.
e.g. Indeed, its a fine weather today.
I dont like your new hair style. However, you look
younger.
c) in coordinate clauses:
e.g. They went home, had a nice dinner, rested for a while and
then watched TV.
d) between subordinate clauses of the same type:
e.g. He told me about the book that he read, that he had to read
and that he liked to read.
e) before and after a non-defining relative clause:
e.g. This grammar book, which was published last year, is one
of the best Ive ever used.
f) to separate an introductory word or phrase from the main part
of the sentence:
e.g. To be honest, were not sure yet of the possible results.
109

g) in direct speech:
e.g. Ive got a lot of work to do, he said, so Id better go
home now.
h) in figures, the comma is used instead of the full stop in
Romanian:
e.g. 1,000,000 = 1.000.000
The Dash ()
It marks an unfinished idea, or a long pause; sometimes it has the
role of a comma.
The event will bring them here when?
Errits a its a nice hat youre wearing, she uttered timidly.
The Hyphen (-)
It is used:
a) in compound words:
e.g. forget-me-not; kind-hearted; blue-eyed; up-to-date; washingmachine, etc.
b) to link a prefix with a proper or abstract noun:
e.g. pre-war, anti-American, post-Victorian
c) to separate a prefix from a word whose first letter is the same
as the last letter of the prefix:
e.g. co-ordination, re-examine, re-enter, co-operation

110

d) in numbers between tens and units:

e.g. twenty-six, two hundred and thirty-five
e) when expressions of measurement, amount or quantity are
used as adjectives before a noun:
e.g. a five-pound note, a three-mile walk, a two-hour lecture
The Inverted Commas ( ), ( )
They mark the Direct speech in English, and are also used to
mark a quotation.
Ive not made up my mind yet, mother complained.
Beauty lies in lovers eyes (Shakespeare)
The Question Mark (?)
It is placed at the end of interrogative sentences.
e.g. Where do you come from?
Whos the girl next to Barbara?
The Exclamation Mark (!)
It is used:
a) in imperative sentences:
e.g. Go and fetch a doctor!
b) in sentences expressing admiration towards something or
somebody:
e.g. How beautiful she is!
What a nice voice she has!
111

c) after interjections:
e.g. Hush! Hush! said the Rabbit.
Beware of dogs!
Tut! Tut!; Fie!; Ugh!; Shame!; Alas!; You dont say!

112

TEACHING ENGLISH THROUGH GAMES

SPELLING GUESS
Level: any
Type: blackboard
Choose two teams of not more than 10 members each for this
game. One team decides on the word, and one of its members puts
dashes on the blackboard to represent the number of letters in the
word. Suppose the word chosen is chemistry. The player puts on the
blackboard:--------- (nine dashes). The play continues with each player
on the opposite team in turn calling out a letter. The letter is put in its
proper place if it belongs in the word. Suppose the first player says A.
Since there is no A in the word, the next member of the team calls a
letter. He says E, and the player at the blackboard puts it in its proper
place: --E------ Because E was correct, the player gets another turn.
If the word is completed before or by the time each member of
the team has called out a letter, the team scores one point.
For the second word, the teams reverse their roles. The game
continues in this way to any number of words the group decides on.
VOCABULARY ON THE DOUBLE
Level: any
Type: oral
The person who has been chosen IT gives a three-letter word like
hat or bag and then begins to count to 12. The person addressed must,
before the count of 12, give words beginning with each of the three
letters in the word given or become IT.
For example, if the word is hat, the player might say, Hand,
arm, toe . If the word is bag, the player might say, Beam, apple,
gum.

113

WORD FAMILIES
Level: intermediate to advanced
Type: oral or paper
Within the limits of the vocabulary the students have studied,
prepare a list of words, each of which will suggest at least one other
word, also known to the students, that is in the same family.
Here are some words that might be in the list, with the words that
they suggest in parentheses: law (lawyer, lawless), science (scientist),
difference (different), pronounce (pronunciation), etc. The words may
be given to the students one by one either orally or in a list on paper.
Score correct answers accordingly.
HAVE YOU SEEN MY SHEEP?
Level: intermediate to advanced
Type: active
Structures emphasized: questions and answers. All the players
except IT, who is outside the circle, goes up to one of the players, taps
on his back, and asks, Have you seen my sheep?
The player addressed asks, How was he dressed?.
Then IT begins to describe one of the players in the circle. As
soon as the player who is being described recognizes himself, he
begins to run around outside the circle with IT running after him. If
the player does not get back to his place in the circle before IT catches
him, he becomes IT and the play is repeated.
WHICH SOUNDS ARE ALIKE?
Level: intermediate to advanced
Type: paper
Prepare in advance and give each student a list like the one
bellow. The object of the game is for the players to circle the word on
the right in each line which has the same sound as the letter or letters
114

underlined in the word on the left. The student who gets the most
correct is the winner.
try
his
little
cold
made
feet
money
sit
sat
peace
ruler
largest
get
kind

winter, kind, fifty, play

sister, this, zoo, soon
machine, line, will, time
so, today, bottle, other
map, want, mark, toothache
yes, meat, great, get
young, song, put, thought
led, cooked, combed, opened
park, paper, dam, car
guess, ties, refuse, picnic
soup, food, foot, funny
begin, bridge, light, bigger
eight, receiver, team, bread
know, since, comb, place

ACCENT AND SYLLABLES

Level: intermediate to advanced
Type: paper
Lists should be prepared in advance within the limits of the
vocabulary the students have studied. The object of the game is to find
and mark the word in a line of words which has the same number of
syllables and the accent on the same syllable as the first word in the
line.
afraid
ago, consonant, correctly, hero
handicapped
surprised, together, patience, telephone
polonium
combustion, apostrophe, mistake, accident
September
behind, bicycle, foundation, geography
thousand
homesick, without, directly, alphabet
because
sympathy
expensively

president, vacation, carriage, accept

respect, comfortable, collection, geography
impossible, chemistry, dictation, difference

115

MENTAL HIDE-AND-SEEK
Level: any
Type: oral
Structure emphasized: Use of prepositions.
First, the group should decide on the limits of the territory to be
considered in the game, such as in the building, in the room, on the
grounds, in the city. Then one player thinks of a hiding place, in other
words, hides himself mentally. The others try to guess where he is
hiding and the player who guesses correctly becomes the next one to
hide. Since the game is imaginative, the player may be hiding behind a
picture, in a desk, on a high shelf, etc.
BROKEN PROVERBS
Level: advanced
Type: oral
The leader should have a master list of proverbs with the division
into halves indicated, e.g. A stitch in time / saves nine. The second
halves of all the proverbs on the list should be written on cards ahead
of time. Before the play begins, these cards should be spread out so
that all the members of the group can see them.
The play begins with the leader reading the first half of the
proverb on the list. The members of the group who recognize it grab
for the card containing the other half. The play continues in this way,
the player with the most cards at the end being the winner.
WHATS WRONG?
Level: advanced
Type: paper
Prepare in advance a number of sentences each having one word
that is obviously wrong. The object of the game is for the players to
rearrange the letters of each wrong word to make a word that fits the
meaning of the sentence. One point is scored for each correct word.
Here are some examples, with the solution written in parantheses
after each one:
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

The rats shone brightly in the sky (star)

Betty likes melon in her tea. (lemon)
Why don t you enlist to what the teacher says? (listen)
The students listened carefully to the teacher s sword.
(words)
The sun moves around the heart. (earth)
The man was riding a fast shore. (horse)
The panel landed smoothly on the airfield. (plane)
There were flowers on the poles of the hill. (slope).
Soldiers must learn to charm. (march)
The nations of the world are untied in their fight for peace.
(united)

