5/8/13

All Roads Lead to Britain: Chapter III (and Part IV)

CHAPTER III

 

PART  IV: ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END


Breaking camp

        
         The Romans did good things for Britain (that is beyond dispute) although undoubtedly the most benefited people were those at the top of the heap. But nothing lasts for ever.
         Roman legions were stationed in Britain up to the beginning of the 5th century: 40,000 men at a rough estimate were maintained in three fortresses (York, Chester and Caerleon) and some auxiliary regiments along the Welsh and Northern English borders completed the army. They were in charge of keeping the Pax Romana (the Roman peace); and they did so..., when they could. Around 367 AD they started to have problems:
·        They had problems with the Picts (remember they had been kept out by Hadrian’s Wall), who were already fed up with having a wall opposite them and were making constant raids to demolish it, climb it or jump it, probably moved by the misinterpretation of the saying “the grass is greener on the other side of the fence”.
·        To make matters worse, a new bunch of people from the Continent were beginning to feel interest in our beloved island. They were the Saxons, who would later give history much to talk about.
·        And if that weren’t enough, revolts against the empire broke out in Gaul. As a consequence, more and more troops had to be sent to the Continent, and those which remained in Britain were not sufficient to protect the island against Picts and Saxons. For the soldiers who were sent to the Continent there was not much difference between fighting the Britons or fighting the Gauls (the former were as savage as the latter), but for the history of Britain that decision was crucial, since the progressive withdrawal of Roman troops left the door open to new invaders.

The final curtain

        
         Therefore, attacked from three sides at the same time, the Romans started to understand that their rule of Britain was drawing to a close. There was a last agonizing attempt  to solve the situation when the Romano-Britons begged Emperor Honorius to help them, but considering that it would be like fighting a losing battle, he did not lift a finger to help them and they had to stand on their own two feet. ‘Good luck, Britons. It has been a pleasure to meet you, but now muddle through on your own’. The withdrawal of the legions which had begun c. 400 AD finished in 409 AD when the last Roman soldiers left Britain.

Give them an inch and they will take a yard

        
         Whatever happened after the Romans departed is not quite clear for there are only a few written accounts of historical facts of this age; and there are scarce documents on which to base because, when the Romans left, most of the people who could write left with them too, and Britain remained practically an illiterate country. So we will have to trust the words of a 6th century monk, Gildas, author of De excidio et conquestu Britanniae, where he writes about Vortigern, Hengist, Horsa and Roman Britain in general. According to him, after the Roman exodus power fell into the hands of tyrants; and one of them was Vortigern. Feeling defenceless against the threat of invasion by the Picts, he “invited” some tribes from the Continent (from present-day Germany and Denmark), led by King Hengist and King Horsa, to come to Britain so that they could help him to prevent the Picts from attacking his people. They accepted the invitation..., but they stayed longer than Vortigern had expected..., much longer.


We came, we saw, we stayed  (Exercises)

1.- They stood head over shoulders above anyone else      

         Parts of the body appear in some well-known idioms. Head and shoulder are two of them. Below there are some expressions in which these words have been dropped. Decide which of them is  appropriate inr each case and connect them with the meaning that you consider correct.

1.- to have a good _____ for something
2.- to give someone the cold _____
3.- to rub _____ with someone
4.- to lose one’s _____
5.- to come to a _____
6.- to come straight from the _____
7.- to be over someone’s _____
8.- to be shoulder to _____
9.- a _____ to cry on
10.- to have a swollen ____

a.- to be side by side, close together
b.- to be very proud of one’s abilities and achievements
c.- to panic
d.- to ignore someone
e.- to be naturally good at something which requires a good 
     brain
f.- to reach a crisis/state where you have to act urgently
g.- a person who will listen sympathetically to one’s troubles 
     and will try to comfort you
h.- to be direct and frank
i.- to be too difficult for them to understand
j.- to come into social contact with someone
1.-
2.-
3.-
4.-
5.-
6.-
7.-
8.-
9.-
10.-


