Download - I Never Forget a Face

I Never Forget a Face

1. Text Analysis

2. Exercises

3. Questions For Discussion

Distant Education College, Jilin UniversityDistant Education College, Jilin University

Questions for Discussion


1. Can you find parts that imply the author’s stylistic devices —humour and foreshadowing?

2. What would you do if you met someone at a party and you knew that person’s face but could not remember his (or her) name?

3. Is it wise to be friendly towards strangers? Do you like to talk about yourself to strangers on the train or bus?

Return

Exercises


1. True/False Questions

2. Multiple-choice Questions

Return

True/False Questions


1. Although not remembering names annoyed those people whom the narrator met, it never lost him any business.

2. The narrator’s wife complained that he did not know the names of his next door neighbours.

3. Ellingham is two stations from Bardfield, within twenty minutes by train.

4. The narrator believes boasting is a good way to get others talking.

5. The man the narrator met planned to get off the train at Bardfield.

Answer



1. Although not remembering names annoyed those people whom the narrator met, it never lost him any business. F

2. The narrator’s wife complained that he did not know the names of his next door neighbours.




Answer




2. The narrator’s wife complained that he did not know the names of his next door neighbours. T




Answer





3. Ellingham is two stations from Bardfield, within twenty minutes by train. F



Answer






4. The narrator believes boasting is a good way to get others talking. T


Answer






4. The narrator believes boasting is a good way to get others talking. T

5. The man the narrator met planned to get off the train at Bardfield. F

More



6. The narrator offered the man a lift because the weather was bad.

7. The narrator will never forget the name of the wanted man.

8. The narrator has a remarkable memory for faces and he seems to be very proud of it.

9. The narrator was not a very smart businessman. He lost a lot by his poor memory for names.

Answer



6. The narrator offered the man a lift because the weather was bad. T




Answer





F



Answer





F

8. The narrator has a remarkable memory for faces and he seems to be very proud of it. T


Answer





F

8. The narrator has a remarkable memory for faces and he seems to be very proud of it. T

9. The narrator was not a very smart businessman. He lost a lot by his poor memory for names. F

More



10. The man in the carriage was not very communicative. He was too tired to talk with the narrator.

11. The narrator gave the man a lift because he wanted to do business with him.

12. When the man asked the narrator to stop the car in the middle of nowhere, he became watchful. He knew that the man must be a criminal.

13. The man who robbed the narrator turned out to be a criminal wanted by the police.

Answer



10. The man in the carriage was not very communicative. He was too tired to talk with the narrator. F

11. The narrator gave the man a lift because he wanted to do business with him.



Answer




11. The narrator gave the man a lift because he wanted to do business with him. F



Answer





12. When the man asked the narrator to stop the car in the middle of nowhere, he became watchful. He knew that the man must be a criminal. F


Answer





12. When the man asked the narrator to stop the car in the middle of nowhere, he became watchful. He knew that the man must be a criminal. F

13. The man who robbed the narrator turned out to be a criminal wanted by the police. T

Return

Multiple-choice Questions


1. The narrator’s trouble was _______.

A) he could easily remember a person’s face and name, but always forgot where he had met that person

B) he could remember a person’s face but could never remember the person’s name

C) he could remember neither a person’s face nor name

D) he could remember a person’s name but could never recognize that person’s face

Answer



1. The narrator’s trouble was _______. B

A) he could easily remember a person’s face and name, but always forgot where he had met that person

B) he could remember a person’s face but could never remember the person’s name

C) he could remember neither a person’s face nor name

D) he could remember a person’s name but could never recognize that person’s face

More



2. When the narrator says “I think I gain more than I lose by this strange memory of mine” he means ______.

A) it is more important to remember a person’s face than a person’s name

B) his memory saves him from embarrassment as he never forgets a person he has met

C) he is able to talk with strangers more freely than most people can

D) he values his memory as it helps him in business

Answer



2. When the narrator says “I think I gain more than I lose by this strange memory of mine” he means ______. D

A) it is more important to remember a person’s face than a person’s name

B) his memory saves him from embarrassment as he never forgets a person he has met

C) he is able to talk with strangers more freely than most people can

D) he values his memory as it helps him in business

More



3. Which one of the following statements is true?

A) It took half an hour for the train to go from Ellingham to Bardfield.

