Unit 7 The Chaser
Key to the Exercises
Text comprehension
I.
II. Judge, according to the text, whether the following statements are true or false.
1. F (Refer to Paragraph 5. The old man says that his stock in trade is not very large, but it is varied and has extraordinary effects.)
2. F (Refer to Paragraphs 11 and 13. The price of a glove-cleaner, as he calls it, is very high, five thousand dollars for a teaspoonful, but the love potion is very cheap.)
3. F (Refer to Paragraph 19. The old man claims that the effects of love potions are permanent.)
4. T (Refer to Paragraphs 24 and 28. Austen says that Diana is fond of parties and, although she is everything to him already, she does not care about his love at all. That is why he decides to go to the old man for the love potion and whenever the old man mentions the magic of his potion, he can't help "crying." From that, we can see the man loves the girl very much.)
5. F (The old man sells the love potions almost for nothing because by doing so his customers will come back for a much dearer commodity, the glove-cleaner, to help them out. It is the "death potion" that the old man makes most of his profits from, and intends to sell to his customers.)
III. Answer the following questions.
1. What the old man means is that a young man who falls in love one-sidedly is seldom rich enough to win a girl's heart. His words imply that money is one of the crucial factors for love. If a man is not rich, he can rarely expect to be loved by a girl.
2. Refer to Paragraphs 19 to 37. The love potion has powerful, everlasting effects. To begin with, it may produce sexual desire in the person who takes it. And on the spiritual side, it can replace indifference with devotion and scorn with adoration. It will make a gay girl want nothing but solitude and her lover's company. She will feel jealous of him when her lover is with other girls; she will want to be everything to him. She will be only interested in her lover and take every concern of him. Even if he slips a bit, she will forgive him though terribly hurt. In a word, she will fall in love with him if she drinks the love potion.
3. Refer to Paragraphs 39 to 43. It is an irony, by which the author seems to imply that love is far from being precious or desirable. It is easy for a man to fall in love, yet it is hard Decide which of the following is likely to happen after the story. C