The story of an hour

By Kate Chopin

Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death.
It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing. Her husband's friend Richards was there, too, near her. It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard's name leading the list of "killed." He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message.
She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her.
There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.
She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.
There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window.
She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.
She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.
There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air.
Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will—as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been.
When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!" The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.
She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial.
She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.
There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination.
And yet she had loved him—sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!
"Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering.
Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhole, imploring for admission. "Louise, open the door! I beg, open the door—you will make yourself ill. What are you doing Louise? For heaven's sake open the door."
"Go away. I am not making myself ill." No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window.
Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.
She arose at length and opened the door to her sister's importunities. There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory. She clasped her sister's waist, and together they descended the stairs. Richards stood waiting for them at the bottom.
Some one was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife.
But Richards was too late.
When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease—of joy that kills.

Uses of get

At least some of them ....

Get as a main verb

Our cat seems to be getting thinner. (become)

My grandmother got flu in the holidays. (catch)

What time did you get home last night? (arrive)

Can you get my glasses for me? (bring, fetch)

I got a first-class degree from Southampton University. (achieve)

I`ve decided to get my mother a parrot for her birthday. (buy)

We had to run, but luckily we managed to get the last train. (catch)

I don`t quite get what you mean, can you explain again? (understand)

Get + past participle in causative constructions.

get something done: causative use
This is the alternative to "have something done". Both are used to reffer to actions that the subject initiates or cause to be done, but does no do personally

I`ll have to get my shoes repaired soon.

get something done: non-causative use
Something unfortunate happens to the subject-through no fault of their own.

He got stuck in a traffic jam on the way home.

Phrasal verbs with get

get at:
to keep criticizing somebody
to reach sb/sth, to gain acces to sb/sth
to learn or find out something

get by: survive to manage to live or do a particular thing using the money, knowledge, equipment, etc that you have.

get on: to have a good relationship

get out of: to avoid a responsibility or duty

get round to:
(sth) to find the time to do something
(sb) to persuade sb to agree or to do what you want, usually by doing nice things for them.


Sources:
Oxford advanced learner`s dictionary
Landmark advanced student`s book

to be continued.....

Descrbing buildings

Wrecked: very badly damaged Just look at what you've done to my coat - it's wrecked.

Decaying:

Decrepit: in very bad condition because of being old, or not having been cared for, or having been used a lot. Most of the buildings were old and decrepit. A decrepit old man sat on a park bench.

Derelict: (especially of lands or buildings) not used or cared for and in bad condition, ex derelict land/ buildings/ sites.

Dilapidated: (of furniture and buildings) old and in very bad conditions syn: ramshackle.

Eclectic: not following one style or set of ideas but choosing from or using a wide variety, ex she has a very eclectic taste in literature.

Falling to pieces

Grand: •splendid in style and appearance; attracting admiration and attention The Palace of Versailles is very grand. They always entertain their guests in grand style. • used in the name of a place or building to show that it is splendid or large the Grand Hotel the Grand Canyon the Grand Canal

Lavish: more than enough, especially if expensive; very generous The dining room was lavishly decorated.

Lush: (of places, furniture, decoration, etc.) expensive and luxurious a lush carpet.

Luxurious: very comfortable; containing expensive and enjoyable things syn: sumptuous ex a luxurious hotel

Magnificent: very good, beautiful or deserving to be admired a magnificent view a magnificent piece of writing They live in a magnificent Tudor house.

Noble: causing admiration because of a particular appearance or quality a noble bearing/gesture a building with a noble facade

Opulent: expensive and luxurious an opulent lifestyle an opulent hotel

Plush: expensive, comfortable and of high quality He took me out to a really plush restaurant.

Posh: elegant and expensive A posh hotel.

Pristine: new or almost new, and in very good condition pristine new offices Washing machine for sale - only 2 months old and in pristine condition.

Ramshackle: badly or untidily made and likely to break or fall down easily There's a ramshackle old shed at the bottom of the garden Shed: a small building, usually made of wood, used for storing things

Rundown: describes buildings or areas that are in very bad condition a run-down building/cemetery

Shabby: (of buildings, clothes, objects, etc.) in poor conditions because they have been used a lot syn: scruffy ex she wore shabby old jeans and a t-shirt

Smart: A place or event that is smart attracts fashionable, stylish or rich people a smart restaurant We went to a very smart party on New Year's Eve.

Spartan: (of conditions) simple or severe; lacking anything that make life easier or more pleasant.

Stylish: of a high quality in appearance, design or behaviour The film's direction is subtle and stylish.

Sumptuous: luxurious and showing that you are rich The celebrity guests turned up dressed in sumptuous evening gowns.

Swish: fashionable or expensive a swish hotel.

Well-appointed: having a good supply of comfortable or necessary furniture and attractive decorations The hotel has spacious, well-appointed public rooms and bedrooms.

Wrecked: very badly damaged Just look at what you've done to my coat - it's wrecked.

Phrasal verbs with off

break off: to become separated from something as a result of force.
to stop speaking or stop doing something for a period of time.
to end something suddenly. ex: diplomatic relations.

block off: to close a road or an opening by placing a barrier at one end or in front of it.

blast off: (of a spaceship) to leave the ground

call off: to cancel sth, to decide that sth will no happen. To call off a deal/trip/strike

close off: to separate sth from other parts so that people can not use it. The entrance to the train station was closed off after the explosion.

drive off: to leave. The robbers drove off in a stolen vehicle

kick off: (of a football match) to start
to suddenly become angry or violent
to start something (informal)

lead off: to start at a place and go away from it. Narrow streets leading off from the main square.

put off: to cancel a meeting or an arrangement that you have made with somebody.

ring off: to put down the phone because you have finished speaking.

seal off: to prevent people from entering a particular area (of the police, army)

spark off: to cause something to start or develop especially suddenly.

take off: to leave the ground and beging to fly.
leave a place, especially in a hurry

wave off: to wave goodbye to somebody as they are leaving