– to demand
– to examine
– to reveal
– to grip
– to stroke
– to craft
– to vanish
– to swear off
– to vow
VI. Grammar.
1. Find and translate sentences in the Past Simple Tense.
2. Find and translate a sentence with homogeneous parts.
3. Find and translate one sentence in the Present Perfect Tense.
4. Find and translate one sentence in the Present Perfect
Continuous Tense.
5. Find sentences with the direct speech. Change them into the indirect
speech.
VII. Answer the following questions.
1. What kind of person was the magician?
2. Where did he work?
3. Where was a travelling circus giving the first performance?
4. What did the magician ask the propman for?
5. How did the black box look like?
6. What happened in the arena?
7. What story did the propman tell the conjuror?
8. What is the wormhole?
9. Do you believe in the human ability to travel through time
in the future?
10. What is the main message of the story?
11. Which of the tricks do you think would be the most impressive
to watch?
12. Have you had any experience of mind-reading or illusions?
Give details.
13. If the magician asked a member of the audience to participate on
stage, would you do it?
VIII. Say whether the following sentences are true, false or not given
in the text. Say what is wrong with the false ones.
1. A travelling circus was giving the second performance.
2. The town residents hated frequent visits of performing guests.
3. A novice magician demanded to be given a box for a hare to fit in.
4. The public was marveled by the performance.
5. The conjuror demonstrated stunts and tight rope walk.
6. The black box vanished with the rabbit inside.
7. The illusionist Faust appeared on the stage with the rabbit.
8. The propman told the story about wormholes.
9. According to the text rabbits live forty years.
10. The animal ceased to nibble on its carrot.
IX. Speaking.
1. Describe the magician.
2. Speak about the atmosphere in the town before the show.
3. Describe the performance of the conjuror.
4. Act out the dialogue between the propman and the magician.
5. Give the summary of the story.
X. Which of the sayings best summarises the main idea of the story?
1. The fated thing will happen.
2. There is a time and place for everything.
3. The world is a mere illusion.
XI. Solve a crossword puzzle.
Across:
2/ A person who performs tricks that seem strange or impossible