THE MYSTERY
OF THE
BLUE JAR
Ïîñ³áíèê äëÿ íàâ÷àííÿ ÷èòàííÿ àíãë³éñüêîþ ìîâîþ
çà îïîâ³äàííÿì
Àãàòè Êð³ñò³
Òåðíîï³ëü
“Íàâ÷àëüíà êíèãà – Áîãäàí”
ÁÁÊ
81.2 Àíã ÿ7
Ï61
Ãîëîâíèé ðåäàêòîð
Áóäíèé Á.ª.
Ï61 The Mystery of the Blue Jar. Ïîñ³áíèê äëÿ íàâ÷àííÿ ÷èòàííÿ àíãë³éñüêîþ ìîâîþ çà îïîâ³äàííÿì Àãàòè Êð³ñò³. / Óïîðÿäíèê Ñ.À. Çàéêîâñê³.— Òåðíîï³ëü: “Íàâ÷àëüíà êíèãà – Áîãäàí”,
1999.— 48 ñ.
ISBN 966-7437-49-3
Ïîñ³áíèê äëÿ ðîçâèòêó íàâè÷îê òà âì³íü ÷èòàííÿ
àíãë³éñüêîþ ìîâîþ âêëþ÷ຠçàõîïëþþ÷å äåòåêòèâíå
îïîâ³äàííÿ Àãàòè Êð³ñò³ “Òàºìíèöÿ ãîëóáîãî ãëå÷èêà”,
êîìåíòàð òà êîìïëåêñ âïðàâ äëÿ êîíòðîëþ ðîçóì³ííÿ
ïðî÷èòàíîãî.
“Òàºìíèöÿ ãîëóáîãî ãëå÷èêà” — îïîâ³äàííÿ, ÿêå
çàö³êàâèòü ÷èòà÷à íå ò³ëüêè ³íòðèãóþ÷èì ðîçâèòêîì
ïîä³é, àëå é áàðâèñòîþ, ñîêîâèòîþ ìîâîþ çíàìåíèòî¿
àíãë³éñüêî¿ ïèñüìåííèö³, ÷èº ³ì’ÿ øèðîêî â³äîìå óñ³ì
ëþáèòåëÿì äåòåêòèâíèõ ³ñòîð³é.
Ðåêîìåíäóºòüñÿ äëÿ ó÷í³â ñòàðøèõ êëàñ³â ñåðåäí³õ
øê³ë, ñòóäåíò³â ë³öå¿â, êîëåäæ³â òà ³íñòèòóò³â. Ïîñ³áíèê ìîæå áóòè âèêîðèñòàíèé â÷èòåëåì íà óðîêàõ
ïîçàêëàñíîãî ÷èòàííÿ, â ãóðòêàõ ³ íà ôàêóëüòàòèâàõ
àíãë³éñüêî¿ ìîâè.
ISBN 966-7437-49-3
ÁÁÊ 81.2 Àíã ÿ7
© Çàéêîâñê³ Ñ.À., 1999
© “Íàâ÷àëüíà êíèãà – Áîãäàí”, 1999
THE MYSTERY OF THE BLUE JAR
Jack Hartington surveyed his topped drive*
ruefully. Standing by the ball, he looked back to
the tee,* measuring the distance. His face was
eloquent of the disgusted contempt which he felt.
With a sigh he drew out his iron, executed two
vicious swings with it, annihilating in turn a dandelion and a tuft of grass, and then addressed himself
firmly to the ball.
It is hard when you are twenty-four years of
age, and your one ambition in life is to reduce
your handicap* at golf, to be forced to give time
and attention to the problem of earning your living.
Five and a half days out of the seven saw Jack
imprisoned in a kind of mahogany tomb in the
city. Saturday afternoon and Sunday were
religiously devoted to the real business of life, and
in an excess of zeal he had taken rooms at the
small hotel near Stourton Heath links, and rose
daily at the hour of six a.m. to get in an hour’s
practice before catching the 8:46 to town.
The only disadvantage to the plan was that he
seemed constitutionally unable to hit anything at
that hour in the morning. A foozled* iron succeeded
a muffed* drive. His mashie shots* ran merrily along
the ground, and four putts* seemed to be the
minimum on any green.*
3
“I rather want to know more about the Turners,”
said Lavington quietly. “They left very early in the
morning, you remember. As far as I can make out,
nobody actually saw them go. Mr. Turner has been
seen since—but I can’t find anybody who has seen
Mrs. Turner.” Jack paled.
“It can’t be — you don’t mean —”
“Don’t excite yourself, young man. The influence
of anyone at the point of death — and especially
of violent death — upon their surroundings is very
strong. Those surroundings might conceivably
absorb that influence, transmitting it in turn to a
suitably tuned receiver— in this case yourself.”
