TWO

REVISITING MYTHS
He was a good husband, a good father. I don’t understand it. I don’t believe in it. I don’t believe
that it happened. I saw it happen but it isn’t true. It can’t be. He was always gentle. If you’d have seen him
playing with the children, anybody who saw him with the children would have known that there wasn’t any
bad in him, not one mean bone. When I first met him he was still living with his mother, over near Spring
Lake, and I used to see them together, the mother and the sons, and think that any young fellow that was
that nice with his family must be one worth knowing. Then one time when I was walking in the woods I
met him by himself coming back from a hunting trip. He hadn’t got any game at all, not so much as a field
mouse, but he wasn’t cast down about it. He was just larking along enjoying the morning air. That’s one of
the things I first loved about him. He didn’t take things hard, he didn’t grouch and whine when things
didn’t go his way. So we got to talking that day. And I guess things moved right along after that, because
pretty soon he was over here pretty near all the time. And my sister said – see, my parents had moved out
the year before and gone south, leaving us the place – my sister said, kind of teasing but serious, ‘Well! If
he’s going to be here every day and half the night, I guess there isn’t room for me!’ And she moved out –
just down the way. We’ve always been real close, her and me. That’s the sort of thing doesn’t ever change.
I couldn’t ever have got through this bad time without my sis.
Well, so he come to live here. And all I can say is, it was the happy year of my life. He was just
purely good to me. A hard worker and never lazy, and so big and fine-looking. Everybody looked up to
him, you know, young as he was. Lodge Meeting nights, more and more often they had him to lead the
singing. He had such a beautiful voice, and he’d lead off strong, and the others following and joining in,
high voices and low. It brings the shivers on me now to think of it, hearing it, nights when I’d stayed home
from meeting when the children was babies – the singing coming up through the trees there, and the
moonlight, summer nights, the full moon shining. I’ll never hear anything so beautiful. I’ll never know a
joy like that again.
It was the moon, that’s what they say. It’s the moon’s fault, and the blood. It was in his father’s
blood. I never knew his father, and now I wonder what become of him. he was from up Whitewater way,
and had no kin around here. I always thought he went back there, but now I don’t know. There was some
talk about him, tales, that come out after what happened to my husband. It’s something runs in the blood,
they say, and it may never come out, but if it does, it’s the change of the moon that does it. Always it
happens in the dark of the moon. When everybody’s home and asleep. Something comes over the one that’s
got the curse in his blood, they say, and he gets up because he can’t sleep, and goes out into the glaring sun,
and goes off all alone – drawn to find those like him.
And it may be so, because my husband would do that. I’d half rouse and say, ‘Where you going
to?’ and he’d say, ‘Oh, hunting, be back this evening,’ and it wasn’t like him, even his voice was different.
But I’d be so sleepy, and not wanting to wake the kids, and he was so good and responsible, it was no call
of mine to go asking ‘Why?’ and ‘Where?’ and all like that.
So it happened that way maybe three times or four. He’d come back late, and worn out, and pretty
near cross for one so sweet-tempered – not wanting to talk about it. I figured everybody got to bust out now
and then, and nagging never helped anything. But it did begin to worry me. Not so much that he went, but
that he come back so tired and strange. Even, he smelled strange. It made my hair stand up on end. I could
not endure it and said, ‘What is that – those smells on you? All over you!’ And he said, ‘I don’t know,’ real
short, and made like he was sleeping. But he went down when he thought I wasn’t noticing, and washed
and washed himself. But those smells stayed in his hair, and in our bed, for days.
And then the awful thing. I don’t find it easy to tell about this. I want to cry when I have to bring it
to my mind. Our youngest, the little one, my baby, she turned from her father. Just overnight. He come in
and she got scared-looking, stiff, with her eyes wide, and then she begun to cry and try to hide behind me.
she didn’t yet talk plain but she was saying over and over, ‘Make it go away! Make it go away!’
The look in his eyes, just for one moment, when he heard that. that’s what I don’t want ever to
remember. That’s what I can’t forget. The look in his eyes looking at his own child. I said to the child,
‘Shame on you, what’s got into you!’ – scolding, but keeping her right up close to me at the same time,
because I was frightened too. Frightened to shaking.

