L7 Everyday use

Lesson 7

Everyday Use for Your GrandmamaAlice Walker

Detailed study of the text:( Part 1)

wavy: resembling waves– A wavy line has a series of regular curves along it. Here in the text the word describes the marks in wavy patterns on the clay ground left by the broom. It shows how carefully Mama and Maggie made preparations for the arrival of Dee.

groove: a long narrow path or trackmade in a surface; A groove is a wide, deep line cut into a surface. The cupboard door slides open along the groove it fits into.

awe: awe is the feeling of respect andamazement that you have when you are faced with sth. wonderful, frightening or completely unknown. The child stared at him in silent awe.

Paraphrase:She thinks that her sister has always had a firm control of her life and that she can always have anything she wants; life is extremely generous to her.

The role of the first two paragraphs:The first paragraph the setting, the place where the story takes place: a yard The second paragraph the narrator’s two daughters We have meet all the three main characters and learn the contrast between the two sisters.

to have made it: if you make it, you aresuccessful in achieving sth. difficult, or in surviving through a very difficult period. I believe I have the talent to make it. You are brave and courageous. You can make it.

totter: to move in an unsteady way from sideto side as if about to fall, to walk with weak unsteady steps The old lady tottered down the stairs.

limousine: A limousine is a large and verycomfortable car, esp. one with a glass screen between the front and back seats. Limousines are usually driven by a chauffeur.

paraphrase:

My fat keeps me hot in zero weather.Because I am fat, I feel hot even in freezing weather.

I am the way my daughter would want me to be:… This sentence shows that there is a gap between what Dee’s mother is like and what Dee wishes her to look like. What does it suggest? She is rather ashamed of having a black working–class woman as her mother.

Paraphrase:I’m ready to leave as quickly as possible because of ___, ____, ___, and turn my head away from them in order to avoid them as much as possible for the same reason.

sidle: to move or walk sideways,especially in a shy or stealthy manner. If you sidle somewhere, you walk there uncertainly or cautiously, as if you do not want anyone to notice you A man sidled up to me and asked if I wanted a ticket for the match.

shuffle: n./v. slow dragging walk If you shuffle, you walk without lifting your feet properly off the ground He slipped on his shoes and shuffled out of the room.

to the ground: completely destroyedP.156 汉译英： 一场大火把贫民区三百多座房子夷为平地。

blaze: v./n. to burn with a bright flame; avery bright fire A wood fire was blazing, but there was no other light in the room. The fire burned sl

owly at first, but soon burst into a blaze.

sweet gum tree: a large North Americantree of the witch hazel (榛子) family, with alternate maple-like leaves, spiny (多刺的) fruit balls, and flagrant juice

underneath: (so as to go) under (sth.) The letter was pushed underneath the door. Did you find very much growing underneath the snow? (Here it suggests a repressive and imposing quality in her voice.)

sitting trapped:… Her reading was like a trap, and we were like animals caught in the trap, unable to escape.

make-believe: n. /adj. a state ofpretending or the things which are

pretended She lives in a make-believe world / a world

of make-believe. Santa claus is make-believe. He doesn't

exist!

Paraphrase:

She imposed on us lots of falsity and so- called knowledge that was totally useless and irrelevant to us.

shove: to push, esp. in a rough or carelessway using your hands or shoulders There was a lot of pushing and shoving to get on the bus. Help me to shove this furniture aside.

dimwit: (infml) an ignorant and stupid persondim: faint, not bright wit: intelligence, wisdom at one’s wit’s end: at the end of one’s tether

organdy: (Br. E organdie) very fine transparentmuslin (麦斯林纱, 平纹细布) with a stiff finish (最 后一层涂饰), very fine rather stiff cotton material used esp. for women’s dresses (蝉翼纱, 玻璃纱)

pump: n. low shoe that grips the foot chiefly atthe toe and the heel /v.

stare down any disaster in her efforts:face up and defeat any disaster with her efforts stare down: two people looking at each other persistently until one shifts his eye.

flicker: to move backwards andforwards unsteadily

shadows flickered on the wall flickering eyelids

even the self-assurance of Ogilvie flickered.

stumble: (here) to speak, act or proceed in a confused,blundering manner. The sudden weakness in her legs made her stumble. He stumbled and stopped reading. I was so nervous that I simply stumbled through the whole speech. stammer /stutter: v./n. to speak or say with pauses and repeated sounds, either habitually or because of excitement, fear, etc. stammerer / stutterer

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