I Never Forget a Face

1. Distant Education College, Jilin University I Never Forget a Face 1.Text Analysis 2.Exercises 3.Questions For Discussion

2. Distant Education College, Jilin University Questions for Discussion 1. Can you find parts that imply the author’s stylistic devices —humour and foreshadowing? 2. What would you do if you met someone at a party and you knew that person’s face but could not remember his (or her) name? 3. Is it wise to be friendly towards strangers? Do you like to talk about yourself to strangers on the train or bus? Return

3. Distant Education College, Jilin University Exercises 1. True/False Questions 2. Multiple-choice Questions Return

4. Distant Education College, Jilin University True/False Questions 1. Although not remembering names annoyed those people whom the narrator met, it never lost him any business. 2. The narrator’s wife complained that he did not know the names of his next door neighbours. 3.Ellingham is two stations from Bardfield, within twenty minutes by train. 4.The narrator believes boasting is a good way to get others talking. 5.The man the narrator met planned to get off the train at Bardfield. Answer

5. Distant Education College, Jilin University True/False Questions 1. Although not remembering names annoyed those people whom the narrator met, it never lost him any business. F 2. The narrator’s wife complained that he did not know the names of his next door neighbours. 3.Ellingham is two stations from Bardfield, within twenty minutes by train. 4.The narrator believes boasting is a good way to get others talking. 5.The man the narrator met planned to get off the train at Bardfield. Answer

6. Distant Education College, Jilin University True/False Questions 1. Although not remembering names annoyed those people whom the narrator met, it never lost him any business. F 2. The narrator’s wife complained that he did not know the names of his next door neighbours. T 3.Ellingham is two stations from Bardfield, within twenty minutes by train. 4.The narrator believes boasting is a good way to get others talking. 5.The man the narrator met planned to get off the train at Bardfield. Answer

7. Distant Education College, Jilin University True/False Questions 1. Although not remembering names annoyed those people whom the narrator met, it never lost him any business. F 2. The narrator’s wife complained that he did not know the names of his next door neighbours. T 3.Ellingham is two stations from Bardfield, within twenty minutes by train. F 4.The narrator believes boasting is a good way to get others talking. 5.The man the narrator met planned to get off the train at Bardfield. Answer

8. Distant Education College, Jilin University True/False Questions 1. Although not remembering names annoyed those people whom the narrator met, it never lost him any business. F 2. The narrator’s wife complained that he did not know the names of his next door neighbours. T 3.Ellingham is two stations from Bardfield, within twenty minutes by train. F 4.The narrator believes boasting is a good way to get others talking. T 5.The man the narrator met planned to get off the train at Bardfield. Answer

9. Distant Education College, Jilin University True/False Questions 1. Although not remembering names annoyed those people whom the narrator met, it never lost him any business. F 2. The narrator’s wife complained that he did not know the names of his next door neighbours. T 3.Ellingham is two stations from Bardfield, within twenty minutes by train. F 4.The narrator believes boasting is a good way to get others talking. T 5.The man the narrator met planned to get off the train at Bardfield. F More

10. Distant Education College, Jilin University True/False Questions 6.The narrator offered the man a lift because the weather was bad. 7. The narrator will never forget the name of the wanted man. 8. The narrator has a remarkable memory for faces and he seems to be very proud of it. 9.The narrator was not a very smart businessman. He lost a lot by his poor memory for names. Answer

11. Distant Education College, Jilin University True/False Questions 6.The narrator offered the man a lift because the weather was bad. T 7. The narrator will never forget the name of the wanted man. 8. The narrator has a remarkable memory for faces and he seems to be very proud of it. 9.The narrator was not a very smart businessman. He lost a lot by his poor memory for names. Answer

12. Distant Education College, Jilin University True/False Questions 6.The narrator offered the man a lift because the weather was bad. T 7. The narrator will never forget the name of the wanted man. F 8. The narrator has a remarkable memory for faces and he seems to be very proud of it. 9.The narrator was not a very smart businessman. He lost a lot by his poor memory for names. Answer

13. Distant Education College, Jilin University True/False Questions 6.The narrator offered the man a lift because the weather was bad. T 7. The narrator will never forget the name of the wanted man. F 8. The narrator has a remarkable memory for faces and he seems to be very proud of it. T 9.The narrator was not a very smart businessman. He lost a lot by his poor memory for names. Answer

14. Distant Education College, Jilin University True/False Questions 6.The narrator offered the man a lift because the weather was bad. T 7. The narrator will never forget the name of the wanted man. F 8. The narrator has a remarkable memory for faces and he seems to be very proud of it. T 9.The narrator was not a very smart businessman. He lost a lot by his poor memory for names. F More

