Xi English Question 1 - Reference to Context from Play Progress

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I wish she wouldn’t dwell -------------------- That’s all. Reference

Reference
Professor Corrie is speaking to his widowed sister, Mrs. Meldon.




Explanation
Professor Corrie apologizes to his sister for not having received her at the Station. He gives his experiment, as the excuse. He says, he was very busy, hence he didn’t go. Then he informs Mrs. Meldon, that big experiment is a great success. He has invented, just what he had in mind. He has invented exactly the thing he wanted to make.

Professor Corrie is certain that his successful experiment will make him famous, across the length and breath of the country and bring him fortune as well. He is sure that he will be rich, but more than that, he is convinced that he would be famous.




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No, that’s true ------------------- is reticence!

Reference
Professor Corrie is talking to his bereaved sister, Mrs. Meldon about his success.

Explanation
Mrs. Meldon, though pleased that Professor Corrie’s experiment is a success has no inkling as to what his experiment is.

Professor Corrie acknowledges the fact that he has not told her anything about his success. He confesses that he believes in keeping secrets to himself. It is his principle in life, not to divulge anything unless one is forced to. He says no one knows anything about his invention, except himself.

In the Professor’s opinion, utter and complete secrecy is essential for the success of any invention.




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Of course they will -------------------- And tin hats, too!

Reference
Professor Corrie is having a chat with his sister, Mrs. Meldon. The talk is about Professor Corrie’s invention.

Explanation
Since Professor Corrie is so secretive about his invention, Mrs. Meldon hasn’t the faintest idea, about his experiment. Professor Corrie is confident that his invention is so great that, when the British Government listens about his wonderful invention, they will jump for it. Though he agrees with Mrs. Meldon’s doubt about it.

He says, it was extremely difficult to make the cavalry generals, use the tanks, during the First World War. They were not prepared to make use of the tanks, until they were forced to use them. Only then, did they realize the value of the tank. He condemns them for not realizing the value of tank and for not accepting it as a weapon of great value and importance.

Likewise, the inventor of steel hats was not suitably rewarded for his invention. Although, non cab deny the utility and value of the steel helmets, in protecting the soldiers heads and also saving their lives. Therefore, in contempt, as well as in anger he refers to the cavalry generals as slaughterers of horses. That is they are useless good for nothing generals fit only for slaughtering horses.




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Oh, how women do fuss ! ------------- impersonal devotion.

Reference
Professor Corrie is speaking to his bereaved sister, Mrs. Meldon. He is thoroughly annoyed with her, for harping on the same string.

Explanation
Professor Corrie was eager and impatient, to tell Mrs. Meldon about his successful invention, while Mrs. Meldon kept nagging him by telling him :

Come along, Henry! Your tea will get cold.

This upset him very much. So in this context he utters the above speech, in which he wrongfully condemns all women. He exclaims at the fussiness of women – at their readiness to get excited about the unimportant things. He condemns the women generally for breaking off important things for unimportant and trivial things. He feels that women lack in the desire to work with all devotion with al their heart and soul and with full concentration etc.

Professor Corrie further adds, you women are not fit for any single task, which requires complete devotion and energy, nor do you care for the feelings of others. That’s is why he feels, women have never been great artists or scientist.


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You don’t realise ----------------------- butchery of boys.

Reference
In this passage, the speaker is Mrs. Meldon and she is addressing her brother, Professor Corrie.

Explanation
In this speech, we detect Mrs. Meldon’s hatred for war. When Professor Corrie mentions that his invention will create a revolution in the field of warfare. Mrs. Meldon thought that Professor Corrie had invented something, which would abolish warfare. On this remark, Professor Corrie chides his sister for being so very childish.

Then Mrs. Meldon says, the abolition of war is a subject after her heart. She tells Professor Corrie, you cannot imagine how deeply women like me, who have suffered because of the war feel about warfare which in her view is an organized manner in which young soldiers are slaughtered and brutally killed.




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Now, charlotte, when I say ------------ made more expedits.

