The information gaps

  The first thing that we can't find in the book is the main characters' appearance. Jerome didn't describe their clothes or colour of their eyes. I think he wrote about England of the nineteenth century that reminds me of white strached shirt and three-piece suit cosisted of trousers, frock and vest made of dark material and, of course, an elegant hat. As they these very three persons are gentlemen, they seem to look smart and handsome and they are middle-aged men that adds a part of nobility to their faces.
  Also the author skipped the description of their homes. I suppose they don't have the large houses as they belong to the middle class so they aren't extremely rich.
  The next thing we don't know is the portrait of their families. 'A man is known by the company he keeps' a famous proverb tells us and I think I won't make a mistake if I say:'A man is known by his family'. I believe it is really important to know some information about the characters' families to define their personalities and learn the behavior.

Vocabulary 2

21) To keep in check - (держать под контролем) to control someone or something that might cause harm or damage.

Synonyms: to draw a line in the sand, to control, to limit, to keep down.
EX: Harris said a little something in one's stomach often kept the disease in check.

22) The overstrain  upon the brains - (перенапряжение мозга) when your brains work so hard that you can feel extremely tired.
Synonyms: overstress

EX: The overstrain upon our brains has produced a general depression throughout the system.

23) To restore the mental equilibrium - (восстановить умственное равновесие) to recover your temper.
Synonyms: to recover, to calm down, to settle down.

EX: Change of scene, and absence of the necessity for thought, will restore the mental equilibrium.

24) Charge-sheet - (полицейский  протокол) an official record in which the police write down the names of people they have accused of a crime.
Synonyms: apprehension

EX: George has a cousin, who is usually described in the charge-sheet as a medical student.

25) To dream away - (проводить в мечтах) to spend your time thinking pleasant thoughts.
Synonyms: to imagine, to think up, to fantasize.

EX: I agreed with George, and suggested that we should seek out some retired and oldworld spot and dream away a sunny week among its drowsy lanes. 

26) For love or money - (любой ценой, за любые деньги) to show that you can achieve the goal within any circumstances.
Synonyms: at any price, would rather die, for anything.

EX: Harris said he knew the sort of place I meant; where everybody went to bed at eight o'clock, and you couldn't get a Referee for love or money.

27) Discontented - (недовольный) not satisfied with something.
Synonyms: dissappointed, discontented, bitter.

EX: Neither  the  beef  nor  the  strawberries  and  cream  seemed  happy,  either —  seemeddiscontented  like.

28) To prop up - (подпирать, поддерживать) to stop something from falling by putting something under it or against it.
Synonyms: to catch, to hold up, to break smb's fall.

EX: And they ran him up quick, and propped him up, over to leeward, and left him.

29) To get uppish - (набраться дерзости) be overly conceited or arrogant.
Synonyms: snobbish, rude, disrespective.

EX: For the next four days he lived a simple and blameless life on thin captain's biscuits (I mean that the biscuits were thin, not the captain) and soda-water; but, towards Saturday, he got uppish.

30) To gaze after - (провожать взглядом) to watch somebody walk away.
Synonyms: to look at somebody, to keep watch over, take notice.

EX: He left the ship on Tuesday, and as it steamed away from the landing-stage he gazed after it regretfully.

31) To put straight - (приводить в порядок) to figure out and correct something.
Synonyms: to straighten out a mess, to set straight.

EX: He said that if they had given him another day he thought he could have put it straight.

32) To set face against - (решительно противиться чему-либо, относиться враждебно) to be determined not to do or accept something.
Synonyms: to turn down, to ignore, to dismiss, to push aside.

EX: So  I  set  my  face  against  the  sea  trip.

33) On one's own account - (в собственных интересах) by yourself or for yourself rather than with or for someone else.
Synonyms: personally, alone, under your own steam.

EX: Not, as I explained, upon my own account.

34) To be a bad sailor - (плохо переносить качку на море) when you feel sick on a boat.
Synonyms: to have seasickness

EX:  Where the thousands upon thousands of bad sailors that swarm in every ship hide themselves when they are on land is a mystery.

35) Ad libitum - (как угодно, по желанию) at one's pleasure
Synonyms: at will.

EX: I don't know what a "T" is (except a sixpenny one, which includes bread-and-butter and cake ad lib. 

