Theme: THE READING
PUBLIC by S. Leacock
"Wish to look about the store? Oh, by all means, sir," said the
manager of one of the biggest book stores in New York. He called to
his assistant, "Just show this gentleman our ancient classics – the
ten-cent series." With this he dismissed me from his mind.
In
other words he had guessed at a glance that I was a professor. The
manager of the biggest book store cannot be deceived in a customer.
He knew I would hang around for two hours, get in everybody's way,
and finally buy the Dialogues of Plato for ten cents.
He
despised me, but a professor standing in a corner buried in a book
looks well in a store. It is a sort of advertisement.
So
it was that standing in a far corner I had an opportunity of
noticing something of this up-to-date manager's methods with his
real customers.
"You are quite sure it's his latest?" a fashionably dressed woman
was saying to the manager.
"Oh, yes, madam, this is Mr. Slush's very latest book, I assure
you. It's having a wonderful sale." As he spoke he pointed to a
huge pile of books on the counter with the title in big letters –
Golden Dreams.
"This book," said the lady idly turning over the pages, "is it
good?"
"It's an extremely powerful thing," said the manager, "in fact it's
a masterpiece. The critics are saying that without exaggeration it
is the most powerful book of the season. It is bound to make a
sensation."
"Oh, really!" said the lady. "Well, I think I'll take it then."
Suddenly she remembered something. "Oh, and will you give me
something f or my husband? He's going down south. You know the kind
of thing one reads on vacation?"
"Oh, perfectly, madam. I think we have just what you husband wants.
Seven Weeks in the Sahara, dollars; Six Months in a Waggon, 6
dollars; Afternoons in an Oxcart, two volumes, 4 dollars 30 cents.
Or here, now, Among the Cannibals of Corfu, or Among the Monkeys of
New Guinea, 10 dollars." And with this the manager laid his hand on
another pile as numerous as the pile of Golden Dreams.
'
It seems rather expensive,» remarked the lady.
"Oh, a most expensive book," repeated the manager in a tone of
enthusiasm. "You see, it's the illustrations, actual photographs of
actual monkeys; and the paper."
The
lady bought Among the Monkeys.
Another lady entered. A widow, judging by her black dress.
"Something new in fiction," repeated the manager, "yes, madam,
here's a charming thing, Golden Dreams,– a very sweet story. In
fact, the critics are saying it's the sweetest thing Mr. Slush has
done."
"Is
it good?" said the lady.
"It's a very charming love story. My wife was reading it aloud only
last night. She could hardly read for tears."
"I
suppose it's quite a safe book?" asked the widow anxiously. "I want
it for my little daughter."
"A
assure you it's perfectly safe. In fact, it is written quite in the
old style, like the dear old books of the past; quite like –" here
the manager paused with a slight doubt – "Dickens and Fielding and
– er – so on."
The
widow bought the Golden Dreams, received it wrapped up, and passed
out.
"Have you any good light reading?" called out the next customer in
a loud cheerful voice – he had the air of a man starting on a
holiday.
"Yes," said the manager, and his face almost broke into a
laugh.
"Here's an excellent thing, Golden Dreams; quite the most humorous
book of the season. My wife was reading it last night. She could
hardly read for laughing."
After that the customers came and went in a string. To one lady
Golden Dreams was sold as exactly the reading for a holiday, to
another as the very book to read after a holiday; another bought it
as a book for a rainy day, and a fourth as the right sort of
reading for a fine day.
Among the Monkeys was sold as a sea story, a land story, a story of
the jungle, a story of the mountains; each time at a different
price.
After a busy two hours I drew near and from a curiosity that I
couldn't resist said, "That book, Golden Dreams, you seem to think
it's a very wonderful book?"
The
manager knew that I had no intention of buying the book, so he
shook his head. "Frankly speaking, I imagine it's perfectly
rotten."
"Haven't you read it?" I asked in amazement.
"Dear me, no!" said the manager. His air was that of a milkman who
is offered a glass of his own milk. "A pretty time I'd have if I
tried to read all the new books. It's quite enough to keep track of
them without that."
"But those people," I went on, deeply puzzled, "won't they be
disappointed?"
"By
no means!" he said. "They won't read it. They never do."
"But at any rate your wife thought it a fine story," I
insisted.
The
manager smiled widely. "I am not married, sir."
NOTES:
rotten – (slang) bad
in a string – one after
another
Exercises and Assignments on
the Text
Упражнения и Задания по
Тексту
Assignment # One – Задание №
1
Найдите в тексте английские
эквиваленты следующих слов, выражений и
оборотов:
-
другими словами –
_________________________________________;
-
понял
с первого слова –
_________________________________________;
-
презирал –
_________________________________________;
-
нечто
вроде рекламы –
_________________________________________;
-
современные методы –
_________________________________________;
-
новинка –
_________________________________________;
-
модно
одетая – _________________________________________;
-
идет
на расхват – _________________________________________;
-
лениво переворачивая страницы –
_________________________________________;
-
шедевр –
_________________________________________;
-
без
преувеличения –
_________________________________________;
-
довольно дорогая книга –
_________________________________________;
-
уверяю Вас –
_________________________________________;
-
подходящее чтение для… –
_________________________________________;
-
из
любопытства – _________________________________________;
-
следить за их появлением –
_________________________________________;
-
ни за
что – _________________________________________;
-
в
любом случае –
_________________________________________.
Assignment #
Two –
Задание №
2
Дайте русские эквиваленты
следующих слов, выражений и оборотов из текста; Составьте по три
предложения с каждым их этих оборотов:
get in smb.’s way
–
_________________________________________;
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
have an opportunity of
doing smth. –
_________________________________________;
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
be bound to – _________________________________________;
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
could hardly read for
tears (laughter) –
_________________________________________;
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
in a loud (sad,
cheerful) voice –
_________________________________________;
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
break into a laugh (into
tears) –
_________________________________________;
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
have an (no) intention
of doing smth. –
_________________________________________;
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
shake one’s head
–
_________________________________________;
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
frankly speaking
–
_________________________________________;
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
be disappointed
–
_________________________________________;
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
ask in amazement
–
_________________________________________;
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Assignment # Three – Задание №
3
Ответьте на следующие
вопросы:
1) What did the manager do
when he guessed that his customer was a professor?
When the manager guessed,
that
___________________________________________________.
2) Why did he lose all
interest in him?
He lost all interest in him
_________________________________________________________.
3) Why did the fashionably-dressed lady want to buy the latest
book? Was she really interested in literature?
_______________________________________________________________________________.
4) "The professor stood buried in a book." "The lady was idly
turning over the pages." Compare these two customers.
_______________________________________________________________________________.
5) Whom did the manager
consider his real customers?
_______________________________________________________________________________.
6) Why did the manager say
quite different things about the same book to different
customers?
_______________________________________________________________________________.
7) Did the manager have a
high opinion of all his customers? Illustrate your answer.
_______________________________________________________________________________.
8) What was his main
aim?
______________________________