“But why me?” murmured Jack rebelliously.
“Why not someone who could do some good?’
“You are regarding the force as intelligent and
purposeful, Instead of blind and mechanical. I do
not believe myself in earth-bound spirits, haunting
a spot forone particular purpose. But the thing l
have seen, again and again, until I can hardly
believe it to be pure coincidence, is a kind of blind
groping toward justice — a subterranean moving
of blind forces, always working obscurely toward
that end —”
He shook himself — as though casting off some
obsession that preoccupied him, and turned to Jack
with a ready smile.
22
“Let us banish the subject — for tonight at all
events,” he suggested.
Jack agreed readily enough, but did not find it
so easy to banish the subject from his own mind.
During the week-end, he made vigorous
inquiries of his own, but succeeded in eliciting little
more than the doctor had done. He had definitely
given up playing golf before breakfast.
The next link in the chain came from an
unexpected quarter. On getting back one day, Jack
was informed that a young lady was waiting to see
him. To his intense surprise it proved to be the girl
of the garden — the pansy girl, as he always called
her in his own mind. She was very nervous and
confused.
“You will forgive me, monsieur, for coming to
seek you like this? But there is something I want
to tell you — I —”
She looked around uncertainly.
“Come in here,” said Jack promptly, leading
the way into the now deserted ladies’ drawing-room
of the hotel, a dreary apartment, with a good deal
of red plush about it. “Now, sit down, Miss — Miss
—”
“Marchaud, monsieur. Felise Marchaud.”
“Sit down, Mademoiselle Marchaud, and tell
me all about it.”
23
p. 21
forrader (dial.), farther forward
p. 24
me’ nage (Fr.), housekeeping
p. 26
Monsieur le docteur (Fr.), doctor
p. 28
laid, i.e. made to return to the grave
p. 30
mediumistic powers, powers allegedly possessed
by a person supposed to act as a medium in
communication with spirits
p. 33
Ming, of the period of the Ming dynasty, a dynasty
in Chinese history (A.D. 1368-1644) noted for its works
of art, porcelains, paintings, textiles, etc.
Exercises
• Answer the questions
1. How old was Jack Hartington?
2. What days of the week were devoted by Jack
Hartington to his real business life?
3. What words did he hear one morning?
4. The cry came from a small picturesque
cottage, didn’t it?
5. How did the cottage look like?
6. Whom did Jack see in the garden near the
cottage? What was the girl doing?
36
7. What did the girl say when Jack had told her
about the mysterious cry?
8. Was she sceptical about Jack’s words?
9. At what time did Jack hear the cry?
10. Did he go to the police or not?
11. Was there any information about the crime
connecting with the cry in the newspapers?
12. What did Jack hear passing the cottage the
following morning?
13. Jack decided that he was suffering from
delusions, didn’t he?
14. About what were Jack and the girl from the
cottage talking when they met that morning?
15. What was Mr. Lavington whom Jack met at
the breakfast the same morning?
16. What plan did Jack decide to carry out?
17. Did Jack see that Lavington was interested
in him for some reason or other?
18. Did Jack and Lavington fall into conversation
easily?
19. What arrangement was made for the following morning?
20. Did Lavington hear the mysterious cry as
well as Jack did?
21. How did Lavington call himself as a doctor?
22. How did Lavington explain Jack’s “delusions”? What was his philosophical determination
of Jack’s state?
37
Íàâ÷àëüíå âèäàííÿ
Óïîðÿäíèê
Çàéêîâñê³ Ñâ³òëàíà Àíäð³¿âíà
THE MYSTERY OF THE BLUE JAR
Ïîñ³áíèê äëÿ íàâ÷àííÿ ÷èòàííÿ àíãë³éñüêîþ
ìîâîþ çà îïîâ³äàííÿì Àãàòè Êð³ñò³
Ãîëîâíèé ðåäàêòîð Áóäíèé Á.ª.
Êîìï’þòåðíèé íàá³ð òà âåðñòêà Ïîáåðåæíèê Î.Â.
Îáêëàäèíêà Áàñàëèãà Â.À.
ϳäïèñàíî äî äðóêó 29.01.99. Ôîðìàò 60×84/32. Ïàï³ð ãàçåòíèé.
Ãàðí³òóðà Øê³ëüíà. Äðóê îôñåòíèé. Óìîâí. äðóê. àðê. 1,40. Óìîâí.
ôàðáî-â³äá. 1,40. Îáë³ê.-âèä. àðê. 1,02.
Çàì.
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