ANAGRAMS
Level: intermediate to advanced
Type: paper
In this game players may work individually or in teams of two or
three persons.
Give each player or team a list of words, each of which can be
rearranged into at least one other word. The lists may be typed
beforehand or written on the blackboard. Give the players a limited
time in which to rearrange each word in the list to form a second
word. The person or group that gets the most words correct is the
winner.
BUILDING WORDS
Level: intermediate to advanced
Type: paper
Write on the blackboard a list of 20 word endings: ted, ent, ket,
her, red, dow, sty, ure, ase, tch, wly, ter, ons, try, mes, ast, ics.
Give the players a limited time in which to make these endings
into words. The score is the number of correct answers. Any known
uncapitalized word is acceptable. The first three above might be
wanted, student, basket. The play may be repeated with other lists of
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endings, not necessarily syllables, compiled from the list of

vocabulary the students have learned.
RHYME YOUR ANSWER
Level: advanced
Type: oral
The players are seated. One player starts the play by asking the
next one a question, for example: How are you?. The next player
must answer with a sentence the first word of which rhymes with the
last word of the question. He might say: Blue, if you really want to
know. The play continues in this way, each player saying something
beginning with a word which rhymes with the last word of what was
said by the previous player. The above beginning might be continued
in this way:
Third player: Show me something.
Fourth player: Sing us a song.
Fifth player: Long ago, there was a flood.
Sixth player: Mud is difficult to walk in.
Players who cant answer, who answer incorrectly, or who dont
answer immediately may be dropped from the game. Of course, the
sentence given must be grammatically correct and make some sort of
sense.

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TRANSLATION CORPUS
English source texts
Consciously or unconsciously, men are proud of their firmness,
steadfastness of purpose, directness of aim. They go straight towards
their desire, to the accomplishment of virtue sometimes of crime
in an uplifting persuasion of their firmness. They walk the road of life,
the road fenced in by their tastes, prejudices, disdains or enthusiasms,
generally honest, invariably stupid, and are proud of never losing their
way. If they stop, it is to look for a moment over the hedges to make
them safe, to look at the misty valleys, at the distant peaks, at cliffs
and morasses, at the dark forests and the hazy plains where other
human beings grope their days painfully away, stumbling over the
bones of the wise, over the unburied remains of their predecessors
who died alone, in gloom or in sunshine, halfway from anywhere. The
man of purpose does not understand and goes on full of contempt. He
never loses his way. He knows where he is going and what he wants.
Travelling on, he achieves great length without any breadth, and
battered, besmirched, and weary, he touched the goal at last; he grasps
the reward of his perseverance, of his virtue, of his healthy optimism:
an untruthful tombstone over a dark and soon forgotten grave.
Lingard had never hesitated in his life. Why should he? He had
been a most successful trader, and a man lucky in his fights, skilful in
navigation, undeniably first in seamanship in those seas. He knew it.
Had he not heard the voice of common consent? The voice of the
world that respected him so much; the whole world to him for to us
the limits of the universe are strictly defined by those we know. There
is nothing for us outside the babble of praise and blame on familiar
lips, and beyond our last acquaintance there lies only a vast chaos; a
chaos of laughter and tears which concerns us not; laughter and tears
unpleasant, wicked, morbid, contemptible because heard
imperfectly by ears rebellious to strange sounds. To Lingard simple
himself all things were simple. He seldom read. Books were not
much in his way, and he had to work hard navigating, trading, and
also, in obedience to his benevolent instincts, shaping stray lives he
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found here and there under his busy hand. He remembered the
Sunday- school teachings of his native village and the discourses of
the black-coated gentleman connected with the Mission to Fishermen
and Seamen, whose yawl-rigged boat darting through rain-squalls
amongst the coasters wind-bound in Falmouth Bay, was part of those
precious pictures of his youthful days that lingered in his memory. As
clever a sky-pilot as you could wish to see, he would say with
conviction, and the best man to handle a boat in any weather I ever
did meet! Such were the agencies that had roughly shaped his young
soul before he went away to see the world in a southern-going ship
before he went, ignorant and happy, heavy of hand, pure in heart,
profane in speech, to give himself up to the great sea that took his life
and gave him his fortune. When thinking of his rise in the world
commander of ships, then shipowner, then a man of much capital,
respected wherever he went, Lingard in a word, the Rajah Laut he
was amazed and awed by his fate, that seemed to his ill-informed
mind the most wondrous known in the annals of men. His experience
appeared to him immense and conclusive, teaching him the lesson of
the simplicity of life. In life as in seamanship there were only
two ways of doing a thing: the right way and the wrong way. Common
sense and experience taught a man the way that was right. The other
was for lubbers and fools, and led, in seamanship, to loss of soars and
sails or shipwreck; in life, to loss of money and consideration, or to an
unlucky knock on the head. He did not consider it his duty to be angry
with rascals. He was only angry with things he could not understand,
but for the weaknesses of humanity he could find a contemptuous
tolerance. It being manifest that he was wise and lucky otherwise
how could he have been as successful in life as he had been? he had
an inclination to set right the lives of other people, just as he could
hardly refrain in defiance of nautical etiquette from interfering
with his chief officer when the crew was sending up a new topmast, or
generally when busy about, what he called, a heavy job. He was
meddlesome with perfect modesty; if he knew a thing or two there
was no merit in it. Hard knocks taught me wisdom, my boy, he used
to say, and you had better take the advice of a man who has been a
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fool in his time. Have another. And my boy as a rule took the cool
drink, the advice, and the consequent help which Lingard felt himself
bound in honour to give, so as to back up his opinion like a honest
man.
(Joseph Conrad - An Outcast of the Islands)
Paul would be built like his mother, slightly and rather small. His
hair went reddish, and then dark brown; his eyes were grey. He was a
pale, quiet child, with eyes that seemed to listen, and with a full,
dropping underlip.
As a rule he seemed old for his years. He was so conscious of
what other people felt, particularly his mother. When she fretted he
understood, and could have no peace. His soul seemed always
attentive to her.All the children, but particularly Paul, were
peculiarly against their father, along with their mother. Morel
continued to bully and to drink. He had periods, months at a time,
when he made the whole life of the family a misery. Paul never forgot
coming home from the Band of Hope one Monday evening and
finding his mother with her eyes swollen and discoloured, his father
standing on the hearthrug, feet astride, his head down, and William,
just home from work, glaring at his father. There was a silence as the
young children entered, but none of the elders looked round.
William was white to the lips, and his fists were clenched. He
waited until the children were silent, watching with childrens rage
and hate; then he said:
You coward, you daren't do it when I was in.
But Morels blood was up. He swung round on his son. William
was bigger, but Morel was hard-muscled, and mad with fury.
Dossnt I? he shouted. Dossnt I? Hae much more o thy
chelp, my young jockey, an Ill rattle my fist about thee. Ay, an I
sholl that, dost see.Morel crouched at the knees and showed his fist in
an ugly, almost beast-like fashion. William was white with rage.
Will yer? he said, quiet and intense. It ud be the last time,
though.
Morel danced a little nearer, crouching, drawing back his fist to
strike. William put his fists ready. A light came into his blue eyes,
almost like a laugh. He watched his father. Another word, and the men
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would have begun to fight. Paul hoped they would. The three children
sat pale on the sofa.
Stop it, both of you. cried Mrs Morel in a hard voice. Weve
had enough for one night. And you, she said, turning on to her
husband, look at your children!
Morel glanced at the sofa.
Look at the children, you nasty little bitch! he sneered. Why,
what have I done to the children, I should like to know? But theyre
like yourself; youve put em up to your own tricks and nasty ways
youve learned em in it, you ave.
She refused to answer him. No one spoke. After a while he threw
his boots under the table and went to bed.().Paul hated his father. As
a boy he had a fervent private religion.
Make him stop drinking, he prayed every night. Lord let my
father die, he prayed very often. Let him not be killed at pit, he
prayed when, after tea, the father did not come home from work.
That was another time when the family suffered intensely. The
children came from school and had their teas. On the hob the big black
saucepan was simmering, the stew-jack was in the oven, ready for
Morels dinner. He was expected at five oclock. But for months he
would stop and drink every night on his way from work.
In the winter nights, when it was cold, and grew dark early, Mrs
Morel would put a brass candlestick on the table, light a tallow candle
to save the gas. The children finished their bread-and-butter, or
dripping, and were ready to go out to play. But if Morel had not come
they faltered. The sense of his sitting in all his pit-dirt, drinking, after
a long days work, not coming home and eating and washing, but
sitting, getting drunk, on an empty stomach, made Mrs Morel unable
to bear herself. From her the feeling was transmitted to the other
children. She never suffered alone any more: the children suffered
with her.().
She knew that the man who stops on the way home from work is
on a quick way to ruining himself and his home. The children were yet
young, and depended on the breadwinner. William gave her the sense
of relief, providing her at last with someone to turn to if Morel failed.
But the tense atmosphere of the room on these waiting evenings was
the same.
(D.H.Lawrence Sons and Lovers)
122