Reference
Professor Corrie is talking to Mrs. Meldon.

Explanation
He declines the offer of Mrs. Meldon to have more tea. Then he prepares to explain about his invention.

He says, when I say that war should be revolutionized, I mean that it should be made seedy. That is to say, that it should end quickly. The First World War lasted for a ridiculous period of five years. It is absolutely nonsense. The war should not have lasted for more than five weeks.




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Well – yes, I think you ----------------------- succumbs to it.

Reference
Professor Corrie is in deep conversation with Mrs. Meldon about wars and how to end them speedily.

Explanation
Mrs. Meldon is under the false notion that Professor Corrie has invented something, which would restrict the duration of wars. While Professor Corrie had something different in mind. He explains, in future, whenever war beaks out, the combatants should try their level best, to strike at the enemy, with all the force at their command. That is to say, the first attack should be so severe and devastating that the enemy would get crushed at once. In this way, the wars of the future would end very quickly.




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Oh, a mother’s feelings ----------------- own feelings aside!

Reference
Professor Corrie is talking to his only sister, Mrs. Meldon.

Explanation
Professor Corrie was earlier explaining to Mrs. Meldon, about making the weapons of war, more horrible and devastating, in order to end the wars quickly in future. Mrs. Meldon utters a sarcastic remark saying that her son was 19, when he died and that was a horrible thing for her.

On this Professor Corrie state, you look at your son’s death, from a mother’s point of view. Put your mother’s feelings aside and look at your son’s death from a broad-point of view – the point of view of the Government.




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Yes. I’ve made tests,------- thousands at once. Thousands!

Reference
Professor Corrie is speaking to Mrs. Meldon, about his discovery.

Explanation
He says, I have made tests and I have succeeded in having discovered a formula, which is exact and precise. It is a combination of chemical elements and explosives, which would destroy thousands, so completely, that not a trace shall be left. So devastating and lethal, is his invention..




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Cheerful view! ------------------- Stupidest man on earth.

Reference
Mrs. Meldon is the speaker and she is talking to her brother, Professor Corrie.

Explanation
Earlier in their talk, Professor Corrie states, his invention would be available to his people. And if, a war comes along in the future, his government will have only to drop their bomb on their enemy, before they drop theirs on us and the war will have been won. On this Mrs. Meldon remarks, rather sarcastically, it was someone like him, who invented the kind of shell that, completely obliterated her son, Eddie. Professor Corrie pats Mrs. Meldon on the shoulder and tries to comfort her. He asks her to take a more cheerful view of life, rather than to keep lamenting on what happened in the past.

It is in this context that Mrs. Meldon remarks, rather angrily ------------cheerful view! Meaning how could she have a cheerful view of life, with her only son and husband, having got killed because of the war. Also, it was her son’s third death anniversary. So how could she be cheerful. That is why she says that she sometimes wonders at him that in spite of his cleverness, Mrs. Meldon regards him as the Stupidest man in this world.


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Well of course ------------------- for a good many Germans.

Reference
Professor Corrie is speaking to his bereaved sister, Mrs. Meldon. He tries to console her after she narrates an emotional account about Eddie, of how he was a child and then grew up to be a handsome young man and how he was mutilated and destroyed.

Mrs. Meldon just could not overcome this tragic news that her son’s body was mutilated. That there was no decency in his death. So, she makes her point to Corrie that she cannot take a broad view of that.

On this Professor Corrie says sympathetically, that he understands and appreciates, her point of view. He admits that he son’s death as well as her husband’s is a grievous blow to her. It must have shattered her emotionally. Therefore, he comforts and consoles her and asks her to keep a check over her emotions. He also adds that we should take some comfort from the thought that, Eddie, by sacrificing his life, did his duty to his country. That, we should have some comfort from the thought that, Eddie might have killed a great many Germans before getting killed.




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Yes people with broad --------------------- are a fool, Henry.

Reference
Mrs. Meldon is having a heart to heart chat with her brother, Professor Corrie, regarding her son, Eddie.