2.- They thought that they were the cat’s whiskers
         You can say the same idea using two other expressions. Which of the  phrases below could be used instead of the cat’s whiskers?

the dog’s ears                      the horse’s saddle
the bee’s knees                    the mouse’s tail
the peacock’s feathers         the cat’s pyjamas


3.- The Romans had a sweet tooth / Tooth and nail / To show one’s teeth
         In this chapter three expressions with tooth/teeth have appeared. Below you will find out some more. You are given their meanings and one/two word(s) so that you can make them up.

         3.1.- to deliberately tell lies  (lie / through ):                                   _______________________
         3.2.- to carry a lot of weapons     (armed):                                          _______________________
         3.3.- to manage to do something but nearly fail     (skin / of ):           _______________________
         3.4.- to become very involved in doing something and deal
                 with it with much concentration and energy     (get / into ):       _______________________
         3.5.- to be very dissastified or bored with something    (fed / to ):     _______________________


4.- To turn the clocks back
         To turn back is a phrase consisting of a verb plus a particle. Verbs followed by a particle are classified into two groups: prepositional verbs (if that particle is a preposition, for example, look after) and phrasal verbs (if it is an adverb, for example, turn back). The meaning of the verb + the particle is often very different from the meanings of the two words when they are considered separately.
         Prepositional verbs always have an object (I’m looking after the children/ I’m looking after them); as regards phrasal verbs, some of them are intransitive (sit down, get up) and others are transitive. When we are dealing with transitive ones, the position of the object, if it is a noun, is optional; so to turn back the clocks is also possible. But if the object is a pronoun, this must go between the verb and the particle: to turn them back, not to turn back them. If the object is a long phrase, it seems more sensible to place it after the particle; so I had to put off the party that my sister, my brother and I had been preparing for such a long time seems more logical than I had to put the party that my sister, my brother and I had been preparing for such a long time off (???).
         And now a very simple exercise. Replace the nouns with pronouns in the following cases, and if there appears a phrasal verb, write the phrase in its two possible forms.

First form
Second form
(if possible)
Pronoun
to turn the clocks back
to turn back the clocks
to turn them back
to look after the children
                 X
to look after them
to talk about politics


to bring up the children


to put up the prices


to turn out the lights


to get off the bus


to make up a story


to break into a conversation


to call for your friends





5.- Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s
         Historical and biblical names are used in some expressions. Below you have some more names of this kind. Place them in the correct spaces and connect them with the meanings which appear on the right. (Note: the name Job appears twice; one of them in the example)

1.- as rich as _______
a.- a sceptic
1.-
2.- as patient as    Job__
b.- to be more wicked than the worst of tyrants
2.- d
3.- a doubting _______
c.- an imminent evil or danger
3.-
4.- a _______’s comforter
d.- extremely patient
4.-
5.- even _____sometimes nods
e.- very wealthy
5.-
6.- to out-herod _______
f.- everyone is liable to make mistakes
6.-
7.- not to know someone from _______
g.- of an incredibly advanced age
7.-
8.- to raise _______
h.- not to know/recognize someone at all
8.-
9.- as old as _______
i.- something which is won at too heavy a price
9.-
10.- the sword of _______
j.- to make a noisy disturbance
10.-
11.- a _______ victory
k.- to put your thumb to your nose and spread wide the fingers
11.-
12.- Queen _______’s fan
l.- to have the ability to make a financial success of all one’s  
    projects
12.-
13.- to have the _______ touch
m.- someone who tries to sympathize with you in your sorrow
     but finally makes you feel even unhappier than you were
13.-


Job      Job     Adam     Herod    Methuselah    Cain
Anne   Damocles  Croesus  Midas  pyrrhic (from Pyrrhus)      
Thomas    Homer


