Разговорные фразы. А О Иванов. Англ. разговорные формулы. (Восстановлен). Английские разговорные формулы допущено Государственным комитетом ссср по народному образованию в качестве учебного пособия для студентов педагогических институтов по специальности Иностранные языки москва
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Well, I never! ’n 1 • To express surprise at seeing someone unexpectedly we say: Look who’s here! Well, if it isn’t...! Describing our or other people’s surprise the following expressions can be used: You could have knocked me down with a feather.— colloquial It/That made me/him sit up. illustrative Examples — I’m studying Chinese now. Are you, really? They say it’s very difficult. — I can speak five languages. You can’t, can you? — I’m sorry, Dad, but there’s something wrong with the TV, the picture is only black and white. What? Just on the day of the match with the “Hotspurs”! — I haven’t seen him since we left school. So imagine my bumping into him on that train! Just fancy! — I met Joan yesterday. And vou know who with? Michael Tiller! You don’t say! — Do you know that Mr. Fox has been, appointed head of our department? Go on! He is not even an engineer! Well, I never! — Look who’s here! It’s Ted Miller! Hallo, Ted! Well, if it isn’t Marvin Lee! Very glad to see you! — When they said they wanted to get married I was so surprised, you could have knocked me down with a feather. — What did the boss say when you told him you wanted your holiday now and not in winter? You know, it made him sit up. Illustrative Dialogue Mrs. Wright has brought her husband’s suit to a dry cleaner’s (semi-formal) Receptionist: Just a moment, Madam! There’s something in the jacket pocket! Mrs. Wright: Really? Don’t bother. It’s probably an old bill. Receptionist: No, Madam. It’s a ten-pound note! Mrs. Wright: A ten-pound note! Heavens! What a surprise! Exercises Exercise !. Read the illustrative examples and the dialogue in parts, noting how differing degrees of surprise can be expressed more or less formally. Then learn the dialogue and reproduce it with another student in class. Exercise 2. Respond with surprise to the following statements filling in the blanks. Model: A.— He is a very important man now. B.— Just fancy! He was always bottom in every subject at school! A: Look who’s here! It’s Jitn Hopkins! B: ...! I thought you were somewhere in Africa, Jim! A: I hear they are going to spend their honeymoon on the Isle of Wight. B: ...! What an idea! A: We’ve just been talking about you! B: ...? Don’t you have other things to talk about? A: They say she’s going to marry again. B: ...? At her age? That will be a shock to her children! A: She asked me to tell you she is sorry but she can’t see you. В: ....I don’t believe you. She asked me to come here herself. A: President Bush is coming here on a visit next week. В: ...! You’re pulling my leg! A: Do you know who has been appointed head of our depart ment? Tom Atkins from Public Relations. B: ...? But he doesn’t know a thing about our work! A: I’ve been to China twice. В: ...? You’ve never told me about it. A: Do you know that Miss Grainger has written a novel which is rather popular now? B: ...? I never thought she had any talent! Exercise 3. Express surprise at the following: You bump into an old school friend, Jack Robins, whom you haven’t seen since your school days. Your school friend tells you about the people you both used to know, and you learn that your school teacher, Mr. Binns, has written a successful novel and has become a popular writer. You are walking along a street. Suddenly somebody touches your sleeve and says something. You are startled. You look up and see it is a nice-looking young man/girl. He/She is looking for Harrod’s department store. Your friends wish you a happy birthday and give you a nice birthday present (a book on English art). The friend with whom you’re sharing a flat tells you he/she has made up his/her mind to rent a flat all to himself/herself, as his/her parents have raised his/her allowance. You are unpleasantly surprised. Your mother tells you over the phone she sent you a money order last week. You have not received it yet. Your friend tells you she got a bad mark for her history exam. You think she is joking. You are working for an export-import company. Your boss calls you into his office and tells you he has decided to give you a big pay rise. You’ve been trying to book tickets for a concert by a famous pop group, but in vain. Your friend rings you up and tells you he has managed to get two tickets for tomorrow. You are pleasantly surprised. An English tourist, Mr. Brown, tells you that when he first met you he could hardly tell you weren’t English, as you spoke so fluently. Exercise 4. Choose a situation from those suggested in Exercise 3 for a dialogue with another student. Regret Regret can be expressed as follows: I wish l/we had/hadn’t... If only 1 had/hadn’t... It’s a pity 1 didn’t... emphatic I wish I could... It’s a pity I/we can’t... Regret about other people having things or qualities you don’t can be expressed in the following ways: Some people have all the luck. You were born lucky. I wish I/we had...