DIALECTS AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES

ACCEPTING A LANGUAGE DIFFERENT FROM OUR OWN

To Hanover one should go, they say, to learn the best German. The disadvantage is that outside Hanover,
which is only a small province, nobody understands this best German. Thus you have to decide whether to speak
good German and remain in Hanover, or bad German and travel about. Germany being separated so many centuries
into a dozen principalities, is unfortunate in possessing a variety of dialects. Germans from Posen wishful to converse
with men of Wurtemburg, have to talk as often as not in French or English; and young ladies who have received an
expensive education in Westphalia surprise and disappoint their parents by being unable to understand a word said to
them in Mechlenberg. An English-speaking foreigner, it is true, would find himself equally nonplussed among the
Yorkshire wolds, or in the purlieus of Whitechapel; but the cases are not on all fours. Throughout Germany it is not
only in the country districts and among the uneducated that dialects are maintained. Every province has practically
its own language, of which it is proud and retentive. An educated Bavarian will admit to you that, academically
speaking, the North German is more correct; but he will continue to speak South German and to teach it to his children.
In the course of the century, I am inclined to think that Germany will solve her difficulty in this respect by
speaking English. Every boy and girl in Germany, above the peasant class, speaks English. Were English
pronunciation less arbitrary, there is not the slightest doubt but that in the course of a very few years, comparatively
speaking, it would become the language of the world. All foreigners agree that, grammatically, it is the easiest
language of any to learn. A German, comparing it with his own language, where every word in every sentence is
governed by at least four distinct and separate rules, tells you that English has no grammar. A good many English
people would seem to have come to the same conclusion; but they are wrong. As a matter of fact, there is an English
grammar, and one of these days our schools will recognise the fact, and it will be taught to our children, penetrating
maybe even into literary and journalistic circles. But at present we appear to agree with the foreigner that it is a
quantity neglectable. English pronunciation is the stumbling-block to our progress. English spelling would seem to
have been designed chiefly as a disguise to pronunciation. It is a clever idea, calculated to check presumption on the
part of the foreigner; but for that he would learn it in a year.
For they have a way of teaching languages in Germany that is not our way, and the consequence is that when
the German youth or maiden leaves the gymnasium or high school at fifteen, "it" (as in Germany one conveniently may
say) can understand and speak the tongue it has been learning. In England we have a method that for obtaining the least
possible result at the greatest possible expenditure of time and money is perhaps unequalled. An English boy who has
been through a good middle-class school in England can talk to a Frenchman, slowly and with difficulty, about female
gardeners and aunts; conversation which, to a man possessed perhaps of neither, is liable to pall. Possibly, if he be a
bright exception, he may be able to tell the time, or make a few guarded observations concerning the weather. No doubt
he could repeat a goodly number of irregular verbs by heart; only, as a matter of fact, few foreigners care to listen to
their own irregular verbs, recited by young Englishmen. Likewise he might be able to remember a choice selection of
grotesquely involved French idioms, such as no modern Frenchman has ever heard or understands when he does hear.
[…]
I confine my remarks to French, because that is the only language we attempt to teach our youth. An English
boy who could speak German would be looked down upon as unpatriotic. Why we waste time in teaching even French
according to this method I have never been able to understand. A perfect unacquaintance with a language is respectable.
But putting aside comic journalists and lady novelists, for whom it is a business necessity, this smattering of French
which we are so proud to possess only serves to render us ridiculous.
In the German school the method is somewhat different. One hour every day is devoted to the same language.
The idea is not to give the lad time between each lesson to forget what he learned at the last; the idea is for him to get
on. There is no comic foreigner provided for his amusement. The desired language is taught by a German school-master
who knows it inside and out as thoroughly as he knows his own. Maybe this system does not provide the German youth
with that perfection of foreign accent for which the British tourist is in every land remarkable, but it has other advantages.
The boy does not call his master "froggy," or "sausage," nor prepare for the French or English hour any exhibition of
homely wit whatever. He just sits there, and for his own sake tries to learn that foreign tongue with as little trouble to
everybody concerned as possible. When he has left school he can talk, not about penknives and gardeners and aunts
merely, but about European politics, history, Shakespeare, or the musical glasses, according to the turn the conversation
may take.
 Viewing the German people from an Anglo-Saxon standpoint, it may be that in this book I shall find occasion
to criticise them: but on the other hand there is much that we might learn from them; and in the matter of common sense,
as applied to education, they can give us ninety-nine in a hundred and beat us with one hand.
(Jerome K. Jerome – Three Men on the Bummel)

