Discussin

Chapter1-6
1. Sum up the information on Peter McDermott and Christine Francis
Christine Francis had left her own smaller office in the St. Gregory Hotel
executive suite a few minutes earlier. She had been working late and was on
the point of going home when the light under the assistant general manager's
door had drawn her in.
He looked at her quizzically. "I thought you knew everything."
And usually she did. As personal assistant to Warren Trent, the
unpredictable and irascible owner of New Orleans' largest hotel, Christine
was privy to the hotel's inner secrets as well as its day-to-day affairs.
He hesitated, eying Christine's slight, trim figure.
Peter, who had been promoted to assistant general manager a month or two
ago, was virtually running the big, bustling St. Gregory, though at an
ungenerous salary and with limited authority. She knew the reasons behind
that, too, which were in a file marked Confidential and involved Peter
McDermott's personal life.
2. What the problems did they face that Monday?
McDermott gave a cheerful grin which contorted his rugged, almost ugly
features. "We've a complaint from the eleventh floor about some sort of sex
orgy; on the ninth the Duchess of Croydon claims her Duke has been
insulted by a room-service waiter; there's a report of somebody moaning
horribly in 1439; and I've the night manager off sick, with the other two
house officers otherwise engaged."
3. What reputation in the hotel did Herbie Chandler have?
"Bell captain," the phone said, and he recognized the flat nasal voice of
Herbie Chandler. Chandler, like Ogilvie, was another of the St.Gregory's
old-timers and reputedly controlled more sideline rackets than anyone else
on staff .
4. Sum up the information on Herbie Chandler?
Herbie Chandler, his weasel-face betraying an inner uneasiness, stood
thoughtfully by the bell captain's upright desk in the St. Gregory lobby.
Herbie Chandler, who held the power of hiring and firing his bell staff,
preferred older men.
What they did not know was that ten per cent of their tip would find its way
into Herbie Chandler's pocket, plus the flat two dollars daily which Chandler
exacted from each bellboy as the price of retaining his job.
Trusting no one, he liked to keep an eye on his percentage and had an
uncanny knack of sizing up guests, estimating exactly what each trip to the
upstairs floors would yield
 "Don't give us any crap about not being able to, because we know you
(Herbie Chandler) run the call girls here."
5. Why Herbie Chandler have any need to investigate a complaint on the
eleventh floor?
But Herbie Chandler had no need to investigate because he knew roughly
what was happening on the eleventh. The reason was simple: he had
arranged it himself.
6. What incident….
"Yes, Mr. McDermott. Well, when I was serving the Creole the Duchess got
up from the table and as she came back she jogged my arm. If I didn't know
better I'd have said it was deliberate."
"That's ridiculous!"
"I know, sir, I know. But what happened, you see, was there was a small
spot - I swear it was no more than a quarter inch - on the Duke's trousers."
Peter said doubtfully, "Is that all this is about?"
"Mr. McDermott, I swear to you that's all. But you'd think - the fuss the
Duchess made - I'd committed murder. I apologized, I got a clean napkin
and water to get the spot off, but it wouldn't do.
7. What sort of man was Peter McDermott?
I'm assistant general manager. That's why I came personally."
"How old are you?"
"Thirty-two."
"I have a degree from Cornell University - the School of Hotel
Administration. Before coming here I was an assistant manager at the
Waldorf." It required an effort to mention the Waldorf, and he was tempted
to add: from where I was fired in ignominy, and black-listed by the chain
hotels, so that I am fortunate to be working here, which is an independent
house. But he would not say it, of course, because a private hell was
something you lived with alone, even when someone else's casual questions
nudged old, raw wounds within yourself.
8. What did the Duke and Duchess look like that morning?
With a swift fingersnap, instantly obeyed, she silenced the dogs and turned
her eyes questioningly on Peter. He was aware of the handsome, high-
cheekboned face, familiar through a thousand photographs. Even in casual
clothes, he observed, the Duchess was superbly dressed.
In contrast to his Duchess, the Duke was untidily dressed, in a creased white
shirt and the trousers of a tuxedo. Instinctively Peter McDermott's eyes
sought the tell-tale stain where Natchez, in the Duchess's words, had "poured
shrimp Creole over my husband." He found it, though it was barely visible -
a tiny spot which a valet could have removed instantly. Behind the Duke, in
the spacious living room a television set was turned on.
The Duke's face seemed flushed, and more lined than some of his recent
photographs showed. He held a glass in his hand and when he spoke his
voice was blurry. "Oh, beg pardon." 
9. What did you learn about Christine Francis’s past?
Five years ago, she thought, if someone at the University of Wisconsin had
asked what twenty-year-old Chris Francis, a bright co-ed with a flair for
modem languages, was likely to be doing a lustrurn later, not even the
wildest guess would have had her working in a New Orleans hotel. That
long
ago her knowledge of the Crescent City was of the slightest, and her
interest less. She had learned in school about the Louisiana Purchase and
had seen A Streetcar Natned Desire. 
She supposed, in a way, it was this lack of knowledge which brought her to
New Orleans. After the accident in Wisconsin, dully and with only the
vaguest of reasoning, she had sought a place where she could be unknown
