Alumno: SANTIAGO CARBONELL MATARREDONA

Ingls

1.

Chapter THREE (first part)

i) Reading comprehension.
1. Read the text and answer the following questions. Give short
answers. You can use exactly the same words that appear in
the text or you can even use quotations.
1. What is he afraid of?
Of living a meaningless life, imbued with apathy and flatness.
2. Which philosophical argument is he trying to answer from a rational point
of view?
The profound and desperate significance that Hs death just one person
amidst the whole Humanity has to him, even when he acknowledges that he
was aware of the existence of suffering and death, and he even accepted
something like a rudiment of christian faith.
3. Why does he doubt all that he believed? He gives an image to
understand it better, which one?
Because it wouldnt [make quite such a difference as this] for a man whose
faith had been real faith and whose concern for other peoples sorrows had
been real concern .
He gives the image of a house [that] has collapsed at one blow, [] because
it was a house of cards.

4. How can one discover what his beliefs/faith are like?

When he passes through an experience that takes that belief to the limit, such
as the death of a person very close to him; and when he is playing [the game
of life] not for counters or for sixpences but for every penny you have in the
world.

5. What do Vet and vivisector mean in relation to God?

They refer two interpretations of Gods responsibility in our grief and pain.
Vivisector God is wickedly playing with living beings which are capable of
suffering, torturing them, in a sadistic way.
Vet God is, on the contrary, trying to heal and mend His creatures, even
though His medical cares hurt them.

6. What does the restoration of my past involve? What would be the

consequences for H?
I think he refers to the restoration of the kind of life he had before.
The consequences for H could be worse than the pleasure for him, for she
would have to pass through death one more time.

Alumno: SANTIAGO CARBONELL MATARREDONA

Ingls

7. In which way are his love for H and his faith in God similar?
They were not the thing he thought it was. They both were a card-castle: his
faith in God was imagination, above all; his love for H was, in its greater part,
egoism.

8. When does he think He is a vet?

When he thinks of his own suffering, for its almost nothing compared with the
physical suffering of his dead wife.

9. What image does he use to talk about Hs soul?

Lazarus, whom Christ took back into earthly life.

10.
How does he describe his marriage in relation to God?
He describes it as playing the bridge game.

2. Say if these statements are True (T) or False (F) according to

the text.
1. He cannot stop thinking of H.

T/F

2. He knew they were going to suffer.

T/F

3. What he said about the Cosmic Sadist was an intellectual

experiment to follow a rational thinking process. T/F
4. He thinks physical pain is worse than grief. T/F
5. He thinks that just giving rational arguments about the existence of
God is not serious until your faith is really out to the test.
6. He thinks H was a kind of saint.

T/F

T/F

7. Only suffering can knock down that house of cards.

T/F

8. He is not sure whether hes actually trying to build another house of

cards. T/F
9. Grief is not a continuous state/feeling.

T/F

Alumno: SANTIAGO CARBONELL MATARREDONA

Ingls

10.

Hes sure Hs anguish is finished.

T/F.

(well, hes not sure at all about Hs

current existence)

i) Grammar
1. Observe the following sentences (taken from the text) and draw
your own conclusion about the position of the adverb.
Im always thinking
I no longer ask
Does grief finally subside?
You will never discover
That sort of thing is never said these adverbs are always placed
before the verb.
2. Observe the following sentence and explain how the verb becomes
a noun. Find more examples of verbs nominalizations in the text.
The taking them into account. the verb is usually preceded by an
article (or a pronoun), and is in the gerund form.
Nothing less will shake a man [] out of his merely verbal
thinking
And only suffering could do it.
the pleasure of hitting back
have all her dying to do over again
3. In the following examples youll find subordinate sentences which
are questions, can you tell what happens with the structures of
those indirect questions.
Will there come a time when I no longer ask why the world is
like a mean street.
I see the rowan berries reddening and dont know for a moment
why they, of all the things, should be depressing.
You will never discover how serious it was until the stakes are
raised horribly high.
The interrogative form of the verb (verb + subject) changes to the
affirmative form (subject + verb), and also the verbs tense, if
necessary. Obviously, the question mark is omitted.
4. Give examples of comparative structures with more (long
adjectives/adverbs) and with er (short adjectives/adverbs) Find at
least two examples of irregular comparative adjectives.
[more]
I havent found any structure with the term more working as a comparative
particle

