DIANA COTRU

ENGLISH FOR STUDENTS IN PHILOSOPHY

MODULE I

UNIT 1

WARM UP
Xanthippe is portrayed as the archetypal nagging wife who fails to perceive the
stature of her philosopher husband, Socrates. List other female figures, either real
or legendary, whether fitting or escaping stereotypes (e.g. Queen Elizabeth I,
Sapho, Cleopatra, etc) and explain what their names have come to mean:

READING SELECTION
CONSOLATIONS FOR UNPOPULARITY
1. A few years ago, during a bitter New York winter, with an afternoon to spare before
catching a flight to London, I found myself in a deserted gallery on the upper level of
the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was brightly lit, and aside from the soothing
hum of an under-floor heating system, entirely silent. Having reached a surfeit of
paintings in the Impressionist galleries, I was looking for a sign for the cafeteria
where I hoped to buy a glass of a certain variety of American chocolate milk of
which I was at that time extremely fond when my eye was caught by a canvas which
a caption explained had been painted in Paris in the autumn of 1786 by the thirtyeight-year-old Jacques Louis David. Socrates condemned to death by the people of
Athens, prepares to drink a cup of hemlock, surrounded by woebegone friends.
2. An indication of its significance may be the frequency with which it has been painted. In
1650 the French painter Charles Alphonse Dufresnoy produced a Death of Socrates, now
hanging in the Galleria Palatina in Florence (which has no Cafeteria).
3. I bought five postcard Davids in the museum gift-shop and later, flying over the ice
fields of Newfoundland (turned a luminous green by a full moon and a cloudless
sky), examined one while picking at a pale evening meal left on the table in front of
me by a steward during a misjudged snooze.
4. Plato sits at the foot of the bed, a pen and a scroll beside him, silent witness to the
injustice of the state. He had been twenty-nine at the time of Socrates death, but
David turned him into an old man, grey-haired and grave. Through the passageway,
Socrates wife, Xanthippe, is escorted from the prison cell by wardens. Several
friends are in various stages of lamentation. Socrates closest companion Crito,
seated beside him, gazes at the master with devotion and concern. But the
philosopher, bolt upright, with an athletes torso and biceps, shows neither
apprehension nor regret.

VOCABULARY
a surfeit of paintings abunden de tablouri

my eye was caught privirea mi-a fost atras

hemlock - cucut
woebegone copleii de durere
picking at a ciuguli din mncare
wardens - gardieni
apprehension team, anxietate
READING COMPREHENSION
Do the following exercise based on the Reading Selection:
1. Which of the following can best replace bitter in: A few years ago, during a
bitter New York winter.
a. snowy
b. mild
c. cold
d. not sweet
2. Where is the Metropolitan Museum of Art? ________________
3. The painting discussed in the reading selection belongs to what School of
painting? ____________
4. Would you say that the death of Socrates has been an inspiration to several
artists? Yes/No.
5. How would you describe Plato based on the very laconic mentioning by the
author: Plato silent witness to the injustice of the state?

5. What is the significance of the episode of Socrates death (the author himself
writes the frequency with which it has been painted is a hint at its significance)?

..
6. Decide whether the following are True or False:
The author went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to buy himself some
chocolate milk.
The author could see quite clearly Newfoundland from his plane.
When he left the meal for the author on the plane, the steward thought he was
sleeping.
Socrates panics at the prospect of his own death.

VOCABULARY PRACTICE
Mis in misjudged, and in general, connotes making a mistake or being wrong.
Combine the following words with the prefix mis to fill in the blanks in the
following sentences. You also need to provide the appropriate form of the
combinations:
guide
lead
conceive
place
trust
lay
understa
nd

This .. young man should receive some counseling.

The .. information he gave us made us lose our way.
The sun rises in the east is a very common .
You must have the letter. I cant find it anywhere!
I apologize for you, but at our first meeting, you didnt
strike me as very reliable.
Im afraid I . my trust in you. You are such a
disappointment.
There must be a ! We havent called for you.

GRAMMAR
Expressing Present
SIMPLE PRESENT
Use:
permanent truths: Gases expand when heated.
the present period: My sister works in a bank.
habitual actions: I get up at 7.30 every morning.
future reference for timetables: The concert begins at 8 PM next Saturday.
observations and declarations: I think so.
instructions: First you weigh the ingredients.
commentaries: Becker serves to Lendl.
PRESENT PROGRESSIVE
Use:
actions in progress at the moment of speaking: He is sleeping at the moment.
temporary situations/actions not necessarily in progress at the moment of speaking: My
daughter is studying English at Oxford.
planned actions (future + time adverbial): We are spending next summer in the Bahamas.
repeated actions with adverbs like always, forever: She is always helping people.

Exercises:
Read the answers and then provide the corresponding questions.
1. Where .?

Ann? She lives not too far away.

2. Do ?
Jack? No, I havent met him yet.
3. Do ?
Not here, our stop is the next.
4. Why .?
Because I am feeling cold.
5. Is .?
No, hes staying with a friend.
6. When ...?
Wendy? She usually arrives at 6.
Rewrite each sentence so that the verb underlined is in the negative.
My two brothers are studying philosophy.

He likes doing research in the library.

.
Jane carries everywhere her notebook.

Im using the computer for the moment.

The sun sets in the east.

.
I believe he is not truthful in everything he says.

Complete each sentence with a Present Simple or Present Continuous form,

using the words given:
. reading Plato?
you like
What time ?
the sun rise
I . any of the seminars at school.
not miss
This is an examination. Why ?
you talk
.. for your exam?
you have to learn
Why at me like that? Have I said something wrong?
you look
I cant stand this lecture. The speaker .. very boring.

be
I cant work out the answer. What is it?
you know
WRITING
Use the following connectors to form ONE sentence out of the following pairs:
Nevertheless
I wasnt hungry. I accepted another helping.
..
Still
She told the truth. She wasnt believed.
.
Since
You havent handed in your written assignment. You will get a poor mark.

However
She isnt a diligent student. She is a popular with her teachers.
..
While
Her interest lies with the sophist. His interest lies with the scholastics.
.

UNIT 2

WARM UP
Why do people keep diaries? Do you keep one? What is the function of a
diary?

.
READING SELECTION
SPECULATION AND IMAGINATION
A man is attempting to work on a train between Edinburgh and London. It is early in the
afternoon and a warm spring day.
Papers and a diary are on the table before him, and a book is open on the armrest.
But the man has been unable to hold a coherent thought since Newcastle, when a woman
entered the carriage and seated herself across the aisle. After looking impassively out of the
window for a few moments, she turned her attention to a pile of magazines. She has been
reading Vogue since Darlington. She reminds the man of a portrait by Christen Kobke of
Mrs. Hoegh-Guldberg (though he can recall neither of these names), which he saw, and felt
strangely moved and saddened by, in a museum in Denmark a few years before.
But unlike Mrs Hoegh-Guldberg, she has short brown hair and wears jeans, a pair
of trainers and a canary-yellow V-neck sweater over a T-shirt. He notices an incongruously
large digital sports-watch on her pale, freckle-dotted wrist. He imagines running his hand
through her chestnut hair, caressing the back of her neck, watching her fall asleep beside
him, her lips slightly agape. He imagines living with her in London, in a cherry-tree-lined
street. He speculates that she may be a cellist or a graphic designer, or a doctor specializing
in genetic research. His mind turns over strategies for conversation. He considers asking
her for the time, for a pencil, for directions to the bathroom, for reflections on the weather,
for a look at one of the magazines. He longs for a train crash, in which their carriage would
be thrown into one of the vast barley-fields through which they are passing. In the chaos, he
would guide her safely outside, and repair with her to a nearby tent set up by the
ambulance service, where they would be offered lukewarm tea and stare into each others
eyes. Years later, they would attract interest by revealing that they had met in the tragic
Edinburgh Express collision. But because the train seemed disinclined to derail, and though
he knows it to be absurd, the man cannot help clearing his throat and leaning over to ask
the angel if she might have a spare ballpoint. It feels like jumping off the side of a very high
bridge.

VOCABULARY
aisle - culoar
incongruously deplasat, nepotrivit
cellist - violoncelist
barley - orz
ballpoint - pix
READING COMPREHENSION
1. The passage refers to:
o the Edinburgh Express collision
o a portrait by a Danish painter
o a train encounter
o the meeting between a future husband and wife
2. The woman who boarded the train and sat down next to the man:
o was curious about what the man was doing
o was indifferent to the scenery outside
o preferred to talk rather than read
o was anxious that he should start the conversation
3. The woman reminded the man:
o of a portrait by an unknown painter
o of the portrait of a lady whose name is unimportant
o of the portrait of a lady by a painter, whose names skipped his mind
o of a portrait by a Danish artist
4. What most distinguished his lady companion from the woman in the painting was:
o her hairstyle
o her dress
o her footwear
o her wristwatch
5. The man fancies that:
o he saves the womans life
o he treats her injuries in an ambulance tent
o they escape uninjured from a train collision
o the train derails creating the circumstances for them to fall in love
6. The man likens approaching the woman to:
o a suicidal act
o a life-threatening experience
o a frightening adventure
o an enjoyable prospect
Decide if the following are False or True:
7. The man envied the woman her expensive watch.
8. The man was romantically interested in the woman.

9. The man is afraid the train might crash.

10. The man imagines that the woman and he escape from the train collision without
injuries and are offered hot drinks.
11. The woman was identical to the lady in the portrait the man had seen several years ago.
12. Eventually the man asked the woman for something to read.

VOCABULARY PRACTICE
Use the following to fill in the blanks of the following sentences:
Remember
Remind
Recall
Memory
Commemorate
Memorize
Remembrance
Reminisce
1. The pub is their favorite spot to meet and . about the good old days.
2. My mother keeps complaining about how poor her .. seems to be these days.
3. They all gathered to . the brave soldiers who had sacrificed their lives to
liberate the city.
4. I always disliked it in school when teachers had us .. whole poems.
5. Try as she did she couldnt . his name.
6. I certainly dont saying you could use my bike.
7. me to return the book on time. You know I always forget these things.
8. The senator said when inaugurating the museum it was a . of the victims of the
Holocaust.
GRAMMAR
EXPRESSING FUTURE
FUTURE PROGRESSIVE
Use:
to emphasize actions that will be in progress in the near or distant future: This time
tomorrow we will be travelling to London.
for planned actions: We will be spending the holidays with our parents.
FUTURE PERFECT SIMPLE
Use:
with by and not until to show that the action will already be completed by a certain time
in the future: I will have retired by the year 2005.
FUTURE PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
Use:

with verbs like learn, live, lie, rain, sit, wait, etc. which naturally suggest continuity to
say what is in progress now and will be in progress in the future: By this time next week I
will have been working on this play for two years.

FUTURE-IN-THE-PAST
Use:
to refer to events which were destined or planned to take place in the past: They had
already reached halfway. Soon they would reach their destination.
GOING TO FUTURE
Use:
Predictions especially when we see that something is about to happen: Look out. You
are going to fall.
Intentions: I am going to call him right now.
planned actions: We are going to see America.
AM/IS/ARE TO BE ABOUT TO BE DUE TO FUTURE
Use:
to be to: - formal arrangements or duties: NATO officials are to meet in Prague.
- formal instructions: You are to take only one pill a day.
to be about to: refers to the immediate future: Look! The race is about to start.
to be due to: refers to timetables: The plane is due to land a 2.15.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
Use:
Events arranged for the future, social arrangements: Are you doing anything on Friday
evening. I am having a party.
PRESENT SIMPLE
refers to official timetables: The train leaves from Victoria Station at 18.00 hours.
in time clauses: Ill call you when I finish writing my letter.
EXERCISES
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first:
His birthday party is this Sunday.
He . on Sunday.
Next weeks forecast is for snow.
Its next week.
I predict a victory for our gymnasts.
I think .. win.
Tomorrow Ill stay home.
I ..here tomorrow, sir.
Mary intends to finish her decorations tonight.
Mary . her decorations tonight.
Meet me outside the theatre at 7.15.
I .. outside the theatre at 7.15.
Whats our arrangement for tonight?
Where tonight?

I dont plan to buy a car after all.

I . a car after all.
Are you free this afternoon?
Are anything this afternoon?
Express the future in the following sentences:
If we are late, Im sure that by the time we arrive, everybody else (leave).
Watch out! You .(spill) the milk.
Im sure that this time tomorrow he (sleep) after his long journey.
Their professor .. (deliver) tonight and they dont want to miss it.
Look at the clouds in the sky. Im sure it .. (rain) and spoil our picnic.
She promised me she .. (never/lie) to me again.
WRITING
Recount a similar experience (as in the Reading Selection) youve had as an entry in your
own diary.

UNIT 3

WARM UP
There are several theories about the coming into existence of our universe (cosmogonies) to
be found in myths or in the official religions. Dou you know any (e.g. the biblical version)?

READING SELECTION

SEARCHING FOR THE WORLD STUFF

1. Thales, who was born around 650 BC, taught that everything in the world was made of water.
He thought that the earth floated on water. How Thales came to believe these things, we
cant be sure. What we know about him has been handed down to us from philosophers who
lived long after Thales died. Possibly he became convinced that water is the world stuff by
observing what went on around him. He could see water changing into vapour as he watched
a boiling kettle. He could see early morning mist rise into the air, then change its form and
fall to earth as rain. He could also see water change its form as it froze into ice, then melted
back into water. He even supposed that water changed into earth. Silt deposits at the mouth of
the Nile and other rivers were evidence. Water bubbling up in springs possibly led Thales
to believe that the earth floated on water. Furthermore, ancient Egyptians myths told him that
in the beginning there was only water Nun, the primeval ocean from which all things came.
2. Another philosopher on the list is Anaximenes who taught between 600 BC and 550 BC. Like
Thales, Anaximenes believed that all matter was made of a single substance. Where Thales
supposed that substance to be water, Anaximenes believed it to be pneuma, or breath. This
breath, he wrote, the things that are, and have been, and shall be, the gods and things divine
took their rise, while other things come from its offspring. Air. He also wrote, becomes
fire. Winds on the other hand are condensed Air. Cloud is formed from Air and Cloud still
further condensed becomes water. Water condensed still more turns to earth, and when
condensed as much as it can be it turns into stones. And so with Anaximenes we find a super
element from which all things are made, breath, which includes Thales element water.
3. Around 500 BC we find another Greek philosopher trying to solve the puzzle of the world
stuff. His name is Heraclitus and he saw the world as being made of fire. The world, he
wrote, was ever, is now, and shall be an ever-living Fire, with measures of it kindling and
measures going out. All things are an exchange for Fire, and Fire for all things. According to
Heraclitus all things were constantly changing. Trees became firewood; the wood turned into
ashes; the ashes turned into dust and so on. Nothing remained the same. Only change itself
was permanent. Because this idea seemed cheerless to the people around him, Heraclitus
became known as the weeping philosopher.