6.- Taken by storm / To take place / If we take into account / Four legions took part
         In the box there are more expressions with the verb take. Complete the spaces using the correct form of the verb and make the changes that you consider necessary.

take part
take someone by surprise
take care of
take one’s word
take a lot out of someone         take seriously
be hard to take
take care
take someone out of themselves
be taken aback

6.1.- He    has taken part    in local administration for fifteen years
6.2.- A good worker always _______________ what he does.
6.3.- _______________, darling, the pavement is slippery and you might fall down.
6.4.- I think that his behaviour _______________. We can’t accept it.
6.5.- _______________ the children while I’m out, OK?.
6.6.- She ________when I told her that I had forgotten where I had parked our car.
6.7.- Working as a teacher _______________. It is really a tiring job.
6.8.- Oh, please, _______________. I’m not lying.
6.9.- The announcement of their wedding _______________. Who could have expected that would happen?
6.10.- The reading of that wonderful poem by Wordsworth _______________. When I finished reading. I lay on the sofa, relaxed and all my problems went away.

7.- Prevention is better than cure / A bad excuse is better than none / Better be the head of a mouse than the tail of a lion / Her better half / Two heads are better than one
         A good number of expressions which include the word better have appeared in this chapter. The list is completed below, but those which appear next have been split into two parts. In another box you will find their meanings. Match these meanings and the appropriate expressions.

for better
of the matter

for better or (for) worse
to be better
than the devil you don’t know

to think better
the better

better late than
nature

better the devil you know
or (for) worse

the sooner
never

someone’s better
is better than none

half a loaf
than one’s word


1        to give something further consideration
2        something will be more benefecial if it is done earlier
3        we should content ourselves with what we have received, though we hoped to receive more
4        it is better to do something, even if it should have been done earlier, than not to do it at all
5        you are not sure what the consequences will be but now there is no turning back
6        it is better to deal with someone you already know, even though you don’t like them, than with someone you don’t know at all
7        to do more than one promised
8        someone’s feelings of kindness and sympathy for other people


¨     ________________________________________: (     )
¨     ________________________________________: (     )
¨     ________________________________________: (     )
¨     ________________________________________: (     )
¨                        for better or (for) worse                    :  (  5 )
¨     ________________________________________: (     )
¨     ________________________________________: (     )
¨     ________________________________________: (     )

8.- That could mean lining their pockets
         To line one’s pockets means “to make a lot of money, especially dishonestly”. In the following list of expressions there is ONE which means the same. Which one do you think it is?

to stretch one’s legs
to feather one’s nest
to throw good money after bad
to bring the house down
to keep one’s nose to the grindstone
to stick one’s neck out


9.- The more one has, the more one desires
         We use the construction the more...the more when two changes happen together. Write new sentences using this structure as in the example:
         Example: I am growing older. I am happier as time goes by.
                   The older I grow, the happier I am
         9.1.- If you start work soon, you’ll finish it soon too
                  The __________________________________________
         9.2.- I study more, so I know more
                  The __________________________________________
         9.3.- As a film is older, it is more interesting, in my opinion
                  The __________________________________________
         9.4.- I travel much, and I find it more and more interesting
                  The __________________________________________
         9.5.- As you travel farther, trips become more expensive
                  The __________________________________________

10.- A sitting duck / To be in the driving seat / The finishing touches / A face-saving struggle / To live like fighting cocks
         An –ing form does not always function as a verb. In the chapter The Dawn of History we studied this form when it functioned as a noun. In the examples above and those which will appear below, the –ing forms will function as adjectives. Paraphrase the following sentences as in the example:

         Example: The chapter which follows: The following chapter
         10.1.- Canadians who speak English: ____________________
         10.2.- A book which interests you: ____________________
         10.3.- An answer that satisfies me: ____________________
         10.4.- The team which wins: ____________________
         10.5.- A piece of news that disappoints you: ____________________
         10.6.- A man who calculates all his actions before acting: ____________________
         10.7.- A piece of news that breaks your heart: ____________________
         10.8.- A film that bores me: ____________________
         10.9.- A story that never ends: ____________________


11.- Locking the stable door after the horse has bolted
         There is another version of this expression. Which of the following endings do you find the most appropriate in order to get an expression with a similar meaning?

