Английский язык с У. С. Моэмом. Театр

always find a mug in the city (что всегда можно найти простофилю в городе) to

write a fat cheque (/который/ выпишет солидный чек; fat — жирный,

толстый, обильный) for the production of a play (на постановку спектакля), but

when you came down to business (но когда доходило до дела) you discovered

that the main condition was (обнаруживалось, что основным условием было то)

that the leading part should be played by some pretty lady (что главную роль

будет играть какая-то милая дамочка) in whom he was interested (в которой он

был заинтересован).

enormously [I'nO:mqslI] stagehand ['steIdZhxnd] inadequate [In'xdIkwIt]

cheque [tSek]

But the rent of theatres had gone up enormously, the salaries of actors and the

wages of stagehands had increased, so that the expense of running a theatre

was very much greater than it had been before the war. A sum that would

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then have been amply sufficient to start management on was now inadequate.

The only thing was to find some rich man to go in with them so that a failure

or two to begin with would not drive them from the field. It was said that you

could always find a mug in the city to write a fat cheque for the production of

a play, but when you came down to business you discovered that the main

condition was that the leading part should be played by some pretty lady in

whom he was interested.

Years before (годами раньше), Michael and Julia had often joked about the rich

old woman (Майкл и Джулия частенько шутили о богатой пожилой даме) who

would fall in love with him (которая влюбится в него) and set him up in

management (и поможет ему в открытии театра; to set smb. up in business —

помочь кому-либо устроиться, открыть дело). He had long since learnt (с тех

пор он давно усвоил: «выучил») that no rich old woman was to be found (что

никакая богатая пожилая дама не найдется) to set up in management a young

actor (/чтобы/ помочь в открытии театра молодому актеру) whose wife was an

actress (жена у которого была актрисой) to whom he was perfectly faithful (и

которой он был совершенно верен). In the end (в конце концов) the money was

found by a rich woman (деньги были найдены у богатой женщины), and not an

old one either (и не старой даже), but who was interested not in him but in Julia

(но которая была заинтересована не в нем, но в Джулии).

joke [dZqVk] faithful ['feITf(q)l] either ['aIDq]

Years before, Michael and Julia had often joked about the rich old woman

who would fall in love with him and set him up in management. He had long

since learnt that no rich old woman was to be found to set up in management

a young actor whose wife was an actress to whom he was perfectly faithful. In

the end the money was found by a rich woman, and not an old one either, but

who was interested not in him but in Julia.

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197

Mrs. de Vries was a widow (миссис де Фриз была вдовой). She was a short stout

woman (она была невысокой полной женщиной; short — короткий, низкий)

with a fine Jewish nose (с прекрасным еврейским носом) and fine Jewish eyes (и

прекрасными еврейскими глазами), a great deal of energy (очень энергичной),

a manner at once effusive and timid (с манерами одновременно экспансивными

и застенчивыми), and a somewhat virile air (и было в ней нечто мужское: « и

немного мужским видом»; air — воздух, атмосфера; манеры). She had a

passion for the stage (у нее была страсть к театру: «сцене»). When Julia and

Michael had decided to try their luck in London (когда Джулия и Майкл решили

попытать счастья в Лондоне; luck — судьба, случай, счастье, удача) Jimmie