B) The man’s face reminded him of a business talk he had the other day.

C) The narrator’s neighbours usually never talked to newcomers.

D) The narrator believed that the man would not talk about himself because he was too tired.

Answer



3. Which one of the following statements is true? D

A) It took half an hour for the train to go from Ellingham to Bardfield.

B) The man’s face reminded him of a business talk he had the other day.

C) The narrator’s neighbours usually never talked to newcomers.

D) The narrator believed that the man would not talk about himself because he was too tired.

More



4. From the story we can conclude that ______.

A) the narrator belonged to the upper classes

B) the narrator was not a smart businessman

C) usually the narrator got people to talk about themselves easily

D) the man planned to rob the narrator as soon as he learned he was a businessman

Answer



4. From the story we can conclude that ______. C

A) the narrator belonged to the upper classes

B) the narrator was not a smart businessman

C) usually the narrator got people to talk about themselves easily

D) the man planned to rob the narrator as soon as he learned he was a businessman

More



5. The tone of the whole story is _______.

A) mysterious

B) sad

C) calm

D) humorous

Answer



5. The tone of the whole story is _______. D

A) mysterious

B) sad

C) calm

D) humorous

More



6. At the end of the story the narrator remembers where he saw the man’s face. It was ________.

A) in a small house by the bus-stop

B) at a big dinner or a football match

C) on the train from Ellingham to Bardfield

D) in a picture on the wall outside the police station

Answer



6. At the end of the story the narrator remembers where he saw the man’s face. It was ________. D

A) in a small house by the bus-stop

B) at a big dinner or a football match

C) on the train from Ellingham to Bardfield

D) in a picture on the wall outside the police station

Return

Text Analysis


In this text the narrator claims he never forgets a face. One day this unusual ability brought him a great deal of trouble. How did this occur?

I’ll tell you a strange thing about me — I never forget a face. The only trouble is that usually I’m quite unable to tell you the name of the person. Of course, this trouble with names has put me in difficulties from time to time. I’ve annoyed people and lost good business more than once. But on the whole, I think I gain more than I lose by this strange memory of mine.

Next

Text Analysis


Quite often I’ve gone up to a man who didn’t know me from Adam. I’ve said: “I think we’ve met before,” and I’ve been able to give him some idea of where it was. I can always connect a face with a place, you see. Well, as I was saying, I can go up to this fellow and remind him of a big dinner or a football match or whatever it is that his face reminds me of, and probably within five minutes we’re talking about business. I can usually find out his name later on. My memory for faces helps me a lot in business.

Previous Next

Text Analysis


You can guess that there’s not a man, woman or child here in Bardfield that I don’t know by sight. I’ve lived in Bardfield ever since the war. I like the place; although it’s only forty minutes from London, there’s a lot of country here. The village is almost a mile from the station, and that’s rather troublesome. But quite a pleasant crowd of men travel up and down to the City most days, and I needn’t tell you that I don’t know the names of half of them, though we speak to each other cheerfully enough. My wife complains that I don’t know the names of our neighbours in the next house, and that’s true.

Previous Next

Text Analysis


Well, on this particular evening I’d been kept a bit late at the office, and it was difficult to get to the station in time to catch the train. There was quite a crowd in the train at first, but they gradually got out; and by the time we reached Ellingham — that’s two stations before mine — there were only two of us left in the carriage. The other fellow wasn’t one of the regular travellers, but I knew he was a Bardfield man. I knew it as soon as I saw him, of course. I’d smiled at him when I saw him get into the carriage in London, and he had smiled back. But that didn’t tell me his name.

Previous Next

Text Analysis


The annoying thing was that I couldn’t place the fellow, if you understand what I mean. His face told me clearly that he was connected with Bardfield, but that was all it told me. I could not think where in Bardfield I had seen it. I guessed he must be one of those fellows who’ve come to live lately in the small houses by the bus-stop, but I couldn’t be sure. Some of us who’ve lived in the place a long time are rather proud towards newcomers, but that’s not my way — never has been. I never know where the next bit of business is going to come from, and it may come from one of them. I can’t afford to neglect chances.

