Question

Прочитайте текст и ответьте на вопросы. A young writer has just managed to publish his first book. He is very proud of his success and is boasting of it to everybody around. For more than half an hour he has been talking about his success to one of his friends who is also a writer. At last he thinks that his friend is not very much interested and apologizes saying «I am sorry to have taken so much of your time, it is so selfish of me.» — «Never mind,» answered his friend absent-mindedly. «You haven’t taken my time at all. I’ve been thinking over the plot of my new novel.» Вопросы: A) Was the young writer modest? B) Why wasn’t his friend annoyed?

Answer 1

1. No, he wasn't.  - Нет, не был.

2. He wasn't annoyed because he wasn't listening to him. - Он не был раздражен, потому что его не слушал.

Answer 2

A) No, the young writer was not modest. He was very proud of his success and was boasting about it to everyone around.

B) The friend wasn't annoyed because while the young writer was talking about his success, the friend was preoccupied with his own thoughts about the plot of his new novel. This suggests that the friend was not actually paying full attention to the young writer's conversation, which is why he absent-mindedly responded that the young writer hadn't taken up his time.