3. Quote the context these expressions are used in the text. Come up with their Russian equivalents.

1) to mask one’s surprise

• Скрывать удивление

• He hadn’t invited anyone for dinner, and he wasn’t expected back at the House to hear the closing speeches until nine. A second rap, equally firm, and he remembered it was the housekeeper’s night off. He placed yesterday’s copy of Hansard on the side table, pushed himself up out of his chair and was heading towards the corridor when there was a third rap. ‘Hold your horses,’ Giles said. He pulled open the door to find the last person he would have expected standing on his doorstep in Smith Square. ‘Grace?’ he said, unable to mask his surprise. ‘It’s a relief to discover you still remember my name,’ said his sister as she stepped inside.

2) to be all ears

• Быть во внимании, внимательно слушать

• ‘That will be more than enough time for what I have to say.’ ‘Have you come to claim your birthright and throw me out of the house?’ ‘No, you chump, I’ve come to try and knock some common sense into that thick skull of yours.’ Giles collapsed into his chair and took a sip of whisky. ‘I’m all ears.’ ‘It will be my thirtieth birthday next week, not that you would have noticed.’ ‘And you’ve come all this way just to tell me what present you want?’ Giles said, trying to lighten the mood.

3) to be in session

• Заседать

• ‘And what did you have in mind?’ Giles felt he was still on the back foot. ‘I want you to come to my party.’ ‘But the House is in session, and since I’ve been promoted to the front bench, I’m expected—’ ‘Harry and Emma will be there,’ said Grace, ignoring his excuses, ‘so it will be just like old times.’ Giles took another gulp of whisky. ‘It can never be like old times.’

4) to be promoted to the front bench

• Получить повышение до члена правительства

• ‘I want you to come to my party.’ ‘But the House is in session, and since I’ve been promoted to the front bench, I’m expected—’ ‘Harry and Emma will be there,’ said Grace, ignoring his excuses, ‘so it will be just like old times.’ Giles took another gulp of whisky. ‘It can never be like old times.’

5) to give grounds for divorce

• Давать основания для развода

• Giles had thought there was nothing his sister could ever say that would shock him. How wrong he was. ‘I’ve no idea,’ he eventually managed. ‘She hasn’t been in contact with me for over a year. But if you believe the Daily Express, she’s currently to be found in St Tropez on the arm of an Italian count.’ ‘I’m sure they’ll make a delightful couple. More important, it gives you grounds for divorce.’

6) to spot smb

• Увидеть, заметить кого-либо

• He climbed the stairs, and when he reached the top step he didn’t need further directions because he could hear exuberant voices and laughter long before he reached the third door on the left. He took a deep breath and tried not to make an entrance. Jessica was the first to spot him, and immediately ran across the room shouting, ‘Uncle Giles, Uncle Giles, where have you been?’ Where indeed, thought Giles, as he looked at the young girl he adored, not quite a swan, but no longer a cygnet.

7) to take one’s eyes off smb

• Не сводить глаз с кого-либо

• ‘Don’t dwell on it,’ said Harry. ‘And frankly, both of us have been through far worse.’ Giles was surprised how quickly he relaxed with his oldest friend. They were chatting about Peter May as if it were old times, when he first saw her. After that, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. ‘The best cover drive I’ve ever seen,’ Harry said, placing his left foot firmly forward while trying to give a demonstration without a bat. He hadn’t noticed how distracted Giles had become.

8) to take smb through every detail

• Ввести кого-то подробно в курс дела

• ‘I think you’ll find I’m over-qualified, my lady,’ said Fisher. ‘Barrington and I go back a long way.’ ‘Then start at the beginning and take me through every detail, however insignificant it might seem.’ ‘It all began when the three of us were at St Bede’s prep school, and Barrington made friends with the docker’s son.’ ‘Harry Clifton,’ said Virginia, spitting out the words. ‘Barrington should have been expelled from St Bede’s.’

9) to get away with smth

• Сойти с рук

• ‘Barrington should have been expelled from St Bede’s.’ ‘Why?’ asked Virginia. ‘He was caught stealing from the tuck shop, but he got away with it.’ ‘How did he manage that?’ ‘His father, Sir Hugo, another criminal, wrote out a cheque for a thousand pounds, which made it possible for the school to build a new cricket pavilion. So the headmaster turned a blind eye, which made it possible for Barrington to go to Oxford.’

10) to sue smb for adultery

• Подать в суд за измену

• ‘Over my dead body.’ ‘I don’t think we’ll have to go that far. After all, if he were to lose his seat at the next election, there’s not much chance they’ll readopt him, and that would probably mean the end of his political career.’ ‘Amen to that,’ said Fisher. ‘But I have to point out that although he doesn’t have a large majority, he’s still very popular in the constituency.’ ‘I wonder how popular he’ll be after I’ve sued him for adultery.’ ‘He’s already prepared the ground for that, telling everyone he had to go through a charade in Brighton to protect your reputation. He’s even campaigning to have the divorce laws changed.’

11) to veto smth

• Отвергнуть, запрещать

• ‘There’s not much hope of that ever happening. Barrington would veto the appointment the moment my name was proposed.’ ‘He can’t veto anything as long as I own seven and a half per cent of the company’s stock.’ ‘I’m not sure I understand.’ ‘Then allow me to explain, major. For the past six months, I’ve been purchasing Barrington’s shares through a blind trust, and I now own seven and a half per cent of the company. If you check their bylaws, you’ll find that allows me to appoint a member of the board, and I can’t think of anyone better qualified to represent me, major.’

