10 shorts stories by O. Henry. Книга для чтения на английском языке

“Take your hat off and let me look at it.”

Down fell the brown waterfall |О. Генри часто пользуется приемом инверсии – переставляет слова в предложении, так что оно получается не вполне стандартным для английского языка. Down fell the brown waterfall – это инверсия. Обычное предложение выгляделобы “the brown waterfall fell down”|.

“Twenty dollars,” said Mrs. Sofronie, lifting the hair to feel its weight.

“Give it to me quick,” said Della.

Oh, and the next two hours seemed to fly. She was going from one shop to another, to find a gift for Jim.

She found it at last |наконец-то|. It surely had been made for Jim and no one else |было сделано для Джима. Ипрошедший Perfect ипассивслилисьвоедино|. There was no other like it in any of the shops, and she had looked in every shop in the city |конструкция had итретьяформаглагола. Смыслэтого в том, что Делла что-то делала до какого-то момента или на какой-то момент: она посмотрела во всех магазинах на тот момент|.

It was a gold watch chain, very simply made.

Its value was in its rich and pure material. Because it was so plain and simple, you knew that it was very valuable. All good things are like this.

It was good enough for The Watch.

As soon as she saw it, she knew that Jim must have it. It was like him |это ему подходило. Буквально – это былоего|. Quietness and value—Jim and the chain both had quietness and value. She paid twenty-one dollars for it. And she hurried home with the chain and eighty-seven cents.

With that chain on his watch, Jim could look at his watch and learn the time anywhere he might be. Though the watch was so fine, it had never had a fine chain |ранее никогда не было|. He sometimes took it out and looked at it only when no one could see him do it.

When Della arrived home, her mind quieted a little |она успокоилась|. She began to think more reasonably. She started to try to cover |скрыть| the sad marks of what she had done |что она делаладотогомомента – плакала|.

Love and large-hearted giving|”большесердечноедавание”, еслибуквально, нолучшепросто “доброта”|, when added together, can leave deep marks. It is never easy to cover these marks, dear friends—never easy.

Within forty minutes her head looked a little better |“within” – в пределах, внутри, через какое-то время|. With her short hair, she looked wonderfully like a schoolboy. She stood at the looking-glass for a long time.