A.
READING COMPREHENSION

purlieu (here) - an outlying district of a city or town, a suburb; also, the meaner
streets about some main thoroughfare; a mean, squalid, or disreputable street or
quarter. (The Oxford English Dictionary)

wold (here) used in the specific designations of certain hilly tracts in England, viz.
the hill country of North Yorkshire and Humberside (Yorkshire Wolds,
York(e)swold, York-wolds), the Cotswold district, the hilly districts of
Leicestershire and Lincolnshire. (The OED)

Whitechapel - a district in E London England

Yorkshire - a former county in N England

1. Paraphrase all the underlined expressions in the text.

2. What does the author mean by the phrase “good German”? Comment upon the distinction between “good German”
and “bad German” in the first paragraph.
3. What is the difference between a “dialect” and a “language”?
4. Why does the author use examples such as “the Yorkshire wolds” and “the purlieus of Whitechapel” to illustrate the
dialectal situation in England?
5. Is the dialectal situation in England perfectly similar to that in Germany?
6. According to the author, some people believe that “there is no English grammar”. Could you come up with a
motivation for such an opinion?
7. This text was published in 1962. What do you think about the author’s statement “Were English pronunciation less
arbitrary, there is not the slightest doubt that in the course of a very few years, comparatively speaking, it would
become the language of the world”? Do you think the author’s predictions have been confirmed?
8. What does the author mean by the sentence “English pronunciation is the stumbling block to our progress”? Give a
synonym or an equivalent expression for “stumbling block”.
9. Generally, the spelling of a word indicates its pronunciation. Why does the author say that English spelling serves as
“a disguise to pronunciation”?
10. Why does the author refer to the English method of “obtaining the least possible result at the greatest possible
expenditure” as to a method that hasn’t been surpassed? Is the English method better than the German one?
11. What does “is liable to pall” mean in the context?
12. What kind of linguistic knowledge does an Englishman acquire in “a good middle class school”?
13. Why do you think that an English boy who could speak German would be “looked down upon as unpatriotic”? Why
isn’t the knowledge of French considered as unpatriotic?
14. Why do you think the English pupils use epithets such as “froggy” or “sausage”?
15. What could the phrase “comic foreigner” refer to?
16. Why do you think that German schools don’t provide “comic foreigners” for the pupils’ amusement?
B.
VOCABULARY

1. Fill in the blanks with words and phrases from the text:
1. Viewing Germans from an Anglo-Saxon ……………… I might find reason to criticize them.
2. I ………. my remarks to French, because that is the only language we attempt to teach our youth.
3. In England we have a method that for obtaining the least possible result at the greatest possible expenditure of
time and money is perhaps ………………..
4. The English student might be able to remember a …………selection of grotesquely ………… French idioms.
5. A German student can talk about any topic, according to the ………..the conversation may take.
6. The desired language is taught by a German school-master who knows it …………… as thoroughly as he knows
his own.

2. Slang terms for nationalities

Nota bene!
Here are a few informal terms for nationalities. Most of these terms are used derogatorily/ in offensive contexts. Bear
in mind that they are not politically correct.

