«The Secret Garden» Chapter 2

Listen to Chapter 2 of «The Secret Garden» and do the tasks that follow.

Chapter 2. MISTRESS MARY QUITE CONTRARY

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Chapter 2. Listening

1. Remember the names.
Mr. Archibald Craven
Misselthwaite Manor
Mrs. Medlock, а housekeeper

2. Say the same in other words (synonyms).
shabby clothes —
disagreeable —
give a nickname —
make faces —
self-absorbed —
pretty —
desolate old house —
horrid —
deserted —
stout —
trunk —
frock —
dreary —

3. Translate the sentences paying attention to the phrases in brackets.

a) Colonel McGrew said he nearly [jumped out of his skin] when he opened the door and found her standing by herself in the middle of the room.

b) «My word! she’s [a plain little piece of goods]!» she said.

c) She had had servants, and food and clothes, but [no one had taken any notice of] her.

d) She did not know that this was because she was [a disagreeable child]; but then, of course, she did not know she was disagreeable. She often thought that other people were, but she did not know that she was so herself.

e) Captain Lennox was my wife’s brother and I am [their daughter’s guardian].

4. Answer the questions:
1. Where to was Mary sent after her parents had died?
2. What nickname was she given by clergyman’s children and why?
3. Who was Mr. Archibald Craven?
4. Who took Mary to England?
5. Was she met in London by her uncle?
6. Did Mary know she was a disagreeable child? Why not?
7. How old was Mr. Craven’s house?
8. How many rooms were there in the house?
9. Was Mr. Craven married?
10. He was a man with a crooked back who shut himself up, wasn’t he?

5. Read the passage and say why Mary didn’t miss her mother. Choose only one answer.

a) she knew very little of her
b) she was a selfish child and thought only about herself
c) she was very little to understand the loss
d) her mother didn’t take care of her

Mary had liked to look at her mother from a distance and she had thought her very pretty, but as she knew very little of her she could scarcely have been expected to love her or to miss her very much when she was gone. She did not miss her at all, in fact, and as she was a self-absorbed child she gave her entire thought to herself, as she had always done. If she had been older she would no doubt have been very anxious at being left alone in the world, but she was very young, and as she had always been taken care of, she supposed she always would be.