36) In smb's line - (соответствующий чьим-либо интересам) to be corresponded with smb's interests
Synonyms: appropriate, suitable, conforming.

EX: Scenery is not in my line, and I don't smoke.

37) To fool about - (забавляться, дурачиться) to behave in a silly way for fun.
Synonyms: to play about, to kid around, to forget yourself.

EX: If I see a rat, you won't stop; and if I go to sleep, you get fooling about with the boat, and slop me overboard.

38) To breathe one's last breath - (испустить последний вздох, умереть) to die or to be killed.
Synonyms: to pass away, to lose your life

EX: Silent, like sorrowing children, the birds have  ceased  their  song , and only the moorhen's plaintive cry and the harsh croak of the corncrake  stirs  the  awed  hush  around  the  couch  of  waters, where the dying day breathes out her last.

39) To pitch a tent - (ставить палатку) to erect a tent at a campsite.

Synonyms: to make a tent ready to use.

EX: Then we run our little boat into some quiet nook, and the tent is pitched, and the frugal supper cooked and eaten.

40) To die away - (затухать, угасать) to become quieter or weaker and finally stop.
Synonyms: to disappear, to go away, to fade away.

EX: ...and we watch it as it flows, ever singing, ever whispering, out to meet its king, the
sea — till our voices die away in silence, and the pipes go out...

41) To go out - (догореть, погаснуть) to stop burning or shining.
Synonyms: to burn out/down, to unlit.

EX: ...and the pipes go out — till we, commonplace, everyday young men enough, feel
strangely full of thoughts, half sad, half sweet...

Questions

1) Why did the author find it necessary to prevent Harris from singing comic songs?
    When the three friends stopped for a picnic by Kempton Park a gentleman accused them of trespassing. He was one of riverside roughs who make quite an income, during the summer, by slouching about the banks and blackmailing weak-minded noodles in this way. That man was one of the riparian proprietor and wanted them to drive away. The characters were extremely outraged by such an impudence as the bank of the river was a public place and no one could draw chains across from bank to bank. Harris was so angry that he felt he wanted the man who caused the board to be put up, slaughter the whole of his family and then burn down his house. He even wanted to go and sing comic songs on the ruins. This seemed to J. to be going too far, so he managed to calm Harris down. "You have never heard Harris sing a comic song, or you would understand the service I had rendered to mankind",- said J, who considered Harris's singing the most insidious revenge he ever knew. One of the Harris's fixed ideas is that he can sing a comic song quite well, but he doesn't realize he isn't a good singer at all. Actually, he is a person who never remember more than the first three lines of the first verse, and he keeps on repeating these until it is time to begin the chorus. He also breaks off in the middle of a line and snigger, saying it's very funny, and goes on to break off and mix different parts of the song. So, it's ridiculous and amusingly, but impossible to listen. That's why J. saved the man from "excruciating violence".
2) How did it happen that the three friends decided to have the river trip?
    One day Jay, who is the narrator, his dog, little fox-terrier Montmorency, and his closest friends Harris and George were sitting in the room and talking about their bad health. They were all feeling seedy and it made them quite nervous. Harris and George were complaining on extraordinary fits of giddiness come over them at times, so they hardly knew what they were doing, and Jay was worrying about his liver as he found out from a patent liver-pill circular that he had all the various symptoms. The characters weren't sure of what was happening with them, but the unanimous opinion was that it had been brought on by overwork. Then they were discussing what should they do and, finally, they made up their mind that the best way to become healthy is rest and a complete change. Firstly, Harris offered to have a sea trip but this idea was objected by Jay strongly as his brother-in-law had a terrible experience. However, when George told them about the advantages of a river trip the men found it exciting and the decision was taken.
3) Why did Momtmorency dislike the idea of the river trip?
    The only one who was not struck with the suggestion was Momtmorency. In his eyes was written that he was discontented. It looked like he was thinking that it was very well for the men as they liked it but not for him. There's nothing for the dog to do. Scenery was not in his line, and he didn't smoke. It seemed that he was talking to them:"If I see a rat, you won't stop; and if I go to sleep, you get fooling about with the boat, and slop me overboard. If you ask me, I call the whole thing bally foolishness."

The main character: who is he?

