Знамениты и влюблены. Увлекательные истории для изучения английского языка

Знамениты и влюблены. Увлекательные истории для изучения английского языка
Анжелика Ягудена

Роман с английским
Хотите развить понимание прочитанного, расширить словарный запас и прокачать коммуникативные навыки на английском языке? Вам поможет эта книга, рассказывающая истории любви из жизни великих людей: Эдит Пиаф и Марселя Сердана, Антуана и Консуэло де Сент-Экзюпери, Эриха Марии Ремарка и Марлен Дитрих, а также других пар. Главной изюминкой издания являются творческие задания. Суть упражнений – прочитать романтические истории, а затем с помощью подсказок предположить дальнейшее развитие событий и придумать окончание истории со счастливым финалом. В конце издания есть переводы текстов и ключи к упражнениям, которые помогут проверить себя без помощи преподавателя.

Анжелика Ягудена

Знамениты и влюблены: увлекательные истории для изучения английского языка

© Ягудена А., текст, 2024

© Ибрагимова А., иллюстрации, 2024

© ООО «Феникс», оформление, 2023

© В оформлении обложки использованы иллюстрации по лицензии Shutterstock.com

Introduction

Дорогой читатель, предлагаю вам окунуться в водоворот нежных чувств и романтики и познакомиться с захватывающими историями любви из жизни великих людей. Они приоткроют завесу тайны над отношениями знаменитых пар и позволят узнать, чем была наполнена их жизнь. Герои книги, которая находится перед вами, доказывают: любовь – это неиссякаемый источник вдохновения. Она наполняет жизнь волшебным светом, а мир – яркими красками и помогает создать шедевры. На страницах этого сборника вас ждут невыдуманные истории о настоящей, безусловной любви и встрече родственных душ. Эдит Пиаф и Марсель Сердан, Антуан и Консуэло де Сент-Экзюпери, Эрих Мария Ремарк и Марлен Дитрих – у каждого из них была своя история, ведь любовь такая разная: нежная, страстная, всепоглощающая, чуткая, сладкая, пленительная. Ее можно одновременно сравнить с вулканом страстей или с тихой гаванью. Со стороны жизнь знаменитостей кажется волшебной сказкой, но так ли это? Даже величайшие личности в истории не были застрахованы от личных трагедий и романтических мук. «Лучше любить и потерять, чем не любить вовсе», – так говорил Альфред Теннисон.

Эта книга поможет не только узнать много нового о легендарных личностях, но и повысит ваш уровень владения английским языком. Все истории сопровождаются актуальной лексикой и упражнениями, направленными на понимание смысла прочитанного, расширение словарного запаса и развитие коммуникативных навыков. Главной изюминкой книги являются творческие задания, которые помогут развить речевую компетенцию, воображение и фантазию. Суть упражнений – прочитать романтические истории из жизни реальных пар, а затем с помощью подсказок предположить дальнейшее развитие событий и придумать окончание со счастливым концом. Немного попрактиковавшись, вы в мгновение ока научитесь генерировать идеи и мыслить креативно. В конце книги есть переводы (не дословные, но полно передающие смысл) текстов и ключи к упражнениям, которые помогут проверить себя без помощи преподавателя. Вашему вниманию также предлагается подборка самых глубоких, мудрых и вдохновляющих цитат великих людей о любви. С этой книгой не придется монотонно заучивать материал. Напротив, можно совместить приятное с полезным: окунуться в мир романтических грез, а затем, вдохновившись историями любви, с удовольствием приступить к отработке основных навыков владения английским языком.

Книга рассчитана на самый широкий круг читателей, которых вдохновляет идея обучения английскому языку с помощью развлечения и игры. Она также придется по душе всем любителям мотивирующих историй в жанре биографии и даже тем, кто находится только в начале пути изучения английского.

GABRIEL GARCIA MÁRQUEZ AND MERCEDES BARCHA: LOVE OF A LIFETIME

Many of you have probably read the romantic fairy tale Scarlet Sails by Alexander Grin about a dreamy, kind-hearted girl named Assol, who believed in miracles and waited for her prince. This is a heart-touching story with happy ending about pure, sublime love and an unshakable belief. “Dreams come true, even the impossible ones” is the motto of the book. No wonder they say, “The one who knows how to wait always gets the best.” When I first researched the life of Mercedes Barcha, the wife of the iconic writer Gabriel Garcia Márquez, the image of Assol involuntarily popped into my head. And do you know why? The beloved woman and muse of the literary genius patiently waited for her fiancé for 13 long years! She was the personification of wisdom, dedication, patience, faith, and love. Their entire life can be summed up in a few words: “For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and obey, till death do us part.”

