Тема / Топик по английскому языку:
Gulliver’s Travels
Jonathan Swift was born of English parents in Dublin, Ireland in 1667. He became a clergyman of the Church of England and later served as Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. His works, mostly satirical, fill 20 volumes; but the story of Gulliver remains the most popular and best-beloved of them all.
Gulliver’s travels is a story for all ages, though most of us meet it first when we are very young. For, in a sense, it is a fairy tale for children - the story of the great man in a world of tiny people, and then the tiny man in a world of great ones. But the more understanding we can bring to Gulliver’s adventure, the more we can get out of them. Children love the bright fantasy; as we grow up, we can see more of the satire on human customs that Swift poured into it.
Gulliver’s Travels is a book which turns an inquiring eye on the habits and opinions of men by turning things topsy-turvy. In the land of Lilliput, Lemuel Gulliver is a giant - the biggest man ever seen; in the Kingdom of Brobdingnag he was a pygmy. And in the country of Houyhnms his situation was even stranger; he travels to a land where kind, sensible horses are the «humans», and men are brute beasts. Among these intelligent horse-like beings he was the only «man» with a notion that he was more than a stupid beast.
The story Gulliver tells of his adventures among all these creatures is a lively yarn that has been a favourite with readers for almost 250 years. Yet as we laugh at the odd habits he tells about, we must sometimes feel a little rueful - for we find we are laughing at ourselves, and our own ways of behaving. Somehow Swift manages to give us a new look at ourselves through alien but astonishingly clear-sighted eyes. That is what is called «satire».
But satire alone is not enough to make a book beloved by the generations; we read the book for the marvel of the story, to find out what will happen next.
Topical Vocabulary
Answer the questions:
- What was Swift’s profession?
- What works is he famous for?
- Why can «Gulliver’s travels» be called a story of all ages?
- What does Swift aim at when he is turning things topsy-turvy?
- How can you define satire?
- What makes the book beloved by generations?
Translate into English:
- «Путешествия Гулливера» - наиболее популярная из всех сатирических произведений Свифта книга.
- «Путешествия Гулливера» - книга для всех возрастов; для детей это - сказка; для взрослых - сатирическое произведение.
- Детям нравится фантазия, которой полна книга; взрослые видят в ней сатиру на человеческие нравы и идеи.
- В книге Гулливер это гигант в стране лилипутов, то пигмей в стране гигантов, то единственное человеческое существо среди людей, похожих на животных, и лошадей, похожих на людей.
- История Гулливера пользуется популярностью у читателей около 250 лет.
- Мы смеемся над героями книги, но нам не по себе, так как мы смеемся и над своим поведением.
- Сатира и занимательность сюжета сделали книгу любимой для многих поколений читателей.
Посмотреть ответы
2. «Gulliver’s Travels» is a book for all ages: this is a fairy tale for children and a satirical book for grown-ups.
3. Children love the fantasy the book is full of; grown-ups see in it the satire on human customs and opinions.
4. In the book Gulliver is a giant in a land of pygmies, or a pygmy in a land of giants, or the only human in every sense among humans looking like beasts, and horses looking like humans.
5. Gulliver’s story has been a favourite with readers for almost 250 years.
6. We laugh at the characters of the book, and we feel a little rueful, as we are laughing at our own ways of behaving.
7. Satire and the marvel of the story have made the book beloved by the generations.