現(xiàn)代大學英語精讀第一冊

1、Lesson Three Message of the Land Teach ing Objectives: A. To know the background information about the author, and the style of this text. B. To acquire the key words, important and difficult sentences and Ian guage points C. To understand and master the usage of the basic rhetorical devices: simile

2、 and metaphor D. To understand the connotation of the title and main idea of the text. Teach ing Procedure: I. Pre-task 1. Warm up In dividual questio ns: The title “Messageof the Land meansthat land can convey something to people. Then what does land convey to people, or what role does land play in

3、 people s daily life in your mind? What is people s attitude to land nowadays? 2. Backgro und in formati on: The author: Pira Sudham(1942)is an En glish writer in Thaila nd . He was born in a poor family in rural Esarn, in the northeast of the country. At the age of 14, he traveled to Ban gkok to be

4、come a temple boy, a serva nt to the monks. He continued to study and won entrance to Thailand s top University, Chulalongkorn. He later won a New Zealand government scholarship which allowed him to travel from New Zeala nd to Australia, China s Hong Kong and Europe. Pira Sudhamnever forgets Esarn,

5、where he experie need poverty and injustices in his early years, and which became the background for manyof his short stories and novels. His novel Monsoon Country made him a nominee for the 1990 Nobel Prize for the literature. This text is adapted from the farmer and his wife in guidebook to better

6、 reading series published in 1982. The city: Bangkok Bangkok, population 8,538,610 (1990), is the capital and largest city of Thailand. The city is located on the east bank of the ChaoPhraya River, near the Gulf of Thailand. Bangkok is one of the fastest-growing, most economically dynamic and social

7、ly progressive cities in Southeast Asia. Local people like to think that it is emerging as a regional centre to rival Singapore and Hong Kong, but it suffers from major infrastructure and social problems as a result of its rapid growth. It is also one of the worlds most popular tourist destinations.

8、 Bangkok is the economic center of Thailand. The Chao Phraya River allows Bangkok to function as a port. The Stock Exchange of Thailand is located in Bangkok. Tourism is a major source of revenue. The city contains manyBuddhist temples (known in Thai as Wats), amongthe best known being Wat Pho and W

9、at Arun. Thailand Buddhism Buddhism is Thailands main religion. 94% of Thai people are Buddhist. The other are Muslim, Catholic or Chinese. Buddhism was born 2,546 years ago (the official year in Thailand is the year 2003 and the traditional year is the year 2546). Buddhism is linked with the histor

10、ical Indian prince, Siddharta Gautama , who became the Buddha and reached the enlightenment. Now his teachings are still followed. His teachings say that people suffer because they are attached to material things, to women or menby heart links. These links cause suffer, jealousy so pain. People are

11、never satisfied, . they want more money, more power. The aim of Buddhism is to get rid of these pains and of these links. There are several kinds of Buddhism. Thai Buddhism is called Theravada Buddhism . Quote from the author: The following is a part of the author s remarks, based on which we can ha

12、ve a glimpse of the poor of Tailand. “ If I had not left myvillage then, I would have been subject like most villagers, to the mercy of nature: floods, drought, disease, ignorance and scarcity. With endurance, I would have accepted them as my own fate, as something I can not go against in this life.

13、 ” II. Task cycle: Theme of the text: The text tells about the deep regret of the old people over the loss of traditional values and the way of life. Structure of the text: The text can be divided into two parts: Part I (paras 1-7): about the interview of wife. Part II: (paras. 8 11) about the farme

14、r s speech In-class discussion: Question : What kind of writing does this text belong to? Answer: This text is an essay in a very broad sense of the word, or rather an interview. It is written down by the writer who interviewed a farmer and his wife. (Since the World War II it has become popular for

15、 writers to interview people, record what they say and, after some, not too much, editing, publish these people s stories in book form.) Question : What are stylistic features of essay ? An swer: Gen erally speak ing, the style of essay is colloquial. The Ian guage is straightforward. The senten ces

16、 are short and words are small and easy, which help readers to understand what s going on. Questions in mind: What do we lear n from the old couple in the in terview? What are their characteristics? What problems does the old couple meet with? What is the root of the problem? Are there any effective

17、 ways to solve the problem? Detailed study of the Text: 1) . They belonged to my parents and forefathers. (paral) to bel ong to sb: to be owned by sb. “Yes, these are our rice fields. They belonged to my parents and forefathers. The land is more tha n three cen turies old. ” Question : In the first

18、paragraph, why does the wife start her conversation with the talk about the land? Answer： The wife has already regarded the land as part of her life. This is the land where her parents and forefathers lived and it is bound with family history and tradition. It represents the root of her family. 2) .

