Unit 1 Face to Face with Hurricane Camille

Lesson One Face to Face with Hurricane Camille

Aims To know the writing technique of a narrative.

To be acquainted with some literary terms

To learn to use words to describe disasters and violence

To appreciate the language features

To learn to write a story about disasters.

Teaching Contents 1. The literary style

2. Detailed study of the text

3. Organizational pattern

4. Language features

5. Exercises

Time allocation

1. The literary style (narration) (one class hour)

2. Detailed study of the text (eight class hours)

3. Structure analysis (one class hour)

4. Language appreciation (one class hours)

5. Exercises (one class hour)

Lesson One

Theme ---- man vs nature

A piece of narration is mainly developed in the actual time sequence. The writer tells the readers what happens first , what next.

chronological development

The Literary terms

narration --- story telling

extended narration ---

novels

histories

biographies

autobiographies

travelogues

The Literary terms

The essentials of narration:

1. characters

2. plot

A good story has a beginning, a middle, an end, even though it may start in the middle or at some other point in the action and move backward to the earlier happenings.

The Literary terms

Narration is concerned with action. It goes around people called in some kind of against other people, nature, society or themselves. protagonist fights against a passage which is put between the action

The purpose is to add more information to create suspense the most exciting, important interesting part on the story, --- the ending of a story

climax

falling action

denouement

rising action

conflict

beginning

suspense

ending

How did the John’s family face Camille?

1. Before the hurricane;

2. During the hurricane;

3. After the hurricane.

Their action during the hurricane:

1. When the storm started;

2. When the house began leaking;

3. When the power failed;

4. When the hurricane was overwhelming;

5. When the sea water came into the house;

6. When the house roof was blown off;

7. When the walls were blown down.

Images of characters:

John Koshak, Jr.;

His father and mother;

his friend -- Charles Hill;

His wife -- Janis;

His children (7children, ahged 3to 11);

His neighbors.

The detailed study of the text

hurricane ---

1. strong tropical storm

2. strong fast wind which speeds more than 75 mph

3. western Atlantic Ocean

4. given a girl's name; named alphabetically / ordered according to the initial letter

typhoon ---

1. Western Pacific Ocean or China Sea

2. numbered

hurricane

whirlwind --- a general term/ circular wind（旋风）

tornado ---visible as a tube-shaped cloud of dust which moves in a relatively narrow path can be devastating in its destructiveness.

cyclone -- a vortex, usually hundreds of miles in diameter

gale

--- a general term for a very strong wind capable of doing considerable damage to property

wind

the Beaufort scale，蒲福风力等级(英国海军将领Francis Beaufort[1774-1857]拟订,分0-12级), defines wind as:

0 clam breeze 0

1 light breeze 1--3 mph

2 slight breeze 4--7

3 gentle breeze 8--12

moderate breeze 13—18

fresh breeze 19—24

the Beaufort scale

6 strong breeze 25--31

7 moderate gale 32--38

8 fresh gale 39--46

9 strong gale 47--54

10 whole gale 55--63

11 storm 64--75

12 hurricane over 75

the Beaufort scale

The Beaufort Scale defines a storm as a wind having velocity of between 64 and 75 miles an hour. weather forecast

The weather forecast says "cloudy" today, with a strong wind from the northwest, grade five to six on the Beaufort Scale. The lowest temperature during the daytime will be eight degrees centigrade below zero.

August 17 Hurricane devastated the area for 2 days

bad --- destructive /devastating / terribly forceful

lash --- to strike with great force

to move violently or suddenly

The waves lashed the racks

The rain was lashing against the windows.

pummel --- spelled "pommel"

to beat suddenly or attack vigorously

to hit with repeated blows

reasons to stay

1. He is a self-employed businessman

Magna product -- the name of his company

implication: How great the loss it would be if the house was destroyed.

2. His present house was in a better condition than his former house.

―good‖ idioms:

as good as ... --- very nearly e.g. The matter is as good as settled. 这件事差不多、可以说解决了。 good and ... --- [infml.] completely e.g. I won’我完全准备就绪。） a good few --- several e.g. There are still a good few empty seats.

a good 250 yards --- at least 250 yards

batten down

batten --

a strip of wood used in construction and oft. used in the old days in ship building.

to batten down --- metaphor to secure with battens

The elder Koshak is talking about preparing and securing the house for the storm to come.

ride out

---sustain (a gale, storm, etc.) without damage; endure successfully

e.g. The ship rode out the storm.

We shall certainly be able to ride out every difficulty and go fighting.

