Word and there story

Illustration by Anirban Ghosh

TOWARDS FREEDOM (1st Prize)

«Jana gana mana …» The schoolboy squirmed. Another two minutes? He knew he should stand at attention. The drillmaster’s cane loomed large.»Vindhya Himachal …»He grunted in discomfort. This was unbearable. He considered making a dash; after all he was in the last row. What if the master noticed? The cane loomed again. He gritted his teeth.»Tava shubha …»This is it. He cast his eyes around.»Jaya he …»He started running.»Jaya he …»He was almost there.»Jaya he …»The chorus floated from afar. He was already in the toilet, heaving a relieved sigh.

—Subramaniam Mohan, Chennai

THE WINDOW (2nd Prize)

On a windy winter morning, a woman looked out of the window.The only thing she saw, a garden. A smile spread across her face as she spotted Maria, her daughter, in the middle of the garden enjoying the weather. It started drizzling. Maria started dancing joyfully.She tried to wave to her daughter, but her elbow was stuck, her arm hurt, her smile turned upside down. Reality came crashing down as the drizzle turned into a storm. Maria’s murdered corpse consumed her mind.On a windy winter morning, a woman looked out of the window of her jail cell.

—Saanchi Wadhwa, New Delhi

IDENTITY CRISIS (3rd Prize)

The country was on fire. Communal riots had paralyzed most of the state. Reyaz, with the help of a friend, got a fake identity card—his new name was Rakesh—and booked a ticket to Aligarh. The ticket checker on the train asked for his identification—Reyaz nervously showed the one he had recently procured. He seemed satisfied and Reyaz heaved a sigh of relief.At Aligarh there was none to fear. «Assalamu alaikum,» said Reyaz to ward off a group of enraged people. The angriest of them, with bloodshot eyes, approached Reyaz and asked for his identity card.

—Junaid H. Nahvi, New Delhi

LEERING LOTHARIO (4th Prize)

She peered over the open magazine, and there he was, still staring at her, disconcertingly. For the past 30 minutes, she’d endured his irritating attention. Time to call airport security. The burly cop strode in purposefully, with a sleek Alsatian on leash. «Sir, there’s been a complaint. I need you to come with me. Quietly, please,» he growled. The leather-jacketed man didn’t move a muscle. His hands were rock-steady on the trolley handle in front of him. The cop waited for a minute, and then reached out to handcuff the Ray-Ban-wearing guy. The hands were locked in rigor mortis.

—Ed Sudhir, Bengaluru

LOVE ACTUALLY

«Do you believe in shooting stars?» she asked.»Do you?»»There is no harm, is there?» She paused. «I’d love to sit in the balcony amidst all the flowerpots and watch the busy world go by.»He said nothing. She needed no assurance, no promise. She squawked a reply when they asked if she was ready to go back to her room. It would be another 10 minutes before the duty nurse wheeled him away.She had laughed at the last tooth he had lost. He had teased her about the silver hair at the back of her sweater.

—Maya Davi Chalissery, Thrissur, Kerala

A BROKEN PROMISE

Hearing a knock on the door,  she hustled towards it with her  little feet, her lips uncloaking the cutest smile and her voice singing, «Daddy’s home!» Her mum, glued to the news channels for the past week, approached the door hesitantly and opened it with trepidation.Two men in military uniform were standing at the doorstep. One of them handed her an envelope with a mournful expression, adding plaintively, «We’re sorry, Mrs Bhatt.»»Where’s my dad, Uncle? He promised we’ll celebrate Diwali together this time,» exclaimed the girl. They stared helplessly, with a lump in their throats and moistened eyes.

—Aditi Sharma, New Delhi

MEETING THE ONE

They met at a cafe, stealing glances at each other while the parents  spoke animatedly.They remained silent throughout, only exchanging shy smiles while ordering snacks at the counter.Returning with the food, he moved to the head of the table to get a good look at her.Noticing his manoeuvre, she smiled down at her coffee, making him beam like a proud schoolboy.When the two families parted at the end of the meeting, he rushed back to the cafe, praying that the girl, who had been at the table behind theirs all afternoon, would still be there.