1
 He looked away then said something like. ‘Guess she just waked up dreaming,’ and passed it off
that way. Or tried to. And so did I. And I got real mad with my baby when she kept on acting crazy scared
of her own dad. But she couldn’t help it and I couldn’t change it.
He kept away that whole day. Because he knew, I guess. It was just beginning dark of the moon.
It was hot and close inside, and dark, and we’d all been asleep some while, when something woke
me up. He wasn’t there beside me. I heard a little stir in the passage, when I listened. So I got up, because I
could bear it no longer. I went out into the passage, and it was light there, hard sunlight coming in from the
door. And I saw him standing just outside, in the tall grass by the entrance. His head was hanging. Presently
he sat down, like he felt weary, and looked down at his feet. I held still, inside, and watched – I didn’t know
what for.
And I saw what he saw. I saw the changing. In his feet, it was, first. They got long, each foot got
longer, stretching out, the toes stretching out and the foot getting long, and fleshy, and white. And no hair
on them.
The hair begun to come away all over his body. it was like his hair fried away in the sunlight and
was gone. He was white all over, then, like a worm’s skin. And he turned his face. it was changing while I
looked. It got flatter and flatter, the mouth flat and wide, and the teeth grinning flat and dull, and the nose
just a knob of flesh with nostril holes, and the ears gone, and the eyes gone blue – blue, with white rims
around the blue – staring at me out of that flat, soft, white face.
He stood up then on two legs.
I saw him, I had to see him, my own dear love, turned into the hateful one.
I couldn’t move, but as I crouched there in the passage staring out into the day I was trembling and
shaking with a growl that burst out into a crazy, awful howling. A grief howl and a terror howl and a
calling howl. And the others heard it, even sleeping, and woke up.
It stared and peered, that thing my husband had turned into, and shoved its face up to the entrance
of our house. I was still bound by mortal fear, but behind me the children had waked up, and the baby was
whimpering. The mother anger come into me then, and I snarled and crept forward.
The man thing looked around. It had no gun, like the ones from the man man places do. But it
picked up a heavy fallen tree branch in its long white foot, and shoved the end of that down into our house,
at me. I snapped the end of it in my teeth and started to force my way out, because I knew the man would
kill our children if it could. But my sister was already coming. I saw her running at the man with her head
low and her mane high and her eyes yellow as the winter sun. It turned on her and raised up that branch to
hit her. But I come out of the doorway, mad with the mother anger, and the others all were coming
answering my call, the whole pack gathering, there in that blind glare and heat of the sun at noon.
The man looked round at us and yelled out loud, and brandished the branch it held. Then it broke
and ran, heading for the cleared fields and plowlands, down the mountainside. It ran, on two legs, leaping
and weaving, and we followed it.
I was last, because love still bound the anger and the fear in me. I was running when I saw them
pull it down. My sister’s teeth were in its throat. I got there and it was dead. The others were drawing back
from the kill, because of the taste of the blood, and the smell. The younger ones were cowering and some
crying, and my sister rubbed her mouth against her forelegs over and over to get rid of the taste. I went up
close because I thought if the thing was dead the spell, the curse must be done, and my husband could come
back – alive, or even dead, if I could only see him, my true love, in his true form, beautiful. But only the
dead man lay there white and bloody. We drew back and back from it, and turned and ran, back up into the
hills, back to the woods of the shadows and the twilight and the blessed dark.
(Ursula Le Guin – The Wife’s Story)
A
READING COMPREHENSION

2
 Ursula le Guin was born in Berkeley, California in 1929, daughter of
the anthropologist Alfred L. Kroeber and the writer Theodora Kroeber,
autor of Ishi in Two Worlds and two other books. Ms. Le Guin’s
published works include poetry stories and several novels, including
Malafrena, The Lathe of Heaven and The Left Hand of Darkness,
which was awarded the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best science
fiction novel of 1969. She is also the author of the Earthsea fantasy
books for which she received many awards.

1. Compare the speaking voice in this text with that in the text from the previous section. What is the
difference between these two texts from the point of view of perspective?
2. The text can be said to belong to the “familiar register”. Bring five examples from the text in this
respect.
3. The text presents the discourse of a wife that tells the tragic story of her husband. What is the point in
the text where the reader realizes that the discourse does not belong to an “ordinary” wife?
4. What are the elements in the text that suggest that the voice speaking does not belong to the human
community? Bring examples in this respect.
5. Comment upon the importance of the following in the process of transformation undergone by the
husband in the story: “It’s the moon fault, and the blood”.
6. Why does the husband’s transformation cause so much horror to his wife and children?
7. “I saw him, I had to see him, my own dear love, turned into the hateful one”. What does the phrase
“the hateful one” refer to in this particular case? Justify your answer by bringing examples from the
text.
8. What are the similarities and differences between this transformation and the transformation suggested
to have taken place in Angela Carter’s text in the previous section?
9. Is there any similarity between the attitude of the community in this text and that of the community in
Angela Carter’s text towards the events that take place? How do they treat the characters thought to
have undergone transformations?
10. The wife talks about her husband’s “true form”. What does this mean for her and how can you
comment upon the word true as used here?
11. The story bears much resemblance to a fairytale. What are the common points between this story and a
fairytale?
12. In what way does this story differ from the fairytale scenario?
13. Comment upon the distinction “ordinary/strange” as reflected in the text. Can you think about others
stories - in literature or cinema – which bear similarities to this story?