VOCABULARY
to float a pluti
to hand down a transmite
kettle - ceainic
mist - cea
freeze, froze, frozen a nghea
silt - aluviuni
springs - izvoare
offspring urmai, progenituri
to kindle a (se) ntei
ashes - cenu
dust - rn
cheerless trist, lipsit de veselie
READING-COMPREHENSION
Fill in this table with information from the reading selection:
THALES

ANAXIMENES

HERACLITUS

What is the worldstuff

Evidence

Cycle of change

VOCABULARY WORK
Collective nouns
CREW (I was handled by some of the crew) is a collective noun but it almost always takes a verb in the singular.
Here are some more nouns which fall in the same category. Use them in the following sentences. Some may be used
more than once:

Stack

Set

Flight

Audience

Crowd

Clump

Swarm

Fleet

Gang

Shoal

Congregation

Pack

Bunch

Crew

1. Queen Elizabeths _____________ defeated the famed Spanish Armada in a memorable

naval battle.
2. The long draught and subsequent famine cut down the farmers _________ from thousands to
hundreds.
3. The greedy bear was attacked by a ________ of wasps.
4. A _________ of shouting people took over the government building and dismissed the Prime
Minister in a surge of dissatisfaction.
5. Prince Charles when visiting foreign states usually occupies a _____________ of rooms at
the hotel.
6. Some spectators in the _______________ disagreed with the referees decision.
7. The shipwrecked sailors lived for a whole week on just one large ______________ of
bananas.
8. The priest was upset to see his _______________ getting smaller.
9. Ancient mariners did not need modern equipment to locate the _________ of fish.
10. She was pushed from behind by the plotting servants and fell down a __________ of steps.
11. He was the head of a well-known __________ of criminals.
12. Wearied out by the long ride they sat down in the shade of a ________ of trees.
13. In spring _________ of birds arrive in Britain after spending the winter in Africa.
14. The kings banquet in the open air was completely ruined by a ____________ of ants.
15. The lady-in-waiting curtsied and gave the Queen a _____________ of beautifully arranged
exotic flowers.
16. She gave a ____________ of old clothes to the beggars.
17. The _____________ gave a standing ovation to the cast of talented actors.
18. The bodies in the freshly dug hole were arranged in a __________ one on top of the other.
19. The servant was asked to bring a ___________ of cards for the gentlemens entertainment.
20. That ship carried 100 slaves and a __________ of 10, the captain included.
21. The __________ of sheep was controlled by David the young shepherd and his dogs, who
later was to defeat Goliath..

GRAMMAR
EXPRESSING PAST
SIMPLE PAST
Use:
talk about events, actions, situations which happened in the past and are now finished:
She left a moment ago. It happened in 1989.
to describe past habits: I smoked three packs of cigarettes a day before I gave up.
PAST PROGRESSIVE:
Use:
temporary actions in progress in the past: I was living abroad in 1990.

actions in progress when something else happened: Just I was crossing the street there was
a loud honk.
actions in progress at the same time: While I was watching TV he was reading.
repeated action with always: When he worked at the bank he was always making mistakes.

SIMPLE PRESENT PERFECT

Use:
actions beginning in the past and continuing up to the present moment:
-with time references like before, ever, neverbefore, up till now, so far: I have never tasted a
pineapple before.
-with since and for: I have lived here since 1980.
actions which happened at an unspecified time in the past
- with no time reference at all: Have you passed your driving test?
- with reference to recent times like just, recently, already, still, yet: I have just had
breakfast.

PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE

Use:
in place of the simple present perfect when we want to emphasize that something has
been in progress throughout a period: I have been working all day.
the simple present perfect and the present perfect progressive can mean different
things:
I have been painting this room. Itll look good when Im finished.
I have painted this room. Doesnt it look good? (the job is finished)
actions in progress throughout a period: She is very tired. She has been working all day.
drawing conclusions: Her eyes are red. She has been crying.
SIMPLE PAST PERFECT
Use:
when we have two past references and we want to avoid ambiguity as to which
happened first: When I arrived they had left.
to refer to an earlier past: The patient had died when the doctor arrived.
PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
Use:
actions in progress throughout a period: She was tired, She had been working all day.
repeated actions: He had been phoning every night for a month.
drawing conclusions: Her eyes were red. She had been crying.
EXERCISES
I. Complete theses sentences using today/ this year/ this term, etc. and the Present Perfect.
1. I saw my cousin yesterday but .today.
2. I went to classes yesterday but .today.
3. I didnt miss one course last term but .. this term.
4. My friend too worked hard but this term ..
5. Last year all my friends joined the football team but . This year.

II. Form sentences with the verb in the Past Continuous using the following cues:
Yesterday you went to your regular classes. This is what you saw the people doing when
you arrived.
When I arrived
a) Annie and Pete / take notes
b) Professor / stand by the blackboard
c) He / give his lecture..
d) The students / listen.
e) Your best friend / yawn.
f) Dan / show / Clare a photograph..
g) Mary in the front row / smile.
h) Patrick / tell a joke in a low voice
III. Put the verbs in the correct form, past continuous or past simple.
1. Everyone _______ (wait) for me when I _______ (show up).
2. What _____________ (you/do) this time yesterday? I was asleep.
3. ____________ (you/sleep) last night/ No, I was too worried.
4. How fast ______________ (you/drive) when the accident ____________ (happen)?
5. King John ___________ (steal) the throne while Richard ____________ (fight) the Crusade.
6. I havent seen you for ages. When I last _______(see) you, you _________ (try) to write your
dissertation.
7. He _____________(ride) along when suddenly he ____________ (spot) a fire in the distance.
The enemy _______________ (burn down) the city.
8. When he was young. he ___________ (want) to be the king.
IV. Read the situations and write sentences from the words in brackets:
1. You went to Jills house but she wasnt there. (she/go/out)
She had gone out.
2. He returned to his home town after a long exile. It wasnt the same as before.
(It/change/a lot) ___________________________________.
3. The kings loyal courtier was invited to the party but he couldnt come.
(he/arrange/to do something else) _____________________.
4. You went to the theatre last night. You arrived late.
(the film/already/begin) ______________________________.
5. She was very pleased to see him again after such a long time.
(She/ not see/him for ages) __________________________.
6. They offered the minstrel a cup of wine but he refused.
(he/already/have one) ______________________________.
V. Read the situations below and write sentences ending in before. Use the verbs given in
brackets.
1. The man sitting next to me on the plane was very nervous. It was his first flight.
(fly) He had never flown before.
2. A woman walked into the room. She was a complete stranger to me.
(see) I_____________________________.
3. Simon played tennis yesterday. He wasnt very good at it because it was his first game.
(play) He __________________________.

4. Last year we went to Denmark. It was our first time there.

(be) We ________________________________.
VI. Write the sentences using the Past Simple or the Past Perfect.
1. All the dances (arrange) _____________ by the time the young princess (arrive)_________
at the ball.
2. When they (leave)____________ the battle field, the rain (already washed away
)______________ the blood.
3. He (try) ____________ warning her several times but she (flee)___________ the country.
4. When he (find)_________ the coffer, someone (take) __________ all the jewels money out
of it.
5. The car (go) ____________when I (look)___________ into the street.
6. The dying man (already expire) ____________by the time the general (come) __________
to hear his secret.
7. All the fire (put out) ____________by the time we (cross)___________ the border.

WRITING
TEXT ORGANIZERS
Study the following words and phrases used to organize writing. Then do the exercise which
follows.
and, both, too, as well as, also
even
either, or, neither, nor
firstly, secondly, thirdly, finally, in conclusion
as well as this, besides this
in fact, actually
personally, in my view
instead (of), except
I. Rewrite the following sentences to include the word given in capitals:
1. The settlers purchased both the land and the lodges.
TOO
.
2. The Indians were the only ones who couldnt vote.
EXCEPT

3. They said they would be tolerant but were not.

FACT
..
4. My opinion is that you were wrong to be so frank.
VIEW
..
5. They ceased the talks and declared war.
INSTEAD
..
6. Finally, I think it was all for the best.
END
.
7. We can submit or we can rebel.
EITHER
.

UNIT 4
WARM-UP
What do you associate with Plato?

PLATO

READING SELECTION

PLATOS MYTH OF KNOWLEDGE

When Plato investigates the being of the things he comes across a rather paradoxical situation;
that these things have no being and, therefore, cannot help him to discover being. Where then he
should seek it? True being resides in the Ideas, but the Ideas are not directly accessible to my
consciousness, they are not in the world. Nevertheless, I know them in some way, they are within
me and thus permit me to know the things. How is this possible? To solve this problem, Plato
resorts to one of his characteristic procedures: he relates a myth. The Myth in the Phaedrus
simultaneously explains the origin of man, our knowledge of the Ideas, and the intellectual
method of Platonism.
According to the now famous myth which Socrates relates to Phaedrus on the bank of
Ilissus, the soul, in its original state, can be compared to a chariot drawn by two winged horses,
one a docile thoroughbred, the other an ungovernable steed (the passions and the sensual
instincts). This chariot is driven by as charioteer (reason) who strives to guide it properly. In a
region above heaven the chariot travels through the world of the Ideas, which the soul thus
contemplates, although not without difficulty. Troubles arise in guiding the flight of the two
horses, and the soul falls; the horses lose their wings and the soul becomes incarnated in a body.
If the soul has seen the Ideas, even though only briefly, this body will be human and not bestial.
Depending on the greater or lesser extent of their contemplation of the Ideas, souls are placed in a
hierarchy of nine grades, ranging from the philosopher down to the tyrant. The origin of man as
such, therefore, is the fall of a soul which has come from heaven and has there contemplated the
Ideas. But the incarnated man does not remember them. Of his former wings there remain only
aching stumps, which are stimulated when man sees things, because the things make him
remember the Ideas which his soul saw in its earlier existence. This is the method of knowledge.
Man starts with things but not to remain at their level, not to find in them a being which they do
not possess but in order that they may excite his memory or reminiscence (anmnesis) of the
Ideas contemplated at an earlier time. Knowledge, therefore, is not seeing what is outside of us,
but, on the contrary, remembering what is inside of us. Things are only a stimulus for us to
abandon them and raise our thoughts to the Ideas.

VOCABULARY
Chariot car
To draw a trage (la trsur)
Thoroughbred pur snge
Steed - armsar
Stump - cioturi

READING COMPREHENSION
Answer the following questions based on what you have read:
1. Who are the two interlocutors in Phaedrus?
2. Where does their discussion take place?
3. In order to better illustrate his theory Socrates (in the dialogue) compares the soul to:
A. A charioteer guiding a chariot
B. A chariot driven by a charioteer
C. A pair of ungovernable winged horses drawing a chariot
D. A chariot drawn by two winged horses
4. Who, or what, impersonates the following:
REASON
__________________
PASSIONS
__________________
SENSUAL INSTINCTS ________________
5. What is the condition for the soul to assume a human, rather than bestial, form?
6. The hierarchy of souls features _____ grades.
7. What is the highest, respectively the lowest, grade?
8. What is the utility of the stumps?
9. What is the function of THINGS in the process of reminiscence?
10. What is knowledge in Platos view?

VOCABULARY PRACTICE

CONFUSING WORDS
Some words in English are confusing for the foreign learner either because they resemble a
word in the students mother tongue (false friends: e.g. prevent/warn) or through their
similitude to some other word in English (e.g. their/ there)
e.g to wander (in the text) can be easily mistaken for to wonder
Choose the correct word from each of the lexically confusing pairs to fill in the blanks:
LOSE/LOOSE
Look after the money or youll ____________ it!
I tied the dog but it got _____________ and ran away.

WEATHER/WHETHER
I dont know _____________ to see the film or not.
Their holiday was spoilt by the bad __________________.
BESIDE/BESIDES
The post office is ______________ the cinema.
There are several big parks in London _________________ Hyde Park.
COMPREHENSIVE/UNDERSTANDING
A priest is normally a patient, ___________________ person.
It is a very _________________ book. It covers all aspects of the subject.
SENSIBLE/SENSITIVE
Its ______________ to save part of your salary every month.
Dont laugh at him. Hes very _______________ about his appearance.
ACTUALLY/NOW
Ten years ago he had nothing. _______________ he is a millionaire.
Tell me the truth. What ______________ happened?
PAST/PASSED
Ive _____________ the exam!
The thief hid in a doorway and the policeman ran _______________ him.
ECONOMIC/ECONOMICAL
It isnt very _____________________ to leave the lights on when youre not in the room.
Because of the recent strikes, the ________________ situation of the country is very bad.
LEND/BORROW
Can you ___________________ me some money till Monday?
We ___________________ books from the library.
CANAL/CHANNEL
The shortest sea-route from Europe to India is through the Suez _____________.
The seaway between Britain and France is often called the English _________________.
HARD/HARDLY
Shes a _______________ worker.
She works very ______________.
I was so tired I could ______________ speak.
GRATEFUL/THANKFUL
Im very __________ to you for your help.
He was very ashamed of what he had done and was ___________ that his family didnt know
about it.
GRAMMAR

SEQUENCE OF TENSES
The use of tenses in English follows rules which are not valid for all languages. For instance, if in the main clause
the verb is in the past tense, all the verbs in the subsequent clauses will be in consonance. The rule is more visible
when we compare an English utterance of this type with its equivalent in a language which is not in observance of
this rule.

e.g.

Mi-a promis c m va suna de-ndat ce poate.

He promised he would call (*will call) me as soon as he could (*can).

Another specific rule is that in Time Clauses the future cannot be used.
e.g.
When he comes (*will come) I will tell him the truth.
They all agreed that nothing can be done before he recovered (*would recover).
EXERCISES
I. Provide the correct form of the verbs in brackets:
1. They decided they ___________ (leave) before the night ___________ (fall).
2. The party ___________ (opt) for the more dangerous route after they ___________
(debate) until the early hours of the morning.
3. I feel like I _______________ (know) this story for ages?
4. They assured me that everything ______ (be) fine and that all the guests _________ (arrive)
and _________ (now enjoy) themselves and ________ (not look) like they ________ (plan)
to leave any time soon.
II. Change the infinitive of the verbs in brackets into the appropriate form.
When John arrived for the class the professor (1) (deliver) his lecture with all the students (2)
(follow) his every word most attentively. John (3) (stand) for a few moments outside the door
before he decided (4) (leave) for fear he might be reprimanded for being late. He promised his
friends afterwards that he (5) (never do) this again and that from then on he (6) (be) punctual for
his classes.
1. ________________
2. ________________
3. _______________
4. _______________
5. _______________
6. _______________
WRITING
Plato, in his Dialogues, uses several myths and allegories to better illustrate his ideas.
Choose one of these to recount in the space provided below.