—Preyanka Paswan, New Delhi

HUMANKIND

It was pouring, as I entered a  nearby porch.Out of the blue, a kid startled me from behind—I panicked and scampered away. His father asked him not to scare anyone.After some initial hiccups we became good friends. I often visited their house, ate with them.One day, while I was slurping down the milk, a man entered their portico, begging for food.The father yelled at him and pushed him out of the entrance.I was terrified, and in a jiffy, I ran away screaming, «Meow! Meow …»

—Aswin R. S., Chennai

RED SAND

Border guard Melissa Walter fumed, «Madam President’s lost it.» A new batch was arriving. The count had crossed 10,000. «As if the country doesn’t have enough mouths to feed.»Officer Gerald was off-duty, so here she was, about to ‘welcome’ refugees. The boat arrived. She pasted on her best professional smile.So many people, all skinny and gaunt. Teary, scared eyes, with a weak gait. Clinging to the elders, the children walked on.»Look!» a boy exclaimed, dropping down. «The sand is so soft here. It’s not red. Can I touch, Mama?» he pleaded.Melissa stood still, stunned into silence.

—Geetha M., Kanchipuram

WHAT, SERIOUSLY?

Varun called his friend over to his house. When he arrived, he told him he had to speak to him about a problem. They both went up to Varun’s room.»What is it?» asked the friend. «I think I am having an identity crisis,» said Varun.»What do you mean?» asked his friend.»MOOOOOO!» he bellowed like a cow.His friend stood frozen, in stunned silence. Varun burst out laughing, «I was just kidding!»»Are you sure? Because we just ran out of milk,» came the reply.

—Aditi Ashok, Chennai

THE GOODBYE

Out jogging, I saw two elderly women hugging each other and weeping inconsolably. The women had been good friends, living in adjacent apartments on the ground floor, for years.One of them was now having to shift to the fifth floor, as the house owner wished to undertake major maintenance work.Since there were no lifts in the building, she would be carried upstairs, unable to come down—ever again. Her friend, just as frail, would not be able to visit her upstairs either. Accepting the inevitability of their permanent separation, the poor dears said their final goodbyes.

—Deepak Nair, Thiruvananthapuram

ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE

As a married couple, they led a charmed life. Jantu had his own circle of friends and Tulu had hers. And every morning they exchanged and savoured their previous day’s experiences over breakfast. Jantu was not immune to the seven-year-itch, though. The days he strayed were few and far between. Faithful Tulu was quietly accommodating. On the nights he slipped, Jantu would indicate it by skipping his daily apple at breakfast.That morning, Jantu was devastated to see Tulu’s favourite pear was left untouched.

—K. L. Narayanan, Bengaluru

THE UGLY TRUTH

«Hello,» said the figure cloaked in darkness.»Who are you?» I asked.»I am that which you fear the most,» it said to me and stepped into the light.What I saw next sent me into a paroxysm of fear. There stood a creature most hideous: twisted body, gnarled fingers, with a semblance of what might have once been a face. Chillingly revealing a gaping hole where its heart should have been, spilling oily blackness.Overcome with revulsion and trembling in horror, I fell to my knees.»I am you,» said the creature.

—Vaishnavi R. Krishna, Thiruvananthapuram

MUMMIFIED

During our visit to Egypt’s Alexandria National Museum, I took my five-year-old son to the basement to see a mummy and started explaining what it was. Confused, he bolted from the room and rushed to his mother, who was busy chatting with other tourists.He told my wife breathlessly, «Mum! Dad just showed me another mummy. He is looking at her.»Surprised, my wife followed him to the basement. She sized up the situation instantly and retorted, «Oh! Mummy is a daddy.»Confused, sonny asked innocently, «If mummy is the daddy, then who is the mummy’s mummy?»

—Dhananjay Sinha, Kolkata

STREET SMART

It was 9 a.m., 26 January. The politician’s car, on the way to the flag-hoisting ceremony, stopped at a red light. A 10-year-old street vendor came running to the car and waved the tricolour, hoping that selling one more flag will help him buy some vada pav. With no intention of buying, the politician rolled down the window and smirked, «Today you are selling the national flag. On other days, I have seen you sell toys, umbrellas and kites. Is there anything you have not sold so far?»»Our country,» the boy retorted at once.