In this book the narration is provided by the first person called Jay (it is Jerome K.Jerome himself). He has an ironic attitude to every situation took place in his life. Jay even mockes his friends when they do something wrong, however it is neither rude and offensive jokes nor sarcasm. His humour is as mild and gentle as his character. This man has no wish to injure people because he is  kind-hearted and sentimental. There is not a detailed description of his appearance but evidently it is not important to understand that he is an attractive person. I have already liked him only for his handsome nature and great jokes.

Vocabulary 1

1) To lodge an objection - (заявить протест, выдвинуть возражение) to express firm disagreement with smth.
Synonyms: make a protest, to retort, to contradict, to take exception to, to express dissent. 
EX: Montmorency lodges an obgection.
2) Seedy - (потрепанный, нездоровый, слабый) dirty or in bad condition
Synonyms: weather-beaten, beat-up, unhealthy, indisposed, ailing. EX: We were all feeling seedy, and were getting quite nervous about it.
3) To impel - (побуждать, заставлять) to cause (someone) to feel a strong need or desire to do something
Synonyms: to induce, to urge, to instigate, to stimulate, to startle.
EX: ...I never read a patent medicine advertisement without being impelled to the conclusion that I am suffering from the particular disease...
4) Virulent - (смертельный, страшный (о яде, болезни)) extremely dangerous and deadly and usually spreading very quickly
Synonyms: fatal, killing, lethiferous, basilisk, deathly. 
EX: ...therein dealt with in its most virulent form.
5) Hay fever - (легкий приступ болезни) a medical condition caused by pollen (powder produced by flowers) that affects your nose and eyes as if you had a bad cold; 
Synonyms: allergy, slowly, inactively, sluggishly, torpidly.
EX: I remember going to the British Museum one day to read up the treatment for some slight ailment of which I had a touch - hay fever, I fancy it was.
6) Indolently - (без интереса, лениво) having or showing a disposition to avoid exertion; 
Synonyms:slowly, inactively, sluggishly, torpidly.
EX: I idly turned the leaves and began to indolently study diseases.
7) Distemper - (хандра, дурное расположение духа) bad humor or temper
Synonyms: blues, spleen, mope, mulligrubs
EX: I forget which was the first distemper. 
8) To plunge into - (погружаться, бросаться во что-либо) to fall or jump suddenly from a high place
Synonyms: immerse oneself in, dive, dip.
EX: ...I plunged into some fearful distemper
9) Devastating scourge - (истощающее бедствие) someone or something that causes a great amount of trouble or suffering
Synonyms: disaster, distress, calamity, affliction
EX: Malaria remains a devastating scourge on the lives and livelihoods to the millions of global citizens living in the tropics.
10) Premonitory - (предостерегающий) giving warning
Synonyms: warning, cautionary, admonitory
EX: I had glanced half down the list of "premonitory simptoms"
11) To be borne upon somebody - (становиться ясным, доходить до кого-либо) become clear
Synonyms: clear up, come to smb's mind
EX: It was borne upon me that I fairly got it.
12) To sift  something to the bottom - (изучить что-либо тщательно) examine carefully
Synonyms: 
EX: I determined to sift this encyclopedia to the bottom to find illnesses which I had.
13) To walk the hospitals - (проходить студенческую практику в больницах) go to the hospitals while passing student practice
Synonyms: 
EX: Students would have no need to walk the hospitals, if they had me.
14) To time a watch -  (засечь время) to measure the duration of a process with the help of a stopwatch.
Synonyms: start the clock, to time smb or smth, mark time
EX: I pulled out and timed the watch to feel my pulse.
15) A decrepit wreck - (старая развалина) a man who can hardly walk.
Synonyms: rinky-dink, rickety old man, pig-meat 
EX: I crawled out a decrepit wreck.
16) To clutch hold of smth - (схватить что-либо) to catch smth by your hands
Synonyms: catch hold of, make a clutch at, capture, get
EX: Then he opened me and looked down me, and clutched hold of my wrist.
17) A cowardly thing - (подлый номер) perfect stealth action
Synonyms: despicable act, vile joke
EX: Then he hit me over the chest when I wasn't expecting it - a cowardly thing to do, I call it.
18) To stuff up a head with smth - (забивать голову чем-либо) to fill someone's brain with certain kinds of thoughts. 
Synonyms: addle one's head/brain, put wrong/foolish ideas into one's head, fill one's head with 
EX: And don't stuff up your head with things you don't understand.
19) No tongue can tell - (не передать словами) when smb has a lot of emotions so he/she can't picture smth only with words
Synonyms: beyond words, no words can tell
EX: What I suffer in that way no tongue can tell.
20) Without further loss of time - (не теряя времени) not to waste any time on nonsense
Synonyms: no time lost, without losing any time
EX: I have known one clump on the head have more effect upon my liver, and make me do what was wanted to be done, without further loss of time.

