It was nine o'clock of a Sunday morning in the summer of 1997. Adrian and Eleanor Ludlow (be) in the living room of their cottage, in dressing gowns. It (be) a large, low-ceiling, comfortable room, with a dining table at one end and a sitting area at the other, where there (be) an open fireplace. The walls (be) lined with densely packed bookshelves, which (seem) to lean inwards in places -an effect of the irregularity of the walls, which (make) the house seem like a rather civilized cave dwelling. Spaces (be left) in the shelving for the display of several ceramic vases, jugs and bowls with a family resemblance in their design; and there (be) more such objects on occasional tables in the room. The bookshelves also (incorporate) an expensive hi-fi system, which (be) silent at this hour, like the television set pushed into a corner of the sitting area. Adrian (be) at the dining table. Eleanor (finish) her breakfast and (sit) on the sofa reading the Sunday papers. She (do) it systematically.

David Lodge

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