20 лучших повестей на английском / 20 Best Short Novels

45

the West-end – the fashionable part of London known for its palaces, mansions, parks and shops

46

laudanum – a sedative made from opium

47

delusion – a false opinion that may be a symptom of madness

48

Metz – a city in northeastern France; it was founded by a Gallic tribe and later fortified by the Romans

49

the River Moselle – a river in northeastern France and western Germany, a tributary of the Rhine River

50

Moselle wine – famous wine produced in Germany from the vineyards on the banks of the Moselle River

51

lunatic asylum – a mental hospital for the care and treatment of mental patients

52

delirium – mental excitement during illness (usually fever) accompanied by senseless, incoherent speech

53

pâté = paste

54

demon – a wicked or cruel spirit or supernatural creature

55

Bombay – now Mumbai, a large city in southwestern India, India’s commercial, financial and religious centre, the main port on the Arabic Sea

56

Candahar – Kandahar, a city in south-central Afghanistan on the way to India; the city has a long history of wars and conquests

57

the Berkshires – soldiers from the county of Berkshire

58

Ghazis – hist. warriors for the Islamic faith

59

Peshawur – a city and capital of province in northern Pakistan

60

Portsmouth – a city on the English Channel, in the historic county of Hampshire

61

Barts – Saint Bartholomew’s Hospital, the oldest hospital in London founded in 1123

62

By Jove! – an exclamation of surprise

63

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) – a famous British historian and essayist

64

the Copernican Theory – the heliocentric or Sun-centred system; Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) was a Polish astronomer who said that the Sun is a fixed point, and the Earth and other planets orbit the Sun

65

belladonna – a drug made from a poisonous plant of the same name

66

opium – a narcotic drug made from poppy and used to relieve pain

67

Mendelssohn – Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847), a German composer, conductor and pianist of the Romantic period

68

Lieder – songs (German)

69

Euclid (the 2nd century BC) – an outstanding Greek mathematician of the antique period who is best known for his works in geometry

70

Niagara – the Niagara River flowing from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario on the USA-Canadian frontier; the Niagara Falls lie on the border between Ontario, Canada and New York state

71

deduction – a conclusion made in the process of reasoning from the general to the particular

72

chimerical – unreal; from chimera – a horrible creature of imagination, or some impossible idea or fancy

73

Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) – an American writer and poet who is best known as the author of tales of horror and detective stories

74

Gaboriau – Émile Gaboriau (1833–1873), a French novelist, the father of the detective novel

75

Cleveland – a city and port in northeastern Ohio, the USA, on the southern shore of Lake Erie

76

Ohio – a state in the Middle West of the USA

77

status quo – the situation as it is now

78

Cremona – a city in northern Italy, southwest of Milan, founded in 218 BC by the Romans; the city is famous for its school of violin making

79

Stradivarius – Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737), a famous Italian violin maker whose violins are still considered the best

80

Amati – a family of famous Italian violin makers in Cremona in the 16th-17th centuries; Nicolo Amati was the teacher of Stradivari.

81

cataract – a disease of the eye; the illus at eye

82

Utrecht – a city in the central Netherlands

83

masonic – related to masons, a worldwide esoteric brotherhood; their teaching includes ancient wisdom, mysticism and religious beliefs of the past

84

Boccaccio – Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375), an Italian writer and poet of the early Renaissance period, the author of the famous ‘Decameron’

85

Decameron – a book of tales written by Boccaccio in about 1350, a masterpiece of early Italian prose

86

(the) Strand – one of the main streets in central London, between the West End and the City

87

Trichinopoly – a city in southeastern India

88

Parthian shot – idiom smth. said or done as a final reply at parting

89

Halle – Sir Charles Halle (1819–1895), a British pianist and conductor of German origin, the founder of the famous Halle Orchestra

90

Chopin – Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849), a famous Polish-French pianist and composer of the Romantic period

91

Darwin – Charles Darwin (1809–1882), an English naturalist and biologist, the author of the theory of evolution

92

Liege – a city in eastern Belgium; the place was inhabited in prehistoric times, and in 721, Liege became a town.