and
which, as well, was unfamiliar to herself. Familiar things, their touch and
sight and sound, had become an ache of heart-all encompassing-which filled
the waking day and penetrated sleep. Strangely-and in a way it shamed her
at the time-there were never nightmares; only the steady procession of
events as they had been that memorable day at Madison airport. She had
been
there to see her family leave for Europe: her mother, gay and excited,
wearing the bon voyage orchid which a friend had telegraphed; her father,
relaxed and amiably complacent that for a month the real and imagined
ailments of his patients would be someone else's concern. He had been
puffing a pipe which he knocked out on his shoe when the flight was called.
Babs, her elder sister, had embraced Christine; and even Tony, two years
younger and hating public affection, consented to be kissed. "So long,
Haml" Babs and Tony had called back, and Christine smiled at the
use of the silly, affectionate name they gave her because she was the
middle of their trio sandwich. And they had all promised to write, even
though she would join them in Paris two weeks later when term ended. At
the
last her mother had held Chris tightly, and told her to take care. And a
few minutes later the big prop-jet had taxied out and taken off with a
roar, majestically, though it barely cleared the runway before it fell
back, one wing low, becoming a whirling, somersaulting Catherine wheel,
and
for a moment a dust cloud, and then a torch, and finally a silent pile of
fragments-machinery and what was left of human flesh.
It was five years ago. A few weeks after, she left Wisconsin and had never
returned.
10. What happened to Albert Wells that day? How did Christine
manage to help him?
Albert Wells. His face ashen gray, eyes bulging and with
trembling lips, he was attempting desperately to breathe and barely
succeeding.
She went quickly to the bedside. Once, years before, in her father's
office she had seen a patient in extremis, fighting for breath. There
were things her father had done then which she could not do now, but one
she remembered. She told Duckworth decisively, "Get the window open. We
need air in here."
The bellboy's eyes were focused on the face of the man in bed. He said
nervously, "The window's sealed. They did it for the air conditioning."
"Then force it. If you have to, break the glass."
She had already picked up the telephone beside the bed. When the operator
answered, Christine announced, "This is Miss Francis. Is Dr. Aarons in
the hotel?"
"No, Miss Francis; but he left a number. If iVs an emergency I can reach
him."
"It's an emergency. Tell Dr. Aarons room 1439, and to hurry, please. Ask
how long he'll take to get here, then call me back."
The frail, elderly man was breathing no better than before and
she perceived that his face, which a few moments earlier had been ashen
gray, was turning blue. The moaning which they had heard outside had be-
gun again; it was the effort of exhaling, but obviously most of the
sufferer's waning strength was being consumed by his desperate physical
exertion. He was wearing an old-fashioned flannel nightshirt and
Christine put an arm around him, aware of his scrawny shoulders through
the coarse material. Reaching for pillows, she propped them behind, so
that he could lean back, sitting upright at the same time. His eyes were
fixed on hers; they were doe-like, she thought, and trying to convey
gratitude. She said reassuringly, "I've sent for a doctor. He'll be here
at any moment." As she spoke, the bellboy grunted with an extra effort
and the window, suddenly freed, slid open wide. At once a draft of cool
fresh air suffused the room.
operator, "I'm not sure we can wait that long. Would you check our own
guest list to see if we have any doctors registered?"
"I'm sorry to disturb you, Dr. Koenig, "I wonder if you could come."
Dr. Uxbridge
There was a light tap at the opened door and a tall, spare man stepped
in from the corridor. He had an angular face, and hair graying at the
temples. A dark blue suit, conservatively cut, failed to conceal beige
pajamas beneath.
"Aminophylline; it should stimulate the heart."
My advice is for immediate
transfer to a hospital."
"No, no! I don't want that."
Chapter 5
11. What made the Duchess so angry while she was talking to her
husband?
"I was doing the best I could. The very
best, after your incredible folly, to establish that both of us spent a
quiet evening in the hotel. I even invented a walk that we went for in
case anyone saw us come -in. And then crassly, stupidly, you blunder in
to announce you left your cigarettes in the car."
"Only one heard me. That manager chap. Wouldn't notice.
"He noticed. I was watching his face." With an effort the Duchess
retained her self-control. "Have you any notion of the ghastly mess we're
in?9'
"AReady said so." The Duke drained his drink, then contemplated the empty
tumbler. "Bloody ashamed too. "You were drunki You were drunk when I
found you, and you still are."
He shook his head as if to clear it. "Sober now." It was his own turn to
be bitter. "You would follow me. Butt in. WouldrOt leave things be ...
"Never mind that. It's the other that matters."
He repeated, "You persuaded me . . ."
"There was nothing we could do. Nothing! And there was a better chance
my way."
"Not so sure. 'F the police get their teeth in . .
"We'd have to be suspected first. That's why I made that trouble with the
waiter and followed through. It isn't an alibi but it's the next best
thing. IVs set in their minds we were here tonight ... or would have been
if you hadn't thrown it all away. I could weep." "I don't care if the police
catch you! I hope they dol I
hope you get ten yearsl"

