Fill in the gaps by choosing the suitable option.

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1. I wish I …………. (talked, had talked, talk) to him yesterday.

2. I need help badly. If only you ……………. (can, could, either could be used) help me.

3. My old car often breaks down. I wish I ………….. (buy, bought, had bought) a new car.

4. He didn't pass the exam. If only he ………….. (works, worked, had worked) hard.

5. She was absent. I wish she ……………. (attends, attended, had attended) the conference.

6. What a beautiful house! I wish I ……………. (have, had, had had) a house like this one.

7. I wish I ………….. (was, were, either could be used) rich. I would buy a farm and enjoy the calm of the countryside.

8. They had that bad accident because they were careless. If only they …………… (are, were, had been) more careful.

9. We saw the film. I wish you …………… (see, saw, had seen) it with us. It was an amazing evening.

10. I like traveling around the world. If only I ………….. (have, had, had had) time to realize my dream.

5 Talk about educating pupils to be globally competent, using conditionals and ‘wish structures’.

SELF-STUDY 1

1 Search for the samples of songs, poems, etc. which contain sentences with conditionals and ‘wishes’. Make a presentation of results to the class.

READING FICTION 1

1 Read the text with ‘a critical eye’ and comment on it.

…‘Below them coconut trees tumbled down steeply to the lagoon, and the lagoon in the evening light had the color, tender and varied, of a dove's breast. On a creek, at a little distance, were the clustered huts of a native village, and towards the reef was a canoe, sharply silhouetted, in which were a couple of natives fishing. Then, beyond, you saw the vast calmness of the Pacific and twenty miles away, airy and unsubstantial like the fabric of a poet's fancy, the unimaginable beauty of the island which is called Murea. It was all so lovely that Bateman stood abashed.’…

…"Sit down, then, my dear Bateman," laughed Edward. "My machine for cutting the coconuts will always remain unused, and so far as I'm concerned street-cars shall never run in the idle streets of Papeete."

Bateman sank heavily into his chair.

"I don't understand you," he said.

"It came upon me little by little. I came to like the life here, with its ease and its leisure, and the people, with their good-nature and their happy smiling faces. I began to think. I'd never had time to do that before. I began to read."

"You always read."

"I read for examinations. I read in order to be able to hold my own in conversation. I read for instruction. Here I learned to read for pleasure. I learned to talk. Do you know that conversation is one of the greatest pleasures in life? But it wants leisure. I'd always been too busy before. And gradually all the life that had seemed so important to me began to seem rather trivial and vulgar. What is the use of all this hustle and this constant striving ? I think of Chicago now and I see a dark, grey city, all stone — it is like a prison — and a ceaseless turmoil. And what does all that activity amount to? Does one get there the best out of life? Is that what we come into the world for, to hurry to an office, and work hour after hour till night, then hurry home and dine and go to a theatre? Is that how I must spend my youth? Youth lasts so short a time, Bateman. And when I am old, what have I to look forward to? To hurry from my home in the morning to my office and work hour after hour till night, and then hurry home again, and dine and go to a theatre? That may be worthwhile if you make a fortune; I don't know, it depends on your nature; but if you don't, is it worth while then? I want to make more out of my life than that, Bateman."

"What do you value in life then?"

"I'm afraid you'll laugh at me. Beauty, truth, and goodness."

"Don't you think you can have those in Chicago?"

"Some men can, perhaps, but not I." Edward sprang up now. "I tell you when I think of the life I led in the old days I am filled with horror," he cried violently. "I tremble with fear when I think of the danger I have escaped. I never knew I had a soul till I found it here. If I had remained a rich man I might have lost it for good and all."

"I don't know how you can say that," cried Bateman indignantly. "We often used to have discussions about it."

"Yes, I know. They were about as effectual as the discussions of deaf mutes about harmony. I shall never come back to Chicago, Bateman."

"And what about Isabel?"

Edward walked to the edge of the veranda and leaning over looked intently at the blue magic of the night. There was a slight smile on his face when he turned back to Bateman.

"Isabel is infinitely too good for me. I admire her more than any woman I have ever known. She has a wonderful brain and she's as good as she's beautiful. I respect her energy and her ambition. She was born to make a success of life. I am entirely unworthy of her."

"She doesn't think so."

"But you must tell her so, Bateman."…

[10] The Excerpt from Somerset Maugham (1874–1965)

"The Fall of Edward Barnard", 1921

2 Questions for discussion:

1. What is the setting of the story, the plot and the timeline?

2. What can you tell about the main characters of the story?

3. What kind of island is Murea? Where is it situated?

4. Why do you think Bateman came to Edward Barnard?

5. What story does Barnard tell? What does he like about living in Murea?

6. What does Barnard tell Bateman about his life in Chicago?

7. What does Edward tell about Isabel?