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Newguest Posted 15 years ago
Vocabulary

Detached from its background/to bear upon

Hi

Miss Mayfield has just read a letter from her friend Mrs Baines. Mrs Baines eascaped from the village because some people were involed in the black magic there and she was afraid.

When Miss Mayfield finished reading the letter, the narrator said:

Detached from its background it could have been a

letter from someone slightly demented; as it was, it fell

slickly into place, another little piece of the puzzle. With

a quite ludicrous uplift of the heart, Miss Mayfield

thought, I was right about

her. She changed sides to save

Sydney; she brought the intelligence and teachability

which had enabled her to pass her professional examinations

to bear upon the learning of the Black Arts. She had

been disgusted by the ‘filth’. She wasn’t the convert they

thought they had made.

What does "detached from its background" mean here?

Does "teachability" mean her ability to learn?

I'm not sure how to understand the part that: she brought the intelligence and teachability

which had enabled her to pass her professional examinations

to bear upon the learning of the Black Arts.

I take it to mean that she used her intelligence and ability to learn to pass a professional exam, however I'm not quite sure about "to bear upon the learning of the Black Arts"?
  

Top answer

Hi, Miss Mayfield has just read a letter from her friend Mrs Baines. Mrs Baines eascaped from the village because some people were involed in the black magic there and she was afraid. When Miss Mayfield finished reading the letter, the narrator said: Detached from its background it could have been a letter from someone slightly demented; as it was, it fell slickly into place, another little piece of the puzzle.

  • Hi, Miss Mayfield has just read a letter from her friend Mrs Baines.
  • Mrs Baines eascaped from the village because some people were involed in the black magic there and she was afraid.
  • When Miss Mayfield finished reading the letter, the narrator said: Detached from its background it could have been a letter from someone slightly demented; as it was, it fell slickly into place, another little piece of the puzzle.
  • With a quite ludicrous uplift of the heart, Miss Mayfield thought, I was right about her.
  • She changed sides to save Sydney; she brought the intelligence and teachability which had enabled her to pass her professional examinations to bear upon the learning of the Black Arts.
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2 Answers
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Hi,

Miss Mayfield has just read a letter from her friend Mrs Baines. Mrs Baines eascaped from the village because some people were involed in the black magic there and she was afraid.

When Miss Mayfield finished reading the letter, the narrator said:

Detached from its background it could have been a

letter from someone slightly demented; as it was, it fel
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Now it's clear. Thank you Clive!

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