15. Distant Education College, Jilin University True/False Questions 10.The man in the carriage was not very communicative. He was too tired to talk with the narrator. 11.The narrator gave the man a lift because he wanted to do business with him. 12.When the man asked the narrator to stop the car in the middle of nowhere, he became watchful. He knew that the man must be a criminal. 13.The man who robbed the narrator turned out to be a criminal wanted by the police. Answer

16. Distant Education College, Jilin University True/False Questions 10.The man in the carriage was not very communicative. He was too tired to talk with the narrator. F 11.The narrator gave the man a lift because he wanted to do business with him. 12.When the man asked the narrator to stop the car in the middle of nowhere, he became watchful. He knew that the man must be a criminal. 13.The man who robbed the narrator turned out to be a criminal wanted by the police. Answer

17. Distant Education College, Jilin University True/False Questions 10.The man in the carriage was not very communicative. He was too tired to talk with the narrator. F 11.The narrator gave the man a lift because he wanted to do business with him. F 12.When the man asked the narrator to stop the car in the middle of nowhere, he became watchful. He knew that the man must be a criminal. 13.The man who robbed the narrator turned out to be a criminal wanted by the police. Answer

18. Distant Education College, Jilin University True/False Questions 10.The man in the carriage was not very communicative. He was too tired to talk with the narrator. F 11.The narrator gave the man a lift because he wanted to do business with him. F 12.When the man asked the narrator to stop the car in the middle of nowhere, he became watchful. He knew that the man must be a criminal. F 13.The man who robbed the narrator turned out to be a criminal wanted by the police. Answer

19. Distant Education College, Jilin University True/False Questions 10.The man in the carriage was not very communicative. He was too tired to talk with the narrator. F 11.The narrator gave the man a lift because he wanted to do business with him. F 12.When the man asked the narrator to stop the car in the middle of nowhere, he became watchful. He knew that the man must be a criminal. F 13.The man who robbed the narrator turned out to be a criminal wanted by the police. T Return

20. Distant Education College, Jilin University Multiple-choice Questions 1.The narrator’s trouble was _______. A) he could easily remember a person’s face and name, but always forgot where he had met that person B) he could remember a person’s face but could never remember the person’s name C) he could remember neither a person’s face nor name D) he could remember a person’s name but could never recognize that person’s face Answer

21. Distant Education College, Jilin University Multiple-choice Questions 1.The narrator’s trouble was _______. B A) he could easily remember a person’s face and name, but always forgot where he had met that person B) he could remember a person’s face but could never remember the person’s name C) he could remember neither a person’s face nor name D) he could remember a person’s name but could never recognize that person’s face More

22. Distant Education College, Jilin University Multiple-choice Questions 2.When the narrator says “I think I gain more than I lose by this strange memory of mine” he means ______. A)it is more important to remember a person’s face than a person’s name B)his memory saves him from embarrassment as he never forgets a person he has met C)he is able to talk with strangers more freely than most people can D)he values his memory as it helps him in business Answer

23. Distant Education College, Jilin University Multiple-choice Questions 2.When the narrator says “I think I gain more than I lose by this strange memory of mine” he means ______. D A)it is more important to remember a person’s face than a person’s name B)his memory saves him from embarrassment as he never forgets a person he has met C)he is able to talk with strangers more freely than most people can D)he values his memory as it helps him in business More

24. Distant Education College, Jilin University Multiple-choice Questions 3.Which one of the following statements is true? A)It took half an hour for the train to go from Ellingham to Bardfield. B)The man’s face reminded him of a business talk he had the other day. C)The narrator’s neighbours usually never talked to newcomers. D)The narrator believed that the man would not talk about himself because he was too tired. Answer

25. Distant Education College, Jilin University Multiple-choice Questions 3.Which one of the following statements is true? D A)It took half an hour for the train to go from Ellingham to Bardfield. B)The man’s face reminded him of a business talk he had the other day. C)The narrator’s neighbours usually never talked to newcomers. D)The narrator believed that the man would not talk about himself because he was too tired. More

26. Distant Education College, Jilin University Multiple-choice Questions 4.From the story we can conclude that ______. A)the narrator belonged to the upper classes B)the narrator was not a smart businessman C)usually the narrator got people to talk about themselves easily D)the man planned to rob the narrator as soon as he learned he was a businessman Answer

27. Distant Education College, Jilin University Multiple-choice Questions 4.From the story we can conclude that ______. C A)the narrator belonged to the upper classes B)the narrator was not a smart businessman C)usually the narrator got people to talk about themselves easily D)the man planned to rob the narrator as soon as he learned he was a businessman More

28. Distant Education College, Jilin University Multiple-choice Questions 5.The tone of the whole story is _______. A)mysterious B)sad C)calm D)humorous Answer

29. Distant Education College, Jilin University Multiple-choice Questions 5.The tone of the whole story is _______. D A)mysterious B)sad C)calm D)humorous More