Ursula went home to Beldover faint, dim, closed up. She could
scarcely speak or notice. It was as if her energy were frozen. Her
people asked her what was the matter. She told them, she had broken
off the engagement with Skrebensky. They looked blank and angry.
But she could not feel anymore.
The weeks crawled by in apathy. He would have sailed for India
now. She was scarcely interested. She was inert, without strength and
interest.
Suddenly a shock ran through her, so violent that she thought she
was struck down. Was she with child? She had been so stricken under
the pain of herself and of him, this had never occurred to her. Now
like a flame it took hold of her limbs and body. Was she with child?
In the first flaming hours of wonder, she did not know what she
felt. She was as if tied to the stake. The flames were licking her and
devouring her. But the flames were also good. They seemed to wear
her away to rest. What she felt in her heart and her womb she did not
know. It was a kind of swoon.
Then gradually the heaviness of her heart pressed and pressed
into consciousness. What was she doing? Was she bearing a child?
Bearing a child? To what?
Her flesh thrilled, but her soul was sick. It seemed, this child, like
the seal set on her own nullity. Yet she was glad in her flesh that she
was with child. She began to think, that she would write to
Skrebensky, that she would go out to him, and marry him, and live
simply as a good wife to him. What did the self, the form of life,
matter? Only the living from day to day mattered, the beloved
existence in the body, rich, peaceful, complete, with no beyond, no
further trouble, no further complication. She had been wrong, she had
been arrogant and wicked, wanting that other thing, that fantastic
freedom, that illusory, conceited fulfilment which she had imagined
she could not have with Skrebensky. Who was she to be wanting some
fantastic fulfilment in her life? Was it not enough that she had her
man, her children, her place of shelter under the sun? Was it not
enough for her, as it had been enough for her mother? She would
marry and love her husband and fill her place simply. That was the
ideal.
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Suddenly she saw her mother in a just and true light. Her mother
was simple and radically true. She had taken the life that was given.
She had not, in her arrogant conceit, insisted on creating life to fit
herself. Her mother was right, profoundly right, and she herself had
been false, trashy, conceited.
A great mood of humility came over her, and in this humility a
bondaged sort of peace. She gave her limbs to the bondage, and loved
the bondage, she called it peace. In this state she sat down to write to
Skrebensky.
Since you left me I have suffered a great deal, and so have come
to myself. I cannot tell you the remorse I feel for my wicked, perverse
behaviour. It was given to me to love you, and to know your love for
me. But instead of thankfully, on my knees, taking what God had
given, I must have the moon in my keeping, I must insist on having
the moon for my own. Because I could not have it, everything else
must go.
I do not know if you can ever forgive me. I could die with shame
to think of my behaviour with you during our last times, and I don't
know if I could ever bear to look you in the face again. Truly the best
thing would be for me to die, and cover my fantasies for ever. But I
find I am with child, so that cannot be.
It is your child, and for that reason I must revere it and submit my
body entirely to its welfare, entertaining no thought of death, which
once more is largely conceit. Therefore, because you once loved me,
and because this child is your child, I ask you to have me back. If you
will cable me one word, I will come to you as soon as I can. I swear to
you to be a dutiful wife, and to serve you in all things. For now I only
hate myself and my own conceited foolishness. I love you I love the
thought of you you are natural and decent all through, whilst I was
so false. Once I am with you again, I shall ask no more than to rest in
your shelter all my life
This letter she wrote, sentence by sentence, as if from her deeper,
sincerest heart. She felt that now, now, she was at the depths of
herself. This was her true self, for ever. With this document she would
appear before God at the Judgement Day.
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For what had a woman but to submit? What was her flesh but
childbearing, her strength for her children and her husband, the giver
of life? At last she was a woman.
She posted her letter to his club, to be forwarded to him in
Calcutta. He would receive it soon after his arrival in India within
three weeks of his arrival there. In a months time she would receive
word from him. Then she would go.
She was quite sure of him. She thought only of preparing her
garments and of living quietly, peacefully, till the time when she
should join him again and her history would be concluded for ever.
The peace held like an unnatural calm for a long time. She was aware,
however, of a gathering restiveness, a tumult impending within her.
She tried to run away from it. She wished she could hear from
Skrebensky, in answer to her letter, so that her course should be
resolved, she should be engaged in fulfilling her fate. It was this
inactivity which made her liable to the revulsion she dreaded.
It was curious how little she cared about his not having written to
her before. It was enough that she had sent her letter. She would get
the required answer, that was all.
One afternoon in early October, feeling the seething rising to
madness within her, she slipped out in the rain, to walk abroad, lest
the house should suffocate her. Everywhere was drenched wet and
deserted, the grimed houses glowed dull red, the butt houses burned
scarlet in a gleam of light, under the glistening, blackish purple slates.
Ursula went on towards Willey Green.
(D.H.Lawrence The Rainbow)
Ralph lay in a covert, wondering about his wounds. The bruised
flesh was inches in diameter over his right ribs, with a swollen and
bloody scar where the spear had not hit him. His hair was full of dirt
and tapped like the tendrils of a creeper. All over he was scratched and
bruised from his flight through the forest. By the time his breathing
was normal again, he had worked out that bathing these injuries would
have to wait. How could you listen for naked feet if you were
splashing in water? How could you be safe by the little steam or on
the open beach?
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Ralph listened. He was not really far from the Castle Rock, and
during the first panic he had thought he heard sounds of pursuit. But
the hunters had only sneaked into the fringes of the greenery,
retrieving spears perhaps, and then had rushed back to the sunny rock
as if terrified of the darkness under the leaves. He had even glimpsed
one of them, striped brown, black, and red, and had judged that it was
Bill. But really, thought Ralph, this was not Bill. This was a savage
whose image refused to blend with the ancient picture of a boy in
shorts and shirt.
The afternoon died away; the circular spots of sunlight moved
steadily over green fronds and brown fibre but no sound came from
behind the Rock. At last Ralph wormed out of the ferns and sneaked
forward to the edge of that impenetrable thicket that fronted the neck
of land. He peered with elaborate caution between branches at the
edge and could see Robert sitting on guard at the top of the cliff. He
had a spear in his left hand and was tossing up a pebble and catching it
again with the right Behind him a column of smoke rose thickly, so
that Ralph's nostrils flared and his mouth dribbled. He wiped his nose
and mouth with the back of his hand and for the first time since the
morning felt hungry. The tribe must be sitting round the gutted pig,
watching the fat ooze and burn among the ashes. They would be
intent.
Another figure, an unrecognizable one, appeared by Robert and
gave him something, then turned and went back behind the rock.
Robert laid his spear on the rock beside him and began to gnaw
between his raised hands. So the feast was beginning and the
watchman had been given his portion.
Ralph saw that for the first time being he was safe. He limped
away through the fruit trees, drawn by the thought of the poor food yet
bitter when he remembered the feast. Feast to-day, and then tomorrow
He argued unconvincingly that they would let him alone; perhaps
even make an outlaw of him. But then the fatal unreasoning
knowledge came to him again. The breaking of the conch and the
deaths of Piggy and Simon lay over the island like a vapour. These
painted savages would go further and further. Then there was that
126

