Robert Louis Stevenson’s 160th Birthday
Stevenson’s characters often prefer unknown hazards to everyday life of the Victorian society.
Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson was born in Edinburgh. He was the only son of Thomas Stevenson, a prosperous joint-engineer to the Board of Northern Lighthouses, and Margaret Balfour, daughter of a Scottish clergyman. Thomas Stevenson invented, among others, the marine dynamometer, which measures the force of waves. Thomas’s grandfather was Britain’s greatest builder of lighthouses.Stevenson was largely raised by his nanny, Alison Cunningham, whom he devoted A CHILD’S GARDEN OF VERSES (1885). Cunningham had strong Calvinist convictions and praying became part of Stevenson’s early life, and later reflected in such pieces like the poem ‘A Thought’: “It is very nice to think / The world is full of meat and drink, / With little children saying grace / In every Christian kind of place.”
Since his childhood, Stevenson suffered from tuberculosis. During his early years, he spent much of his time in bed, composing stories before he had learned to read. At the age of sixteen, he produced a short historical tale.
As an adult, there were times when Stevenson could not wear a jacket for fear of bringing on a haemorrhage of the lung. In 1867, he entered Edinburgh University to study engineering. Due to his ill health, he had to abandon his plans to follow in his father’s footsteps. Stevenson changed to law and in 1875 he was called to the Scottish bar. By then he had already started to write travel sketches, essays, and short stories for magazines. His first articles were published in The Edinburgh University Magazine (1871) and The Portofolio (1873).
In a attempt to improve his health, Stevenson travelled on the Continent and in the Scottish Highland. These trips provided him with many insights and inspiration for his writing, although sometimes could take a long time before Stevenson edited for publication his notes and sketches.Stevenson‘s tone in his travelogues is often jovial or satirical. However, constant voyaging was not always easy for him. In a letter, written on his journey across the Atlantic in 1879, he complained: “I have a strange, rather horrible, sense of the sea before me, and can see no further into future. I can say honestly I have at this moment neither a regret, a hope, a fear or an inclination; except a mild one for a bottle of good wine which I resist”.
Due to his poor health, Stevenson spent much time in warmer countries.Stevenson‘s own early favorite books, which influenced his imagination and thinking, included Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Dumas’s adventure tale of the elderly D’Artagan, Vicomte de Bragelone, and Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, “a book which tumbled the world upside down for me, blew into space a thousand cobwebs of genteel and ethical illusion, and having thus shaken my tabernacle of lies, set me back again upon a strong foundation of all the original and manly virtues.” (from Reading in Bed, ed. by Steven Gilbar, 1995) Also Montaigne’s Essais and the Gospel according to St. Matthew were very important for him.
MUSIC
by Lyudmila Bali
Music... I can hardly find a single person who would ignore music. Through all the time, music has been an important part of every person’s life. The influence of music is just great. Do you ever think about what effect music has on your life? When you listen to the radio, your mood can be changed just by the song that comes on.
People listen to music, have their own music equipment home, lots of people play musical instruments, go to the concerts to listen to music. Yes, music is very important.
Different people like different kinds of music: classic, jazz, rock, opera, pop music... Some people like old songs. So do I. When you hear an old song, you always remember where you were when you heard that song for the first time in your life. Nothing pinpoints a moment in your life like music. It just brings everything back, as if you were there again. In my opinion the only really good songs were written between the mid-sixties and mid-seventies. I can never figure out if that’s because those years were really so much better or because I felt everything so strongly then.
Now I’d like to say some words about the music that has become very popular lately - Christian music. The number of people who love Christian music has greatly increased lately. The reason they love Christian music is because it can sound great and be so godly at the same time. It is about God’s love for us. Newer bands have been gaining recognition (and platinum records), which has led to a better ability to produce quality music. People accept contemporary Christian music, the message it sends trying to be a shining light in a world of darkness. There is a big group of people who wouldn’t agree that this kind of music is great. That’s because they have a bad image of Christian music, which really sounds great. Just call to mind the “Jesus Christ - Super Star.” Isn’t it great? Mainly, the goal of this music is to show people who God is and why Christians love and believe Him. Musicians who create this music want to show us what they care about - our lives, our art, our music; they want to give us the best music possible and the best lyrics possible. They want to challenge our minds, to let us see that there is an alternative to a nihilistic lifestyle.
