20 лучших повестей на английском / 20 Best Short Novels

Calvinism  – the Christian teaching of John Calvin (1509–1564), the leading Protestant Reformer of the 16th century

500

Darwinism  – the theory of evolution as a result of natural selection developed by Charles Darwin (1808–1882), a famous English naturalist

501

Nietzscheism  – the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), one of the most prominent philosophers who greatly influenced Western thought, religion and morality

502

Sabbatarianism  – an idea of some Christians that Sunday is a holy day, and all work on it should be strictly forbidden

503

Tartarus  – in Greek mythology, the lower part of the underworld, the place of shades, the land of no return where gods’ enemies and sinners are locked

504

Hibernian = Irish

505

Harlem  – a district in New York with predominantly black population

506

Congo  – a state with long and rich history in central Africa

507

tom-tom  – a long and narrow African drum

508

omens  – signs or warnings of fortune

509

stiletto  – a small dagger with a narrow blade

510

Illinois  – the US state in the High Midwest admitted to the Union in 1818, named for the Indian tribe

511

St. Louis  – the largest city in the state of Missouri and a prosperous cultural center of the Midwest, located on the Mississippi River

512

the Great War  – World War I (1914–1918), a large international conflict in which most of the European countries, the United States and some Middle East countries took part

513

Flanders  – a region in northern Belgium

514

Ottawa  – a city on the southeastern bank of the Ottawa River in southeastern Ontario, Canada; the capital of the country

515

Baudelaire  – Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867), a French poet and art critic, the author of the famous ‘The Flowers of Evil’

516

Elagabalus (209–222) – the Roman emperor (218–222) notable for his eccentric behavior

517

St. Eloi  – the bishop of Noyon-Tournai in Flanders in the 7th century

518

embryo  – an offspring of an animal at an early stage of development

519

D.S.O.  – a military award ‘Distinguished Service Order’

520

cannibal  – adj eating human flesh

521

ethereal  – too light for this world, delicate; spiritual

522

morbidezza  – softness, gentleness ( Italian )

523

metaphysics – an extremely subtle, theoretical study to determine the true nature of things

524

materialist  – a follower of materialism, the philosophy asserting that everything in reality depends on physical processes

525

spiritualist  – a follower of spiritualism, a system of thought that insists on the existence of immaterial reality

526

Mercury  – a small planet in our solar system, the closest to the Sun

527

phlebotomize  – medical to let one’s blood

528

asphyxy  – a pathological state of lack of oxygen in the brain caused by some disturbance of breath

529

lord chancellor  – an officer, custodian of the seal and a cabinet minister

530

Heigh-ho!  – an exclamation of disappointment

531

Thibet  – a historic mountain region with unique culture and religion; the centre of Thibetan Buddhism

532

Nereid  – in Greek mythology and religion, one of the daughters of the sea god

533

lord chamberlain  – an officer who manages king’s household

534

oracle  – a sort of prophecy, an answer given by the divine forces in response to the request

535

shoeblack  – a person whose work is to polish shoes

536

subterranean = underground

537

imprimis  – first, in the first place ( Latin )

538

Chancery  – in the USA, a court of equity for cases with no remedy in common law; an office of public records

539

Wall-street  – a street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, the financial centre of the country

540

Spitzenberg  – a sort of beer

541

lethargic  – here: hopeless; tired, lacking energy

542

sanguine  – optimistic, full of hope

543

moon-struck  – crazy, mad, insane

544

plaster-of-paris  – white paste made of gypsum

545

Cicero  – Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC–43 BC), the greatest Roman orator, lawyer and writer; the author of orations, rhetoric, philosophical and political works.

546

dilemma  – a situation of choice between two unfavourable things, options, ways, etc.

547

hermitage  – a lonely dwelling

548

Petra  – an ancient city of the Roman times in what is now southwestern Jordan

549

Carthage  – an ancient Phoenical city in northern Africa (Tunisia), founded in 814 BC

550

Adam  – in the Bible, the first man created by God ‘in his own image’ on the sixth day of creation

551

Broadway  – a thoroughfare in New York City, an important theatre district since the 19th century, the centre of American theatrical activity

552

chimera  – a fantastic idea or imagination; in Greek mythology, a monster, a strange combination of a lion, a goat and a dragon

553

choleric  – hot-tempered, irritable

554