По следам детективов: увлекательные истории для изучения английского языка - Анжелика Ягудена

I love classical foreign literature, and my favorite writers are Walter Scott, Erich Maria Remarque, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Edgar Allan Poе. In my view, these authors have special talent and can touch your heart. Books written by these authors always have а deep underlying meaning and make me care about and sympathize with the main characters.

25) Honestly, I’m an avid reader. I love reading adventure stories, mystery novels, and horror books.

26) When I was little, my mom would read me a bedtime story. I imagined what the characters might look like, and the next morning I drew them with crayons.

27) Well, I actually dislike romance books. I think they are boring and predictable.

Exercise 2

a fictional character; a brilliant storyteller; to struggle financially; to receive a bachelor’s degree; a lot of his talent was wasted; a well-respected artistic family; what image pops up in your mind; it’s all just guesswork; a catchphrase; to grieve / to be affected by a loss; a passion for reading; an unpleasant experience; to pursue a career in medicine; a paperback magazine; to investigate a crime; curiously; a lavish wedding; business wasn’t blooming

Exercise 3

родиться в благополучной семье; оказывать сильное влияние (на); в окружении семьи; подзаработать; воспитываться в атмосфере любви; посвятить время (чему-либо); продлевать жизнь; жить тихой размеренной жизнью; научно-фантастический роман; быть вдохновленным (чем-либо); быть обычным явлением; исключительные способности; попробовать свои силы (в); жизнь, наполненная взлетами и падениями; прожить еще тринадцать лет; всё кардинально поменялось; проявлять интерес (к)

Exercise 4

1 b; 2 a; 3 c; 4 e; 5 d, 6 h; 7 f; 8 g; 9 j; 10 i

DETECTIVE RIDDLE No. 2

1) Jessica was the criminal. She was secretly in love with Mark and wanted to win his heart. She committed a crime because of jealousy and revenge. The wedding dress was the only circumstantial evidence in this case.

2) Linda had no motive. She made peace with Mary’s choice and hoped that Mark would change after marriage.

3) Grace had no motive. She didn’t want to destroy other people’s relationship.

4) Jane was a disinterested party. She loved her daughter and wished her the best.

5) Jeremy couldn’t possibly be the criminal because he wasn’t at the party on the night of the crime.

Edgar Allan Poe

Exercise 1

1) Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809.

2) His parents were traveling actors. Their names were Elizabeth and David Poe.

3) His father abandoned their family and never returned. Nobody knows how his life ended, but reportedly he died.

4) Edgar was orphaned at the age of three.

5) Yes, he had an older brother, Henry, and a younger sister, Rosalie.

6) He was unofficially adopted by a wealthy childless couple: John and Francеs Allan.

7) Poe had a strong bond with his foster mother, Francеs Allan, who always gave him care and attention. However, he didn’t get along with his foster father. They were opposites. John Allan was focused on material goods and didn’t approve of Edgar’s passion for literature. They often fought about money.

8) John Allan was a merchant.

9) Edgar’s brother, Henry, was a sailor and amateur poet, but he died young at the age of twenty-four. His sister, Rosalie, was taken in by a wealthy family, but it’s unknown if they treated her like a family member or a ward. Rosalie’s adult life was tough. She spent her last days in the charity house.

10) Yes, he got education at expensive boarding schools. As for higher education, Poe dropped out of the University of Virginia, and years later, he was expelled from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

11) Edgar’s first love was Sarah Elmira Royster. She was his neighbor.

12) Sarah’s father was against their relationship. When Poe went to the University of Virginia, Mr. Royster intercepted and destroyed his love letters to his daughter. Heartbroken, Sarah thought that Edgar had forgotten her and married another man.

13) Poe was on a tight budget because his foster father gave him about a third of what he needed. Besides, he started gambling.

14) Because he had no means of livelihood.

15) The first published work by Edgar Allan Poe is Tamerlane and Other Poems. This short collection of poems was first published in 1827.

16) Poe’s first collection was published anonymously. The author was listed as “A Bostonian.”

17) Edgar built a loving relationship with his wife, Virginia. The family was poor but happy.

18) Yes, his muse was his tortoiseshell cat named Cattarina.

19) His beloved wife died of tuberculosis.

20) No, she was widowed.

21) Yes, they were reportedly engaged twice: in adolescence and adulthood.

22) The wedding never truly took place because Edgar Allan Poe mysteriously disappeared and then died.

23) He planned to go to Philadelphia on business and then to New York to escort his aunt back to Richmond for his upcoming wedding.

24) He was found delirious and semiconscious wearing someone else’s worn-out clothes in Baltimore.

25) Nobody knows how Edgar got to Baltimore and where he had been for almost a week.

26) The cause of Poe’s death is still unclear. There are a lot of theories about his death including murder, rabies, serious illness, cooping, and some others.

27) It was Poe’s rival Rufus Griswold, who was jealous of his talent.

28) Among the most popular works are “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Black Cat,” “The Mystery of Marie Rogêt,” “The Purloined Letter,” and, of course, his best-known poem “The Raven,” which brought him world-wide fame and recognition.

29) I’ve read just one detective story by Edgar Allan Poe so far. It’s called “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” It’s a real page-turner.

30) Absolutely, yes. Recently, I’ve watched Stonehearst Asylum – the film starring Kate Beckinsale and Ben Kingsley. I also watched Tell-Tale, which is inspired by Poe’s short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” and directed by Michael Cuesta.

Exercise 2

to find one’s true calling; to curl up; to return to one’s hearth and home; to abandon studies / to drop out; material goods; foster family; to add fuel to the fire; reportedly; a well-to-do but childless family; a man of extraordinary fate; the circumstances of the incident; to resist blows of fate; to find a common language; to leave a significant mark on the world of literature; at the end of one’s life path; to abandon one’s family; fortune turned its back on them; to lose heart; an adolescent sweetheart; opposites attract; the flu complications; a down-to earth person; plans were not destined to come true; to work things out; a windowless room

Exercise 3

тайна, покрытая мраком; оставлять важные вопросы без ответа; цель жизни; начать играть в азартные игры; начать новую жизнь; судьба сведет их снова; быть безработным; родиться под счастливой звездой; идти по чьим-либо стопам; щекотливая тема; лживые слухи; не ладятся дела на работе; птица в клетке; наслаждаться чьим-либо обществом / чьей-либо компанией; справляться с болью утраты; против чьей-то воли; уснуть вечным сном; и это еще не всё; как выяснилось; стать частью семьи; служить в армии; вмешиваться в чьи-либо отношения; не одобрять чей-либо выбор

Exercise 4

1 j; 2 i; 3 b; 4 h; 5 c; 6 g; 7 d; 8 e; 9 f; 10 a

DETECTIVE RIDDLE No. 3

1) Jimmy had no motive. He valued his friendship with Michael though he often disapproved of his behavior and even felt ashamed of him. Jimmy had an alibi. It was he who spotted the damage.

2) Hilary couldn’t possibly be the criminal because she had got into the house before the incident. When she went to meet Jimmy, the car was parked outside the house and wasn’t damaged.

3) Jane couldn’t possibly be the criminal because she was in love with Michael. She had no motive. Jane was confused not because she had something to hide, but because Michael finally asked her out.

4) Sam was the criminal. He had a motive – Michael had recently cheated him out of money. Besides,