         To lock the stable door after the horse...................
                                      .......... has fallen sleep
                                      .......... is inside
                                      .......... has been neighing
                                      .......... is stolen
                                      .......... has eaten


12.- To be blue in the face
        

         If you shout, cry or call someone till you are blue in the face, it means that however much and loud you shout, cry or call, the thing you want will not happen. In this case, this colour is associated with a feeling of irritation and frustration. Other colours are also linked with other emotions. Complete the following table with the words green, grey, white, red, black and yellow. (Note: some of these colours must appear more than once)



Colour
Emotion
Example
black
unhappiness
as in black  day

inexperience
as in a ................ recruit

cowardice
as in to be ...............

anger
as in to see ...............

fear
as in as ............... as a sheet

dullness, boredom
as in a ............... day

despair, hopelessness
as in to paint a ............... picture of a situation

evil
as in not to be so ............... as one is painted

envy
as in to be ............... with envy


13.- N.B.
         This is Latin, really, and something suitable for a chapter about the Romans. It means “note well, take special note of” (=Nota Bene). There are more abbreviations used in English which come from Latin. Find  the abbreviations which match the meanings below:

A.D.       e.g.         a.m.        ps          R.I.P.         loc. cit.       et seq
et al.       c.            i.e.          op.         vs.             p.m.            p.a.


         13.1.- After the year when Christ is supposed to have been born  (   A.D.  )
         13.2.- Approximately, around a particular date (          )
         13.3.- For example  (          )
         13.4.- And the following  (          )
         13.5.- That is  (          )
         13.6.- Postscript (          )
         13.7.- Before noon (          )
         13.8.- And others  (          )
         13.9.- In the place mentioned  (          )
         13.10.- Work  (          )
         13.11.- Per year  (          )
         13.12.- Between noon and midnight  (          )
         13.13.- Against  (          )
         13.14.- May he rest in peace  (          )
          
14.- Better be the head of a mouse than the tail of a lion / Nose to tail / With his tail between his legs/  To turn tail
         Below there are more expressions with the word tail, and their meanings are also provided. But the words used to do so have been disordered. Could you order them?

1.- to wear tails
2.- heads or tails?
3.- the tail is wagging the dog
4.- not to make head or tail of something

1.- clothes for     dressed     in formal     to be     special occasions
         ...........................................................................................................................................................
         ...........................................................................................................................................................
2.- toss a     someone to     be facing     said when you are     coin and you are asking    
     an expression which is     going to     of it will     upwards     guess which side
         ...........................................................................................................................................................         ...........................................................................................................................................................
3.- you considered     controlling the     thing     a small part     insignificant, is     whole
     of something, a part which
         ...........................................................................................................................................................         ...........................................................................................................................................................
4.- someone is     are     to, etc     not     saying, what you     to     reading, listening     understand what
         ...........................................................................................................................................................         ...........................................................................................................................................................

15.- She kept the Roman Empire under her thumb
         If you keep someone under your thumb, you control and dominate them, and they do what you want them to do although they may not like it. There are two other expressions which denote “domination”, but all the words which form them are mixed in the box below. What two expressions are we referring to?

 lead              someone         string            nose
        to    someone                    by        on
      a               to        have              the

         - ..................................................................................................................................
         - ..................................................................................................................................

16.- At a rough estimate
         Up to this page, three more expressions with the same meaning have appeared (one of them in this chapter). One of them has the word more; another has the adjective round; and finally, the one which appears in this chapter uses two verbs linked by or. What expressions are these?

                            - .......................................
                            - .......................................
                            - .......................................

17.- Prey / Pray  (I was going to be her next prey / I didn’t know how I was able to pray so much...)

