Martin Eden / Мартин Иден (в сокращении). Книга для чтения на английском языке

”

“Can’t say that it does,” he replied judicially.

“Why didn’t you say, �Can’t say that it do?’”

“That sounds wrong,” he said slowly. “As for the other, I guess my ear ain’t had the trainin’ yours has.”

“There is no such word as �ain’t,’” she said emphatically.

Martin flushed again,

“And you say �ben’ for �been,’” she continued; “�I come’ for �I came’; and the way you chop your endings is something dreadful.”

“What do you mean?” He leaned forward, feeling that he ought to get down on his knees before so marvellous a mind.

“You don’t complete the endings. �A-n-d’ spells �and.’ You pronounce it �an.’ �I-n-g’ spells �ing.’ Sometimes you pronounce it �ing,’ and sometimes you leave off the �g.’ And then you slur by dropping initial letters and diphthongs. �T-h-e-m’ spells �them.’ You pronounce it – oh, well, it is not necessary to go over all of them.

When she returned with the book she drew a chair near his and sat down beside him. She turned the pages of the grammar and their heads were inclined towards each other.

For the moment the great gulf that separated them was bridged. He had been caught up into the clouds and carried to her.

_______

Several weeks went by, during which Martin Eden studied the grammar book Ruth had given him, reviewed the books on etiquette, and read voraciously the books that caught his fancy.

Of his own class he saw nothing. The girls of the Lotus Club which he had frequented wondered what had become of him.

During those several weeks he saw Ruth half a dozen times. She helped him with his English, corrected his pronunciation, and started him on arithmetic. But their intercourse was not all devoted to elementary study; and there were times when their conversation turned on other themes – the last poetry he had read, the latest poet she had studied.

As her interest in Martin increased the remodelling of his life became a passion with her.

“I want to tell you about father’s friend Mr. Butler,” she said one afternoon when grammar and arithmetic and poetry had been put aside. “His father had come from Australia and when he died Mr. Butler, Charles Butler he was called, found himself alone in the world without any relatives in California.