Listen to “Jars of Clay” if you have a chance to. I hope you will love this music too. Just try.
Ex.1. Answer the questions and discuss the subject.
1. Do you like music, or are you a person who would ignore it?
2. What kind of music do you prefer? Does it depend on your mood?
3. When do you listen to music? Can you listen to music and do your home assignment simultaneously?
4. Do you prefer to listen to music with your friends or alone?
5. Do you play any musical instrument?
6. You go to the concerts to listen to music, don’t you?
7. What kind of music do your parents prefer?
8. Do you discuss music issues with your parents, friends, and teachers?
9. By the way, do you listen to music at your lessons at school?
10. Has Christian music become popular in your country?
11. What is your attitude to this kind of music?
12. What musical show is the most popular in your city (town, village)?
Ex.2.Read the passage and fill in the missing verbs. Use the past tense.
MADONNA
One of the most successful entertainers today is Madonna. She is one of the world’s top pop singers and has sold millions of records.
Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone was born into a large family in Michigan, USA, in 1958.
Even a child, she 1)... many talents. At the age of 8, she 2)... in a friend’s homemade film. She also appeared in high school plays and gradually 3)... interested in dancing. After graduation, she went to the University of Michigan for a while.
Shortly after that, she left for New York and 4) ... with only $35 in her pocket. She 5)... with dance groups for some time and then began to get interested in pop-music. She 6)... to play the guitar and write songs. She began to develop her own musical style, mixing the sounds and rhythms of rock’n’roll, pop, and dance music.
Then, in 1983, she 7)... a record of her own. It was called “Madonna.”
The first album attracted the attention of disk jockeys and dance clubs. In 1984, it was known across the USA. She quickly became recognized as one of the top talents in popular music. More successful records 8)..., as well as national and world tours.
Young people round the world 9)... her songs, like “Vogue” and “Like a Virgin” and they 10)... millions of copies. Since then, Madonna has continued to record successful hit songs and videos, and she has also 11)... in several movies. One of her best movies was “Evita,” based on a real story. This story was much more exciting with Madonna starring.
Her daughter, Lourdes, 12)… late in 1996, just as Evita 13)… for release. The movie was greeted with generally positive reviews and Madonna 14) … a campaign for an Oscar nomination that resulted in her winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress (Musical or Comedy), but not the coveted Academy Award nomination. The soundtrack for Evita, however, was a modest hit, with a dance remix of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and the newly-written "You Must Love Me" both becoming hits.
But in spite of her starring in “Evita,” for many people she is still the Queen of Pop.
The verbs to use:
act
arrive
become
be born
buy
begin
follow
have
love
learn
produce
schedule
star
work
Purpose expressed by a Clause of Purpose
Clauses are necessary when the person to whom the purpose refers, is mentioned (usually when there are two different subjects)
- You will have to be careful with the tenses:
· When the main verb is in the present tense, present perfect or future:
so that + can, will
I light the house so that it will be warm
I study so that I can get better marks
- When the main verb is in the past, past perfect or conditional:
so that + could, would
I lit the house so that it would be warm.
I studied so that I could get better marks.
- For more formal constructions:
so that / in order that + may might
We carve our names on the stone so that / in order that future generations may know what we have done
- Negative purpose clause
She helps him study so that he won’t fail his exam.
He hid his diary so that his wife wouldn’t read it.
CLAUSES OF PURPOSE
Purpose can be expressed by an INFINITIVE or a CLAUSE OF PURPOSE.
1. Purpose is normally expressed by an INFINITIVE
He went to France to learn French.
They stopped to ask the way.
But, when there is a personal object of the main verb, the infinitive will refer to the indirect object and not to the subject.
He sent Tom to the post office to buy stamps (Tom will buy them, not he.)