B.
VOCABULARY

1. Fill in the blanks with words/phrases from the text:

1. Anybody who saw him would have known there wasn’t any bad in him, not_________.
2. He hadn’t got any game at all, but he wasn’t _________ about it.
3. He didn’t take things hard, he didn’t__________ and whine when things didn’t go his way.
4. It brings the________on me to think of it.
5. It’s something that_____ in the blood, they say.
6. He gets up because he can’t sleep and goes out into the _________ sun.
7. He’d dome back late, and worn out and pretty near cross for one so_________.
8. She got _______ looking.
9. They got long, each foot gor longer, _________.
10. The nose was just a______of flesh with _________holes.
11. The man looked round at us and yelled out loud, and _______the branch it held.
12. I was last, because love ________ the anger and the fear in me.

3
2. NOISES THAT ANIMALS MAKE. Match the nouns in the first column with the appropriate
verbs in the second:

LIONS trumpet CHICKENS croak

WOLVES mew DONKEYS roar
DOGS bellow ELEPHANTS bleat
CATS squeak BULLS quack
MICE neigh HEN cackle
HORSES moo DUCKS gobble
SHEEP grunt PARROTS howl
COWS squawk TURKEYS bark
PIGS hoot OWLS hiss
SERPENTS mew FROGS cluck

3. NOISES AND GESTURES OF ANIMALS AND PEOPLE ALIKE. Choose the right word:

1. When he grazed his knee, the small child began to_______ in pain.
A. howl B. roar C. squeal D. screech
2. He was already________ with laughter when she finished telling the funny story.
A. yelp B. shriek C. whimper D. cackle
3. I told her to stop______ and start thinking about the future.
A. squeak B. whine C. whinny D. mew
4. He immediately ______down his food, although it was very hot.
A. munch B. gobble C. peck D. gurgle
5. The cat ______up the milk in the bowl I had put on the floor.
A. lick B. slurp C. suck D. lap
6. Although she was ______with effort, she managed to push the heavy cart.
A. grunt B. grumble C. groan D. moan
7. From behind the field, the coach kept _______orders at his team.
A. whimper B. growl C. bark D. snarl
8. The pupils ______when the teacher announced that they were going to have a test.
A. bellow B. grunt C. howl D. groan
9. You shall do as I say! I don’t want to hear a _______out of you!
A. screech B. wail C. peep D. boo
10. She’s lost her appetite. Ever since she came back from holiday, she’s been _______at her food.
A. cluck B. peck C. nibble D. nip
11. The angry employees were________ for better working conditions.
A. wail B. bellow C. bawl D. howl
12. The children started jumping and ________ with delight when they heard they were going to the
amusement park.
A. squeal B. chirp C. squeak D. whine

4
4*. SYNONYMY: GRIN. Translate into English by using the synonyms below:
grin, smile, leer, simper, sneer, smirk, grimace, beam

1. M-am săturat de rânjetele libidinoase pe care i le tot aruncă bătrânul din casa vecină fiicei mele. Cred că am
să am o discuţie cu el în curând.
2. Se strâmbă de câte ori se vede în oglindă.
3. Ai văzut cum strălucea de fericire mama lui Paul în ziua în care fiul ei a câştigat cursa de 100 de metri?
4. Nu înţeleg de ce trebuie să zâmbeşti tot timpul prosteşte! Ar trebui să te supraveghezi.
5. Abia m-am abţinut să nu zâmbesc cu răutate când s-a împiedicat şi-a căzut. Aşa îi trebuie, dacă le tot pune
piedică altora!
6. Cred că îl durea piciorul rănit. Avea faţă strâmbată de durere.
7. Tot timpul îmi zâmbeşte batjocoritor. Nu cred că mai suport.
8. Fiica lor nu e decât o fetiţă prostuţă şi enervantă.
9. Mi-a zâmbit larg atunci când am felicitat-o pentru premiu.
10. Şterge-ţi rânjetul ăla de pe faţă!
11. Nici până în ziua de azi nu îmi dau seama de ce în seara aceea Paul a zâmbit tot timpul cu gura până la
urechi. Crezi că era beat sau îşi bătea joc de noi?
12. Cred că ne-a jucat din nou o farsă. Avea un zâmbet pişicher pe faţă când a plecat.
13. I-a rânjit dispreţuitor şi a întrebat-o dacă toate hainele ei sunt cumpărate la mâna a doua.