undefinable connection between himself and Jack; who therefore

would never let him alone; never.
He paused, sun-flecked, holding up a bough, prepared to duck
under it. A spasm of terror set him shaking and he cried aloud.
No. Theyre not as bad as that. It was an accident.
He ducked under the bough, ran clumsily, then stopped and
listened.
He came to the smashed acres of fruit and ate greedily. He saw
two littluns and, not having any idea of his own appearance, wondered
why they screamed and ran.
When he had eaten he went towards the beach. The sunlight was
slanting now into the palms by the wrecked shelter. There was the
platform and the pool. The best thing to do was to ignore this leaden
feeling about the heart and rely on their common sense, their daylight
sanity. Now that the tribe had eaten, the thing to do was to try again.
And anyway, he couldnt stay here all night in an empty shelter by the
deserted platform. His flesh crept and he shivered in the evening sun.
No fire; no smoke; no rescue. He turned and limped away through the
forest towards Jack's end of the island.
(William Golding Lord of the Flies)
It was a bitter winter. The stormy weather was followed by sleet
and snow, and then by a hard frost which did not break till well into
February. The animals carried on as best they could with the
rebuilding of the windmill, well knowing that the outside world was
watching them and that the envious human beings would rejoice and
triumph if the mill were not finished on time.
Out of spite, the human beings pretended not to believe that it
was Snowball who had destroyed the windmill: they said that it had
fallen down because the walls were too thin. The animals knew that
this was not the case. Still, it had been decided to build the walls three
feet thick this time instead of eighteen inches as before, which meant
collecting much larger quantities of stone. For a long time the quarry
was full of snowdrifts and nothing could be done. Some progress was
made in the dry frosty weather that followed, but it was cruel work,
and the animals could not feel so hopeful about it as they had felt
127

before. They were always cold, and usually hungry as well. Only
Boxer and Clover never lost heart. Squealer made excellent speeches
on the joy of service and the dignity of labour, but the other animals
found more inspiration in Boxers strength and his never-failing cry of
I will work harder!
In January food fell short. The corn ration was drastically
reduced, and it was announced that an extra potato ration would be
issued to make up for it. Then it was discovered that the greater part of
the potato crop had been frosted in the clamps, which had not been
covered thickly enough. The potatoes had become soft and
discoloured, and only a few were edible. For days at a time the
animals had nothing to eat but chaff and mangels. Starvation seemed
to stare them in the face.
It was vitally necessary to conceal this fact from the outside
world. Emboldened by the collapse of the windmill, the human beings
were inventing fresh lies about Animal Farm. Once again it was being
put about that all the animals were dying of famine and disease, and
that they were continually fighting amongst themselves and had
resorted to cannibalism and infanticide. Napoleon was well aware of
the bad results that might follow if the real facts of the food situation
were known, and he decided to make use of Mr. Whymper to spread a
contrary impression. Hitherto the animals had had little or no contact
with Whymper on his weekly visit: now, however, a few selected
animals, mostly sheep, were instructed to remark casually in his
hearing that rations had been increased. In addition, Napoleon ordered
the almost empty bins in the store-shed to be filled nearly to the brim
with sand, which was then covered up with what remained of the grain
and meal. On some suitable pretext, Whymper was led through the
store-shed and allowed to catch a glimpse of the bins. He was
deceived, and continued to report to the outside world that there was
no food shortage on Animal Farm.
Nevertheless, towards the end of January it became obvious that
it would be necessary to procure some more grain from somewhere. In
these days Napoleon rarely appeared in public, but spent all his time in
the farmhouse, which was guarded at each door by fierce-looking
dogs. When he did emerge, it was in a ceremonial manner, with an
escort of six dogs who closely surrounded him and growled if anyone
128

came too near. Frequently he did not even appear on Sunday

mornings, but issued his orders through one of the other pigs, usually
Squealer.
One Sunday morning Squealer announced that the hens, who had
just come into lay again, must surrender their eggs. Napoleon had
accepted, through Whymper, a contract for four hundred eggs a week.
The price for these would pay for enough grain and meal to keep the
farm going till summer came on and conditions were easier.
When the hens heard this, they raised a terrible outcry. They had
been warned earlier that this sacrifice might be necessary, but had not
believed that it would really happen. For the first time since the
expulsion of Jones there was something resembling a rebellion. Led
by three young Black Minorca pullets, the hens made a determined
effort to thwart Napoleons wishes. Their method was to fly up to the
rafters and there lay their eggs, which smashed to pieces on the floor.
Napoleon acted swiftly and ruthlessly. He ordered the hens rations to
be stopped, and decreed that any animal giving so much as a grain of
corn to a hen should be punished by death. The dogs saw to it that
these orders were carried out. For five days the hens held out, then
they capitulated and went back to their nesting boxes.
(George Orwell Animal Farm)
The matron had given her leave to go out as soon as the women's
tea was over and Maria looked forward to her evening out. The
kitchen was spick and span: the cook said you could see yourself in
the big copper boilers. The fire was nice and bright and on one of the
side-tables were four very big barmbracks. These barmbracks seemed
uncut; but if you went closer you would see that they had been cut into
long thick even slices and were ready to be handed round at tea. Maria
had cut them herself.
Maria was a very, very small person indeed but she had a very
long nose and a very long chin. She talked a little through her nose,
always soothingly: Yes, my dear, and No, my dear. She was always
sent for when the women quarrelled over their tubs and always
succeeded in making peace. One day the matron had said to her:
Maria, you are a veritable peace-maker!'
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And the submatron and two of the Board ladies had heard the
compliment. And Ginger Mooney was always saying what she
wouldn't do to the dummy who had charge of the irons if it wasn't for
Maria. Everyone was so fond of Maria.
The women would have their tea at six o'clock and she would be
able to get away before seven. From Ballsbridge to the Pillar, twenty
minutes; from the Pillar to Drumcondra, twenty minutes; and twenty
minutes to buy the things. She would be there before eight. She took
out her purse with the silver clasps and read again the words A Present
from Belfast. She was very fond of that purse because Joe had brought
it to her five years before when he and Alphy had gone to Belfast on a
Whit-Monday trip. In the purse were two half-crowns and some
coppers. She would have five shillings clear after paying tram fare.
What a nice evening they would have, all the children singing! Only
she hoped that Joe wouldn't come in drunk. He was so different when
he took any drink.
Often she had wanted her to go and live with them; but she would
have felt herself in the way (though Joe's wife was ever so nice with
her) and she had become accustomed to the life of the laundry. Joe
was a good fellow. She had nursed him and Alphy too; and Joe used
often to say:
Mamma is mamma but Maria is my proper mother.
After the break-up at home the boys had got her that position in
the Dublin by Lamplight laundry, and she liked it. She used to have
such a bad opinion of Protestants but now she thought they were very
nice people, a little quiet and serious, but still very nice people to live
with. Then she had her plants in the conservatory and she liked
looking after them. She had lovely ferns and wax-plants and,
whenever anyone came to visit her, she always gave the visitor one or
two slips from her conservatory. There was one thing she didn't like
and that was the tracts on the walks; but the matron was such a nice
person to deal with, so genteel.
When the cook told her everything was ready she went into the
women's room and began to pull the big bell. In a few minutes the
women began to come in by twos and threes, wiping their steaming
hands in their petticoats and pulling down the sleeves of their blouses
over their red steaming arms. They settled down before their huge
130