(-(- a noun) eg I wish we had a Rolls like the Pratts. I wish I/we could... eg I wish we could afford a new car. You lucky thing/beggar! — informal. Beggar is more informal than thing. The most usual response to regret is either reassurance and. consolation (see next chapter) or agreement (see Chapter 21). Illustrative Examples — John has a temperature and a sore throat. I wish I hadn’t allowed him that ice-cream yesterday. — Did you see “The Day After” on TV yesterday? It was very interesting. Was it? I wish I hadn’t switched the TV off right after the news. * — Did you have a good time yesterday? Oh yes! It’s a pity you didn’t come. — You know, Mary is in a very bad way after the operation. Poor thing! I wish I could do something for her. — It’s a pity we can’t play tennis today because of the rain. Oh yes, I wish it would clear up. Then we could play in the afternoon. — I wish we had a colour TV. I wonder if we’ll ever have one. Don’t get upset. We’ll get one on hire-purchase as soon as we’ve paid for the fridge and the washing machine. — I wish I had your brains! You’re so good at crossword puzzles! Oh, you’re no fool yourself. You just need some practice. — I wish I had been more polite to her! If only I had known she was your mother! All right! What’s done can’t be undone. We’ll try to make it up to her somehow. — I wish I had more pocket money. What you’re giving me is laughable. Is it? We’re giving you what we can. If you want more, you can work during your summer holidays. Illustrative Dialogue A TV reporter in England is interviewing young people about their views on education Reporter: Some people say they remember their school days as the happiest time of their lives. What do YOU think about school and education in general? A youth (of 18): I think something is wrong with the education we get. I left school a year ago, but still haven’t been able to find a job. Reporter: Why? Perhaps you haven’t tried hard enough? Youth: You see, I specialized in English Literature, History and Latin. I enjoyed them, but most of the jobs these days are on the technical side. I wish 1 had chosen different subjects. Reporter: And you blame your school for that? Youth: Well, I certainly think they ought to give more advice on careers and I wish I’d gone to a different school. Exercises Exercise. 1. Read the illustrative examples and the dialogue iri parts, noting the various ways of expressing regret. Then learn the dialogue and reproduce it with another student in class. Exercise 2. Express regret using one item from each column:
Exercise 3. Repeat the expressions of regret from Exercise 2 and let another student respond with reassurance or consolation. Exercise 4. Express regret at: being unable to afford a car/a new tape-recorder; having very little free time for sports; not knowing what to give to your friend for his birthday; not having studied English hard enough at school; having been rude to your sister; your friend’s winning first prize in a quiz; your friend’s getting a very expensive present (a video recorder) from his mother; your friend’s getting the job for which you both applied; your inability to accept an invitation to your friend’s party, as you are going to be very busy next week; lO.bemg unable to lend your friend the sum he is asking for (f 100). Exercise 5. Choose a situation from those suggested in Exercise 4 for a dialogue with another student. Sympathy and Consolation To express sympathy we can use: I (do) feel for you. I’m (was) sorry to hear that... I’m (so) sorry about...— more colloquial eg I’m sorry about your aunt. Is she any better? How terrible for you! That’s too bad! What a shame/ pity! What/that’s bad luck! How annoying/terrible/awful! What a nuisance! Poor thing! It’s very sad/unfortunate about... eg It’s very sad about your father. Give him my .best wishes when you go to see him in the hospital. (Implication: he has had an accident, or fallen ill, etc.) Sympathy in the case of a death may also be expressed in forma! style by: l/we all sympathize with your loss, l/'we (do) sympathize with you. Here are some of the things you can say for consolation: Don’t let it upset/distress you.— formal Don’t let it worry you.— informal Everything will turn out/be all right in the end. You’ll soon get over it. It’s not the end of the world. Things will come right in the end. These things do happen. Take it easy. It could/might be much/а lot worse. It could/might have been much/а lot worse. Better luck next time. Cheer up. Never mind. Don’t worry (about it). Don’t let it ) worry you. i get you down. — I was -Sorty to hear that you- had -an -a last race. Oh, don’t worry. 1 just got a few bruises, nothing broken. I’m quite all right now. — Jim, I’ve lost my credit-card.1 I’ve looked everywhere. That’s just too bad. We’d better inform the bank about it at once. — I was just a quarter of an hour late for that interview — got into a traffic jam, you know — and they said they had already filled the vacancy. What a shame! Don’t let it worry you too much, though. I’m sure you’ll find a good job soon. — I’m sorry about your car, but it might have been much worse. At least nobody was hurt. Well, yes, certainly. It is a consolation, isn’t it? — I’m awfully sorry to be late, Mrs. Gable, but I was nearly run over when I was crossing the street. The police stopped the man and they wanted me to give evidence. How awful! Are you hurt? — It’s very sad about your father. Have they already operated on him? Yes, they have and he’s feeling better now. — Don’t let it upset you too much. These things do happen to old people. He 11 be all right soon. I hope so. Dialogue |