         A.- Both prey and pray have the same pronunciation, /prei/; in other words, they are “homophones”. This is not strange in English, a language with a great deal of monosyllabic words. Now find a homophone for the following words. You’ll be helped with the definition of the word you must find.


plain
.......... (a story, a narrative)
I
.......... (my daughter’s brother)
blew
plane (a vehicle with wings and engines that flies through the air)
meet
.......... (medieval man who served his king or lord in battle, wearing armour)
sun
.......... (flesh taken from an animal so that it can be cooked or eaten)
won
.......... (an organ in one’s face)
tail
.......... (heaviness of an object, which can be measured in kilos, pounds...)
which
.......... (something you have to wipe when you sneeze)
night
.......... (the colour of the sky)
wait
.......... (it comes before “two”)
knows
.......... (a woman who is thought to have evil magical powers and is believed to be
            able to fly on a broomstick)


         B.- And something more about pronunciation. In the following pairs of words, write the symbol “=” if they have the same pronunciation or  “¹ if that is not the case. For example:

                   key    quay   ®   key  =  quay
                   k        key     ®      k   ¹  key


         weak   week          beer   bear            their   there            pear   pair
         sort   sought                   ski   sky                         Y   why                          buy   bye
         wait   white           nun   none             hair   heir              by   bye
         site   sight             write   right           hair   hare              fare   fair
         light   late              wear   where                   her   here              pane            pain
         Q   cue                           steak   stake          hear   here             war   wore
         why   weigh          steak   stick           dear   deer            no   know
         way   weigh           brake   break                  scene   sin             know           now
         aren’t   aunt          hurt   heart            did   deed                       sins   since


18.- An eye for an eye...(Revenge)
         Boudicca’s story is a tale of revenge. In Part II (Over my dead body!!!), there are three expressions which clearly mean “to cause somebody the same amount of harm that they have caused  you”. What expressions are we referring to? (Note: two of them use the same verb at the beginning)

¨     ..................................................................................................
¨     ..................................................................................................
¨     ..................................................................................................

19.- No prizes for guessing
         Note the use of an –ing form after a preposition. Complete the following sentences always using a preposition and a verb which you consider appropriate.

         19.1.- I am tired _____   _____ for her. I must be leaving. If she finally turns up, please, tell her
                         I’ll phone her later.
         19.2.- I look forward _____   _____ from you. Yours sincerely...
         19.3.- I think I am not used _____   _____ so much. I should have had just a salad and some
                         ham.
         19.4.- Thank you very much _____   _____. I didn’t expect your visit but it has been a pleasure
                         to have you here.
         19.5.- Steve is really interested _____   _____ shorthand and typewriting because he is starting 
                        work as a secretary in a few months.
         19.6.- _____   _____ home I found to my surprise that there was nobody in.
         19.7.- We managed to have the task finished _____   _____ ten hours a day. Now we deserve a
                         rest.
         19.8.- The thought _____   _____ to take a plane terrified me.


KEY TO THE EXERCISES

Chapter 3: We came, we saw, we stayed


1
1.-head;  2.- shoulder;  3.- shoulders;  4.- head;  5.- head;  6.- shoulder;  7.- head;  8.- shoulder;  9.- shoulder;  10.- head
   1-e;   2-d;   3-j;   4-c;   5-f;   6-h;   7-i;   8-a;   9-g;   10-b
2 the bee’s knees;  the cat’s pyjamas
3
3.1.- to lie through one’s teeth;   3.2.- to be armed to the teeth;   3.3.- to do something by the skin of one’s teeth;   3.4.- to get one’s teeth into something;   3.5- to be fed up to the teeth
4
First form
Second form
(if possible)
Pronoun
to turn the clocks back
to turn back the clocks
to turn them back
to look after the children
              X
to look after them
to talk about politics
              X
to talk about it
to bring up the children
to bring the children up
to bring them up
to put up the prices
to put the prices up
to put them up
to turn out the lights
to turn the lights out
to turn them out
to get off the bus
             X
to get off it
to make up a story
to make a story up
to make it up
to break into a conversation
             X
to break into it
to call for your friends
             X
to call for them