30. Distant Education College, Jilin University Multiple-choice Questions 6.At the end of the story the narrator remembers where he saw the man’s face. It was ________. A)in a small house by the bus-stop B)at a big dinner or a football match C)on the train from Ellingham to Bardfield D)in a picture on the wall outside the police station Answer

31. Distant Education College, Jilin University Multiple-choice Questions 6.At the end of the story the narrator remembers where he saw the man’s face. It was ________. D A)in a small house by the bus-stop B)at a big dinner or a football match C)on the train from Ellingham to Bardfield D)in a picture on the wall outside the police station Return

32. Distant Education College, Jilin University Text Analysis In this text the narrator claims he never forgets a face. One day this unusual ability brought him a great deal of trouble. How did this occur? I’ll tell you a strange thing about me — I never forget a face. The only trouble is that usually I’m quite unable to tell you the name of the person. Of course, this trouble with names has put me in difficulties from time to time. I’ve annoyed people and lost good business more than once. But on the whole, I think I gain more than I lose by this strange memory of mine. Next

33. Distant Education College, Jilin University Text Analysis Quite often I’ve gone up to a man who didn’t know me from Adam. I’ve said: “I think we’ve met before,” and I’ve been able to give him some idea of where it was. I can always connect a face with a place, you see. Well, as I was saying, I can go up to this fellow and remind him of a big dinner or a football match or whatever it is that his face reminds me of, and probably within five minutes we’re talking about business. I can usually find out his name later on. My memory for faces helps me a lot in business. Previous Next

34. Distant Education College, Jilin University Text Analysis You can guess that there’s not a man, woman or child here in Bardfield that I don’t know by sight. I’ve lived in Bardfield ever since the war. I like the place; although it’s only forty minutes from London, there’s a lot of country here. The village is almost a mile from the station, and that’s rather troublesome. But quite a pleasant crowd of men travel up and down to the City most days, and I needn’t tell you that I don’t know the names of half of them, though we speak to each other cheerfully enough. My wife complains that I don’t know the names of our neighbours in the next house, and that’s true. Previous Next

35. Distant Education College, Jilin University Text Analysis Well, on this particular evening I’d been kept a bit late at the office, and it was difficult to get to the station in time to catch the train. There was quite a crowd in the train at first, but they gradually got out; and by the time we reached Ellingham — that’s two stations before mine — there were only two of us left in the carriage. The other fellow wasn’t one of the regular travellers, but I knew he was a Bardfield man. I knew it as soon as I saw him, of course. I’d smiled at him when I saw him get into the carriage in London, and he had smiled back. But that didn’t tell me his name. Previous Next

36. Distant Education College, Jilin University Text Analysis The annoying thing was that I couldn’t place the fellow, if you understand what I mean. His face told me clearly that he was connected with Bardfield, but that was all it told me. I could not think where in Bardfield I had seen it. I guessed he must be one of those fellows who’ve come to live lately in the small houses by the bus-stop, but I couldn’t be sure. Some of us who’ve lived in the place a long time are rather proud towards newcomers, but that’s not my way — never has been. I never know where the next bit of business is going to come from, and it may come from one of them. I can’t afford to neglect chances. Previous Next

37. Distant Education College, Jilin University Text Analysis So when the two of us found ourselves alone in the carriage, with room to stretch our legs and be a bit comfortable, I started to talk, just as if we were old friends. But I can’t say that I got much information out of him. He spoke well, with a quiet friendly manner, but he told me very little. I can generally find out what a man’s work is in ten and a half minutes — that’s the time it takes from Ellingham to Bardfield by train — but I failed this time. He looked a bit tired, I remember, as if he’d been working too hard lately, and I thought maybe that made him unwilling to talk much. Previous Next

38. Distant Education College, Jilin University Text Analysis “Do you generally travel down on this train?” I asked him. That’s usually a safe opening to a conversation, because either they do travel or they don’t, and nine times out of ten they’ll tell you why, and what hours they work, and what their work is. It’s only human nature. But he just smiled and shook his head and said, “Not generally,” which wasn’t much help. Of course, I went on to talk about the train service in general, comparing this train with that, but still he said nothing. He just agreed with all I said, but he didn’t seem to have any opinions of his own. I told him I sometimes went up to the City by road, but that didn’t make him talk either. I didn’t think it would, because you don’t expect a fellow who lives in a cheap house to own a car. Previous Next

