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On marriage
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On marriage

Active vocabulary

1 to add

 

in addition to

приєднувати, добавляти;

на додаток, додатково

добавлять, присоединять;

вдобавок, в дополнение

2 credulous

gullible

легковірний, довірливий

легковерный, доверчивый

3 admiration

to admire

захоплення;

захоплюватися

восхищение, восторг;

восхищаться, любоваться

4 to prosper

процвітати

благоприятствовать, преуспевать; процветать

5 to bar to 

перегороджувати; перекривати

преграждать, закрывать

6 to look for perfection

шукати досконалості

искать совершенства

7 complementary

додатковий

дополнительный, добавочный

8 imperfect

невдосконалений

несовершенный, дефектный

9 to occur

 

it occurred to me

зустрічатися, мати місце; приходити на ум;

мені прийшло на розум

встречаться; случаться, происходить; приходить на ум;

мне пришло в голову

10 to blame (for something)

звинувачувати

порицать, считать виновным (за что-либо)

11 radiant

промінястий, сяючий

лучистый, сияющий

12 witty

дотепний

остроумный

13 to show of something off

хвалитися, похвалятися

рисоваться, щеголять, выставлять на показ

14 book-worm

книжковий черв’як

книжный червь

15 temperamental

вередливий

капризный; с норовом; темпераментный

16 reasonable

розумний, розсудливий

(благо)разумный, рассудительный

17 domineering

 

to domineer over somebody

деспотичний, власний;

помикати, командувати

деспотический, властный;

помыкать кем-то, командовать

18 to imply (by saying)

мати на увазі, натякати

подразумевать, намекать (говоря)

19 to be inclined

бути схильним

быть склонным

20 inconsistent

непослідовний, суперечливий

непоследовательный, противоречивый

ON MARRIAGE

by G. Mikes

Marriage is different from love. It is a good institution but I must add that a lot depends on the person you are married to.

There is no such thing as a good wife or a good husband – there is only a good wife to Mr. A. or a good husband to Mrs. B. If a credulous and gullible woman marries a pathological liar, they may live together happily to the end of their days – one telling lies, the other believing them. A man who cannot live without constant admiration should marry a "God, you are wonderful" type of woman. If he is unable to make up his mind, he is right in wedding a dictator. One dictator may prosper in a marriage: two are too many.

The way to matrimonial happiness is barred to no one. It is all a matter of choice. One should not look for perfection, one should look for the complementary half of a very imperfect other half.

If someone buys a refrigerator, it never occurs to him that it is a bad refrigerator because he cannot play gramo­phone records on it; nor does he blame his hat for not being suitable for use as a flower-vase. But many people who are very fond of their stomach marry their cook – and then blame her for being less radiantly intelligent and witty than George Sand. Or a man may be anxious to show off his wife's beauty and elegance, marry a mannequin and be surprised to discover in six months that she has no balanced views on the international situation. Another marries a girl only and exclusively because she is seventeen and is much surprised fifteen years later to find that she is not seventeen any more. Or again if you marry a female book-worm who knows all about the gold standard, Praxiteles and Kepler's laws of planetary motions, you must not blame her for being somewhat less beautiful and temperamental than Marilyn Monroe. And if ladies marry a title or a bank account, they must not blame their husbands for not being romantic heroes of the Errol Flynn type. You should know what you are buying. And as long as you do not play records on your refrigerator and do not put bunches of chrysanthemums into your hat, you have a reasonable chance of so-called happiness.

Notes

the gold standard — a monetary system based on gold alone;

a certain weight of gold is declared to constitute a certain coin

Praxiteles [pr?k'sit?li:z] — a great Greek sculptor of the 4th century B.C.

Kepler, Johannes (1571-1630) — German astronomer; formulated laws relative to the motions of planets, named Kepler's laws

Marilyn Monroe — a Hollywood film star known for her beauty

Errol Flynn ['er?l 'flin] — a Hollywood film star, very handsome, the type of a successful lover

Exercise 1. Say the same in Russian/ Ukrainian:

1. I must say that a lot depends on the person you are married to.

2. There is no such thing as a good wife or a good husband.

3. If a credulous person marries a pathological liar, they may live together happily to the end of their days.

4. The way to matrimonial happiness is bared to no one.

5. One should not look for perfection, one should look for the complementary half of a very imperfect other half.

6. A man may be anxious to show off his wife’s beauty and elegance.

7. It never occurs to him that it’s a bad refrigerator.

8. You have a reasonable chance of so-called happiness.

Exercise 2. Translate the following sentences:

1. Не существует в этой семье ни любви, ни дружбы.

2. «Кроткая теща – такого не бывает», – часто говорил он.

3. Ему и в голову не приходит, что он может ошибаться.

4. Ей и в голову не пришло, что она упустила такую редкую возможность (to miss the chance of a lifetime).

5. Он ни разу не подумал, что его обманывают.

6. Она была чрезвычайно поражена тем, что у нее есть шанс выиграть матч.

7. Она была разочарована, обнаружив, что гость уехал на заре.

8. Он любит рисоваться, не правда ли?

9. Она доверчива и легковерна. Ей и в голову не приходит, что ей лгут.

10. Ему следует винить себя за свой провал.

Exercise 3. Read the text again and then say whether the sentences given below are true or false according to the text. Use the following expressions: “In my opinion”, “I can’t agree with it”, “Nothing of the kind”, “Rubbish”, “It’s quite right”, “It goes without saying”, etc.

1. Marriage is similar to love.

2. There is no such thing as a good wife or a good husband.

3. People are usually happy in a marriage if one tells a lie and the other believes it.

4. There is no such thing as a happy and successful family, if there is only one dictator in it.

5. Some men marry their cook because they are big eaters.

6. If a man marries a mannequin, he is not surprised to discover some time later that his better half has no balanced views on the international situation.

7. If a woman marries a bank account, then later on she comes to blame her husband for not being romantic and generous.

Exercise 4. Answer the following questions:

1. What does a happy marriage largely depend on?

2. What sort of wife does a pathological liar need to make him happy?

3. What sort of woman should a man marry if he cannot live without constant admiration?

4. In what case would a man be right in marrying a domineering sort of woman?

5. What sort of husband (wife) does a dictator need to make him happy?

6. Why are two dictators too many in marriage?

7. What does the author imply by saying that the way to matrimonial happiness is barred to no one?

8. What principle should one be guided by in making his choice?

9. What facts show that people are inclined to be inconsistent in making their choice of a husband (or wife)?

10. In what cases must husbands not blame their better halves for qualities they lack?



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