[Link], Brit, kraut, Paddy, froggy, Frenchy, beefeater, Uncle Sam, spaghetti,
tommy (Tommy Atkins), Eyetie, Yank (Yankee), G.I. Jane, sausage (old use), Fritz,
limey

Fill in the blanks with the words from list above:

1. An English person can be called a…….. or a…..

2. A French person can be called a…..…or……
3. A German can be called a……. or a……
4. An American can be called a….
5. An Italian can be called a…. or a……..
6. An Irishman can be called a….
7. An English soldier can be called a……..
8. An American soldier can be called a……. or a…… (World War II)
9. A German soldier can be called a………
10. The government and the people of the U.S. can be called…….

3. IDIOMS

Number idioms
one chance in a million
the four corners of the earth
seventh heaven
on all fours
ten to one
look like a million dollars
to put two and two together
that makes two of us
nine times out of ten
 Translate into English, using ‘number’ idioms:

1. A trebuit să merg în patru labe ca să mă strecor printr-o deschizătură strâmtă.

2. Feciorul de împărat şi-a căutat mireasa în toate colţurile pământului.
3. De unde-ai ghicit că ţi-am luat un cadou? Păi, ştiam că se apropie ziua mea şi nu mi-a fost greu să-mi dau seama.
4. Nu înţeleg de ce a pariat. Are foarte puţine şanse să câştige.
5. Cele două situaşii nu sunt perfect echivalente.
6. Nu înţeleg despre ce-i vorba nici să mă tai. . Nu eşti singurul. Nici mie nu mi-e clar deloc ce se întâmplă.
7. Nu m-am înţeles niciodată foarte bine cu el. Aproape de fiecare dată ajungem să ne certăm.
8. Mai mult ca sigur că autobuzul o să întârzie.
9. Am fost în al noulea cer când echipa mea favorită câştigat.
10. Arata absolut grozav când am văzut-o ultima oară.
11. Pisica mea a căzut de la balcon, dar, din fericire, a aterizat în patru labe.

4. POLYSEMY:
A) STUMBLE. Translate into English, making use of the vocabulary items below:

1. S-aîmpiedicat de o piatră şi s-a lovit la genunchi.

2. Era atât de beat încât i se împleticea limba la fiecare cuvânt.
3. Am răspuns bine la toate întrebările de la examen însă m-am âncurcat exact la ultima.
4. Tot căutand drumul spre sat, au dat peste ruinele unei vechi mânăstiri.
5. Am urcat cu greu scările şi m-am prăbuşit ăn pat.

B) GUARD
1. Au pus gărzi peste tot în jurul clădirii.
2. Prizonierul a fost adus sub escortă armată.
3. Poliţia supraveghează casa de multă vreme.
4. Întrebarea mea a luat-o pe nepregătite şi nu a ştiut ce să răspundă.
5. Trebuie să fii foarte atent la ce spui.
6. A făcut câteva remarci precaute, dar nu a dat dreptate nici unuia dintre noi.
7. Trebuie să curăţăm rana în fiecare zi pentru ca infecţia sp nu se rpspândească.
8. Mulţi sportivi poartă jambiere.

5. COMPLEX VERB: TALK. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate particle:

1. I hate it when Paul talks____ to me. He can be so patronizing!

2. The Chairman resisted at first, but we managed to talk him_____ to our point of view.
3. I know you’ve already made your decision, but I think it would be best to talk it___ with everybody who’s involved.
4. Both parties should try to talk ___ their differences before actually going to trial.
6. She wanted to sell the house, but I managed to talk her ___ ____of it.
7. I really don’t know how he managed to talk me ___buying a new car, but it was worth it.
8. If you don’t talk ___ now, you might miss your last chance of ever telling the truth.
9. Every time he tries to say something, his two sisters literally talk him___.
10. I was really trying to listen to what the people on stage were saying, but the guy beside me talked my ear____.