...

MODULE 2

UNIT 5
WARM UP
Comment on the association between these three philosophers:
PLATO
SOCRATES
ARISTOTLE

.
READING SELECTION
THE MYTH OF THE CAVE
In the seventh book of the Republic, Plato relates a myth of astonishing power, in which he
represents symbolically the situation of man in relation to philosophy, and, at the same time, the
structure of reality.
The content of the myth can be reduced in its essentials to the following: Plato pictures some men
who have remained from their childhood in a cave which has an opening through which the light
from outside enters. The men are bound in such a way that they cannot move or look in any
other direction than the back of the cave. Outside the cave, behind the mens backs, blazes the
bright glow of a fire burning on a lofty place in the terrain, and between the fire and the chained
men there is a road with a low wall along it. Down this road pass men carrying all sorts of objects
and small statues that rise above the top of the wall; the chained men see the shadows of these
things projected onto the back of the cave. When the passers-by speak, it seems to the prisoners
that those voices proceed from the shadows they see their only reality. One of the prisoners,
freed from his chains, views the real world outside; the light makes his eyes ache and he can
scarcely see; the sun dazzles him painfully and blinds him. Little by little he tries to grow
accustomed to the light; first he manages to see shadows; then, the images of things reflected in
bodies of water; afterward, the things themselves. He sees the sky at night, the stars and the
moon, and at dawn, the reflected image of the sun itself. Finally, after a long preparation, he can
look at the sun itself. Then he realizes that the world he lived in previously was unreal and
contemptible. But when he speaks to his companions in that world of shadows and says that the
shadows are not real, they will laugh at him; and when he tries to save them and bring them into
the real world, they will kill him.
What is symbolized in this myth? The cave is the world perceived by the senses, and its shadows
are the things of the world of the senses. The outside world is the true world, the world perceived
by the mind, or the world of the Ideas. The objects of the outside world symbolize the Ideas; the
sun symbolizes the Ideas of the Good.

VOCABULARY
Bind, bound, bound a lega
blazes the bright glow arde flacra vie
lofty place loc/teren nlat
dazzles - orbete
contemptible demn de dispre
READING COMPREHENSION
The following questions or unfinished sentences are based on the reading selection. They
are followed each by four answers or endings. Circle the best.
1. Platos myth in the 7th book of the Republic is:
A. a story
B. a fairy tale
C. metaphor for reality
D. a symbol of man and philosophy, on the one hand, and the structure of reality, on the
other.
2. The men in the cave
A. are bound but can see.
B. are blindfolded.
C. are tied so that they cannot move at all.
D. are tied in such a way that they can only see what is in front of them.
3. The chained men can see:
A. shadows
B. shadows of objects
C. othermens shadows
D. shapes
4. The man liberated from the cave once outside can only see at first:
A. the sun
B. everything
C. water
D. shadows
5. Having gotten accustomed to reality, he realizes that
A. life in the cave was preferable.
B. he has no wish to return to the cave.
C. it is his duty to return to the cave.
D. he holds in contempt his former existence.
6. The conclusion is:
A. the true world is that of Ideas.
B. there are two worlds: the one of Ideas and the other of objects.
C. the mind and the senses perceive two different worlds.
D. light is knowledge and the dark is ignorance.

VOCABULARY PRACTICE
TIME EXPRESSIONS

Study the following time expressions:

We arrived in time to see the opening of the play.
in time
The train left exactly on time.
on time
We waited, and waited, and in the end we left.
in the end
They all got up relieved at the end of the play.
at the end
At last hes here!
at last
I havent seen him for months.
for
Shes been tying the report since three oclock.
since
I called her two hours ago.
ago
Ill wait until you cone.
until
Ill finish by next Monday
by
Use them, and others, in the following exercise:
1. He promised he would return the book in a few hours.
LATER
..
2. The guests arrived exactly when we expected them too.
TIME
..
2. She promised she would send the letter no later than that night.
BY
.
3. It was too late to take his leave quietly.
TIME
.
4. He has been living in the States for 10 years.
AGO

He tried hard to persuade him to be more tolerant but finally he gave up.
END
.
6. He started teaching at the University in 1990.
SINCE

GRAMMAR
PASSIVE STRUCTURES 1
Passive sentences move the focus from the subject to the object of the active sentence.
Passive sentences describe what happens to people or things, often as a result of action by
other people or things. They indicate that what happens is more important than who is
responsible.
The passive is used to describe actions when we dont know who does, or did, the action:
e.g. The document was stolen last night.

Or, when it is not important to know who does, or did, the action:
e.g. History is being made today in the streets of Paris.
FORM

PRESENT

SIMPLE
CONTINUOUS

PAST

SIMPLE
CONTINUOUS

PRESENT
PERFECT
PAST
PERFECT
FUTURE

SIMPLE
CONTINUOUS
SIMPLE
CONTINUOUS
SIMPLE
CONTINUOUS

is/are + past participle

The letters are delivered here.
is/are being + past participle
He is being interviewed at the moment.
was/were + past participle
They were sent by train.
was/were being + past participle
My suit was being cleaned at the time.
has/have been + past participle
All the tickets have been sold.
--------------had been + past participle
I was too late: the papers had been removed.
------------------will be + past participle
You will be met at the station.
-------------

Exercises:
I. Rewrite these sentences putting the verbs in the passive:

1. The new war machine / damage / last night during transportation. (past).

2. These fabrics / make / in India (present)

.
3. The President / kill / last night. (past)

4. The money / cash / at the bank. (present)

.
5. The battle / win / yesterday. (past)
.
6. These beautiful sculptures / make / from ivory. (present)
.
7. Several soldiers / hurt / in the incident last night. (past)

II. Rewrite these verbs as passives, keeping them in the same tense, and removing they, we,
someone, etc:
1. They clean the stables everyday.
The stables are cleaned everyday.

2. Someone has given him the stolen tiara.

He
3. The police arrested two hundred people.
Two .
4. They check every arm shipment thoroughly.
Every .
5. They have cancelled the inauguration.
The inauguration ..
6. The Queen opened the ball at nine oclock.
The ball
7. They paid the spy a lot of money for the mission.
The spy ..
8. Fortunately, they didnt damage the chariot.
Fortunately, the chariot ..
III. Rewrite these sentences in the passive. The subject of the active sentence can usually be
omitted; you should include it in the passive sentence only if it is necessary:
1. Someone is interviewing Dr. Johnson at the moment.
Dr. Johnson is being interviewed at the moment.
2. They had warned him the day before not to go too near the enemy lines.
He .
3. They are mending the Kings hunting rifle at the moment.
The kings hunting rifle
4. Not to worry. Someone will drive you tomorrow.
You
5. The professor has told the students about the new findings at the necropolis.
The students ..
6. Hundreds of people are gathering arms in the town square.
Arms .
7. Someone has moved my throne!
My throne
8. The chamberlain invited two hundred people to the wedding.
Two .

WRITING
In academic writing, passive forms are preferred to active structures, for the style needs to
be impersonal and objective. Rewrite the following excerpt from the Reading Selection by
using passive forms:
The content of the myth can be reduced in its essentials to the following: Plato pictures some men
who have remained from their childhood in a cave which has an opening through which the light
from outside enters. The men are bound in such a way that they cannot move or look in any
other direction than the back of the cave. Outside the cave, behind the mens backs, blazes the
bright glow of a fire burning on a lofty place in the terrain, and between the fire and the chained
men there is a road with a low wall along it. Down this road pass men carrying all sorts of objects
and small statues that rise above the top of the wall; the chained men see the shadows of these
things projected onto the back of the cave. When the passers-by speak, it seems to the prisoners
that those voices proceed from the shadows they see their only reality.

UNIT 6

WARM UP
Do the following exercises:
1. first attracts our interest in the person of Moses is his name.
A. That B. Which C. What D. If
2. is written Mosche in Hebrew.
A. There B. It C. Because D. When
3. One may well ask: Where does it come . . . ?
A. from B. to C. of D.
4. As is . . . known, the story in Exodus already answers the question.
A. best B. good C. well D. perfect.
The Biblical interpretation of the name: 'He that was drawn out of the water' is folk etymology;
the active form itself of the name cannot be ..(reconcile) with this solution. This
argument (be) supported by two further reflections: first, that it is nonsensical ..
(credit) an Egyptian princess with a knowledge of Hebrew etymology, and, secondly, that the
water from which the child . (draw) was most probably not the water of the Nile.
READING SELECTION
In 1909 Otto Rank published a book which deals with the fact that almost all civilized peoples
have early woven myths around and glorified in poetry their heroes, mythical kings and princes,
founders of religions, dynasties, empires and cities in short, their national heroes. Especially the
history of their birth and of their early years is furnished with fantastic traits; the amazing
similarity, nay, literal identity, of those tales, even if they refer to different, completely
independent peoples, sometimes geographically far removed from one another, is well known
and has struck many an investigator.
We can thus reconstruct an average myth that makes prominent the essential features of
all these tales, and we get this formula:
The hero is the son of parents of the highest station, most often the son of a king. His
conception is impeded by difficulties. During the mothers pregnancy an oracle or a
dream warns the father of the childs birth as containing grave danger for his safety. In
consequence, the father gives orders for the new born babe to be killed or exposed to
extreme danger. In most cases the babe is placed in a casket and delivered to the waves.
The child is then saved by animals or poor people, such as shepherds, and suckled by a
female animal or woman of humble birth. When full grown he rediscovers his noble
parents after many strange adventures, wreaks vengeance on his father, and, recognized
by his people, attains fame and greatness.
A hero is a man who stands up manfully against his father and in the end victoriously
overcomes him. The myth in question traces this struggle back to the very dawn of the heros
life, by having him born against his fathers will and saved in spite of his fathers evil intentions.
The exposure in the basket is clearly a symbolical representation of birth; the basket is the womb
and, the stream is the water at birth. The inner source of the myth is the so-called family

romance of the child, in which the son reacts to the change in his inner relationship to his
parents, especially to his father. The childs first years are governed by grandiose over-estimation
of his father; kings and queens in dreams and fairytales always represent, accordingly, the
parents. Later on, under the influence of rivalry and real disappointments, the release from the
parents and a critical attitude towards the father set in. The two families of the myth, the noble as
well as the humble one, are therefore both images of his own family as they appear to the child in
successive periods of his life.
It is very different in the case of Moses. Here the first family is modest enough. He is a
child of the Jewish Levites. But the second family the humble one, in which as a rule heroes are
brought up is replaced by the royal house of Egypt. The princess brings him up as her own son.
This divergence from the usual type has struck many research workers as strange.
VOCABULARY
weave, wove, woven a ese
impeded blocat, mpiedicat
casket - ldi
suckled - alptat
overcome a nfrnge
womb - pntece
struck many research workers as strange multor cercettori le-a atras atenia prin ciudenie
READING COMPREHENSION
Read the following statements. Place a Tick if they are true and a Cross if they are false,
based on the reading selection:

The mythical hero's early childhood records supernatural events.

The mythical hero's father finds out in advance about his son's birth.
The mythical hero's biological parents are affectionate towards him.
Only as an adult, will the hero regain his status.
The mythical formula demands that the hero and his father eventually have a confrontation.
Moses perfectly fits the image of the mythical hero.
1. Researchers are surprised by:
a. the perfect coincidence of all myths
b. the identity of myths belonging to varied peoples across the world
c. the wide spread occurrence of myths
d. the number of myths
2. The average myth says that the child hero is breastfed by:
a. a princess
b. his own mother
c. a poor woman
d. either by an animal or a woman
3. 'Wreaks vengeance on' in line 17 means:
a. is grateful to
b. comes to terms with

c. is reconciliated with
d. pays back
4. For his father, the hero's birth is:
a. a celebration.
b. a surprise.
c. ominous.
d. unimportant.
5. The relationship between the hero and his father can be best defined as:
a. Amiable
b. Uniform
c. Fluctuating
d. Neutral
6. The mythical hero's two families:
a. are interpreted as one and the same family
b. have to be successively humble and rich
c. are irrelevant
d. remain unknown

VOCABULARY PRACTICE
ADVERB/ADJECTIVE/NOUN CONVERSIONS
..One of the girls was remarkably pretty and drew everyones eyes on her..
Below you have a number of sentences with blanks. Fill in the blanks with adverbs formed
from the WORDS in capitals:
It felt .. warm so I went and checked whether the heating was still on.
USUAL
She found the episode to be .. interesting.
SURPRISE
Her embroidery s always .. done.
BEAUTIFUL
The generals instructions were complicated.
NECESSARY
She confessed to being . ashamed of what she had done.
THOROUGH
Examine these sentences:
The archaeologist explained the provenance of the artifact surprisingly eloquent.
The archaeologist explained the provenance of the artifact with surprising eloquence.
The archaeologists explanation of the artifacts provenance was surprisingly eloquent.
Now do the same for the following:

He fought extremely nervously.

..
..
The young slave answered his master very rudely.

.
The enemy general conducted the talks in a very hostile manner.

The knight behaved astonishingly foolishly.

..
The king behaved quite absent-mindedly again.

The defeated army signed the treaty slightly unwillingly.

GRAMMAR

NOMINATIVE + PASSIVE
Study the following examples:
They say that the Civil War made thousands of victims.
It is said that the Civil War made thousands of victims.
The Civil War is said to have made thousands of victims.
They think/suppose/believe/consider that he is the best presidential
candidate.
It is thought/supposed/believed/considered that he is the best presidential
candidate.
He is thought/supposed/believed/considered to be the best presidential
candidate.
Note the difference between:
Present supposition
He is supposed to be an excellent orator.
And
Supposition about the past
He is supposed to have been an excellent orator.
He is believed to have killed his opponent.
They are thought to have died in the war.
EXERCISES:

I. What become the following?

e.g. They say
It is said
They will say
They have said
They said
Now rewrite the following sentences as suggested:
1. They will say there is no money for the project.
It
2. They have thought that there was no future for the country.
It .
3. They believe the issue will be reopened.
It .
4. They considered her to be a weak opponent.
It .
5. They insist that he was guilty.
It ..
6. They have said several times it was wrong to start a war.
.
I.

Re- write the following sentences as suggested.