Chapter 6
12. What arrangement did Christine and Peter make to help Albert Wells?
"The hotel will
have to make the engagement, I suppose, which means we'll be liable for
payment. Do you think your friend Wells is good for it?"
"The best thing is to switch beds," Peter told the others. "Let's wheel
this one into 1410 and bring back a bed from there." But the doorway,
they discovered, was an inch too narrow.
 Peter bent down, put a blanket around the elderly man's shoulders and
picked him up bodily.
"You've strong arms, son," the little man said.
Peter smiled. Then, as easily as if his burden were a child, he strode
down the corridor and into the new room.
of 1410 had no competition from hot pipes, hence the air was sweeter. The
resident physician,
A private duty nurse, telephoned affectionately by Dr. Aarons
13. Did Christine accept Peter’s invitation to have dinner together?
"There's heads and brick walls," Peter objected. "Beating one against the
other doesn't help. W.T. isn't keen on new ideas."
"That's no reason for giving up."
He laughed. "You sound like a woman.'
"I am a woman."
"I know," Peter said. "I've just began to notice."
It was true, he thought. For most of the time he had known Christine-since
his own arrival at the St. Gregory -he had taken her for granted. Recently,
though, he had found himself increasingly aware of just how attractive and
personable she was. He wondered what she was doing for the rest of the
evening.
He said tentatively, "I didn't have dinner tonight; too much going on. If
you feel like it, how about joining me for a late supper?"
Christine said, "I love late suppers."
Christine glanced sideways at the strong, energetic proffle with its jutting
jaw
that was almost lantern-like. It was an interesting face, she thought,
with a hint of determination which could become obstinacy if provoked. She
was aware of her senses quickening.
"All right," she agreed. "I'll wait."