mugs which the cook and the dummy filled up with hot tea, already
mixed with milk and sugar in huge tin cans. Maria superintended the
distribution of the barmbrack and saw that every woman got her four
slices. There was a great deal of laughing and joking during the meal.
Liz Fleming said Maria was sure to get the ring and, though Fleming
had said that for so many Hallow Eves, Maria had to laugh and say
she didn't want any ring or man either; and when she laughed her
grey-green eyes sparkled with disappointed shyness and the tip of her
nose nearly met the tip of her chin. Then Ginger Mooney lifted up her
mug of tea and proposed Marias health while all the other women
clattered with their mugs on the table, and said she was sorry she
hadn't a sup of porter to drink in it. And Maria laughed again till the
tip of her nose nearly met the tip of her chin and till her minute body
nearly shook itself asunder because she knew that Mooney meant well
though, of course, she had the notions of a common woman.
(James Joyce Dubliners)
Stephens mother and his brother and one of his cousins waited at
the corner of quiet Foster Place while he and his father went up the
steps and along the colonnade where the Highland sentry was
parading. When they had passed into the great hall and stood at the
counter Stephen drew forth his orders on the governor of the bank of
Ireland for thirty and three pounds; and these sums, the moneys of his
exhibition and essay prize, were paid over to him rapidly by the teller
in notes and coin respectively. He bestowed them in his pockets with
feigned composure and suffered the friendly teller, to whom his father
chatted, to take his hand across the broad counter and wish him a
brilliant career in after life. He was impatient of their voices and could
not keep his feet at rest. But the teller still deferred the serving of
others to say he was living in changed times and that there was
nothing like giving a boy the best education that money could buy. Mr
Dedalus lingered in the hall gazing about him and up at the roof and
telling Stephen, who urged him to come out, that they were standing
in the house of commons of the old Irish parliament.
God help us! he said piously, to think of the men of those
times, Stephen, Hely Hutchinson and Flood and Henry Grattan and
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Charles Kendal Bushe, and the noblemen we have now, leaders of the
Irish people at home and abroad. Why, by God, they wouldnt be seen
dead in a ten-acre field with them. No, Stephen, old chap, Im sorry to
say that they are only as I roved out one fine May morning in the
merry month of sweet July.
A keen October wind was blowing round the bank. The three
figures standing at the edge of the muddy path had pinched cheeks and
watery eyes. Stephen looked at his thinly clad mother and remembered
that a few days before he had seen a mantle priced at twenty guineas
in the windows of Barnardos.
Well thats done, said Mr Dedalus.
We had better go to dinner, said Stephen. Where?
Dinner? said Mr Dedalus. Well, I suppose we had better, what?
Some place thats not too dear, said Mrs Dedalus.
Underdones?
Yes. Some quiet place.
Come along, said Stephen quickly. It doesnt matter about the
dearness.
He walked on before them with short nervous steps, smiling.
They tried to keep up with him, smiling also at his eagerness.
Take it easy like a good young fellow, said his father. We're
not out for the half mile, are we?
For a swift season of merrymaking the money of his prizes ran
through Stephens fingers. Great parcels of groceries and delicacies
and dried fruits arrived from the city. Every day he drew up a bill of
fare for the family and every night led a party of three or four to the
theatre to see the Ingomar or The Lady of Lyons. In his coat pockets
he carried squares of Vienna chocolate for his guests while his
trousers pocket bulged with masses of silver and copper coins. He
bought presents for everyone, overhauled his room, wrote out
resolutions, marshalled his books up and down their shelves, pored
upon all kinds of price lists, drew up a form of commonwealth for the
household by which every member of it held some office, opened a
loan bank for his family and pressed loans on willing borrowers so
that he might have the pleasure of making out receipts and reckoning
132

the interests on the sums lent. When he could do no more he drove up

and down the city in trams. Then the season of pleasure came to an
end. The pot of pink enamel paint gave out and the wainscot of his
bedroom remained with its unfinished and ill-plastered coat.
His household returned to its usual way of life. His mother had no
further occasion to upbraid him for squandering his money. He too
returned to his old life at school and all his novel enterprises fell to
pieces. The commonwealth fell, the loan bank closed its coffers and its
books on a sensible loss, the rules of life which he had drawn about
himself fell into desuetude.
How foolish his aim had been! He had tried to build a breakwater of order and elegance against the sordid tide of life without him
and to dam up, by rules of conduct and active interests and new filial
relations, the powerful recurrence of the tides within him. Useless.
From without as from within the waters had flowed over his barriers:
their tides began once more to jostle fiercely above the crumbled
mole.
He saw clearly too his own futile isolation. He had not gone one
step nearer the lives he had sought to approach nor bridged the restless
shame and rancour that had divided him from mother and brother and
sister. He felt that he was hardly of the one blood with them but stood
to them rather in the mystical kinship of fosterage, fosterchild and
fosterbrother.
He turned to appease the fierce longings of his heart before which
everything else was idle and alien. He cared little that he was in mortal
sin, that his life had grown to be a tissue of subterfuge and falsehood.
Beside the savage desire within him to realize the enormities which he
brooded on nothing was sacred. He bore cynically with the shameful
details of his secret riots in which he exulted to defile with patience
whatever image had attracted his eyes. By day and by night he moved
among distorted images of the outer world. A figure that had seemed
to him by day demure and innocent came towards him by night
through the winding darkness of sleep, her face transfigured by a
lecherous cunning, her eyes bright with brutish joy. Only the morning
pained him with its dim memory of dark orgiastic riot, its keen and
humiliating sense of transgression.
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He returned to his wanderings. The veiled autumnal evenings led

