Never Let Me Go
A novel by
Kazuo Ishiguro
To Lorna and Naomi
England, late 1990s
Part One
Chapter One
My name is Kathy H. I’m thirty-one years old, and I’ve been a carer now for over eleven years. That sounds long enough, I know, but actually they want me to go on for another eight months, until the end of this year. That’ll make it almost exactly twelve years. Now I know my being a carer so long isn’t necessarily because they think I’m fantastic at what I do. There are some really good carers who’ve been told to stop after just two or three years. And I can think of one carer at least who went on for all of fourteen years despite being a complete waste of space. So I’m not trying to boast. But then I do know for a fact they’ve been pleased with my work, and by and large, I have too. My donors have always tended to do much better than expected. Their recovery times have been impressive, and hardly any of them have been classified as “agitated,” even before fourth donation. Okay, maybe I am oasting now. But it means a lot to me, being able to do my work well, especially that bit about my donors staying “calm.” I’ve developed a kind of instinct around donors. I know when to hang around and comfort them, when to leave them to themselves; when to listen to everything they have to say, and when just to shrug and tell them to snap out of it.
1. Context and Exposure
See or hear the vocabulary used in context
Sample contexts: reading material, audio, video, conversation
Sometimes you can guess meaning from the situation.
What type of word is it (noun, verb, adjective)?
Look at the words around it.
Try to read or listen to as much English as possible
Choose from a variety of sources
2. Pictures and associations
Sometimes seeing groups of related words can help
See our picture dictionary.
3. Understand Word Parts (prefixes, suffixes, roots)
See our word parts lists here.
4. Recognize collocations (words that go together)
Some words are commonly used with other words
See our lists of collocations: with verbs, with prepositions.
5. Consider connotations and multiple meanings of words
Some words carry special or emotional meanings
Example: house vs. home
Some words can have many different meanings
Example: play, set, run
You need to take it out of the second drawer and put it in the top drawer. If it doesn’t fit (caber) in there,
then leave it on top of the desk and I’ll find a place to put it later. Then you need to help me decide
what to wear to the party. I would like to put on that red shirt you gave me for Christmas last year, but
I can’t find it. Maybe you can help me look for it. If we don’t find it, then I’ll put on the white shirt with
the red tie that I got from your sister last year. Oh, and remind me to put on the watch that I bought in
Paris. It’s so expensive that I don’t wear it every day, but this is a special occasion. I think the party will
probably last around two hours. Then we can go out to dinner somewhere. I think it would be nice if we
went to that Italian restaurant you like so much, plus it’s not too expensive. And then we can go see a
movie, but nothing too dramatic! I want today to be a happy day. I don’t want to be tense and I certainly
don’t want you to cry!
Dear Friends,
A few weeks ago, in a movie theatre, a person felt something poking from her seat.
When she got up to see what it was, she found a needle sticking out of the seat with a note attached saying'You have just been infected by
HIV'.The Disease Control Center (in Paris ) reports many similar events in many other cities recently. All tested needles were HI V Positive.
The Center also reports that needles have been found in cash dispensers at public banking machines. We ask everyone to use extreme caution when faced with this kind of situation. All public chairs/seats should be inspected with vigilance and caution before use. A careful visual inspection should be enough. In addition, they ask that each of you pass this message along to all members of your family and your friends of the potential danger.
Recently, one doctor has narrated a somewhat similar instance that happened to one of his patients at the Priya Cinema in Delhi . A young girl, engaged and about to be married in a couple of months, was pricked while the movie was going on. The tag with the needle had the message
'Welcome to the World of HIV family'.
Though the doctors told her family that it takes about 6 months before the virus grows strong enough to start damaging the system and a healthy victim could survive about 5-6 years, the girl died in 4 months, perhaps more because of the 'Shock thought'.
We all have to be careful at public places, rest God help! Just think about saving a life by forwarding this message. Please, take a few seconds of your time to pass along.
With Regards,