Blends

Motel (motor+hotel)

boatel (boat+hotel)

brunch (breakfast + lunch)

chunnel (channel + tunnel) 运河地下道

slurbs (slum + suburbs)

slanguage (slang + language)

cafetorium (cafe + auditorium)

talkthon ( talk + marathon)

filmusical ( film + musical)

comsat (communications + satellite)

sitcom (situatin + comedy )情景喜剧

narcokleptocracy (narcotic麻醉剂的) + (kleptomania 偷窃癖+ cracy 统治阶层) 官贩毒

magalog ( magazine + catalog) 杂志目录

comint ( communications + intelligence) 通讯情报

sportscasters ( spots + broadcaster) 体育节目广播员

masscult (mass + culture) 平民文化

scud

-- move swiftly

The speed of these clouds is an indication of the swiftness with which the storm is approaching. The boat scudded before the strong west wind came.

scud missiles

sit out

--- stay till the end of ...

e.g. Sit out a long speech

He sat out the bombardment in the trench. (他在壕沟内一直待到炮轰停止。）

---outstay in the social call 社交性访问中比... 坐得久

e.g. I wonder which of the visitors will sit out the other.

--- fail to take part in; stay aloof from 不参加； 袖手旁观

e.g. He sat out the 1968 presidential campaign.

They became aware that it would be impossible for them to sit out any war in Europe.

come by

--- pay a visit

--- acquire 获得

e.g. Neither fluency nor accuracy is easy to come by in learning a foreign language.

--- pass by 经过

e.g We came by several villages on our way back.

disintegrate

-- collapse, crumble. fall apart

break into many small pieces and is destroyed

Is society beginning to ~ ?

Since the Soviet Union ~ed, the cold war came to an end.

blast

1. (an explosion) burst, explosion

2. ( a loud sound) roar, bang, noise

unexpected quick strong movement of wind or rain 一阵；一股

a blast of wind

wintry blast

shove

-- push with a quick, rather violent movement

He dragged her out to the door and shoved her into the street.

The car won't start. Can you give it a shove?

douse

--- to stop a fire from burning by pouring water over it; to put out a light

That doused my outrage. 那件事平息了我的暴怒。

Douse your cigarette. There’s gas in the room!

He doused the flames with a fire extinguisher.

The car was doused in petrol and set alight.这辆车被浇上汽油点燃了。

-- immerse, soak, submerge, drench

He doused the clothes in soapy water.

on the verge of

--- very near to the action

She was so unhappy that she was on the verge of (committing) suicide.

The country is on the verge of disaster.

The child is on the verge of tears.

The company is on the verge of insolvency. （insolvent--- adj. not having enough money to pay what you owe (无力偿还债务的； [opp.] solvent )

The attack brought the country to the verge of war.

The old man had been driven to the verge of despair.

crushing

--- devastating / defeating /people feel upset or shocked

The final lecture was interrupted by the crushing news of president Kennedy's death.

It was a crushing result for the Labor Party.

ferocity

--- the quality of being violent / strength/ intensity 凶猛程度 u

Violence broke out in greater amount and ferocity.

He had never heard such ferocity in a man's voice.

maroon

--- v. (uau. p.p.)

to leave one or more people alone, with no means of getting away.

If one is marooned, he is left in a place, which is difficult or impossible to escape from.

Five fishermen were marooned on a rock in a gale.

grade

-- classify by grades

Apples are graded according to size and quality.

Poultrymen grade their eggs from small to extra large.

mph -- mile per hour

rpm -- revolutions per minute

gpm -- gallons per minute

fps -- feet per second

spectacular

-- very impressive, dramatic, breathtaking

壮观的，引人注目的，激动人心

The man gave a spectacular display of horse riding.

He made a spectacular jump from the burning building.

Some films present spectacular scenes like battles, processions, storms, races etc,

vantage point(s)

point of vantage -- a good position from which you can see a lot of things

The TV tower will provide a vantage point from which we can have a bird's eye view of the city. They fired upon the enemy from behind trees, walls and any other point of vantage they could find.

para 19 ~ 20

Two paras were put in to provide further official account to show how strong and forceful the hurricane was. They were convincing.

Dear Lord, give me....

Why no quotation marks?

The writer wants to make his account smooth. He purposely omits quotation marks. The action is quickened and smooth.

frustrate

-- cause sb to have feelings of annoys and disappointment

If sth frustrates you, it makes you feel upset and angry because you are unable to deal with the difficulties and problems it gives you.

frustrate

-Giving a child problems he can't solve will only frustrate him.

-He was frustrated by his poverty.

-The lack of money and facilities depressed and frustrated him.

-There must be nothing more frustrating than having a job you don't like .

frustration u.

- Without public support our efforts will end in frustration.

a lean-to

1 a building joined to one of the sides of a larger building with which it shares one wall:

a cottage with a lean-to garage

2 US a shelter or simple building with a roof that slopes in one direction, which is slept in when camping

Here ―a lean-to‖ is a support

thrust

-- onslaught,

attack,

push,

drive

strew

-- spread, cover, scatter

- His clothes were strewn all over the room.