Previous Next

Text Analysis


So when the two of us found ourselves alone in the carriage, with room to stretch our legs and be a bit comfortable, I started to talk, just as if we were old friends. But I can’t say that I got much information out of him. He spoke well, with a quiet friendly manner, but he told me very little. I can generally find out what a man’s work is in ten and a half minutes — that’s the time it takes from Ellingham to Bardfield by train — but I failed this time. He looked a bit tired, I remember, as if he’d been working too hard lately, and I thought maybe that made him unwilling to talk much.

Previous Next

Text Analysis


“Do you generally travel down on this train?” I asked him. That’s usually a safe opening to a conversation, because either they do travel or they don’t, and nine times out of ten they’ll tell you why, and what hours they work, and what their work is. It’s only human nature. But he just smiled and shook his head and said, “Not generally,” which wasn’t much help.

Of course, I went on to talk about the train service in general, comparing this train with that, but still he said nothing. He just agreed with all I said, but he didn’t seem to have any opinions of his own. I told him I sometimes went up to the City by road, but that didn’t make him talk either. I didn’t think it would, because you don’t expect a fellow who lives in a cheap house to own a car.

Previous Next

Text Analysis


Well, to cut a long story short, I had to give up. I’d told him a lot about myself, of course, so as to make things pleasant. I’d even boasted a little about a rather nice bit of business I’d done that morning. I’ve always found that there’s nothing as good as boasting to start a fellow talking. It makes him want to boast too. He seemed interested in a quiet sort of way, but it was no good. So, as I say, I gave it up and started to read my paper. And the next time I looked at him, he’d put his head back and gone off to sleep!

We were just running into the station then, and though the train stopped suddenly, it didn’t seem to wake him. Well, I’m a kind-hearted fellow and I wasn’t going to let a Bardfield man be carried on all the way to the next stop if I could help it. So I touched him sharply on the knee.

Previous Next

Text Analysis


“Wake up, old fellow! We’re there!” I said.

He awoke at once and smiled at me.

“Oh, so we are!” he said, and got out after me.

You know what the weather was just then. When we came out of the station together it was quite dark and raining heavily. There was a wind blowing strongly enough to knock you over, and it was bitterly cold.

Well, what would you have done? The same as I did. I turned round and said to him:

Previous Next

Text Analysis


“Listen. There isn’t a bus for a quarter of an hour. I’ve got my car in the station-yard, and if you’re in one of those small houses I can take you there. It’s on my way.”

“Thanks very much,” he said, and we walked through the water to where my old car was standing and off we went.

“This is very kind of you,” he said as we started, and that was the last thing he said until we were half way across the open country.

Then he suddenly turned round and said, “You can let me get out here.”

Previous Next

Text Analysis


“What, here?” I asked him. It seemed mad, because there wasn’t a house within five hundred yards and, as I say, it was raining and blowing like the end of the world. But I slowed down, as anyone would.

The next thing that happened was that something hit me terribly hard on the back of the head. I fell forwards and then everything went black. I can half-remember being pulled out of the car, and when I came to myself again I was lying in the ditch with the rain pouring down on me, with a bad headache, no car in sight and my pockets — as I found out later — empty.

Previous Next

Text Analysis


I pulled myself up at last and somehow managed to walk into Bardfield. I went straight to the police station, of course. It’s the first building you reach if you come that way. And there I reported that someone had stolen my car, a new umbrella, a gold watch and a hundred and fifty-two pounds ten shillings in notes.

Of course, as soon as I got there I remember who the man was. His picture was on the wall outside. I’d seen it every day for a week. That’s why his face reminded me of Bardfield. Under the picture were some words: “Wanted for Robbery with Violence and Attempted Murder. John —” Oh dear, I’ve forgotten the name again. I just can’t keep names in my head. But that’s the man. I tell you — I never forget a face.