—Kalpesh Sheth, Mumbai

All entries have been edited for clarity. They were graded on grammar, language, originality, plot device and storytelling technique by RD editors, basis which the winning entries were selected. Winners will receive book prizes, courtesy HarperCollins Publishers India.

Fifty-word stories!!!

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Legend has it that famous author Ernest Hemingway, out to lunch at the Algonquin, bet a table full of fellow writers he could write a short story in just 6 words. His companions had their doubts and wagered 10 dollars each to put Hemingway to the test. As the tale goes, Hemingway believed the resulting story to be his finest work ever.

Although the validity of this anecdote is contested, there’s absolutely no question this is a darn fine short story.  Like all stories, it has the basics – a beginning, middle, and end.  As well as all the things that make a story great – emotion, detail, and interest.

The tale of Hemingway’s ‘Baby Shoes’ continues to interest literary fans to this day, and six-word stories (classified as ‘short short stories’ or sometimes ‘flash fiction’) can be found all over the place.

There are dedicated websites… 

…Tumblr’s…

…and cool 365 projects

But perhaps most notable is a book series created by Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleisger of Smith Maganize.  In 2006, they asked Smith Magazine readers to submit their life stories in just 6 words.  From this grew their first book, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs from Writers Famous & Obscure, and after this came an entire book series.  You can read a few excerpts in this NPR story or go to their website (linked above) where they share all sorts of stories.

I really like six-word stories (for our purposes six-word stories, statements, and exclamations), especially when talking about feelings and emotions. Emotional expression often makes people nervous and uncomfortable which is why we sometimes shy away from them.  Show of hands, how many of you feel uncomfortable the minute something emotional leaves your mouth? Either you clam up or you awkwardly keep talking all the while wondering just how strange it would seem if you started running in the other direction.

Six-word stories are perfect little bite-sized emotional expressions.  You can throw it out there and leave it open to interpretation.  Interestingly enough, because of our common threads and shared experiences, we can often intuit enough about the story to understand exactly what it means.  Which leads me to wonder, why am I wasting so much time talking when all I need are six words!?!

Brevity is certainly not my strong suit, yet the constraints of choosing only 6 words feel strangely freeing.  It relieves the pressure of writing a perfect and precise story or explanation.  The flip side of this of course, for all you men and women of few words, is using only six words sits right there in your verbal comfort zone.

The key to the six-word story, statement, or exclamation is finding the perfect 6 words to communicate your point.  If we were talking strictly about ‘stories’ we would say that you should strive for a beginning, a middle, and an end; but because many of us are trying this exercise for the first time, we’re not going to worry about the structure so much as the content.

I found an interesting story while I was reading about the Smith Magazine book series on Wikipedia (my top source for information behind IMDB).  In February of 2009, Smith and Fershleiser appeared on the Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC.  During the segment, a listener (Anne from Hell’s Kitchen) shared her six-word memoir…

“I found my mother’s suicide note”

Sparking an intense discussion on how Anne came to terms with her mother’s death and the role the note played in this.  The suicide note itself was just six words…

“No flowers, no funeral, no nothing.”

I was struck by how perfectly both of these six-word statements conveyed the emotion, turmoil, distress, and despair that would likely be found in the longer version of the story.  A few carefully chosen words can tell the whole story.

Of course many find benefit in telling their whole story (many don’t) but I think there is certainly a place for six-word stories and statements in therapeutic emotional expression.  It’s an art form that allows you to express something by picking and choosing the details you wish to convey and allows others (if you care to share) to draw on their inner-selves and shared experiences to interpret the narrative.

For this reason, we put together a brief journaling exercise.  The following are 11 things I want you to write a 6-word story about.  For those of you who do the exercise, I think you will be surprised by some of the words you ultimately choose.

Afterward, you will see Litsa and I have shared our 6-word stories.  If you feel up to it, please share yours as well in the comments below, on Facebook, or Tweet it to @whatsyourgrief on Twitter.