Ex. 5
Slight - insignificant, small; slender, slim; insult, disrespect; offend, insult
Size up – appreciate, assess, conclude, consider; look out; measure, calibrate;
confirm, determine; appraise, check; anticipate; establish, estimate, include, list;
arrange, catalogue; contemplate, figure out, guess; sum up; authenticate, certify
Scion - offshoot, descendant
To contrive - invent, design; bring about, succeed with difficulty, concoct,
devise,manipulate
A flair - talent, style, ability, aptitude, elegance
Truculent - belligerent, hateful, bad-tempered
To jut – extend, beetle, bulge, elongate
Ex 2 
Peter McDermott Peter, who had been
promoted to assistant general manager a month or two ago, was virtually
running the big, bustling St. Gregory, though at an ungenerous salary and
with limited authority. She knew the reasons behind that, too, which were
in a file marked Confidential and involved Peter McDermott's personal
Christine Francis  -"I thought you knew everything." And usually she did. As
personal assistant to Warren Trent, the
unpredictable and irascible owner of New Orleans' largest hotel,
Christine was privy to the hotel's inner secrets as well as its
day-to-day affairs. She knew, for example, that Peter, who had been
promoted to assistant general manager a month or two ago, was virtually
running the big, bustling St. Gregory, though at an ungenerous salary and
with limited authority. She knew the reasons behind that, too, which were
in a file marked Confidential and involved Peter McDermott's personal
Albert Wells, from  Montreal."
"I know him," Christine said. "A nice little man who stays here every
year.
Herbie Chandler. Chandler, like Ogilvie, was another of the St.
Gregory's old-timers and reputedly controlled more sideline rackets than
anyone else on staff
platoon of bellboys,
Dixon – one of the guys who wanted to order the girls and payed 100 dollars for it 
Duke and Duchess (Queen-he had become ambassador-at-large and successful
troubleshooter for
the British government. More recently, however, there had been rumors
that the Duke's career had reached a critical point, perhaps because his
touch had become a shade too common in some areas, notably those of
liquor and other men's wives.) 
Herbie Chandler, who held the power of hiring and firing his bell
staff, preferred older men.
Sol Natchez, one of the elderly room-service
waiters,
Mr. Wells. We moved him from a comer room a couple of days ago."
Ahead, down the corridor, a door opened and a man, well dressed and
fortyish, came out. Closing the door behind him, and ready to pocket the
key, he hesitated, eying Christine with frank interest.
Mr Coening - see, I am a doctor of music,
Doc Vickery was a bachelor who lived in the hotel and had one ruling passion: the
St. Gregory's mechanical equipment extending from foundations to the roof.
chief engineer
The night room clerk
Chapters 1-6 (Monday Evening)
Exercises 3-5
1. To have one’s way – мати право, мати свій шлях
If he had had his way, Peter McDermott thought, he would have fired the chief house detective
long ago. But he had not had his way and now, once more, the obese ex-policeman was missing
when he was needed most.

2. Husky /ˈhʌs.ki/ - кремезний, здоровий

McDermott leaned down from his husky six-and-a-half feet and jiggled the desk telephone
impatiently.

3. To break loose - руйнуватися

"Fifteen things break loose at once," he told the girl by the window of the wide, broadloomed
office, "and nobody can find him."

4. An executive suite /ɪɡˈzek.jə.tɪv/ - представницький люкс, адміністративний

корпус
Christine Francis had left her own smaller office in the St. Gregory Hotel executive suite a few
minutes earlier.

5. To draw smb in – привернути увагу

She had been working late and was on the point of going home when the light under the assistant
general manager's door had drawn her in.

6. To pin smb’s ears back – виписати догану

McDermott spoke briefly into the telephone, then waited again. "You're right," he
acknowledged. "I tried to reorganize our tame detective force once, and my ears were properly
pinned back."

7. Irascible /ɪˈræs.ə.bəl/ - дратівливий

As personal assistant to Warren Trent, the unpredictable and irascible owner of New Orleans'
largest hotel, Christine was privy to the hotel's inner secrets as well as its day-to-day affairs.

8. To be privy /ˈprɪv.i/ - бути посвяченим у щось (у секрети, наприклад)

9. Bustling /ˈbʌs.lɪŋ/ - метушливий

She knew, for example, that Peter, who had been promoted to assistant general manager a month
or two ago, was virtually running the big, bustling St. Gregory, though at an ungenerous salary
and with limited authority.

10. To contort /kənˈtɔːt/ - викривляти

McDermott gave a cheerful grin which contorted his rugged, almost ugly features.

11. To brew /bruː/ - затівати, починати

Somewhere to the north, over Lake Pontchartrain probably, a summer storm was brewing in the
darkness.
12. To swelter – знемогати від спеки
For three weeks the city had sweltered in heat and humidity, producing tensions all around.

13. An influx /ˈɪn.flʌks/ - наплив (гостей)

But today had been exceptionally fall, with two conventions moving in and a heavy influx of
other guests, creating problems, many of which had found their way to her desk.