A: Present suppositions
1. They think she is wrong to place the complaint.
She ..
2. It is believed that the war is a mistake.
The war ..
3. It is supposed to be his greatest success ever.
His success .
4. It is considered that the fatalities outnumber those of any other war so far.
The fatalities
5. They say everything is well.
Everything
B: Suppositions about the past
6. It is said the Southerners had an excellent cavalry.
The Southerners .
2. They say the war produced caused dramatic changes.
The war ..
3. It is believed that the French made a mistake in taking them as allies.
The French ..

4. They consider that the Americans fought bravely in the war.

The Americans ..
5. It is supposed that the fugitives followed a secret route.
The fugitives ..
WRITING
What are the points where the myth of Moses diverges from the universal myth formula
diverges? Fill in the table below with your observations:
MYTH FORMULA

THE MYTH OF MOSES BIRTH

UNIT 7

WARM UP
History abounds in episodes which demonstrate that battles were often won by tricks rather
than sheer force or courage. The Trojan Horse epic is one such example among many.
Here is some vocabulary in connection with warring.
ATTACKING
Ambush - a surprise attack
Assault - a strong attack
Invasion- taking control of another country
Raid- a sudden secret attack by a small group
Siege- an attack on a place by keeping an army round it and stopping anyone from getting in or
out
Skirmish- a brief unimportant fight
TAKING AND LOSING
To annex- take control over land
To surrender- give oneself up to the enemy
To capture- get by fighting
To liberate- set free from a tyrant or conqueror
To relieve- stop the siege
To seize - capture quickly or very forcefully
READING SELECTION
THE WOODEN HORSE AND THE CAPTURE OF TROY
1. Among the Achaeans was a man named Epeus not one of the best of the warriors, though a
famous boxer and a craftsman. With the help of Athene he built a great horse of polished
wood; and Odysseus filled this horse with chosen Achaean heroes, who sat in its belly,
planning death and destruction for Troy. Odysseus sat there in command, and among the
others sat Menelaus and Diomedes, and Neoptolemus the gallant son of Achilles.
2. Now the other Achaeans set fire to their huts and boarded their ships and sailed away, as if
they were tired of the war. So the Trojans emerged from the city in joy, and when they found
the horse they dragged it inside the walls. The horse stood in the highest place of the city,

while the Trojans debated. Some of them urged that the horse should be broken in pieces
with their swords, and others wished to hurl it down from their topmost crags. But others
advised that it should be left as a gift for the gods. And thus they were doomed to perish.
3. The heroes still sat in hiding within the horse. Some were frightened and trembling, but
Neptolemus showed no fear: he kept imploring Odysseus to let him descend, and he handled
his sword and spear burning to make mischief for the Trojans. Soon Helen approached the
horse, and her new husband Deiphobus walked beside her. Three times she went round the
horse and cried out the names of the chief Achaeans, and she made her voice sound like the
voices of their wives. Then Menelaus and Diomedes were eager to descend or to answer the
voice, but still Odysseus held them back, and kept the Achaeans safe.
4. At last at dead of night the heroes left their hollow ambush. They poured out from the horse
and they opened the gates of Troy to the other Achaeans, who had now sailed secretly back.
So the Achaeans ranged all over the city, and sacked it utterly, and brought death and doom
to the Trojans. And Odysseus and Menelaus went together to the house of Deiphobus, and
there they killed him. But Helen was glad at heart, for now she longed to return to her home,
and repented the folly which Aphrodite had laid upon her, when she brought her away from
her native land, and away from her husband and child.
5. So Troy was taken at last, and the day came which great Hector, the hero of the flashing
helmet, had prophesized to his wife the day when Troys holy city perished with Priam
and all his people, and its warriors fell in the dust at the hands of their enemies. Hectors
infant son was hurled down from the battlements to a pitiful death; and Hectors wife
Andromache, and Priams daughter Cassandra, and the other noble wives of the Trojans and
their little children were carried off as spoil on the ships of the Achaeans.

VOCABULARY
Paragraph 1
craftsman meteugar
polished wood - lemn lustruit
belly burt
Paragraph 2
hut - colib
dragged trt
urge, to a ndemna
hurl, to a zvrli
crags stnci
doomed to perish sortit pieirii
Paragraph 3
trembling tremurau
to make mischief for a crea necazuri
Paragraph 4
at dead of night n toiul nopii
ambush ascunztoarea
range and sack the city cutreiera i prda oraul
repent the folly a se ci pentru nebunia comis

Paragraph 5
flashing helmet coif lucitor
holy city - ora sfnt
perish a pieri
carried off as spoil luat ca prad de rzboi
READING COMPREHENSION
1. List the items of weaponry and armour in the text:
____________________________________________________________
2. Who built the Horse? ___________________________________________
3. Who were the chief Achaeans involved in the episode? _________________
4. Once inside Troy, what were the suggestions made as to the fate of the horse?
________________________________________________________________
5. How did the Trojans check whether the Horse was a trick played on them?
________________________________________________________________
6. Who had prophesized the doom of Troy and its inhabitants? _____________
7. What happened to the members of Hectors family?
_________________________________________________________________
8. Judging by her acts during the Trojan Horse episode, as well as by her entire conduct
throughout the war, draw up Helens psychological profile.

VOCABULARY PRACTICE
FULL can be added to a noun or a verb to form an adjective:
e.g.

pity + full

pitiful

play + full

playful

Here are some more adjective suffixes. Use them to complete the words in the following
sentences:
-ful

-less

-like

-ly

-ish

-ous

-al

-ic

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

How wonder that it all ended so well!

Their hero conduct in the battle earned them a medal.
Some members of the royal family could be very music
As the king and queen were a child. couple there was no direct heir.
The Trojans realised too late how fool they had been.
The Achaeans knew too well that their plan was danger.
Her lady manners tricked everyone into believing she was indeed of royal blood.
Helens friend.. behaviour almost made the Achaeans fall into a trap.

Use the same suffixes from the exercise above to form adjectives with the help of the
following nouns. Write them in the appropriate column. Sometimes you can add more than
one to form different adjectives:
child
man
beast
-ful

-less

father
joy
mania
-like

awe
blue
delight
-ly

horror
gentleman
-ish

mercy
bone

-ous

thirty
terror
-al

-ic

GRAMMAR
MODAL VERBS
Modal verbs add certain meanings to the main verb in an utterance. Read the following examples
from the reading section:
Some of them urged that the horse should be broken in pieces.
But others advised that it should be left as a gift for the gods
There are twelve modal verbs:
Can

Shall

Must

Dare

Could

Should

Ought to

Might

May

Will

Need (to)

Would

POSITIVE is formed by putting the modal between the subject and the main verb:

We should stay.
You ought to go.
He might come.
NEGATIVE is formed by adding not after the modal:
We shouldnt stay.
You ought not to come.
He might not come.
QUESTIONS are formed by changing the position of the modal and the subject:
Should we stay?
Ought you to go?
Might he come?
Shouldnt we stay?
Exercise. Rewrite the sentences as indicated in brackets:
1. He must stand and deliver. (negative)
.
2. Queen Elizabeth can play the piano. (question)

3. He should order the battle to stop. (question)

4. We must read the whole bibliography. (negative)

5. You should hand in your assignment today. (negative)

6. They must say goodbye to their country. (question)

7. The queen should make the announcement herself. (negative)

8. He may come in time to save the kingdom. (question)

9. They ought to train more for the tournament. (question)

.
10. I need to leave right away. (question)

..
There are two main uses of the modals:
I. In their first use, modal verbs have basic meanings which are given in the dictionaries:
Can/could = ability
May/might/ permission
Will/would = prediction
Shall after I/We = prediction
Should/ought to = duty
Must = total obligation
Neednt = no obligation
What do these sentences express? Match the items in the first column with those in the
second.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

He can ride any horse.

They should do as you are told.
You neednt wait.
The battle will start soon.
You may leave the room now.
You must obey your lords orders.

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

Prediction
Permission
Ability
No obligation
Total obligation
Duty

II. The second use of the modals is to express degrees of CERTAINTY or UNCERTAINTY.
He might be right. He might know the answer.

Very uncertain

He could be right. He would know the answer.

Fairly certain

He must be right. He must know the answer.

Almost certain

He cant be right. He cant know the answer.

Almost certain

! In their second use, modals have only two forms:

PRESENT

He must be right. He must know the answer.

PAST

He must have been right. He must have known the answer.

EXERCISES
I. Put CERTAIN, ALMOST CERTAIN, FAIRLY CERTAIN, or VERY CERTAIN beside
these sentences:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

The church bells are tolling. Its war.

The church bells are tolling. It might be about the war.
A ship has sailed in view. That will be the Phoenicians.
A ship has sailed in view. That must be the Phoenicians.
From your description, that must have been the king himself.
From your description, that cant have been the king.
After all this time crusading, he must long to be at home.

_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______

WRITING
Translate into English:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Troienii s-au sftuit ndelung cum s procedeze cu Calul de Lemn.

Ulise i-a ales pe cei mai de seam lupttori ahei pentru a se acunde n Cal.
Civa Troieni au sugerat s lase Calul dar zeilor, hotrre care i-a sortit pieirii.
Singurul care nu se temea n ascunztoarea din pntecul Calului era Neptolemeu.
Aheii au prdat oraul sfnt, mplinind astfel profeia lui Hector.
Toi eroii troieni au murit de mna grecilor, iar soiile lor au fost luate ca prad de rzboi pe
corbiile ahee.
7. S-ar putea s nu fie nevoie s plece chiar acum pe front.
8. E posibil s fie nevoie de mai muli oteni ca s drme zidul de aprare.
9. Cu siguran c Elena a fost cea care i-a strigat pe nume.
10. Se poate s fi greit cnd s-au hotrt s srbtoreasc victoria.
Se poate s nu fi fost el vinovatul.
..
..
..
..
....
..
..
....
..
..
....
..
..
...
...
..
..
....

UNIT 8
PROGRESS TEST
I. SECTION I - READING COMPREHENSION
Read the following passage. A number of five questions or unfinished statements about the passage follow
with four suggested answers or ways of finishing it. Choose the one you consider to be the best.

As a political philosopher Plato was motivated by the ideal of constructing a state which
would be free from turbulence and selfseeking on the part of individuals and classes.
Neither democracy nor liberty but harmony and efficiency were the ends he desired to
achieve. Accordingly, he proposed in his Republic a famous plan for society which
would have divided the population into three principal classes according to the functions
of the soul. The lowest class, representing the appetitive function, would include the
farmers, artisans, and merchants. The second class, representing the spirited element
or will, would consist of the soldiers. The highest class, representing the function of
reason, would be composed of the intellectual aristocracy. Each of these classes would
perform those tasks for which it was best fitted. The function of the lowest class would
be the production and distribution of goods for the benefit of the whole community; that
of the soldiers, defense; the aristocracy, by reason of special attitude for philosophy,
would enjoy a monopoly of political power. The division of the people into these several
ranks would not be made on the basis of birth or wealth, but through a sifting process
that would take into account the ability of each individual to profit from education. Thus
the farmers, artisans, and merchants would be those who had shown the least
intellectual capacity, whereas the philosopher-kings would be those who had shown the
greatest.
1. In Platos opinion the perfect society should be:
A. Free and non-turbulent
B. Ideal
C. Democratic
D. Efficient and harmonious
2. Social division in his ideal society operated through similitude with the functions of
the:
A. The will
B. The soul
C. The mind
D. The appetite
3. The criterion for the social distribution of the population into classes was:
A. Wealth
B. Education

C. Intellectual ability
D. Birth
4. The highest ranking individual in Platos society is:
A. The philosopher
B. The aristocrat
C. The king
D. The philosopher-king
5. His model for the ideal society is part of Platos:
A. Social doctrine
B. Political philosophy
C. ethical philosophy
D. idealism
SECTION II - USE OF ENGLISH
I. Choose the word or phrase which best completes each sentence. Circle the correct
solution.
1. ______ thought that Platos model for society was perfect
A. There is B. It is
C. It was
D. There was
2. The model _____ a strong impression on other philosophers.
A. took
B. did
C. made
D. left
3. Plato ________ the philosopher to be the perfect ruler.
A. regarded B. considered
C. envisaged
D. suspected
4. 4. People should only do what they are best _______ for.
A. matched B. capable
C. able
D. fitted
5. Plato is the typical character, _______ image was more powerful when dead than while
alive.
A. who
B. which
C. whom
D. whose
II. Finish each of the sentences in such a way that it has the same meaning as the sentence
above it.
1. If only kings were philosophers too.
I wish..
2. Plato didnt try hard enough to impose his model, so he was unsuccessful.
If Plato ...
3. He did nothing to rally support.
He didnt do ...
4. The Greeks were guided by reason in everything they did.
Reason
5. They say Plato was the greatest philosopher of all times.
It is .
III. Change the word in capitals at the end of each sentence so as to make it fit suitably in
the blank space.
1. His __________ brought about his downfall.
EFFICIENT
2. He decided to go ahead with his plan and acted __________.
ACCORD
3. In Platos view the __________ was the highest social class.
ARISTOCRAT

4. The ______ of people into classes was a chief interest among philosophers.
DIVIDE
5. What Plato wanted for his ideal society was not necessarily a ________ society.
DEMOCRACY
IV. Change the infinitive in brackets into the appropriate tense, mood and voice.
Socrates wrote nothing, so historians (1)(be faced) with a big problem in (2)(determine) the scope
of his teachings. He (3)(be) generally regarded as a teacher of ethics with no interest in abstract
philosophy or any desire (4)(found) a new school of thought. However, some admissions
(5)(make) by Plato indicating that the famous doctrine of Ideas was really of Socratic origin.
1 ________________
2 ________________
3 ________________
4 ________________
5 _________________
SECTION III WRITING
Write a short essay (150-200 words) on ONE of the following topics.
1. Comment on Platos doctrine of Ideas (the simile of the Cave).

MODULE 3

UNIT 9

WARM UP
There are numerous powerful figures in history who owed, partially, at least, their success
to their sensible advisers. One of them had Aristotle for his tutor. Do you know who?