Using only 6 words write:

1.  A story about your loved one

2.  A story about the death

3.  A story about you before he/she died

4.  A story about you after he/she died

5.  A story about a good memory

6.  A story about something that makes you mad

7.  A story about something that gives you anxiety

8.  A story about something that gives you hope

9.  A story about how you feel about death

10.  A story about your loved one’s best quality

11.  Something you wish people knew about your grief.

Want more grief journaling? Check out our 30-day Self-Guided Grief Journaling Intensive, or the following articles:

• 5 Benefits of Grief Journaling
• Continuing Bonds: A Grief Journal Exercise
• Growth from Grief (and a Journaling Exercise)
• Missing Moments & Letter Writing: A Journal Exercise
• Love Your Regret
• Support System Superlatives: A Journaling Exercise
• Wedding Day Advice: A Journal Exercise

You’re probably going to forget about ‘What’s Your Grief’ if you don’t bookmark us now.  The most reliable way to follow along is to subscribe to receive e-mails straight to your inbox.  

May 3, 2013

Here’s a quiz: let’s say you’re setting off to see the world and aside from please and thank you in a smattering of languages you pretty much only know English. What is the one word that most of the people you encounter will also know?

That’s right. It’s OK.

Yep. It’s very probably the most widely recognized word in the world. And its origin story is literally a joke.

The definitive text on the subject is by professor Allan Metcalf, whose OK: The Improbable Story of America’s Greatest Word, based on the research of historian Allen Walker Read, was published in 2010. Metcalf traces the word’s birth to a bit of jocular text in an 1839 article in the Boston Morning Post—a little jab from one newspaper editor to another, suggesting that his cohort in Providence, Rhode Island, should sponsor a party for some boisterous Boston lads who might be stopping by his town:

… he of the [Providence] Journal, and his train-band, would have the ‘contributions box,’ et ceteras, o.k.—all correct—and cause the corks to fly…»

But let’s back up for a minute and establish our setting. Newspapers in the 19th century existed before the advent of wire services, and American newspapers got most of their out-of-town news from other newspapers they exchanged copies with. The papers weren’t cramped for space, and they’d also print humor, poetry, fiction, and jabs at other newspapers. The quote above is part of a humorous reply to an item reprinted from the Providence paper.

Despite plenty of space, there was an abbreviation fad in newspapers of the time that might remind one of our own time. Perhaps a friend has sent you an electronic message containing brb, for «be right back»? Or maybe you’ve assessed an article as TL;DR? Let us present for comparison the 1839 New York newspaper report of a fashionable young woman remarking to her male friend «O.K.K.B.W.P.»: her alphabetic litany was answered with a kiss and reported to translate as «one kind kiss before we part.» Take that, Internet.

The 1820s and 1830s shared another linguistic fad with today: an appreciation for deliberate misspellings. (Kewl, rite?) This trend, which had humorists adopting now-cringey bumpkin personas with ignorance manifested in uneducated spellings, turned no go into know go and no use into know yuse (lol). Abbreviations were not immune, and no go became K.G.. So too all right became O.W., as an abbreviation for oll wright. And all correct became o.k., as an abbreviation for oll korrect.

Although OK became one of the more commonly used initialisms, it might have passed into oblivion when the linguistic fad had passed if not for the presidential election of 1840, when Martin Van Buren was given the nickname of «Old Kinderhook» because of his hometown of Kinderhook, NY. The Van Buren stans who joined «OK Clubs» nationwide were themselves, they proclaimed, «OK.» Their campaign was memorable enough to have both popularized the word and to have hijacked the story of its origin: there are today still those who believe that «Old Kinderhook» is the original meaning of OK.

As OK spread (helped along by the advent of the telegraph), its origin story was a topic of much speculation. «Old Kinderhook» persisted, and various linguistic ancestors from various languages were also proposed, with forebears from Latin, Greek, Scottish, French, Finnish, Anglo-Saxon via Swedish, Mandingo, and Wolof all being offered. The most persistent of these ancestors was the Choctaw word okeh. This etymon was suggested in 1885, with Andrew Jackson supposedly having borrowed the word from members of the Choctaw tribe. Woodrow Wilson was a believer: he wrote okeh on papers he approved. He was asked why he did not use O.K. «Because it is wrong,» he replied.