him from street to street as they had led him years before along the
quiet avenues of Blackrock. But no vision of trim front gardens or of
kindly lights in the windows poured a tender influence upon him now.
Only at times, in the pauses of his desire, when the luxury that was
wasting him gave room to a softer languor, the image of Mercedes
traversed the background of his memory. He saw again the small
white house and the garden of rose-bushes on the road that led to the
mountains and he remembered the sadly proud gesture of refusal
which he was to make there, standing with her in the moonlit garden
after years of estrangement and adventure. At those moments the soft
speeches of Claude Melnotte rose to his lips and eased his unrest. A
tender premonition touched him of the tryst he had then looked
forward to and, in spite of the horrible reality which lay between his
hope of then and now, of the holy encounter he had then imagined at
which weakness and timidity and inexperience were to fall from him.
Such moments passed and the wasting fires of lust sprang up
again. The verses passed from his lips and the inarticulate cries and
the unspoken brutal words rushed forth from his brain to force a
passage. His blood was in revolt. He wandered up and down the dark
slimy streets peering into the gloom of lanes and doorways, listening
eagerly for any sound. He moaned to himself like some baffled
prowling beast. He wanted to sin with another of his kind, to force
another being to sin with him and to exult with her in sin. He felt some
dark presence moving irresistibly upon him from the darkness, a
presence subtle and murmurous as a flood filling him wholly with
itself. Its murmur besieged his ears like the murmur of some multitude
in sleep; its subtle streams penetrated his being. His hands clenched
convulsively and his teeth set together as he suffered the agony of its
penetration. He stretched out his arms in the street to hold fast the frail
swooning form that eluded him and incited him: and the cry that he
had strangled for so long in his throat issued from his lips. It broke
from him like a wail of furious entreaty, a cry for an iniquitous
abandonment, a cry which was but the echo of an obscene scrawl
which he had read on the oozing wall of a urinal.
He had wandered into a maze of narrow and dirty streets. From
the foul laneways he heard bursts of hoarse riot and wrangling and the
134

drawling of drunken singers. He walked onward, dismayed,

wondering whether he had strayed into the quarter of the Jews.
Women and girls dressed in long vivid gowns traversed the street from
house to house. They were leisurely and perfumed. A trembling seized
him and his eyes grew dim. The yellow gas-flames arose before his
troubled vision against the vapoury sky, burning as if before an altar.
Before the doors and in the lighted halls groups were gathered arrayed
as for some rite. He was in another world: he had awakened from a
slumber of centuries.
He stood still in the middle of the roadway, his heart clamouring
against his bosom in a tumult. A young woman dressed in a long pink
gown laid her hand on his arm to detain him and gazed into his face.
She said gaily:
Good night, Willie dear!
Her room was warm and lightsome. A huge doll sat with her legs
apart in the copious easy-chair beside the bed. He tried to bid his
tongue speak that he might seem at ease, watching her as she undid
her gown, noting the proud conscious movements of her perfumed
head.
As he stood silent in the middle of the room she came over to him
and embraced him gaily and gravely. Her round arms held him firmly
to her and he, seeing her face lifted to him in serious calm and feeling
the warm calm rise and fall of her breast, all but burst into hysterical
weeping. Tears of joy and relief shone in his delighted eyes and his
lips parted though they would not speak.
She passed her tinkling hand through his hair, calling him a little
rascal.
Give me a kiss, she said.
His lips would not bend to kiss her. He wanted to be held firmly
in her arms, to be caressed slowly, slowly, slowly. In her arms he felt
that he had suddenly become strong and fearless and sure of himself.
But his lips would not bend to kiss her.
In a sudden movement she bowed his head and joined her lips to
his and he read the meaning of her movements in her frank uplifted
eyes. It was too much for him. He closed his eyes, surrendering
himself to her, body and mind, conscious of nothing in the world but
135

the dark pressure of her softly parting lips. They pressed upon his
brain as upon his lips as though they were the vehicle of a vague
speech; and between them he felt an unknown and timid pressure,
darker than the swoon of sin, softer than the sound or odour.
(James Joyce Portrait of the Artist)
Yes, of course, if its fine tomorrow, said Mrs. Ramsey. "But
youll have to be up with the lark, she added.
To her son these words conveyed an extraordinary joy, as if it
were settled the expedition were bound to take place, and the wonder
to which he had looked forward, for years and years it seemed, was,
after a nights darkness and a days sail, within touch. Since he
belonged, even at the age of six, to that great clan which cannot keep
this feeling separate from that but must let future prospects, with their
joys and sorrows, cloud what is actually at hand, since to such people
even in earliest childhood any turn in the wheel of sensation has the
power to crystallise and transfix the moment upon which its gloom or
radiance rests, James Ramsey, sitting on the floor cutting out pictures
from the illustrated catalogue of the Army and Navy Stores, endowed
the picture of a refrigerator as his mother spoke with heavenly bliss. It
was fringed with joy. The wheelbarrow, the landmower, the sound of
poplar-trees, leaves whitening before rain, rooks cawing, brooms
knocking, dresses rustling all these were so coloured and
distinguished in his mind that he had already his private code, his
secret language, though he appeared the image of stark and
uncompromising severity, with his high forehead and his fierce blue
eyes, impeccably candid and pure, frowning slightly at the sight of
human frailty so that his mother, watching him guide his scissors
neatly round the refrigerator, imagined him all red and ermine on the
Bench or directing a stern and momentous enterprise in some crisis of
public affairs.
But, said his father, stopping in front of the drawing-room
window, it wont be fine.
Had there been an axe handy, a poker, or any weapon that would
have gashed a hole in his fathers breast and killed him, there and
then, James would have seized it. Such were the extremes of emotion
that Mr. Ramsey excited in his childrens breasts by his mere
136

presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife, narrow as the blade of one,

grinning sarcastically, not only with the pleasure of disillusioning his
son and casting ridicule upon his wife, who was ten thousand times
better in every way than he was (James thought), but also with some
secret conceit at his own accuracy of judgement. What he said was
true. It was always true. He was incapable of untruth; never tampered
with a fact; never altered a disagreeable word to suit the pleasure or
convenience of any mortal being, least of all of his own children, who,
sprung from his loins, should be aware from childhood that life is
difficult; facts uncompromising; and the passage to that fabled land
where our brightest hopes are extinguished, our frail barks founder in
darkness (here Mr. Ramsey would straighten his back and narrow his
little blue eyes upon the horizon), one that needs above all, courage,
truth, and the power to endure.
But it may be fine I expect it will be fine, said Mrs. Ramsey,
making some little twist of the reddish-brown stocking she was
knitting, impatiently. If she finished it to night, if they did go to the
Lighthouse after all, it was to be given to the Lighthouse keeper for
his little boy, who was threatened with a tuberculous hip; together
with a pile of old magazines, and some tobacco, indeed whatever she
could find lying about, not really wanted, but only littering the room,
to give those poor fellows, who must be bored to death sitting all day
with nothing to do but polish the lamp and trim the wick and rake
about on their scrap of garden, something to amuse them. For how
would you like to be shut up for a whole month at a time, and possibly
more in stormy weather, upon a rock the size of a tennis lawn? she
would ask; and to have no letters or newspapers, and to see nobody; if
you were married, not to see your wife, not to know how your children
were if they were ill, if they had fallen down and broken their legs
or arms; to see the same dreary waves breaking week after week, and
then a dreadful storm coming, and the windows covered with spray,
and birds dashed against the lamp, and the whole place rocking, and
not to be able to put your nose out of doors for fear of being swept
into the sea? How would you like that? she asked, addressing herself
particularly to her daughters. So she added, rather differently, one
must take them whatever comforts one can.
(Virginia Woolf To the Lighthouse)