READING SELECTION
CYRUS

1. Cyrus, the king of Persia and the founder of a great empire, owned a beautiful white horse
which he always rode into battle. In the spring of 539 BC King Cyrus declared war on the
Assyrians in hope of expanding his territory, and set off with a large army for their
capital, Babylon, on the banks of the Euphrates river. The march went well, until the army
reached the river Gnydes, which flowed down from the Matienian Mountains into the
Tigris. The Gnydes was known to be perilous even in the summer, and at this time of year
was brown and foaming, swollen with the winter rains. The kings generals counseled
delay, but Cyrus was not daunted and gave orders for an immediate crossing. Yet as the
boats were being readied, Cyrus horse slipped away unnoticed and attempted to swim
across the river. The current seized the beast, toppled it and swept it downstream to its
death.
2. Cyrus was livid. The river had dared to make away with his sacred horse, the horse of a
warrior who had ground Croesus into the dust and terrified the Greeks. He screamed and
cursed, and at the height of his fury decided to pay back the Gnydes for its insolence. He
vowed to punish the river by making it so weak that a woman would in the future be able
to cross it without as much as wetting her knees.
3. Setting aside plans for the expansion of his empire, Cyrus divided his army into two parts,
marked out 180 small canals running off from each bank of the river in various directions
and ordered his men to start digging, which they did for an entire summer, their morale
broken, all hope of quick defeat of the Assyrians gone. And when they were finished, the
once rapid Gnydes was split into 360 separate channels through which water flowed so
languidly that astonished local women could indeed wander across the trickling stream
without hoisting their skirts. His anger assuaged, the King of Persia instructed his
exhausted army to resume the march to Babylon.

VOCABULARY
brown and foaming tulbure i spumegnd
delay - ntrziere
toppled - rsturn
hoisting a-i sumei

READING COMPREHENSION
Six questions or unfinished statements about the passage follow with three suggested
answers or ways of finishing it. Circle the one which you consider to be the best.
1. Babylon was closest to the following river:
a. The Tigris
b. The Gnydes
c. The Euphrates
2. The passage suggests that the Gnydes was at its most dangerous during:
a. summer
b. winter
c. winter and summer alike
3. Cyrus was livid in Paragraph 2 suggests:
a. he was frightened
b. he was desperate
c. he was angry
4. Cyrus considered his horse to be a sacred animal
a. because it was his property.
b. because it was splendid.
c. because it accompanied Cyrus in every battle.
5. Cyrus resumed his march to Babylon when:
a. he had decided that he had avenged the death of his horse
b. his anger vanished
c. he was satisfied that any woman could cross the river in safety
6. The passage suggests that the punishment of the river Gnydes
a. was consented to by Cyrus warriors
b. was acclaimed by the locals, especially by the women
c. discouraged an until then hopeful army
Write TRUE or FALSE against the following:
7. __________ Cyrus had a favourite horse.
8. __________ The source of the Tigris is in the Maitienians.
9. __________ The king of Persia was intimidated by the mighty river Gnydes.
10. __________ Cyruss advisers suggested they should wait for the waters to subside.
11. __________ The kings horse slipped off a boat and was drowned.
12. __________ The Gnydes was turned into 180 smaller rivers.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE

Here is some vocabulary focusing on WAR. Some of it may be familiar to you

already. If not, look it up in the dictionary.
to make war, to wage war on, to be at war with
the outbreak of the war
warmonger
warrior
warring nations
pre-war, post-war
war casualties, fatalities
warfare

GRAMMAR

IF-CLAUSES

FIRST CONDITIONAL
First conditional sentences express possible conditions and probable results.
If I see Peter, I will tell him the news.
FORM
IF + PRESENT
If I see him

FUTURE
I shall congratulate him

EXERCISE
I. Write these sentences putting the verbs in the Present Simple or Future Simple.
1. She (call) ________you if she (have) _________time.
2. If it (cost)__________ too much, I (buy) ________a smaller one.
3. If the class (be) __________full, we (find) __________another one.
4. What we (do)_________if the taxi (not come)__________?
5. You (phone)____________ me if there (be) ___________any problem?
6. Mary (be)__________ worried if you (not come)___________ to the airport.

SECOND CONDITIONAL
It is used to express a hypothetical condition and its probable result.
If I had enough money, I would eat in restaurants all the time.

If I saw a ghost, I would run away.

FORM
IF + PAST SIMPLE
If she had a car

PRESENT CONDITIONAL
she would make the journey to London easily

EXERCISE
Write the present conditional of the following verbs:
Speak would speak
Write ____________________
Dance ____________________
Fight ____________________
Charge ____________________
Retreat ____________________
I. Write these sentences putting the verbs in the correct tense.
1. If you (drive)____________ more carefully, you (not have) ____________so many
accidents.
2. If he (get)__________ up earlier, he (get) __________to work on time.
3. If he (have)__________ more time, I (tell) _____________you more about it.
4. I (help)___________ you if you (trust) ___________me more.
5. His car (be)___________ a lot safer if he (buy) ___________some new tyres.
6. Where you (like) ___________to live if you (not live) ___________in Paris?
7. What you (do) ___________if you suddenly (win)____________ half a million pounds?
8. You (mind)_____________ if I (not give) ______________you the money I owe you today?
9. If I (have) _______to go to a hospital, I (not go) ________to this one.
THIRD CONDITIONAL
The third conditional refers to the past. Consider the following situations:
I would have warned you if I had seen you last week. (But I didnt see you so I didnt warn you.)

I would have bought the car if Tom had lent me the money. (But Tom didnt lent me
the money, so I didnt buy the car)
FORM
IF + PAST PERFECT
I f I had known

PAST CONDITIONAL
I would have said so.

What are the past conditional forms of the following verbs:

Cry
would have cried
Talk
Think
See
Drink
Drive
Play
Exercises:

______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________

I. Put the verbs in the correct form:

1. I didnt know that you were in town. If I (know)__________, I (come) ____________to visit
you.
2. She got to the station in time to catch the train. If she (miss) ___________it, she (be)_______
late for the chance of a lifetime.
3. Its good that you reminded me about the appointment. I (forget)__________ if you (not
remind) _____________me.
4. Unfortunately, I didnt have my cell phone with me at the time. If I (have)__________ it, I
(call) ____________you right away.
5. I took a taxi to the hotel but the traffic was very bad. It (be) ___________quicker if I
(walk)_____________.
6. She didnt seem too happy about last nights events. If she (be) _____________happy, she
(say)___________ so.
7. A: How was the exam? Was it difficult?
B: It was OK, but I (do) __________ better if I (study) ____________more.
II. Write a sentence for each situation:
e.g.
I wasnt hungry, so I didnt eat anything.
If I had been hungry I would have eaten something
1. It happened because they did not take precautions.
If they .
5. I didnt know that I was supposed to read the book, so I didnt borrow it.
If I ..
1. He was able to conquer the village only because it was defenseless.
If the village
2. The prince wasnt injured in the duel because he was wearing a helmet.
If the prince
3. You didnt learn hard enough thats why you failed the test.
If you
4. No one would marry her because she didnt have a dowry.
If she.
WRITING
Cyrus acted under the impulse of the moment, which not advisable. He would not listen to
his well-intended advisers. In your debate classes, perhaps, you are often asked to defend an
opinion, to argue a point, or defend a theory. To be coherent and concise, you need to make
good use of Link Words. Use them (not necessarily all) to argue that one had better not
react impulsively but rather listen to reason.
LISTING ARGUMENTS
First / firstly / first of all
Second / secondly / next
Third / thirdly / next
Finally / lastly / last of all
EXEMPLIFYING
For example / for instance / e.g.
To take just one example
A clear example of .. is/ might be

REPHRASING
In other words / to be precise / that is to say
CONCLUDING
In brief / in short / in conclusion
To conclude / to summarize
OTHER
In my opinion / to my mind
As far as X is concerned / regarding X / as regards X
Generally speaking
It is often claimed / argued / thought that.
It is undeniable that / there can be no doubt that
Follow this plan in your discursive essay:
INTRODUCTION
DEVELOPMENT
CONCLUSION

UNIT 10

WARM UP
Explain the following:
Gnostics

Ontology

Epistemology

READING SELECTION

GNOSTICISM
The questions which most concern the Fathers of the Church are the most important problems
created by dogma. As a general rule, philosophic problems are created by religious, revealed
truths, which require rational interpretation, and this is the case in the Middle Ages. Thus, reason
is used to clarify and formulate dogma, or to defend it. The Creation, God's relationship with the
world, evil, the soul, the meaning of life and of redemption - these are the major problems with
which the Early Fathers of the Church concern themselves. And alongside these problems we
find strictly theological questions, such as those that refer to the essence of God, the Trinity of
divine persons, and so on.
Thirdly and finally, there appear the Christian moralists who are to establish the bases of a
new ethics which, although it makes use of Hellenic concepts, is essentially founded on the idea
of the sin, on grace and on man's relationship with his Creator. These problems are dealt with by
a whole series of thinkers who are frequently of the first rank but who do not always remain
orthodox; they sometimes fall into heresies.
The principal heretical movement of the first centuries is Gnosticism. It is related to Greek
philosophy of the final epoch, particularly to Neoplatonic ideas, and also to the thought of Philo,
the Hellenized Jew who interpreted the Bible allegorically. Gnosticism, a Christian heresy, is also
closely linked with all the syncretism of the Oriental religions which was so complex and
intricate at the beginning of the Christian era. The Gnostic problem concerns the reality of the
world and, more particularly, of evil; it is a dualism between good (God) and evil (matter). By
the process of emanation the divine being produces a series of eons whose perfection gradually
decreases; the world is an intermediate stage between what is divine and what is material. This
system allows the essential features of Christianity such as the creation of the world and the
redemption of man to acquire a natural character, as simple moments of the great struggle
between the elements of the dualism, between what is divine and what is material.
A fundamental Gnostic idea is that of the restoration of all things to their proper places.
Gnostic knowledge is not knowledge in the usual sense of the word, nor is it revelation; it is a

special, superior illumination or intelligence, the so-called gnosis. Obviously, these ideas can be
reconciled with the sacred Christian texts only by resorting to very forced allegorical
interpretations, and the Gnostics therefore become heretics.
Closely related to them is a movement that has been called Christian gnosis, which opposes
the Gnostics with great acuity. The importance of Gnosticism, which almost became a marginal,
heterodox church, was very great, especially until the First Council of Nicaea in the year 325.
VOCABULARY
redemption mntuire
intricate - complex
struggle lupt
reconciled reconciliat, mpcat
acuity agerime, ascuime a minii
READING COMPREHENSION
Decide whether the following are true or false:
1. The Fathers of the Church took a particular interest in the issues of dogma.
2. In the Middle Ages, the role of reason was seen as threefold: clarification, formulation and
defence of truth.
3. Orthodox thinkers propounded the new ethics.
4. There is a connection between Gnosticism and Neoplatonism.
5. Being a heresy, Gnosticism belongs with the Oriental religions.
6. Gnosticism is essentialy preoccupied with the presence of evil.
Circle the correct answer:
7. The issues of the new ethics are dealt with by:
A. unorthodox thinkers.
B. exclusively first rank philosophers
C. generally by leading philosophers
D. heretic thinkers
8. The Gnostic dualism represents, essentially:
A. the features of Christianity
B. good vs. evil
C. the world moving towards imperfection
D. Creation
9. Gnosticism considered the world to be:
A. divine

material, thus evil

C. natural
D. midway between material and divine
B.

10. Redemption in line 23 means:

salvation
B. rescue
C. revelation
D. illumination
A.

11. Regarding Gnostic ideas and the sacred Christian texts, it can be said that:
A. they are irreconcilable
B. they are partly compatible
C. they are hardly reconcilable
D. they are both heretical
12. After the year 325, Gnosticism:
A. decreased in terms of importance
B. was as important as ever
C. became a marginal church
D. changed its name to Christian gnosis.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
these are the major problems with which the Fathers of the Church are concerned.
To be concerned with (a se preocupa de) differs in meaning from concerned about
(ngrijorat).
Here are some more adjectives expressing feelings. Use them to fill in the blanks of the
following sentences:
ashamed
bitter
bored
disappointed
embarrassed
excited
guilty
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

nervous
relieved
confused
envious
giddy
restless
disgusted

He felt so .. about their broken marriage.

She was so about her birthday at the thought of all the presents she would get.
He received a heavy blow and suddenly felt .. and had to sit down.
He admitted to being extremely by the results in the test. He had hoped for more.
When he was asked to shoot at his own son he felt After all, he could miss.
She was so . parking her old car in line with all the new expensive ones.
He cant help feeling . at not having visited his mother for so long.
By the middle of the play he was utterly .. and felt like he would rather be
anywhere else than there.
9. She confessed to being .. of her friends beautiful new dress.
10. When he told her that his name was John too she felt very and didnt know what to
make of it.

11. He was with all the empty bottles and cans lying around. He never thought
anyone could make such mess in such short time.
12. He was .. when she phoned him saying she had arrived safely.
13. I could tell he was by the way he paced about the room and kept staring at the
door.
14. I feel so . lying to you.
GRAMMAR

REPORTED SPEECH
e.g.

DIRECT SPEECH
Why were they concerned with dogma?
REPORTED SPEECH
The student asked the professor why they were concerned with dogma.

CHANGES:
TENSES
There is no need for a tense change if the main verb is in the future, present or present
perfect. Compare
e.g.
I have not been crowned yet
He says he hasnt been crowned yet.
I need all the land I can lay my hands on.
He will say he needs all the land he can lay his hands on.
to:

I havent broken this vase.

She said she hadnt broken the vase.
DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH
Will
Shall
Is going to
Present simple
Present continuous
Past continuous
Present perfect
Past simple
Must
Can

Would
Should
Was going to
Past simple
Past continuous
Past perfect continuous
Peat perfect
Past perfect
Had to
Could

ADVERBS AND DEMONSTRATIVES

DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH
Tomorrow

The next day/ the following day

Yesterday
Here
This/that
This morning
Today
Tonight
Next/on Tuesday
Last Tuesday
The day after tomorrow
Ago

The day before

There
The
That morning
That day
That night
The following Tuesday
The previous Tuesday
In two days time
Before/previously

EXERCISES:
Turn these sentences into indirect speech:
I am the true king. (he said)
..
The Queen is taking a walk in the palace gardens at the moment. (the maidservant said)
.
This is a great day for England. (the Prime minister will say)
.
I will not attend the ball tonight. (promised the princess)

I dont have anything to wear. (she added)

No, I havent seen this new maid of honour everybody is talking about. (said the duke)
.
I was not responsible for his death. (said the armoured knight)

I was not taking part in the tournament (he added)

.
Do the same for the following:
Ill come tonight. I cant miss the fun. (said the young duchess)
.
Especially since my beau is arriving today from Paris. (she added)
..
He was excommunicated three months ago. (replied the Archbishop. )

Im sure we can arrange for a meeting next week. (said the Ambassador)

You will marry him on Sunday, (insisted the earl)

We havent gone hunting for ages. I do miss it. (complained the young page)

This is certainly not what I have been expecting to happen here. (the courtier exclaimed)
..

