A Very Fine QualityI let the boat drift on the river, beneath the bridge, and out into the lake. The light was disappearing from the August evening. Home on holidays from the university and unused to farmwork, I was feeling heavy with tiredness, and I had gone on the river to be alone and think of my future, There was a full moon over Ireland. "Hi there! Hi! Do you hear me, young Moran!" The voice came with startling clarity over the water. I looked all around. The voice came from the road. I couldn't at first make out the figure, but when it called again I knew it was Councillor Reegan. "Moran, row over here for a minute. I want to have a word with you." I rowed very slowly. I disliked him. He had come poor to the place, buying a small farm cheap, and soon after the farmhouse burnt down. A bigger house was built with the insurance money — and burned down, too, to be replaced by a large mansion. Soon he was buying up other small farms, but no one had ever seen him work with a shovel or spade. "A man who works never makes any money. He has no time to see where the money is," he was fond of boasting. He entered politics. He married Kathleen Relihan, the oldest daughter of old Andy Relihan, the richest man in the area, and chairman of the County Council. When Andy retired, Reegan succeeded him in the Council, and it seemed only a question of time before he was elected to be the Mayor. I let the boat turn so that I could place my hand on the stone wall. The Councillor was sitting on the wall and his shoes hung six or eight feel above the boat. "It's not the first time I have to congratulate you," he said, "though I'm too high up here to shake your hand And I'm certain it won't be the last time either." "You're very kind," I answered. "Have you any idea what you'll do now?" "No,I've applied for a scholarship. It depends on whether I get it or not." "What'll you do if you get it?" "Go on to the university, I suppose, and do the doctorate." "And after that?" "I don't know. Sooner or later, I suppose, I'll have to look for a job." "That's what I want to talk to you about. You're qualified to teach, aren't you?" "Yes. But I've only taught for a few months. Before I got the chance to go to the university." "You didn't like teaching?" he asked sharply. I was careful. "I didn't dislike it. It was a job." "Good enough. And what I want to know is — if you were offered a very good job now, would you be likely to take it?" "What job?" (to be continued) Ex. 707. Read the story Give a complex analysis of all the grammatical phenomena
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