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The Way Up To Heaven
The Way Up To Heaven
The meanings given below are those which the words and phrases have as they
occur in the story.
Page
67 pathological: like a disease.
67 twitch: have a sudden, uncontrollable muscle movement.
67 apprehension: feeling of uneasiness or anxiety.
67 elevator: (A.E.) lift.
67 flutter and fidget: move about in a nervous, irregular way.
67 bland: smooth.
67 torture: action deliberately causing pain.
67 hysterics: uncontrollable outburst of emotion.
68 irrepressible foible: personal peculiarity which she couldn't control.
68 gloomy: dark and cheerless.
68 bustling: busy moving.
68 Idlewild: airport outside New York City; now Kennedy Airport.
68 formalities: official checks at the airport.
69 great yearning: strong desire.
69 blood likeness: family similarity.
70 diminutive: tiny.
70 dapper: neat in appearance.
70 Andrew Carnegie: 19th century American industrialist.
70 Long Island: the large island east of New York.
71 resign yourself to: accept without complaining.
72 disconsolate: unhappy; disappointed.
73 nightmare: bad, frightening dream.
73 hazy: unclear.
75 Confound it: an expression of annoyance.
76 mail it: (A.E.) send it by post.
76 spout: open end of a pipe through which liquid pours, as on a tea pot.
76 arrested: stopped.
77 analyse: work out the meaning of.
77 flabby: loose and fleshy.
77 a trifle: slightly; a little.
78 cable: (A.E.) telegram.
78 overtip: give too much extra money to. 78 shrilly: in a sharp, high way.
78 pantry: room near the kitchen of a large house in which articles for the table are kept. 79
oppressive: heavy and uncomfortable.
Questions
4. How does Mrs Foster change from the time when she goes
back to the house to speak to her husband? (p. 76)
(a) Why does she stop?
(b) What is she listening to?
(c) How do her manner and appearance change when she decides to go to the
airport immediately? (p. 77)
(d) What is the new mood which develops while she is on the plane? (pp. 77- 78)
5. How does Mrs Foster feel and act when she returns from France?
(a) Is she unwilling to come back? (p. 78)
(b) Is she surprised when she finds that there is no car to collect her at the
airport? (p. 78)
(c) What does she find when she opens the front door and what does she smell?
(p. 79)
(d) What does she do when she gets inside the house and what kind of
expression does she have on her face? (p. 79)
(e) What has happened to the elevator?
(f) What has happened to Mr Foster?
6. What does Mrs Foster say in the letters she wrote from Paris?
(p. 78). In what way are the letters very ironic?