WRITING
Refer to the Reading Selection and extract the main ideas for the five paragraphs:
1. The Fathers of the Church main philosophical concern was to use reason to clarify and defend
religious dogma.
2.
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3.
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________4.
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
5.
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

UNIT 11
WARM UP
The following are names of characters in popular fiction. They are so well-known that they
are often used in ordinary conversation. Put each in its correct place in the sentences
below.*
Robin Hood
Superman
Man Friday
Peter Pan
James Bond

Robinson Crusoe
Jekyll and Hyde
Rip Van Winkle
Sherlock Holmes
Cinderella

1. He often went on dangerous secret missions abroad. He never told anyone. He was a sort of
_______.
2. He still behaves like a child and plays tricks on his friends. He is youthful looking and agile.
Hes a ______.
3. New Yorkers would at times like to escape from the city and live a simple, basic kind of
_____ existence.
4. He cant manage things by himself. He needs someone to look after him and do everything
for him. He needs a ______.
5. Sometimes, when life is too hard, you feel like you need someone to work a miracle, to do
things the average man cannot. You need a ______.
6. Indeed, he stole money, but only to give it to the poor. He was a genuine _______.
7. Hes strange. He can be very pleasant at times but then he gets a temper all of a sudden. Hes
got a ______ personality.
8. Its amazing how he guessed John Does his nationality, occupation and many other things
about him just from his appearance? He is a proper ______.
9. They exploit her so! They make her do everything for them, cook, clean Shes a sort of
______.
10. Come on _____, wake up! Its time to go to work.
READING SELECTION

NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI

Niccolo Machiavelli is by far the most famous and also the most infamous political
philosopher of the Italian Renaissance. No man did more than he to overturn the basic political
conceptions of the Middle Ages, the idea of universalism, limited government, and the ethical
*

Thomas, B. J., Advanced Vocabulary and Idiom, Nelson, 1989

basis of politics. He was first to conceive of the state in its modern form as a completely
sovereign and independent unit. In his Discourses on Livy he praised the ancient Roman republic
as a model for all time. He lauded constitutionalism, equality, liberty in the sense of freedom
from outside interference, and subordination of religion to the interests of state. But Machiavelli
also wrote The Prince. More than the Discourses it reflects the unhappy condition of Italy in his
time. At the end of the fifteen century Italy had become the cockpit of international struggles.
Both France and Spain had invaded the peninsula and were competing with each other for the
allegiance of the Italian states. The latter, in many cases, were torn by internal dissension which
made them an easy prey for foreign conquerors. In 1498 Machiavelli entered the service of the
republic of Florence as Second Chancellor and Secretary. His duties largely involved diplomatic
missions to other states. While in Rome he became fascinated with the achievements of Cesare
Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI, in cementing a solidified state out of scattered elements. He
noted with approval Cesares combination of ruthlessness with shrewdness and his complete
subordination of morality to political ends. In 1512 the Medici overturned the government of
Florence, and Machiavelli was deprived of his position. Disappointed and embittered, he spent
the remainder of his life in exile, devoting his time to writing. In his books, especially The
Prince, he described the policies and practices of the government, not in accordance with some
lofty ideal, but as they actually were. The supreme obligation of the ruler, he avowed, was to
maintain the power and safety of the country over which he ruled. No consideration of justice or
mercy or the sanctity of treaties should stand in his way. Cynical in his views of human nature,
maintained that all men are prompted exclusively by motives of self-interest, particularly by
desires for personal power and material prosperity. The head of the state should therefore take
nothing for granted as to the loyalty or affection of his subjects. Machiavelli was the first
important realist in political theory since the time of Polybius. The one ideal he kept before him
in his later years was the unification of Italy. But this he believed had no chance of
accomplishment except by the methods of the hard-core realist.
VOCABULARY
infamous cu faim proast
unhappy condition situaie trist
cockpit loc de btlie
allegiance adeziune, loialitate
scattered - mprtiate
ruthlessness - nendurtor
avowed declarat, mrturisit
hard-core total, absolut
READING COMPREHENSION
Provide in the table below the adjectives and nouns which are used in the text to depict
Machiavellis character:
ADJECTIVES
NOUNS
qualities
flaws
qualities
flaws

How does Machiavelli portray the ideal Prince?

.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
POLITICS ELECTION GOVERNMENT
Here is some vocabulary pertinent to politics. Use the words to fill in the blanks:
Cabinet
Alliance
Right-wing
Left-wing
Prime minister
Opposition
Majority
Vote
Candidate
Opinion poll
Passage
Taxes

1. The new party was voted by many and therefore its members formed
the .. in the parliament.
2. The parties which are against the government are called the
..
3. It often happen in politics for several parties with varying doctrines
to form an in order to win the elections.
4. The main ministers within the government form a group known as
the ..
5. The leader of the government is called the ..
6. All the citizens of a country 18 of age and over have the right to

7. Sometimes, before the elections, people are asked what party they
prefer. The answers are used to predict the result of the election.
This is called an
8. The for the presidency toured the cities to make
his political platform known.
9. The members of a . party are usually in favour of a
conservative line of thought in politics.
10. The .. of the new law was for once applauded by the
members of all parties.
11. The columnists of the .. papers published editorials
expressing outrage at the introduction of new ..

GRAMMAR
USES OF MODALS TO EXPRESS CERTAINTY AND POSSIBILITY
5. If we are certain of our facts, we use be or any full verb.
Jane is at home. Jane works at home.
6. If we are referring to possibility, we use may, might or could.
PRESENT
The soldier may/might/could be home now.
He may/might/could leave now.
PAST

He may/might/could have been on the front that year.

She may/might/could have worked yesterday.

EXERCISES
I.

Turn these sentences into possible/less than certain statements (PRESENT OR

FUTURE).
He is wounded. He may/might/could be wounded.
He will be wounded..
He will return next month
They will sail tomorrow ..
They are all ill with the plague.
II.
Write uncertain answers to these questions (PAST).
Where was Jim yesterday? He might have been at his sisters.
What time did they leave for London? ...
What has he had for breakfast? ..
What did that armour cost?
Why did he leave in such a hurry? .
Why was she so rude to her mother? .
III.
Translate the following in English:
1. S-ar putea s nu fi fost vinovai de ceea ce li se imputa.
.
2. Se poate ca cineva s le fi dorit moartea.
.
3. E posibil ca vulturul s fi fost un semn de la zei.
.

4. Nu se poate s fi fost nfrnt.

.
5. S-ar putea s fi complotat mpreun?
.
WRITING

Choose a philosopher and make a presentation of life, work, thought. (150 words). Use the
following plan:
Biographical data
Education
Physical appearance
Moral Portrait
Anecdotes
Achievements

UNIT 12

WARM UP
What is the connection between Scholasticism and theology?

READING SELECTION

MEDIEVAL MIND

The outstanding intellectual achievement of the late Middle Ages was the famous system of
dialects known as Scholasticism. This system is usually defined as the attempt to harmonize
reason and faith or to make philosophy serve the interest of theology. But no such definition is
sufficient to convey an adequate conception of the Scholastic mind. The great thinkers of the
Middle Ages did not limit their interests to problems of religion. On the contrary, they were just
as anxious as philosophers in any period to answer the great questions of life, whether they
pertained to religion, politics, economics, or metaphysics. Perhaps the best way to explain the
true nature of Scholastic philosopher, like the Greek thinkers of the Socratic school, did not
believe that the highest truth could be derived from sense perception. They admitted that the
senses could provide a man with a knowledge of the appearances of things, but they maintained
that reality or the essential nature of the universe is discoverable mainly by reason. In the second
place, Scholastic philosophy was authoritarian. Even reason was not considered a sufficient
instrument for the discovery of all knowledge, but the deductions of logic needed to be
buttressed by the authority of Scriptures, of the Church Fathers, and especially of Plato and
Aristotle. Third, Scholastic philosophy had a predominantly ethical approach. Its cardinal aim
was to discover how man could improve his life and insure salvation in the life to come. Fourth,
Scholastic thought, unlike modern philosophy, was not mainly concerned with causes and
underlying relationships. Its purpose was rather to discover the attributes of things; the universe
was assumed to be static, and therefore it was only necessary to explain the meaning of things
and what they were good for, not to account for their origin and evolution
VOCABULARY
to convey a comunica, a exprima, a transmite
pertained to avnd legtur cu
buttressed READING COMPREHENSION
What were the main lines of Scholastic thinking?
First


.
Second

Third
..

..
Fourth

.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE

PREPOSITIONS OF TIME
AT for the time of the day:
AT 5 oclock
AT midnight
AT lunchtime
AT sunset
In expressions:

AT

ON

IN

At night
At the weekend
At Christmas; at Easter
At the moment; at present
At the same time
ON for days and dates:
On Friday and Fridays
On 12 March 1991
On Christmas Day
On my birthday
On Friday mornings
On Sunday afternoons
On Monday evenings
IN for longer periods of time
( for example, months/years/seasons):
In October
In 1968
In the 18th century
In the past
In (the) winter
In the 1970s

in the Middle Ages

In (the) future
In the morning
In the evening
A time in the future:
The train will be leaving in a few minutes.
Hell be back in a week.
To say how long it takes to do something:
I learnt to drive in four weeks.
!!! We do not use at/on/in before last/next/every: Ill be at home next Friday.
EXERCISES:
I. Complete the sentences. Each time use AT, ON or IN plus one of the following:
the evening
the moment
Sundays
about 20 minutes
21 July 1969
the Middle Ages
1492
the 1920s
11 seconds
Christmas
the same time
night
1. Columbus made his first voyage from Europe to America ..
2. In Britain most people do not work ..
3. If the sky is clear, you can see the stars ..
4. After working hard during the day, I like to relax .
5. The first man walked on the moon .
6. Its difficult to listen if everyone is speaking
7. Jazz became popular in the United States
8. Im just going out to thew shop. Ill be back
9. (on the phone) Can I speak to Clare? Im afraid she is not here ..
10. In Britain people send each other cards .
11. Many of Europes great cathedrals were built
12. Bob is a very fast runner. He can run 100 metres .
II. Put in AT, ON or IN where necessary.
1. Ill see you . Friday.
2. Ill see you . next Friday.
3. What are you doing . Saturday?
4. What are you doing . the weekend?
5. Do you work . Wednesdays?
6. We usually have a holiday . the summer.
7. We often have a short holiday . Christmas.

8. Pauline got married . 1991.

9. Pauline got married . 18 may 1991.
10. Chris is getting married . this year.
III. Put in AT, ON or IN:
1. Mozart was born in Salzburg . 1756.
2. I havent seen Kate for a few days. I last saw her . Tuesday.
3. The price of electricity is going up . October.
4. Ive been invited to a wedding . 14 February.
5. Hurry up! Weve got to go . five minutes.
6. Im busy just now but Ill be with you . a moment.
7. Jennys brother is an engineer but hes out of work the moment.
8. There are usually a lot of parties . New Years Eve.
9. I hope the weather will be nice . the weekend.
10. . Saturday night I went to bed . 11 oclock.
11. I dont like travelling . night.
12. I might not be at home . Tuesday morning but Ill probably be there . the afternoon.
13. My car is being repaired at the garage. It will be ready two hours.
14. The telephone and the doorbell rang . the same time.
15. Mary and Henry always go out for a meal . their wedding anniversary.
GRAMMAR

EXPRESSING WISHES
Study the following:
WISHES ABOUT THE PRESENT
They wish they had more civil liberties.
We wish we didnt have to hand in the assignments now.
How I wish it were not raining.
Dont you wish you could fly?
If only we could travel anywhere we wanted.
WISHES ABOUT THE PAST
I wish I had gone to the symposium. I could have met many interesting people.
If only I had told the truth! Nobody would have been hurt then.

WISHES FOR THE FUTURE

We all hope the best will win.
I wish you would stop telling the joke about Lincoln over and over again. Im tired of it!
EXERCISES:
I.
Re-write these sentences beginning with I wish ..
1. I havent done my written assignments and now Im sorry.
.

2. I dont own a car and I need one.

.

3. I cant drive and it would make all the difference if I did.

4. It is raining now and I want to go on a picnic.

5. My hair is too short to tie it back in a pony tail.

6. The children outside are making too much noise for me to study for the exam.

7. I missed the Presidents inauguration last night and I regret.

8. I didnt apply for the job in time and there is no hope for a new opening soon.

II.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Use the verb in brackets in the correct form:

Im so cold. If only I (think) . of packing an extra coat.
You play the piano beautifully. I wish I (play) . half as well as you.
If only they (listen) . to me. Im tired of warning them against the danger.
I wish I (study) .. harder. I could have scored better in the test.
I like your car. It is fast. I wish mine (be) . as fast as yours.
I hope we (meet) .. again.
If only I (speak) French. I wouldnt need a interpreter.
I wish you (start) cooking your own food.

III.
Fill in the blanks with a suitable word or phrase:
1. Im so tired. If only for a while.
2. This is an excellent restaurant. I before.
3. Thank you for coming. I hope .. again soon.
4. Its a pity you missed the play. If only . sick on the opening night.
5. He tricked me into coming on the trip. I hadnt been so naive to think
we could make up.
6. If only .. Then we could go skiing.

WRITING
In our times one needs to be aggressively positive about ones qualifications and training
in order to secure a good job. Perhaps the first step in this direction would be to learn how
to write a good application letter and CV. Here is an example (From Meaning into Words).

Mozartstrasse, 25
Vienna
Austria
The Staff Manager
Continental Tours Ltd
6, Dover Street
London W1

11 March, 1983

Dear Sir,
I am an Austrian student, and am seeking some interesting form of employment for the summer
vacation this year, and I have been advised to write to you to offer my service as a guide to
tourists visiting Europe.
Briefly, my relevant experience and qualifications are as follows: I have studied English
for ten years, first at school and since then at Vinne University. I have visited Britain several
times, and in 1979 I spent ten weeks in the United States. My experience of speaking English is
therefore quite considerable. I have also travelled extensively within Europe and have a good
working knowledge of French and Italian in addition to my native language, German. My studies
have included the History of European Art and Architecture as well as the languages I have just
mentioned.
I have worked as a tourist guide on two previous occasions and am familiar with the
nature of the work. I have had to deal with many of the various problems and difficult
situations that can arise during a tour mistakes in hotel bookings, lost passports, illnesses,
etc. Last summer I accompanied a party of Americans on a tour of Italy, and a month ago I
acted as guide to a group of Irish businessmen visiting Vienna. I have always found this
kind of work interesting and enjoyable and have had a good relationship with the clients
who have been in my care.
I look forward to hearing from you. Needless to say, I will be glad to supply you with any
further information you may need, including references from my previous employers.
Yours faithfully,
Anton Mayerhofer
Write your own letter of application for the same job as Anton Mayerhofer. Do you think
you stand a better chance to be accepted?

..


..

..

..

..

