#original_high_speech I was deeply shaken by Russia's military | The High Speech

#original_high_speech
I was deeply shaken by Russia's military invasion of Ukraine when it began, could hardly even get myself together to do my regular work – let alone this channel – because all seemed utterly futile and discouraging. As time went on, I just managed to get myself to work and follow the news regarding this military outrage most of the time apart from some free-time activities. Working on this channel was too far at the back of my mind from mid-March to late May, just could not concentrate and focus on any business outside my regular work.

Now I feel I must resume my work on this channel to keep myself in a more proactive mood and reinvigorate myself for some positive things and hopefully produce meaningful educational content for you. So here is another piece of authentic elegant English for you from The Forsyte Saga, book 'To Let', chapter XI 'The Last of the Old Forsytes'. A small supportive glossary is there to help you get through.

Supportive dictionary:
soundness – цельность, крепость
evidence – свидетельство
harp – арфа
barrel organ – шарманка
drat! – пропади пропадом!
halfpenny – полпенса
organ – шарманка
bluebottle – синяя муха
to take one's own line – иметь своё мнение, действовать самостоятельно
to put about – расстраивать, огорчать

When they came to prepare that terrific symbol Timothy Forsyte – the one pure individualist left, the only man who hadn't heard of the Great War – they found him wonderful – not even death had undermined his soundness.

To Smither and Cook that preparation came like final evidence of what they had never believed possible – the end of the old Forsyte family on earth. Poor Mr. Timothy must now take a harp and sing in the company of Miss Forsyte, Mrs. Julia, Miss Hester; with Mr. Jolyon, Mr. Swithin, Mr. James, Mr. Roger, and Mr. Nicholas of the party. Whether Mrs. Hayman would be there was more doubtful, seeing that she had been cremated. Secretly Cook thought that Mr. Timothy would be upset – he had always been so set against barrel organs. How many times had she not said: "Drat the thing! There it is again! Smither, you'd better run up and see what you can do." And in her heart she would so have enjoyed the tunes, if she hadn't known that Mr. Timothy would ring the bell in a minute and say: "Here, take him a halfpenny and tell him to move on." Often they had been obliged to add threepence of their own before the man would go – Timothy had ever underrated the value of emotion. Luckily he had taken the organs for blue-bottles in his last years, which had been a comfort, and they had been able to enjoy the tunes. But a harp! Cook wondered. It was a change! And Mr. Timothy had never liked change. But she did not speak of this to Smither, who did so take a line of her own in regard to heaven that it quite put one about sometimes.