Windows of the mind fine wine

‘Extraordinary! Quite, quite extraordinary!’

Daniel Appleby did not often use such words to describe the wines he tasted. The other man in the room was waiting to see if he liked this one or not. His future depended on what Daniel Appleby said — if he liked the wine it would be bought by one of the biggest supermarkets around. It would be sold everywhere. The man who owned the vineyard looked on nervously. His vineyard was small, but it was one of the oldest in the Bordeaux region of France. If he sold his wine, the business that had been in his family for over two hundred years would be saved.

Daniel Appleby held the glass to his nose and smelled the wine again. He lifted the glass up to the light from the window to see its colour better. He was the Chief Wine Taster for Happimart Supermarkets. If he liked a wine, then everybody bought it. If he didn’t like a wine, nobody did. His word was like the judgement of God.

‘You say you have been making this wine for the last two hundred years?’ he asked the other man, Monsieur Colbert, a proud-looking man of over seventy years of age, whose hair was still as black as it had been when he was twenty.

‘I am old but I am not that old, sir,’ Monsieur Colbert said with a little smile. ‘But my family has been making this wine since the time of Napoleon Bonaparte. If I may say so, this is the only vineyard in all of France to produce wine in this way. It is my secret.’

Monsieur Colbert was hoping that his little joke might relax things a little.

Daniel Appleby took his profession very seriously. He was the best. He never, ever joked when he tasted wine. He might joke about other wine tasters at other times — in fact, he often did. But he never joked during a wine tasting. It was too important. He was too important. He held the glass up to the light once more and looked at the deep red colour before finally putting the glass onto the table in front of him. He had made up his mind.

‘Monsieur Colbert,’ he said, as he placed his thumbs into the pockets of the red jacket he wore, the one that matched his tie so well. ‘You are to be congratulated: this is an exceptionally fine wine with a strong bouquet and a rich fruity flavour with suggestions of blackcurrant; a wine to go well with any game or red meat, or to be enjoyed on its own for its excellent and strong personality…’

Windows of the Mind

[Cambridge English Readers Level 5]

Five stories about the senses: Arlo hates noise and has a plan to bring the world silence. Gopal uses smell to protect the memory of his sister. Journalist Kathy uses her blindness to get a clear picture of human characters. Daniel has a tongue that earns him a living but could also be his downfall. And Jamie learns to balance the benefit [Cambridge English Readers Level 5]

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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. A Fine Wine

Daniel Appleby, expert supermarket wine-taster,
visits Monsieur Colbert, a Bordeaux family vineyard proprietor. Appleby was impressed with the quality of Colbert’s wine so he offered him a deal involving the supermarket taking control of production. Colbert was desperate for money so he agrees without a second thought and he did not realize that Daniel Appleby was tricking him and he stole everything he had. On the way home, Appleby is involved in an accident. At the beginning he thou A Fine Wine

Daniel Appleby, expert supermarket wine-taster,
visits Monsieur Colbert, a Bordeaux family vineyard proprietor. Appleby was impressed with the quality of Colbert’s wine so he offered him a deal involving the supermarket taking control of production. Colbert was desperate for money so he agrees without a second thought and he did not realize that Daniel Appleby was tricking him and he stole everything he had. On the way home, Appleby is involved in an accident. At the beginning he thought that everything was right and he did not suffer any serious injury but after he tried to eat he realized that the accident has affect his sense of smell, restricting his sense of taste and he could only taste three flavors: salt, sweet and bitter. He decided to hide his handicap to his boss, Justin, and arranges to postpone a televised wine tasting so Colbert himself can attend. Appleby admits his disability to Colbert and enlists his help. Colbert is to taste his wine first, and then Appleby will taste and pronounce on the wine at a signal from Colbert. At the tasting, Appleby lavishly praises the wine. The wine is offered to the guests who spit it out in disgust due to the fact that it was red wine vinegar. Colbert has taken revenge by exposing Appleby and ruining his reputation.

I really liked the way the author tells the story due to the way he shows the characters, at the beginning he shows Colbert as an inoffensive guy who is also Appleby’s victim, but at the end Appleby is Colbert’s victim. It shows us how drastically life can change.

Which this story is trying to teach us, is that we should never trick people or even try, because we will always pay for the bad actions we make. It also shows us that no one is inoffensive and we should never try to take advantage of anyone.

Источник

Книга: Frank Brennan «Windows of the Mind: Level 5»

Серия: «Cambridge English Readers»

Award-winning original fiction for learners of English. At seven levels, from Starter to Advanced, this impressive selection of carefully graded readers offers exciting reading for every student’s capabilities. Five stories about the senses: Arlo hates noise and has a plan to bring the world silence. Gopal uses smell to protect the memory of his sister. Journalist Kathy uses her blindness to get a clear picture of human characters. Daniel has a tongue that earns him a living but could also be his downfall. And Jamie learns to balance the benefits of t’ai chi in his search for health and happiness. Paperback-only version. Also available with Audio CDs including complete text recordings from the book.

Издательство: «Cambridge University Press» (2010)

Формат: 130×200, 96 стр.

Другие книги автора:

Frank Brennan

He is an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for services to Aboriginal Australians ( 1995 ). With Pat Dodson he shared the inaugural ACFOA Human Rights Award (1996). His contact and ivolvement with Aboriginal Australians began early in his priestly ministry. In 1975 he worked in the inner Sydney parish of Redfern with priest activist Fr Ted Kennedy, where he also met and worked with Mum (Shirl) Smith among others who were founding Indigenous Australian legal, health and political initiatives.

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