6. SYNONYMY. Translate, using the verbs below. In the cases where more than one solution is possible, explain
whether there are any differences.
amaze, surprise, astonish, astound, stun, nonpluss, flabbergast, puzzle, bewilder, dismay, shock, stagger,
startle, daze, dazzle, dumbfound

1. Purtarea ta ma surprinde şi mă întristează.

2. Am fost foarte uimit să descopăr că nu eram primul care se gândise la acea soluţie.
3. Nu mi-a venit să cred când mi-a povestit ce se spunea despre mine!
4. Mărturisirea lui şocanta i-a uimit pe toti cei din jur.
 5. Frumuseţea şi graţia ei i-a îmbătat pe toţi.
6. Nu-mi mai dicta atâtea nume şi date! Mă zăpăceşti de tot!
7. Am fost şocată de uşurinţa cu care şi-a concediat cel mai bun prieten.
8. Întrebarea mea l-a lăsat pur şi simplu fără grai.
9. Păreai complet dezorientat când ţi-a spus despre ce e vorba.
10. Veştile pe care le-a primit au ameţit-o pur şi simplu. Nu-şi mai revine.
11. Tot timpul îi încurc pe Paul cu Victor. Sunt gemeni, nu-i aşa?
12. Vroiam să cumpăr casa, dar am fost complet descumpănită când am auzit cât costă.
13. Ceea ce mi-a spus m-a luat pur şi simplu prin surprindere. Nu mă aşteptam să plece aşa de curând.
14. Să-l ia naiba! N-aş fi crezut că e aşa de ticălos.
15. Când am aflat de însănătoşirea lui miraculoasă, am amuţit de uimire.
16. Am rămas trăznit când am auzit prin câte trecuse ca să ajungă la timp.
17. Comportarea lui faţă de propria sa familie m-a tulburat peste măsurăa.
18. Am crezut că înţelesese ce i-am spus, dar mi-a aruncat o privire aşa de pierdută, încăt mi-a dat seama că va trebui să
mai insist.
19. Am fost plăcut surprinsă de petrecerea pe care au organizat-o de ziua mea.
20. M-ai speriat! Nu te-am auzit venind.

7. WORDS OF DIFFERENT ORIGIN. Replace the underlined words by one of the following expressions of
French origin:

Contretemps, sang-froid, insouciance, impromptu, largesse, mauve, clairvoyant, ingenue, denouement,

billet-doux, complaisant, flamboyant, finesse, turquoise, faux pas, tour de force, façade, debonair, suave, boudoir.

1. In Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock, Belinda’s love letters were scattered everywhere in her bedroom.
2. She smiled and shook her head with pert lack of concern.
3. The matter had been handled with tact and elegance.
4. It was the preparation for the end in the second act that impressed me most.
5. They had their minor disagreements in the past, but now behave like the happiest couple.
6. It would be better to close your eyes like an obliging husband whose wife has taken a lover.
7. I quite by chance got drawn in a kind of improvised party downstairs.
8. She behaved with a self-possession that amazed everyone.
9. She is well-known for her blunders; she always manages to embarrass herself and her acquaintances.
10. I am like a psychic, a spirit medium receiving messages from the dead.
11. My father was often capable of extravagant generosity.
12. He proved capable of rare feats of strength and ingenuity.
13. Her part was that of a naïve girl, poor and innocent.
14. His generosity was extremely touching.
15. Her bathrobe was a light violet, with aquamarine stripes.
16. Brian, who was the apple of his tante’s eyes, looked so at ease and urbane, that she felt she could die for him.
17. These are the grim facts which lie behind the pretense of gaiety.
18. Mr. Billow is always too well-dressed, too smooth-spoken! He’s playing this sophisticated character , you
see.

C.
GRAMMAR & STYLE: CONSTRUCTIONS THAT CARRY AN IMPERSONAL MEANING

Preliminary question
Look at the following sentences selected from Jerome K. Jerome’s text. What do they all have in common?

(1) To Hanover one should go, they say, to learn the best English.
(2) Thus you have to decide whether to speak good German and remain in Hanover, or bad German and travel about.
(3) A good many English people would seem to have come to the same conclusion.
(4) One hour every day is devoted to the same language.
Because they do not concentrate upon a particular, personal, concrete agent/ doer of the action, the general effect of
these forms is to give a statement or text a more formal objective style.

