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Some descriptions from 'Cross-country Snow'

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seen off, diffuse, not susceptible | What is a 459?

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#1 (permalink) Mon Aug 06, 2007 9:29 am Some descriptions from 'Cross-country Snow'

Hi,

Could you please help me with the following passages?

Quote:

Inside it was quite dark. A big porcelain stove shone in the corner of the room. There was a low ceiling. Smooth benches back of dark, wine-stained tables were along each side of the rooms. Two Swiss sat over their pipes and two decies of cloudy new wine next to the stove.

1. Does 'There was a low ceiling' suggest 'the ceiling of the room was low' or 'there was another low ceiling in the room'?

2. How should I understand the 'over' in the second underlined sentence?

Quote:

Nick stood up. He buckled his wind jacket tight. He leaned over George and picked up the two ski poles from against the wall.

3. Again the 'over'. I would guess it is not likely to really mean 'over George'. If so, is this usage usual?

Quote:

They took down their skis from where they leaned against the wall of the inn. Nick put on his gloves. George was already started up the road, his skis on his shoulder. Now they would have the run home together.

4. Is there any difference between 'was started up the road' and 'started up the road'? If there is not is the usage usual?

Thank you!

Haihao

Haihao
I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 1392
Location: Japan

#2 (permalink) Mon Aug 06, 2007 11:13 am Some descriptions from 'Cross-country Snow'

Haihao wrote:

1. Does 'There was a low ceiling' suggest 'the ceiling of the room was low' or 'there was another low ceiling in the room'?

It means the ceiling of the room was low.

Haihao wrote:

2. How should I understand the 'over' in the second underlined sentence?

They were sitting a bit hunched and smoking their pipes. Their pipes appeared to be their main occupation at the time.

Haihao wrote:

3. Again the 'over'. I would guess it is not likely to really mean 'over George'. If so, is this usage usual?

I think over means over here. Or a cross between over and toward, but more over. Maybe someone will disagree with me.

Haihao wrote:

4. Is there any difference between 'was started up the road' and 'started up the road'? If there is not is the usage usual?

The author is using his name as somehow equivalent to his journey. Normally we would say that he "had started up the road", but here they're saying his trip was started, in the same sense that we'd say tea is started (its preparation has been started) or a project is started (its work has been started). There's nothing really unusual about this usage. Mom says: "Dinner is already started, so don't go anywhere!"

Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 5328
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

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#3 (permalink) Tue Aug 07, 2007 0:35 am Some descriptions from 'Cross-country Snow'

Thank you, Jamie, for your detailed interpretations again.

Haihao
I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 1392
Location: Japan

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