19、 it was I who stayed with my pare nts till they died. (paral) Sentence structure : the emphatic structure. Pattern : it is was thatwho Function : to emphasize some parts in a sentence, .the subject. It was the policeman that/who caught a pickpocket on No. 933 bus yesterday. .the object. It was a pic

20、kpocket that the policeman caught on No. 933 bus yesterday. .the adverbial It was on bus that the policema n caught a pickpocket yesterday. (the adverbial of place) It was yesterday that the policema n caught a pickpocket on No. 933 bus. (the adverbial of time) Task: Make sentence according to each

21、pattern 3) . My husba nd moved into my house as js the way with us in Esar n. (para 1) “As” introduces a defining relative clause, and functions as its subject, representing what is stated in the main clauses. More examples: As is known to all, Taiwan belongs to China. (as - subject of the clause) A

22、s is often the case, the boy was late for class. (assubject of the clause) Question : What is the cultural connotation in this sentence? Answer： Whenwe got married) my husband cameto live in our house. It was the tradition here in Esarn that the bridegroom should come to live with the bride s family

23、. 4) . The rest, two boys and two girls, went away as soon as we could afford to_buy jea ns for them. ( para 1) the rest (of sth) : the remai ning people or thi ngs; the others .其中一本書比較難，其他的簡單。 One of the books is quite difficult; the rest are easy. to afford sth.to do sth.: to have eno ugh money to

24、 buy or to do sth. .目前，我負擔不起去歐洲旅行。 At the moment, I can t afford a trip to Europe. two boys and two girls: used as the appositive of “the rest ” More examples: Your father, a proud and unbending man refused all help that was offered him. Playing football, his only interest in life, brought him many

25、frien ds. A dry lightning storm, that is, a thunderstorm without rain, started a fire in a remote part of the forest in August. The whole senten ce: Our other childre n two boys and two girls left as soon as we had the money to buy them jea ns. 5) . They come to see us now and then, stay a few days,

26、 and then they are _ off agai n. (para 2) (every) now and the n: from time to time; now and aga in; occasi on ally stay a few days: Here the phrase “a few days ” is used adverbially . be off: be away from a place, 6) . and tell us that they are doing well. I know this is not always true. (para 2) Th

27、e whole sentence : although they always tell us that everything is fine with them, I know they also have difficulties and problems. They just do not tell us because they do not want us to worry. 7) it is like a knife pierci ng my heart. (para 2) The whole sentence : When I hear about their hardships

28、, I feel very bad. 8) It s easier for my husband. He has ears which don t hear, a mouth which doesn t speak, and eyes that don t see. (para2) Sentence structure : These three clauses are all restrictive relative clause and they are the parallel structure. The whole sentence: News about my children s

29、 problems doesn t make my husband as sad as me. He doesn t bother about what is happening around us and to our childre n. He n ever says anything about them. 9) He has always bee n patie nt and sile nt, minding his own life. (para2) mi nd: take care of; atte nd to “ minding his own life ” : this pre

30、sent participle phrase functioning as adverbial of accompa nying circumsta nces The whole sentence He s always been patient and talks little. He just does his duty and carries on his life. Cf. “ mind one s own bus in ess ” - “ don t in terfere ” 10) Our piece of land is small, and it is no Ion ger f

31、ertile, bleeding year after year and, like us, getti ng old and exhausted. (para 3) year after year: every year for many years The whole sentence : Our land is getting poorer with each passing year, like us who are getting old, weak and tired. “ bleeding year after year ”： this present participle ph

32、rases functions here as a cause. More example: They sent us their stateme nt, hop ing to get our support. They went on with their struggle, thi nking theirs was a just cause. Not having received an answer, he decided to write another letter to them. The doctor, not wish ing to make her n ervous, did