MODULE 4

UNIT 13

WARM UP
Name some of the most important religious movements in Europe?
READING SELECTION
NOMINALISM

By the end of the thirteenth century Scholasticism had begun to decline. Its decay was due partly
to the teachings of the last of the Scholastics, John Duns Scotus. A member of the Franciscan
order, Duns Scotus was inclined to emphasize the emotional and practical side of religion in
place of the intellectual. He conceived of piety as an act of will rather than an act of intellect.
Less confident of the powers of reason than St. Thomas, he excluded a large number of the
doctrines of religion from the sphere of philosophy altogether. From this it was only a step to
denial that any religious beliefs were capable of rational demonstration; all would have to be
accepted on faith or rejected entirely. When this step was finally taken by Duns Scotus
successors, the overthrow of Scholasticism was speedily accomplished.
The other main reason for the decline of Scholasticism was the growing popularity of
nominalism. Although nominalism is often considered a form of Scholasticism, actually the
nominalists were fundamentally opposed to nearly everything the Scholastics taught. They
denied that concepts or class names have any reality, insisting that they are nothing but
abstractions invented by the mind to express the qualities common to a number of objects or
organisms. Only individual things are real. Far from accepting the Scholastic confidence in
reason, the nominalists contended that all knowledge has its source in experience. Anything
beyond the realm of concrete experience must be taken on faith, if it is to be accepted at all; the
majority became mystics. Nominalism flourished in the fourteenth century and for some time
was the most popular philosophy in Western Europe. Nominalism is especially important for
having laid the foundations for the mystical religious movements which helped to bring on the
Protestant Revolution.
VOCABULARY
decay decdere, declin
to contend a susine, a afirma (aici)
READING COMPREHENSION
1. To what religious order did John Duns Scotus belong? ___________________
2. How did he define piety? ______________________
3. What were the two reasons for the decline of Scholasticism?
_________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________
4. Choose from among the following how to best define the relation between Nominalism and
Scholasticism:
a. symmetry
b. opposition
c. synonymy
d. inclusion
5. Fill in this table by comparing Nominalism and Scolasticism on some of their main points:
NOMINALISM

SCHOLASTICISM

Concepts

What is real?

The source
knowledge

of

6. When did Nominalism reach its peak? ______________

7. For what important religion movement in Western Europe is Nominalism considered to have
laid the grounds? _______________________________

VOCABULARY WORK
The rule for forming adverbs is : ADJECTIVE + ly
SLOW

SLOWLY

HEAVY

HEAVILY

ADVERB

In the case of adjectives which end in ly the corresponding adverbs will be

In a friendly way
In a silly manner
Sickly; lovely; motherly; cowardly
There are some adverbs having the same form as the adjectives:
Fast, better, best, early, hard, last, late, monthly
This is a fast horse.
He sure rides fast.
Some adverbs have two forms with different meanings:

Hard/hardly He played hard

He hardly played
Last/lastly

He came last.
Firstly, ., secondly,..thirdly, and lastly

High/highly The plane flew high.

I think highly of him.
near/nearly; just/justly; late/lately
Exercises:
I.
Rewrite each sentence so that it has a similar meaning and contains the word given:
The King and Queen lead a happy life.
LIVED

Fighting in a tournament was hard work for the knights.

WORKED

..
The young squire was a good flute player.

PLAYED

.
The ladies of the court were supposed to be graceful dancers.

DANCED

.
They told him his master was ill.

NOT FEELING

..
The young page completed his training with success.

TRAINED

.
His laughter sounded so silly.

LAUGHED

..
Although he is over 40 he still needs a motherly woman around. TREATS
.
II.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Choose the right adverb in each sentence:

The knights fought . in the battle and won.(hard/hardly)
Masters . pay any attention to their servants. (hard/hardly)
He started first but only came out . (last/lastly)
- and . I would like to thank my fateful squire for not abandoning me on the
battlefield. (last/lastly)
5. The judge didnt treat them very . (just/justly)
6. He had returned from the Crusades and was all covered in blood. (just/justly)
7. He charged and . broke down the fence. (near/nearly)

8. The young courtiers tried to sit the ladies they fancied. (near/nearly)
9. Pages always think . of their lords. (high/highly)
10. He tried to jump too .. and fell to the ground. (high/highly)
GRAMMAR

RELATIVE CLAUSES
The settlement was financed by a London company which expected to make a profit from the
settlement
Relative clauses are joined by relative pronouns.
It is important to distinguish between:
DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
It was financed by a company which expected to make profit.
NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
Shakespeare, who wrote many plays, is the literature of mankind.
And whether they are:
SUBJECT CLAUSES
The settlers who first arrived in America were called Pilgrims.
OBJECT CLAUSES
The colonists whom the governor redirected westwards were not exactly happy.
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
Refer to things
WHICH
THAT (formal)
Refer to people

THAT
WHO (subject clause)
WHOM (object clause, formal)
WHOSE

Study the following:

The book which/that I told you about can be found at the library.
The lady who/that was lying in the street was finally rushed to the hospital.
This is the person whom I found in your office poking about.
They are the ones whose right to vote was withdrawn on grounds of drunkenness.
EXERCISES:
I.
Provide for each blank the missing relative pronoun:
1. The gentleman by .. we were addressed was rather inquisitive.
2. The colonists .. were allowed to settle in that barren area were helped by the
natives.
3. The lady to I spoke yesterday is a TV star.
4. The friends . car I borrowed for a week now want it back.
5. The brochure .. we received from the information desk is not updated.
6. He doesnt seem to remember he left his coat with?
7. The book .. she was in the process of writing was very promising.

8. A tall young man, . a dark coat, knocked gingerly on the door.

9. Do you know Jane reports to?
10. It is difficult to tell .. is the car abandoned outside our house.
II. Rewrite each of the following sentences by adding a relative pronoun.
e.g. Friday was the last time I saw Jim.
Friday was the last time that I saw Jim.
1. The movie we saw last night was extremely boring.
..
2. His mother was the first person he asked.
.
3. The person you referred me to was not able to clarify the problem.
.
4. Ive lost the umbrella I always use on trips.

5. The restaurant we go to on Sundays was closed.

III. Combine the following pairs of sentences into one by including the relative pronoun:
e.g. We want to visit a museum. It opens at 12.00.
THAT
The museum that we want to visit opens at 12.00.
1. A neighbours car was stolen. He reported it to the police.
WHOSE
.
2. An official met Bond at the railway station. He handed him an important envelope.
WHO
.
3. Helen organized a Thanksgiving party. It was a success.
THAT
.
4. John found somebodys lost puppy in the street. They phoned to claim it.
WHOSE
.
5. The train goes to London. We have to catch it.
WHICH
.
6. A funny boy has joined the band. He has pink spiky hair.
WHO

7. They found some unclaimed land. It was fertile.

THAT

8. I met an actor. His career is soaring.

WHOSE
.
9. We saw some zebras. They were so funny.
WHICH


WRITING
Explain the coexistence of the several denominations in Romania. Discuss their emergence and
their evolution or involution in time. What is the situation today? Make sure you use paragraph
and your text is clear and coherent.

..

UNIT 14

WARM UP
Many saints were first martyrized and later canonized. Can you explain the process?

READING SELECTION

THOMAS AQUINAS
LIFE AND WORKS. St. Thomas, born at Roccasecca 1225, was of the family of the Counts of
Aquino. His first studies were in the monastery of Monte Cassino. In 1239 he went to Naples to
take up the seven liberal arts. There he studied the trivium (grammar, rhetoric and dialectic) and
the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music). He also studied in the faculty of
arts at the Universtity of Naples, and it was in Naples in 1244 that he donned the Dominican
habit. Shortly afterward he started out for Paris with the Master-General of the Order, but his
brothers, angry over his becoming a monk, kidnapped him on route and carried him off to
Roccasecca. The following year he went to Paris, where he met St. Albertus Magnus. From 1259
to 1269 he taught in various cities in Italy. In 1274, answering the summons of Gregory X to
attend the Second Council of Lyons, he set out to Naples. But his death could not support the
overwhelming intellectual labour to which he was committed: he fell ill on the journey and died
at Fossanova on March 7, 1274.
St. Thomas was a man of pure spirituality. His whole life was dedicated to philosophical
and theological labours and inspired by religion. He was a man of singularly simple and kindly
ways, devoting heart and soul to the great intellectual task which he fully accomplished.
Testimonials by those nearest to him tell the profound affection which he inspired in his closest
friends. These included his teacher, St. Albertus Magnus, who at a very advanced age set out for
Paris to defend his pupils doctrines, which had been condemned by Bishop Tempier. The church
canonized Thomas, acknowledging, along with his Sainthood, his great importance in
Scolasticism. St. Thomas has been given the name Doctor angelicus.

THE DOMINICANS
Founded: 1216, by St. Dominic in Spain.
Arrived in Britain: 1221
Information: Dominic was a Spanish noble who trained for the Church and went to university.
Inspired by the ideas of Francis, he decided to preach and to teach ordinar people so that they
really understood about Christianity, Dominicans were usually better educated than most priests
and very good teachers.

VOCABULARY
he donned the Dominican habit a mbrcat vemntul dominican
kidnapped a rpi
overwhelming - copleitor
he was committed a se angaja la
testimonials - mrturii
acknowledging a confirma, a valida, a recunoate
READING COMPREHENSION
What are the subjects covered by the:
Trivium
1.
2.
3.

Quadrivium
1.
2.
3.
4.
2. The following years are landmarks in the life of Thomas Aquinas. What are they?
1225
1239
1244
1259-1269 ..
1274
3. The name of Thomas Aquinas is synonymous to S..
4. What was the name given to Thomas Aquinas. Explain.

.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
1900
a newborn baby
ten-months old
a toddler
coming up to school age
at infants school

1910
in the 9-11 age-group
a teenager
he has had a happy childhood
the agonies of adolescence
still a minor
congratulations on your coming of age

1920
you have to be over 20
Miss June Hoskins, aged 21
In his mid-twenties
In his prime
By the age of 26 she had lived in six different countries
An adult
A grown-up
1930
dont be so childish
hes turned thirty
thirtyish
not a youngster anymore
36 years of age
approaching middle-age
1940
on the wrong side of forty
beginning to look his age
an ageing playboy
I prefer mature people
In his late forties
1950
in her early fifties
hes aged a lot lately
one of the older generation
Im twice your age
1960
growing old gracefully
a pensioner
an elderly lady
hes coming up to seventy
youre as old as you feel
1970
a septuagenarian
help the aged
old age comes to all of us
becoming senile
1980
hes as old as the hills
his eightieth birthday
hes got one foot in the grave

76

shes passed away

GRAMMAR

VERBS FOLLOWED BY PREPOSITIONS

Many verbs in English are followed by a preposition which could bring about a change in
meaning or not. Here is a list of such verbs (From Intermediate Language Practice)
ABOUT

AT
FOR

IN

dream
know
talk
laugh
look
apologize
apply
ask
look
pay
wait
believe
succeed

OF

ON
TO

accuse
remind
taste
depend
rely
belong
explain
listen
talk

EXERCISE
Rewrite each of the sentences so that their meaning stays the same and they contain
the word in capitals.
a. Surprisingly enough, the little child found the celebrations boring.
BORED
..
b. Santa Clause is a bit like my uncle.
REMINDS
.
c. He was trying to find a good Christmas tree.
LOOKING
.
d. All children like sweets and cookies.
FOND
.
e. The new decorations made her feel excited
ABOUT

f. She said she regretted what she had done.

APOLOGIZED

g. I trust them to choose the right presents.

RELY

h. I wish you could tell me what this means.

EXPLAIN

WRITING

77

Use some of the expressions above to describe yourself and your age-group:

78

UNIT 15

WARM UP
Do you collect sayings that have struck you as insightful or applying to you? Why do
we try to find answers to our personal questions in the writings of the great minds?

READING SELECTION

MONTAIGNE
He had been initiated in the classics at an early age. He had been taught Latin as a
first language. By seven or eight, he had read Ovids Metamorphoses. Before he was
sixteen, he had bought a set of Virgil and knew intimately the Aeneid, as well as Terence,
Plautus and the Commentaries of Caesar. And such was his devotion to books that, after
working as a counsellor in the Parlement of Bordeaux for thirteen years, he retired with
the idea of devoting himself entirely to them. Reading was the solace of his life:
It consoles me in my retreat; it relieves me of the weight of distressing idleness and,
at any time, can rid me of boring company. It blunts the stabs of pain whenever pain
is not too overpowering and extreme. To distract me from morose thoughts, I simply
need to have recourse to books.
But the library shelves, with their implication of an unbounded admiration for the life of
the mind, did not tell the full story. One had to look more closely around the library,
stand in the middle of the room and tilt ones head to the ceiling: in the mid-1570s
Montaigne had a set of fifty-seven short inscriptions culled from the Bible and the
classics painted across the wooden beams, and these suggested some profound
reservations about the benefits of having a mind.
The happiest life is to be without thought. Sophocles
Have you seen a man who thinks he is wise? You have more to hope for from a
madman than from him. Proverbs
There is nothing certain but uncertainty, nothing more miserable and more proud
than man. Pliny
Everything is too complicated for men to be able to understand. - Ecclesiastes
Ancient philosophers had believed that our powers of reason could afford us a
happiness and greatness denied to other creatures. Reason allowed us to control our
passions and to correct the false notions prompted by our instincts. Reason tempered the
wild demands of our bodies and led us to a balanced relationship with our appetites for
food and sex. Reason was a sophisticated, almost divine, tool offering us mastery over
the world and ourselves.
In the Tusculan Disputations, of which there was a copy in the round library,
Cicero had heaped praise upon the benefits of intellectual work:

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There is no occupation so sweet as scholarship; scholarship is the means

of making known to us, while still in this world, the infinity of matter, the
immense grandeur of Nature, the heavens, the lands and the seas. Scholarship has
taught us piety, moderation, greatness of heart; it snatches our souls from
darkness and shows them all things, the high and the low, the first, the last and
everything in between; scholarship furnishes us with the means of living well and
happily; it teaches us how to spend our lives without discontent and without
vexation.
Though he owned a thousand books and had benefited from a fine classical education,
this laudation so infuriated Montaigne, it ran so contrary to the spirit of the library beams,
that he expressed his indignation with uncharacteristic ferocity:
Man is a wretched creature just listen to him bragging Is this fellow
describing the properties of almighty and everlasting God! In practice, thousands of
little women in their villages have lived more gentle, more equable and more constant
lives than Cicero.
The Roman philosopher had overlooked how violently unhappy most scholars were; he
had arrogantly disregarded the appalling troubles for which human beings, alone among
all other creatures, had been singled out troubles which might in dark moments leave us
regretting that we had not been born ants or tortoises.
VOCABULARY
distressing idleness lene aductoare de suferin
to blunt a toci
to tilt a nclina
culled - culese
wooden beams brne de lemn
prompted a ndemna, a mboldi, a stimula
to heap praise a acoperi de de laude
wretched creature srman fptur
overlooked a trece cu vederea peste
READING COMPREHENSION
1. Fill in the required information about Montaigne:
Language(s):
Readings:
Work:
Jobs/positions:
2. What contradicts his early statement: Reading was the solace of his life?