12) in the long term

• В долгосрочной перспективе

• ‘How do I begin to thank you?’ ‘It’s very simple. In the short term you will devote your time to becoming chairman of the local Conservative Association. Once you’ve achieved that, your sole purpose will be to make sure the voters of Bristol Docklands remove their Member of Parliament at the next election.’ ‘And in the long term?’ ‘I have an idea that may tickle your fancy. But we can’t even consider that until you become chairman of the association.’

13) to draw to a close

• Подходить к концу

• Forty minutes later, Gregory Dunnett was among those on the shortlist, together with Mr Simpson, the former candidate for Ebbw Vale, plus a local councillor, no hope, a bachelor over the age of forty, no hope, and the statutory woman, absolutely no hope. All Fisher needed to do now was find a good reason for them not to select Mr Simpson. As the meeting was drawing to a close, the chairman called for any other business. ‘I have something to report to the committee,’ Fisher said, screwing the top back on his pen, ‘but I think it would be wise for it not to be recorded in the minutes.’

14) to allow an overdraft facility

• Позволить превышение

• When the first cheque from Barrington Shipping Co. for his services as a board member was cleared, Alex closed his account at the Midland Bank, and moved across the road to Barclays. It already administered the Barrington company account, as well as acting for the Conservative Association. And unlike the Midland, the manager agreed to allow him an overdraft facility.

15) to be in smb’s debt

• Быть у кого-то в долгу

• Over an after-dinner brandy with Peter Maynard, Fisher discovered that the party treasurer was experiencing some temporary financial difficulties. He travelled up to London the following day and, after a discreet word with Lady Virginia, those temporary financial difficulties were removed. One of the committee was now in his debt.

16) decree nisi papers

• Документы о разводе

• Although the chairman assured him that the major seemed a decent enough chap, rarely opened his mouth at board meetings and certainly wasn’t causing any trouble, Giles was not convinced. He didn’t believe Fisher was capable of changing his spots. But with an imminent election on the cards, at which the Tories were expected to increase their majority, as well as the mystery as to why Virginia still hadn’t signed her decree nisi papers despite her having begged him to give her grounds for divorce, Fisher was the least of his problems.

17) to give a go-ahead

• Дать добро

• ‘How long would it take for us to build this ship?’ ‘If the board gives the go-ahead, we would put the contract out to tender immediately, and hope to appoint specialist marine architects by the end of the year, with a view to the vessel being launched in three years’ time.’ Alex waited for another member of the board to ask a question he didn’t want to ask himself. ‘What is the estimated cost?’

18) to bottom out

• Находиться на самом низком уровне / достигнуть нижнего предела

• If you were to sell your seven and a half per cent holding as soon as the market opens at nine o’clock that day, it would cause the price to fall even further, possibly below three pounds. Then you wait until the price has bottomed out before moving back in and repurchasing any stock available at the lower price, until you’ve replaced your seven and a half per cent.’

19) to act on smb’s behalf

• Действовать от чего-либо лица

• ‘So what do I do next?’ ‘If you give me the authority to act on your behalf, I’ll place the business through a broker I know in Hong Kong so it can’t be traced back to either of us.’ ‘Giles will work out what we’re up to. He’s no fool.’ ‘Not if three weeks later the records show that the ownership of your seven and a half per cent of the company hasn’t changed. In any case, he has far more pressing problems to occupy himself with at the moment.’

20) a non-custodial offence

• Нарушение, не связанное с лишением свободы

• ‘Are you looking for anything in particular, major?’ ‘With your contacts in the force, I need you to find out if either of their names appears in police records.’ ‘Does that include parking fines or other non-custodial offences?’ ‘Anything that the Labour Party could use to its advantage during an election campaign.’ ‘I get the picture,’ said Mitchell. ‘How much time do I have?’

21) a marginal seat

• Место в парламенте, полученное минимально допустимым количеством голосов (при голосовании) / ключевое место в парламенте

• The chairman pointed to a woman in the third row, who never failed to ask a question whenever the association met, so he decided to get her out of the way early. ‘As one of you is a successful barrister, and the other an insurance broker, will you have enough time to devote to this key marginal seat in the run-up to the election?’ ‘If I am selected, I won’t be returning to London tonight,’ said Dunnett. ‘I will devote every hour I’m awake to winning this seat and making sure we remove Giles Barrington once and for all.’ This time the applause was prolonged, and Fisher relaxed for the first time.

22) the run-up to the election

• Предвыборная кампания

• ‘As one of you is a successful barrister, and the other an insurance broker, will you have enough time to devote to this key marginal seat in the run-up to the election?’ ‘If I am selected, I won’t be returning to London tonight,’ said Dunnett. ‘I will devote every hour I’m awake to winning this seat and making sure we remove Giles Barrington once and for all.’ This time the applause was prolonged, and Fisher relaxed for the first time.

23) to cast votes

• Голосовать

• The members formed an orderly queue while Fisher handed out just over 300 ballot papers. After the last vote had been cast, the chairman asked a steward to remove the ballot box and take it to a private room behind the stage.