3) as if everyone is watching me, and noticing my blushes 4)as though nature were holding its breath 5) as though their dream had come true at last 6) as though her attention had drifted elsewhere 7) as though it were a lifeline 8) as though they would succeed
Comprehensive Exercises I. Cloze
1. Text-related
(1) pluck up courage (2) in mourning (3) unexpected (4) distress (5) paradise (6) token (7) intrude (8) no doubt (9) foreseen (10) fell to
2. Theme-related (1) behaviors (2) eliminate (3) distance (4) positive
(5) participating (6) genuinely (7) keen (8) concern (9) attentive (10) respect
II. Translation
Henry, a frail-looking man of fifty, was older than his robust wife Mary by 20 years. Everyone assumed that she would outlive him. So no one, including Henry himself, had foreseen that Mary would die a sudden, unexpected death. For several weeks, he looked greatly distressed and became a completely changed person. He even speculated whether it would be better for him to rejoin his wife in paradise. Though each of us expressed our deep sympathy, no one thought it appropriate to intrude upon his family uninvited, in consideration of their need for peace and privacy at such a moment.