Gabriel Garcia Márquez was a Nobel Prize winner and one of the best-known Latin American writers in history who became a classic during his lifetime. His legendary novel One Hundred Years of Solitude is rightfully considered a real phenomenon and an unsurpassed masterpiece of world literature. The iconic writer was born on March 6, 1927, in the Colombian river town of Aracataca. Gabo, as he was affectionately known by his family and friends, was the oldest of 12 children born to his parents. The would-be writer spent his early childhood living with his maternal grandparents, who put their heart and soul into raising him and actually replaced his parents. Both were excellent storytellers. The most important person in Gabo’s life was his grandfather, a retired colonel and well-respected veteran of the Thousand Days’ War. He used to tell the young boy about his experiences during the war. Later, Márquez described his grandfather as “his umbilical cord with history and reality.” His grandmother was a superstitious woman with a rich imagination who believed in the supernatural and used to tell her grandson folk tales and ghost stories. It’s not hard to figure out that his grandparents were the main source of his literary inspiration. When Gabo was 7 years old, his beloved grandfather died, and he had to move back in with his parents, who lived in Sucre. Shortly after, he went to college, where he started writing humorous verses. Gabo was an honour student, and in 1940, he earned a scholarship to study at a prestigious Jesuit secondary school. As time passed by, he decided to pursue higher education. At his family’s insistence, Márquez first studied law but soon dropped out of the university to focus on his journalistic career.

Mercedes Barcha was born on November 6, 1932, in Magangué, Colombia, in a well-to-do family. She was the oldest of seven children to her parents. Her father, an Egyptian immigrant, owned a pharmacy, and her mother was a homemaker. Mercedes was a mixed-race girl of an extraordinarily charming beauty: her big brown eyes, high cheekbones, and lustrous brown shoulder-length hair were legendary. Her exotic beauty could be compared to Nefertiti’s undeniable beauty.

Gabo and Mercedes met in Sucre, the town where their families lived for several years and where they spent their vacations. Notably, their fathers were childhood friends. Love story of Márquez began when they met on the dance floor. The girl was only 13, and the writer was 18. According to other sources, they met for the first time four years earlier. As a pioneer of magical realism, Márquez always maintained an air of mystery and intrigue. I suppose that’s why his personal life was overgrown with legends and speculation, and it was difficult to distinguish reality from fiction. After all, the writer could tell the same story that happened to him differently, and his listener could get lost in the maze of his fantasies.

Now back to the first meeting of the iconic writer and his wife-to-be. When young Gabo saw his Mrs. Right, he was struck by her unearthly beauty and decided to act immediately. “I just found out that all the verses I’ve written were dedicated to you. Be my wife!” he said. “I agree. But if you allow me, I will finish school first,” she replied. That’s how their lifetime romance began. Gabo and Mercedes were destined to be together. They found happiness and became two halves of a whole. They were absolutely different but complemented each other perfectly. Mercedes was reasonable, wise, calm, and practical, and Gabriel was temperamental, purposeful, dreamy, and eccentric. Their love was tested by time and distance. After all, it took 13 long years for them to finally get married. No wonder they say, “Absence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it inflames the great.” Their bonding was stronger than steel. Whenever they were separated, the lovebirds constantly exchanged letters exploring each other’s inner world. Curiously, when the couple reunited, the writer asked Mercedes to destroy all those love letters, so they wouldn’t fall into the wrong hands. All this time, the girl remained faithful to him and waited patiently and quietly, without a shadow of a doubt and strain. She ignored rumors surrounding her would-be husband and rejected her suitors’ advances. Many believed Mercedes was unworldly, and she was sometimes ridiculed behind her back. People gossiped that the young girl was wasting the best years of her life waiting for someone who would never marry her. However, Mercedes didn’t care what other people said. Somewhere deep inside, she knew that she was destined to spend a lifetime together with Gabo and that their love was mutual. In my view, that’s how a strong, confident, and wise woman is supposed to behave. In 1958, the couple finally got married. It’s true what they say:

If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it’s yours. If it doesn’t, it never was.