- The floor is strewn with broken glass.

- After the riot, the street was strewn with broken bottles and stones.

festoon

-- decorate

The garden was festooned with colored lights.

National Guard

Each state has its own organization of the National Guard. It is composed of ordinary citizens who may be called to duty at any time. 国民警卫队

Civil Defense Unit -- 民防队

play much the same role, but are not military in nature

The Salvation Army

A world-wide Christian organization founded by William Booth in White Chapel, London in 1865. The Salvation Army is concerned with spreading the Christian message and with social reform. Its officers have military titles and members wear uniforms.

Red Cross

An international organization concerned with the alleviation of human suffering and the promotion of public health. A red cross on a white background is the symbol.

rake its way

-- meta.

If raking a surface, you move a rake across it in order to make it smooth and level

-- to attack and devastate as it swept along

rampage –

If people or animal rampage, they rush about in a wild or violent way, often causing damages or destruction.

The elephants are rampaging through the bush. ( hard to control/ mad/ violent / raging)

Seabees

-- C.B. members of the construction Battalions of the Civil Engineer corps of the US navy, that build harbor facilities airfields etc 海军工程队

wreckage

-- you refer to what remains of a plane, car, building etc, that has been very badly damaged as wreckage

assume/ presume

The meaning of these words are quite close

assume -- to come to a conclusion on the basis of what is known or felt to be true

presume -- to come to a conclusion by supposing / connotes an arrogation (claim) of boldness and of unwarranted inference ( which might well be unjustified)

assume/ presume

1. After talking with you yesterday, I assumed you were going to the party.

2. I saw them together and presumed they had reconciled their differences, but from what you tell me, I know I was wrong.

assumption/ presumption

tilt / slant / slope

tilt -- action

to tilt sth is to incline it at an angle lowering or raising one side

slant -- state general word

If sth slants, it lies along a line that is neither horizontal nor vertical

an oblique placement or position

tilt / slant / slope

fig. suggesting a bias toward a particular point of view

We call news so slanted propaganda.我们把这种倾斜性的新闻称之为宣传。

slope –

almost the same as slant, but is most often applied to a lay of land

a slanted line

a sloping lawn

diminish / minimize

diminish -- make smaller less or less important, reduce, shrink

-The aspirin tablets will diminish your pain.

diminish / minimize

minimize -- reduce to the smallest possible amount, degree, size, belittle

-It is always unwise to minimize the horrors of war.

-Since I am doing the best I am, you should not try to minimize my efforts.

-Minimize is an absolute term and should not be accompanied by adverbs" somewhat", "greatly"

salvage / save / rescue

salvage -- save from loss or damage by wrecking , fire etc

~ things

~ a difficult situation

save –

if you save someone or sth, you help them to avoid harm or failure or to escape from dangerous or unpleasant situation

- An artificial heart could ~ his life.

- They prayed for rain to save the village.

- She saved him from drowning.

- They were trying to save their marriage.

salvage / save / rescue

rescue -- if you rescue sb or sth, you take an action to help them get away from a dangerous or harmful situation.

* All my attempts to ~ him were in vain.

* They decided not to ~ the factory.

destroy, demolish, raze, annihilate, exterminate, extinguish

antonyms--- build, create, establish, repair, device

These words refer to the complete and usually forcible breaking up or damaging of something so that it is no longer recognizable or effective.

destroy

--- a general word with few overtones beyond its emphasis on force and

thoroughness.

the fire that destroyed several houses on the road

demolish / raze

generally applied to big or substantial things, such as buildings or other edifices

- A building is demolished if smashed to pieces.

- A building is razed if levelled to the ground.

Demolish is often used figuratively of the reduction of any complex whole to ruins.

to demolish a theory with a few incisive comments.

annihilate

--- the most extreme word in this list

literally means to reduce to nothing

It denotes a severe degree of damage to a thing or person

to destroy completely 歼灭， 绝灭

exterminate / extinguish

extinguish --- destroy purposefully

exterminate --- wipe out or kill in great numbers

~ insects by spraying with DDT

extinguish --- put out as a fire, the word is also used metaphorically as a synonym for die, thus implying a comparison between life and a spark or flame

His life was finally extinguished by the onset of pneumonia.

rot, decay, moulder, decompose, putrefy,

antonyms--- bloom, flourish, grow

--- refer to the breakdown of dead organic tissues by natural bacterial processes

rot

-- the least formal, the most effective , forceful of these words , suggesting an advanced point in this process of breakdown

损坏过程中最深的一种状态

The tissues at this point might or might not be foul-smelling but they would in any case be almost unrecognizable.