Previous Return

Words to Know

annoy [] vt. 使烦恼，使生气= harass or disturbe.g. These flies are annoying me. 这些苍蝇真让人讨厌。区别:annoy, bother, irritate


Return

annoy, bother, irritate 都含有“使恼怒”或 “使烦恼”的意思。

annoy 指由于干扰、不顺利或受不了某种外界情况等而“使烦恼、懊恼”。如 : I was annoyed by his bad manners. 他的无礼使我恼怒。

bother 指不停地“扰乱”、“麻烦” , 使人不能安宁 , 而产生烦恼的心理。如 : Pardon me for bothering you with such a small matter. 请原谅我为这点小事麻烦你。

irritate 表示“恼怒”、“不耐烦”的意思 , 比 annoy 更为强烈 , 着重指一种暂时或短期的“恼怒” , 如 : His explanation irritated us all. 他的解释使我们都恼火了。


Return

Words to Know

troublesome [] adj. 麻烦的= worrisomee.g. It’s really a troublesome problem.这真是个使人苦恼的问题。


Return

Words to Know

complain [] vi. & vt. 抱怨，诉苦=to express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentmente.g. Jean is always complaining about something.琼总是满腹牢骚。


Return

Words to Know

place[] vt. 认出，回忆起=remember, recalle.g. I remember her name, but I can't place her. 我记得她的名字，但我认不出她来了。


Return

Words to Know

afford [] vt. 担负得起（后果）=bear the result ofe.g. I can't afford three weeks away from work.我无法丢下工作三星期。


Return

Words to Know

neglect [] vt. 疏忽，忽略=to pay little or no attention to; fail to heed; disregardIf you neglect this property, it will depreciate.如果你忽视这份资产 , 它无形中就贬值了。区别 : neglect, overlook 都含“疏忽”、“忽略”的意思neglect 强调“疏忽”、“忽略” , 如 :He neglected his health.他疏忽了他的健康。overlook 指“由于粗心、放任而没看出或采取行动” , 如 :He overlooked my errors.他忽视了我的错误。


Return

Words to Know

stretch[] vt. 伸展=extende.g. He stretched his legs in front of him. 他往前伸腿。


Return

Words to Know

information []n. 信息，情报=news or knowledge given e.g. The police haven't got enough information to catch the suspected.警方还未得到可抓住这个嫌疑犯的足够情报。


Return

Words to Know

generally []adv. 一般，通常=usuallye.g. Generally speaking, your proposal is good.总的说来 , 你的建议还不错。


Return

Words to Know

unwilling []adj. 不愿意= reluctantlye.g. She is unwilling to face facts.她不愿面对事实。


Return

Words to Know

boast []vt. 夸口说，夸耀=praise oneself or sth. of oneselfe.g. The boy boasted that his bicycle was of the best quality of all the bicycles in the school.这男孩夸口说他的自行车是学校中质量最好的。


Return

Words to Know

bitterly []adv. 寒冷刺骨的=severely colde.g. It’s a bitterly cold night.这是寒冷刺骨的一个夜晚。


Return

Words to Know

ditch []n. 沟=a long narrow trench or furrow dug in the grounde.g. The water flows into the ditch at the edge of the rice field.水从稻田边流进沟里。


Return

Words to Know

pour[] vi. （指雨）倾盆而下=rain hard or heavilye.g. It was pouring. 下倾盆大雨。


Return

Words to Know

attempt []vt. 企图，努力=try, endeavore.g. The boys attempted to leave for camping but were stopped by their parents.男孩子们想去野营但被他们的父母们拦住了。


Return

Words to Know

from time to time 不时，有时e.g. The spy looked back from time to time to see if he was followed.间谍不时地回头看是否有人跟踪他。


Return

Useful Phrases and Expressions

on the whole 总体看来，基本上e.g. The weather this month has been good on the whole. 这个月的天气基本上是好的。


Return


connect with 与…相联系e.g. That solitary old man was suspected to be connected with the crime.那个孤独的老头被怀疑与犯罪事件有关。


Return


remind…of 使…想起e.g. The film reminded him of what he had seen in China.这部影片使他回想起在中国所看到的一切。


Return


in time 及时地e.g. The PLA men came in time and saved the poor child.解放军及时赶来救了这个可怜的孩子。


Return


in general 总体上，一般说来e.g. I like games in general, and especially football. 各种运动我一般都喜欢，尤其是足球。


Return


by road 乘坐汽车，由公路e.g. I used to go to work by road.我过去都是乘坐汽车上班。


Return


can/could help (doing) 阻止做，避免做e.g. Between astonishment and joy, she couldn't help bursting into tears.她惊喜交集 ,禁不住放声大哭起来。


Return


knock over 摔倒，打翻e.g. In his hurry, he knocked over a bowl of milk.他太匆忙了，以至于打翻了一碗牛奶。


Return


on one’s way 在某人途中，路上e.g. A young man waved to me on my way to school.在上学路上 , 一个年轻人挥手招呼我。


Return


come to oneself 苏醒 , 恢复知觉e.g. It was after three days that he came to himself.他三天之后才苏醒过来。


Return


What was the narrator? What did he suffer from?