5*. POLYSEMY: STRETCH. Translate into Romanian:

1. Pisica sări de pe pat, strănută şi se întinse.

2. Dacă vrei să te odihneşti, trebuie să te relaxezi pe perioade de timp mai mari.
3. Cred că pot să te ajut să găseşti nişte pantofi care să se facă mai mari.
4. Vreau să-mi cumpăr o fustă dintr-un material care se întinde.
5. Cred că ar trebui să faci mai multe exerciţii de gramatică care să te facă să-ţi pui capul la contribuţie.
6. Nu e nici pe departe atât de viclean pe cât îţi închipui.
7. În faţa noastră se întindea o frumoasă livadă cu vişini.
8. Nu s-a maturizat deloc. Şi până în ziua de azi nu vrea mai mult de la viaţă decât o pereche de blugi colanţi
de la Levi’s.
9. Părinţii mei sunt şi ei destul de strâmtoraţi acum, aşa că nu au cu ce să vă ajute.
10. Haide să facem o plimbare ca să ne mai dezmorţim şi noi picioarele!
11. Toate aceste activităţi au durat mai bine de treizeci de ani.
12. Sunt obosită. Nu vreau decât să mă întind pe canapea şi să aţipesc.
13. Ştiu că ai scris câteva cărţi bune până acum, dar ar fi o exagerare să spui că eşti unul dintre cei mai
cunoscuţi autori din ţară.
14. Nu cred că pot să mă întind ca să ajung să iau vasul acela de pe raft.
15. Fratele meu îmi pune deja răbdarea la încercare. Toate au o limită!

6. IDIOMS: BLOOD. Fill in the blanks with the suitable idiom/word:

be after one’s blood, bloodshed, make sb’s blood run cold, run in sb’s blood, sb’s blood on your hands, draw
blood, hot-blooded, make sb’s blood boil, blood is thicker than water, blood money, bad blood, in a pool of
blood, in cold blood, like getting blood out of a stone, sb’s blood is up, one’s own flesh and blood

Although everyone had tried to make him understand that ___________, Evan had begun to hate his
brother Tom. They were both in love with the same woman, but she was in love with Tom, and Evan knew that
making her stop loving his brother would be_____________ . Every time he saw the two of them together, it
___________. One night, Evan and Tom had a fight and Evan swore that if his brother was going to marry the
woman they both loved, he would ____________. Everyone who was there tried to make him calm down, but his
_________ and he wouldn’t listen. Tom got very upset about it, since he knew his brother was _________. He told
everyone that violence ___________ in his brother’s ________ and that, once Evan had got it into his head to hurt
him, he would keep his word. The following night, Tom’s dead body was found lying __________. The sight of it
was enough to ________everyone’s ____________. Since they all knew that there was___________ between Tom
and Evan, they assumed that Tom had been killed by his brother. Evan was arrested in the morning, but he kept
saying that although he had __________ his brother’s_______ a few days before, he had understood that he would
never be able to really hurt __________________. No one listened and even his own mother believed that Evan had
Tom’s ________. However, that very day the police apprehended a stranger who confessed that he had murdered
several people _________ .He said that Tom’s brother was among them and that he had been paid _________ by
someone who wanted Tom dead. It later turned out that someone else was responsible for Tom’s death and Evan
was released, but he left the town, saying that he couldn’t bear to live in a place where people thought him capable
of __________.

C
GRAMMAR: THE USES OF PAST SIMPLE AND PAST CONTINUOUS

If you take a look at the examples below, you will notice that not all of them are made up of past tense forms with a
narrative value, as we would expect. Since the examples are taken from the text above, which is practically a
narration, our main guess would be that the author employs past tenses to tell her story. And yet, compare the last
two examples with, say, example (2). While examples (3) and (4) contain a succession of events expressed by means
of past tense structures, the temporal forms in (2) are not meant to express sequence, but to describe repetition in the
past:

(1) When I first met him he was still living with his mother.
(2) He didn’t take things hard, he didn’t grouch and whine when things didn’t go his way.
(3) But he went down when he thought I wasn’t noticing, and washed and washed himself.
(4) We drew back and back from it, and turned and ran, back up into the hills

In fact, this is the main semantic distinction that characterizes Simple Past in English: while this tense normally
expresses a past action at a past moment (defined by a definite past adverbial), like in (5), or a narrative sequence,
like in (3) and (4), it can equally convey the idea of past habit, like in (2) or (6):

(5) She went home (at 5).

(6) She often went home.

Narrative Past Habitual Past

Bill struck his baby brother Bill often struck his baby brother
and got punished for it. and got punished for it.

Of these two main values of Simple Past, the more basic is the ‘narrative’ one, simply because with the ‘habit’ value
a frequency adverbial is necessary (when the verb is eventive). Only when the verb is expressed by a state can one
do without a frequency adverbial. Compare the examples below. The sentence under (7) expresses a past action (no
definite time adverbial is necessary for this meaning to be clear, as is demonstrated by placing this adverbial
between brackets). The sentence under (8) is made up of a state verb, which conveys a meaning of generality to this
sentence. The sentence under (9) expresses a repeated past action only when the frequency adverbial is present:

(7) He struck his baby brother (on Monday).

(8) He was a bad brother. (= He had the general property of being a bad brother.)
(9) He often struck his baby brother.

The fact that Simple Past can also express past repetition/habit poses problems for Romanian learners of English.
They tend to associate this meaning with Past Continuous.