33、 not fully expla in the serious ness of her con diti on. “getting old and exhausted ” : (rhetorical device) personification Pers on ificati on Definition : Referring to inanimate things or abstractions as if they were human. It is a kind of metaphor. More examples: As London in creased, however, ran

34、k and fashi on rolled off to the west, and trade, creeping on at their heels took possession of their deserted abodes. The youth were singing, laughing and playing the music instruments. The trees and flowers around them danced heartily as if touched by merry mood. How soon hath Time, the subtle thi

35、ef of youth, stolen on his wing my _ three and twen tieth year! 11) but in a bad year, it s not only the ploughs that break but our hearts too. (para 3) it s not only : a kind of emphatic structure. break: “ break ” in this sentence governs both “ ploughs ” and “ hearts ” therefore we call this ki n

36、d of rhetorical device as syllipsis. Syllipsis ( 一語雙敘) Defin iti on : a sin gle word is made to modify or gover n two or more words in the same senten ce. More examples: The sen ator picked up his hat as well as his courage. COATTAILS: Clothes that fit the man and the times. (Advert. In New York Tim

37、es Magazine, 1980) Ten minutes later, the coffee and CommandeDanaof Naval Intelligenee arrived simulta neously. 蜜蜂是在釀蜜，又是在釀造生活， 楊朔荔枝蜜to be filled with sth: to be made full of sth. 水調(diào)數(shù)聲持酒聽，午醉醒來愁未醒。送春出去幾時回？臨晚鏡，傷流景，往 事后期空記省。 張先天仙子 第二位汪太太過了門沒生孩子，只生病。在家養(yǎng)病反倒把這病養(yǎng)家了，不肯 離開她，所以她終年嬌弱得很 -錢鐘書圍城 The whole senten

38、ce: but whe n there is a drought, the land is so hard that the ploughs break. And we become very, very sad. Question : Summarize these three paragraphs: Answer： The wife tells us briefly about her family and how all her children left. 12) Only ten years ago, you could barter for things, but now it s

39、 all cash. (para 4) The whole sentence : Just ten years ago, we cold exchange one thing for ano ther, but today we have to use money to get everyth ing we n eed. (In the past, we were more or less self-sufficient. But now, we have to buy everything in the market.) 13) Men used to maketh ings with fi

40、ne bamboopieces, but no Ion ger. (para 4) used to do sth .but no Ion ger :it is ofte n used to show a cha nge .They used to come and see their pare nts every week, but no Ion ger. 他們過去每周常來看他們父母，但現(xiàn)在不再了。 The whole sentence : In the past men made fine bamboo crafts but they no Ion ger do that. 14) Shop

41、s have sprung up, filled with colorful plastic things and goods we have no use for. (para 4) to spri ng up: appear sudde nly or develop quickly This past participle phrase functioning as post-modifier to modify shops . More examples: The men, soaked with sweat from an all-night march, immediately we

42、nt into acti on. The substa nee, discovered almost by accide nt, has revoluti on ized medici ne. The book, written in 1957, tells of the struggle of the miners. to have no use for sth: to not n eed sth. This is a relative clause. 當他們的兒子開始上學，他就不再需要玩具了。 Whe n their son started school, he had no use of

43、 his toys. The whole sentence : Manyshops appear in a short time. In these shops there are lots of colorful plastic thi ngs and thi ngs that are useless for us. 15) Those rough fin gers and toes are for work ing in the mud of our rice fields. (para 4) Questio n : What is good of painting the n ails

44、of my fin gers and toes? Answer： Their place is in the paddy fields where I work, so there is no point of making them look pretty. 16) In my day, if I were to - light ning would strike me. (para 4) in somebody s day: when somebody was young The whole senten ce: When I was youn g, I surely would be p

45、uni shed by God if I ever wore the kind of trousers they wear today. Cultural backgro und In Thailand, females wear wrap-around skirts. In some Asian countries, to be stuck dead by lighte ning is believed to be a puni shme nt by God. Question： What is the topic sentence of Para. 4? What are the supp

