Key Skills in English


oriental fabrics and lit by tall bronze candelabra, with two impressive footmen in knee-breeches dozing in great armchairs, made drowsy by the heat of the radiators. She imagined vast drawing-rooms, upholstered in antique silk, splendid pieces of furniture littered with priceless curios, and dainty scented boudoirs, designed for teatime conversation with intimate friends and much sought-aſter society gentlemen, whose attentions every woman envies and desires.


When she sat down to dinner at the round table


sphinx = a sphinx is an ancient Egyptian statue, having a woman’s head and a lion’s body


covered with a three-days-old cloth opposite her husband, who took the lid off the casserole with the delighted exclamation: ‘Ah! hot-pot again! How lovely! It’s the best dish in the world!’, she was dreaming of luxurious dinners with classical figures and exotic birds in a fair forest; she dreamt of exquisite dishes served on valuable china and whispered compliments listened to with a sphinx*-like smile while toying with the pink flesh of a trout or the wing of a hazel hen.


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1. What impression of the character of Madame Loisel do you get from reading the extract? Give reasons for your answer.


2. What details in the extract suggest that this story is set in the nineteenth century rather than in a modern setting? Support your answer with specific details from the passage.


3. Explain the meaning of each of the following phrases: (a) born by a freak of fortune (b) littered with priceless curios (c) with a sphinx-like smile


4. What kind of person is Madame Loisel’s husband, based on the evidence of the extract?


5. Name a character from a novel or short story you have studied who is disappointed or disillusioned for some reason. Explain what the reason for the disappointment is and how the character dealt with their situation. You must give the title of the novel or short story and the name of the author.


102


Unit 3: Ficiton


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