137

Romanian source texts

CEA MAI GREA NDELETNICIRE
Care ar fi performana cea mai dificil n domeniul literaturii?
Care e brana cea mai chinuitoare n munca de scriitor? Avem la
dispoziie rspunsuri conformiste i previzibile, date de cei care doresc
s par pe ct de culi, pe att de subtili: acetia ne vor demonstra c
eseul filozofic pe teme literare ori poezia ar fi speciile superioare (nu
ne-a nvat romantismul c nimic nu egaleaz Poezia, cu majuscul?).
Alii, mai moderni, vor pleda pentru virtuile romanului, amintindune c secolele XIX i XX au fost secolele romanului i c numai n
jurul lui gsim marea concentrare de cititori i de comentatori. Pn la
urm, grupurile se vor pune de acord asupra preeminenei marilor
specii n raport cu celelalte.
De-a lungul a zece ani am ncercat s scriu n toate speciile
literare cunoscute din vocaie, din simpatie, din simpl curiozitate.
ntocmind, retrospectiv, o ierarhie a dificultilor, ajung la o concluzie
de aparene ciudate, bazat ns pe proprie experien: ndeletnicirea
literar cea mai riscant i cea mai grea o reprezint traducerea
poeziei. Ea reprezint pragul ncercrii supreme. Ea reprezint
obstacolul infernal, la depirea cruia nouzeci la sut din amatori iau frnt gtul. n ochii mei, traducerea perfect a unei bune poezii
nseamn poate mai mult dect crearea poeziei originale: pe lng
talentul nativ de a scrie versuri, rmne absolut obligatorie calitatea,
rareori existent, a posedrii profunde a unei culturi i a ptrunderii n
universul nchis al unor mari creatori. Condiii aproape imposibile!
n accepiunea sugerat de mine, traducerile reuite de poezie nu
au nimic a face cu aproximrile blbite la care se rezum majoritatea
exerciiilor de acest fel, cu ritmrile stupid-mecanice i, desigur, cu
infamele traduceri n proz, att de la mod n secolul al XIX-lea, dar
absolut ucigae pentru imaginea i reputaia poetului tradus. Aa cum
concep traducerea de poezie, ea trebuie s ndeplineasc, fr
excepie, cteva reguli simple i clare: s refac exact formula
prozodic a originalului; s nu admit nici o licen la capitolul
metrului, ritmului ori rimei; s sugereze (prin zeci de detalii greu
codificabile) atmosfera cultural n care poezia a luat natere; n fine,
138

s fie, poetic, la fel de bun ca originalul. Lund contact cu ea. cititorul

s perceap textul original pn la capt. S aib ocul primordial.
Doar astfel cteva dintre Florile rului au atins, sub pana lui Al.
Philippide, strlucirea baudelairian, iar cititorul romn al multor
strofe din Faust l-a citit cu adevrat pe Goethe n cuvintele lui t.
Aug. Doina.
La prima vedere, ndeplinirea draconicelor exigene de mai sus
pare himeric, dar nu e aa! Dac strivitoarea majoritate a traducerilor
de poezie nu rspunde acestor doleane, va exista ntotdeauna cu
precizie matematic un infim procent de inspirai-erudii care s
ating marea performan. Nici nu ne trebuie mai muli! Poezia se cere
citit n limba n care a fost scris; a o citi n traducere nseamn
dovad de lene ori exerciiu de alexandrinism pervers. Dac, pe
parcursul a dou sau trei secole, principalii poei ai lumii vor gsi, prin
miracol, un echivalent perfect n marile limbi, atunci truda celor mai
inspirai dintre intelectualii acestei lumi nu se va fi cheltuit n zadar.
Severa tabl a legilor traducerii schiat mai sus dateaz de foarte
puin vreme, de numai cteva decenii; dar provideniala ei apariie a
orientat rapid lumea elitei traductorilor, care a aderat instinctiv la
noul cod.
Traducerea versurilor rmne cea mai grea dintre arte i pentru alt
motiv: este vorba de echivalarea lumilor culturale, fapt la care poetul
propriu-zis nici nu se gndete. Traductorului n versuri nu i este
suficient inspiraia, el nu se bazeaz doar pe tradiionalul daimon
interior; translatorul trebuie s execute echilibristic mental n urma
creia va afla ce a fost n contiina intim a poetului atunci cnd i-a
compus poezia. Dar asta nu-i suficient: el mai trebuie s reconstituie
atmosfera spiritual a epocii (pe care poetul o respir, dar n-o
nregistreaz n chip contient), atmosfer ce a fcut posibil nirea
textului. Traductorul e obligat s devin istoric al culturii, istoric al
limbii, hermeneut, psiholog. i, mai presus de toate, s fie poet el
nsui, la o altitudine comparabil cu cea a originalului.
O poezie se poate compune ntr-o or, sub fulgurana inspiraiei;
traducerea ei presupune ns zeci ori sute de ore, zeci de variante
succesive pn la atingerea echivalentului fericit. Ceea ce poetul
execut ntr-o rapid joac nalt, traductorul realizeaz printr-un
139

efort poetic de factur valryan, construind ecuaii de cuvinte i

aflndu-le rezolvarea.
S mai precizm un fapt de obicei ignorat: pentru a fi un bun
traductor (mai ales de poezie), cunoaterea perfect a limbii din care
traduci, calitatea de om de cultur, rbdarea sisific rmn obligatorii;
vital ns este cunoaterea cuprinztoare, de la origini pn n
prezent, n lung i-n lat, a propriei tale limbi. A limbii n care
traduci.Traductorul perfect trebuie s fie (vai!) i un scriitor
extraordinar el nsui. Dac nu exist echivalentul absolut, la
milimetru, ntre variantele culturale ale celor dou idiomuri, puntea
reprezentat de traducere se prbuete.
n ceea ce m privete traduc poezie de peste patruzeci de ani,
avndu-i ca obiect obsesiv de admiraie i de chin pe marii poei
francezi, englezi, germani, italieni, spanioli sau portughezi. Am fcut
publice un numr infim din traducerile mele, am publicat nc i mai
puine; dar echivalarea perfect a versurilor a rmas, pn astzi,
contactul meu privilegiat cu eternitatea.
(Mihai Zamfir, Dilema, nr.456, 23-29 noiembrie 2001)

[] Itinerariul prevedea un mare i ncnttor nconjur. La

nceput de aprilie, porneam din gara Braov spre Predeal. Dup o
or depeam frontiera maghiaro-romn fr de a fi fost scii de
ctre vamei.
i-am ajuns la Bucureti.
n capitala Romniei, unde aveam s stm numai cteva ore, am
fost purtai prin muzee de art i de tiin natural, pe strzi i
bulevarde. Mai trziu nu-mi mai aminteam dect de-o vizit la
Academia Romn, unde profesorul Ion Bianu a deschis un sanctuar,
din care scotea manuscrisele lui Eminescu. Nu m-am dat btut pn nu
am luat i eu n mn un caiet. mi croisem loc cu coatele, printre
ceilali. Grupul pleca, dar eu am mai rmas aplecat deasupra
manuscrisului, prin care rsfoiam cu ncordare. M emoiona nespus
de mult acest contact cu hrtiile i scrisul marelui poet. i-am zmbit
copilrete i intrigat, cnd n marginea unei poezii am remarcat i
nite desene de-ale poetului: erau nite schie obscene, care-mi artau
c exist anumite spaii intime, n care poezia i proza se nvecineaz
fr a se stnjeni. Am fugit pe urm dup caravan. n poarta
140