46、orting details? Answer: Topic sentence: “we two haven t changed much, but the village has. ” Support ing details: ? Cash in stead of barter ? Paid help ? Plastic things in stead of village crafts ? The old alone on the land ? Young peopl e s different way of thinking, dressing and behav ing 17) I kn

47、ow, times have changed, but certain things should not change. (para 5) The whole sentence: I know, times have changed, but we shouldn t give up or abandon certain things, for example, our duty to our parents, our religious beliefs, our sympathy for others, etc. 18) Young people tend to leave, and th

48、at s a shame. (para 5) tend to do sth.: to be likely to do sth. (usually bad) .It tends to rain. 要下雨。 The whole sentence : It is shameful that young people don t do these things, thinking that they are only for the old. Question : What is the function of the first sentence in para. 5? Answer: The fi

49、rst sentence in para. 5 is a transitional sentence. The wife shifts her talk to the things that should not cha nge, which include people s worship, and young people s respect to their pare nts and the aged. 19) Why, only the other day I heard a boy shout and scream at his mother. (para 6) The whole

50、senten ce: Rece ntly I heard a boy shout or yell rudely at his mother. Compare: “ to shout at sb ” . and “to shout to sb ” . to shout at sb: to speak loudly, ofte n an grily to sb . .他經(jīng)常對妻子大喊大叫，這讓她很傷心。 He ofte n shouted at his wife, and this upset her. to shout to sb: to speak loudly .Tom 喊 Jack 傳球。

51、 Tom shouted to Jack to pass the ball. 20) If that kind of thing had happened when I was young, the whole village would have condemned such an ungrateful son, and his father would surely have given him a good beating. (para 6) had happe ned .would have condemn ed: subj un ctive mood, opposite to the

52、 past. It is used in the unreal conditional clauses. .If I had worked harder, I would have passed the exam. If you had comefive minutes earlier, you would have caught the train. condemn: scold severely give n him a good beati ng: hit him as a puni shme nt The whole sentence : In my day if a boy had

53、screamed at his mother, the whole village would have scolded him for his lack of gratitude, and his father would certa inly have puni shed him. 21) As for me, I wouldn t change, couldn t change even if I wanted to. (para 7) as for sb./ sth .: used whe n you start to talk about someth ing new that is

54、 conn ected with what you have bee n talk ing about., .Labor is cheap. Land is available. As for money, we can borrow from the bank. 勞動力便宜。土地可用。至于錢，我們從銀行貸款。 eve n if: in spite of the fact or belief that , .即便我有錢，我也不買那種東西。 Even if I had money, I wouldn t buy a thing like that. The whole sentence : I

55、don t think that I would change like that, and it would be impossible for me to cha nge eve n if I wan ted to. Question : What characteristic of the old woman could we see from this senten ce? An swer： This implies that it is not easy for her to cha nge her ways and her beliefs of her lifetime. 22)

56、This question has never occurred to me. ( para 7) to occur to sb. : (of an idea or thought) to come into sb s mind. .當我上網(wǎng)的時候，有了一個好想法。 An happy thought occurred to me while I was surfi ng the Intern et. The whole sentence: I ve never asked myself/ thought about this questi on whether or not I am happ

57、y. 23) Yes, this bag of bones dressed in rags can still plant and reap rice from morning till dusk. (para 7) bag of bones: very thin . It is the use of metaphor, as thin as a bag of bon es. Metap hor:隱喻 Definition : A metaphor is also a comparison. The difference is that a simile compares things exp

58、licitly that is, it states literally that X is like Y. A metaphor compares things implicitly. Read literally, it does not state that things are alike; it says that they are the same thi ng, that they are ide ntical. Pattern : subject / tenor refere nee/ vehicle Cape Cod (is the bared and ben ded) ar

59、m of (Massachusetts.) He (is) a wolf (in sheep s clothing.) Task: Find more metaphors in this text. The whole sentence : It s true I m not strong and my clothes are full of holes, but I can still work in the rice fields all day. 24) Disease, wounds, hardships don t complain. (para 7) The whole sente

60、n ce: All my life I have suffered from disease, woun ds, hardships and shortage, and I ve becomeused to them. I don t complain because I know such is life. Life is always a fierce struggle. Question : What is the general idea of para 4 to para 7? Answer： This part focuses on the changes that she fin