Return

Questions

How did he feel about his memory for faces? Why did he like to talk to people though he did not know them?


Return

Questions

What made the narrator think that the man on the train was a Bardfield man?


Return

Questions

Could he get the man to talk as he usually did?


Return

Questions

Why did the narrator offer to give the man a lift?


Return

Questions

When did the man ask the narrator to let him off?


Return

Questions

What did the man do to him?


Return

Questions

What did the narrator see when he got to the police station? What did the man turn out to be?


Return

Questions

I like the place; although it’s only forty minutes from London, there’s a lot of country here.我喜欢这个地方，尽管它离伦敦只有 40分钟路程，但四周全是空旷的乡村。

there’s a lot of country here: there’s a lot of open space here.


Return

Difficult Sentences

The annoying thing was that I couldn’t place the fellow.讨厌的是我怎么也想不起在哪儿见过他。


Return

Difficult Sentences

I never know where the next bit of business is going to come from, and it may come from one of them.我不知道下一笔生意和谁成交，说不定就是他们中的一个呢。


Return

Difficult Sentences

He seemed interested in a quiet sort of way, but it was no good.他似乎对我的吹牛感兴趣，但不动声色，所以我还是不知他的底细。

He seemed interested in a quiet sort of way, but it was no good:This time he seemed interested in my talk, but still he did not talk about himself.


Return

Difficult Sentences

Quite often I’ve gone up to a man who didn’t know me from Adam.我经常走过去跟根本不认识我的人搭讪。

didn’t know me from Adam: didn’t know me at all


Return

Difficult Sentences

I pulled myself up at last and somehow managed to walk into Bardfield.我终于挣扎站了起来，并且勉强设法走到了巴特费尔德。

I pulled myself up: I struggled to my feet.


Return

Difficult Sentences

So when the two of us found ourselves alone in the carriage, with room to stretch our legs and be a bit comfortable, I started to talk, just as if we were old friends.所以当我们发现只有我俩在车厢时．才把腿伸展开，感到舒服些。我开始交谈，就好像我们是老朋友一般。He looked a bit tired, I remember, as if he’d been working too hard lately…我记得．他看上去有点疲劳．好像近来一直工作很累…as if （好象、仿佛）从句中用虚拟语气，所表达的意思是不真实的：He acts as if he were mad.他好象疯了似的。 (其实他并没有疯 )


Return

Difficult Sentences

Of course, I went on to talk about the train service in general, comparing this train with that, but still he said nothing.当然，我继续泛泛地谈论着火车的服务情况，把这列车与那列车做比较，而他仍然一言不发。“ 主句 +分词短语”结构，当同一个主语的两个动作同时发生时，其中之一通常由现在分词来表示：He holds the rope with one hand and stretches out the other to the boy in the water.＝ Holding the rope with one hand, he stretches out the other to the boy in the water.或： He holds the rope with one hand, stretching the other to the boy in the water.他用—只手抓住绳子．伸出另一只手去拉水里的男孩。


Return

Difficult Sentences

I can half-remember being pulled out of the car, and when I came to myself again I was lying in the ditch with the rain pouring down on me, with a bad headache, no car in sight and my pockets — as I found out later — empty.我恍惚记得被拖出车外，当我苏醒过来时，正躺在水沟里。倾盆大雨向我浇来．我头痛欲裂。车已无踪影，而我的口袋呢——后来才发现——也已空空如也。


Return

Difficult Sentences

I can’t afford to neglect chances.我可不能放过这些机会。


Return

Difficult Sentences

I’ve always found that there’s nothing as good as boasting to start a fellow talking.我屡屡发现，吹牛是使对方开口的最佳方式。


Return

Difficult Sentences

There was a wind blowing strongly enough to knock you over, and it was bitterly cold.当时狂风大作，足以把人吹倒，而且寒冷刺骨。


Return

Difficult Sentences

Download - I Never Forget a Face

Top Related