Academiei, unul dintre elevii mai vrstnici mi zice: Ce-ai ntrziat,

mi, te-ai ntins aci ca la tine acas! Uite aa ca s m deprin cu
Academia! rspunsei rznd, i mai adugai ceva foarte prezumios.
Mi-am dat ns cu palma peste gur cnd observai c unchiul m
auzise. Dar unchiul m-a nvluit c-o privire plin de buntate: Mai
tii De ce nu?.
n dup-amiaza zilei luam trenul spre Constana, unde n aceeai
sear urma s ne mbarcm pe-un vapor romnesc spre
Constantinopol. Era noapte, trziu, cnd am ajuns la Constana, i n-am
vzut aproape nimic din cele ale oraului i ale portului. mi amintesc
doar c marea era foarte agitat. Dup ce-am intrat n pntecul
vaporului, ntr-o ncpere mare cuprins de bnci de lemn, nu ne-am
mai gndit dect s ne gsim un locor de dormit. De unde s poi ns
nchide pleoapele! mi era frig. i altora la fel. Cineva ne poftea s ne
lum pturi de acoperit de pe bord. Am urcat nite trepte, ne-am
strecurat prin coridoare labirintice, i-apoi, ca printr-un horn cptuit
cu o scar n spiral, am ieit pe bord. Marea Neagr nu-i desminea
numele, cci o bezn de neptruns stpnea pe ntinsurile de vuiet i
valuri. Sufla un vnt s ne ia de pe picioare. Departe, n zare, se mai
vedeau lumini slabe n port. Eram n larg. Am smuls o ptur dintr-un
teanc i cu prada n brae am alunecat iari n pntecul vaporului. Dar
nici ptura nu mi-a fost de nici un folos, ca s adorm. M-am zvrcolit
toat noaptea. Cum vaporul se legna, m lua din capul pieptului i
pn-n ceaf o senzaie de slbiciune; era ntiul semn al rului de ape
mari. Dimineaa am urcat pe bord n sperana c rcoarea curat de
deasupra mi va domestici mruntaiele. Paseri albe, cu sunete, n care
se ghiceau pustieti marine, zburau dup vapor. Uneori, rmnnd n
urm, descindeau n dra de spum a vaporului. Apoi vzduhul se
limpezi treptat, iar la orizont ntrezrirm maluri glbui, sterpe. Ne
apropiam de strmtori. nviau n noi dulcei sentimentale culese din
Alecsandri i Bolintineanu. Limanurile asiatice se ntrupau aprate de
fortificaii strvechi i de nenumrate guri de tunuri. Intram n strunga
dintre continente pe ape mai linitite, i ntr-un climat domol. Se
iveau, ct btea ochiul, tot alte i alte vapoare, corbii, alupe, luntre.
Am debarcat la Constantinopol nc nainte de amiaz. Aveam rgaz
de cteva ore s vizitm capitala Imperiului Otoman. i prinseserm
arta de a consuma ct mai multe priveliti n ct mai puin timp. Pe
141

strzi, n Constantinopol, un miros fetid ne izbi nrile i tot corpul, cel

puin n apropierea portului. Numai un cadavru istoric putea s
miroas aa de cumplit. Forfotea n jur mprejurul nostru o lume
pestri apucat de duhul unei paradoxale micri stagnante. Cutam
s ieim din vrtejurile mulimei i din zgomotul asurzitor al clipei,
fcnd n timp un drum invers. Grbiam pasul spre veacul al aselea:
spre Agia Sofia. Cred c eram insuficient pregtit pentru cutremurul
de farmec, de frumusee i de mreie, al acestei catedrale, n care
geniul bizantin a izbutit s rosteasc, crend un sacru arhetip pentru
toat lumea rsritului. Dup o noapte de nesomn, simurile i-au
nchis zvoarele i i-au pus pecei. Cldura solar, ce m lovea n
cretet, goana pe strzi i apoi nfiarea de iarmaroc dezlnuit a
capitalei otomane, m fcuser aproape impermeabil pentru noi
impresii. i cnd am intrat n Agia Sofia, nu mi-ai fi putut nchipui c
peste douzeci i atia de ani aveam s scriu cu entuziasm postum
despre ceea ce vedeam i nu simeam atunci.
(Lucian Blaga Hronicul i cntecul vrstelor)

[] n Note zilnice strbate, ca o tem constant, tema

agresiunilor morale. Aceasta pare a fi rana cea mai adnc a
sensibilitii sale. Agresiunile vin de peste tot i pe toate planurile, de
la cel mrunt existenial la cel spiritual. O posibil definiie
psihologic a lui Camil Petrescu ar suna astfel: Camil Petrescu este un
spirit agresat, cu mari crize de orgoliu i replieri uluitoare n atitudini
polemice. Spiritualicete, el este obsedat de cteva idei (autenticitatea
gndirii, substanialismul, noocraie necesar etc.) i, fr s aduc
date noi fa de oper, Jurnalul arat o continuitate i o voin
remarcabil de coeziune intelectual. ntr-un loc, scriitorul
mrturisete c schema gndirii lui era definitiv fixat n 1915, n
momentul n care a nceput s scrie Jocul Ielelor: Odat cu
descoperirea c timpul e a patra dimensiune a spaiului i, n acelai
timp, cu analiza apriorismului kantian, expus n Ultima noapte
Ambele acestea gsite ntr-un sfrit de iunie ntr-o diminea,
ascultnd lene n pat tic-tacul ceasornicului detepttor
Amnuntul trebuie reinut, puini scriitori pot arta o obstinaie
mai mare i mai pozitiv, de-a lungul ntregii cariere literare, n
susinerea unor idei. Camil Petrescu gndete unitar, spiritul lui
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tracasat, fragmentat n viaa de toate zilele, urmeaz sistematic cteva

concepte regsite i n opera de ficiune i n eseistic. Jurnalul
dezvluie ntr-o oarecare msur secretul moral al acestei ndrjite
consecvene.
Dar Notele zilnice arat i un alt Camil Petrescu: nchipuit, cu
nverunare utopic. Cnd izbucnete rzboiul din Abisinia, el propune
o schem militar i, dup oarecare vreme, soluiile lui se adeveresc.
Prozatorul primete telefoane, e felicitat, gndul c este un mare
strateg militar nu mai ntlnete n mintea lui nici o mpotrivire. Cnd
Frana este n primejdie, Camil Petrescu scrie d-lui Dupront, directorul
Institutului francez (actualmente preedintele Universitii Paris IV,
Sorbona) o scrisoare n care, iari, propune scheme tactice salvatoare.
Unui om politic romn i scrie n acelai sens, oferindu-i serviciile
pentru salvarea Romniei. Tactica lui se bazeaz pe metoda
substanialist, care dac neleg bine, presupune o operaie special de
descifrare logic i, ca prim trept, analiza informatorilor.
Paginile acestea, serioase i grave, pline de formule complicate,
reactualizeaz imaginea anecdotic a unui Camil Petrescu stpnit de
un patologic sentiment al ntietii. Dar, curios, aceast imagine nu ne
mai pare astzi att de ridicol, spiritul nostru nu se arat deloc
scandalizat c autorul Patului lui Procust se considera un mare strateg
al rzboiului nchipuirile de acest fel i completeaz admirabil
portretul psihologic.
Dezamgirea pe care ne-o produce Jurnalul vine din alt direcie:
scriitorul nu vorbete dect foarte puin de literatura lui, iar cnd
vorbete nu spune dect lucruri pe care le putem afla i n revistele
epocii (reaciile criticii etc.). Pentru Camil Petrescu literatura este o
experien fundamental, dar experiena nu transpune n nici un fel n
aceste note zilnice care se mrginesc s nregistreze altfel de fapte,
mai simple. Am pierdut , astfel, ansa de a avea n literatura romn
un jurnal de felul aceluia lsat de Gide, jurnal pe care, nu mai ncape
vorb, numai Camil Petrescu l-ar fi putut scrie. []
(Eugen Simion Scriitori romni de azi, Ed. Cartea
Romneasc, Buc., 1976, p.196,197, 201-202.)

143

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