I can remember Jan-Ives giving me the ring, remember the touch of metal cold against my dry fingers. I can remember the rector saying a few words to us in private before the altar, I remember walking down the aisle>12 and out of the church into the faded sunshine of a cold June afternoon.
All the village had turned out for the wedding. There were cheers and shouts and a storm of confetti, and I remember smiling and waving as I climbed into the car with Helena to drive to Polzillan House.
I can remember the reception, tables of delicacies, champagne in buckets, a wedding cake like an ivory tower. Jan-Ives made a witty speech, but I merely said a few words of thanks and afterward there was only talk and laughter...
We left for Penzance>13 at 6 o’clock. I had decided against travelling to Torquay>14 on the first night of the honeymoon, so I had booked a suite at the Metropole which had a number of sentimental memories for us.
Notes:
>1 Jeane [c^i:n]
>2 Helena ['helina]
>3 Polzillan [>zpoul'zilan]
>4 trousseau ['tru:sau] - outfit clothing for a bride
>5 Jan-Ives ['3a:n'i:v]
>6 rector - clergyman in charge of a parish
>7 usher [>AJa] - door-keeper during the wedding who meets the guests
>8 Jonas [^ounz]
>9 Deborah ['debars]
>10 Charlotte ['fa:lat]
>11 Elizabeth [iTizabaO]
>12 aisle [ail] - passage in church
>13 Penzance [pep'zmps]
>14 Torquay ['ta:'ki:]
Ex. 10. Comprehension questions.
1. Was it a church or a civil wedding?
2. Who took part in the ceremony?
3. Who were Helena’s bridesmaids? What did they look like?
4. What were the chores Helena had to attend to before the wedding?
5. Why did Philip and Helena leave the Polzillan House that night?
Ex. 11. Give words or phrases for the following definitions:
1. to win the affections with a view of marriage;
2. unsuitable marriage;
3. a woman whose husband died;
4. a woman, who has never been married;
5. a second wife of one’s father;
6. a child of an earlier marriage of one’s stepfather or stepmother;
7. to take a child into one’s family (as a relation);
8. a man, who has never been married;
9. to educate, to raise children;
10. to put an end to a marriage by law;
11. man (woman) to whom one is engaged;
12. your father’s (mother’s) parents;
13. a jubilee after 25 years of marriage;
14. a circular band (often of gold) given as a token of love.
Ex. 12. Fill in the right words.
Ties of Relationship
1. Your relatives on your wife’s side are: your wife’s sister is your ... , and her brother is your... , your parents will refer to your wife as their... while your brothers and sisters will refer to her as ... . Your wife’s parents will speak of you as their....