O.K. is of course not wrong. And speaking of «wrong,» OK and okay aren’t wrong either; they are the dominant forms, though the lowercase ok is also fully established.

Although the longer okay may look like the more reputable member of the language, it’s not, as we’ve seen, justified by etymology. It has its supporters, though, with Louisa May Alcott being among the early adopters:

One of us must marry well. Meg didn’t, Jo won’t, Beth can’t yet, so I shall, and make everything okay all
round.
— Little Women, 1868-9

As Professor Metcalf notes in an illuminating blog post all about the okay spelling, the 1880 edition of Little Women included neither okay nor OK, opting instead for the word cozy. Um, OK.

Английский язык для 7-го класса
Предмет:	Английский язык
Класс:	7 класс
Автор учебника:	Афанасьева О.В. Михеева И.В.
Год издания:	2016
Издательство:
Кол-во заданий:
Кол-во упражнений:	541
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Описание задания[править | править код]

Read the text once very attentively and complete the sentences after it with the appropriate variants.

The Printed Word[править | править код]

The earliest books were written on tablets of wood or pieces of bark. In Greece and Rome the tablets of wood were covered with wax, and writing was impressed upon them with a small stick called «stylus». These tablets were held together on one side with thin strips of leather or metal rings. In Assyria and Babylonia clay tablets were used for writing, and the words were drawn with a piece of wood. After baking the tablets were kept on shelves just like books are kept today. Although the clay tablets didn’t look very beautiful, they were long-lasting and some of them survived until the present day. The earliest books of the ancient world were written on papyrus and skins of young animals. These books took the form of a long strip rolled from one cylinder to another. These writings were known to the Romans as uolumen from which comes the word volume. Though paper has been known in China since the first century, the secret of papermaking came to Europe much later.

Books were quite common in ancient Rome: we know that there were many booksellers and the first public library was founded there about 39 B.C. Only the rich could buy books or make their slaves copy books from important libraries. By the time of the Middle Ages all books were handwritten and often beautifully decorated. Libraries used to chain books to the shelves so that they could not be removed from the building. But very few people could read them. The invention of printing was a really great event in history. The first people to invent printing were the Chinese. In Europe there were several people who can be called inventors of printing. The best-known is Johann Gutenberg from Germany.

Printing spread quickly over Europe and by the end of the 15th century there were more than 200 presses. The early printers were not only craftsmen, but also editors, publishers and booksellers. The first printing press in England was set up by William Caxton at Westminster in 1476, and the first printing press in Russia — by Ivan Fedorov in Moscow in 1564. Printed books soon reached a very high standard and the craftsmen were rightfully proud of their work. Eventually there were more and more people in Europe who could read and they wanted more and more books. That led to opening more libraries.

Early libraries were used only by scientists and were few. By and by they grew in number and began to be used by the public. The 19th century saw the appearance of a proper system of public libraries. Now most countries have their own national libraries. Many old university libraries have rich collections of books: Oxford and Cambridge in England, Harvard and Yale Lierl in the United States. Among the great libraries of the world we can name the British Museum Library (the British Library) in London, the Library of Congress in the United States, the Beijing Library in China, the State Public Library in Moscow, Bibliotheque Nationale in France. The world’s largest is the US Library of Congress. It holds about 90 million items — books and manuscripts. The library was founded in 1800 in Washington, DC for the use of Congress and later became a public library. Bibliotheque Nationale dates back to the 17th century and he British Museum Library was set in the 18th century. The State Public Library in Moscow was founded in 1862 and has unique collections of books.

Modern libraries do their best to help people get information as quickly as possible. They use computers and electronic catalogues. Probably the most difficult problem for any library is to keep their books, journals and films. How they do it is a new story.