Let us revise upon some of these mechanisms:

1. The use of you/one/they as impersonal pronouns

In the examples offered below neither you nor one is used to refer to a particular person or situation. In these cases the
pronominal forms stand for general human entities involved in the action.

1. The rules are simple: one has to show one’s ID at the door. (one = people in general)
2. The rules are simple: you should show your ID at the door. (you = people in general)

One is less often used, being restricted to formal contexts, while you is more common in colloquial English.
Stylistically, you involves less distance than one between the speaker and the hearer, since it has the form of a second
person pronoun. It thus implies more affectivity, as it suggests intimacy between the speaker and hearer, namely it
invites readers/hearers to identify themselves with the position expressed by the writer/speaker.

(5) It was so hot in there that people couldn’t even breathe!

(6) It was so hot in there, one couldn’t even breathe!
(7) It was so hot in there, you couldn’t even breathe!
(Stylistically, 7 implies that the speaker invites the hearer to imagine himself in that position- “ It could have been you
instead of me/ those people!, thus enhancing the affective nature of the sentence)

(8) Tell me, is it allowed/ possible to camp in the forest?

(9)Tell me, can one camp in the forest?
(10) Tell me, can you camp in the forest?
(Stylistically: “If you were in my place, would you camp in the forest?”)

They- refers to a third party, a general instance (whose identity isn’t specified) - the people or authority whose
action/opinion is taken into account:

(11) they say- people say

(12) For they have a way for teaching languages in Germany that is not our own. (they = the people in Germany)

2. The Passive

The passive is said to focus upon what is done rather than on who does it.

Generally, the Agent, present in the by-phrase is suppressed because:

• the action is more important than the person who does it:

(13) Have you heard? The house next door has finally been bought! (by the Browns)
(The event of buying carries more significance for the hearer/reader than the Agent of this event)

• the identity of the Agent is not known

(14) The Prime Minister was shot this afternoon. The police arrested several suspects. (- No one knows the identity of
the shooter)
• it is obvious who does the action
Here the agent is represented sometimes by a general instance or a public institution and not by a particular
person

(15) A mass was held in her father’s memory. (it is obvious that it was a priest or a person with a similar function who
held the mass)
(16) Passengers are requested to remain seated during the first minutes of the flight. (the air company, rather than a
particular person is addressing us)
(17) An English boy who could speak German would be looked down upon as unpatriotic.
(English people in general will regard him as such)

Stylistically, the effect of the passive is to take responsibility away from the speaker. Thus Passive constructions are
used by speakers when they deliberately want to avoid being held personally responsible for something:

(18) The matter will be taken care of.

(The speaker doesn’t say “I will take care of it!” He is probably in a position of authority, but doesn’t want
to suggest that he is going to be personally involved in the process.)

• The Agent is mentioned when it is considered to be a relevant piece of information:

(19) Everyone was startled to hear that the local bank had been robbed by none other than Jesse James himself. (The
fact that Jesse James is the robber is in this case important.)

3. The Nominative +Infinitive

Revision questions
a. Give several examples of Nominative +Infinitive Constructions.
b. What are the verbs/constructions that take the Nominative + Infinitive constructions?
c. What do all the verbs/ constructions that take the Nominative + Infinitive have in common?

(20) A good many English people would seem to have come up with the same conclusion.
= It would seem (to people in general) that a good many English people have come up with the same conclusion.
(21) He is supposed to have run away with his best friend’s wife.
= It is supposed (by people in general) that he has run away with his best friend’s wife.
(22) the conversation which is liable to pall
= It is likely that the conversation will pall.