Explanation
She narrates a long account about Eddie, right from the time that he was born till the time he gets killed in the war. Mrs. Meldon is grievously hurt about the fact that he son’s body was mutilated and destroyed and that there was nothing to bury. She just cannot forget about her son’s painful death. So she says,

You see, don’t you Henry, that I can’t take a broad view of that.

Then Professor Corrie tries to comfort her by saying that, we should take consolation from the fact that Eddie, must have accounted for a good many Germans. But this thought does not comfort Mrs. Meldon. In fact she makes it plain to Corrie and tells him that:

I can’t get any pleasure put of the thought that some poor German is suffering just as I am suffering.

She further tells Professor Corrie that her sympathies would be with the suffering German woman, rather than men like you.

People with broad-view (scientists), because you create weapons, which kill young soldiers. Therefore she regards all scientists as fools. She confesses that she is not clever and says, someone like me gives birth to a beautiful thing (Eddie), and you guys (scientists), with all you intelligence can only annihilate it and destroy it. As such, she regards henry, her brother as a fool.




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Really, Charlotte, you’re------------------ can’t be helped.

Reference
Professor Corrie is addressing his sister, Mrs. Meldon in a thoroughly angry frame of mind.

Explanation
He blows his top, when Mrs. Meldon tells him, to ask for “thirty pieces of sliver”, as the price for his invention.

The “thirty pieces of silver” are a reference to the reward paid to Judas Iscariot, for betraying Jesus Christ. The phrase is often used to describe a bribe, given to a traitor. Mrs. Meldon, of course is not thinking of her brother, as a traitor to his country but to humanity in general.

Therefore Professor Corrie is thoroughly annoyed. He tells her, you are really unbreakable. He says, I bear a lot of your nonsense because, you are in sorrow. But there is a limit to one’s patience. He says, you have not even congratulated me, on my success. You don’t even have goodness to compliment me, even briefly and unenthusiastically. You have made yourself miserable by continuously feeling sorry over your son’s death over which nothing can be done. You have made even Hannah, unhappy and sad.




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The fortune of war ------------------------ by a bayonet.

Reference
Professor Corrie is talking to his sister, Mrs. Meldon.

Explanation
Professor Corrie replies to Mrs. Meldon’s remark, his bomb is horrible, as it will make the bodies of man, women and little children rot, if it does not blow them to pieces. He says that it is the luck of my dear charlotte. Death is death. And what differences does it make, whether a man dies, by getting blown to pieces, by a bomb or got killed by getting stabled to death, by a bayonet. In fact, the bomb is more merciful of the two.




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My dear Charlotte --------------- being damned unpatriotic.

Reference
Professor Corrie is speaking to his unhappy sister, Mrs. Meldon.

Explanation
He is replying to Mrs. Meldon’s suggestion that, he should destroy his formula, as his invention will destroy precious lives.

He says, if he were to oblige her, most sensible people would think that he had go mad. Only a few religious fanatics would praise his action. But the majority of the people would think that I am an idiot. Besides, they would consider my act, as unpatriotic, because it would deprive my own country from being in a strong position.




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My dear Charlotte----------------- destroy my invention.

Reference
Professor Corrie is in conversation with Mrs. Meldon.

Explanation
He is astounded at her suggestion, that he should destroy his invention. He is convinced that her grief has loosened the screws of her mind. He feels, her sorrow has made her mad. How could he destroy his invention for which he has strived so hard – all his life. So, he regards her suggestion, as nothing short of madness.




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Of course it is --------------------- mess like this!

Reference
Professor Corrie, a little annoyed is talking to Mrs. Meldon.

Explanation
He tells her, the formula of the bomb is in my mind. He made it from his own mind. He condemns her for making a terribly mess, in his laboratory by smashing the retorts and test-tubes etc. Mrs. Meldon felt that she had destroyed Professor Corrie’s invention.

Therefore, Professor Corrie says, even a foolish woman, would have known that Professor Corrie had the invention in his mind. He means, you are so stupid, that you don’t even know that, the formula of the bomb, must be in my mind.