14. A bell captain – капітан дзвона, the supervisor of a group of bellboys

"Never mind. Give me the bell captain." Even if he couldn't fire the chief house detective,
McDermott thought, he would do some hell raising in the morning.

15. Reputedly /rɪˈpjuː.tɪd.li/ - відомо, згідно з тим, що люди кажуть, або у що

вони вірять
Chandler, like Ogilvie, was another of the St. Gregory's old-timers and reputedly controlled
more sideline rackets than anyone else on staff.

16. Fawning tone /ˈfɔː.nɪŋ/ - улесливий тон

The tone was typical Chandler-half fawning, half insolent.

17. To attend to a complaint – прислухатися до скарги

“Never mind the argument, want that complaint attended to."

18. To have a coronary /ˈkɒr.ən.ər.i/ - мати тромбоз вінцевих судин

The performance seldom earned less than a dollar from conscience-stricken guests who were
convinced the old man would have a coronary around the next corner.

19. To retain one’s job – зберегти роботу

What they did not know was that ten per cent of their tip would find its way into Herbie
Chandler's pocket, plus the flat two dollars daily which Chandler exacted from each bellboy as
the price of retaining his job.

20. A toll – похоронний дзвін

'Me bell captain's private toll system caused plenty of low-toned growlings, even though a fast-
moving bellboy could still make a hundred and fifty dollars a week for himself when the hotel
was full.

21. An uncanny knack – дивовижний хист у чомусь

Trusting no one, he liked to keep an eye on his percentage and had an uncanny knack of sizing
up guests, estimating exactly what each trip to the upstairs floors would yield.

22. To hold out on – відмовлятися щось дати (зазвичай інформацію або ж

допомогу)
In the past a few individualists had tried holding out on Herbie by reporting tips to be less than
they really were.

23. Ruthless – жорстокий

Reprisals were unfailingly swift and ruthless, and a month's suspension on some trumped-up
charge usually brought non-conformists into line.

24. Reprisal /rɪˈpraɪ.zəl/ - розправа

25. A trumped-up charge /ˌtrʌmptˈʌp/ - сфальсифіковані звинувачення

26. A suspension – тимчасова відставка

27. To bring smb into line – змушувати бути схожим на когось іншого, або ж
відповідати стандарту

28. Sideline revenues – побічні доходи

The bell captain hesitated, despite his doubts his mind working greedily. Just lately his sideline
revenues had been slower than usual.

29. Booze - випивка

There was a momentary pause. Then Dixon said decisively, "You got a deal." He added
persuasively to his companion, "Listen we've already paid for the booze. I'll lend you the rest of
your split."

30. Unobtrusively – ненав’язливо

An hour ago the girls had come in through the front entrance as usual, with only an inner few of
the hotel's staff aware that they were other than registered hotel guests. If all had gone well,
both should have left by now, as unobtrusively as they had come.

9. To stride – широко крокувати

Once more abandoning her knitting, Mrs. Ball pressed a key, letting a bell far above her
ring out stridently

10.A retinue – почет, кортеж

Somewhat less than heads of state, though distinguished in their way, were the suite's
present tenants, the Duke and Duchess of Croydon, plus their retinue of secretary, the
Duchess's maid, and five Bedlington terriers

11.An ambassador-at-large – посол з особливих доручень

Within the past decade, and aided by his Duchess-herself a known public figure and
cousin of the Queen-he had become ambassador-at-large and successful troubleshooter
for the British government.
12.A troubleshooter – той, хто усуває проблеми
Within the past decade, and aided by his Duchess-herself a known public figure and
cousin of the Queen-he had become ambassador-at-large and successful troubleshooter
for the British government

13.Rheumy eyes – водянисті очі

His eyes were pale and rheumy, and the veins in the back of his hands, which he rubbed
nervously, stood out like cords with the flesh sunk deep between them.

14.To jog – бігати підцюпцем

Yes, Mr. McDermott. Well, when I was serving the Creole the Duchess got up from the
table and as she came back she jogged my arm.

15.Peremptory – імперативний, догматичний

For all the peremptory tone, Peter thought, it was an attractive voice with a rich
huskiness which excited interest

16.Surreptitious – таємний
The two main, connecting bedrooms of the suite were accessible both through the kitchen
and living room, an arrangement contrived so that a surreptitious bedroom visitor could
be spirited in and out by the kitchen if need arose.