My thoughts of a review

'Three Men in a Boat is a deceptively simple story: three friends take a boating holiday on the River Thames. At first sight this does not seem a likely plot for a classic work of comedy, and the fact that it was written in the late Victorian period and was an instant bestseller seems even harder to believe. Nowadays a sense of humour does not immediately spring to mind as a defining characteristic of the Victorians, particular as Queen Victoria herself is famous for the remark, ‘We are not amused!’
The humour lies not in the plot, but in the detail. A relaxing holiday on the river, rowing and sailing upstream, seeing the sights, and camping in the boat during overnight stops – what could possibly go wrong? The answer, of course, is just about everything, and it is the antics of the three men with their differering attitudes and approaches to the various problems that make the book so funny. On the periphery, there is also the dog Montmorency, a thoroughly anarchic figure whose practical solution to their difficulties usually consists of getting out of the way until all the fuss dies down.
ost of the humour comes from comic set pieces, such as the agony of putting up a tent in adverse weather conditions. In some cases, episodes that still raise a laugh (because they are based on perennial problems like finding the correct train at a railway station) were actually topical jokes. Waterloo station was considered a confusing mess of platforms that it was almost impossible to find your way around, and the idea of bribing a train driver to take you wherever you want to go appeals as much to the modern railway user as it did to the Victorians. Indeed, the whole book was topical, because a river boating holiday had only become fashionable a decade before, and part of the book’s success was due to the fact that boating on the Thames was the latest craze at the time it was published.'
Roy Adkins
I completely agree with the author of this review that the book isn't like a classic comedy of that period, but thanks to its new unusual idea it's already been one of the most popular books for more than 100 years. Its plot seems to be quite simple, however, it contains a great amount of incredible humour that makes the book awfully attractive. The joy is everywhere; Jerome K.Jerome was able to describe even trivial situations in a way that you couldn't help laughing. It's absurd when we read about Montmorency thoughts and feelings, but interesting to learn. I consider the dog is one of the most intelligent characters of this book.

A puzzling situation leads to silly backwash

"They started with breaking a cup. That was the first they did. They did that just to show you what they could do, and to get you interested. 
Then Harris packed the strawberry jam on top of a tomato and squashed it, and they had to pick out the tomato with a teaspoon. 
And then it was George's turn, and he trod on the butter. I didn't say anything, but I came over and sat on the edge of the table and watched them. It irritated them more than anything I could have said. I felt that."
This passage describes how three friends were preparing to their upcoming trip. Two of them who have never packed the luggage decided to do that at any cost. As you know, the first attempts may not always be successful, so it, unfortunately, happenned with the characters. I think they were overconfident as if they had been professional packers. Their extra confidence wasn't of use. On the contrary, the narrator thought they would better hadn't packed these bags at all, for godness' sake. I found this situation extremely ridiculous and preposterous as these men spoilt almost all food during they're putting it in bags, so the main character had to repacked it. Through it is a comic moment I can regret these people because they wanted to do their little task as better as possible, but they weren't successful.

Why I decided to read this very book

About a month ago I was at a crisscross as I had to choose a book for reading. "There are so many exciting books in the world, so I can't imagine choosing only one"- I thought then hesitantly. Certainly, I could read one of my favourite books I've read in  Russian, but it wouldn't be breathtaking if I knew the plot. 
I heard a lot about Jerome K.Jerome and his famous "Three man in a boat...", so I read some information and asked a few people's opinion. I didn't expect the reviews to be so admiring and delighted. The writer turned to be a great humourist as I heard from my friends and the book seemed to be full of funny stories of the main characters.  Sometimes autumn makes me upset. This season is time for thinking people usually say. I hope this book will save me from autumn sadness thanks to its cheerful plot.