aged man was walking homeward from Shaston
On an evening in the latter part of May a middle-
aged man was walking homeward from Shaston
to the village of Marlott, in the adjoining Vale of
Blakemore, or Blackmoor. The pair of legs that
carried him were rickety, and there was a bias in
his gait which inclined him somewhat to the left
of a straight line. He occasionally gave a smart
nod, as if in confirmation of some opinion,
though he was not thinking of anything in
particular. An empty egg-basket was slung upon
his arm, the nap of his hat was ruffled, a patch
being quite worn away at its brim where his
thumb came in taking it off. Presently he was met
by an elderly parson
astride on a gray mare,
who, as he rode, hummed a wandering tune.
âGood night tâee,â said the man with the basket.
âGood night, Sir John,â said the parson.
The pedestrian, after another pace or two, halted, and turned round.
âNow, sir, begging your pardon; we met last market-day on this road about this time, and I said âGood
night,â and you made reply âGood night, Sir John,â as now.â
âI did,â said the parson.
âAnd once before that â near a month ago.â
âI may have.â
âThen what might your meaning be in calling me âSir Johnâ these different times, when I be plain Jack
Durbeyfield, the haggler?â The parson rode a step or two nearer.
âIt was only my whim,â he said; and, after a momentâs hesitation: âIt was on account of a discovery I
made some little time ago, whilst I was hunting up pedigrees3
for the new county history. I am Parson
Tringham, the antiquary,4
of Stagfoot Lane. Donât you really know, Durbeyfield, that you are the lineal
representative of the ancient and knightly family of the dâUrbervilles, who derive their descent from Sir
Pagan dâUrberville, that renowned knight who came from Normandy with William the Conqueror,5
as
appears by Battle Abbey Roll?â
âNever heard it before, sir!â
âWell itâs true. Throw up your chin a moment, so that I may catch the profile of your face better. Yes,
thatâs the dâUrberville nose and chin â a little debased.6
Your ancestor was one of the twelve knights
who assisted the Lord of Estremavilla in Normandy in his conquest of Glamorganshire. Branches of
your family held manors over all this part of England; their names appear in the Pipe Rolls7
in the time
of King Stephen. In the reign of King John one of them was rich enough to give a manor to the Knights
Hospitallers; and in Edward the Secondâs time your forefather Brian was summoned to Westminster to
attend the great Council there. You declined a little in Oliver Cromwellâs time, but to no serious extent,
and in Charles the Secondâs reign you were made Knights of the Royal Oak for your loyalty. Aye, there
have been generations of Sir Johns among you, and if knighthood were hereditary, like a baronetcy,8
as
it practically was in old times, when men were knighted from father to son, you would be Sir John now.â
âYe donât say so!â
âIn short,â concluded the parson, decisively smacking his leg with his switch, âthereâs hardly such
another family in England.â
âDaze my eyes, and isnât there?â said Durbeyfield. âAnd here have I been knocking about, year after
year, from pillar to post, as if I was no more than the commonest feller in the parish9
... And how long
hev this news about me been knowed, Paâson Tringham?â
The clergyman explained that, as far as he was aware, it had quite died out of knowledge, and could
hardly be said to be known at all. His own investigations had begun on a day in the preceding spring
when, having been engaged in tracing the vicissitudes of the dâUrberville family, he had observed
Durbeyfieldâs name on his waggon, and had thereupon been led to make inquiries about his father and
grandfather till he had no doubt on the subject.
âAt first I resolved not to disturb you with such a useless piece of information,â said he. âHowever, our
impulses are too strong for our judgement sometimes. I thought you might perhaps know something
of it all the while.â âWell, I have heard once or twice, âtis true, that my family had seen better days afore they came to
Blackmoor. But I took no notice oât, thinking it to mean that we had once kept two horses where we
now keep only one. Iâve got a wold silver spoon, and a wold graven seal at home, too; but, Lord, whatâs
a spoon and seal?. . . And to think that I and these noble dâUrbervilles were one flesh all the time. âTwas
said that my grâtgranfer had secrets, and didnât care to talk of where he came from. . . And where do we
raise our smoke, now, parson, if I may make so bold; I mean, where do we dâUrbervilles live?â
âYou donât live anywhere. You are extinct â as a county family.â
1) In the passage, Jack Durbeyfield learns new information about his family history. How does this new knowledge impact how Durbeyfield views himself? How important do you think this information is to Durbeyfieldâs identity?
2) In the passage, the parson treats Durbeyfield differently when he discovers Durbeyfield's family history. Do you think a personâs ancestry is important to who they are in the present?
Answers: 1
English, 21.06.2019 21:00
The author most likely uses the word monstrous rather than the word âunpleasantâ because it has a more positive connotation than the word âunpleasant.â a more negative connotation than the word âunpleasant.â a more neutral connotation than the word âunpleasant.â almost the same connotation as the word âunpleasant.â
Answers: 1
English, 21.06.2019 23:30
Select the correct answerwhat theme is portrayed in this excerpt from leo tolstoy's the death of ivan ilyich? in reality it was just what is usually seen in the houses of people of moderate means who want to appear rich, and therefore succeed only inresembling others like themselves, there are damasks dark wood, plants, rugs, and dull and polished bronzes-all the things people of a certaiclass have in order to resemble other people of that class. his house was so like the others that it would never have been noticed, but to him it aseemed to be quite exceptional. he was very happy when he met his family at the station and brought them to the newly furnished house all lit uwhere a tootman in a white tie opened the door into the hall decorated with plants, and when they went on into the drawing-room and the studyuttering exclamations of delight he conducted them everywhere, drank in their praises eagerly, and beamed with pleasure.a.the effect of consumerismbw the power of wealthcam keeping up appearances in societyud. wconforming to societal conventionsresetnextil rights reserved.
Answers: 3
English, 22.06.2019 08:30
Read the excerpt from "mother tongue." those tests were constructed around items like fill-in-the-blank sentence completion, such as âeven though tom was mary thought he was â and the correct answer always seemed to be the most bland combinations of thoughts, for example, âeven though tom was foolish, mary thought he was ridiculous.â well, according to my mother, there were very few limitations as to what tom could have been and what mary might have thought of him. so i never did well on tests like that. how does tan build a central idea of her story in the excerpt? tan discusses the types of questions on achievement tests to support the idea that the tests limit studentsâ ability to write well. tan explains a question on a language achievement test to support the idea that the tests should include more interesting content. tan gives an example of her experience with achievement tests to support the idea that they are not always accurate measures of language ability. tan considers how her mother might answer a question on a test to support the idea that nonstandard english limits a personâs ability to communicate.
Answers: 2
English, 22.06.2019 11:20
Read the excerpt from "thoughts on the works of providence" by phillis wheatley and complete the sentence that follows.
Answers: 2
On an evening in the latter part of May a middle-
aged man was walking homeward from Shaston
aged man was walking homeward from Shaston
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