Nota bene!
Past Continuous is very infrequently used with a habitual meaning!
Due to the fact that in Romanian, the Imperfect expresses both an action unfurling at a moment in the past (Maria
mânca un măr) and past habit (Maria cânta la vioară şi ştia să cânte şi la pian), Romanian students have the
impression that this situation is valid for the English Past Continuous as well. Things could never be further from the
truth.

TIPS FOR TRANSLATION:

The Romanian Imperfect is not equivalent with Past Continuous:

Maria mânca un măr. = Mary was eating an apple.
Maria cânta la vioară şi ştia să cânte şi la pian. = Mary played the violin
and could play the piano, too.

Exercise*: Translate the following into English, paying attention to the table above:
În port, corăbii nu mai soseau; oraşul devenise foarte avar, pungile rămâneau înnodate de mai multe ori la
gură, iar noi, dimpotrivă, cu gurile căscate, murind de foame, vânzând ca să mâncăm, şi mai cu seamă ca să plătim;
ne mergea rău, pentru că la fiecare raită ne descopereau, pentru fiecare copilărie ne făceau o mie de mizerii şi nu era
picaro care să nu se fi dat la noi, unul pentru că era don Cutare, altul în numele lui don Cutarică… Nevastă-mea
umbla înfricoşata şi foarte plictisită de atâta socreală, pentru că, învăţată veşnic să aibă toata libertatea din partea
mea, se vedea acum robită, nemaifiind stăpână pe viaţa ei; dacă una vorbea, cealaltă urla, din fiecare ţânţar făceau un
armăsar, şi iscau atâta tărăboi, încât, ca să nu iau partea nici uneia, îmi luam pelerina, de cum vedeam că se apropie
furtuna, şi ieşeam de-a fuga în stradă, lăsându-le să se păruiască în voie.
Pe nevastă-mea o necăjea grozav faptul că nu-i luam partea, părându-i-se că, pe drept sau pe nedrept, trebuia
să ţinem întotdeauna cu ai noştri şi că de avea sau n-avea dreptate, datoria mea era să fiu împotriva mamei, cu toate
că nu s-ar fi cuvenit. Ajunse să mă urască, şi să nu mă mai poata vedea în ochi pâna într-atâta, încât, găsind prilejul
în persoana unui anume capitan de galeră în Neapole, ancorată în port, schimbă dragostea mea pe a lui şi, adunând
toţi banii şi toate giuvaerurile din aur şi argint pe care le aveam, înălţă pânzele şi fugi în Italia, fără ca de atunci să
mai am vreo ştire despre ea. Auzisem spunându-se că era cu adevărat nebun cel care umbla să-şi caute nevasta odată
ce-l lasase, şi că soţul trebuia să întindă punte de argint pe unde să-i fugă duşmanul din casă. Socoteam că-mi va
merge bine singur, decât într-o tovărăşie proastă, căci deşi era adevărat că eu singur îi îngăduisem câte toate, trăind
din asta, începusem să nu mai pot răbda să ma ţină oricine de rău. Era puterea viciului, care m-a facut totdeauna
supus tuturor josniciilor; şi fiind obişnuit să rabd afronturi încă de copil şi de tânăr, cu atât mai mult mi se pareau
uşor de îndurat fiind om în toată firea. Nevastă-mea plecând, îmi făcu un serviciu, pentru că, nemaifiind silit s-o
rabd, mă eliberam de păcatele zilnice; n-o alungasem eu, plecase de bunăvoie, iar să o urmez era cu neputinţă,
pentru că multe mi s-ar fi putut întâmpla dacă m-aş fi întors în Italia. Rămăsei aşadar cu maică-mea, şi începurăm să
vindem mobilele care ne mai rămăseseră ca să avem ce mânca; dar cum ne mai rămăseseră mai multe zile decât
mobile, nu după multa vreme nevoia începu să ne dea pinteni. (Mateo Aleman – Viaţa lui Guzman de Alfarache)

Apart from this important distinction that should be acknowledged about the values of Simple Past, there are other
tinges of meaning we would like to focus on. The table below attempts to offer a brief revision of the various uses of
Past Simple and Continuous. We have placed these tenses in opposition, just as we have done in the case of Present
Simple and Continuous (see Unit One, Section Two, C, for a reminder). As you will notice, the simple values
parallel the continuous ones. More often than not, a difference in meaning is imposed by the aspectual dimension of
these forms, rather than by the temporal sense embedded in them. Our table is by no means exhaustive but has the
merit of enabling the student to memorize the basic differences of these tenses more easily:

PAST SIMPLE PAST CONTINUOUS

 Past event at a definite point  Temporary use of past
(main value) continuous (main value)

E.g. Bill went to the opera E.g. Bill was listening to Pavarotti (at
(yesterday). that point).

 Future value (only in time  Future value (personal

and condition adverbial arrangement)
clauses)
 E.g. Bill explained to her that he E.g. They were meeting at five in
would give her the money as soon front of the Opera House.
as she arrived.