Márquez and Barcha were poor, but they loved each other and lived in harmony. As the famous saying goes, “With one’s beloved, even a hut is heaven.” Mercedes, accustomed to wealth and comfort, had no idea how to run the household. But there is nothing a woman cannot do. Overtime, she learned how to cook and manage the family budget. In my view, they are examples of selfless, unconditional love. In fact, happy married couples who carry their love throughout their entire lives often start from scratch and achieve success together. Gabo and Mercedes never fought about money. On the contrary, the great woman never stopped believing her husband was a genius. Incidentally, it was she who convinced Gabo that writing was his true calling. No wonder they say that behind every successful man there is a great woman. Later, Márquez would confirm that belief:

Without Mercedes I would not have gotten to write the book. She took charge of the situation.

What did the brilliant writer mean by saying that?

One day, Márquez, his wife, and their two sons went on vacation to Acapulco. While he was driving, he had a sudden flash of insight and came up with a plot for his most famous novel. Without any hesitation, they came back home so that Gabo could entirely devote himself to writing. Initially, he planned to complete his book One Hundred Years of Solitude within six months, but it took him a bit longer. The manuscript was ready in only 18 months. Márquez quit his job and isolated himself in his room. He asked not to interrupt him under no circumstances. Mercedes took care of the children and ran the household. The strong woman borrowed money from their friends, pawned home appliances and jewelry, and even persuaded the landlord to forego their rent for seven months. In all that time, they accumulated a large amount of debt and had almost nothing to eat, but they didn’t lose faith in a bright future. When they went to the post office to send the manuscript to be published, they found out that they didn’t have enough money for postage. Then Mercedes decided to sell her hair dryer and a mixer to pay all the postage fees. The novel, which became an overnight sensation, brought Márquez worldwide fame and earned him the Nobel Prize in literature. Ever since, they had everything they could only dream of: wealth, fame, recognition, and, of course, love.

Márquez and Mercedes have been married for more than 55 years, but they never had a serious argument. Gabo simply worshipped his muse. This is how he described his relationship with his wife:

I think the secret is that we have continued to understand things as we understood them before we were married. In other words, marriage, like the whole of life, is something terribly difficult that we have to start over from the beginning every day, and every day of our lives.

Indeed, one can only dream of love like this.

At the age of 85, Márquez was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, which manifested itself after a long battle against lymphatic cancer. The disease progressed, and the great writer didn’t recognize anyone around him except his beloved wife and muse. She was there with him till his last breath – till death did them part as they vowed. Gabriel Garcia Márquez died on April 17, 2014. However, I’m sure, the great ones never die. They live in our hearts forever. Mercedes survived him by six years, and the two loving souls were reunited in heaven.

Among Márquez’s most famous works are One Hundred Years of Solitude, Love in the Time of Cholera, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, The General in His Labyrinth, and others.

VOCABULARY

fairy tale [ˈfeəri teɪl] – сказка

kind-hearted [ˌkaɪnd ˈhɑːrtɪd] – добрый, добросердечный, добродушный

sublime love [səˈblaɪm lʌv] – возвышенная любовь

involuntary [ɪnˈvɒləntəri] – невольно, непроизвольно

muse [mjuːz] – муза

literary genius [ˈlɪtəreri ˈdʒiːniəs] – литературный гений

fiancé [fiːˈɑːnseɪ] – жених, суженый

maternal grandparents [məˈtɜːrnl ˈɡrænˌpeərənts] – бабушка и дедушка со стороны матери

put heart and soul (into) – [pʊt hɑːrt ənd səʊl ˈɪntə] – вкладывать душу (во что-то)

colonel [ˈkɜːnl] – полковник

superstitious [ˌsuːpərˈstɪʃəs] – суеверный

the supernatural [ðəˌsuːpəˈnæʧᵊrᵊl] – сверхъестественное

move back in with (>somebody) [muːv bæk ɪn wɪð] – переехать обратно к кому-то

mixed-race girl [ˌmɪkst ˈreɪs ɡɜːrl] – девушка-метиска

unearthly beauty [ʌnˈɜːrθli ˈbjuːti] – неземная красота

be overwhelmed [bi ˌəʊvəˈwelmd] – быть ошеломленным, потрясенным

be destined [bi ˈdestɪnd] – быть предназначенным судьбой

reasonable [ˈriːzənəbəl] – разумный, рассудительный

reunite [ˌriːjuːˈnaɪt] – воссоединяться

remain faithful [rɪˈmeɪnˈfeɪθfʊl] – хранить верность