17.Mounted – кінний, установлений

He had an impression, at this moment, of being on foot while the Duchess was mounted.

18.To convey the apologies – передати вибачення

He suggested, "Perhaps if I could convey our apologies to the Duke . . ." The Duchess
said firmly, "That will not be necessary."

19.Ajar – прочинений
He was about to take his leave when the door to the living room, which had remained
ajar, opened fully

20.Stubby – неповороткий, кремезний

The bellboy, Jimmy Duckworth, a balding stubby man whose married son worked in the
St. Gregory accounting department, said contemptuously, "Oh, him!"

21.A co-ed – студент

Five years ago, she thought, if someone at the University of Wisconsin had asked what
twenty-year-old Chris Francis, a bright co-ed with a flair for modem languages, was
likely to be doing a lustrurn later, not even the wildest guess would have had her working
in a New Orleans hotel.
22.To usher guests – проводжати гостей
There was a difference, she realized, in the way the two of them knew the geography of
the hotel: the bellboy through years of ushering guests from the lobby to their rooms;
herself, from a series of mental pictures which familiarity with the printed plans of each
floor of the St. Gregory had given her

23.To somersault – перекидатися, робити сальто

And a few minutes later the big prop-jet had taxied out and taken off with a roar,
majestically, though it barely cleared the runway before it fell back, one wing low,
becoming a whirling, somersaulting Catherine wheel, and for a moment a dust cloud,
and then a torch, and finally a silent pile of fragments-machinery and what was left of
human flesh

24.To bristle – розгніватися

At the realization that a regular guest, who also happened to be a quiet and gentle man,
had been so shabbily treated, she felt her temper bristle

25.To curb one’s temper – тримати себе в руках

Her temper was not unknown around the hotel and there were some, she knew, who said
it went with her red hair. Although she curbed it mostly, once in a while it served a
purpose in getting things done.

26.Decorum – етикет
a apparent crisis a hotel had rules of decorum which must be observed

27.Frail – тендітний, кволий

The frail, elderly man was breathing no better than before and she perceived that his
face, which a few moments earlier had been ashen gray, was turning blue

28.Scrawny – мізерний, кистлявий, сухорлявий

He was wearing an old-fashioned flannel nightshirt and Christine put an arm around
him, aware of his scrawny shoulders through the coarse material

29.No-nonsense – серйозний, діловий

Dr. Uxbridge in 1203 answered the telephone at once in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

30.To coax – намовляти, леститися, задобрювати

For a quarter century, since leaving the sea and his native Clydeside, he had overseen
the installation of most of it and, in lean times when money for replacement equipment
was scarce, had a way of coaxing extra performance out of tired machinery.

31.Vial – флакон, пляшка, пробірка

Then, returning to the bag, in a series of efficient movements he took out a syringe,
assembled it, and snapped off the neck of a small glass vial
32.Aloofness – відстороненість
Do you think iV11 answer, Doctor?" Some of Dr. Uxbridge's earlier aloofness had
disappeared.

33.To allocate – призначати, розподіляти

I have 1410," the clerk said with his best southern planter's accent, "but I'm about to
allocate it to a gentleman who has this moment checked in.

34.Plaintively – жалібно
He took a deep draught from the whiskey and soda he was holding unsteadily, then
added plaintively, "Besides, with everything else I'm bloody upset

35.Fuddled – сп’янілий
'F you hadn't persuaded me . . . 'F I hadn't been fuddled . . ." "You were drunki You were
drunk when I found you, and you still are."

36.Liable – зобов*язаний, схильний, відповідальний

The hotel will have to make the engagement, I suppose, which means we'll be liable for
payment.

37.Alacrity – жвавість, спритність

. He accepted with alacrity the offer of Dr. Uxbridge to drop in in a consultant capacity
the following day, and also grasped eagerly a further suggestion that cortisone might
prevent a recurrence of the earlier attack.

38.A drastic transition – різкий перехід

Currently, too, the hotel was facing a financial crisis which might force drastic
transitions whether its proprietor, Warren Trent, was in favor or not. "There's heads and
brick walls," Peter objected.