Lesson Nine

SPEECH PATTERNS

1.

• They were on a hike.
• We shall go on an excursion tomorrow.
• I shall start on a tour next Sunday.
• He will set out on a trip early in the morning.

213

2.

• We have two hours to while away.
• They still have a lot to do.
• Jane still has two exams to take.
• He has letters to mail.

3.

• The boy is really as obstinate as a mule.
• She was as good as her word.
• You're as sulky as a bear, what's the matter?
• That day I felt as free as a bird.
• The twins were as like as two peas.
• The dog is as fierce (big) as a wolf.
• And let me tell you he is as cross as two sticks.
• They're pals, it is as plain as the nose on your face.

4.

• It was like a beautiful dream.
• He looked like a huge bear.
• The girl looks like a flower.
• The cloth looks like silk.

5.

• It was a sort of box.
• It was a kind of game.
• We spent the night in a sort of hut.

6.

• The whole affair strikes me as queer.
• The suggestion struck him as tempting.
• That I found nobody at home struck me as odd.
• Her question struck me as naive.

EXERCISES

I. Complete the following sentences using patterns 1, 2, 3, 4:

1. We saw lots of interesting things when we were ... .2. It's too late to start ... .3. Will you go with them ...? 4. I am busy now, I have ... . 5. It was growing dark and they still had ... . 6. I shan't

214

be free till July 1, I have ... .7. Both brothers are tall and as ... . 8. In the father's presence the boys are as ... 9. The twins are as ... . 10. With her close-cropped hair she ... . 11. She is under 20, but she ... . 12. The water in the lake was so warm that it was ... . 13. She was a small, pretty woman with a complexion that was ... . 14.. The cloud was now spreading across the sky, it was ... . 15. I had a good look at the picture yesterday and I think it is ... . 16. I don't know the rules, but I think it's ... .17. This is the house where the writerjived, now it is ... . 18. I'm not sure of the meaning of the term, perhaps it's ... .

II. Paraphrase the following sentences using patterns 5, 6:

1. I had a vague suspicion that he was cheating. 2. The vines formed a poor (inadequate) roof. 3. I didn't know the game they were playing. 4. It was a deserted hut that could give them some shelter. 5. She had something resembling a hat on her head. 6. The whole affair seems to me a bit queer. 7. That I found nobody at home seemed to me odd. 8. The excuse he gave seemed to me ridiculous. 9. He seems to me a person well-read in literature. 10. He turned the car towards a large house that, seemed to be typically Swiss.

III. Make up two sentences of your own on each pattern.

IV. Translate the following sentences into English using the speech patterns:

1. Это произошло, когда мы путешествовали по Кавказу. 2. Как только мы приехали в Лондон, мы отправились на экскурсию. 3. После свадьбы Майкл и Флер поехали в свадебное путешествие. 4. Ремонт на даче почти окончен, осталось только покрасить пол. 5. Мне оставалось прочесть еще около десяти страниц, когда погас свет. 6. Геологам оставалось пробыть в лагере еще три дня, когда внезапно разразилась буря. 7. После болезни Джон стал худым как щепка, а говорит, что уже хорошо себя чувствует. 8. Интересно, почему это дети на людях как шелковые, а дома делают, что хотят? 9. Близнецы были похожи как две капли воды, и никто кроме матери не Mor их различить. 10. Он очень образованный человек. Разговаривать с ним - все равно, что читать энциклопедию. 11. Девочка рано осталась без матери, и ее старшая сестра была ей как мать. 12. Этот месяц в горцах был похож на чудесный сон. 13. У них на даче есть нечто вроде террасы, но она еще не достроена. 14. Не имею представления, что это за блюдо. Может быть, это нечто вроде рагу? 15. Это такой цветок, который можно найти только высоко в горах. 16. Когда мы подошли к дому, нам показалось странным, что окна не освещены. 17. Он показался мне очень осторожным и нерешительным человеком. 18. Мне кажется, он настоящий знаток живописи.

V. Make up situations in dialogue form using the speech patterns (to be done in pairs).

215