 Habitual (obligatorily  Emotional present continuous

combined with a frequency (used instead of a past simple
adverbial or a context that structure for stylistic reasons – to
disambiguates this meaning) show emotion in the tone of the
speaker)
E.g. Whenever they met, they E.g. He was always bringing her
quarreled. He often cursed his presents! He was always saying the
friend. wrong thing!

 Narrative past (a sequence of  Frame past continuous (goes

events in the past) hand in hand with Narrative past,
offering a setting for the past
actions)

E.g. Yesterday, as I was walking down the street,

I bumped into John. He saw me and
started telling me about his sick
mother. While he was talking to me,
I heard a noise behind. It was just a
barking dog.

 Attitudinal (polite) past  Attitudinal (polite) past

continuous (even more polite
than its ‘simple’ counterpart)
E.g. I hoped you’d give me a hand E.g. I was wondering whether you
with this heavy suitcase. could help me.

EXERCISES:
1. Translate into English:
a) Am dat drumul la geamantane lângă perete şi m-am uitat în pământ. Unde eram? Parcă mai intrasem o dată în
odaia asta. Nu, nu acum patru zile, ci mult mai demult, dar nu ştiam precis cu ce ocazie, şi m-am aşezat în pat şi mi-
am luat capul în mâini să-mi aduc aminte. Înainte însă i-am aruncat ei o privire, să văd dacă îmi dă ea mai uşor cheia
întrebării. Dimpotrivă, ea era ultima de la care puteam afla ceva în acest sens şi atunci m-am întins cu faţa în sus şi
mi-am pus braţele peste ochi. Bună metodă folosea doamna Sorana, fiindcă n-a trecut mult şi am încept să văd în
întunericul de sub pleoape. Eram în munţi, de Crăciun, cu inginerul Dam şi cu puştiul lui, un băiat de vreo
paisprezece ani, toţi trei pe schiuri, eu învăţam. În faţa noastră se întindea lunga vale, plină de zăpadă, dar mărginită
şi de brazi şi inginerul îmi spunea:”Fii atent, Căline, că n-ai multe posibilităţi, treci întâi pe-o pârtie mică şi învaţă
întâi să cazi, fiindcă dacă îţi dai drumul aiurea pe pârtia cea mare, poţi să-ţi rupi gâtul.” (Marin Preda – Marele
singuratic)
b) Un om care moare, nu moare într-un teritoriu al morţii, adică să plece dintre noi într-o lume de coşmar şi acolo să
se chinuie şi să-şi dea duhul. El moare între noi, pe soare sau într-o încăpere în care mai sunt şi alţii, şi care se uită în
acest timp la el cu ochi vii. E adevărat că se strâmbă sau dă ochii peste cap, înainte de a scoate un ţipăt final… dar
poate, ochii, sa-i ţină şi imobili, şi îngrozit de simţirea lui să nu facă nici o mişcare, paralizat de suflul cel rece…
Un astfel de om văzu Simina când intră în încăperea bufetului, în care petreceau de obicei oamenii lui
Niculae. Fumul de ţigări era gros şi nu putu, din primele clipe, să-şi dea seama unde era şi dacă era acolo prietenul
ei. Era o linişte stoarsă, ca printre naufragiaţi… Cei aşezaţi pe scaune la mese se uitau la chipul acelui om care, prin
ochii săi holbaţi, suporta cu o spaimă liniştita o povară: ducea în spinare un om care încălicase pe el şi îl călărea de
colo până colo prin încăpere. Vedeţi, spunea privirea lui înfricoşată, nimeni nu e stăpân pe propria lui soartă, iar eu
sunt omul care sunt aşa cum gândiţi voi despre mine că sunt… Şi fac ceea ce gândiţi că trebuie să fac…
Simina rămase nemişcată la intrare. Niculae stătea la masă singur, cu un pahar mic in faţă, chiar lângă
tejghea, jumătate întors cu spatele la uşă şi la ceea ce se petrecea în încăpere. Şi n-o văzu imediat în acele clipe. Dar
apoi se intoarse de tot si se uita si el, ca si ceilalti, mut, la spectacolul care se petrecea sub ochii lui. Cel călărit era
domnul Anghel. Venise să-i ceară socoteală lui Damian Ghoerghe. Intrase în bufet şi i se adresase cu o blândeţe
parca ireală:
- De ce, bă, mi-ai violat nevasta?
Se vedea, pentru cine îl cunoştea bine, că el nu mai putea de-aici înainte, până la sfârşitul zilelor sale, să
creadă că fapta nu avusese loc, când din nimic tăiase liliacul din spatele casei. Dar acum? Cine mai putea să-l
asigure că fapta nu se comisese? Şi mai ales cine ar putea să-i spună în faţă, dacă s-a comis, că s-a comis? Ai fi zis,
după expresia teribilă din privirea lui bulbucată, că întrebarea va fi însoţită de o săritură de fiară întărâtată. Dar nu se
întâmplă nimic. Catastrofa se pare că îl lăsase pe domnul Anghel incredul, şi el nu venise, după cum se parea, aici,