93

Houndsditch – a street west of the East End of London

94

ulster – a long overcoat with a belt

95

cravat – folded linen worn as a tie

96

Henri Murger (1822–1861) – a French novelist and poet who depicted the bohemian life in Paris and himself was a part of it

97

Vehmgericht – a Vehmic court, a medieval law tribunal

98

aqua tofana – a poisonous drink without colour, smell or taste

99

Carbonari – members of the Carbonaria, an Italian secret society of the 19th century, advocating patriotic ideas and fighting for freedom and unification of Italy

100

the Marchioness de Brinvilliers (1630–1676) – a French noblewoman who poisoned several members of her family and was executed for the crime

101

Malthus – Thomas Robert Malthus (1766–1834), an English economist and demographer, the author of the theory of population growth

102

the Metropolis = London

103

Camberwell – a historic village in Southwark, the inner borough of London

104

Euston Station – a main line railway station in London

105

outré – contrary to what is conventionally correct or acknowledged in behaviour

106

portmanteau – a leather case for clothes opening into two equal parts

107

the Sierra Nevada – a major mountain range in the west of the United States, in the states of California and Oregon

108

Nebraska – a state in the Middle West of the United States (198 091 square km)

109

the Yellowstone River – a river in the west of the United States flowing through Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota; the river is noted for its beauty

110

the Colorado – a river in the USA and Mexico; it flows from the Rocky Mountains into the Gulf of California

111

Pawnees – a North American Indian tribe; it lived traditionally in what is now Nebraska

112

Blackfeet – a North American Indian tribe; it lived traditionally in what is now Alberta in Canada and the state of Montana in the USA

113

the Sierra Blanco – a mountain range in Mexico and the USA

114

Illinois – a state in the Middle West of the United States (146 076 square km)

115

the Missouri – a river in the United States, a tributary of the Mississippi River

116

the Rio Grande – the river in North America; it forms the border between Texas and Mexico. The river starts in the Rocky Mountains and flows to the Gulf of Mexico

117

Injuns = Indians

118

Joseph Smith (1805–1844) – an American religious leader, a Mormon prophet and founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints (the Mormon Church)

119

Palmyra – an ancient city in south-central Syria, first mentioned in the 19th century BC

120

Nauvoo – a city on the Mississippi River in the state of Illinois; it was founded in 1824, and in 1839 the Mormons came to live there.

121

the Mormons – members of the church founded in the USA in 1830 by Joseph Smith; the Mormons have their own understanding of God, respect for family life, order, authority and labour; they do not use alcohol and tobacco

122

Zion – in the Old Testament, a hill in Jerusalem

123

Brigham Young (1801–1877) – an American religious leader, president of the Mormon Church after Joseph Smith’s death

124

Utah – a state in the west of the United States (212 619 square km), a ‘Mormon state’; the Mormons settled in the area in 1847 and called the state ‘Deseret’; in 1896 the state joined the USA and was given the name Utah after the Indian tribe which inhabited this land

125

the Rocky Mountains – a mountain range in the west of North America; it stretches from Alberta in Canada to New Mexico in the United States

126

Salt Lake City – a city in north-central Utah, the world capital of the Mormon Church

127

the Wahsatch Mountains – the Wahsatch Range, a mountain range in the south-central Rocky Mountains, to the east of Salt Lake City

128

mustang – a North American wild horse; it descended from Spanish horses brought to America in the 16th century. Tamed mustangs are known for their speed and strength

129

St. Louis – the largest city in the state of Missouri, located on the bank of the Mississippi River; it used to be the Gateway of the West at the time of the first settlers. The Missouri River joins the Mississippi to the north of St. Louis

130

sombrero – a broad-brimmed Spanish or Mexican hat made of straw or felt

131

scout – a ranger, a reconnoiter

132

the Inquisition of Seville – the Inquisition is an institution established in Europe in the 13th century by the Catholic Church to combat heresy; Seville is a city in southern Spain, 550 km southwest of Madrid