39. Distant Education College, Jilin University Text Analysis Well, to cut a long story short, I had to give up. I’d told him a lot about myself, of course, so as to make things pleasant. I’d even boasted a little about a rather nice bit of business I’d done that morning. I’ve always found that there’s nothing as good as boasting to start a fellow talking. It makes him want to boast too. He seemed interested in a quiet sort of way, but it was no good. So, as I say, I gave it up and started to read my paper. And the next time I looked at him, he’d put his head back and gone off to sleep! We were just running into the station then, and though the train stopped suddenly, it didn’t seem to wake him. Well, I’m a kind-hearted fellow and I wasn’t going to let a Bardfield man be carried on all the way to the next stop if I could help it. So I touched him sharply on the knee. Previous Next

40. Distant Education College, Jilin University Text Analysis “Wake up, old fellow! We’re there!” I said. He awoke at once and smiled at me. “Oh, so we are!” he said, and got out after me. You know what the weather was just then. When we came out of the station together it was quite dark and raining heavily. There was a wind blowing strongly enough to knock you over, and it was bitterly cold. Well, what would you have done? The same as I did. I turned round and said to him: Previous Next

41. Distant Education College, Jilin University Text Analysis “Listen. There isn’t a bus for a quarter of an hour. I’ve got my car in the station-yard, and if you’re in one of those small houses I can take you there. It’s on my way.” “Thanks very much,” he said, and we walked through the water to where my old car was standing and off we went. “This is very kind of you,” he said as we started, and that was the last thing he said until we were half way across the open country. Then he suddenly turned round and said, “You can let me get out here.” Previous Next

42. Distant Education College, Jilin University Text Analysis “What, here?” I asked him. It seemed mad, because there wasn’t a house within five hundred yards and, as I say, it was raining and blowing like the end of the world. But I slowed down, as anyone would. The next thing that happened was that something hit me terribly hard on the back of the head. I fell forwards and then everything went black. I can half-remember being pulled out of the car, and when I came to myself again I was lying in the ditch with the rain pouring down on me, with a bad headache, no car in sight and my pockets — as I found out later — empty. Previous Next

43. Distant Education College, Jilin University Text Analysis I pulled myself up at last and somehow managed to walk into Bardfield. I went straight to the police station, of course. It’s the first building you reach if you come that way. And there I reported that someone had stolen my car, a new umbrella, a gold watch and a hundred and fifty-two pounds ten shillings in notes. Of course, as soon as I got there I remember who the man was. His picture was on the wall outside. I’d seen it every day for a week. That’s why his face reminded me of Bardfield. Under the picture were some words: “Wanted for Robbery with Violence and Attempted Murder. John —” Oh dear, I’ve forgotten the name again. I just can’t keep names in my head. But that’s the man. I tell you — I never forget a face. Previous Return

44. Distant Education College, Jilin University annoy [E5nCI] vt. 使烦恼，使生气= harass or disturbe.g. These flies are annoying me. 这些苍蝇真让人讨厌。区别:annoy, bother, irritate Words to Know Return

45. Distant Education College, Jilin University annoy, bother, irritate都含有“使恼怒”或 “使烦恼”的意思。annoy 指由于干扰、不顺利或受不了某种外界情况等而“使烦恼、懊恼”。如: I was annoyed by his bad manners. 他的无礼使我恼怒。bother 指不停地“扰乱”、“麻烦”, 使人不能安宁, 而产生烦恼的心理。如: Pardon me for bothering you with such a small matter. 请原谅我为这点小事麻烦你。irritate 表示“恼怒”、“不耐烦”的意思, 比 annoy 更为强烈, 着重指一种暂时或短期的“恼怒”, 如: His explanation irritated us all. 他的解释使我们都恼火了。 Words to Know Return

46. Distant Education College, Jilin University troublesome [5trQblsEm] adj. 麻烦的= worrisomee.g. It’s really a troublesome problem.这真是个使人苦恼的问题。 Words to Know Return

47. Distant Education College, Jilin University complain [kEm5pleIn] vi. & vt.抱怨，诉苦=to express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentmente.g. Jean is always complaining about something.琼总是满腹牢骚。 Words to Know Return

48. Distant Education College, Jilin University place[pleIs] vt. 认出，回忆起=remember, recalle.g. I remember her name, but I can't place her. 我记得她的名字，但我认不出她来了。 Words to Know Return

49. Distant Education College, Jilin University afford [E5fC:d] vt. 担负得起（后果）=bear the result ofe.g. I can't afford three weeks away from work.我无法丢下工作三星期。 Words to Know Return

50. Distant Education College, Jilin University neglect [nI5^lekt] vt. 疏忽，忽略=to pay little or no attention to; fail to heed; disregardIf you neglect this property, it will depreciate.如果你忽视这份资产,它无形中就贬值了。区别: neglect, overlook 都含“疏忽”、“忽略”的意思neglect强调“疏忽”、“忽略”, 如:He neglected his health.他疏忽了他的健康。overlook指“由于粗心、放任而没看出或采取行动”, 如:He overlooked my errors.他忽视了我的错误。 Words to Know Return