să-i ceară socoteală, ci mântuire, sa-i spună adică Damian Gheorghe el singur cu gura lui că nimic nu s-a întâmplat,
că a stat toata după-amiaza aici la bufet, cu martori, uite, să spună şi ei, sunt aici de faţă… Nu e aşa, Stane, nu e aşa,
Vasile? Uite, bufetiera, tovaraşa Mimi, care nu minte niciodată şi nu ţine cu nimeni, femeie cu carte, a fost
funcţionara la birouri, dar a făcut, târziu, un copil cu electricianul ei şi s-a trecut la bufet, unde câştigă mai bine. Să
spună ea, n-a stat el, Damian Gheorghe, tot timpul, cum stă acuma cu cumnată-sau, barcagiul, la masa aceea şi au
băut bere?!
Damian Gheorghe însă tăcea şi se uita la el cu o expresie de stupoare pe chipul său cu nasul lung ca o sabie, “Ce
vrea ăsta de la mine?” parcă spunea. Şi apoi îl întrebă:
- Ce vreai, bă, de la mine?
- De ce mi-ai violat nevasta? repetă domnul Anghel.
Întrebări, răspunsuri… Cine i-o fi învăţat pe oameni să le pună, să le dea?….Să nu-l omori pe ăsta? Damian
Gheorghe părea totuşi de astă dată îngăduitor. Se ridică de la masă şi deodată îi sări domnului Anghel în spinare.
Dar nu-i făcu nimic. Începu să hăuleasca: ha,ha! Şi să-i dea domnului Anghel, care era voinic, pinteni. Apoi Damian
Gheorghe se linişti. Dar nu se dădu jos de pe şalele gelosului, a cărui privire, între timp, se bulbucase.
Niculae se ridică, îi ocoli pe cei doi cum ai ocoli un copac, şi o scoase pe Simina afară.
- Ce drăguţă eşti tu, îi spuse, nu mă aşteptam să mă cauţi, taman mă pregăteam să viu eu după tine…
- De ce îl lăsaţi? zise ea indignată.
- N-are rost să te amesteci în distracţiile lor, răspunse Niculae patern, ca şi când cei pe care îi lăsase la bufet ar fi
fost fiii săi, care se distrau în felul acela cam brutal.
- Asta numeşti tu distracţie?
- Asta da, de obicei Damian Gheorghe apucă omul de fălci, îi deschide gura ca la cai, şi dacă nu e prin preajmă
un perete, atunci spre un copac îl împinge şi îi zdrăngăne de el tărtăcuţa….
- S-ar părea că şi pe tine te distrează un astfel de spectacol. (Marin Preda – Intrusul)
c)* - Da-ncotro, frate Sisoe? întrebă Habacuc.
Dar Sisoe îşi luase toiagul la subsoară şi se îndepărta grăbit, fără să mai privească îndărăt.
După plecarea lui Sisoe, cei doi tovarăşi rămaşi pe loc începură să dea semne de nelinişte.Trăgeau cu urechea,
ridicau mereu capul şi se uitau împrejur, fără pricină.
În jurul lor era însă linişte şi pace.(…) Pe cărarea din cealaltă margine, trecură mai târziu şase căţei îmbrăcaţi în
catifele, trăgând după ei un cărucior de argint, în care dormea un înger sugaci, cu pumnişorii la gură. Şi de sub
tufişurile din stânga, ieşiră o clipă la iveală, în soare, două pisici verzi, poleite cu aur.
Dar sfinţii erau obişnuiţi cu asemenea arătări paradisiace, într-un loc singuratic ca acela.
- Oare ce s-o fi întâmplat? întrebă Pafnutie, în sfârşit, ridicându-se deodată în picioare.
Zărise printr-o spărtură de frunziş pe sfinţii Mochie şi Farnachie trecând în goană, unul după altul, cu pletele în
vânt. Habacuc se ridică de asemenea, şi privi în urma lor. Din partea cealaltă răsări şi sfântul Pafnutie cel gros, dând
din mâini şi strigând către ei de departe:
- Auzit-aţi vestea, fraţilor?…Sisoe se pogoară pe pământ!
Cei doi rămaseră cu gurile căscate:
- Cine şi-a spus? De unde ştii?
- Tot raiul ştie şi vorbeşte, gâfâi Pafnutie.
- Nu se poate.
- Ba, încă, se poate…Că s-a înfăţişat înaintea Domnului Dumnezeu şi atât s-a rugat că s-a înduplecat Cel
preamilostiv şi i-a dat slobozenie să se pogoare între oameni…ba cică i-ar fi dat şi putere să facă minuni pe
pământ! urmă Pintilie privindu-i speriat.
- Mare-i minunea Ta, Doamne! Cuvântă pe gânduri Pafnutie.
- Iacă, pun rămăşag cu oricine că numai pozne o să facă, adăuga iute Habacuc.
- Încalte, să-i fi dat pe cineva dintre noi să-l călăuzească, vorbi încet Pafnutie, dând la iveala dintele întreg. Că pe
pământ sunt multe răutăţi şi ispite…
- Sunt mai întâi felurite mâncări grase, care de care mai sărată şi mai piperată, zise Habacuc, lingându-şi buzele.
- Toate cu carne! întări Pafnutie scârbit.
- Este şi rachiu, adăugă Habacuc, privindu-i ţintă.
Şi ceilalţi doi înghiţiră în sec fără voie, ca şi cum ar fi simţit aidoma în fundul gâtlejului arsura băuturii blestemate.
- Sunt şi muieri de cele vii…gemu Pintilie cel roşcovan, cu dinţii strânşi, uitându-se crunt la un vârf de buruiană din
faţa lui. Şi câteştrei se cutremurară la auzul acelui cuvânt de ruşine şi se uitară unul la altul spăimântaţi. (George
Topârceanu – Minunile Sfântului Sisoe)