133

Gentile – Am. not a Mormon

134

heifers – young cows with no calves

135

Washoe – a North American Indian tribe; traditionally, the Washoe were hunters and fishers; they lived around Lake Tahoe in what is now California

136

Carson City – the capital of Nevada, founded in 1858

137

ravine – a narrow valley

138

prairie – a level treeless land covered with grass

139

débris = wreckage, fragments, ruins

140

schism – splitting or separation through difference of opinions

141

aortic aneurism – widening of aorta, a serious and even fatal disease

142

blasé = sophisticated

143

growler – a four-wheeled cab pulled by a horse

144

brougham – a closed carriage pulled by one horse

145

Montpellier – a city in southern France, 12 km from the Mediterranean Sea

146

‘Populus me sibilat, at mihi plaudo ipse domi simul ac nummos contemplar in arca.’ – A quotation from ‘Satires’ by Horace: ‘People hissed at me but I applauded, I ruled (dominated) and at the same time I also contemplated the money in the chest.’ (Latin)

147

yawl – a sailing boat with two masts

148

Deptford – an area in the borough of Lewicham in London

149

Greenwich – an outer borough of London on the bank of the Thames

150

Erith – an area in Bexley, an outer borough of London on the south bank of the River Thames

151

halos – a halo is a circle of light round the sun and the moon, or above the heads of the saints

152

the Gauls – Celtic tribes known to the Romans as Gauls; they inhabited Europe in 500 BC–500 AD.

153

concertina – a musical wind instrument held in the hands and played by pressing keys

154

Falernian wine – an Italian dark red wine

155

Ravenna – a city in northeastern Italy 10 km from the Adriatic Sea

156

Buddha (6th-4th century BC) – the founder of Buddhism, one of the major world religious and philosophical systems

157

Fleet Street – a street in central London where important newspaper offices used to be located at the time of the events depicted in the story

158

the Channel – or the English Channel, a narrow arm of the Atlantic Ocean separating the British Isles from the Continent

159

venetian blinds – a window screen with horizontal strips that can be adjusted as wanted

160

Bon voyage – Happy voyage, Happy journey (French)

161

Morituri te salutant. – ‘Those who are going to die salute you.’ – the words used by Roman gladiators to greet Caesar (Latin)

162

emissary – a person sent with a message (usually a secret one)

163

farcical – absurd

164

catacomb – underground gallery, often used for the burial of the dead

165

inch – measure of length equal to 2.54 cm

166

Deal – a town on the Strait of Dover, 14 km northeast of Dover

167

Gravesend – a town in the county of Kent, in the southeastern England, on the bank of the Thames

168

yokels – simple-minded countrymen

169

lb. – a pound, measure of weight equal to 453.59 grams

170

Zanzibaris – inhabitants of Zanzibar, an island in the Indian Ocean near the coast of eastern Africa

171

philanthropic – kind, helpful, sympathetic

172

papier-mâché – pulped paper used to make boxes, souvenirs, etc.

173

Mephistopheles – a literary character invented in the tradition of magic and demonology by anonymous author in 1587; a fallen angel, a spirit of the Devil.

174

lunatics – mad persons

175

ichthyosaurus – an extinct aquatic reptile

176

Eldorado – an imaginary country rich in gold

177

cannibals – persons who eats humans

178

Winchesters – rifles developed by Oliver Winchester (1810–1880), an American manufacturer of guns

179

hullabaloo – uproar or disturbance

180

apathy – indifference

181

Martini-Henry – a rifle used in the 19th century

182

a black Sahara – the southern part of Sahara, the largest desert of the world, where Negroid peoples live; the north of Sahara is inhabited by the Arabs.

183

harlequin – a character in Italian comedy and English pantomime wearing a mask and multicoloured clothes

184

brown holland – rough linen

185

canoes – light boats moved by one or several persons