[-er]

Alumno: SANTIAGO CARBONELL MATARREDONA

Ingls

I am surely, in general, a saner man than I was then

the sooner it was knocked down the better
It is harder when I think of hers
at some later date
[irregular comparative adjectives]
why should the thoughts [] be any more trustworthy than the
better thoughts I have now?
Could I have wished her anything worse?
You feel better for a moment
5. Sometimes in English we use two nouns together. The first one
works as an adjective, the second one is the nucleus of the phrase.
These two nouns can be separated by a hyphen (-). Find three
examples in the text. Copy and translate them.
breakfast-time hora del desayuno.
Bridge-players jugadores de Bridge.
card-castle castillo de naipes.

iii) Vocabulary
Look up the following words in a dictionary. Write down a definition
in English and then give an equivalent in Spanish.
1. Sorrow: A feeling of deep distress caused by loss, disappointment, or
other misfortune // Sensacin de profunda tristeza causado por una
prdida, desacuerdo u otro infortunio.
2. Sympathy: Feelings of pity and sorrow for someone elses misfortune //
Sentimientos de dolor y tristeza por la desgracia padecida por algn otro.
3. Apathy: Lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern // Falta de inters,
entusiasmo o preocupacin.
4. Fulfillment: The achievement of something desired, promised, or
predicted // La consecucin o logro de algo deseado, prometido o
predicho.
5. Reluctance: Unwillingness or disinclination to do something // falta de
disposicin o inclinacin para realizar algo.
6. Hypothesis: A supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of
limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation
//
Suposicin o presunta explicacin fundada en una limitada evidencia
como punto de partida para una posterior investigacin.
7. Trustworthy: Able to be relied on as honest or truthful // confiable por su
honestidad o veracidad.
8. Evidence: The available body of facts or information indicating whether a
belief or proposition is true or valid // El conjunto de hechos o
informacin de que se dispone para indicar si una suposicin o
proposicin es verdadera o vlida.
9. Vivisector: Person that performs operations on live animals for the
purpose of experimentation or scientific research // Persona que realiza

Alumno: SANTIAGO CARBONELL MATARREDONA

Ingls

operaciones quirrgicas en animales vivos con el propsito

experimetar para avances cientficos.
10.
Hatred: Intense dislike; hate // Desafeccin intensa; odio.

de

iv) Thesis
What do you think is the most important idea (or ideas) of this
excerpt. Specify in which sentence (or sentences) you think that
idea (or those ideas) are expressed.
I perceive in this excerpt a remarkable progress in the authors pursuit of
healing of his emotional sickness. I think he has deepened so much in his
desperate grief that he is now even more aware of the nonsense and danger of
those sorrowful emotions, so that he can open his eyes to someone elses pain,
especially that of H: What sort of a lover am I to think so much about my
affliction and so much less about hers?.
He realizes the egoism of his pretension: I want her back as an ingredient in
the restoration of my past. Could I have wished her anything worse? Probably
he is so far tired of this nonsensical process, and thats why we can see him
raising his eyes to the other.
Unfortunately, his idea of God is still far from being isolated (not influenced) by
his emotions and sufferings. Thats why he confesses Him not to be a good God,
but rather a Cosmic Sadist, an unmerciful Vivisector
Theres also a quite brilliant idea, in the comparison he establishes between
bridge-players (with some money on the game) and persons that bet everything
in the game of life, as lovers use to do.