The noun that appears in subject position is not the agent of the action indicated by the main verb, but the agent of
the action implied by the verb in the infinitival sentence.
The construction is the semantic equivalent of impersonal constructions.
EXERCISES:

a. What other instances of the constructions identified above can you find in the text?

b. The text is written in formal style. We have shown some of the devices that help to create formality. What
are the other devices used by the author in this respect?

c. Translate, paying attention to the constructions that have been discussed:

1.
Un chibrit fu aprins şi aruncat pe el. Şi soldatul luă deodată foc şi începu să ardă ca o pălălaie. Nu apă, ci benzină se
turnase peste el. Începu să urle, şi să se rostogolească pe jos, dar lichidul era îmbibat în mantaua şi în vestonul lui,
până la piele. Dădea din mâini, inocent, contra flăcărilor, crezând că astfel le va stinge, necrezând parcă în ele, ca şi
când nu le-ar fi simţit, deşi îl ardeau. În acest timp, alte strigăte le acopereau pe ale lui, în timp ce din clădirea asaltată
mitraliera trăgea în rafale scurte. Unghiul ferit sub care se petrecuse scena unde soldatul murea ars de viu fu reperat
şi curând cei care rămăseseră prin apropiere şi vrură să fugă căzură seceraţi. Era curios cum, în isteria lor, aceşti rebeli
încă nu înţelegeau că împotriva lor se putea trage. Din clădirea asediată trei militari ieşiră şi ridicară pe camaradul lor
carbonizat.
(Marin Preda – Delirul)
2.
Lui Chiril i se oferi astfel prilejul rar de a-l contempla în voie, aşa cum părea el dus în concentrarea lui profundă, scena
pe care soarta, asemeni unui bătrâin fotograf profesionist, metodic la culme, ţinându-şi capul ascuns în mâneca neagră,
părea că anume o aranjase, spre a fi fixată pentru eternitate.
(Cosntantin Ţoiu – Galeria cu viţă sălbatică)

3*.
Din clasă, altfel, îmi amintesc că odată am fost ridicaţi cu toţii în picioare şi ţinuţi cu mâinile în sus, că altă dată am
fost scos la lecţie cu spatele la fereastră şi m-am chinuit enorm cu tabla înmulţirii, că altă dată priveam tabla neagră,
pe care buretele lăsase urme fantastice din care recompuneam o pădure, şi că altă dată un mare tablou cu pătrăţele de
carton colorat pe care erau desenate litere şi cifre mă pasionă cum nu se poate spune. De asemenea, mărgelele de lemn
înşirate pe nişte sârme şi din spatele cărora se ridica, înalta şi nervoasă, institutoarea, de care eram vag interesat, cu
atât mai mult cu cât G. o copleşea cu atenţii. Şi mai ştiu dimineaţa când ghetele unuia din fund, gălăgios şi cu capul
roşu şi triunghiular, mi-au fost date ca exemplu de curăţenie. Nu ştiu de ce nu pot auzi de Petre Ispirescu fără să-mi
amintesc de aceasta şi de ghetele lui.