SO AS TO / IN ORDER TO. We use these particles in the following situations:
• When there’s a personal object, but we want the infinitive to refer to the subject:
He sent Tom away in order to stay with her longer (he wanted to stay longer)
He sent his sons to a boarding school in order to have some peace (He wanted
to have some peace)
He sent his sons to a boarding school to learn to live in a community. (His
sons had to learn)
However, you can also say “He sent his sons to a boarding school because he wanted to have some peace” or “He sent Tom away because he wanted to stay with her longer.”
• With be and have:
She went home early in order to be there when he arrived.
He bought that car so as to have the best one in town
• With a negative infinitive to express a negative purpose:
He came in quietly so as not to / in order not to wake up the child.
• When the purpose is less immediate
He is studying Mathematics so as to / in order to qualify for a higher salary.
• To emphasise the fact that the subject has a very firm purpose in mind.
TO / IN ORDER TO ( but not so as to) can be used when the Infinitive of purpose precedes the main verb.
In order to show his courage, he fought against them
EMPHATIC STRUCTURES: CLEFT SENTENCES
from LONGMAN
Cleft means divided. In a cleft sentence, information which could be given in one clause is divided into two parts, each with its own verb. This way you give extra emphasis to part of the sentence.
It was Tom who didn’t want to come.
SENTENCE Mike took Sally to the party on Saturday.
EMPHASIS ON THE SUBJECT It was Mike who took Sally to the party on Saturday.
EMPHASIS ON THE OBJECT It was Sally that Mike took to the party on Saturday.
EMPHASIS ON THE ADVERBIAL It was on Saturday that Mike took Sally to the party.
EMPHASIS ON THE PREP. PHRASE It was to the party that Mike took Sally on Saturday.
EMPHASIS ON THE ACTION What Mike did was (to) take Sally to the party
In these sentences WHAT means THE THING(S) THAT. The WH-clause must contain a verb. To highlight the action we use a form of DO in the WH-clause. The highlighted phrase usually
contains a bare infinitive or TO + INF.
If the highlighted verb is in the continuous or perfect, the form of DO matches it.
The boys are taking Sandy to the match What the boys are doing is taking Sandy to the match.
The thing that I most disliked was the colour of her dress.
The only thing I won’t do is phone her again.
All you need is love.
WH- cleft sentences:
WH- Clause + BE + EMPHASISED WORD / PHRASE
It Cleft sentences:
IT + BE (+ NOT AND/OR ADVERB) + EMPHASISED WORD/PHRASE +THAT(WHO) CLAUSE
Nick turned up late for work on Monday because he got stuck in a traffic jam on the ring road. Luckily Nick has a mobile phone so he was able to phone his boss and warn her that he would be late. She was furious but managed to reschedule an important meeting for the afternoon.
1.Nick was late because he overslept, wasn’t he?
No, it ______________________________________________________ that he was late.
2.How on earth did Nick let the boss know he’d be late?
Well, what _______________________________________________ call her from his
mobile phone.
3.Wasn’t Nick late on Wednesday?
No, _________________________________________________ that he was late.
4. Nick’s boss had to start the meeting without him, didn’t she?
No, what she ______________________________________ the afternoon.
5. Didn’t Nick get stuck in a traffic jam in the town centre?
No, not in the town centre; it _____________________________________ got stuck.
6. I heard the boss was a little annoyed with Nick for being late.
No, she wasn’t “a little annoyed”. What ____________________________________!
2. FOR EACH OF THE SENTENCES BELOW, WRITE A NEW SENTENCE AS SIMILAR AS POSSIBLE IN MEANING TO THE ORIGINAL SENTENCE, BUT USING THE WORDS GIVEN IN BOLD.
1.We just need 5 minutes to fix it.
ALL________________________________________________________________________
2.I’m not questioning his dedication.
ISN’T_________________________________________________________________________
3.These men a re totally ruthless.
WHAT_________________________________________________________________________
4.We inherited everything except the house.
ONLY THING________________________________________________________________
5.You know the sales assistant told me exactly the same thing.
THAT’S_________________________________________________________________________
6.We’re taking the au-pair with us.
DOING_________________________________________________________________________