The snail has completely rotted away inside its shell.

decay

--- a more matter-of-fact word than rot 更为实用 applied generally to the whole process of breakdown, but particularly to the end point of total destruction

The corpse had already decayed, leaving only the skeleton intact.

molder

-- decay gradually and turn into dust

his remains moldering in the tomb

decompose

--- more formal substitute for decay

clinical word临床学词汇

change chemically and begin to rot

分解，腐败

putrefy

--- stressing particularly the presence of foul or poisonous gases and noxious 有害的odours

Salmon 鲑鱼that had spawned 产卵and died and now lay putrefying in the shallows of the stream.

spoil --- food (informal)

disintegrate -- break into small pieces

Organizational pattern

Sect I. para 1-6 introduction – the setting of the story

background information

time

place

characters

reasons

actions

Sect II para 7-27

-How the family was brought face to face with the hurricane.

-How the family was fighting against it and survived.

-How many onslaughts did the hurricane make on the Koshaks?

4 onslaughts

1. (p7) on the first floor

the house was leaking. They used all kinds of utensils to fight against the water.

2. (p 8-13 ) on the staircase

When the sea water reached the house, they retreated to the staircase

3. (p 14-21) in the bedroom

When the stirs were broken, they retreated to the bedroom.

(p 19-20) interposition

- giving additional information about the devastating force of the hurricane, implying if anyone could survive, it must be a miracle.

-creating suspense

4. (p22-26) in the TV room

When the bedroom walls collapsed, they had to retreat to the TV room.

Sect. III para 27~39

conclusion (a bit too long)

the scene after the storm

the relief work done by the state

the relief work done by the Koshaks

The most important part is the last para. "I realize we lost nothing important".

--- What 's the purpose behind the story by giving us a reflection from grandmother?

Human beings are more important than anything else in the world. ( the material things)

Language features

1. the effective use of verbs

The effective use of verbs is the only way to focus on action, esp. one syllable verbs, because one syllable verbs save time.

lash, lap, skim, scud, yell, dump, shot, snap, hit, whip

2. short elliptical sentences

a) increase the tempo of action

b) create the atmosphere of tension, danger and urgency

3. successful achievement of chronological development

Chronological development is achieved by :

connectors --- so, then, but.

transitional phrases -- seconds later, after that , for an instant, by this time, etc

4. the words with [æ] which vividly describe the violence of the hurricane.

[æ] --- quick, unpleasant effect

lash, crack, snap, slashing, smash, shatter, rampage, collapse, lap

Exercises

Exercise II:

1. There are two reasons. One is John Koshak is a self-employed businessman and his business is right at home. If he abandoned his home, his business would be ruined. The other reason is that his house is in a better condition than his former one, which is 250 yards away from the sea.

2. ―Magna Products‖ is the name of his company.

3. Because salty water was sea water. It showed that the sea water had reached the house. they were in real trouble for they might be washed into the sea by the tidal wave.

4. She feared death would soon come, and she wanted to remind her husband of her undying love. This would help to encourage each other and make them feel better to face the death.

5. Because he had not been cautious enough to move the family away from the danger zone before the storm arrived.

6. In order to get their minds off the storm and make them feel less afraid.

7. John was trying his best to comfort and encourage his wife, for he also felt they were going to die.

Exercise III

1. Background and historical facts about the Koshak family and Hurricane are woven into the narrative of the story. The first six paras give us the framework we need for the beginning of the storm in para 7.

2. The focus is mainly on action. We learn very little, except snatches, about the characters, and the main theme ( the importance of love and life over all else) is the direct result on the action.

3. John Koshak.

4. Nature, the storm

5. He builds up the suspense

a) by the careful explanatory introduction and gradual description of the onset of the storm.

b) by relating a series of near tragic misshapes that gradually lessen the family's chances of survival, c) by inserting at an exciting moment facts about the power of the hurricane.

6. the story moves chronologically.

7. At the end of prar 26, just before the storm begins to subside.

8. One might have ended it after para 28. Personally I like it as it is, but there are many possible answers to this question.

9. Yes, it states the theme of the story.

Exercise IV

Paraphrase

1. We're 25 feet above the sea level.

2. Our house was built in 1915 and has not been damaged by a hurricane.

3. We can strengthen the house and remain inside during the storm, and survive.

4. Water had caused the generator to stop, and that had made the lights go out.

5. Everyone should run out through the back door as quickly as possible and get into the car.

6. Water had gotten into the electrical system, and it was no longer working.

7. As he watched the water hit against the steps of the house, John felt guilty for his decision.

8. Please God, save us from this awful storm.

9. She sang by herself for a short while and then gradually stopped.

10. Janis had only one reaction to the storm after it was over.

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