5
1.-Croesus;   2.- Job;  3.- Thomas;   4.- Job;   5.- Homer;   6.- Herod;   7.- Adam;   8.- Cain;  9.- Methuselah;   10.- Damocles;   11.- pyrrhic;   12.- Anne;   13.- Midas
   1-e;   2-d;   3-a;   4-m;   5-f;   6-b;   7-h;   8-j;   9-g;   10-c;   11-i;   12-k;   13.-l
6
6.1.- has taken part;   6.2.- takes seriously;  6.3.- take care;   6.4.- is hard to take;   6.5.- take care of;   6.6.- was taken aback;   6.7.- takes a lot out of you;   6.8.- take my word;   6.9.- took me by surprise;   6.10.- took me out of myself
7
(1) to think better of the matter;   (2) the sooner the better;   (3) half a loaf is better than none;  (4) better late than never;   (5) for better or (for) worse;   (6) better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know;   (7) to be better than one’s word;   (8) someone’s better nature
8 to feather one’s nest
9
9.1.- The sooner you start work, the sooner you’ll finish it too;   9.2.- The more I study, the more I know;   9.3.- The older a film is, the more interesting it is, in my opinion;   9.4.- The more I travel, the more interesting I find it;   9.5.- The farther you travel, the more expensive trips become
10
10.1.- English-speaking Canadians;   10.2.- an interesting book;  10.3.- a satisfying answer;   10.4.- the winning team;   10.5.- a disappointing piece of news;   10.6.- a calculating man;  10.7.- a heart-breaking piece of news;  10.8.- a boring film;  10.9.- a never-ending story
11 ...is stolen
12 black (unhappiness); green (inexperience); yellow (cowardice); red (anger); white (fear); grey (dullness, boredom);  black (despair, hopelessness); black (evil);  green (envy)
13
13.1.- (A.D.);   13.2.- (c);   13.3.- (e.g.);   13.4.- (et seq);   13.5.- (i.e.);   13.6.- (ps);   13.7.- (a.m.);   13.8.- (et al);   13.9.- (loc. cit.);  13.10.- (op.);   13.11.- (p.a.);   13.12.- (p.m.);   13.13.- (vs.);  13.14.- (R.I.P.)
14
1.- to be dressed in formal clothes for special occasions;
2.- an expression which is said when you are going to toss a coin and you are asking someone to guess  which side of it will be facing upwards; 
3.- a small part of something, a part which you considered insignificant, is controlling the whole thing;    
     4.- not to understand what someone is saying, what you are reading, listening to, etc...
15
15.1.- to lead someone by the nose;   15.2.- to have someone on a string
16 more or less;  in round numbers;  give or take
17
A)  tale / son / plane / knight / meat / eye / weight / nose / blue / one / witch
B) weak = week    beer ¹ bear  their = there pear = pair
           sort = sought       ski ¹ sky     Y = why      buy = bye
           wait ¹ white         nun = none  hair ¹ heir    by = bye
           site = sight write = right hair = hare   fare = fair
           light ¹ late           wear = where        her ¹ here    pane = pain
           Q = cue               steak = stake         hear = here  war = wore
           why ¹ weigh        steak ¹ stick         dear = deer  no = know
           way = weigh        brake = break        scene ¹ sin  know ¹ now
           aren’t = aunt        hurt ¹ heart  ship ¹ sheep         sins ¹ since
18 to get even with someone;   to pay someone back with the same coin;   to pay dearly for something
19
19.1.- of waiting;  19.2.- to hearing;   19.3.- to eating;   19.4.- for coming;   19.5.- in learning;  
19.6.- on arriving;   19.7.- by working;   19.8.- of having





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