2. Fill in with the correct verb forms:

a) Bill (insist) on (show) the writer the first chapter of the novel he recently (begin). Lesser (ask) him not to just yet,
but Bill (say) it (help) him. (Know) if he (start) off right. He (say) this (be) a brand-new book, although there (be)
some scenes from the other novel, brought from Mississippi to Harlem, where most of the action (take) place. Bill
(ask) Lesser (read) the chapter in his presence. He (sit) in Harry’s armchair wiping his glasses and (look) at a
newspaper, as the writer, chain-smoking, and (read) on the sofa. Once Harry (glance) up and (see) Bill sweating,
profusely. He (read) quickly, thinking he (lie) if he didn’t like the chapter.
But he (not have to). The novel tentatively called The Book of the Black, (begin) in Herbert Smith’s childhood. He
(be) about five in the opening scene, and nine at the end of the chapter; but in truth he (be) an old man. In the opening
scene, one day the boy (drift) out of his neighbourhood and (cannot) find his way home. Nobody (speak) to him except
an old white woman who (see) him through her groundfloor window, sitting on the ker.
“Who (be) you, little boy? What (be) your name?”
The boy (will) not say.
In the afternoon this old smelling white woman (come out) of the house and (take) the boy by the hand to the
police station.
b) I might have languished alone for the rest of the week, if Elsie (not find out) where I (be) and started visiting me.
My mother (cannot come) till the weekend, I knew that, because she (wait ) for the plumber to check her fittings.
a) I was lying in bed one night, (think) about the glory of the Lord, when it (strike) me that people (fight) for too
long. A new and wonderful miracle (have to) happen soon, or else we were doomed.
b) Mary asked me if I (want) to stay overnight because her mother (leave) and she didn’t like (be) on her own. I
answered I (ring) my parents to ask for permission.
c) I remembered something I (see) Mrs. White do on that occasion. I remembered (see) her flip through a book,
then (put) it back on the shelf. Then I (hope) she (not see) me.
d) When I (look) out over the town , nothing (change): every place I (knew), every street I (walk) on was still
there. People (go) about their business as always.
e) When I finally went home that day, my mother (watch) television. She never (speak) of what (happen) and I
(not remind) her, either.
f) It was morning when Bill (creep) home. He had a plan to go straight up to school, hoping no one (notice) him
coming and going that way. But his plan (go) wrong because his elder sister (spy) on him for several weeks and
was determined (find out) what he (do) lately.
g) When she (reenter) the room, the men (gather) around a small radio, (listen) to a news broadcast. It was the first
time she (see) any of them in casual clothing: they seemed (shed) all formality.
h) The men invited her to play cards. They (play) with great seriousness. Through the first few hands, Joanna
(lose) steadily. But as she began to remember more about the game, her luck (change). Soon she (win)
consistently.
i) The men (arrange) the chairs, (make) a place for her at the card table. She (not play) poker since college. For a
brief period of time it (be) the fashion in her class and she was sure she (remember) the game in no time.
j) He promised her he (come) back as soon as he (find) what he (look for) since that tragedy. But she had
problems (believe) him.
m) Sir Perceval (be) in the woods for many days now. His armour is dull, his horse tired. The last food he (eat) was
a bowl of milk, given to him by a woman. Other knights (be) this way, he can see their tracks and their despair. His
only hope is he (find) the treasure before them.

D.
WRITING
1. POINT OF VIEW: Rewrite the story in the text from the husband’s point of view.
2. USE NEW WORDS: Write a short text of your own using the following phrases/words: blood brother, to sweat
blood, drop of blood, blood lust, red-blooded, blue-blooded, bloodcurdling, bloody, blood thirsty.