Aş putea spune, societatea nu m-a selectat, sunt anacronic deşi faţă de mediu propun subţirimi de structură, etc., şi să
mă dau la fund, ceea ce ar bucura pe câţiva inşi ale căror aşteptări n-ar fi în chipul acesta înşelate. Ori aş putea zice
aproximativ invers, trebuie să revin cu orice preţ (de la Cercul Polar) să aduc pe oameni la sensul epocal pe care îl
reprezint. Şi într-un caz şi în celălalt mă supără punctul de vedere prea exclusivist şi deloc uman. Eu, fără nici un gând
de experienţă, iau lucrurile aşa cum sunt şi aştept ca senzaţiile care mi s-au obligat, mulţi sălbatici, oameni cu
fizionomii nemaivăzute, case de bârne, ceruri largi ameninţând de culori, şi singurătate desavirsita, să se depună şi să
hranească frumoasa flacără a Ideilor mele. Când la masă mi se dau oase, profit de măduvă. Nu am impresia că noile
mele împrejurări mă vor schimba. Întâi că dacă ar schimba ceva, se schimbă Dinică, nu unul ca mine. Şi al doilea
pentru că eu şi lumea suntem două lucruri care nu interesează decât în măsura în care trebuie să se adune, ca într-un
corn de abundenţă, toate culorile, miresmele şi fructele întâlnirii lor, - Ideile, care jur că sunt singure, există dintre câte
pretind că există.
(Radu Petrescu – Proze)
3.
Paul Achim scoase referatul – cam mototolit – din buzunarul interior de la haină şi-l citi. Era exact referatul întocmit
după fructuasele consultări filosofice cu Dinoiu, exact acela care-l îngrozise pe doctorul Stroescu. Nici o virgulă nu
fusese schimbată, nimic scos, nimic adăugat. Însă modul cum l-a citit îţi era într-adevăr nou. Niciodată nu citise nimic
atât de convingător, cursiv şi cu deplină siguranţa de sine. Se mai citiseră aici nu puţine astfel de referate, dar mai
rămăsese un fel de şovăiala în glas (remarcată de urechile fine), sau o anumită indiferenţă, sau grabă, atunci când se
executa o simplă îndatorire de serviciu, uneori chiar penibilă, dar necesară câştigării pâinii cea de toate zilele. Era,
oricum, evidentă ca o justificare, aplecarea în faţa inexorabilei necesităţi; şi, tocmai de aceea, în fiecare referat se mai
strecura câte o mică eroare, câte o imperfecţiune, era oricând loc de mai bine. Pe când acum, prin glasul convins şi
plăcut al lui Paul Achim, ce nu mai era un novice, până şi frazele cele mai banale şi mai uzate, auzite de sute de ori,
chiar citatele, căpătau strălucirea libertăţii de alegere şi deveneau argumente convingătoare şi fără replică. Cibernetica
era hotărât condamnată, teoria informaţiei era o eroare, şi nici măcar una întâmplătoare, ci un drum al confuziei, cu
bună ştiinţă diseminată ca o boală, de duşmanii de moarte ai oamenilor.
(Alexandru Ivasiuc – Iluminări)

4.
Falit! Asa i se cuvenea satirului, mojicului! Numai că el, Costel, plătea oalele sparte.
Pe lângă subsolul din Rahova, cel al casei Dragu era palat… Ce avere, domnule, fusese acolo şi se pierduse. Ce
timpuri! N-ai fi crezut să i se poată întâmpla aşa ceva lui Dragu, la poziţia şi la capitalul lui… Nenoroc! Să se întâmple
tocmai când îl cunoscuse el şi când se încurcase cu Nina! Se mira că nu se vorbeşte nimic la ei în birou. Era doar un
eveniment. Fireşte, îi plăcea că nu se vorbeşte, dar cu o decepţie – despre indiferenţa lumii. Ceva vag în raport cu ‘sic
transit’ – nu nimerea cum suna zicătoarea. Aceeaşi stare de spirit, dar zgomotos afirmată, o avea şi Nina. Acuma, că
dase drumul secretului, n-o mai reţinea nimic şi n-o încăpea mirarea că astfel de întâmplare are o publicitate aşa de
mică.
(Hortensia Papadat Bengescu – Logodnicul)

5.
Inscripţiile începură să se înmulţească şi toate păreau să aibă o raţiune. La etajul ultim, bunăoară, cetăţenii erau anunţaţi
că acolo se termină scara. Se înmulţiră, de asemenea, şi fotografiile în culori înrămate. (…) Sub scară fură aduse o
masă şi un scaun. La panou fu afişată lista şedinţelor până la sfârşitul anului, cu observaţia că prima dintre ele era
extraordinară şi-l punea în discuţie pe locatarul Crac, care continua să tropăie, când urca scara, şi dupa ora 22.00.
(Tudor Octavian – Istoria unui obiect ciudat)
D.
WRITING

1. DIALOGUE. Imagine a conversation between the author and an English-speaking German who doesn’t share the
former’s opinions about language teaching in Germany.
[Link] ESSAY. Write on one of the following topics:
a. English – “the language of the world”
b. The impact of science and technology on language learning.
3. DIARY. Write a page from an imaginary diary in which you describe your linguistic experiences during a
journey in a foreign country.