Задания к тексту[править | править код]

1. In ancient Rome people used to sell books
a) people used to sell books
b) rich people founded public libraries
c) a lot of people were able to read books in the libraries
d) slaves were not allowed to touch books
2. The US Library of Congress is as big as the British Museum Library
a) has only printed editions
b) is as big as the British Museum Library
c) is the oldest of all famous public libraries
d) is used not only by American congressmen

Перевод задания[править | править код]

Книгопечатание[править | править код]

Самые ранние книги были написаны на табличках из дерева или кусочках коры. В Греции и Риме деревянные таблички были покрыты воском, и на них выдавливали небольшой палочкой под названием «стилус». Эти таблички удерживались вместе на одной стороне с помощью тонких полосок кожаных или металлических колец. В Ассирии и Вавилонии глиняные таблички использовались для письма, а слова были выдавлены куском дерева. После выпечки таблетки хранились на полках, как книги сегодня. Хотя глиняные таблички выглядели не очень красиво, они были долговечны, и некоторые из них сохранились до наших дней. Самые ранние книги древнего мира были написаны на папирусе и шкурах молодых животных. Эти книги приняли форму длинной полосы, катящейся от одного цилиндра к другому. Эти писания были известны римлянам как свитки, из которого происходит слово объем. Хотя бумага была известна в Китае с первого столетия, секрет производства бумаги пришел в Европу гораздо позже.

Книги были довольно распространены в Древнем Риме: мы знаем, что было много продавцов книг, и первая публичная библиотека была основана там около 39 г. до нашей эры. Только богатые люди могли покупать книги или заставлять своих рабов копировать книги из важных библиотек. Ко времени средневековья все книги были написаны от руки и часто красиво украшены. Библиотеки приковывали книги к полкам, чтобы их нельзя было убрать из здания. Но мало кто мог прочитать их. Изобретение печати было действительно великим событием в истории. Первыми, кто изобрел печать, были китайцы. В Европе было несколько человек, которых можно назвать изобретателями печати. Самый известный — Иоганн Гутенберг из Германии.

Печать быстро распространилась по Европе, и к концу 15-го века было более 200 печатных машин. Первые печатники были не только мастерами, но и редакторами, издателями и продавцами книг. Первая печатная машина в Англии была создана Уильямом Кэкстоном в Вестминстере в 1476 году, а первая печатная машина в России — Иваном Федоровым в Москве в 1564 году. Печатные книги вскоре достигли очень высоких стандартов, и мастера по праву гордились своей работой. В конце концов, в Европе появлялось все больше и больше людей, которые могли читать, и они хотели все больше и больше книг. Это привело к открытию большего количества библиотек.

Ранние библиотеки использовались только учеными и были немногочисленными. Постепенно их стало больше и они стали использоваться обществом. В 19 веке появилась надлежащая система общественных библиотек. Сейчас в большинстве стран есть свои национальные библиотеки. Многие старые университетские библиотеки имеют богатые коллекции книг: Оксфорд и Кембридж в Англии, Гарвард и Йельский университет в Соединенных Штатах. Среди великих мировых библиотек можно назвать Британскую музейную библиотеку в Лондоне, Библиотеку Конгресса США, Пекинскую библиотеку в Китае, Государственную публичную библиотеку в Москве, Национальную библиотеку во Франции. Самой большой в мире является Библиотека Конгресса США. В нем хранится около 90 миллионов предметов — книги и рукописи. Библиотека была основана в 1800 году в Вашингтоне, округ Колумбия, для использования Конгрессом, а затем стала публичной библиотекой. Национальная библиотека датируется 17 веком, а Британская музейная библиотека была основана в 18 веке. Государственная публичная библиотека в Москве была основана в 1862 году и имеет уникальные коллекции книг.

Современные библиотеки делают все возможное, чтобы помочь людям получить информацию как можно быстрее. Они пользуются компьютерами и электронными технологиями. Наверное, самая трудная задача для любой библиотеки-сохранить свои книги, журналы и фильмы. Как они это делают-это новая история.

Вопросы к тексту[править | править код]

1. В древнем Риме люди продавали книги
а) люди продавали книги
б) богатые люди основали публичные библиотеки
в) многие люди могли читать книги в библиотеках
г) рабам не разрешали трогать книги
2. Библиотека Конгресса США такая же большая, как Библиотека Британского музея.
а) имеет только печатные издания
б) такая же большая, как Библиотека Британского музея
в) является старейшей из всех известных публичных библиотек
г) используется не только американскими конгрессменами

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