3. What does Montaigne mean by the troubles which might in dark moments leave us
regretting that we had not been born ants or tortoises?

80

.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE

PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE
IN
In the room
In the building
In a box
In a garden
In a town
In a city
There was no one in the room/ in the building/in the garden.
What have you got in your hand/ in your mouth?
When we were in Italy, we spent a few days in Venice.
I have a friend who lives in a small village in the mountains.
Look at those people swimming in the pool/ in the sea /in the river.
AT
At the bus stop
At the door
At the window
At the top
At the bottom
At the end of the street
Who is that man standing at the bus stop/ at the door/ at the window?
Turn at the traffic lights/ at the church/ at the roundabout.
Write your name at the bottom/ at the top of the page.
Angelas house is the white one at the end of the street.
When you leave the hotel, please your key at reception.
ON
On the ceiling
On the wall
On the door
On the table

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On the floor
On a page
I sat on the floor/ on the ground/ on the grass/ on a chair/ on the beach.
There is a dirty mark on the wall/ on the ceiling/ on your nose/ on your shirt.
Youll find details of the TV programmes on page seven.
!!! Compare IN and AT:
There were a lot of people in the shop. It was very crowded.
Go along this road, then turn left at the shop. (giving directions)
!!! Compare IN and ON:
There is some water in the bottle.
There is a label on the bottle.
!!! Compare At and ON:
There is somebody at the door. Shall I go and see who it is?
There is a notice on the door. It says Do not disturb.
EXERCISES:
I.
Complete these sentences. Use IN, AT or ON + one of the following:
The window
My guitar
Your coffee
The mountains
That tree
The next garage
The river
That house
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Look at those people swimming _____________.

One of the strings ___________ is broken.
There is something wrong with the car. Wed better stop __________.
Would you like sugar _________?
The leaves ___________ are a beautiful colour.
Last year we had a wonderful skiing holiday __________.
Theres nobody living ___________ . Its uninhabited.
He spends most of the day sitting _________ and looking outside.

II.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Complete these sentences with IN, AT or ON.

Write your name ___ the top of the page.
I like that picture hanging ____ the wall ____ the kitchen.
There was an accident ____ the crossroads this morning.
I wasnt sure whether I had come to the right office. There was no name ___ the
door.
5. _____ the end of the street there is a path leading to the river.

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6. Youll find the sports results ____ the back of the newspaper.
7. I wouldnt like an office job. I couldnt spend the whole day sitting ___ a desk.
8. My brother lives ____ a small village ____ the south-west of England.
OTHER USES FOR:
IN
In a line/ in a row/ in a street
In a photograph/ in a picture / in a mirror
In the sky/ in the world
In a book/ in a newspaper/ in a magazine/ in a letter
ON
On the left/ on the right
On the ground floor/ on the first floor/ on the second floor
On a map/ on the menu/ on a list
On a farm
A place is on a river/ on a road/ on the coast
On the way to
THE CORNER
In the corner of a room
But
At/on the corner of a street

FRONT and BACK

In the front/ back of a car But

At the back of the house

I was standing at the back and I couldnt see very well.

But
On the front/ on the back of a letter/ piece of paper

EXERCISE
Fill in the blanks with in, at or on:
1. It can be dangerous when children play . the street.
2. If you walk to the end of the street, youll see a small shop the corner.
3. Is Tom this photograph? I cant find him.
4. My office is . the first floor. Its the left as you come out of the lift.
5. We normally use the front entrance but there is another entrance the back.
6. I love to look up at the stars the sky at night.
7. Where shall we sit? Over there, the corner.
8. When I am a passenger in a car, I prefer to sit the front.
9. Its a very small village. You probably wont find it your map.
10. Paris is the river Seine.
GRAMMAR

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INVERSIONS
Inversions often occur in English for reasons of emphasis. Compare:

Inversion occurs:

After negative
adverbials

When the
adverbial occurs
at the beginning
of a clause

Never have I been to the U.S.

Time expressions
- rarely, seldom,
hardly, barely,
scarcely, no sooner

Rarely do people realize how much

injustice there is in the world.
Hardly/Scarcely/Barely were they put on
board the slave-ships, when misery started.

Only when they set foot on American soil,

Only
did they understand the full extent of their
- only if, only
when, only then, only plight.
later

After so and such

no / not
- under no
circumstances, on no
account, at no time,
in no way, on no
condition, not until,
not only(but also)

Not only were slaves poorly fed, but they

were also beaten.
On no condition were they allowed to leave
unescorted.

Little

Little did they know the dangers awaiting

them.

so

So great is the power conferred on him that

he can direct the will of all.
Such was their strife for freedom that
eventually they succeeded.

such
In conditional sentences
without If

were
should

Were they to win they would all rejoice.

Should a new king take power, all problems
would be solved.
Had he known, he would have acted in time.
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With as

had
more common in They were in doubt, as were their leaders,
whether they should proceed.
formal language

In echoing statements

so
neither, nor

I.

I am hungry.
So am I.
I don't like the movie.
Neither do I.

Complete each sentence with a suitable word or phrase.

1. ______________ had we arrived on the continent, when we were surrounded by

curious locals.
2. _____________ are the members of the crew to favour any of the slaves.
3. ____________ the wretched slaves realize the worse was still to come!
4. ___________ so many of the slaves on board the ship fallen ill at the same time.
5. ______________ to be freed, they would all flee to other states.
6. They supposed, as ____________ most people, that some day they would be happy.
7. ______________ they suffer hunger and all sorts of deprivations, but they were also
regularly flogged.
8. ____________ had one of the runaway slaves been captured, than another one took
his chance at liberty.
9. __________ was the force of the wind, than they soon arrived at a neighbouring
island and could set foot on land.
II. Rephrase the following sentences considering all the necessary changes entailed by inversion:

1. School children know little about history at first.

Little .
2. Besides being uprooted, African slaves were terribly mistreated.
Not only .
3. You wont find anywhere more truth about slavery than in the accounts supplied by
slaves themselves.
Nowhere .
4. Slaves seldom managed to free themselves.
Seldom
5. When slaves disobeyed their masters, they were immediately punished.
No sooner
6. The South didnt produce more cotton until the cotton gin was invented.
Only when
7. More slaves were smuggled into the U.S. as soon as Congress passed a law against it.
Never before
8. Slaves were rarely freed of the slave-owners free will.
Rarely
9. The moment they arrived in the New World they were put to work.

85

Scarcely .

WRITING
Write an imaginary argument between Montaigne and Cicero over the
benefits/drawbacks of intellectual study.

..

86

UNIT 16
PROGRESS TEST
Philosophy began with mans sense of wonder and curiosity expressed as What are
things really like? and How can we explain change in things? These questions
were prompted by the gradual recognition that that appearance often differs
from reality. Birth, death, growth, and decay raised not only the questions about
personal destiny but also of how things and persons come into existence, are
different at different times, pass out of existence.
The birthplace of philosophy was the seaport town of Miletus on the western
shores of Ionia, and for this reason the first philosophers are called either Milesians or
Ionians. By the time the Milesian philosophers began their systematic work, Miletus had
been a crossroads for seaborne commerce and cosmopolitan ideas. Its wealth made
possible the leisure without which the life of art and philosophy could hardly develop,
and the broad-mindedness and inquisitiveness of its people created a congenial
atmosphere for the intellectual activity that became philosophy. Earlier, Ionia had
produced the genius Homer, whose epic poetry projected upon the cosmic scene Mount
Olympus, where the gods pursued lives not too different from their human counterparts.
This poetic view of the world also related the life of the gods to the life of humans, by
describing various ways in which the gods interfered with mens affairs. The Homeric
gods punished men for their lack of moderation, for their pride or insubordination. It is
not that Homers gods are moral and require goodness; they are merely stronger than men
and exact obedience. Moreover, when Homer suggests that there is a power he calls fate,
to which even the gods are subject, he appears to be reaching for a way of describing a
rigorous order in nature to which everyone and everything must be subordinate. But his
poetic imagination is so dominated by his thinking in human terms that his conception of
nature is that of capricious wills at work instead of the reign of physical natural laws. It
was Hesiod who altered this concept of the gods and fate by removing from the gods
all capriciousness and ascribing to them a moral consistency. Although Hesiod retains the
notion that the gods control nature, he balances this personal element with an emphasis
upon the impersonal operation of the moral law of the universe. The moral order is still
the product of Zeus commands, but these commands are neither capricious nor
calculated, but are fashioned for the good of man. For Hesiod the universe is a moral
order, and from this idea it is a short step to say that there is an impersonal force
controlling the universe. The Milesians Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes took this
step. Philosophy among the Milesians began as an act of independent thought. The
questions: What are things really like? and How can we explain change? indicate a
substantial departure from the poetry of Homer and Hesiod and a movement toward the
temperament of science. Although the Milesians can be called primitive scientists, it is a
fact that science and philosophy were the same thing in the beginning and only later did
various specific disciplines separate themselves from the field of philosophy, medicine
being the first.
1. The matters the first philosophers were concerned with were:

87

A.
B.
C.
D.

Individual destiny
Identical to those of poets
Reality and appearance
What are things? and What is change?

2. Intellectual activity was facilitated in Miletus by:

A. the fact that Miletus was a port
B. lfe in Miletus was prosperous
C. people lived in leisure and were open to novelty
D. the fact that the first philosophers were born there
3. For Homer fate was:
A. The supreme god
B. A particular power which punished men
C. A principle ruling everything and everyone
D. One of the gods living on Mount Olympus
4. Hesiod innovated the Homeric view of the world by:
A. Introducing an impersonal force which controlled the universe
B. Introducing a moral law of the universe
C. Denying that Zeus commands were either capricious or calculated
D. Asserting that Nature is not controlled by gods
5. The first philosophers can be considered:
A. poets
B. scientists
C. doctors
D. historians
USE OF ENGLISH
I. Choose the word or phrase which best completes each sentence. Circle the correct
solution.
1. Early philosophers concentrated ____ describing what things consist of.
A. with
B. of
C. on
D. at
2. Heraclitus shifted ______ to a new problem, the problem of change.
A. idea
B. attention C. question D. matter
3. He said: You cannot step _____ into the same river.
A. once
B. C. every time D. twice
4. Heraclitus was positive that this concept must apply _____ to rivers but to all
things.
A. not
B. just
C. both
D. not only
5. Rivers and men exhibit the fascinating fact of ____ different yet remaining the
same.
A. become
B. becoming C. to become D. having become

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II. Finish the incomplete sentences without changing the meaning of the sentence
above them.
1. Plato asks: Imagine some men living in a large cave.
Plato asks us
2. All the prisoners in the cave can see is shadows.
The prisoners
3. If a prisoner is released, he will not willingly leave the cave.
When
4. Somebody will have to drag the prisoner out.
The prisoner.
5. He hasnt seen the sun before.
It is the .
III. Change the word in capitals so as to make it fit suitably in the blank space.
1. Their discussion reached eventually a ____ conclusion.
SATISFY
2. The interminable speech made him feel ______.
SLEEP
3. They all marvelled at the ________ of his arguments.
STRONG
4. Some dogmas can have ______ effects on faith.
DESTROY
5. She was so _______ by her failure that she decided to abandon the contest.
COURAGE
IV. Change the Infinitive in brackets into the appropriate Tense, Mood or Voice.
At the time Locke entered Oxford, Cromwell (1)(be) Chancellor, and the Puritans
(2)(be) in control. Locke later declared that he (3)(lose) a great deal of time at the
commencement of his studies because the only philosophy then (4)(know) at Oxford
was the Peripathetic. Lady Masham added that he had so small satisfaction there
from his studies that this discouragement kept him from (5)(be) any very hard
student.
1 __________________
2 __________________
3 __________________
4 __________________
5 __________________
WRITING
Write a short essay on ONE of the following topics. (150-200 words)
1. Who were some of the great founders of faith and what was their influence.
2. Write out a potential argument between a fatalist and a realist on THE
END OF THE WORLD.

89

90

IRREGULAR VERBS
be
was/were
beat
beat
become
became
begin
began
bend
bent
bite
bit
blow
blew
break
broke
bring
brought
build
built
burn
burnt
burst
burst
buy
bought
catch
caught
choose
chose
come
came
cost
cost
cut
cut
deal
dealt
dig
dug
do
did
draw
drew
dream
dreamt
drink
drank
drive
drove
eat
ate
fall
fell
feed
fed
feel
felt
fight
fought
find
found
fly
flew
forbid
forbade
forgive
forgave
freeze
froze
get
got
give
gave
go
went
grow
grew
hang
hung
have
had
hear
heard
hide
hid
hit
hit
hold
held

been
beaten
become
begun
bent
bitten
blown
broken
brought
built
burnt
burst
bought
caught
chosen
come
cost
cut
dealt
dug
done
drawn
dreamt
drunk
driven
eaten
fallen
fed
felt
fought
found
flown
forbidden
forgiven
frozen
got
given
gone
grown
hung
had
heard
hidden
hit
held

91

hurt
keep
know
lay
lead
learn
leave
lend
let
lie
light
lose
make
mean
meet
pay
put
read
ride
ring
rise
run
say
see
sell
send
set
shake
shine
shoot
show
shut
sing
sink
sit
sleep
speak
spell
spend
stand
steal
stick
swim
take
teach
tear

hurt
kept
knew
laid
lead
learnt
left
lent
let
lay
lit
lost
made
meant
met
paid
put
read
rode
rang
rose
ran
said
saw
sold
sent
set
shook
shone
shot
showed
shut
sang
sank
sat
slept
spoke
spelt
spent
stood
stole
stuck
swam
took
taught
tore

hurt
kept
known
laid
lead
learnt
left
lent
let
lain
lit
lost
made
meant
met
paid
put
read
ridden
rung
risen
run
said
seen
sold
sent
set
shaken
shone
shot
shown
shut
sung
sunk
sat
slept
spoken
spelt
spent
stood
stolen
stuck
swum
taken
taught
torn

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tell
think
throw
understand
wake
wear
win
write

told
thought
threw
understood
woke
wore
won
wrote

told
thought
thrown
understood
woken
worn
won
written

93